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How to Start a Bridal Makeup Business from Home

Do you want to start a bridal makeup company? If YES, here is a complete guide to starting a bridal makeup business with no money and no experience plus a sample bridal makeup business plan template. Quite a number of creative entrepreneurs the world over are making good bucks from the bridal makeup business and you too can become part of it if you are creative, artistic and interested in the business.

This type of business is not capital intensive and you can start it with your savings. If you are hardworking and you have the right network in place, you can generate your start-up capital from one business deal. One good thing about this business is that most often than not, weddings are held during weekends and if you are lucky not to be working during weekends, you can successfully run a bridal makeup business. As a matter of fact, you can combine your bridal makeup business with any other business without overworking yourself.

As a student who is interested in making money while studying, you can start your own bridal makeup business; it will not affect your studies in any way if you know how to manage your time. Though starting a bridal makeup business does not require any technical or professional skills; but you will still need to learn makeup artistry, and have good business, networking and of course customer services skills.

You can start your bridal makeup business from a small town in the United States and if you are consistent and creative, it won’t be too long before your brand becomes recognized.

20 Steps to Starting a Bridal Makeup Business

1. Understand the Industry

A bridal makeup artist is someone who makes up the bride, chief bride’s maid and her bridal train during wedding ceremonies. A close study of happenings in the Makeup Artists industry shows that the industry has experienced remarkable growth due to stronger economic conditions. It is normal that with increase in disposable income, more couples will be encouraged to marry, and to spend more on wedding planning.

So also, increased internet usage has made bridal makeup artists more accessible to clients, decreasing the industry’s marketing costs and boosting profit margins. No doubt, as the economy continues to strengthen, the growth in the industry is expected to accelerate.

Statistics has it that in the united states of America alone, there are about 39,643 registered and licensed makeup artists scattered all across the country responsible for employing about 41,714 and the industry rakes in a whooping sum of $1 billion annually.

The industry is projected to grow at -1.9 percent annual growth within 2011 and 2016. It is important to state that there are no establishments in this industry with a lion market share since the industry is majorly dominated by sole operators.

A recent report published by IBISWORLD shows that the Makeup Artists industry is highly fragmented and distributed proportionally in the United States. The report stated that in 2015, the Southeast held the most industry establishments of any region, at 29.7 percent of the total.

New England and the Rocky Mountains are expected to hold the least, at 4.4 percent each. The Southeast region is expected to have 29.7 percent of industry establishments. This region also includes the state with the most establishments, Florida, which has an estimated 13.7 percent of industry establishments.

The report further stated that States like Florida are destination wedding locations. Locations such as Disney World are very popular for weddings, which is why the number of establishments outpaces the proportion of population located in the region.

Despite the fact that the industry seems fast growing, there is still room big enough to accommodate aspiring entrepreneurs who intend opening their own business in the United States of America.

Some of the factors that encourage entrepreneurs to start their own bridal makeup business could be that the business has pretty low entry barriers; it is a thriving business that can be set up with relatively minimal startup capital and manpower especially if you are operating a mobile bridal makeup business without a studio or salon.

The bridal makeup business is very open to any aspiring entrepreneur who has acquired the required training, skills and perhaps professional certifications to start his or her own business. Just ensure that your salon or studio is located in an environment with the right demography and you will be fine.

2. Conduct Market Research and Feasibility Studies

  • Demographics and Psychographics

The demographic and psychographic composition of those who patronize the bridal makeup artistry business is restricted to brides, chief bride’s maid, bridal train and perhaps mother and sisters of the bride. Hence, if you are thinking of opening your own bridal makeup artist business then you should make target demographics all encompassing.

3. Decide Which Niche to Concentrate On

Bridal makeup artist business is a niche idea in the makeup artistry industry but it is also common to find bridal makeup artists engage in other related services such as general makeup artistry, face painting business et al.

The Level of Competition in the Industry

The competition that exists in the bridal makeup business goes beyond competition amongst bridal makeup artists in your location; you are expected to compete with complimentary services such as general makeup artists, face painting business and any other business that also do bridal makeup.

The truth is that no matter the level of competition in an industry, if you have done your due diligence and promote your services or business properly, you will always make headway in the industry. Just ensure that you are creative enough and you know how to attract and reach out to your target market.

There are several bridal makeup businesses and complimentary services scattered all around the United States. So, if you choose to start your own bridal makeup artist business in the United States, you will definitely meet stiff competition.

4. Know Your Major Competitors in the Industry

In every industry, there are always brands that perform better or are better regarded by customers and the general public than others. Some of these brands have been in the industry for a long time, while others are best known for how they conduct their businesses, how they treat their customers and the results they have achieved over the years.

These are some of the leading bridal makeup artists in the United States of America and in the globe;

  • Sir John
  • Patrick Ta
  • Robin Black
  • Charlotte Tilbruy,
  • Mario Dedivanovic
  • Pati Dubroff
  • Pat McGrath
  • Joyce Bonelli
  • Mylah Morales
  • Tom Pecheux
  • Michael Anthony
  • Vincent Oquendo
  • Lottie S
  • Mary Phillips
  • Val Garland
  • Hrush Achemyan
  • Ariel Tejada
  • Beau Nelson
  • Kate Lee
  • Pati Dubroff
Economic Analysis

If you are looking towards successfully launching a business and maximizing profits, then you need to ensure that you get your economic and cost analysis right and try as much as possible to adopt best practices in the industry you choose to build a business in.

Bridal makeup business is not a Green business, as a matter of fact; you will come across several bridal makeup artists when you drive through town. So, if you are mapping out your economic analysis, you should carry out thorough market survey and costing of what is required to rent a space to open your studio, the amount required to purchase makeup kit and supplies, and also the cost to successfully run the business.

Over and above, if you are considering starting a bridal makeup artist business, then your concern should not be limited to renting a studio facility and purchasing makeup supplies, you should also think of branding and how to build a robust clientele base and business network.

5. Decide Whether to Buy a Franchise or Start from Scratch

If you are looking towards starting a bridal makeup business, you would have to start from the very scratch because you can hardly find any bridal makeup studio that is into franchising. It is a business that has pretty low entry barriers hence; it is open to all and sundry.

Besides starting a bridal makeup business from the scratch is less stressful when compared to other small scale businesses that require detailed groundwork. With a bridal makeup business, you should just try as much as possible to get the right employees, skills, makeup kit, build business relationship and network with key stakeholders and then leverage on every marketing tool within your disposal especially the internet.

Please note that most of the big and successful bridal makeup studios around started from the scratch and they were able to build a solid business brand. It takes dedication, hard work and determination to achieve business success.

6. Know the Possible Threats and Challenges You Will Face

If you decide to start your own bridal makeup artist business today, one of the major challenges you are likely going to face is the presence of well – established bridal makeup studios, and complementary businesses such as general make-up artists that also carryout bridal makeup services. The only way to avoid this challenge is to create your own market.

Some other challenges and threats that you are likely going to face is economic downturn; if the economy is in bad shape, bridal makeup services usually struggle to welcome new customers (brides) because people will naturally postpone their weddings to be able to sort out finance. There is nothing you can do as regard these threats and challenges other than to stay positive that things will work well for you.

7. Choose the Most Suitable Legal Entity (LLC, C Corp, S Corp)

When considering starting a bridal makeup business, the legal entity you choose will go a long way to determine how big the business can grow.

Generally, you can choose general partnership, limited liability company, or even a sole proprietorship for your bridal makeup business. Ordinarily, sole proprietorship should have been the ideal business structure for a small scale bridal makeup business especially if you are just starting out with moderate capital in a small neighborhood and with just one outlet.

But if your intention is to grow the business and have chains of standard bridal makeup studios across the United States of America, then choosing sole proprietor is not an option for you. Limited Liability Company, LLC or even general partnership will cut it for you.

Setting up an LLC protects you from personal liability. If anything goes wrong in the business, it is only the money that you invested into the limited liability company that will be at risk. Limited liability companies are simpler and more flexible to operate and you don’t need a board of directors, shareholder meetings and other managerial formalities.

These are some of the factors you should consider before choosing a legal entity for your bridal makeup business; limitation of personal liability, ease of transferability, admission of new owners and investors’ expectation and of course taxes.

If you take your time to study the various legal entities for your bridal makeup business with the ability to sell franchise and open chains of standard bridal makeup artist studios all across the United States of America, you will agree that limited liability company; an LLC is most suitable. You can start this type of business as limited liability company (LLC) and in future convert it to a ‘C’ corporation or ‘S’ corporation especially when you have the plans of going public.

Upgrading to a ‘C’ corporation or ‘S’ corporation will give you the opportunity to grow your business so as to compete with major players in the industry; you will be able to generate capital from venture capital firms, you will enjoy separate tax structure, and you can easily transfer ownership of the company.

8. Choose a Catchy Business Name

When it comes to choosing a name for your business, you should be creative because whatever name you choose for your business will go a long way to create a perception of what the business represents. If you are considering starting your own bridal makeup artist business, here are some catchy names that you can choose from;

  • Patra & Sarah® Bridal Makeup Artist Studios, LLC
  • Beauty Agenda™ Bridal Makeup Artist Studios, LLC
  • Prisca Wellington® Bridal Makeup Artist Studio, Inc.
  • Wedding Girl™ Bridal Makeup Artist Studio, Inc.
  • Shades of Beauty™ Bridal Makeup Artist, Inc.
  • Brown Gal™ Bridal Makeup Artist, Inc.
  • Lurie Clackson© Face Painting & Makeup Artistry, Inc.
  • Angel’s Tone® Bridal Makeup Artist Studio, LLC
  • Kattie™ Mobile Bridal Makeup Artist Studios, Inc.
  • Queen Estee © Bridal Makeup Artist, Inc.

9. Discuss with an Agent to Know the Best Insurance Policies for You

In the United States and in most countries of the world, you can’t operate a business without having some of the basic insurance policy covers that are required by the industry you want to operate from. So, it is important to create a budget for insurance and perhaps consult an insurance broker to guide you in choosing the best and most appropriate insurance policies for your business.

Here are some of the basic insurance covers that you should consider purchasing if you want to start your own bridal makeup business in the United States of America;

  • General insurance
  • Health/Medical insurance
  • Liability insurance
  • Workers Compensation
  • Overhead expense disability insurance
  • Business owner’s policy group insurance

10. Protect your Intellectual Property With Trademark, Copyrights, Patents

If you are considering starting your own bridal makeup business, usually you may not have any need to file for intellectual property protection/trademark because you can successfully run the business without having any cause to challenge anybody in court for illegally making use of your company’s intellectual properties.

But if you just want to protect your company’s logo and other documents or software that are unique to you or even jingles and media production concepts, then you can go ahead to file for intellectual property protection. If you want to register your trademark, you are expected to begin the process by filing an application with the USPTO. The final approval of your trademark is subjected to the review of attorneys as required by USPTO.

11. Get the Necessary Professional Certification

If you just want to major in bridal makeup, you would not need any professional certifications to run the business, but if you want to run a standard bridal makeup business that will employ workers, then you need certifications to be ahead of your competitors.

The truth is that if you want to make an impact in the industry, then you should work towards acquiring all the certifications in your area of specialization. Certification validates your competency and shows that you are highly skilled, committed to your career, and up-to-date in the market.

These are some of the certifications you can work towards achieving if you want to run your own bridal makeup artist;

  • Makeup and Nail Technician Advanced Diploma – CPD Certified & IAO Approve
  • Makeup Artist Certification

Please note that you can successfully run a bridal makeup studio on a small scale in the United States without necessarily acquiring professional certifications and business license as long as you have adequate experience cum background in the business.

12. Get the Necessary Legal Documents You Need to Operate

It is a fact that you cannot successfully run any business in the United States without the proper documentations. If you do, it won’t be too long before the long hand of the law catches up with you. These are some of the basic legal documents that you are expected to have in place if you want to legally run your own bridal makeup business in the United States of America;

  • Certificate of Incorporation
  • Business License
  • Tax Payer’s ID/Tax Identification Number
  • Health inspection Certificate
  • Copy of license for the service support facility and/or a recent inspection report
  • Business Plan
  • Employee Handbook
  • Employment Agreement (offer letters)
  • Operating Agreement for LLCs
  • Insurance Policy
  • Online Terms of Use
  • Online Privacy Policy Document (basically for online payment portal)
  • Company Bylaws
  • Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
  • Building License
  • Franchise or Trademark License (optional)

13. Raise the Needed Startup Capital

Starting a bridal makeup artist business can be cost effective especially if you choose to start on a small scale by running a mobile business. Securing a standard and well – positioned studio facility and purchasing makeup supplies are part of what will consume a large chunk of your startup capital.

When it comes to financing a business, one of the first things you should consider is to write a good business plan. If you have a good and workable business plan document in place, you may not have to labor yourself before convincing your bank, investors and your friends to invest in your business.

Here are some of the options you can explore when sourcing for startup capital for your bridal makeup artist business;

  • Raising money from personal savings and sale of personal stocks and properties
  • Raising money from investors and business partners
  • Sell shares to interested investors
  • Applying for Loan from your Bank
  • Pitching your business idea and applying for business grants and seed funding from donor organizations and angel investors
  • Source for soft loans from your family members and your friends.

14. Choose a Suitable Location for your Business

When it comes to choosing a location for your bridal makeup artist business, the rule of thumb is that you should be guided by the demand for bridal makeup and easy access to bridal makeup supplies. Of course, if you are able to secure a central location for your bridal makeup business, it will help people locate your studio.

It is important to note that a business facility in a good location does not come cheap, hence you should be able to allocate enough fund for leasing/renting in your budget. You can talk to a business consultant or a realtor who has a full grasp of the city you intend starting your business.

Most importantly, before choosing a location for your bridal makeup artist studio business, ensure that you first conduct a thorough feasibility studies and market survey. The possibility of you coming across similar business that just closed shop in the location you want to open yours can’t be ruled out.

These are some of the key factors that you should consider before choosing a location for your bridal makeup artist studio business;

  • The demography of the location
  • The demand for bridal makeup services in the location
  • The purchasing power of the residents of the location
  • Accessibility of the location
  • The number of bridal makeup businesses in the location
  • The local laws and regulations in the community/state
  • Traffic, parking and security et al

15. Hire Employees for your Technical and Manpower Needs

You don’t need much to start this business, but you would definitely need makeup supplies. You can visit shopping malls in your city to source for a complete kit, or better still check online stores. You are likely going to get one around you for an affordable price. So also, you will need computers / laptops, internet facility, telephone and studio furniture (chairs, tables, and shelves) amongst others and all these can be gotten as fairly used.

As regards leasing or outright purchase of a studio facility to use as your operational base, the choice is dependent on your financial standings, but the truth is that to be on the safe side, it is advisable to start off with a short term rent/lease while test running the business in the location. If things work out as planned, then you go on a long – term lease or outright purchase of the property.

When it comes to hiring employees, you should make plans to hire a competent Chief Executive Officer (you can occupy this role), Admin and Human Resources Manager, Studio Manager, Makeup Artist, Sales and Marketing Officer, Accounting Clerk, and Cleaners. On the average, you will need a minimum of 5 to 10 key staff to run a standard bridal makeup artist studio business.

The Service Delivery Process of the Business

The business process as it relates to bridal makeup business is to a large extent dependent on individual bridal makeup artists. Most bridal makeup artist work from home and operate a one man show. They go to wedding venues with their catalogue sourcing for bridal makeup deals. Once they secure any business deals, they charge per hour and their charges is about $100 per hour.

It is important to state that a bridal makeup business may decide to improvise or adopt any business process and structure that will guarantee them efficiency and flexibility; the above stated business process is not cast on stone.

16. Write a Marketing Plan Packed with ideas & Strategies

Generally, running a business requires that you should be proactive when it comes to marketing your goods or services. If you choose to launch a bridal makeup business, then you must employ strategies that will help you attract customers or else you will likely struggle with the business because there are well-known brands that determine the market direction of the business.

Your marketing strategy should center on creativity, reliability, swiftness, safety, pricing, thoroughness, and above all excellent customer service. You should ensure that whenever your customers hire your services, they will get excellent service. The truth is that if you are able to put the above stated in place, you won’t struggle to retain your old customers and at the same time win new customers.

Businesses these days are aware of the power of the internet and which is why they will do all they can to maximize the internet to market their services. These are some of the marketing ideas and strategies that you can adopt for your bridal makeup artist business;

  • Introduce your bridal makeup artist business by sending introductory letters alongside your brochure to wedding planners, event planners and other key stake holders throughout the city where your studio is located.
  • Advertise on the internet on blogs and forums, and also on social media like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Instagram to get your message across.
  • Print out fliers and business cards and strategically drop them in offices, schools, sport facilities, libraries, public facilities and train stations et al.
  • Deliver satisfactory customer experience, and make your first impression count positively to your clients
  • Make use of attractive hand bills to create awareness
  • Create a basic website for your business so as to give your business an online presence
  • Join related business associations for industry trends and tips
  • List your business on yellow pages ads (local directories)
  • Encourage the use of Word of mouth marketing (referrals)

17. Work Out a Reasonable Pricing for your Services & Products

One key factor that will help you offer your bridal makeup services at rock bottom prices is to purchase your makeup supplies directly from manufacturers in pretty large quantities. The truth is the higher the quantity of items that you purchase directly from the manufacturers, the cheaper you tend to get them.

Another strategy that will help you offer your services at the right price is to ensure that you cut operational cost to the barest minimum and channel your efforts towards marketing and promoting your brand name. Aside from the fact that this strategy will help you save cost, it will also help you get the right pricing for your services.

18. Develop Iron-clad Competitive Strategies to Help You Win

If you are into bridal makeup business, then it is advisable that you make use of effective bridal makeup supplies and also ensure that you take testimonials from your clients who are satisfied with your services.

Another possible competitive strategy for winning your competitors in this particular industry is to build a robust clientele base and business network. Over and above, ensure that your organization is well positioned, key members of your team are highly qualified and your works can favorably compete with the some of the best in the industry.

19. Brainstorm Possible Ways to Retain Clients & Customers

When it comes to business, no matter the industry that you choose to pitch your tent in, one of the easiest ways to increase customer retention and perhaps attract new customers is to produce results and satisfy your customers always. If your customers are satisfied with your products and service delivery, they can hardly source for alternative service providers or products.

If you can continue to make available different styles of bridal makeup artistry services to your customers, and your customer service delivery is top notch, then you won’t struggle to maintain loyal customers.

Part of what you need to do to achieve this is to track progress, results or outputs with the aim of improving on them quickly as the case demands. When it comes to managing your customers, and building loyal clientele base, you should purchase a customized CRM software.

With a customized CRM system, you can easily stay in touch with your clients (you can carry out quick survey, you can introduce new products and prices to them without any hitch, you can felicitate with them on their birthdays and other anniversaries, you can keep track of their progress, you can send bulk SMS and customized e – mails and above all, you can easily receive compliant and feedback from them).

20. Develop Strategies to Boost Brand Awareness and Create a Corporate Identity

If you are in business and you are not deliberate about boosting you brand awareness and communicating your corporate identity, then you should be ready to take on whatever the society portrays your business to be. One of the secrets of large corporations is that they are willing to spend fortunes to boost their brand awareness and to continue to communicate their corporate identity the way they want people to perceive them.

If your intention of starting a bridal makeup business is to grow the business beyond the city where you are going to be operating from to become a national and international brand, then you must be ready to spend money on promotion and advertisement of your brand.

Here are the platforms you can leverage on to boost your brand awareness and create corporate identity for your bridal makeup business;

  • Place adverts on both print (newspapers and beauty magazines) and electronic media platforms
  • Sponsor relevant community – based events/programs
  • Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google + et al to promote your bridal makeup artist business
  • Install your billboards in strategic locations all around your city or state
  • Engage in roadshows from time to time in targeted neighborhoods to create awareness of your bridal makeup artist business
  • Distribute your fliers and handbills in target areas
  • List your bridal makeup artist business in local directories/yellow pages
  • Advertise your bridal makeup artist business in your official website and employ strategies that will help you pull traffic to the site.
  • Position our Flexi Banners at strategic positions in the location where your bridal makeup artist studio is located.
  • Ensure that all your staff members wear your branded shirts and all your vehicles are well branded with your company logo et al.