As you know, IBN's proprietary entrepreneurial framework, the Maker Method, contains four sequential phases you must past through on the road to building a profitable business that makes you happy and successful and can generate income for life. Those phases are: Emerge > Engage > Evolve > Expand. Welcome to Episode 93 of the Indie Business Podcast, where we introduce you to a member who is planted firmly in the Expand Phase, and share a bit about how she got there.

In this episode, you're going to meet Toushonta Hogan of Scentsational Soaps in Queen Creek, Arizona and Los Angeles, California. You'll hear us dig deep on a very powerful and personal level into Toushonta's journey from emerging her business two decades ago to expanding it today, all the time building her business around her life rather than the other way around. And, what does this have to do with living a success life as a maker entrepreneur? More than you may realize, in today’s times. I cannot wait for you to hear more from Toushonta and her Scentsational Soaps story, so sit back, relax, and enjoy my interview with Toushonta NOW!

Here are the topics discussed in this episode, with time stamps to help you find the information that interests you most:

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In this episode, Toushonta and I mentioned the following resources.

Let's unpack some of the most significant business insights Toushonta and I discussed in this episode.

After two decades in business, Toushonta has raised both her business and her children. Today, her life has evolved in ways that were not possible when her children were in the home. This newfound freedom has allowed her to evolve by duplicating herself so she can maintain homes in two states, California and Arizona, and still make her products and manage all of the details of her business and her life.

If you have followed my teaching for any amount of time, you know how much I emphasize the importance of building your business around your life, and not the other way around. Toushonta's movement into the Expand Phase of her business is a great illustration of that.

Toushonta shared that her business model for product sales revolves around having streamlined to selling soaps only as her core line. She scratches her creative itch by making limited edition products to complement the soaps and boost sales, but soaps remain at the core and are the main focus of the business from a consistent profit center perspective. According to Toushonta, this streamlined approach allows her to be focused on making what sells the most consistently, and adding additional produce income streams on top of that to prevent boredom and remain creative and innovative, yet still profitable.

Toushonta described herself as an ambivert — that is, she is an extrovert when she needs to be, and she is an introvert the rest of the time. It is very important for creatives to be able to integrate both the introverted and the extroverted parts of their personalities together to come out from the shadows. As Toushonta said, when she does this, she sees immediate results because people do want to see and get to know the creative personality behind the product brand. When done consistently, this always leads to new sales opportunities — and opportunities in general — in your business.

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The post Life in the Expand Phase with Toushonta Hogan of Scentsational Soaps – Indie Business Podcast Episode 93 appeared first on Indie Business Network®.