You have a great idea for a new beauty product. So what?

Developing your concept into a tangible business at the start of the launch process informs every decision and action you will take. The big question always is “How do you go from idea to product?”

It is at this stage that several key questions have to be asked. This is when you find a deeper understanding of what you’re really selling. In the world of beauty, customers are buying more than just a product. They demand more from a brand; trust, authenticity and so much more. At every point of decision, they will ask themselves “Why this product?” This is why you must ask yourself how your brand mission aligns with the target audience.

Because the journey from idea to product is also costly in time and resources, you must also ask yourself how you will fund your venture? It is not uncommon to see great business ideas fade out before hitting their peak because they ran out of funding. The funding and ideation questions are inextricable. The quality of the idea and the journey to actualizing it weighs heavily on the ability to fund the idea.

These are just some of the questions that have to be decoded. Unpacking key elements of the business of beauty at this stage will help with funding decision, marketing, distribution and product development. It will certainly give you a sense of clarity, confidence and spark even more ideas.

Many entrepreneurs go into business with an idea and desire to work for themselves. The first lesson is the reality of owning a beauty business is far more overwhelming than the idea. Most entrepreneurs in beauty are visionary about the business of beauty. Decoding the planning, organization and financials are the usually the last area of understanding.

Historically, most businesses start with a business plan when launching their idea. However, since the turn of the 21st century, the impact of technology-driven startups has turned the process on its head. Many business now start with the product and work backwards.

This however does not eliminate the need to be strategic and structured. In my experience, the journey from ideation to product is shorter when the strategy for the business is laid out with many of the topics mentioned, discussed and unpacked. Whether formal or informal, consider strategy as a roadmap. When the day to day running of the business begins, either approach will have to be agile. In many cases business rarely refer to these original strategies, but as the business starts up the original strategies should be reviewed and updated more often, in response to shifting priorities, changing market conditions and staff changes. Even your idea may have to be modified which is why this stage of the development is crucial to make sure the business is on track, to meet its goals, purpose and mission.

(Insert Audio: Understanding the Business of Beauty)

For any business to be successful the phase of your thinking is crucial. Here are some points to consider:

How realistic are your business goals beyond the great idea? Have you considered where you want your business to go i.e global, online, B&B, partnerships? How much funding will you realistically need at different phases?

Your beauty business can become a successful reality if you decode and unpack the business of beauty.