The six key questions you should ask yourself before you can build a successful skincare brand

There is no doubt about it, creating and marketing a new natural skincare brand is a big challenge and right now with growing competition and an unfavourable, worldwide, economic situation it takes a brave and determined soul to go out there and win but don’t be fooled, there is still a lot of money around and success is still there for the taking.

In my 25 years of experience working with new skincare entrepreneurs I have discovered that the ability to succeed depends far more on the business skills, creativity, character and resilience of the individual entrepreneur than it does on the products themselves. You can make gorgeous, original natural products that your friends and family love but if you do not have the true grit to get out there and tell the world about them you are headed for disappointment and quite possibly a large financial loss. For this reason, before you decide to set up your brand I would like you to ask yourself the following six questions:

1. How do you feel about taking risks ?

Starting any kind of business involves varying levels of risk but creating a competitive skincare brand means that you are going to have to invest a considerable amount of money in your formulations, testing, legalities, branding, packaging, production and marketing. It’s really important that you set yourself a budget and know where your start up costs will come from.

The good news is that with the growth of internet sales many of the traditional retailer overheads can be avoided and you now have access to a huge international market but you are still stepping into a very competitive industry and it is crucial that everything you put out there looks highly professional (particularly your branding). Added to that be prepared to play the long game. In the first two or even three years of trading you may not be able to draw an income as you will find yourself re-investing your profits back into your business. Be ready for a rollercoaster, with great weeks that send you soaring upwards and others that leave you reeling and wondering why you started this. Always have a Plan B. in your pocket, cover your back and think strategically so that whatever happens you are going to be OK. Remember too that this is just a small part of your life and that the challenge of building your own brand will teach you many things about your strengths and weaknesses and how best to use them.

2. Are you prepared to delegate ?

If you have been focussing on learning to formulate you will be used to having total control over your products and what you put into them but when you make the decision to turn your passion into a business the first thing you need to accept is that you can’t run your business on your own. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day and your business cannot afford to pay you to do tasks that others can do for you, often at a much lower cost and sometimes better and quicker than you can do them yourself. For example, attempting to do your own branding might feel exciting and a great cost saver but the truth is using a highly trained, graphic designer with years of experience behind them is a really sound investment.

Many formulators I have worked with imagine that building a business around their passion means that they can spend large amounts of their time stirring pots and creating product but, once you have your initial capsule range, your job as a business owner is going to be managing your business and selling your products. Building a successful skincare business is a numbers game and whilst it might be fun to make your first five hundred jars of cream I promise you the shine will tarnish when you are faced with the substantial orders you need to lead you to success.

Ask any successful entrepreneur and they will tell you that building a business is a shedding process. You need to build a team around you and work towards delegating every single task that others can do for you so that you will be freed up to take a bird’s eye strategic view of your business and not be bogged down by the detail.

3. Can you be consistent ?

Some of us (like me) are “starters” and some of us are in it for the long haul. I know for example that my sweet spot is making ideas happen. I get hugely excited about the possibilities of ideas and where I can take them but once I feel I have all the pieces in place I am itching to move on to the next project that will light me up. When I set up my skincare business I knew this about myself and created a five year plan which gave me just enough time and commitment to lay strong foundations, get to market and build a solid enough company to enable me to exit in year five.

When you don’t have a strategy in place it is easy to drift or worse still to allow your business to become your reason to live (in my experience I am not overstating that). Consistency is necessary in all aspects of your business from your social media to your customer service and people management so if you are building your brand and at the same time trying to hold down another job or raising a family be strategic and honest about the time you can devote to it and make sure you cover the time and jobs you can’t do yourself– otherwise you could be headed for burn out. Being honest with yourself will lead you to the best decisions around how to prioritise your time.

Accepting that I am starter and recognising my ability to lay solid foundations for my clients’ brands has taken me to where I am now- working with driven entrepreneurs that I love and who my ideas are made for. Get your ultimate vision straight.

4. How willing are you to be open ?

In this wild information age we are living in I am always amazed at how many new entrepreneurs still want to guard their formulas and contacts as if their lives depended upon it. The fact is that unless you have created a potion that has your clients going to bed aged 50 and waking up looking like they are 20 the chances are you haven’t truly come up with anything new and most information is available at the click of a track pad.

The one thing I’ve learned about operating in a social media environment is that if you offer help people repay you tenfold so a willingness to share and being prepared to ask others questions will do you far more good than harm. Openness also means walking about with your antenna up, looking for situations you can leverage and being forward by making proposals for affiliations and co-operations to others.

Personal resilience comes into this. Ten people you approach may say no but you only need one of the right people to send your sales figures soaring.

5. Are you analytical ?

The wonderful thing about operating today is that most of the statistics you need can be found by using Google and this is important because the right data can really help you.

When most of us start a skincare business we do so with the encouragement of friends and family who tell us they love our products but verifying your creative decisions by asking questions to your ideal potential customers will give you far more valid feedback than relying on your nearest and dearest. We all have our favourite colours and our favourite scents but what we like personally really isn’t relevant. We need to know what the customers we are aiming at want and like.

Your ability to analyse is also enormously important when it comes to your numbers both in terms of costing your products and the general management and ROI (return on investment) that you achieve in your business. At the end of the day business is about making money and however shiny an object/ingredient might be its important that you always work out the financial return you can achieve if you invest in it.

6. What are your key talents ?

Chances are at the beginning of your business journey you will be bouncing with energy and great creative ideas but whilst it is important to have a broad understanding of all aspects of your business you cannot be an expert in all of them. Equally, if a skill that comes easily to you is something you could pay someone else minimum wage to do for you then pay them. (Note that piece of advice given in point 1 is SO important that I am repeating it).

Before you start investing money in your business make a list of all the things that have to be done and also list all your personal strengths and weaknesses. If you moving out of a corporate career into entrepreneurship don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. Use the skills you have learned and are confident about to help you move forward and budget to buy in anything you are unsure of. If you are new to the industry take full advantage of the free and paid help offered by those who have already walked the road you want to walk. It could save you a lot of time and a great deal of money going forwards.

Need more help ? Please check out my website at https://www.melindacoss.com

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