Make hair butter they said, it’ll be fun they said…
Well, it is fun and messy and all the things you would normally expect, but I quickly realized this business has many hidden costs.
CLEAN UP
I have to use extra dish soap and run a lot of hot water down the drain. Those bills add up fast.
My kitchen pipe system isn't equipped to handle the build-up of butter. No matter how much soap I use, butter will always build up when the pipes turn cold. Over time, that could lead to a very expensive plumbing bill.
Solution? Diesel Fuel! (another cost btw)
THE NATURAL SCENTS
Everyone wants a natural product, organic with no preservatives. Well, those products have natural scents and people tend to want the soft flowery smells, which are not natural. So always be prepared for a work around.
Now, on a small scale, I love the smell of cocoa butter. However, it has a very strong scent and it hits hard. Now, I have to take the TIME and MONEY to buy a different butter to dilute the strong odor. That also means that my customers will get less cocoa butter, which is otherwise great for removing dark spots and helps overall appearance.
I could use essential oils but that is proving to be a challenge. Cocoa butter smells like chocolate. What other smell could complement chocolate while keeping my product natural? I can only do so much.
DISTRACTIONS
If you live with other people, you will get distracted. That means your product can harden in the middle of the packaging process, then you have to take more TIME to soften the butter, whip it again before you can fill all the jars.
Time is definitely money when you are filling 250+ orders alone.