Meet Frances Lopez Torres

 

We recently connected with Frances Lopez Torres and have shared our conversation below.

Frances , we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

I get my resilience from overcoming one of the toughest challenges of my life. As a teacher, I never expected that a severe back injury would leave me bedridden for eight months, forcing me to rethink everything. But instead of letting it break me, I turned to something I had always loved—soapmaking. What started as a creative escape became my new path, and with my husband Johnny by my side, we built Josspure into a thriving business. My resilience comes from that moment of hardship, from refusing to give up, and from the passion to create something meaningful out of adversity. Every bar of soap we make is a reminder that challenges can lead to something beautiful and that pain can be transformed into something amazing.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

At Josspure, we create handcrafted, natural soaps and body care products designed to nourish the skin and elevate self-care. What makes our brand special is its story—what started as my creative escape during a difficult time became a full-time business after a severe back injury left me bedridden.

One of the most exciting things about our journey is that we’re always exploring new ways to connect with our audience. Our latest project? Our new YouTube channel! Johnny and I are challenging each other to fun soap-making competitions, testing viral soap hacks (some of which are total disasters!), and putting popular soap kits to the test—all while sharing our expertise as professional soapmakers. It’s all about having fun, educating people on what really goes into quality soap, and bringing some laughter to the process.

We’re also expanding our seasonal collections, with fresh new products like our Spring Collection, featuring scents like Raspberry Lemonade, Black Raspberry Vanilla, Urban Zen, Lemongrass, and Blackberry Sage. Whether it’s through our handcrafted soaps or our YouTube videos, we’re excited to keep growing, experimenting, and sharing our love for natural body care in new and creative ways!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Looking back, three key qualities have been most impactful in my journey: resilience, discipline, and creativity.

Resilience was essential when I faced one of the toughest challenges of my life—being bedridden after a severe back injury. Instead of giving up, I used that time to turn my passion for soapmaking into something bigger. I learned that setbacks can be opportunities in disguise, and the ability to adapt and keep pushing forward is what makes the difference between failure and success. My advice? Embrace challenges as learning experiences and don’t let fear hold you back. Being positive when you are in agonizing pain 24/7 is the trickiest thing ever. I think that what kept me going was thinking about all the challenges that I had overcome before. In my mind, it wasn’t going to be different this time. There were some very tough days—many more than I can count now—but if a particular day was extremely hard, I would stop, regroup, and start over the next day.

Discipline is something I owe to my mom. She instilled in me the importance of consistency, hard work, and following through on my commitments. Running a handmade business isn’t just about creativity—it requires structure, time management, and persistence. For those starting out, I recommend setting small, realistic goals and sticking to them. Whether it’s perfecting your craft, learning business skills, or growing your audience, success comes from showing up every single day, even when motivation fades. One accomplished goal at a time is better than chasing 100 goals and not achieving any of them.

Creativity has been at the heart of Josspure, allowing me to craft unique, high-quality products and build a brand that stands out. It’s also what makes our new YouTube channel so exciting—my husband Johnny and I love experimenting with fun soap challenges, testing viral soap hacks, and bringing a fresh, engaging take on the world of handmade soap. My advice to creatives? Never stop learning, experimenting, and pushing the boundaries of your craft. Also, research is so important when you have a handmade business! Its what keeps me motivated to create new products and try new things.

For anyone early in their journey, the key is to stay resilient, be disciplined, and let your creativity shine. There’s no straight path to success, but if you stay committed and open to growth, you’ll be amazed at what you can build.

What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?

Over the past 12 months, my biggest area of growth has been stepping out of my comfort zone and embracing visibility. As a soapmaker, I’ve always focused on perfecting my craft and running my business behind the scenes, but this past year, I’ve pushed myself to show up more, share my story, and connect with my audience in a bigger way.

I am a total introvert so showing up in videos is something that I would never think that I would do but I am doing it and in fact I am loving it. I have always been someone who loves to learn whenever I am pivoting to something new but this particular area of growth really showed me that repetition is key. You can learn all you want from courses but it isn’t until you have put in enough repetitions that you will see progress. I am feeling more confident about making videos every single day. Now, instead of fearing the camera, I am more inclined to think, ‘Hey, this is another repetition and every repetition will help me get better.’.

Preparing for the launch of our YouTube channel has been a huge step towards stepping out of my comfort zone. We’ve been testing viral soap hacks, taking on fun soap challenges, and bringing people behind the scenes of what it really means to be a professional soapmaker. It’s been both exciting and nerve-wracking, but it’s taught me the power of storytelling and how engaging with our audience on a more personal level can strengthen our brand.

Another major area of growth has been improving our business systems and scalability. I’ve focused on refining our processes, making production more efficient, and planning for long-term sustainability. Learning to balance creativity with strategy has been a game-changer.

This past year has shown me that growth happens when you lean into discomfort, try new things, and stay open to learning. And honestly? I’m just getting started!

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