A 9-Step Guide to Starting Your Beauty Brand

A 9-Step Guide to Starting Your Beauty Brand

If you’re looking to start your own beauty brand, there are some important decisions to make. Whether you’re aiming to create makeup, skincare products, or even just post on social media, the first steps towards launching a successful business can be overwhelming. But don’t worry! We’ve collected all the information you need for starting your own beauty brand in one place. So whether you’re an entrepreneur looking for tips or someone who just wants to learn more about what goes into starting a business from scratch — this is for you!

Step 1: Don’t get overwhelmed by all the options

The first step to starting any business is making sure you’re ready for what lies ahead. We know how overwhelming it can be when there are so many options, but one of the best ways to get a better idea of what will work for your brand is by choosing a niche that you’re passionate about.

If you already have an idea of what type of products or services you want to offer, do some research and find out what other people in this area are doing. Look at their websites, Instagram accounts, and other social media platforms to see if they have anything similar and if so, how those brands differentiate themselves from each other. It might not be easy finding those answers at first glance — especially if there are lots of similar businesses around — but once there’s something specific that makes your brand unique then it’ll be easier for others to notice what makes yours different!

Next up: Don’t get overwhelmed by all the options! It can be tempting right now because everything seems possible (and maybe even probable), but take some time away from thinking about all these things before diving into anything else just yet…

Step 2: Decide if you want to be a B2B company or a B2C company

Deciding whether to be a B2B or B2C company is important, as it will dictate the type of customers that you want to target and how your business operates. If you’re building a beauty brand, then the most important thing is this: don’t start out selling wholesale. It’s easy to get excited about pricing, discounts and inventory management, but unless you have an established network of buyers lined up, it’s not worth trying to sell wholesale. There are some key differences between these two models:

• B2B companies sell their goods directly to other businesses (for example: makeup artists), whereas B2C companies sell directly to consumers (like Sephora).

• If you’re thinking about building a beauty brand from scratch, I highly recommend starting out as a B2C company because they tend to be easier than B2B companies when it comes time for scalability later on in life.

Step 3: Don’t rush it (Remember Andrew Carnegie)

Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, business magnate, and philanthropist. He led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and dominated the nation’s steel industry for three decades. In 1901, he sold his company to JP Morgan for $480 million ($15 billion today). He later set up what became Carnegie Corporation of New York, one of his largest philanthropic foundations. He also gave away millions to charities and universities across the country.

Step 4: Run your idea by your network before spending a lot of money

Now that you have a solid idea, it’s time to talk with your network about your plans. Your friends, family, and colleagues can be great sounding boards because they know you best and will be honest about the quality of your idea. They may also be able to provide advice on how to make it better. If you’re working with an existing business partner or investor, consider asking them for feedback on how much money they’d invest in this project if it were theirs.

If anyone thinks there is a market for what you’re selling, ask them if they would use the product themselves — and pay for it! Make sure that what customers are willing to buy aligns with what people say they want before investing too much time into developing something no one wants or needs.

STEP 5: GET THE BEAUTY BUZZ STARTED BEFORE YOU LAUNCH

• Get the beauty buzz started! Let people know the vision. What problem are you looking to solve?

• Start a blog, social media accounts, and YouTube channel, you will use these resources to build your brand. It’s important to establish yourself as a subject matter expert in your particular niche.

• Create a newsletter list. Although social media is great, they control if and when you can connect with your audience. If a social media site decides to shut you down, how would your people know how to find you? Getting the email addresses of your audience is highly recommended for your brand longevity.

• Start a Meta group or Twitter account if you are selling products. Meta now even affords you an opportunity to manage your business with a shop on both your Instagram and Facebook fan pages respectively.

• Create Pinterest boards with relevant images that will go with your brand’s aesthetic and style guidelines to use as inspiration for future product development or marketing campaigns. Pinterest is the second largest SEO channel online. You want to ensure your business is populating often in the search engine and most importantly, you want to appear at the top of the first page.

• If you’re selling products online through Amazon or other eCommerce sites like Etsy, Shopify, etc., then I highly recommend creating an Instagram account where you can share beautiful photos of the products that people might buy from those platforms using hashtags related to the type of customer who would purchase from each one (eBay sellers should use “ebayfashion,” for example).

STEP 6: HAVE SALES GOALS

You miss all of the shots that you don’t take! It’s important to have sales goals. If you don’t, it will be difficult to make sure that your business is growing and thriving. You can set a goal for how much you want to sell, how much money you want to make, and how much money per month or year. I love to use my Yellow Brick Road method to help create these goals and reach them! Your sales goal is “Oz.” Now that you know what your goal is, what are all of the steps needed to get to your final destination? In my Win the Year Digital Course, I break down each step to make the goal clear and attainable. 

STEP 7: THINK ABOUT THE TYPE OF CONTENT YOU WANT TO CREATE FOR CUSTOMERS

Now that you have a clear picture of who your customers are, it’s time to start creating content for them. When we started our company, one thing that was important for us was helping other female entrepreneurs create and grow their businesses. We thought about what kind of content would help them do this in a meaningful way, and eventually decided on videos.

We published blog posts to build up an audience around our brand while also building relationships with influencers in our industry (and beyond). But ultimately, YouTube is where we found the most success when it came to getting new subscribers and increasing sales conversions — even though they took more time than other forms of content like blogs or Instagram stories.

STEP 8: DON’T FORGET ABOUT BRAND MANAGEMENT AND MARKET RESEARCH

Now that you have a strong brand, it’s time to make sure that your product meets the needs of your audience. This is an important stage in marketing as it helps you identify any gaps between what you’re offering and what customers want.

You can do this by doing market research: speak with potential customers about their preferences and behavior, then compile the data into a report. Ask them about their favorite products and why they liked them; find out what features are most important to their buying decisions; ask them how much money they would be willing to spend on similar products. The more information you have on what people like or dislike about existing products, the better off you’ll be at determining how much innovation is needed in order to stand out from competitors.

Here are some tips for conducting successful market research:

• Ask open-ended questions — avoid yes/no answers

• Make sure everyone understands confidentiality before collecting feedback (if possible)

STEP 9. FIGURE OUT HOW MUCH TO CHARGE FOR YOUR PRODUCT.

Pricing your products is one of the most important factors in determining your success. You need to get it right, or else you’ll risk disappointing customers and losing sales. Use this formula to figure out how much to charge for your product:

• What are my competitors charging? This is the easiest place to start, but don’t be afraid of breaking away from them if you think that’s what’s best for your brand. If they’re overcharging and you believe you can offer a similar product at a fraction of their price, then go for it! Just make sure you’ve done all your research before making this decision.

• What are my costs? Make sure that whatever profit margin (or lack thereof) is built into the price tag doesn’t compromise quality ingredients or craftsmanship — otherwise, no one will buy from you again! And unless someone pays too much attention during chemistry class in high school (not likely), then chances are he won’t care about whether his shampoo has sulfates in it — so don’t worry about being able to add more expensive ingredients into something like shampoo because no one will notice anyway!

WHEN STARTING YOUR OWN BEAUTY BRAND, THERE ARE SOME IMPORTANT DECISIONS TO MAKE, WHETHER YOU’RE AIMING TO CREATE MAKEUP, SKINCARE PRODUCTS OR EVEN JUST POST ON SOCIAL MEDIA.

When starting your own beauty brand, there are some important decisions to make, whether you’re aiming to create makeup, skincare products or even just post on social media.

There are a few different business models that could work well for you:

• B2B (business-to-business) — This type of company focuses on providing services or tools to other businesses. For example, L’Oréal sells its products directly to salons and spas; each salon uses the products but does not resell them.

• B2C (business-to-consumer) — This type of company focuses on selling directly to consumers via multiple channels such as an in-store boutique or website. For example, Too Faced sells its products at Sephora stores and online; customers can buy directly off the website without having to go into physical stores first!

It’s not easy to start your own beauty brand. It takes time, dedication, and research. But if you follow these steps, we think you’ll be on your way! Let me know which step you’re taking next! 

Hello, I’m Tricia J. You may know me as Ask TPJ I help build businesses, brands, and people! I am the lead project manager and podcast host at Mogul Mom Mindset. I started making websites for friends and fixing their social media presence in 2013, and never lost interest in building online sites and brands for up-and-coming CEOs. I have an amazing boss (me!) and I’m unapologetic when it comes to teaching women how to build successful businesses around their family life. I am a lover of good music, interior design, and I’m constantly searching for the best brunch every time I travel. Some day I’ll tell you about the time when, as a corporate employee, I grew and strengthened a corporate account from $40 million during a 12-month contract by creating new systems and building external relationships for an international media conglomerate. For more information about The Purpose Doula, visit my website: www.asktpj.com .

Top 10 Branding Mistakes Small Businesses Make

Branding is not an easy task. It requires a lot of effort and time on your part. In order to achieve the best results, you need to follow certain rules that will help you build your brand in a way that will be beneficial for your company as well as for yourself. Here are the top 10 mistakes I see happen with my clients before we start working together.

1. Thou shall not skimp on the logo

A logo is like your business card: It should be bold and memorable so that people remember it and can identify it with your brand. Make sure to keep it consistent across all of your channels — and don’t use it for everything (think about how many companies use their logos as links or in social media bios). Also, avoid changing your logo just because you want to make a big deal out of something new — it should still make sense when people see it by itself, without any context around it. Finally, save some money by not using the same picture in different places; this usually doesn’t work well because viewers will get confused about what’s being advertised or promoted.

2. Thou shall not be intentional with branding

Branding is a critical piece of any business, but it’s important that you focus on what makes your company unique and different from competitors in the marketplace. The more different you are, the more likely people will want to do business with you. Take some time to think through all of these areas:

• Why is your company better than everyone else?

• Think about what sets you apart from other businesses in your industry.

• What problem do they solve that yours solves better?

• Are there features or services they don’t offer?

• Is their pricing higher than yours?

• Can they provide proof of success stories or testimonials from customers who have been happy with their experience working with them?

• If so, what’s their process for getting those testimonials (and why does it work)?

Do some research into the key advantages that make up your value proposition so that when someone asks why should I buy from this company instead of another one like it (or even better), there are specific reasons why they should choose this one over all others — and those reasons should be backed up by data points or anecdotes which illustrate how great those advantages actually are!

3. Thou shall not launch a brand without efficient research or strategy.

We’re talking data, baby! The right type of research can help you build a better brand by providing valuable insights into your target audience and what they want from your brand. It also lets you know how to differentiate yourself in the market and gives you ideas on how to position your business as an expert in its field while also communicating its purpose and mission effectively.

If you don’t have time for all that, then just answer these three questions: 

1. What do my customers like?

2. Where do they hang out online?

3. And why would they buy my stuff?

Then click this link to schedule a chat with me and I’ll take it from there. 

4. Thou shall not constantly change the brand direction

You should never, ever change your brand direction without a plan. This is a cardinal sin, and I’m not going to sugarcoat it: changing the course of your brand for no reason is the fastest way to get lost in the woods and leave money on the table.

If you don’t have a good reason for making a change, then don’t make one! Change for change’s sake can be harmful and confusing for your customers (and employees), so resist the urge. Instead of trying to reinvent yourself every few months or years — or even worse, as soon as something blows up in your face — take time to evaluate what needs fixing before you fix anything at all.

5. Thou shall not be hands-off during the branding process

You’ll want to actively participate in the branding process, and here are some ways to do that. Speak honestly about your brand. A brand is a promise, a promise that your company will deliver on its product or service. You need to take this seriously and be aware of what you’re promising because people will hold you accountable for it if they feel like it hasn’t been delivered. 

If you don’t know what exactly the promise is yet, then ask yourself: 

• What does my customer expect from me?

• What do I want them to think about when they hear about my business?

• How can I clarify this so that everyone understands what we’re doing — and why?

• Recognize the importance of consistency across all channels (including voice).

  • The goal is for each channel (web site design; social media profiles; advertising) to reflect the same thing — a consistent brand message.

6. Though shall not ignore social media

Though you may be selling a product or service, it’s important to remember that your brand is also positioning itself as an expert in solving the problem associated with that product or service. You need to know what problems you are solving and how you can solve them better than anyone else out there. You need to understand who your audience is and why they would want what you’re offering them.

“Don’t ignore your brand in social channels and other avenues where people connect with you online and off.” -Ask TPJ-The Purpose Doula

You should have a presence on all major social media platforms, as well as any sites or apps that are relevant to your business or industry. You’ll want to use these outlets to engage with customers, get feedback from and them, help them learn more about what you do and how they can benefit from doing business with you. Social media is also an excellent way to increase brand awareness by getting the word out about new products or services (and driving traffic back to your site).

7. Though shall not be a Jack/Jane of all trades

Don’t be afraid to spend money on your brand, especially if you’re a startup looking to grow quickly. Hiring an expert is always the more cost-effective route than doing it yourself, and there’s no better way to ensure that your branding will be effective than by hiring someone who has done this kind of work before. The benefit is that it’s tax deductible as a business expense. 

As they say: time is money! If you choose to go down the DIY path, expect it to take weeks or months before you have any semblance of a brand identity with which to attract customers and investors. In addition, these types of projects are rarely ever perfect — the one thing I’ve learned from being a designer for over ten years is that when you pay an expert to do what is outside of your zone of genius, it frees you up to make more money doing the things you’re great at doing!

The best brands in the world were created by teams who had years of experience under their belts; without this knowledge base at their fingertips, even great ideas tend to fall short somewhere along the way when implemented without proper planning or execution.

8. Thou shall not avoid spell check

If your content is riddled with misspellings and grammatical errors, your audience will immediately associate you with that level of quality. When someone discovers that the company they’re interested in working with has these issues, they likely won’t want to work with them at all — and if they do choose to work with said company, they’ll probably only do so because they’re desperate enough not to care how much their work suffers as a result. When all else fails, read the text aloud to help you catch those basic grammatical and spelling errors. 

9. Thou shall not work without a brand kit

Time and time again I work with a client on a project and I ask them if they have a specific font they use for their brand and they say, “no!” Having an aesthetic flyer and Instagram page is cool, but in order to have a consistent brand, you need a brand kit. I lovingly call it my Brand Bible, because it helps me guide my employees and contractors while staying consistent with the branding. I ensure all of my clients leave with a Brand Bible to ensure the quality of work is consistent. A brand kit is a collection of documents and other resources that you can use to help you manage your brand. Your kit should include information to help you manage your brands such as logos, hex codes, colors, fonts, etc. Your brand kit should also include things like a style guide and your mission statement and values statement to ensure the brand is consistent even when outsourcing the work. 

10. Case Study: Thou shall not make a branding mistake like the Gap

The Gap, which most people remember as a go-to place for basic crew necks, khakis and jeans in the 90s and early 2000s, tried to rebrand itself in 2010. The company replaced the old logo — which featured a blue square with yellow text — with a new one: A blue square with white text.

It was meant to be cleaner and more modern; it was supposed to be more versatile; it was meant to be more inclusive. But none of these things happened because this sudden change completely failed on all fronts: It didn’t make sense; people didn’t recognize it as being associated with The Gap anymore; they hated it so much that they started making fun of how bad it was (YouTube videos like this exist).

The whole launch ended up costing them around $100 million dollars because they had to spend money on rebranding their stores when all they really needed was some paint.

The result of these branding mistakes can be disastrous for a company. Take the Gap, for example. They launched a new logo without doing any research or strategy and it was met with harsh criticism from customers and employees alike. Soon after that, they switched back to their original logo but now face the challenge of rebuilding trust with their audience.

Now that we know the top 10 rules people break…which commandments are you violating? Comment below! 

About the Author 

Hello, I’m Tricia J. You may know me as Ask TPJ I help build businesses, brands, and people! I am the lead project manager and podcast host at Mogul Mom Mindset. I started making websites for friends and fixing their social media presence in 2013, and never lost interest in building online sites and brands for up-and-coming CEOs. I have an amazing boss (me!) and I’m unapologetic when it comes to teaching women how to build successful businesses around their family life. I am a lover of good music, interior design, and I’m constantly searching for the best brunch every time I travel. Some day I’ll tell you about the time when, as a corporate employee, I grew and strengthened a corporate account from $40 million during a 12-month contract by creating new systems and building external relationships for an international media conglomerate. For more information about The Purpose Doula, visit my website: www.asktpj.com .