Starting something new can be daunting. Starting something new all by yourself is even more daunting.
If you’ve been on the fence about starting as an independent beauty professional in Nigeria, you’re not alone. After reading this, you’ll know exactly what to do, avoid, and consider to give your beauty career that boost.
In a previous article, I laid out a step-by-step guide on how to start a beauty business in Nigeria, complete with a business plan template.
In this article, however, I’ll share 9 practical tips on starting and succeeding as an independent beauty professional in Nigeria.
Tip 1: Do your research
You might be the only personnel in your business, but providing excellent customer care is non-negotiable. But to achieve this, you must first understand the market, know your target customers, and the beauty problems that keep them up at night.
Here are a few things that can give you insight into your target market:
Learn from similar businesses
Find established independent beauty professionals in your niche and see why they excel. Pick the relevant strategies and apply them to grow your business.
Actively listen on social media
Customers know what they want better than anyone, even you. So listen to them. Keep tabs on what potential and existing customers say across all your social media platforms to get insight into how you can serve them better.
Tip 2: Set SMART goals
At every point in your business, always have a set of goals that you’re working towards. It gives you direction, helps you figure out what isn’t working, and allows you to measure progress easily.
Your goals must be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART).
For example, don’t just write something vague like, “I want a lot of clients soon.”
Instead, write something SMART like, “I want to have an additional 10 new clients by the end of the first quarter of 2025.”
Extend this goal-setting approach to all business aspects, from customer acquisition and sales to social media marketing and customer loyalty programs.
Tip 3: Get a mentor
Although often overlooked, it’s one of the most important tips for beauty professionals starting out in Nigeria. Since a mentor has been where you plan to go, they can help you avoid many obstacles and get you to your destination faster.
Find an independent professional excelling in the industry and ask them for guidance, even if this means getting an apprenticeship with them.
If you’re like most people, you’ll fear you might not get the help you need. Now, while you may face a few rejections here and there, there’s always someone willing to help if you’re bold enough to ask for it.
Tip 4: Set the right prices
This is one of the most important aspects of your solo beauty professional career. Like many solo professionals, you may struggle to find a balance between undervaluing yourself and overpricing your services.
Here are some hacks that can help you:
Check other professionals
Find out how much other independent beauty service providers who are just starting charge for their offers. It’ll give you an idea of what to charge. You can check various price lists online or visit their shops.
Factor in your value
The trick here is to put a price tag you’re reasonably worth. This entails everything from training and experience to running costs and prevailing economic realities.
It’s okay for pricing to be low in the beginning. Ensure to adjust it upwards as you grow.
Tip 5: Use appointment booking software
Customers are the same everywhere, whether you’re a freelance beauty professional or a beautician at a chain salon or spa. Clients stick with businesses that make their lives easier. And that’s what an appointment booking tool helps you achieve.
It provides clients with a convenient, error-free way to book your services anytime, anywhere. Like this, customers are happy, and you fill out your appointment slots without any of the tedious work that follows manual booking.
An appointment scheduling tool like Splice can handle this for you. It’ll also send auto-reminders to customers so they remember to keep their appointments.
Tip 6: Promote yourself online
As an independent beauty professional looking to set up a shop or who just started a business, you must be ready to market yourself online shamelessly because that’s where most of your target customers are.
In the beauty business, out of sight usually means out of mind. Putting your business online is an effective way to stay on top of mind with potential and existing customers.
Market yourself using the following online channels:
Social media
A big part of promoting yourself is going right where your target customers spend a lot of their time. In recent times, that place is social media.
A 2024 report by Datareportal revealed that 266 million new users signed up on one social media platform or the other in 2023 alone, bringing the total number of active social media profiles to 5.04 billion as of January 2024. And each user spends over two hours daily on social media.
You don’t have to open an account on every social media platform. Start with relevant ones like Instagram and TikTok, and post relevant content regularly.
See our guide on how to use social media to promote your beauty business.
Google Business Profile
Up to 64% of customers online use Google Business Profiles (GBP) to find contact information for local businesses.
GBP is a free marketing tool by Google that lets businesses manage how they appear in Google Search and Google Maps. Getting one for your independent venture can help more customers find you.
See our guides on setting up and optimising your GBP.
Website
A business website can be a game-changer. Apart from increasing your credibility and convincing potential customers to trust your business, it also makes it easy for customers to find you online. Get a website as soon as you can afford it.
Tip 7: Have confidence in business
People who’ve been in business for a while will tell you that the doubt never really goes away. Nevertheless, it’s worse when you’re just starting.
You’ll second-guess your every move; it’s normal. You’ll be plagued with questions: Will customers come? If they come, would they return? Am I good enough? Will this business ever take off?
It’s normal.
The important thing is to have confidence in yourself and what you’re doing. Whatever aspect of the beauty business you’re into, ensure you do it the best you can. Always look for opportunities for growth and see them through.
Tip 8: Diversify revenue streams
The one goal of every business is consistent revenue generation. For a small business like yours, you might need to do more than just provide services:
The following are some ways you can increase your revenue streams:
1. Sell products too
If you offer one form of beauty service or the other, odds are you use beauty products. And your clients need them too. So, in addition to providing beauty services, make plans to sell relevant products.
2. Train other beauty professionals
As a beauty professional, you have a skill you can pass on to anyone interested and willing to pay you for it. Start an apprenticeship program if you have to.
3 . Create digital products
Write an ebook or record a course on an aspect of the beauty business and sell it. You can use platforms such as Selar and Gumroad to distribute them to interested consumers.
Tip 9: Maintain legal & regulatory compliance
You must meet some regulatory requirements to do business in Nigeria. Otherwise, your solo business can face avoidable government interference.
Comply by doing the following:
Register your business with the CAC
The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) handles business registration. They’ll issue you a certificate afterwards to make things official.
Business registration gives you access to benefits like loan and grant qualification, corporate account eligibility, and credibility with investors or customers.
See our step-by-step guide on how to register your beauty business in Nigeria.
Obtain TIN from the FIRS
Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) is a unique number assigned to registered businesses by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) for tax purposes.
Once you complete your business registration, acquire your TIN to fulfil your tax obligations. Defaulting can lead to paying heavy fines.
Buy & sell only NAFDAC-approved products
Ensure all the beauty products you use, sell, or recommend are approved by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), which regulates and controls the manufacturing, importation, exportation, advertisement, distribution, sale, and use of cosmetics.
Always verify product authenticity with NAFDAC or patronise a trusted supplier.
Conclusion
The path of every solo beauty professional can be tough. But it helps to have someone behind you who’s invested in helping you succeed every step of the way.
With Splice, our all-in-one management tool, you can seamlessly manage appointment bookings, handle customer information, and gain business insights to drive data-driven decision-making.
