Spirit Goat: Home soap business takes a leap to downtown store front
December 17th, 2012 Posted in BusinessLOGAN — Becky Yeager had no idea her daughters’ sensitive skin would lead to a full-blown small business.
Ten years ago Yeager discovered her two girls had extremely sensitive skin and needed to find alternative skin-care products to what was sold in the store. “We couldn’t use regular soap on them,” Yeager said. “We found out that natural soap worked and decided we’d better learn to make this ourselves.”
That’s when she decided to start selling her soap.
“You can’t make one bar or five bars,” Yeager said. “You can make 12 bars. And then it starts accumulating and you give it to your friends and neighbors.”
But Yeager’s soap is unique. Her family had seven pet goats when she decided to make her own soap. The active ingredient is goat’s milk, giving her business an equally unique name — Spirit Goat.
Since then she’s been producing batches of soap for people all over Cache Valley. Four years ago Yeager took a big step with her business and moved it out of her Nibley home and into the back of an antique shop. Yeager was happy to lease the kitchen in the back of the building.
“It was great to get out of the house,” Yeager said. “It became a business-based home and then your work never leaves you. It was great to have my home again.”
Soon enough Yeager needed to take another big step for her business. The antique store was closing.
“We were frantically searching everywhere,” Yeager said. “We just weren’t finding anything. I didn’t want to open a store. I wanted someone to sell for me and I would make it somewhere else.”
But Yeager had no luck with her original plan. That’s when she decided to lease the newly vacated shop on Federal Ave. She’s been in her new location since March 2012.
Even though she already had an established business, moving to her own shop was difficult for Yeager. She had to get a sign permit, a business permit, building permit and get everything approved by the fire marshall, she said.
“This is where we want to be,” Yeager said. “A lot more management comes with it and a lot more time. We’re right in the middle of our Christmas season so it’s been a lot busier.”
Yeager gives her new look credit for recent success. “It’s more visible. It’s in a more convenient location for people and it’s a lot giftier for people who are looking for last minute gifts.”
Jessica Morgan is one of Yeager’s customers and finds its new location more convenient.
“I get my coffee at Ibis and I work at the yoga studio next door,” Morgan said, “so having Spirit Goat on the same road is really convenient. I love their products because natural ingredients are so much better than what you buy in the store.”
NW
Tags: Becky Yeager, goat milk soap, Jessica Morgan, small business, Spirit Goat
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