Starting A Make Up Artist Business

The growing impact of social media on many Nigerians have made glamour a must for many and occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, burial and even photo shoots are incomplete without the presence of Make Up Artists (MUAs).

MUAs are those who have made a profession out of creating a perfect face devoid of blemish, using cosmetics to make statements. This is why the make up for the celebrant is always diffrent from the guest and that of the bride is unique.

There is also special make up for normal outing, special occasions, high brow events, evening events, day time events and so on. To be able to make the right statement with the use of cosmetics and to be in sync with the event, many have resorted to the use of MUA to add to their glamour.

The makeup business has become a go-to for a lot of young women and men. It is wrongly assumed that the business doesn’t require much technical skills. This has given rise to a lot of half-baked makeup artists and amateurs who have ventured into the business, hence, making the cosmetic industry rather saturated with beauticians rendering makeup services to customers.

Business Capital

To start a serious small scale makeup business in Nigeria, you need between N50,000 to N150,000. This amount covers the cost of elementary makeup accessories. On the other hand, a medium-scale makeup business would cost between N350,000 to N1 million. This amount covers the cost of renting a shop, buying professional kits, and other operating costs.

Lastly, starting a makeup business on a large scale would require N1.5 million to N10 million capital. Creating a large scale makeup business goes beyond makeup alone, and the capital requirement reflects this. You would also be starting a makeup school amongst other things.

Some other costs include rent, interior decor, power supply, equipment, marketing and advertisements, employee cost, cost of beauty products, and business registration.

Profitability

You should know that you can’t just embark on a makeup business and start charging customers exorbitant fees. You need to charge low rates to penetrate the market and grow your network of customers.

Some makeup artists charge clients for as low as N2,500 and high-end makeup artists charge customers for as high as N50,000 per session, with others charging up to N100,000 per session. So, it all depends on the individual makeup artist and how much they feel their services are worth.

Profit margins for the beauty industry vary from 30 percent to 70 percent. An average small scale beautician earns between N12,500 to N25,000 weekly, while large scale entrepreneurs in this industry earn N250,000 to N500,000 weekly.