The Dirty Heifers

Episode 74: Heifer Huddle-Why I'm Ordering a "Bunghole Wrench" From Amazon... 😳 (Heifer Huddle)

Welcome back to another chaotic Heifer Huddle! 🤠 This week, the girls are breaking down the absolute reality of running a handmade business, surviving extreme overtime, and trying not to lose their minds during life transitions. From an emergency Amazon purchase involving an incredibly questionable tool name, to a cold-process soap chemistry surprise that turned a white batch mauve pink with zero dye—we are covering it all. Plus, we're testing our vocabulary skills with the "Word of the Week" (with varying degrees of success) and figuring out how to manage massive custom-order inventories. Drop a comment below: Have you ever had a fragrance oil completely change your soap color unexpectedly? 👇

Episode 73: Why Your Sales Are Disappearing (And How to Fix the Summer Slump)

Is your Shopify dashboard looking like a ghost town? You aren’t failing—you’re just experiencing the Summer Slump. ☀️📉 Every year, the weather warms up and small business sales cool down. In this episode of The Dirty Heifers, Margaret, Shauna, and Jessie break down exactly why engagement drops when the sun comes out and—more importantly—how to turn this "dead zone" into your most productive season of the year. In this episode, we cover: * The Psychology of the Slump: Why customers stop clicking when they head to the lake. * Survival Strategies: How to pivot to tourist-town wholesale and "strategic restocking". * The Holiday Headstart: Why June is actually the best time to make your Christmas soap. * Fragrance Testing 101: Real talk on color morphing and scent retention. * Mental Health for Makers: How to separate your self-worth from your daily notifications. Don't let a slow week trick you into a "comparison spiral" or an unnecessary rebrand. Grab a cold drink, put on your "work helmet," and let’s get ready for the fall rush!. Support our sponsor: ✨ Bawana Bath and Body – Creative serotonin boosts for makers who need to unplug!. Subscribe for weekly unfiltered small business chaos!

Episode 72: Market Survival: Craft Shows and Pop ups- A Vendors Guide

Thinking about selling at a craft fair, farmers market, or pop-up shop? Watch this FIRST. In this episode of The Dirty Heifers Podcast, we break down EVERYTHING no one tells you about vendor markets—from finding the right events to surviving your first show without losing your mind (or your profit 😅). One of us is preparing for a massive 4-day festival with 100,000+ people, while the rest of us spill real, unfiltered lessons from years in the vendor trenches: * How to find GOOD markets (and avoid total flops) * Booth setups that actually attract customers * What sells vs what just sits there * Pricing psychology & why cheap markets can cost you MORE * Mistakes that cost us time, money, and sanity * Dealing with weird customers (yes… all types 😬) * How to know if you made money… or just worked all day for nothing Plus: 👉 The Word of the Week gets chaotic (as usual) 👉 Real stories from markets gone VERY wrong 👉 Practical tips you can actually use for your next event Whether you're a beginner vendor or scaling your handmade business, this episode will save you time, money, and a whole lot of frustration. 🎧 New episodes every week—subscribe so you don’t miss the next one. #DirtyHeifers #SmallBusiness #CraftMarkets

Episode 71: Unexpected Skills & Mindset Shifts for Small Business Owners

In this episode of the Dirty Heifers podcast, Margaret, Jessie, and Shauna pull up a chair for a little "real talk" about the unexpected side of running a bath and body business. While most makers start out focused on the craft, the journey quickly demands a whole new set of skills—from mastering video editing and product photography to the complex psychology of pricing and the constant art of on-the-fly troubleshooting. The heifers share their personal experiences with shifting from a hobbyist mindset to a business owner mindset, including how they learned to value their work and stop the comparison trap. Plus, don’t miss our favorite segments: the Word of the Week (it’s not a pasta!) and a classic Southernism that might be an insult in disguise. In this episode, we discuss: * Why video editing and social media are the skills you can't ignore. * How understanding fragrance chemistry and suppliers "legitimizes" your brand. * Jessie’s "macgyvered" solution for dispensing 100lb fragrance jugs. * Moving past the fear of the camera and improving product photography. * The psychology of pricing: Finding value in your bars

Episode 70: Small Business Reality Check: What We Expected vs. What Actually Happened | Dirty Heifers

In this episode, Margaret (Warm and Fuzzy Soapery), Jessie (Country Lather Soapworks), and Shauna (Buona Bath & Body) pull back the curtain on the reality of running a bath and body business. From the shock of how much time goes into video editing to the surprising ease of scaling production, the heifers discuss the "rainbows and unicorns" they expected versus the spreadsheets and shipping boxes they actually got. In this episode, we cover: * The "Redneck Word of the Week": Learning how to say "Eskatawpa" (and why it matters if you're a Three Doors Down fan). * The Content Struggle: Why making engaging marketing content is often harder than the actual soap making. * The Box Debate: Does packaging really drive sales, or is it just for the "shelf-appeal" in wholesale?. * Scaling Up: Why making 100 bars isn't actually 10 times harder than making 10. Special thanks to our sponsor: Warm and Fuzzy Soapery.