124: SoapBox Soaps: Growing a Business from a Purpose with David Simnick

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Background on David Simnick of SoapBox Soaps:

Dave Simnick is the CEO and co-founder of SoapBox Soaps, a company whose mission is empower customers with the ability to change the world through everyday, quality purchases. SoapBox products are currently shelved in tens of thousands of stores across the United States and beyond. As an Eagle Scout, Dave’s dream was to found for-profit companies with a social mission at their core. Since then, he has worked as either an intern or consultant to USAID, the U.S. Army, Michelle Rhee, the U.S. Senate, and was a Teach for America educator in Northern Philadelphia. Dave’s got a house full of notebooks; he doesn’t like to let ideas get away from him. Give him any concept, and Dave will start tinkering with it. He’s worked on various sides of the startup industry: helping companies expand, getting the ball rolling with funding and publicity, making connections, and putting ideas together from the ground up.

Time-Stamped Show Notes:

  • [1:52] Dave Simnick is the CEO and Co-Founder of Soapbox. They sell bar soap, shampoo, body wash, conditioners, lotions, and liquid hand soaps.
  • [2:51] When Dave told his friend that he was starting a soap company, his friend told him he must be out of his mind. The company started in 2010.
  • [4:50] The real reason Dave started the SoapBox company is because he really wanted to pursue the mission of providing more hygiene access to people around the world and make a big difference.
  • [7:16] Want to save some cash on your next car rental? Then consider using our newest sponsor Autoslash.com. It’s free and completely easy to use. Autoslash saves you a lot of money because they search for every coupon code you’re eligible for in their huge database. Go get your free quote right now for your next car rental by going to: millionaire-interviews.com/autoslash.
  • [11:15] Dave provided some insights about navigating the landscape of brick and mortar.
  • [16:47] During the early days, they were not making a lot of money. He spent around $10,000 to start his soap business.
  • [18:06] According to Dave, branding can be very challenging. They made many mistakes with branding their product.
  • [22:34] Being persistent in the business opened better opportunities for Dave and his company.
  • [26:19] The company kept on growing and expanding. From WholeFoods, they expanded to Target and eventually added in more product line.
  • [28:26] Dave emphasizes on the importance of developing a product that people will fall in love with.
  • [31:35] He recommends having a strong online presence before going into a retail channel.
  • [32:30] Dave provided an example of a product that meets the customer’s needs that the market is not providing.
  • [35:04] Building a brand can take up a lot of time. Dave firmly believes that being resilient in this type of business will always win in the long run.
  • [35:57] Need a new logo for your current or future business? Brandcrowd is an amazing online tool that can help you make an amazing logo design online. Brandcrowd takes your business name and industry and generates thousands of logos in seconds. Brandcrowd uses high-quality handcrafted designs created by designers from around the world to create custom logos just for you. To find out more, go check out: millionaire-interviews.com/brandcrowd.
  • [37:46] During a demo of their product, Dave saw a woman crying. This incident prompted Dave to go full-time with SoapBox.
  • [39:06] Dave offers a Special Discount to his loyal customers. Use a promo code austinrocks to get 20% off when you buy Soapbox Products on Amazon.
  • [41:05] His last words of wisdom focus on the relevance of asking for help from fellow entrepreneurs.

Fabulous 4 Questions:

  1. 📖 📚 Favorite Book(s)? Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
  2. 🙌😎 Favorite Amazon.com purchase? Soapbox Body Wash
  3. 🌱💸 Favorite Tool that's GROWN your Business? Google Drive
  4. 💭💡 BIGGEST Challenge keeping your Business from GROWING? Awareness of our brands

Key Point from the Interview:

  • “We care very deeply about getting the product right, so that we can increase sales, because every unit that we were able to sell more is another one that we can give.”

Resources Mentioned:

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