Starting a new skin care products business

[SueOrr0103]

Hello,

I live in East Dulwich and looking to start a new natural handmade skin care products business. I'm looking to speak with some who has done something similar to get some guidance.

Can you please PM me if you have started a similar business and have some pointers as to where I can start?

Many thanks,

Sue

[vladi]

I have found this very useful..

https://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/

No one is going to provide a template to enable you to create a business but they will answer your questions if you have a basic plan and strategy.

You should have a business plan covering such matters as:-

Sourcing input products

Pricing of inputs

Packaging

Retail distribution

Unique selling factors

Competition

Cost of premises/overheads

Selling price and margin

Advertising

When you have a plan then raise a question on UKBF

Good luck, but be aware, retail is not easy

[Penguin68]

If you start with such a process plan, you will fail (though you absolutely need that eventually).

What you must start with is a definition of customer needs, and ability to pay, and some feeling for the scale of the market you might wish to address. Any actual business that does not start with the customers and their needs will always fail. (An inventor may invent something which seems neat, but it is not something around which a business can form unless and until customers with clearly defined needs - and an ability to pay - can be identified). Then you need to think what USP you have. You may be the first in the market (in which case how easy is it for others to copy?) , but overall your product/ service must be of a high quality (which includes design or style), or a compelling price, or very innovative to succeed. Nowadays being 'local' may also be a USP - but your local market must be of a sufficient size to be addressed profitably over the long(ish) term. That is why local business such as restaurants can succeed, as they are looking for repeat purchase. If you are selling something which your purchaser may not need to buy again in a year, then you need to consider whether that frequency of purchase will be sufficient (can you make a living from it?)

90% of start-up businesses will fail. Many of them do so because they haven't considered customer need, USP and necessary scale of activity. And of course some are just bad ideas, although some will be good ideas, but without the reach of customer need to make them a viable business proposition.

[alice]

There are so many people doing that exact thing around at local markets. Maybe talk to them?

[vladi]

"handmade natural skin care products" is a challenging business sector because it is highly competitive with participants doing it as a hobby on the side of a day job.

The vast majority will never turn a profit as they can never achieve economies of scale to enable them to purchase ingredients and packaging economically.

Please thoroughly research the market in google, eBay , Etsy etc before investing any money.

[emu]

Anything is possible. Susie started small and now doing very well with Tropic Skincare . I guess Alan Sugar may have helped her a bit....

https://tropicskincare.com/pages/our-story

[vladi]

I recommend you visit UK Business Forum. It's for small businesses and a place where people float their ideas and get answers to questions.

I have benefitted form it greatly in the past and visit it weekly to get fresh ideas and gain from other peoples experiences.

https://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/

Good luck.