Knowing the fact that the beauty supply industry is estimated to be about 18.9 billion U.S. dollars, and it grows by 2.8% each year it comes as no surprise that this industry is on the rise and the demand for beauty supply stores is large. We are going to have a look at the essential steps in opening a beauty supply store and more about wholesale beauty supply distributors like Beauty Sourcing.
Step 1: Writing a Business Plan
One of the most important steps in every business is writing a business plan. There is no exception for starting a beauty supply store. A good business plan will get you a good start. When you put everything down in numbers, you will know what you are facing and this can maybe help you in applying for a small business loan or raise funds from investors. Some sites offer free business plan templates that you can download.
Step 2: Finding Your Location
Finding the right location for your business is really important. The key elements here are:
1. how close is your location to some similar businesses like yours?
2. Is your location easily accessible?
Step 3: Providing Your Business Permits and Licenses
In order to set up your business legally, you need to get a hold of business permits and licenses. This will mean the government agencies have checked and validated your papers, making sure you fulfill the legal requirements to run your business. When you have done all the necessary checks and obtained your license, this will add up more trust within your customers.
What products are you going to sell?
● Weather that be hair dye, nail polish, fragrances, hair extensions, wigs, or makeup, you need to finalize the list of the products you are planning to sell. The next thing is, how and where to find those products and this is where the wholesale beauty supply distributors kick in. You can find online B2B platforms like BeautySourcing for example which can help you in the search for the right suppliers and products. You need to find the fine balance of the number of products you are going to offer and even though they usually say, the more you have on offer, the better, the key to success is offering the products that your target group demands.
Store inventory and hiring staff
● When setting up your brick-and-mortar beauty store, shelving units, makeup palettes, mannequins, and mirrors will be more than necessary. It is here where the customers can browse the products while they look around. You need to set up the shelves in a way that your customers will not feel overwhelmed when they walk through the doors. You need to leave enough space for free foot traffic. The shelves should be neat and well organized. Hiring staff is also an essential process and you should have established a safe recruiting system with interviews, supervision, and evaluations. The staff that works in your store should be trained in how to help the customers choose the right product for them.
Step 4: Competitors’ Market Research and Pricing
It is really important that before you establish your beauty supply store, you do extensive market research. This will give you a lot of information on the latest trends and demands from customers. This will help you to establish your target group. Talking to people who also own businesses similar to yours can be of great help. Knowing your competitors can sometimes help you in not making some mistakes they did or also set up your prices, once you have seen theirs. It is also crucial to talk to your customers and their likes and dislikes.
Step 5: Creating a Marketing Plan
How will people find out about your beauty store? You need to try and reach out to as many people as you can. Social platform networking will be essential to reach wider audiences. In order to do this, you will probably pay for ads, offer promo codes, coupons or promote specific one-time offers. This will be traffic to your store and eventually increase your sales.
Step 6: Customer Service
Whether it is an online or brick-and-mortar store, it is crucial you have the best customer service you can. When the customers receive the desired support with their purchases or returns, they will spread good word or leave a good review or comment. This will affect your overall reputation which is essential for a successful and smoothly run business.