The beauty industry is pretty profitable. Sorry, I could not resist the pun! 🙂
Some of my most successful startup companies are in the beauty niche so I have a special fondness for these types of businesses. Plus, I was taught about the beauty industry from the great Estee Lauder herself!
The beauty industry is huge at over $265 billion and will continue to grow as our population ages and demands anti-aging products. Plus men’s cosmetic usage increases and technology will create more possibilities of improving our looks with new products and services.
If you are a good networker with strong organizational skills you could stage a beauty trade show. It could be B2B business to business or B2C business to consumer, or both!
Beauty industry professionals are always looking for opportunities to showcase their products and your expo could be the perfect venue.
This a great low-cost way to enter the beauty business. Using free or low-cost tools such as WordPress websites and Youtube channels you can build a following and recommend products and receive sales commissions on purchases.
Get beauty business ideas on this list of best affiliate marketing niches
An offshoot of the beauty blogger business focuses on video content, unlike bloggers who typically write text posts of information and also create some images. These videos can be friendly and simple or highly polished and professional.
Check out the Beauty Influencer program at Stack Influence
This is the digital equivalent of chatting with your friends about your favorite beauty products.
One of the most popular beauty podcast was launched by the Beauty Editor of Marie Claire – Fat Mascara. Her advice for aspiring beauty podcasters is to first decide on your show format and have a partner host. Get more tips from this beauty podcaster here.
Many a beauty mogul started at home selling lipsticks to her friends. Today there are many choices for home-based cosmetic sales companies. Great money-making opportunity for work at home moms who love beauty and makeup.
The good news is that there are lots of reputable beauty products that you can sell as a business venture. Many beauty companies are waiting for people like you to start your own business selling their makeup and skincare line – all home-based.
This is a great way to be an independent business owner by traveling to your customer’s locations at home or business and offering mobile foot massage services. There are very low startup costs and minimal supply costs.
Check out my list of mobile business ideas here
The beauty of starting a reflexology business is that you can start small (part-time) and build.
Learn success tips from Barbara Kunz in her Kindle books – The Successful Reflexologist: Starting and Growing Reflexology Business. She will teach you how to get the word out about your services, get new clients and repeat sessions, and how to create and distribute promotional materials.
Get more business tips from reflexology mentor, Linda Chollar.
If you are fashion smart, a good communicator and love people then this may be the ideal business idea for you.
This business helps people look and feel their best by advising them on the best makeup, clothing, and colors for them. Many business professionals (men and women) hire image consultants to help them look and act their best for career advancement.
There are many advantages of starting an image consulting business including; low start-up costs, home-based, you can form referral partnerships with makeup artists, hairstylists, nutritionists, life coaches, personal trainers, and career advisors. Plus you get satisfaction seeing your clients becoming more confident and successful with your help.
If you love beauty products and are knowledgeable about the best of them.
You could start your own e-commerce online store selling cosmetic products, accessories, and advice on your website. Learn how to start a cosmetic business online from the experts at Luisa Fanzani.
An evergreen business that will always be in demand is a hair salon. While set up requires substantial capital investment for equipment and special salon furniture, long-term sustainability and profitability are high.
One way to enter this marketplace is through purchasing a franchise that will offer a complete business plan package and operating instructions for success.
Find your perfect salon business name on my list of beautiful salon names
These days there is an increasing awareness of the dangers of toxic chemicals in personal products. The demand for organic, natural skincare products is growing dramatically.
Capitalize on this trend by creating your own line of skincare products or subcontract your products to an established asthmatic manufacturing plant.
Strong branding is vital for success. You can retail your line directly to the consumer online, or sell it to other retailers or e-commerce sites for resale.
Today’s wigs are so well made and natural-looking that they are a hot fashion trend now. You see celebrities, such as Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and Rihanna, wearing wigs and hairpieces all the time and looking great.
A friend of mine specializes in cancer wigs and hair replacement for chemo patients. She is very successful and fulfilled, knowing she is helping people through difficult times in their lives.
The herbal health and beauty industry has many facets including growing and selling herbs, instructing people on how to use herbs, formulating herbal remedies and teaching others about herbs benefits.
This is a growing field due to the shift away from traditional chemical-based beauty products.
Starting an aromatherapy business can be a dream come true if you are passionate about herbal healing. Connect with other herbal entrepreneurs and learn their business secrets at Spout an Aromatherapy business online forum.
In addition to opening a retail location to give professional manicures and pedicures, this can be a mobile and part-time business opportunity.
You will need certain equipment and supplies to launch your company, in addition to training in today’s new nail technology. Nail art and bling have become a huge (and growing) specialty service in the manicure industry.
Find yourbest nail salon name idea on my list.
This is one of the most profitable business ideas on this list because the market rate for services is high.
The downside is that you will need to make substantial capital investments in tanning bed equipment and effective marketing strategies to launch your company.
If you have a natural talent or are professionally trained on how to apply makeup then this is an excellent business for you.
Your services will be sought by photographers, models, video influencers, actresses, brides, and businesswomen.
If you are a tattoo artist and love to create body art, then a tattoo parlor business could be the perfect venture for you. Today’s tattoo parlors cater to customers from teenagers to granddad’s.
Gone are the days of outlaw tattoo parlors. Having a tattoo is chic and fashionable these days.
Many dermatologists and beauty salons have added these departments to their offices because there is such strong customer demand.
These clinics sell services and products including creams, serums, and supplements.
Alternatively, you can partner with these direct sales companies to sell anti-aging products and services.
Some tattoo parlors also offer body piercings. However, you can have a business solely focused on body piercing.
Startup costs are usually a few thousand and you can be operated from home or as a mobile business on a part-time schedule.
As Americans millions of baby boomers age, but still want to feel and look young, they want to purchase Stretch mark removal services.
This is a great home-based or mobile service. You could also rent space in the established beauty salon spa or retail boutique.
These types of businesses focus on offering beauty services such as facials, massage, aromatherapy, and skincare consultations.
Some day spas offer additional hair and makeup services, including brow shaping and eyelash extensions.
Today, both men and women desire hair removal services of which you can create a part-time home-based or mobile business to meet the demand.
Threading and waxing and popular hair removal services of which you could profit handsomely.
As a facial spa owner or esthetician professional, you can create your business to be exactly as you desire. Perhaps you will focus solely on esthetician services such as facials or your will including other spa or salon treatments as well.
Successful facial spas offer a range of services including anti-aging treatments, waxing, massages and body wraps.
Get name ideas for your esthetician business on my list here
An excellent business idea is to make money by recommending various beauty products and services and getting a commission through affiliate marketing. The beauty category of product sale commission rates is among the highest in the industry making beauty a very lucrative affiliate marketing niche.
Check out my article about the 77 best affiliate marketing niches.
Capitalize upon the monthly subscription business model and start a beauty product service. There are many successful beauty subscription boxes such as Birchbox and BoxyCharm.
Make your product stand out with a special twist such as all organic, cruelty free, European brands or focus on eye makeup products or nail products.
Consider opening a retail store or online store which focuses entirely on selling beauty products. You could sell makeup, hair care products, skin care products and perfumes. Don’t forget about specialty items such as curling irons, eyelash curlers and makeup brushes.
Beauty professionals such as hair stylists and estheticians need specialized products and equipment. Consider opening a store either brick-and-mortar or online selling these particular items and supplies.
Poise and elegance is an important part of being beautiful. As such, consider training people in etiquette and manners.
You could launch an online course, YouTube channel or teach a class in your community. Consider niche markets such as teenagers, college women, professionals and men.
Develop beautiful smelling perfumes and other fragrance products such as home decor, and men’s colognes for sale. You could blend your fragrances from natural essential oils or utilize industry standard perfumers to develop a private label custom fragrance brand.
Candle making is an art that is greatly appreciated and can be profitable. There many types of candle making such as carved candles, poured candles, candlesticks and jar candles. Experiment with colors, styles and containers to develop your own brand.
Sell your candles at gift shops, hair salons and boutiques or online at sites such as eBay and Etsy.
If you know how to create beautiful soaps you have the beginnings of a successful business. Market your soaps to gift shops and home decor stores or sell online on an e-commerce site.
There is a growing demand for home fragrance products including potpourri, room sprays and scented shelf lining paper. Develop your line with interesting scents, designs and colors.
Stress ages people and wrecks havoc on beautiful skin. As such, offer meditation classes and biofeedback to train people in relaxation techniques.
If you are licensed in the massage healing arts then you are ready to start profiting. Consider becoming a mobile massage business and travel to your clients home. Or you could open a massage studio in your home, a salon, spa, medical office or storefront.
In addition to performing massage services, you could develop your own line of massage oils and sell them to your customers and other massage therapists.
A healthy and beautiful body is the goal of many people and you can make money helping them to achieve their fitness goals. The business opportunities are virtually endless from opening a gym, exercise studio, teaching yoga classes and offering personal trainer services.
Dependent upon which business you launch the startup costs could be low and it can even be home-based.
Review my logo inspiration for your fitness business logo here
Eyelash extensions are trending business. Beauty professionals can launch from their homes or rent a chair in a salon or makeup studio.
Another hot beauty trend service is brow shaping and microblading. Microblading is a form of tattooing which creates a permanent brow for women or men.
Get some great ideas for the name of your microblading business on my list here
The ancient art of threading for hair removal has become almost standard across Europe and America.
You could offer a mobile home service where you travel to your clients and perform these threading services to define their brows. Charge more for this service since you save them travel time and increase their comfort by performing this beauty service in their own home.
Also, consider offering a threading party service where people would invite a few of their friends to their home and you would perform services on each individual. This increases your profit nicely.
If you have a new idea for a cosmetic line of cosmetics but do not want to invest in manufacturing equipment you could work with a private label company who will develop the line to your specifications. Here’s a list of private label cosmetic manufacturers who can help you develop your custom beauty brand.
The spray tanning service has exploded in popularity over the last 10 years. It’s a great business because you can get started quickly and fairly inexpensively. Check out this ultimate guide on how to start your own spray tan business from the experts at Happy Tans
Every bride wants to be the most beautiful. Also, her bridal party, her mom and her mother-in-law all want to hire makeup services. Here you can offer your makeup artistry to the bride and the bridal party including men and children. Everybody will look beautiful in the wedding photos.
You can make money by being a photographer’s assistant offering hair and makeup services to their clients. Fashion photographers and portrait studio photographers require the services of beauty professionals to apply makeup and style hair for their clients so that their photographs look great.
Old fashioned barbershops are all the rage. So consider opening one in your town or as a mobile barbershop truck. You can offer men, women, and children hair cutting and shaving unisex services.
As facial hair and beards continue to be trendy the demand for grooming services will increase.
If you know how to lose weight and you can motivate others and sell your expertise as a weight loss coach.
People appreciate the one-on-one service and inspiration that is often required to slim down. Consider specializing in a particular type of people such as men, women over 40 or busy professionals.
Alternatively, you could offer to counsel for members of popular weight-loss programs such as Weight Watchers or Nutrisystem.
One of the most lucrative business models in the beauty industry is to create and manufacture your own cosmetic line.
I founded a cosmetic manufacturing company and it was very profitable and I ultimately sold it. Know that you will need capital investment for equipment and materials start-up costs.
Selling consulting services to the cosmetic industry for technical, marketing or e-commerce services is in demand and can yield a substantial income. If you have experience and talent in this field consider sharing your knowledge for income.
Get inspiration for naming your consulting company in my post.
There’s a fortune to be made in products related to the beauty industry. Consider designing and manufacturing products such as cosmetic bags, makeup brushes, beauty implements such as eyelash curlers nail files, makeup sponges and blenders.
If you are an inventor explore creating new beauty gadgets that could be manufactured overseas and sold to retailers and online. Fortunes have been made in such items as Jade skincare rollers, curling irons and ionic blow dryers.
Think about training to become a hypnotherapist to help people look more beautiful by relieving their stress, stop smoking and lose weight.
People want to relieve stress and improve their health and you can help them by renting time in a sauna or sweat lodge. Combine this business idea with massage and aromatherapy services to up your profits.
There are so many cosmetic and beauty products today that consumers are confused. They are looking for objective reviews of all types of products such as skin care, hair care, and makeup.
Launch a website with reviews and video showing product usage such as this profitable website Beautypedia
Social media offers the perfect platform to broadcast your experience and recommendations for beauty products treatments and salons.
You could focus on one social media platform such as Pinterest or you could become an influencer across many social media sites such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Think about purchasing a health and beauty franchise to start your business. Here’s a list of the top health and beauty franchises from the experts at Franchise Chatter.
If you can develop a truly innovative and profitable salon concept you could franchise it and sell licenses. Learn how to franchise businesses from the Franchise Makers
If you have knowledge about salon marketing you could teach other salons how to increase their profits with improved marketing techniques.
Beauty companies need expert public relations professionals to publicize their brands and products. If you have expertise in publicity consider specializing in beauty companies.
There are many aspiring beauty operators who need specialized training and licensing in the cosmetology arts including hair cutting, dying nail art and makeup artistry. Think about opening a training school teaching students how to launch their beauty careers.
As women age, they require a different beauty regime for skincare and makeup. Many of the major brands overly focus on young women and forget this important and lucrative market segment.
Your brand would focus exclusively on beauty tips recommendations for mature women of a certain age. This is a huge demand and often neglected market.
The demand for crazy colored hair has opened up a niche market in the salon. You could specialize in outrageous hair coloring in fuchsia, green, blue for modern innovative fashion clients both men and women.
Help people who have scars, ugly birthmarks, burns, and other skin conditions to learn how to cover and correct with specialized cosmetics. You could demonstrate techniques on YouTube, and sell special private label products that perform admirably for these special make-up needs.
With the dramatic increase in videos and photos used online people of all walks of life need to learn how to do their makeup professionally to look their best in the media. Whether their videos are for work or dating there is a big demand for learning this type of special makeup artistry.
You could create a course, open a YouTube channel or write a book sharing your knowledge about these makeup techniques.
Theatrical makeup training is no longer just for actors and celebrities. Everyday folk are interested in learning how to do makeup for Halloween, costume parties and children’s birthday party clowns.
If you have knowledge of these advanced makeup techniques sell your information for profit.
Manicures and nail art are a strongly growing business trend that is projected to continue upwards. Thus consider launching your own nail polish line, nail art tools or implements.
Learn about how to start your own nail enamel line from the experts at Nail Pro. Com
Help men to be their most attractive with advice and training in how to style and cut their hair, wardrobe suggestions, and pairings, manicure and pedicure recommendations.
Even though there are many successful hair care brands there is still an open door for new brands to be profitable. Answer specific needs for particular hair types and conditions to carve out your own market segment. If you’re thinking about getting started in your own hair care line get these tips at from this private label company
A friend of mine has launched a successful side business teaching people how to apply makeup properly. She teaches classes for teenagers in the local salon and also sells her own private label cosmetics demonstrated during the class.
She also profiting from individual lessons for a professional career and mature women who have special needs.
People who are going through cancer treatments and chemotherapy sometimes lose their hair and want to purchase wigs to cover up and look and feel better. This special market is an excellent business opportunity which you could launch. Your market could be women, men, teens and children who are affected by chemotherapy hair loss.
Now that you have read my big list of beauty business ideas you are ready to get into the beauty industry as an entrepreneur. Good luck!
BONUS: Beauty businesses are fueled by customer referrals.
Check out my big list of small business ideas
Read about business ideas for women entrepreneurs
Here is my big list of the best fashion business ideas for startup
Check out my big list of makeup business name ideas here
Disclaimer: The content on this page is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or accounting advice. If you have specific questions about any of these topics, seek the counsel of a licensed professional.
Written by Team ZenBusiness
ZenBusiness has helped people start, run, and grow over 700,000 dream companies. The editorial team at ZenBusiness has over 20 years of collective small business publishing experience and is composed of business formation experts who are dedicated to empowering and educating entrepreneurs about owning a company.
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