Small Business

[The15thMember]

My sister is starting a small online business selling products that we create from our homestead.  Today I made up the first batch of lavender lip balms we'll be offering for sale. 

[Ben Framed]

Thumbs up!

[Terri Yaki]

Looks nice, good luck. A younger brother would make short work of that. 

[The15thMember]

No worries on that front, but I was a little concerned about the cat.    Thankfully, she usually only gets up on the counters when no one is around, and the tubes don't take very long to set up.   

[NigelP]

As I don't know what the USA rules are for selling cosmetics you may well be fine. In the UK any product that is used dermatologically has to have prior testing via a registered company. Costs about $200. It's one of the reasons we have never sold beeswax lip balms, as start up costs too high.

[Michael Bush]

I would guess you would have to have some kind of permit in New York in addition to a business licence, a sales tax licence, liability insurance...

[Terri Yaki]

No worries on that front, but I was a little concerned about the cat.    Thankfully, she usually only gets up on the counters when no one is around, and the tubes don't take very long to set up.   

My cats are pretty good. One of them doesn't do anything wrong but she's a miserable old loner. The other one will hop up next to the kitchen sink to look out the window. I guess it's a different view than she gets from the window sill in the adjacent living room. I don't mind her going there but I don't want her up anywhere else. She's pretty sure she's not allowed up there because I can often hear her hit the floor when I'm headed towards the kitchen. I use a flyswatter for discipline. It can't hurt them but I think they hate it worse than the cat carrier.

[iddee]

Cats will never do wrong again if you bob-tail them. Cut their tails off an inch behind their ears and they will never mis-believe again.

[Kathyp]

As I don't know what the USA rules are for selling cosmetics you may well be fine.

Depends on where you are. Lots of states have Cottage Industry rules that allow for small, home businesses of this type. FDA doesn't cover a lot of this stuff. That's a good thing, I think.

[The15thMember]

As I don't know what the USA rules are for selling cosmetics you may well be fine. In the UK any product that is used dermatologically has to have prior testing via a registered company. Costs about $200. It's one of the reasons we have never sold beeswax lip balms, as start up costs too high.

The FDA only requires you label the package with what it contains (i.e. lip balm), list the ingredients, and label the net weight.  As long as you don't make any "medical claims" about the product, that's all you need.  So I can't say "for the care of dry and chapped lips" on the tube, because I haven't had that claim tested.  This applies to all bath and body products (lotion, soap, lip balm, etc.).  Most makeup cosmetics (blush, lipstick, eye shadow, etc.), have additional standards of compliance, since these products have a history of including shady or harmful ingredients like lead.  But I don't believe any product testing is required unless a "medical claim" is made. 

[BeeMaster2]

Iddee you are terrible. I would bee concerned about any left wing cat lovers.
Jim Altmiller

[The15thMember]

This right wing cat lover is having a little trouble with it to be honest.    We lost two of our kitties earlier this year, one in April and one in July.       

[Lesgold]

Would love to sell lip balms at the markets. Unfortunately our laws are pretty hard and it would be costly to comply. A lot of people still do so but often don?t know or couldn?t be bothered researching the regulations. My public liability coverage would also be void if I did so. These days, I only make them for family use.

[The15thMember]

That's really unfortunate that you guys overseas can't sell this sort of thing, both for you and your customers.

[iddee]

Jim, that joke is older than me, and I'm ancient.

N.C. is a cottage industry state. Very few rules, as 15th said.

[The15thMember]

We filled up a few jars today, just sort of as a test run, and boy, did they ever turn out nice! 

[The15thMember]

I need some brainstorming help.  We're trying to find some word to describe burnt tasting honey from very dark comb so that it sounds marketable.  I usually label it "slummy" for my family, because it tastes like slumgum smells, and some people in my family really like it, so I'm sure customers would too, but "slummy" doesn't really sound appealing.  We've tossed around "dark" honey as an idea, but not all the honey is dark in color, and I usually use "dark" to refer to the smoky chestnut honey I get during the summer.  It would also be nice if I could somehow convey that the flavor of this honey is coming partially from the comb, as opposed to the nectar. 

[Terri Yaki]

I don't see anything appetizing in the smell of slumgum but I won't hold anything against those who do. Maybe concentrate on the flavor? Something like 'deep, wholesome flavor'? 'Deep and wholesome flavor'?

[iddee]

SHARP, TANGY

[The15thMember]

I don't see anything appetizing in the smell of slumgum but I won't hold anything against those who do.

Yeah, I don't find the smell of slumgum appealing either, but the taste doesn't bother me in the honey.  It just tastes kind of burnt, but in a good way, almost like a charred bit from a grill. 

But "burnt" isn't marketable either, "blackened" seems disingenuous, as no action has been taken to smoke the honey.  "Black" is an option I suppose, but in this racially charged world we live in, I'm not sure that's a good idea. 

How does "broody" strike you as a consumer?  I obviously don't want people to think there is brood in the jar, but that is the cause of this flavor phenomenon, the fact that the comb was used for brood rearing, and it might conjure up pleasant thoughts of broody hens. . . .