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How do I start my own perfume business?

I was reading about perfume business last Saturday and was surprised when I learnt about how huge the perfume market is. Then I started counting the number of bottles of perfume I have used in this year alone. By the time I added the number to that of my wife, I also made an estimate of how many bottles of perfumes other people in our family must have used this year, the number is staggering.

Everybody wants to smell nice. And one of the ways of achieving that is through the use of perfumes. It is agreed that not everybody uses perfumes but by the time you consider the number of times an average user of perfume applies it in a day, this will surely compensate for the number of non-users. The more the numbers of times people apply perfumes in a day, the quicker the perfumes get exhausted. Hence there will always be need to order for new perfumes. Except you don’t use perfume, if you do, you will keep buying new one when the one you are a using get finished. This is just to paint the picture of how big the perfume market can be so that you can see that it may be a good business idea to start a perfume business. So, how can you start a perfume business? This article may not teach you how to mix your perfume recipes in order to come produce perfumes with good fragrance.  It will provide a general guide on how to start and grow your perfume business.

Read Also: 150 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2018

Steps to Starting Perfume Business

Decide on your business model

There are many ways by which you can start a perfume business. You can start a perfume business by producing your own perfume brand. This means that you need to come up with your own perfume recipes and blend them to produce fragrance that people will like. If you are finding it difficult to come up with good fragrance, you can look at the recipes of any perfume you like and try to come up with your own unique mix. Any change in the mix of perfume recipes will produce a different fragrance. However, if producing your own perfume is your desire, I will suggest that you learn the business properly. No matter the level of flair you have for fragrance, you still need to learn the rudiments of business.

Another way by which you can start your own perfume business is to buy a franchise. There are many perfume manufacturers that offer franchise to people that want to start their own perfume business. With franchise, you don’t need to start contemplating on how to blend your perfume recipes. But buying a franchise can be expensive at times. If you don’t have funds to buy a franchise or you an individual that value uniqueness, franchise may not be a good option for you.

The third way by which you can start a perfume business is to start buying and selling finished fragrance products. This will afford you the opportunity of selling different brands of perfumes at the same time. This will also allow you to provide your customers with different varieties instead of just one brand of fragrance.

Register your perfume business

If you are serious about starting your own perfume business, then you need to register the business properly. It starts by you choosing a name for your perfume business. You need to ensure that the name does not infringe any Trademark. You can either register the perfume business as a sole proprietorship, partnership or a limited liability company. It is the registration of the business that will give your perfume business its legal identity. However, it is important to note that each legal structure has its own legal and tax implications. If you don’t know which option to choose, you may need to contact an accountant or an attorney to provide you a professional guidance.

Read Also: Why You Must Register Your Small Business

Write a Business Plan

After you must have decided on the option you want to choose in starting your perfume business, you need to write your business plan. You may ask why you need to write a business plan. Business plan serves as a road map to the success of your perfume business. Imagine you want to travel to a particular place you have never been before. I know you will not just set out without making an adequate plan for the journey. You will like to know about the distance of the place and how long it will take you to get there. You will find out information about the routes that lead to the place and how much is the transport fare. You want to make enquiry about different hotel rates and their accessibility to places you want to reach. Also, the weather condition of the place will determine the type of clothes you will travel with. If travelling entails such amount of planning, you will agree that starting a fragrance business will definitely require a plan. Your business plan among other things will include the capital requirements for starting the perfume business. Each option describes above will require different amount of capital to start a perfume business. You need to plan about how to source for perfume recipes if you want to produce your own perfumes with unique fragrance. Your plan will also cover personnel, production, operations, sales and marketing and financial aspects of the perfume business.

Source for capital

To start a perfume business, you need capital. The amount of capital you will require will be determined by the option and scale at which you choose to start the business. You should not underestimate your capital requirements. For instance, you will not only need funds for the payment of franchise fee (if you choose the option to start your fragrance business), rent, purchase of equipment, fixtures and fittings, initial materials or inventories. You also need adequate money as working capital. It may take some month before you start having positive cash flows.

Read Also: How to Write a Good Business Plan

Choose a location

If you want to achieve success in your fragrance business, then you need to select a good location for the business. A good location can be a market place or a store front located in a busy environment. The important thing is that your business has to be located in a place where it can easily attract customers. If your business is located in a hidden place, it does not matter the amount of money you spend on marketing, you may not enjoy much customers’ patronages. Good locations may be somehow expensive. Notwithstanding, if you can pay the price, you will surely enjoy the benefits. However, it will not make economic sense to spend all your money on renting a place while you have nothing or little left to properly start the perfume business.

Marketing

Marketing will play a vital role in the success of any perfume business. People need to know about your business before they can start patronizing you. Your marketing efforts begin with the word of mouth. Let your friends, colleagues and relations know that you have started a perfume business. Your marketing will be more effective if you go with samples of your fragrance so that they can feel the fragrance.  If you are producing your own unique perfumes, good branding of the product is very key. The choice, design and size of the container whether bottle or can contribute to the attractiveness of the fragrance. People don’t only buy the content; many people will also be attracted by the type of package you give to the perfume. If you are starting your perfume business by producing your own brand, you may need to reach out to retailers and supermarkets.

Don’t forget to make use of social media to reach people. A simple website with images of your perfumes will surely advertise your products for you. Above all, the quality of your perfumes and the consistency of the quality will help you keep your customers. If they are satisfied with your perfumes, they will surely help you advertise it to other people. Just a simple remark; “You smell nice” from friends or admirers can help you advertise your products. Therefore, it is very important that you sell perfumes with nice fragrance.

Beauty and Fashion

Tags: Beauty business ideas, Business ideas, Fashion business ideas