In this post, I shall be sharing with you the full guide on how you can start your own cosmetics business in Nigeria. Cosmetics are products used to improve the beauty of external parts of the body like the skin, hair, lips, hair and nails. They include body lotions, hair creams, hair relaxers, nail polish, bath soap, face powders, perfumes, mascara, lip balm etc.
Cosmetics business entails purchasing cosmetic products in large quantities and selling them to retailers or end users as the case may be. Depending on the capital you have chosen to invest with, you can either buy the products in wholesale or retail quantities. In any case, the returns are massive. You can start this business with as low as N50 000 and make more than N30 000 as profit.
The quest to look beautiful and attractive has been a superior motive in the minds of people for years now and will continue to remain like that. Ladies love to look beautiful for their husbands and fiancée. Some even beautify themselves so that they can attract future husbands and other men that are willing to shower money and gifts on them.
The men are not also left out in this race; these days, men now apply makeup and other skin lightening lotions so as to look more handsome. I am telling you all these to enable you highlight your market and know who your products are intended for and from all I have said, you can see that cosmetic products can be used by everybody. This will give you an insight on how profitable this business is.
Read more: HOW TO START A FASHION DESIGNING IN NIGERIA: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW
The following are tips you need in starting a cosmetics distribution company in Nigeria:
Learn more about the business
You should endeavour to know as much as can about a cosmetic business before venturing into one. Learning is a necessity in this business.
You can start by knowing the different cosmetic brands there is in Nigeria, how to go about purchasing the right products because there are lots of fake ones out there, the marketing strategies and how to make good money from the business and so on. Know about the latest cosmetic products invoke, their uses and how they can be made use of.
Learn from those that are currently making huge profit from the business but you should be careful of enemies of progress. Competition in this business can never be overlooked so you should be extremely careful.
Have a plan
I have constructively explained how you can go about writing a legit business plan and its relevance in a business in this post. A business without a plan is headed directly towards failure. A good business plan will guide you on the steps you will be taking in the course for pursuing a successful cosmetics business.
Choose a cosmetic brand
There are different types of cosmetics in Nigeria with different manufacturing companies. Select a company's brand that you know produces quality products and do business with them. There are cosmetics products for skin care, hair care, laundry and toiletries, makeup and fragrances. These products also have sub denominations that you can choose from.
You can decide to major in any of the product(s). Below are some of the sub denominations of the individual products:
hair care products - hair cream, hair spray, relaxers, hair gloss, hair dye, shampoo and conditioner etc
Skin care products - bleaching cream, moisturizing cream, age defying cream, body lotion, bath soap etc
Laundry and toiletries – tissue paper, detergent, deodorant, liquid soap, tooth paste, disinfectants etc
Makeup - face powder, pancake, Mary kay, black opal, Milani, clinique etc
Fragrances- body spray, body roll on, perfumes, air fresheners etc
Search for worthy suppliers
The next step You should take after selecting a niche product is to look for supplier(s) that can sell original products to you at a cheaper price. Better still, you can be a whosaler then buy the goods in large quantities from the manufacturers.
Find a perfect location to establish your business
Location of the business is another serious issue. If you decide to stay in a rural area be sure that you would likely sell cheap products.
Urban areas likewise attract customers that buy quality and expensive products.
Depending on the amount of capital you have and how much you have decided to spend on the location.
Choosing a location with many competitors is detrimental to the business as well.
Look for a well exposed environment with less competition and explore your business.
Register the business name
Head to the nearest corporate affairs commission's office and register your business name. You can also register it through their online process if you wish.
Choose a name that can be easily remembered by your customers and in a way relates to the business.
Make adequate use of the Internet
The Internet has drastically changed the way people do business. If you are into any form of business and your products are not marketable online, then the business is not complete.
Engage in also social media platforms using your business name as your username. This way you can be able to supply to an unlimited number of people. Creating an online store that is user friendly is also a nice plan to make profitable sales.
Come up with good marketing strategies
This part would already be stated in the business plan. You just have to put it into action.
There are lots of ways to inform people about your business. You just have to try all then select and full attention to the best of them all.
Social media marketing is a good start. You can also try E-mail marketing and affiliate marketing whereby you give commission to people that direct customers to you.
Brainstorm for other marketing ideas or as I have earlier stated, find out how other successful cosmetic distributors market their own products and learn from them. You should also add innovations to it to give you an edge over them.
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Cheers.
