Adds Mann: “This is just the economy we have. We do some things really well here. But we partner with other companies that import raw materials. To assume that we're not all interconnected, it's just naive.” When asked if she might have any advice for women starting out in business, Mann says she thinks many women already have the inherent skills needed to succeed in business. “I feel like a lot of women tend to doubt themselves and what they bring to the table,” she says. “I would say any woman who can raise a child and manage a home is more than suited for business—because it's the same thing. You have to have a budget and there isn't a lot of flexibility in that budget. You have to be able to multitask, and you have to constantly be one step ahead.” g
got a new mission. We are going to fix this.” Since she’s been working with Zone 2A, Mann has managed to get Sonoma Water to clean up the creek bed where it was really impacted. She’s now pushing for them to clear up the channel— terracing it and creating north and south retention ponds to hold the water. She’s also taken advantage of a Sonoma County program that allows the repatriation of local silt to the Petaluma low-lying estuaries where there is significant erosion. Mann was recently appointed to the SMART Citizen Oversight Committee and plans
to lobby the rail agency to approve a station in Penngrove.
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Staying one step ahead
Like any business owner, Mann has to be prepared for sudden economic changes—this year, she’s shoring up plans in case a rise in tariffs affects her overseas soap-making inventory.
“When I first got a whiff of these tariffs, I thought, ‘OK, I have a cash reserve that I've been building in the event of an emergency,’” Mann says about the rising costs associated with the Trump administration’s signature economic plan. “I am going to use 40% of that cash reserve to buy packaging [now] that'll carry us through the end of December.” Mann didn’t want to take any chances with a wait-and-see approach to changing economic conditions. “Unlike what the administration thinks, the U.S. is not insular,” Mann says. “We are a global economy.” The Soap Cauldron, for instance, gets some of its essential oils from abroad. “Everybody knows rose essential oil is best grown in Bulgaria. That's the climate for it. Cocoa butter grows in Africa and South America,” she says. Emma Mann, at top, had a career in the navy and the corporate world before opening Three Sisters Apothecary. Above, and at right, are products she produces through her company the Soap Cauldron.
June 2025
NorthBaybiz 31
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