We asked experts from a broad range of industries to open up to us about things they know about their industry but that we probably don’t and we’ve shared some of those responses below.

Jana Hester | Soap Goddess

True from scratch cold process soap has a minimum 4 week curing time. Our soaps are cured 4-12 weeks minimum, some up to six months. Cure time allows several things to happen: The soap dries out, losing moisture as it tries to equalize to outside moisture percentages. The drier the bar, the harder it gets and the longer it lasts in the shower. The pH changes as soap cures (lye is very alkaline). The longer soap cures the more gentle and ideal the pH becomes for skin. Soaps in the Castile family (olive oil based) take longer to cure. We’ve done Castile soaps that cure for a full year. Bastille is our favorite recipe, it cures a minimum of 12 weeks. Keeping this in mind, we are always at least three months ahead of the season to allow for full cure time. Christmas soaps start in August….custom orders take 4-8 weeks to be ready. Read more>>

Eric Hebert | Audio Engineer & Music Producer

I think a lot of people may not associate customer service as the keystone in the industry of music production/engineering. It’s very much a marriage of creativity, technical skills, and customer service. At the end of the day, it’s always about pleasing the client and bringing out their best – resulting in a product they are proud of. Read more>>

Travis Kruse | CEO | TrackitHub.com

One thing about the pickleball industry that outsiders are probably unaware of is the sport’s average demographic. The large majority of pickleball players are “baby boomers.” With the courts being 1/3 of a tennis court’s size and the hard plastic whiffle ball moving at a slower pace, pickleball has become a very attractive sport to retirees and individuals over 60 years of age. However, pickleball is no longer coined as an “old person’s game.” Over the last five years, there has been a significant increase in younger generations adopting the sport. Pickleball provides an opportunity for players of all athletic abilities and ages to be relatively competitive in a short amount of time. Read more>>