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A Publication of The Handmade Beauty Network
ISSN 1530-9630 | Vol. 5, Issue 36
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Hemp Soap For Men is a new handmade soap recipe submitted by Kristerae, a reader in Arizona. It sports an aromatherapy blend that smells sexy! It's directed to the tastes of a man, but women love it too.

When you visit MakeYourCosmetics.com, it's easy to buy the ingredients you need by clicking on our Selected Supplier links:

Essential Wholesale: pure essential oils, over 200 cosmetic bases, hundreds of carrier/fixed oils such as meadowfoam, cranberry, jojoba and shea butter plus a new Short Run Private Labeling Program!

Bramble Berry, Inc.: over 105 different fragrance and essential oils (including their exclusive "Energy" and "Relaxing"), all soap tested, soap molds and unscented soap bases!

SunRose Aromatics, LLC: pure essential oils (many organic & wild crafted), carrier oils, solvent free shea butter rare & exotic perfume materials (visit the Perfumers Emporium), supplies, accessories and more. GC/MS tested to ensure quality.

The Scent Shack: fragrance oils and soap supplies. Fragrance oils are pre-tested in cold process, melt & pour soap, and candles, and test results are listed at the Web site. Scents tested by soapers for soapers!

From Nature With Love: over 1,600 ingredients and supplies, including cosmetic ingredients, spa supplies, bath accessories and packaging supplies!

This Week's Question: I am a living museum where trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants are cultivated for scientific and educational purposes. I'm the home of the National Herb Garden and photographers come from all over the world to take pictures at my world famous Columns. In the spring and summer, I am alive with daffodils, flowering cherry trees and magnolias. As fall approaches, the focus turns to bird watching, bonsai and my koi pond, plus an upcoming seminar on Native American herbs. What am I?

These are just some of the praises for the Handmade Beauty Cookbook!! Don't miss this sneak preview of our book, which will be made available for purchase exclusively from Handmade Beauty Network members soon!!

Enjoy recipes like Citrus Spa Salt Glow by DK Mind & Body, Eczema & Dry Patch Balm by Essential Wholesale, Cocoa-Castile Soap The Scent Shack and Island Blossom Cream by Fallen Muse WebWorks and so many more!

\Life.Style CEO\n.  A person who owns and manages a business, not solely for financial gain, but also to enjoy the personal rewards of entrepreneurship, independence, flexibility and fun.

Like life, business operates on a battlefield with many fronts. This new series of articles identifies those fronts and shares some fundamental concepts that Lifestyle CEOs can use to stay on mission as the battle proceeds. We begin with identifying the mission. 

Rule Of (Business) Engagement No. 1: Identify Your Mission.

If your mission is a mystery, how on earth can it be accomplished? According to the military rules of engagement, soldiers should use the least amount of force and the most direct means available to accomplish a mission. In other words, they should not perform risky surgery if a band-aid would accomplish the mission. By the same token, if surgery is indeed necessary, using a band-aid is a waste of time. But before she can identify and take appropriate action, a soldier must first identify the mission.

On May 1, 2003, President Bush stood on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln and proclaimed that the mission in Iraq had been accomplished. In hindsight, it appears that the mission was never clearly defined. As a result, also in hindsight, the means used to accomplish “the mission” are now seriously questioned by many. Regardless of your political persuasion or your personal opinion about the ongoing war in Iraq, we can probably all agree on one thing: in business like in war and life, if you don’t have a mission, you can’t accomplish one.

Have you prepared a statement of your mission as a business owner? If you are just starting out, it’s the perfect time to do so. But even if you’ve been in business for a while, it’s never too late to identify your mission so that you can know exactly what needs to be done to accomplish it. Is your mission to form a non-profit company to help the needy? If so, will it be religious and charitable, or both? Will you provide financial assistance or will you provide a service, or both? What will be your goals in doing so? 

Ideally, a mission statement should be succinct and to the point. It should identify what you are doing and for whom you are doing it. Twenty-five words or so is usually enough. (If you cannot state your mission using 25 words or less, consider that your mission may be either too broad or not well thought out.) Choose action words. For example, your mission may be “to help the needy by providing them with job training.” But a much more exciting and inspiring way to express this mission is: “to empower persons with disabilities to earn a living, enjoy life and mature into all that they were intended to be.” As a candle maker, your mission may be “to make aromatherapy candles to help people relax and enjoy their surroundings.” Another way to say the same thing using more proactive terminology is: “to encourage relaxation through use of candles made with aromatic oils, uplifting colors and gentle flames that give a room texture and ambiance.”

Visit our suite of Web sites serving the handmade toiletries industry:

HandmadeBeauty.com: the leading industry trade organization
MangoButter.com: 450+ suppliers of raw materials and packaging, updated weekly!
MakeYourCosmetics.com: ingredient encyclopedia & original cosmetics recipes
DonnaMaria.com: sound advice for your small business, Create The Life You Love™