Kudrat, a self-taught soap maker, is making bath times less boring for her customers.
We had the opportunity to talk to Kudrat and know more about her small business and how she built a sustainable handmade products brand that stands out from other brands.
Read in to find out great tips on making your business stand out from the crowd. You can also listen to the podcast here:
Contents
From hobby to business
Like everyone, Kudrat had a hobby to keep her busy. With a bit of trial and error, she started making soap bars at home and giving them to friends and family. Then, lockdown happened and that’s when Kudrat decided to pursue her hobby as a business.
View this post on Instagram
“A lot of effort goes into creating a soap bar”, says Kudrat. The soaps that she make has more than one fragrance notes. They are created in small batches and that’s why she calls it “handmade love in a box.”
Related read: How to sell handmade products online: the ultimate guide
She started an online store on Instamojo to sell her products online. Checkout ByKudrat online store here. She uses the free version of Instamojo to display her catalogue and collect payments from customers.
Kudrat says, “Instamojo is such a great help for entrepreneurs like me who were just starting out. At first, we don’t have a budget to begin. And Instamojo allows you to create an eCommerce website with no costs involved.”
Standing out as a handmade soap brand
There are many handmade soap brands who sell on Instagram. Although handmade soaps are a highly in-demand beauty product, it is difficult to stand out from the crowd.
Let’s look at how ByKudrat created a unique brand story and presented themselves as something different to their target audience.
Every handmade soap brand claims to be organic, paraben-free, and good for skin. ByKudrat products was all those things, but she realised that portraying her brand as an environment friendly soap brand will not make the products stand out.
Her secret lies in personalisation and branding.
ByKudrat delivers an experience, not products. Each soap has story behind: of its inspiration source and what it feels like to use it.
The brand successfully leverages human emotion to create a memorable experience. People want to feel special. They don’t buy products for just its use, but the feeling they get from it. ByKudrat offers a feeling of comfort and luxury through their soaps.
Personalisation of products to suit customers’ needs took the brand to greater heights. An example of one of Kudrat’s personalised product is the range of zodiac sign soaps she sells. Kudrat created soaps with fragrances that most accurately matched each Zodiac sign’s personality. And she marketed it in such a way that it speaks directly to each person.
View this post on Instagram
The success of a brand lies in creating what customers want and, at the same time, staying true to your brand.
Challenges along the road to entrepreneurship
“The first year of starting my business was a bumpy ride”, says Kudrat. “It takes a lot to become stable and things get overwhelming to a certain point. Entrepreneurship, for me, came with a lot of trial and error. Some major challenges at the beginning were packaging and dealings with suppliers.”
Kudrat goes on to explain how she overcame these challenges. She wanted to find sustainable packaging for her products and make it plastic-free. She evntually discovered an alternative after searching a lot.
Here’s a blog which has some packaging tips for businesses.
We asked her about how she faces hurdles now as an entrepreneur of 2+ years. Kudrat replied that challenges are inevitable there are different challenges at different stages of entrepreneurship. Now, her challenge is to reach more people and grow the brand’s social media following.
Take your first step
Businesses, big and small, agree that having professional online store goes a long way for building an eCommerce presence. It builds trust, allows you to collect payments, and is a means to get more customers: these are all you need when starting out.
Instamojo offers a forever access, free plan which you can use to build an online store. Sign up for it today!
