By Naomi Marshall

“OPPORTUNITY can turn up at any place and it’s very important that you make use of whatever opportunity you see,” are the words of Ruth Esbrand, proprietor of Esbees Facial Soap, who shared how she took advantage of a “random occasion” which turned her into an entrepreneur.

The woman, who resides in the mining town of Linden, has always had a passion and desire to make soap, but never really knew how to go about making it.

However, in June 2018, Esbrand was blessed with the opportunity to attend a soap- making course which was being hosted by the Small Business Bureau Guyana and she immediately took advantage of the occasion.

“When I went to that training it became real and I knew soap-making was going to be something for me,” she noted.

After completing the soap-making course, Esbrand instantly began gathering materials to make her first batch of soaps at home.

The 53-year-old told the Pepperpot Magazine that she was pleased with how her first batch of soap came out and shared it with friends and family, who in return gave her excellent feedback on the soap.

This encouraged the mother of three to quit her job as a sales representative and to venture out into the world of entrepreneurship, since she saw being an entrepreneur as better than being an employee.

Esbrand was going to begin making soaps to sell; however, she desired to make a soap that would differ from the normal bath soaps.

She said, “I just didn’t want to make a regular soap, because I realised that you could go in the supermarket and pick up any soap, so I decided that I need to make a soap that will be able to meet the needs of people and then it came to me, a facial soap!”
“Everybody wants to look prettier because your face is your passport and everybody want to make their face look better,” Esbrand added.

With sufficient research, Esbrand was able to create a facial soap which is great for deep cleansing, moisturising, nourishing and toning one’s skin. Lindeners see her soap as “food for the face” and she gets creative with the appearance of the soap by making them in different colours and shapes that gives the soap an edible look.

“It’s like when you eat the right food you become healthy, it’s the same way with the soap: once you use a soap with the right content you would get this nice, fresh toned look,” she noted.

Esbrand explained that at first she was not seeing profit from making soaps; however, two months after, she started getting her profit which changed her perspective.
She added, “The thing about soap-making is that it was affordable for me…I started making from one pint of oil then I went to two pints, now I’m making from gallons… it’s satisfying, its profit-making and I feel that as I develop and get a machine I will be able to develop a larger profit margin.”

Esbrand is encouraging persons to join the field of entrepreneurship so that they could be their own bosses.

“But being your own boss doesn’t mean that you would be lazy and throwback, you got to make the sacrifices. You need to have patience with your business,” she posited.

The Price of Esbees Facial Soap ranges from $300 to $1,000 and persons interested in getting this miracle soap can contact Ruth Esbrand on 645-4667.