Eyelash business is one of the most profitable businesses in the world. But starting one needs lots of preparation. Nevertheless, having it is entirely possible, although it takes much time and effort.
If you want to start your eyelash brand, there are several things you should keep in mind. Things to include are researching, determining the business setup, contacting suppliers, preparing business properties and branding, and marketing. Of course, costs, funds, and business accounts are some of the considerations too.
While starting your eyelash brand may be tricky to some, it remains a profitable livelihood. Indeed, knowing how to get started will help you reach the maximum potential of your business. Thus, we are going to dig deeper into each one by one.
Whether you’re launching a lash brand or a brand for another product, this article will help you clarify your thinking
1: Research
Research is one of the fundamental foundations of businesses. It is research that helps the company develop a more effective marketing strategy. With that, business owners can develop more quality services as well.
The following are the things you should consider when doing research.
Sell What Types of Lashes?
Go to Amazon or Go to Alibaba website or google Trends, Check which products is the hot-selling one.
For how to check by Google, You can pull below market trend chapter to see.
How to check Amazon Best seller?
Located to your Target Country in amazon, Check this links;
Market Trend
Examine the business area and the condition surrounding that area. We mean that you shall examine the overall condition of the place near the business location and the location itself. Is it conducive to your chosen niche? What part of people’s needs can your business provide? You can answer these questions as you do your observation.
You can also research different, more prominent companies who can supply you with products. Collect as much information as you can. All those things can make up your leads.
Furthermore, use Google as your best friend. It is highly effective in looking for possible suppliers.
Moreover, you may ask your friends’ ideas about the potential success of your niche within your area.
Tips: Use Google trends check the online products Trends
Enter keywords; you can see the trends in 5 years are stable and slight up.
Target Market
Very close to your target market are your customers and their hobbies.
Suppose you observe the area where you want to grow your business. In that case, you will notice that you can group people into different criteria. First, watch the majority lifestyle they have. Next, determine what ages they belong. Afterward, you can decide what types of lashes are best suitable for them.
Tips:
Use Google trends to check the target Countries and Cities.
You can also see the 25mm Mink Lashes are the hottest search in the US.
Click the drop down button to see different products comparison.
when clicked the drop down button, You can see different High Volume search countries according to different products.
Click the Country Name to See The Hottest search city in the United States
The Hottest search city in the United States
Target Customers and Target Customer Insight
Customer Insight is the key to selling your products, Because you can’t sell a product that everyone will buy. Get to know your customers well, and then target a small group of customers to do your brand first.
Define their ages, genders and sexuality, hobbies, behaviors, salary, and jobs, etc., everything about them.
The more you know, The better you can do
You can ask these questions by defining your customer:
- How old is she?
- Where does she live (country, city)?
- Single or in love or married??
- Does she have kids, and if so, how old?
- Where does she work?
- How is her salary in a year?
- Where is she shopping?
- What is her style? Hot or shy?
- How do her friends describe her?
- What does she do in most spare time?
- What kind of music does she like?
- What’s her favorite TV show?
- What are her fears/pains when wearing lashes? Allergic?
- Why does she want your services? Because it’s far away from the shop?
- What is it she wants to benefit from by wearing lashes? Because eyes are small, the space between eyes and eyebrows is too broad? Fewer eyelashes?
For eyelash business, the following is the general idea of eyelash customer’s Insight.
- Age: Around 24-40 Years
- Sex/gender: Female
- Job: Can be student, office staff, Mothers with children at home, Artist.
- Hobbies: Putting makeups or attending parties
- Salary: Middle and higher level
Product Costs and Profits
Research about the Cost of things that business startups need. One thing you should consider is the product expenses, where most of your startup capital will go. You may also have to pay for a renting service you want to avail yourself of. Other than these, there are other considerations that you should know, depending on the style you want to implement.
Always focus on this formula: Revenue -Profit = Cost
Aside from that, consider the potential profit you can gain. That way, you can weigh the investments you want to give in.
Tips:
After knowing your Target Customers and Countries, Then you can go to check the product cost.
You can go into the end customers’ market, such as Amazon, Walmart, Target, supermarkets, online stores, and the local market.
for example, check Amazon price.
1: Located to the target Country, here i located to US.
2: Search : Mink Lashes.
You just use your keywords to search.
Here shows result, Check description: Real mink lashes. Check how much they sell, How they pack. Check 10 of the real mink lashes, You will hve the general idea of the cost.
Also In final steps, contact supplier, ask supplier’s product cost, combine some suppiers’ quoted price. They will let you know the shipping cost too.
Since all you have known, You can finally get the profit you can have.
Customers’ Pain Point
Buyer reviews from Amazon in the target customer’s country are a great way to explore customer pain points.
If you can optimize your product for your customer’s pain points, this is an excellent way to open the market.
for example: search mink lashes, go to one mink lashes product page, Find the top seller products, Check the customer reviews.
in order to check the Customers’ Pain Point, Just check Rate less than 4 stars.
Check how did customer say about Mink lashes. How many people agreed with this comment.
Competitors
Competitors are not entirely posing negative things in one’s business. You can learn from them instead.
Get to know their experiences, marketing styles( where they promote products? Instagram/Facebook store/ Salon/ Youtube or online store? ), pricing strategies , and anything valuable you can find.
If you can, find how much they earn with their techniques as well. From there, you can make your business distinct. You can also replicate proven techniques they employ.
How to find eyelash Competitors?
For online shops, The easiest way is to use your products keyword search on Google. The google result says the first 10 websites are your competitors
For example, Search Mink Lashes, You will see result page, Ignore the google advertisers, the b2b website, Such as alibaba.com, or Walmart, amazon those b2c Websites
those websites are your competitors.
Check their website, Their Products category, Their selling price, everything.
In the local shop, you must know some famous stores near your home or office. or you can use google map, Locate your location, Then search, You will find some.
See below pictures
1st Conclusion:
According to this point, You can define how did you sell your products, How much you sell, How to pack. At this momnt, use supplier’s package is the best option for a new start. Every new business should start by using the smallest momey to test the market first.
2: Determine the business setup
After doing research, the next thing you can do is determine where you want to set your business. The previous step will also help you know the total funds you need to start. Without making things longer, here are some setup types available.
Rent Office
This is a little bit budget-friendly. If you do not have enough money to buy the place entirely, you can consider rental services. Indeed, you can always own a business place after you have gained a high enough income.
Home Office
The home-based setup works like opening a salon. However, it comes with a lower capital cost. Instead of buying a place solely for business purposes, you use some portions of your home as your store. This can be a practical approach if you are starting as a small entity. However, the expansion of the location may be limited.
Online Sell
As the name suggests, the business can be done at home or anywhere you are. All your customers can purchase their stuff online. On your part, you can monitor the sales wherever you go.
3: Prepare Business Properties
Business properties are things your business owns and things that make your business operate. Those include but may not be limited to the following.
Funds
Funds are the capital you need to start your business. There should also be a sum of emergency funds if a company faces a downfall in a certain period. And prepare a year’s living funds.
Registering the Company
Registering the company means processing all the papers needed for business operations. The requirements may differ depending on the type of business entity you want to apply for. Sole proprietary is the easiest, and enterprise-level may have the highest number of requirements.
Receive money account
Professional business accounts are also important. It sets more credibility, and it lets you manage funds more effectively.
Bank account
You may have a personal bank account. However, many business owners separate their accounts from their business accounts. This makes sense because private funds are entirely different from personal ones. All banks accept accounts solely for business purposes.
PayPal
When you sign up with PayPal, it gives you an option to choose from personal or business. Business accounts give you more benefits. One great example is a business or brand name appearing to your customers as they pay via PayPal instead of your character.
Other E-wallets
Many online businesses also adopt the use of e-wallets as they are convenient to customers. Moreover, some even accept cryptocurrencies. Indeed, cryptocurrencies also have their e-wallets.
4: Prepare Your Brand
While everything seems to be fine already, your brand should be well-established. So before launching your brand, you should finalize everything. Here are the things to keep in mind.
Making a brand name
Making a (5) brand name is often difficult. It should be unique but at the same time easy to remember. Aside from that, the name should reflect the kind of product and your business values. Your brand name may also be seen on your personal website domain.
Defining the Brand
Defining the brands will build your brand’s uniqueness, and it can be a determining factor for its success. Defining the brand is rooted in your mission and vision. What do you want to do for your customers? What do you want to see after meeting the mission? When everything has been laid down, you can make a brand logo reflecting the company.
Brand logo
The brand logo creates an impression on customers. Thus, it should reflect the values of your company. It is also where the brand is being easily remembered, serving as your mark. Though not at all times, most business owners include the brand name in their logo. It is your creativity and logic that will make your brand logo effective.
Registering the Brand
Registering the brand may require you to do a lengthy process. It means writing your whole business entity along with its properties. One property to secure is your trademark. It also means acquiring an intellectual property right for your logo so that no other similar business can take it from yours.
An important thing to note is filing for ownership of a trademark undergoes several processes. First, your logo will be subjected to review, and anyone can prevent it. However, they can only do that if they prove that they are the first to use the same trademark you developed. This is also another reason your brand, especially your logo, should be unique from other similar businesses.
Build Official Website
Most businesses now have websites. The web domain is usually relatable to your brand name.
Alternatively, you can use Shopify. It has a straightforward interface and is budget-friendly.
Company Email
Having business or professional emails creates a higher level of impressions from customers. In addition, it helps you appear more legitimate. A professional email usually uses the business domain instead of regular emails like “@gmail.com.”
5: Contact supplier
If you have done your research as stated in the first step, you need to find some proper suppliers.
Find supplier
However, Eyelash suppliers are mainly from China, so you can register China’s biggest B2B platform alibaba.com or contact us if you want to sell the hottest Mink lashes.
Contact Supplier
Try contacting them one by one and decide whether you would like to get a supply from them or not. You do not have to stick with one supplier. It may vary depending on your business needs. As you contact them, you will also have a more accurate idea about your needed funds.
Buy samples
Buying a few supplies to serve as a sample product is one way to know the quality of their service. You can also use such products to observe your customers’ buying behavior.
Buy products + Your logo Package.
Once you are content with your supplier, you can start buying bulk products from them. Again, include the customized package for more discounted prices.
6: Start Selling and Marketing
Once everything is ready, you can start advertising your product at the maximum level. Then, start selling and make profits. Continue the process, and your funds will grow. Business expansion may follow soon.
Marketing can be 2 ways:
1: Provide Practical information on products, markets, etc., for your customers; this method saves your money, But it costs time.
2: Use Google Ads. This method saves your time.
3: Combine methods 1 and 2.
Conclusion
Starting your eyelash brand is a lengthy process. It needs your total effort and time. However, if you do it right, you can maximize its market value.
Resources:
Target Market (retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target_market)
Pricing strategies (retrieved from https://www.profitwell.com/recur/all/pricing-strategy-guide/)
E-wallets (retrieved from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/definition/e-wallets)
Cryptocurrencies (Retrived from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cryptocurrency.asp#:~:text=A%20cryptocurrency%20is%20a%20digital,a%20disparate%20network%20of%20computers.)
Brand name (retrived from https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-brand-name-1689036#:~:text=A%20brand%20name%20or%20trade,a%20particular%20product%20or%20service.)
Use Shopify (retrieved from https://www.shopify.com.ph/blog/start-online-store)
Customer Insight (retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_insight )
