Sydney Twichell LLC

I have always been an entrepreneur at heart. When I was 7, I made art and “sold” it to family members. I made my bedroom my storefront/art studio, and made flyers to advertise my art for sale. It never left my house, but I was proud of the little business I made.

When I was a tween, I got gifted a soap making kit for Christmas. I loved making soap, lotions, etc. It was a fun hobby that kept me occupied the first year I was homeschooled. However, we eventually ran out of room for all of the soap I was making. There were only so many baths that could be had.

So I started to give them as gifts at the women’s group at church every Monday morning. It started out as just fun little gifts to my mom’s friends, but eventually I started getting commissions for customized soaps. That’s when the light bulb went off in my head.

That afternoon when I got home, I started handmaking business cards and flyers. Sydney’s Sensational Soap was born.

I learned some valuable lessons during this time of my life, and it’s helped me by the business owner I am today. Here are 3 key take aways that made me a better entrepreneur.

Your Story Sells

People weren’t initially interested in my product, they were interested in who I was and my story. They were intrigued by the idea of an 11 year old selling soap before they were curious about the soap. My story of wanting to be an entrepreneur and make some money for clothes and shoes and movie theater money compelled people to buy from me. Eventually my product proved itself to be high quality, and it wasn’t just my story but the product the story was selling. My story got them interested, and the quality of my products kept them as loyal customers.

PR Is Important

I had kept my little operation within the walls of the mega church I was attending, until it eventually spread outward. But how? A family friend of ours had a feature on Kens 5 once a month, and one day she called and asked if she could talk about my soap business, the quality of the soap, and the Clever tactics I used for my business as such a young age. Of course I said yes! I, an 11 year old, was getting her stuff featured on local news? Heck yeah! That feature caused word to spread, and suddenly I was being recognized a lot more when I began selling at craft fairs.

Go Where Your Customer Is

I started to branch outside of my church to craft fairs in the area and that is when things really took off. This era was also the height of MLMs, and so when people at church had MLM parties to show off their products at their home, I got my foot in the door. I started investing in the packaging, receipt papers, etc. I wanted to be taken seriously, and so I found places that would do that for me. I started seeing my gross income hit the thousands instead of hundreds. I had established myself so well that I no longer had to ask to be in these spaces, I was being enthusiastically invited.

The passion for my business never went away, it just shifted away from soaps towards the aspects of my business I enjoyed most: Marketing and PR. Now, I get to apply that passion into other women’s businesses. I just know 11 year old Sydney would be blown away at how she applied these simple principles of business she learned with Sydney’s Sensational Soap, to other women’s businesses