
Celebrating One Year: Top Lessons We Learned as a Family-Owned Business.
Share
We’re excited to be officially celebrating our first year in business! We launched Four Peaks Soap Co in January 2024, with the goal of creating handcrafted, natural bar soap made with simple, transparent ingredients that customers can feel good about using. To mark this milestone, we wanted to share the top five lessons we’ve learned in our first year as a family-owned business.
The past year has been an incredible whirlwind of highs and lows. From perfecting our recipes in small batches to nervously introducing our soap to customers at markets and local shops, this journey has been as rewarding as it has been challenging. Through it all, every lesson we’ve learned has helped shape the heart and soul of Four Peaks Soap Co during this first year.
1. Stay True to Your Values
When we started Four Peaks Soap Co, we promised ourselves that every bar of soap would be made with naturally derived ingredients. Now, this wasn’t always easy—there were times when cheaper, synthetic ingredients seemed tempting, but cutting those corners would have completely conflicted with our core values. We realized early on that simplicity, sustainability, and quality would be the foundation of our success.

As we have spoken to our customers across the year, we have realized that they appreciate the care we put into each bar. Staying true to our mission has set us apart in a crowded market, and it’s something we’ll never compromise on.
2. Appreciate and Trust Your Partner
Running a business with your husband or wife is a unique experience. It’s a mix of teamwork, shared goals, and learning how to navigate challenges together. Over the past year, we’ve learned just how important it is to recognize and appreciate the strengths that your partner brings to the table.

Whether it’s brainstorming creative ideas, stepping in for the other person when things get overwhelming, or celebrating wins together, having someone by your side makes this journey that much more meaningful. We’ve realized that building a business is about more than just the product, it’s about connecting with your partner on a shared passion.
3. Adapt to Challenges and Learn from Them
No journey is without its bumps in the road. From supply and ingredient delays to juggling family life with business demands, we’ve faced our fair share of challenges that we weren’t expecting. One memorable moment was when a hail storm rolled through at our very first in person market!
Through it all, we’ve learned to stay flexible and view challenges as opportunities to grow. Every setback has taught us something valuable, whether it’s improving our processes or finding creative solutions under pressure. And when we say creative, we mean packing dollar store shower curtains for every market moving forward to use as temporary coverage with bad weather...
4. Support Your Community and Let It Support You
This one is a BIGGIE! We couldn’t have done this alone. Local businesses like Basil’s Farm Market and Gifts and the Roanoke Co+op welcomed us with open arms, giving us the confidence to expand. Fellow artisans and small business owners shared invaluable advice at markets and our family and friends were our biggest cheerleaders.
The support from our community has been nothing short of amazing. It’s a reminder that small businesses thrive when we support and share knowledge with each other.
5. Celebrate Small Wins
Every milestone, no matter how small, has been worth celebrating. From the joy of selling our very first bar of soap to landing our first wholesale order, these moments have kept us motivated.

One standout memory was seeing our soap on the shelves of a store for the first time. It was definitely a surreal moment that made all the late nights and early mornings worthwhile. We’ve learned to cherish these wins—they’re the fuel that keeps us moving forward.
Bonus: It’s Okay to Fail
One of the biggest lessons we’ve learned in our first year is that failure isn’t the end—it’s part of the process. Not every soap batch turned out perfectly, and not every idea landed the way we hoped. From a botched soap batch that didn’t make the cut to sell to a marketing idea that flopped, we’ve had our share of missteps.
Failure forces you to pause, reflect, and grow. It’s okay to stumble—it’s how quickly you respond and what you learn from it that matters most. Running a business is full of trial and error, and every mistake is an opportunity to get better at what you do.
If we’ve learned anything, it’s that to fail fast and move on. Even if that means a 1% improvement the next time.
What’s Next for Us…
As we reflect on our first year, we feel incredibly blessed to be on this journey. It’s been a year of learning, growing, and connecting with so many wonderful people. To our customers, community, and family—thank you for being part of our story.
Looking ahead, we’re excited to continue creating natural soap that customers can feel good about using. Stay tuned for new products and events in 2025. Here’s to another year of creating soap that conquers!