The past few years have shown us that the beauty world is a global superpower, with the entire industry projected to balloon to $463.5 billion by 2027. Even the pandemic didn’t do much to slow down this growth. Every year, it’s clear that people will not skimp on spending on beauty, hygiene, and anything that can help them look and feel good.
If you have a passion for all things beauty-related, there’s no reason why you can’t profit from your skills and knowledge of cosmetics, skincare, hair, and others. But whether you want to be a brand owner, makeup artist, esthetician, or hairstylist, it will take a lot of hard work and dedication to achieve success in this line of work. This is a step-by-step guide to being a professional member of the beauty industry.
Go to formal school
What will set you apart from the Gwyneth Paltrow of the world, those who promote pseudoscience and other wellness scams, is to be a big believer in research and science-backed information on beauty and wellness. If you’re going to have your own makeup line or if you want to be an esthetician, clients will trust you to keep their skin, hair, and bodies, in general, safe and healthy. Consider going to an accredited beauty school to ensure that you will not be shilling misinformation and pseudoscience and that your future clients will be safe in your hands and your products.
Do your research, learn and work hard
Here are some tips to ensure that your sources are providing accurate and research-based information:
- Learn how to spot fake news and websites that promote false information.
- Camp on reliable websites like National Geographic, NPR — Science, Scientific American, and others.
- Trust doctors and medical professionals more than those who claim to be experts without the credentials to speak for it.
You also need to learn as much as you can about the industry you want to penetrate. If you want to be a makeup artist or hairstylist, there are so many tutorials on YouTube that you can consume to improve your skills. You can also ask your friends and family to be your models if you want to build a killer portfolio.
Conduct a thorough market research
If your dream is to build something from the ground up, whether it’s a cosmetic or skincare brand or your very own makeup academy, you need to first ensure that there is a demand for it before you put all your eggs in this one basket. Here are some tips for identifying if you can have a market for your desired business in the beauty industry:
- Check who your potential customers are and how large this pool of people will be.
- Try to gain an insight into how much they’re willing to pay for your products and services and if what you’re offering is unique enough that they can only get it from you.
- If you have competitors, check how they’re doing. Are they drowning in clients, sales, and opportunities, or is the pandemic negatively impacting their business? Will the same thing happen to you when you launch your business?
- Can you outperform your competitors? You will only know this if you get a glimpse of their strengths and weaknesses.
These are just some questions your market research can answer for you. Doing this analysis will help you reduce your risks significantly since you will not go in blind, and you can set your expectations.
Get your name out there
Once you’ve decided to go through with it, the first thing you need to do is to make a name for yourself in your immediate sphere of influence. You need to invest time and resources—not necessarily financial—into marketing your skills and products, if any. Thankfully, we live in a time when the most basic marketing tactics are free, thanks to the existence of Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, and other social media platforms.
If you offer services like makeup artistry and hairstyling, join Facebook groups of different communities that welcome vendors for big events. Make sure to post your work on social media and use unique hashtags that will help people immediately identify that it’s your work. If you’re offering products, the tactics may remain the same, but it will help to gain a deeper understanding of how digital marketing works, too.
You may have a passion for beauty, but building a lucrative business out of this passion will take commitment and hard work. Study, practice, and market yourself—and you might have a foot in the door.
