On the face of it this is a strange topic for me. What do I know about the beauty industry?
I mean, I’m a guy in his mid forties who has never had a manicure or pedicure in his life, who pays $10 for a #4 buzz cut four times a year…
But I do know about business. What it takes to grow a business and how to Market a business. And in this capacity I was asked to help a couple of friends with their Beauty Industry businesses. I was amazed at what I found…
1) International Opportunities
It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, there is a need for people to have help looking and feeling their best. This means you can probably find work anywhere in the world, or even better, set up Salons or Spas in multiple locations around the globe.
2) Portable Skill Set
When you have skills in the Beauty Industry you own them. You take those skills with you wherever you go. With a good work ethic and some basic marketing skills you can make money wherever you find yourself.
3) Potential for Premium Pricing
If you are selling woodchips, fertiliser and soil in a garden center there is limited opportunity for Premium Priced products. Whereas the Beauty Industry is perfect for Premium Priced products and services.
The sky is the limit! You can have a service priced 10x 20x even 50x more than someone else in your town, and get customers to pay it. (If you know how to market it)
4) Low Infrastructure Costs
I did some consulting for an Automotive Industry business. I could increase their business by 10x, but in order to handle that amount of business they would have to spend $1,000,000. They weren’t willing to take that step.
But it is comparatively inexpensive to increase the ability to handle more business for most Salons; Spas or other Beauty Industry businesses.
5) Poor Competition
Sorry to say it but it is true. There are a few good marketers in the Beauty Industry, but not many. Most Salon Owners have come up through the industry, with a strong knowledge of the technical side of the industry, but not necessarily aware of Marketing, Advertising and Business strategies & tactics.
And worse, there are many Salon or Spa Owners that believe the amount of business they get is determined by how good they are at the service they offer. Unfortunately not true.
6) Opportunities in the Affluent Market
Despite what you read in the media, the Affluent segment of the market is growing, and so is the divide between affluent and poor. Beauty Industry businesses are perfect for targeting this growing market segment who have money to spend.
7) Opportunities in the Boomer Market
Another market segment growing that is growing, even faster, is that of the Baby Boomers. On average boomers have money, and they have a desire to remain young and active. –And this includes looking good.
“A big aspiration amongst Leading Edge Boomers & Seniors is Quality of Life, not just longevity.”*
8) Opportunities to be Unique
You wouldn’t want to go to a dentist or doctor that told you they have a unique cure for your illness that nobody else uses. But neither you would you want to go to a Tattoo Parlour that boasts they do the same tattoos as everyone else.
A business in the Beauty Industry can fit anywhere across this spectrum from standard to unique. But the money is at the Unique end!
9) Scalable
When you know how to attract the clients that you want to work with, and you are charging the highest prices that you feel comfortable charging, and your business continues to grow, you can scale your business by getting additional stylists, manicurists, massage therapists or other skills that are needed. You can expand your premises or have multiple premises in multiple regions or even countries.
10) Joint Venture Opportunities
When you know your market then there are unlimited opportunities to do joint Ventures to get new clients in.
For Example say your market is the Affluent (my favourite market), and the local Mercedes dealer runs a promotion where he thanks every person that purchases a car that month with a voucher to visit your Spa. The dealer may have paid you just cost, or even nothing at all (depending on your marketing systems), but the key is that you have a chance to convert this person with a voucher into a regular client.
Is a person that buys Mercedes the sort of client you want?
Maybe, maybe not, but you can apply this to many types of business.
11) Celebrity Culture
In today’s culture, celebrity is a major influencer of income. But you don’t have to sing or act to be a Celebrity. You just need a skill set, a platform and a personality. Tabatha Coffey is a great example. This doesn’t mean you need to be like Tabatha, quite the opposite in fact. You need your own personality and your own skills.
But the Beauty Industry lends itself to making an owner, or someone with skills, into a Celebrity which allows them to charge more and attract more clients. You just need to know how, because it is a process not just luck.
12) Meaningful Service
I left this until the end because I think it is one of the most important points and I want you to remember. The function of the Beauty Industry is to make someone look better, but the real core of it is to make someone feel better about themselves.
There must be a huge satisfaction seeing someone walk out the door with an extra bounce in their step and a larger grin on their face because you helped them feel better about themselves. It’s a very personal and almost intimate service which has few rivals in all of the industries that I have worked with.
Conclusion
The Beauty Industry offers flexibility, and the opportunity to express your personality in a way that few other industries can match. If approached correctly a Beauty Industry business can be extremely lucrative, offer satisfaction, and allow a lifestyle that suits your personality.
As a result of doing some work in the Beauty Industry I have decided to invest some real time here to learn more and to see if I can help people take their business to a higher level.
*From: No B.S. Guide to Marketing to Leading Edge Boomers & Seniors: The Ultimate No Holds Barred Take No Prisoners Roadmap to the Money by Dan S Kennedy available on Amazon
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