The world of beauty seems destined to never die, but rather to evolve continuously. Eyeshadows, blushes, lipsticks, foundations but also beauty creams, are things that appeal to both women and men more and more, both attentive to the origin and workmanship of the product, and above all more and more to its natural origins. If you want to make beauty your business, here’s how you should proceed.
COSMETICS ARE STILL A GOOD CHOICE
Beauty and personal care is a fundamental aspect for many, since we live in a civilization that attaches great importance to beauty and aesthetics. So when we talk about taking care of ourselves and our body we certainly don’t talk about something new, yet today the beauty sector is one of the most active and operating in it proves to be a good idea.
In fact, a cosmetic shop potentially has a large number of customers, which combined with what was said in the previous paragraph makes this a more than just premise to allow good results in financial terms. Of course, it’s a rather competitive sector, and there are quite a few competitors: for this reason, you should know as much as possible, in depth, in order to give an innovative and personalized, high quality service.
The fact that aiming at cosmetics is a good idea in financial terms is also confirmed by the turnover figures of the sale of beauty products, which continue to grow exponentially. And the forecasts only confirm this extremely positive trend.
If you open a cosmetic shop, then, it is difficult for you to go bankrupt, provided that you are always and constantly updated on techniques and products in order to offer customers the latest market news, advising them on the application methods based on their needs and their physicality. Try to sell make- up, dyes, creams, face and body products, deodorants, perfumes, tanning and sun protection products and so on.
The first step to having a successful cosmetic shop is definitely the choice between selling multi-brand products, or aiming for a specific brand with an excellent reputation, entering in this second case into the sales network of that specific brand (i.e. open a franchise retail and point of sale of that company).
Usually the winning move is to differentiate the products sold in order to attract more customers, perhaps to retain them since cosmetics are always combined with periodic and continuous treatments, and therefore they are also purchased very frequently.
When you have decided what type of shop you want to open, of course you have to think about the location, which applies to all the activities: you must not open in a little frequented place, far away, where there are also few public transport and maybe scarce parking. Look for places of passage, fairly central or otherwise in fairly populated areas and better if with a parking nearby. Always remember that visibility and traffic are key elements in entrepreneurship .
THE BUREAUCRATIC QUESTION
Italy often means a lot of bureaucracy, which is inevitable and extremely complicated: for this there is no better action than to turn to a competent accountant, who knows all the procedures well and who gives you convenient advice. To open a cosmetic shop you will need to open a VAT number to the local Revenue Agency .
Then you must register with the Chamber of Commerce Business Register of your territory (or in the one where you will start the business, in case of different Municipalities or Provinces) and you will have to go to the reference Municipality of the shop to present the communication of Start of Business, providing documents at least one month before the start of the activity.
The Municipality will send the information to the Fire Brigade who will initiate an inspection of the premises, verifying that it complies with all hygiene and safety regulations. If all goes well, they will issue a certificate with which you can make your business operational; otherwise you will have to arrange what they find out of the norm, and then they will start a second inspection. Hygiene is of course fundamental for a cosmetic shop, and it will be the thing that will be looked at the most and that will see the entry of the Local Health Authority into the field .
You will then have to submit a request to the Municipality for the display of the Sign, while going to the SIAE if you intend to use music or images to capture the attention of people passing by. With all these practices done, it’s time to focus on the job and start selecting suppliers.
There are two ways: either contact the company that produces what you want to sell directly, or contact distributors. It is a fundamental step to have quality products, maintaining competitive prices. Evaluate if the supplier is reliable based on delivery times and ability in handling urgent orders; and even if he often inserts news in his catalog.
COSTS
It is not easy to calculate all the expenses needed to open a cosmetic shop, since there are really many variables to consider. To make an estimate of how much you will spend, you must list all the items of expenditure relating to the start of the store.
Certainly one of the biggest expenses is that for the premises, purchased and then taken over or rented on the basis of the opportunities and opportunities of the real estate market. The cost of the restaurant changes based on location and size: a restaurant in the center costs much more than one in the suburbs; just as a club in a city costs more than a club in a small or medium-sized country.
However, also take into account the competition, if any, so as not to open in an area where there is a similar store . If you want to focus on products related to a very famous company, focusing on the single brand, the advice is to be as central as possible to attract a medium-high clientele , willing to spend. Make sure to furnish the room well, so that it is beautiful, modern, but above all functional to display what you sell.
You will also need to get a counter to serve and the cashier, obviously the products and possibly a staff to hire, but this changes according to the size of the shop. Do not neglect the lights, which are essential to highlight the items, perhaps the news, the offers, the discounts, the packages. And in the budget you always have to consider taxes, utilities and advertising.
In short, opening a cosmetic shop requires an estimated cost of between 40,000 and 50,000 euros, but we repeat that it is only an estimate and that everything depends on the choices you make. However, we are talking about certainly important figures, which require an initial capital that allows you to survive the first year of activity, a period in which there are usually more expenses than proceeds. If well started, the earnings will be very interesting from the second year, and it will be fun to work.
Remember that to open and face such a big expense you can resort to financing, or look for some very convenient opportunity. Surely you have to fill out the business plan, very important to identify all the management aspects that await you and to face them, but you must also look for the possibility of subsidized or non-repayable financing .
Generally there is funding from Regions and the State, which usually support young people up to 35 years old and women entrepreneurs. But with European and state guarantees, it is also possible to obtain subsidized loans, money that must then be repaid over time but which require not very high interest in order to have what is needed immediately and then repay it a little at a time with the earnings.
Then there is the way of society: you can always open a cosmetic shop together with another person, or with other people you trust, since working together is not very simple, quite the contrary. You can have financing members who make shares available to your new business while remaining out of management.
But beyond the various paths that can be taken, you must always try to reduce costs by examining all the possibilities by getting help from your accountant. Generally the products are purchased independently, as well as the furniture, the premises and so on. But an excellent alternative is franchising, which gives the opportunity to enter the affiliate network of a large brand (usually multinationals) by opening a store that binds to that brand.
You will receive initial training, technical and administrative support, and you will be able to take advantage of all the advertising and reputation associated with the company, thus saving a lot in these matters. The downside of the coin is that the store will be set up according to the brand’s indications, and you will only have to sell products from that company.
You will also have to pay the membership fee and sales royalties , things that change from company to company. Remember to always ask for a copy of the contract, to analyze it carefully, understanding if this is the most convenient way for you.
