Building a business one batch at a time

RUSSELLVILLE — Charlena Cox’s first batch of soap did not turn out quite the way she had hoped. Rather than throwing it away, she cut it into pieces and gave it to friends, family, and coworkers.

That imperfect batch became an early step toward Get Goated Soaps & More, the Russellville business Charlena now operates with her husband, John. The idea grew from John’s interest in creating a homestead on the family property, and the couple’s search for products that would work well for their family’s skin problems.

“I knew if I turned it into a homestead, it would have to support itself,” John said.

As he researched animals that could become part of the homestead, John said goats stood out for their versatility.

“What you can get from a goat, it’s amazing,” he said. “It’s one animal that can do so much.”

Charlena and John Cox operate Get Goated Soaps & More, offering goat milk soaps and other personal-care products.
PHOTOS BY MARÍA CAMP

While they currently buy goat milk from suppliers, they hope to eventually keep goats on the property.

For Charlena, making soap also grew from her years of struggling to find products that worked well for her skin. She began researching skin care products and eventually became interested in goat milk soap. Charlena ordered a soap-making kit from Amazon and began experimenting.

Before starting Get Goated, the Coxes followed a winding path from Florida to Virginia and eventually to Russellville.

Charlena and John met in high school and have been married for 17 years. She said they decided to leave Florida after growing tired of the high cost of living, traffic and other aspects of life there.

They moved with their children to Virginia, where John continued working for Walmart. Charlena said the family experienced homelessness and spent about a year and a half living in hotels and motels before eventually moving into an apartment.

John’s parents, meanwhile, had moved from Florida to Alabama to be closer to family. During a visit to Alabama, John told his father the Coxes hoped to eventually move to the family property.

A few months later, John’s mother called to tell him his father’s health was rapidly declining. The family drove from Virginia to Alabama and arrived in time to be with John’s father before his death.

The Coxes returned to Virginia, but Charlena said they did not want John’s mother to be alone after losing her husband of about 40 years. So, they broke their apartment lease, packed their belongings, sold what they could, and moved to Alabama.

Charlena said the business later gave them something they enjoyed doing together.

“This business has helped us out a lot,” she said. “It has really taken our minds off things, and we enjoy it.”

John left Walmart in September 2025, and they began devoting more time to the business. By October, they were attending vendor events.

They started small, selling products from the back of their car and setting up a small table covered with a bedsheet.

John credited Russellville residents Julian and Michelle Vargas with helping the business get started.

Charlena Cox pours solution into a soap mold.
CONTRIBUTED/JOHN COX

Julian, a former Walmart coworker, and Michelle became the Coxes’ first customers and helped provide a table and canopy that allowed them to begin attending vendor events.

“The business seemed to take off so fast,” John said.

They have since traveled across Alabama and Tennessee for vendor events. Charlena estimated they have participated in close to 50 events, ranging from small local gatherings to multiday events with more than 100 vendors.

At home, Charlena handles much of the productmaking, labeling, packaging, and social media work.

John said he helps with heavy lifting, cutting soap base, packaging, and experimenting with fragrances.

Creating fragrances has also introduced the family to an unusual occupational hazard– going nose blind.

John said spending hours smelling and combining fragrances can leave them unable to tell what smells good.

“You start to not be able to smell what you’re doing anymore,” he said. “It’s like walking around in the dark, not knowing where you’re going.”

When that happens, John said they sometimes recruit their children and other family members to help evaluate fragrances.

Get Goated offers goat milk soaps, body washes, lotions and lip balms, as well as custom orders.

Charlena said she enjoys experimenting with fragrances, colors, designs and ingredients while also offering unscented products for customers who prefer them.

“We’re not just in it for the money,” Charlena said. “We’re in it because we enjoy it. We have a passion for what we do.”

Charlena said she also hopes to build a business their daughter, Liliana, 16, can eventually take over. She is already learning parts of the process and helping with tasks such as selecting fragrances.

“I want her to be able to take over something that’s already been established,” Charlena said.

Charlena is attending business school to learn more about entrepreneurship and running a business.

“That’s why I’m in business school, so I can learn the ins and outs, so I can teach her, so she doesn’t have to go through all the troubles we went through,” she said.

The Coxes hope those lessons will help carry Get Goated from the small table and bedsheet where they started toward their goal of opening a storefront in Russellville.

Charlena said they envision retail space in the front and a production area in the back where customers could see how the products are made.

For now, they continue building the business one batch and one vendor event at a time.

“Even if they just stop by our booth just to smell and chit-chat with us, it inspires us to keep going,” Charlena said.