I was thinking about experimenting with opening my skin and body boutique?

Question

I know how to make all these skin and body products from scratch (shower gels, lotions, body butter’s, milk bath’s, even perfume), my aunt is opening a boutique in Vegas, I’m in Orlando, but she says I should try it from home first like her and build up a clientele. What do you think? I mean I love this kind of stuff. I even work on the wkends in bath and body works because I love aromatherapy and things like that and I usually sell $500- $800 worth of merchandise on a slow day. I was thinking my stuff would be better because its all 100% natural, 100% vegan. What do you think?

I'm not thinking about opening a boutique like right now, I was thinking more along the lines of making couple of my products and passing them around at work and see what people think. See who comes back and ask for more. Then sell from my day job, I'm an Admin. Asst. in a very large firm over 2000 employees here at the office.

Answer 1

I think that is an excellent idea. Start with co-workers, friends, church members; give it to them as a gift. See who comes back for more then charge. That's how you start. Even give them a questionairre and have them critique the pros and cons of the product. Also before you start try it on you first. I always feel we are our own worse critics (I know I am). Just start slow and let the word of mouth build.

Answer 2

Your aunt is right. Running a business is a whole different thing from what you do. You are good at making 100% natural skin and body products; you are not necessarily ready to be a small business owner. You should develop your product line, logo, brand name & packaging and go out and try to sell it. Sell it on line, from home, to the bath & bodyworks store where you work. Tote your products around to all the bath & bodyworks stores in the Orlando area. Sell Sell Sell. Get feedback, learn about the sales and business processes, interview the sales clerks and store owners and try to learn about the challenges they face. Opening a retail shop requires a substantial upfront investment of cash. Eight out of ten new businesses fail due to lack of capital or management incompetence. You need to crawl before you can run.

Answer 3

A boutique has one problem with it: rent, which you have to pay regardless of whether you make money. Starting from home has the advantage of not needing expensive space at the mall.

You might consider setting up an online store (stores on Yahoo! start at $39.95/month) and advertising it in publications (both online and offline) targeting vegan audience...

Answer 4

i think that if you like it and are good at it then you should go for it because i like working with people and things i enjoy.....theres nothing worse than working with something you hate.