All About Soap: Partnership brings woman's business plan to life
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Nov. 25--Going shopping on Black Friday? You'll have an added option this year.
M.J. Simmons is opening SoapWorks Etc. in space being provided for free for one year at Burlington Outlet Village. If you head onto Plaza Drive off Maple Avenue, you'll see the business on the right not long after you pass Alamance Community College's Burlington Center.
Simmons is working on getting the store ready for Friday, when it will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. She's planning to maintain those hours Monday through Saturday through the Christmas shopping season. Sunday hours will be 1 to 6 p.m. Simmons said she will probably go to a 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday schedule and keep Sunday hours the same after the holidays.
Simmons got the space for free as the result of a partnership between the community college's Small Business Center and Burlington Outlet Village.
As part of an entrepreneurship class offered by the business center, Simmons and other students submitted business plans and Simmons' plan was chosen. Raleigh-based Anthony & Co., which owns the center, said providing the free space is part of the company's efforts to help businesses and nonprofits get started.
The Times-News has also been involved in promoting the class and the winning business.
Simmons has made soap for almost 10 years. Up until now, she has given it away and sold it by word of mouth, and at events such as farmers' markets.
The Caswell County resident prefers to refer to her products as "botanical based," rather than natural, saying the word "natural" has been misused to label products that contain some synthetics.
She uses no synthetics in making her soaps or other products, such as bath salts or lotion bars.
Simmons makes no medical claims, but says people have told her using her products has improved or gotten rid of skin problems.
On Tuesday, she was wrapping labels around bars of naturally scented soap.
She's planning a "soap deli" on one side of the store where people can come in and have bars of the size they like cut off.
A quick look inside the store shows there's a lot more there than soap and other body products.
One sign in front of Soap-Works Etc. touts "Natural Gifts for Your Natural Body and Home."
The store will sell artisans' work including paintings, pottery, handcrafted pens, stained glass, hand-knitted washrags, Adirondack-style furniture and even boomerangs.
SoapWorks has a grand opening scheduled for Dec. 9.
At some point, Simmons is planning to offer demonstrations of how soap is made, along with similar educational events.
One of Simmons' sons, Tom Bulmer, is the store's operations manager. Another son, John Bulmer, lives in Ohio but has given long-distance encouragement, and her mother, Blanche Simmons, has also taken a strong interest in the business.
Simmons said Burlington businessman Sam Powell has been her mentor and also mentioned help from Milele Archibald, who heads the college's Small Business Center, and Susan Holland, who does promotional work for Burlington Outlet Village.