You know I love all things beauty and makeup, and part of what I love about it is the variety of products out there. There are items for every woman no matter what her needs. This is in part because there are so many different companies who sell beauty products. But when a company finds a product that explodes in the marketplace, it can be hard to keep up with the demand. This is especially true for the small businesses who create beauty products in small batches.
Growing to meet the demand is important, but it’s also a challenge because they don’t always have quite enough money to get a warehouse or to outsource the product creation to larger manufacturers. So, what can a beauty business owner do? Here are some affordable ways to expand to meet the demand for your product in a way that is scalable for you.
Hire Help for Repetitive Tasks
All businesses have repetitive tasks that the business owner does not need to do. Printing labels, putting them on products, mailing items, and more can all be done by someone else. It’s easy to train people to do repetitive tasks that help you create and sell more products. By hiring someone for $15/hour or more, you can ensure they will take great care to do their job with excellence. Once they get skilled at those tasks, you can then train them to do more for your business and increase their responsibilities. $15/hour is nothing compared to the freedom you’ll gain by having a good employee in your corner working for your business.
Temporary Office Building On-Site
With expansion comes a need for more space. If you’re working out of a tiny home office, a temporary building can be put on site to give you and your new employee(s) space to work. Think about the offices often used on construction sites, and you’ll get a feel for the type of building you need. These offices provide a lot of room and give you options for where to put desks and workstations. You can configure the inside however you like and in a way that optimizes your productivity.
Expand Storage for Products
Storage solutions can include anything from shipping containers to sheds to small storage units. These are good options for storing your overflow of products without needing warehouse space just yet. If you want to expand your beauty business, you’ll need space for more products. You can line your storage units with shelves organized by the product type and more. For climate-controlled storage needs, you could consider a storage unit that offers spaces like that. These are all affordable options.
Leverage Drop Shipping
What if you hired a company to produce your products and then you simply shipped them to the customer directly from there? That’s the great thing about drop shipping. It’ll depend on how much you need to expand your business but leveraging a different company to make your things means you can let them store and ship your products. This business model also works for businesses who don’t want to make anything at all. They simply want to source a great beauty product and sell it to customers. Since there are so many beauty brands already out there, some entrepreneurs may choose to leverage a drop shipping model instead of creating their own products.
Pop-Up Events
Pop-up events are a great and affordable way to get your products out in front of more people. Part of expanding means you need to get more people excited about your products so that they will buy it. A pop-up event can help you get the product in people’s hands quickly. By creating excitement and a sense of urgency around your event, you can ensure that it will be successful.
Rent Shared Space
While you may not need a giant warehouse, perhaps there is a company out there with extra space they are willing to rent out. By renting this shared space you get the benefit of being able to expand your beauty business without all the costs associated with getting your own space. You help another business that way, and they help you. You can also get shorter lease times and more.
