Cosmetology Entrepreneurship Project I – SS3 Beauty & Cosmetology Lesson Note (First Term)

A business proposal is a written plan that explains what business you want to start, why you want to start it and how you will make it work. In Cosmetology, it includes a market survey of what customers need and can pay, and a feasibility study of start-up costs, running costs and prices.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

• explain what a business proposal is and why it matters;
• list the key sections of a business proposal;
• describe a market survey and the questions it should answer;
• use questionnaires, interviews and observation to gather information;
• list start-up costs and operating expenses and work out a simple price for a service.

What is a business proposal?

As you finish your studies in Cosmetology, you are a potential business owner as well as a student. A good business starts with a plan before any products are bought. This is where your project proposal comes in.

Think of a proposal as a “map”. If you want to travel to a new city, you need a map so you don’t get lost. A proposal explains:

• What you want to do (e.g. open an organic hair salon).
• Why you want to do it (e.g. many people in your area have damaged hair).
• How you will make it work.

Why is a proposal important?

In the professional world, you may need a loan from a bank or a partnership with a big brand. They will ask to see your proposal before they ask about your makeup kit. It shows that you are serious and that you have thought about the “money side” of beauty.

How is a business proposal written?

A professional proposal should be neat, organised and easy to read. You don’t need “big grammar”. You need clarity.

Key sections of your proposal:

1. The title page: The name of your business, your name and the date. Make the name catchy! (e.g. “Glow-Up Studio: A Solution for Natural Hair Care”).
2. Executive summary: A short paragraph that explains the whole idea. If someone only had one minute to read your paper, what would you want them to know?
3. Problem statement: What is missing in your community? (e.g. “There are no salons in our neighbourhood that specialise in bridal henna”).
4. The solution: How your business fixes that problem.
5. Goals and objectives: What do you want to achieve in your first 6 months? Be specific. Instead of saying “I want many clients”, say “I want to serve 20 clients per month”.

What is a market survey?

Before you spend a single naira on equipment, you must talk to people. This is called a market survey. You are “tasting the water” before you jump in.

A market survey is the process of gathering information about people’s needs and their spending habits. You are trying to find out if people actually want what you are selling.

Questions your survey should answer

• Who are my customers? Are they students, working mothers or brides?
• Where do they go now? Do they go to a big salon or do they do their hair at home?
• What is their “pain point”? Is the local salon too expensive? Is it too far? Is the service poor?
• How much can they pay? There is no point in charging ₦10,000 for a service if your neighbours can only afford ₦3,000.

How do you conduct a market survey?

You don’t need a computer to do a market survey. You can start right where you are.

Methods of gathering information

• Questionnaires: A simple piece of paper with 5 to 10 questions. You can give these to people at church, mosque or the market.
• Interviews: Just talk to people. Ask your aunties or friends, “What do you dislike about the last place you did your nails?”
• Observation: Sit at a popular local salon for an hour. What are people complaining about? What are they happy about?

Analysing the data

Once you have talked to 20 people, look for patterns. Suppose 15 people say they wish there was a salon that opened early in the morning (by 7:00 AM). Then you have found a business opportunity, and you can make your business the “Early Bird Salon”.

What are financial estimates and a feasibility study?

The last part of your project is showing that the business can actually survive. This is called a feasibility study. It has three parts.

1. Start-up costs: List everything you need to buy before you open.
   • Equipment: Hairdryers, chairs, mirrors.
   • Supplies: Shampoos, relaxers, towels.
   • Space: Rent for a small shop or a container.
2. Operating expenses: The money you spend every month to keep the doors open (electricity or fuel, water, transport).
3. Pricing your service: How do you decide what to charge?
   • Cost of materials + your time + profit = your price.
   • If you use ₦500 worth of products and it takes you 2 hours of hard work, you cannot charge ₦600. You would be losing money.

By writing a proposal and doing a survey, you move from someone who “knows how to do hair” to someone who “knows how to run a business”. That is what it means to be a “Beauty Boss”.

Evaluation

1. What is a business proposal? Name the three things it explains.
2. List the five key sections of a proposal.
3. What is a market survey? Name three methods of gathering information.
4. Give two examples of start-up costs and two examples of operating expenses.
5. A stylist uses ₦500 worth of products and spends 2 hours on a service. Why is ₦600 too low a price?

Assignment

Choose a beauty business you would like to start. Write a title page, a one-paragraph executive summary and a problem statement for it. Then write four questions for a questionnaire that will help you find out who your customers are and how much they can pay.