09/04/2026
What you donāt see behind the price tagš¤
When you see the finished product sitting beautifully on a shelf at my store, thereās a whole side of this small business you donāt always see.
The measuring. The pouring. The cutting. The curing. The making. The packaging. The labeling.
Then thereās sourcing products, ordering inventory, pricing, photographing, creating displays, updating the website, making social media content, answering messages, packing orders, cleaning, bookkeepingā¦ and standing behind the counter running the store.
Itās all me. š
Iām not a big corporation. I donāt have a production line or a team of employees behind the scenes.
Iām a very small business owner who built something I love and works incredibly hard to keep building it.
So I want to share a little perspective on something that happens fairly often.
Someone will choose several items and then ask:
āSince Iām buying a few, what kind of deal can you give me?ā
Sometimes itās even followed by, āI love supporting local!ā
And I know most people probably donāt mean anything by it. Weāve become so accustomed to sales, coupons, bulk discounts and big-box pricing that asking for a deal can feel completely normal.
But when youāre shopping with a small business, itās a little different.
Buying three or four items doesnāt suddenly make those products cost me less.
My rent doesnāt decrease.
My suppliers donāt refund part of my order.
My packaging doesnāt become cheaper.
And the hours I spent making, sourcing, preparing and selling those products donāt suddenly have less value.
Thatās the part of āsupport localā I think sometimes gets forgotten.
Supporting a small business isnāt about seeing how low the owner is willing to go.
Itās about recognizing the value behind the price.
And please donāt misunderstand meā¦ I LOVE doing things for my customers.
I run sales. I create special offers. I give little extras. I have loyalty discounts. I donate to causes that matter to me. And sometimes Iāll throw something into a bag simply because I want to make someoneās day. š¤
But thereās a difference between a small business choosing to give something and feeling expected to discount their work in exchange for someoneās support.
Especially with the products I personally make.
Every bar of soap and every handcrafted self-care product starts with carefully selected ingredients that I purchase myself and ends with something I have personally made, poured, cut, cured, packaged and labeled.
Handmade doesnāt mean cheap.
And small business doesnāt mean desperate for a sale.
It means thereās a real person behind that price tag who has invested their own money, time, creativity, skill and a whole lot of themselves into what youāre holding.
When you shop at Sol e Luna Gems, youāre not just buying a bar of soap, a piece of jewelry or a beautiful mineral.
Youāre helping me pay the rent that keeps these doors open. Youāre allowing me to continue creating. Youāre helping this little business grow. And youāre supporting something I spent years dreaming about and working toward.
And believe me, I notice every single person who chooses to spend their hard earned money here. I never take that for granted.
So yes, please continue to support local. Shop small. Tell your friends. Share our posts. Come in and say hello.
But also remember that sometimes one of the simplest ways to support a small business is this:
See the price. Understand what went into it. And respect it. š¤
Because supporting a small business shouldnāt require the small business owner to take a loss to prove how grateful they are for your support.
Thereās a lot behind that little price tag. Ok
And in my caseā¦ thereās one woman behind almost all of it. šš¤
Love you all!
Greta @ Sol e Luna Gems
