Live Soap School
Contact Information
Address
PA United States
Contact: Zakia Ringgold
Email: zakia@livesoapschool.com
Phone: +14844668454
Zakia Ringgold is the founder of Live Soap School and has spent years teaching makers how to understand both the craft of soapmaking and the business behind what they create. Her teaching combines practical, beginner-friendly instruction with the systems and decision-making skills makers need as they move from learning the craft to operating a sustainable handmade-product business.
Through Live Soap School, Zakia teaches soapmaking, recipe formulation, ingredient selection, production practices, and the reasoning behind a well-designed formula. Her approach goes beyond simply following a recipe. She wants students to understand why ingredients are used, what the numbers in a formula mean, how changes affect the finished product, and how to make informed decisions as their skills grow.
Her work also addresses a challenge many makers encounter after learning how to make the product: learning how to run the business. Zakia teaches topics including product costing and pricing, inventory, production planning, sales, craft shows, workshops, marketing, business organization, and the systems needed to keep the business from living entirely in the maker’s head.
Before scaling, adding more tools or technology, makers should understand how their business works, what their products truly cost, what they have in inventory, how they produce and sell, and what their numbers are telling them.
That philosophy also led Zakia to create Maker Studio AI, a studio-management platform developed from her experience as a maker and educator. It connects recipes, ingredients, expenses, batches, inventory, sales, shows, workshops, marketing, planning, and business information so makers can apply what they are learning to the day-to-day operation of their businesses.
Zakia offers educational experiences for new and experienced makers, from foundational soapmaking instruction to business-focused workshops for makers who are ready to become more organized, intentional, and profitable.
Her goal is simple: help makers understand what they are making, understand the business behind it, and build the confidence to make better decisions in both.
