Beauty Business Resources

Marketing

*Before you do ANYTHING with your business, decide on a business name (i.e. Beauty By Betty, assuming  your name is Betty.)  Get a sales tax ID# from your state in order to submit your own sales tax and be elligible for tax exemption on any products given away for free or used for fundraising.  If you do not wish to get a sales tax ID#, the company will simply charge you sales tax on the suggested retail value of any products ordered.  

Now, on to the business resources…

Websites

Let’s face it, now a days if you’re not online, you don’t exist.  To build a website that is uniquely yours, you must first find hosting for your site.  Now, if you know everything there is to know about HTML/XHTML and CSS, by all means go ahead and design your own website.  I’m going to assume, though, that the majority of you do not know the ins and outs of building a website from scratch.  So, you’ll want to choose from a few options.  

Websites for FREE

Product Website Provided by the Company (free): view an example at http://breathofheaven.scent-team.com/shop/home.php

Company Website Provided by the Company (free):  view an example at http://breathofheaven.scent-team.com

Create a Blog:  Go to blogger.com or wordpress.com (this website is an example)

Join a Network:  Merchant Circle is a great way to get your business noticed for free!  Of course, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of networking sites now.  MySpace and Facebook are the major ones.  

 

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Paid Hosting (about $10/month for a 5 page website)

There are many websites that offer hosting, but the recommended one is 1and1.com 

While you’re registering your domain name/url, you may want to think about adding a few other domains to your order.  You can use these domains to redirect to your product website, the company website, and/or your blog.  Short and professional website urls are always best.  Remember, your website needs to fit on your business card.

You’ll also want to get an e-mail address associated with this url.  For example, if you chose www.mybeautydemonstrator.com, your e-mail address might be info@mybeautydemonstrator.com or yourname@mybeautydemonstrator.com.  You’ll want it to be as short as possible with as much description of your business as possible.  After you’ve activated the e-mail address, you can simply have your mail forwarded to whatever e-mail address you regularly check.  You’ll want to make sure you get all of your e-mail as soon as possible and that you respond to inquires as soon as possible.  

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Business Cards

Business cards are like your own little billboard.  You want them to be professional and informative.  Your contact information should include a business phone number, e-mail address, and website.  And, if you’ll be doing demonstrations in your home, you’ll want to have your address on there too.  You may also want to come up with a Tag Line.  Something like, “Bringing Out Beauty with Nature.”  I’m sure you can come up with something better than that, but I wanted to give you an idea of what a Tag Line is.  It’s basically just a cute saying that highlights the benefits of your service.  There’s also a space on the back of your card that may be used to make a free offer.  Maybe a free lipgloss for scheduling a full-service demonstration (demonstrating all of the products.)  Of course, you decide what to charge for each demonstration.  You can put your prices on the back of your card, but I wouldn’t recommend that.  Have them go to your website or call you for pricing.  You want to connect with those people that are looking for your services.  

Free Business Cards

Get 250 free business cards at VistaPrint.com (shipping charges apply)

 

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Better Business Cards

You can order business cards directly from the company!  They are very professional and fully customizable with your information.  Click here to view a sample

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More Marketing Materials

Marketing materials come in all different shapes and sizes.  Examples include, but are not limited to, posters, flyers, t-shirts, catalogs, brochures, car door magnets, window decals, and the list goes on.  Most of these materials can be created at VistaPrint.com.

The company does not allow the use of their images on any materials you create, so keep the images generic on anything you design and order through VistaPrint.  The company offers full color catalogs (withough retail prices listed.)  Click Here for Marketing Materials offered by the company (scroll down to find the beauty catalog and preview it page by page.)

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Advertising

Advertising will probably be your biggest expense.  Because, without it, your business will die.  You need a way to get the word out about your services and the products you offer.  There are ways to promote your business with little or no expense at all.  Most free advertising will be a wast of your time, but there are some ways to promote your business for free that are very effective. 

Classified Advertising

The classifieds, online or offline, can be effective depending on what website or Newspaper you put one in.  This isn’t the most effective form of advertising, but it’s cost effective.  Classified advertising can be free or paid.  You can feature your ad when you pay more or even get a large colored ad in the papers.  Most online classified websites will offer you a text ad for free.  Simply go to google and search for free classified advertising.  One website that will come up will be inetgiant.com.

In some areas, Craigslist is quite popular.  You’ll want to just do some browsing and maybe contact your local newspaper for a price quote.  

 

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Search Engine Ranking

If you have a personal website set up or a blog, you’ll want to have lots and lots of relevant content on your website.  That means you may want to write something about proper makeup application or give a few tips on the best shades to use for the season.  Now, don’t worry, people aren’t going to just read your tips and think that they’re all set and don’t need your services anymore.  They will be greatful for the sneak peak into what you offer and it will show them that you really do have something they need.  You’ll also want to update your website often, maybe adding a new beauty tip each month.  

DO NOT PAY A COMPANY THAT PROMISES YOUR WEBSITE ON THE FIRST PAGE OF GOOGLE!  You will probably end up on the first page, but it will be the first page of a not so relevant search term.  Most of the popular search terms are being faught over by larger companies with more resources and more time than you.  So, don’t even bother with trying to get on the first page of “makeup applications.”  You may, however, have a chance at getting your specific location in addition to that search term.  So, if you live in a small town like Port Washington, WI, you may be able to get on the first page when people search for makeup applications in Port Washington, WI.  If you want to achieve that, simply have that search term on your website somewhere.  The search engines will most likely pick that up and place you in their search results.  

Press Releases

Press Releases are ment to “spread the news” so to speak about your business.  They can be submitted right online for free and can help you get traffic to your website.  Visit PRWeb.com for more information.

More Resources to Come.  Check Back Soon!