How Much Does It Really Cost to Start a Hair Business in 2024?

This a full guide for the initial cost and recurring cost of starting a hair business, come to think about it, most beauty brands really are going to be close to that.

E-commerce is a relatively affordable way to launch a hair business without hiring, renting, or paying for utilities.

Actually, there are a couple of hacks that cut it down to a reasonable amount as well.

Today, I’ll discuss with the outgoing ladies how to meet the bare minimum without burdening you with optional expenses.

Who is ready?

 

Legal Expenses

I know the legal hair business stuff will give you goosebumps, but you will be surprised how easy they are these days.

I consider the domain to be a legal expense.

Because naming the business is the first step.

And you will certainly use this name to register your business everywhere.

Once you intend to start your hair business, make a list of possible names and test them on GoDaddy and social media to see available handles.

Then, register your beloved domain name for around $15.

Registering your business as an LLC is always preferable; it costs $100 to get it done on your Secretary of State website.

Besides that, get your EIN (Employer Identification Number) on the IRS website to facilitate taxes.

You should also set up a business account in your bank to get your business credit score going and to separate business finances from personal finances.

An additional step is to trademark your business on the United States Patent & Trademark Office website if you’re really serious about your business.

Tech Expenses

Your most valuable asset in e-commerce is your website.

I had experience with WordPress before, but as Private Label got bigger, it started to become slower and more costly, so I had to switch to Shopify.

I had to lose a lot of traffic for this.

However, Shopify might be the cutting-edge technology for e-commerce.

Shopify basic plan is going to cost $32 a month.

Don’t oblige yourself to the annual plans at the beginning.

Next is the professional business email to align with your domain name and legal name.

No customer receives a promotional email from Walmart@gmail.com! This costs from $12 to $18 on the Google Workspace.

Inventory Expenses

There are two kinds of people.

Those who pay for $2000 up to $30,000 worth of hair products.

Stock them up in a storage unit.

It takes months to sell the full inventory where they could be investing the money in other ventures.

Pay for shipping costs to get the inventory in the first place, and some orders may need a single item to get fulfilled, so, they ship a single item at a high delivery cost.

And there are those who link credit cards to Shopify and fulfill incoming orders while they lie on the sand of some beach drinking Casamigos Tequila.

This kind of plan probably uses Dropship Beauty for $19.99 for the most premium plan.

Where they have access to 250 products in the beauty industry.
Branded and unbranded products using the Private Label 100% human hair.

Branding Expenses

Your logo matters in the branding process, you may undermine branding to it alone and forget about the experience you provide.

But it still matters.

A professional logo is going to cost you up to $1000. While designing a logo on Canva is free.

If you lack the knowledge to make your own, you can check the Hair Business Blueprint Channel where I create logos for hair businesses live.

The labels, tags, and other packaging materials are going to cost around $50, maybe more.

And you will need a Dymo label printer for $200.

Along with a packing slip printer for $100.

Leave room for a $500 budget for other shipping supplies.

Or you can spare your mind and resort to Private Label Branding to get a custom logo from our professionals for $99.99.

Custom packaging supplies with your logo and branding for $200.

We are going to assign you a bin for your branding assets.

We tag your products and ship them out for your customers.

Marketing Expenses

After you set up everything you’re going to go live and start marketing your hair brand with teasing and awareness campaigns followed by engagement campaigns and eventually campaigns to get orders.

We set up the social media with handles that represent our brand name without any abbreviations or numbers.

Then, we’re going to utilize email marketing.

Email marketing can make up 30% of your sales.

Shopify Email is a great and affordable way to start.

You can send 2500 emails monthly to your customers with different flows and automation.

You can hire an influencer with a good audience base to promote your products, and this can start word of mouth until you get user-generated content.

Blogs are going to neutralize your sales tone.

Feed your website with free guides, infographics, and educational blogs.

You can write them yourself. You will need four blogs to launch your hair website.

Or hire a freelancer to write them, probably for around $100 per piece.

Reinvesting

Don’t spend the money as soon as you get it.

Reinvest and expand your business.

Without an inventory, starting a hair business is something around $1500.

That is literally the cost of 3 wigs.

And don’t forget to check my book Fearless Beauty, where I explain the mindset and the practical blueprint to succeed in the hair industry.