So, you want to learn how to start a skincare line with no money? To be honest, that’s a really good idea.

A couple of days ago, I was talking to a friend who owns a skincare line and he’s doing very well. So I decided to write this article in order to help you by explaining what steps you need to take in order to do so.

The best part about it is that you don’t need to invest tens of thousands of dollars in order to start a successful skincare line. That’s because you can either work with skincare product manufacturers (like my friend) or even produce it from the comfort of your own house.

However, there is also a downside to this particular business model. The marketing side takes a bit more skill than other types of businesses. That’s because your competition will not be as low.

So, how do you start your own skincare line? Let’s jump right into the answer:

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO START A SKINCARE LINE?

We first need to look at how much money you would need to invest in order to successfully start your own skincare line:

First of all, if you choose to work with a private manufacturer, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. First, you will obviously need to pay them in order to produce the products and brand it with your logo.

Also, you will need to wait for them to produce it. Therefore, before you go ahead and try making sales, it’s better to have a bit of patience in order for the products to be ready.(1)

The good part about it is that skincare products don’t really cost much to produce. The bad part about it? Well, if you want to build any business, you will need to invest some money.

As opposed to building a television brand, building a skincare line is significantly cheaper. So … how much cheaper? How much does it actually cost?

Considering the fact that these products are cheap to create, you have the ability to work with both cheap and expensive manufacturers.

It all depends on the quality of product you want to sell. If you want to work with a smaller supplier, you would need at least $4.000.

On the other hand, if you want more premium products, you should have around $20.000 just to start.

Obviously, you will be able to invest less than that amount. However, I would also take into account the marketing budget. Therefore, $4000 including the marketing budget should be a good start.

However, if you want to learn how to start a skincare brand with no money, these options are not viable for you. Therefore, you will need to take a different approach.(2)

You can actually create these products yourself, because as mentioned above, they are not expensive. However, you will probably still need to have a marketing budget.

For that matter, I recommend you have at least $400-$500 in order to market your products, even if you don’t work with manufacturers.

HOW TO START A SKINCARE LINE FROM HOME

Starting a skincare line from home is significantly cheaper than working with suppliers or manufacturers. Let’s have a look at what steps you should take in order to do so.(3)

1. WHAT WILL YOU CREATE?

The first step you need to take is to decide exactly what products will you create. You will not be able to create every skin care product on the market (at least in the beginning).

You will need to decide on a couple of products in order to start. I would personally go for soap, deodorant and 3-4 more types.

After you start getting some traction, you will be able to expand your business creating multiple products.(4,5)

2. WHAT MATERIALS WILL YOU NEED?

The second step you need to take is to find the materials you need in order to create the products.

There are a ton of places you can find affordable materials. For example, you can obviously find quality products in Amazon.

If you don’t you should be able to find everything you need on Alibaba. You will need tome time in order to do this, as you will need to compare the prices so you don’t overspend.

3. HOW WILL YOU CREATE THE PRODUCTS?

The next step is to figure out how to actually create the products after you get all the necessary ingredients. Obviously, it will be time consuming.

But considering the fact you don’t pay for manufacturing, it will be worth it. If you don’t want to invest a ton of money, this is a step you need to take.

The good part about it is that there are a lot of tutorials on the internet on how to successfully complete this process. Also, once you start getting a hang of it, it will become easier.(6)

4. HOW WILL YOU PACK THE PRODUCTS?

After you finish creating the skincare products, you will need to package it in some way. Consider creating a logo with your brand, as it will definitely help you in the long run.

I would suggest looking for packaging materials on Alibaba, as they are very affordable and look cool. Packaging is an important part of this entire process, as you should make a good impression once the customer receive your products.(7)

THE “NO MONEY” SKINCARE BUSINESS PLAN

As mentioned above, if you want to start a business, you will need to invest some money. Even in the case you want to start your own skincare line.

However, there are a couple of things you can do in order to minimize your expenses. In case you have a limited budget, you probably decided you want to create the products at home.

Therefore, you will be able to do some things in order to keep your costs as low as possible. Let’s take a look at how you can approach this process in order to do so.(8)

1. CREATE 1 PRODUCT

Considering the fact that you will have a limited budget, you should first create 1 product. Yes, only one. You’re not only doing this in order to keep your costs down, but also to minimize the risks.

You should decide on what type of product you want to create. For example, I would go for soap. However, feel free to decide on something else that you like.

Also, you should create at least 120-150 items, as you don’t want to run out of products, especially if the orders will keep coming.(9)

2. COLLECT LEADS

Because you don’t have the budget to run Facebook ads in order to get sales, you will need to collect email leads. Consider getting an email autoresponder like GetResponse, so that you can automate this entire process.(10)

After that, you should build an audience. You need to promote your products via email, as it is the most affordable way of marketing your products.

The good part about it is that if you collect leads through a blog, you will get targeted traffic at a very low cost. You just need to pay for a web hosting like Bluehost. For about $3 per month, you can build your own website.

3. CONSIDER PAYING INFLUENCERS

In order to get more traffic, you should consider using social media. There are a lot of influencers that are in the skincare niche. Meaning that their audience is interested in skincare products.

For as little as $50, you can get your offer in front of thousands of people that are likely to purchase your products.

However, I would still recommend having your own website, so that your visitors will view you as a professional entrepreneur.(11)

HOW TO FIND A GOOD SKINCARE LINE MANUFACTURER

Once you scale your business to a comfortable level, you should consider working with a product manufacturer. That’s because it frees up a lot of your time.

Meaning that you can focus on the marketing process, or even start another business. However you look at it, there are a lot of advantage in working with manufacturers.

This step is actually not as complicated as it seems. For example, if you sell soap, you can search “soap manufacturer” online and compile a list with about 5 companies.

After that, you should call them and tell them what you’re looking for. The key is to ask for samples, so you can check the quality of the product.

You don’t want to sacrifice quality, as your audience will really not like that. What you should try to do is improve the quality of your product because at this point you should already be making profit.

After that, you should pay close attention at how long it takes for the product to reach your house. The delivery time is very important, as it is an aspect of customer experience.

Once you decide what the best option is, negotiate a contract that is beneficial to both parties. The things you should care about the most are delivery time, quality and price.(12)

After you set everything up, it’s time to automate your business even more by collecting leads from your site and sending them emails.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Starting a skincare line with no money is impossible. However, you can do it with little money. If you have $1000, you should definitely be fine.

If you decide to create your products yourself, your expenses will go down and you will be able to focus on the marketing process. However, you will need some kind of marketing training if you want to have the best chance of success.