I Just Wanted an EV Bike — Now I Run a Soap Business I Never Asked For

I didn’t have the money, but I didn’t want to ask anyone for it either. So I thought why not earn it myself? That small spark of an idea turned into something much bigger than I ever expected.

I decided to make handmade soap.

To be honest, I didn’t know much about soap making back then. But I was curious, and I was motivated. I watched videos, read blogs, and ordered a few basic ingredients to try it out. My first few batches were... rough. Some were too soft, some didn’t smell good, and many just didn’t look like soap. But every failed attempt taught me something new.

I kept going. Slowly, the soaps started to look better, smell better, and feel better. People around me noticed. Friends and classmates began buying them — partly out of support, but soon because they genuinely liked them. Before I knew it, what started as a small fundraiser became something more. I wasn’t just making soap for the bike anymore. I was building a brand.

That’s when I decided to take the next big step: make it official.

The Struggle to Register My Company

Turning an idea into a business is one thing. Turning it into a legally registered company in India? That’s a whole different beast — and I faced almost every obstacle in the manual.

I submitted my first application for company registration with full hope and excitement. It got rejected, lack of documents. Then it was the wrong address. Next, the location of my small manufacturing unit was flagged. After that, they didn’t accept my college address. And one time just one small documentation error boom, rejection.

Every time I fixed something, another problem magically appeared.
Six attempts. Six rejections.

And this wasn’t just clicking buttons online. I had to travel constantly, stand in endless queues, fill out piles of paperwork, attend confusing meetings all while running my soap business. It was exhausting.

On top of it all, I hit rock bottom financially. Every single rupee I had earned from soap sales was gone spent on logistics, legal costs, printing documents, travel, and fixing tiny issues in the registration process. My bank account had more “Pending” than money.

At the start, I was producing just 20 soaps a day manually. I knew I needed better machines to scale, but there was no money left. Not a single rupee to invest.

Just when things looked like they’d collapse, something incredible happened my college stepped in with financial support. With their helping hand, I managed to complete the registration process on the sixth try.

And from that day onward, things started changing.

With the right equipment finally in place, my production capacity jumped from 20 to over 100 soaps per day.
My soap brand was no longer just a college side hustle.
It was now an officially registered company born from persistence, failure, and one hell of a learning curve.

The Packaging That Almost Broke Me — Then Made My Brand Stand Out

If you think making soap is hard, try packing it when you have zero budget and a big dream.

In the beginning, I packed every soap by hand. Cut charts, folded boxes, glued every flap, and waited for them to dry one by one.
Ironically, packaging took more time than making the soap itself. It was frustrating, slow, and honestly, at one point, I questioned if I was running a soap business or a crafts class.

But I kept going. For a while, that’s how it was.

Then, during the registration process while fighting paperwork wars one thought kept nagging me:
How can I make this more efficient? How do I make my brand stand out?

Every soap in the market comes in the same boring rectangle box. Open, use, throw and more waste for the planet. I didn’t want my soap to follow the same path.

So, I started thinking about alternatives. And I thought. And thought some more.
Two full weeks went by, and all I did was obsess over packaging.

Finally, I had a wild idea:
“What if I pack my soaps in eco-friendly stand-up pouches — the ones used for food storage?”

It was reusable. It was sustainable. It was different.
And that’s exactly what I wanted something that wouldn’t end up in the trash the minute someone opened the soap. But as expected, the reactions around me were... mixed.

“This is a terrible idea.”
“No one’s going to take this seriously.”
“You’re making a luxury soap and putting it in a snack pouch?”
“Well… your wish.”
And then, thankfully — a few said:
“It’s risky, but it might just work.”

Despite the doubt, I believed in the idea. I believed that people are tired of the same old packaging and maybe, just maybe, they’d appreciate something bold and thoughtful.

And when I launched it for the first time, it was a triumph.

People didn’t ignore the packaging they noticed it.
They were curious. They asked questions. They shared it. They remembered it.

That stand-up pouch once called a “failing idea” became the very thing that made my product stand out on the shelf.
With new custom-designed stickers and branding, my soap looked like it belonged among premium, luxury products.

And the best part?
It wasn’t just pretty. It was practical. Eco-friendly. And uniquely mine.

Growing From Campus to the World Outside

Even without a fancy online store or big advertising, the response was incredible. I sold my soaps directly on campus just word of mouth and some hustle. Over time, I sold more than 1,000 units, just from students and staff.

That success gave me the confidence to dream bigger. I hired a few employees to help with production and packaging. I started planning how to bring my brand to the real market outside campus, to real shelves and online platforms.

Right now, that process is ongoing. But this journey from trying to fund an EV bike to running a registered soap company has already taught me more than I ever expected. About patience. About resilience. About creativity. And most of all, about believing in something even when no one else fully understands it.

Final Thoughts

People often think starting a business is all about big money or big ideas. But sometimes, it starts with something simple like wanting to build a bike.

If you’re reading this and sitting on an idea, don’t wait for the “perfect moment” it doesn’t exist. Start with what you have, no matter how small or imperfect. You’ll learn as you go, you’ll stumble, you’ll fail maybe more than once.

Some people who support you at the start may quietly drift away, and that’s okay. A few will stay, and new ones will join you when you least expect it. The journey will test you, reshape you, and sometimes leave you wondering why you began at all. But if you keep going, that one small idea the one you almost talked yourself out of might just become the biggest thing in your life.