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Getting Clean: Meet the Founder of a Soap Making Business

Discover How Chris’ Recovery Journey Sparked a Community Interest Company to Help Others

Happy Sunday. This week we are talking with Chris, a recovering addict who set up a soap making business to help fund the volunteer program which he runs to support local addicts in recovery by giving them a sense of purpose and a meaningful activity for them to partake in as a group. Chris sells his soap at local artisan markets and the profits are used to keep this community interest company going.

This inspirational business is a little different to what we’ve featured in previous issues, but the story and advice given here is useful for all entrepreneurs looking to start their own business, no matter the reason.

In this interview Chris will cover:

  • Defining success in a business which promotes self-improvement of others.

  • Advice for people getting started in any business venture.

  • A reflection on what he would change if he was to start again.

Now, over to Chris!

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Getting Clean

Can you tell me a little bit about yourself and your business?

I'm Chris Sylvester, founder and director of Getting Clean Community Interest Company (CIC). I'm in long-term recovery myself and I started Getting Clean as a volunteer project formed by recovering addicts, helping each other and the local community to get clean and stay clean.

We began by litter picking and re-wilding in our local area but have since developed our 'Soap with Hope' soap making business developed as a means of funding our work. This also enables us to offer holistic soap making workshops to the Getting Clean team members.

What was your main inspiration for getting into this line of work?

My own history of addiction and my recovery journey, which began eight years ago was my main inspiration for starting our CIC.

I witnessed many instances of people relapsing due to the lack of long-term support following rehab. I realised that rehab alone wasn't the answer for many people and that further support would help with reintegration into society. Addiction is a very lonely place to be, often resulting in alienation from friends and family.

My experiences led me to believe that on-going peer to peer support is the key to long-term recovery and Getting Clean allows people to gather and work together throughout the process.

How do you define success in your business?

Witnessing Getting Clean members embrace a new lifestyle, making friends, finding renewed self-esteem, learning to care about their environment and developing skills, which in-turn, will lead to pathways to employment.

We aim to change society's perception of addiction by showing how we're working to improve our environment, through our many projects.

If you were to start again from scratch, what would you do differently?

Believe it or not, there's nothing I would do differently, it's been natural, organic growth from scratch. It's like a river, it’s found its own path and moved at its own pace. We have all worked together, everyone has had input and I think we're a real example of teamwork in action.

What advice would you give to someone just starting out in a similar field?

There will be hard days and very hard days, there will also be good days and very good days. Don't give up, keep knocking on doors, and embrace the challenges. Network with other third sector groups. Tell everyone what you're doing using as many platforms as possible.

Where can people find you?

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If you’d like to read last week’s newsletter, an interview with Rahul, a newsletter writer who shares his insights on digital business and SaaS founders. Check it out here.

Thank you all,

See you next week! 👋