Bath Buddies: The Beginning of My Side Hustle

Bath Buddies. My OG side hustle.

There’s been ups, downs, and messy in-betweens.

Having recently hit a personal goal of 1500 followers on Instagram, I wanted share how my little shop began. It’s come a long way, starting back in 2017. My worlds of a small shop and blog, officially colliding.

At the beginning of 2020, I had serious thoughts of closing my little shop. So much so that I began telling customers I won’t be around for too much longer. They were conversations that pulled on my heart strings but at the time thought it was best.

Before pulling the plug on the hundreds of orders I completed I cautiously stepped back from it all. I knew I wasn’t in the right state of mind to make such a big decision on something I had worked so hard on. I’m grateful that although I wasn’t able to continue my work, that I knew to step away before doing something I would later regret.

Rewinding to 2017

Back when it all began. Bath Buddies was born from a blog post I wrote for my first blog, Pretty Pink Sparkles. I wanted to write a DIY post on how to make your own bath bomb. With having done an enormous amount of research on how to properly make a great bath bomb, I completely engulfed myself into the world of making. So consumed with the new world I stumbled on, I never ended up writing that blog post and needless to say, my entire blog went to the way side. Discovering a whole new world of making was electric – it was a world I really had no idea existed. I spent every waking second and moment of free time I had researching products, ingredients, and other shops to see how I could improve my own and take things to the next level.

The beginning of learning and creating was such a wild ride in all honesty. The entrepreneur life needs a certain personality for it and I really feel like I have that. The ideas, love, and excitement that poured through me in the beginning months was absolutly insane. The thoughts I had and places I wanted to take Bath Buddies were ones I would have never thought to dream of for myself before. But I was in it and I was there for it.

Finding My Groove

Naturally a creative person, I threw my passion of loving to create into my work. I have always had an eye for detail and also always enjoyed photography so being able to experiment with my little brand brought me so much joy. I take a lot of pride in my Instagram feed and although it’s not perfect, it’s something I worked extremely hard to achieve. Someone asked once if I was ever going to delete my first “beginning” posts because it no longer fit the aesthetic. And I stopped and thought, smiled, and said no.

The feed is my story – the journey of my little shop and I wouldn’t change it or delete it for anything. The early posts remind me of where I started and how far I’ve come with it. How far I let my creativity take me and how much I’ve learned throughout it all, too. I learned what I liked to see from others on Instagram and applied that to my own pictures and feed. At times it was stressful and overwhelming, but the other 99% of the time, it was invigorating and gave me a creative challenge to continue to learn new things.

All My Energy Went to Bath Buddies

Obsessed with hustle and loved the grind. When I started Bath Buddies, I had a part-time contract job down the road from my house. Because I used natural light to take my photos, I would plan my lunch breaks around lunch, rush home, turn the condo upset down to quickly put the flatly together, work for the hour until I got the shot I wanted, and then returned to work.

I lived, breathed, and consumed, everything Bath Buddies. And in all honesty, it never felt like work. It brought so much joy and forever grateful my husband pushed me to sell those first bath bombs ever made. Without him, there would be no Bath Buddies.

An Encouraging Community

Further to loving that I have a creative outlet, I have met so many other amazing shops owners. A special shoutout to my first ever Giveaway partner, Sweet Creations by Vanessa, for also giving the push I needed to get Bath Buddies up and running again. Through a late night chat, she reminded me why I started and that I loved what I was doing. The makers community really is something special and something I’m glad I can say I’m part of. A world full of people who continuously drive and motivate themselves, pushing to do better and be better through their work, is a community that you can’t be mad you’re in. The grind is infectious and the relationships are heart warming.

Having goals throughout the years for my little shop as been a huge part of Bath Buddies. I am a big believer in setting goals and working towards them. Instagram has played a huge role in my shops growth. Naturally, I set goals to continue growing my online community. When I pulled away from Bath Buddies at the end of 2019, I was so close to reaching 1500 followers on Instagram. It was something I was eagerly working towards. Come the new year when I announced I was taking time off, I lost a small chunk of my audience. While it was understandable I won’t lie and say it didn’t sting a little.

Which is why being back with an audience of 1500 people means so much to me. It takes me back to when I wanted to throw in the towel, give up and forget about it all. With lots of reflecting happening in the last few months, I’m so happy I didn’t close my shop. I’m grateful for the bumps in the road because they make the peaks so incredibly worth it.

Where To Now?

So whether you’re just learning of Bath Buddies now or have been following along for the past three years – this one’s for you. Thank you for the encouragement, the reviews of my products, and most importantly, following along and pushing me forward. My promise is to continuously challenge myself to bring you bath products you come to know and love.

While my goals may be small, my hopes and dreams are still wildly high.

With bubbles and love,

Alex