I am 18 years old and have a business idea. Do you think it will work

[Bertram Thehilby]

I am 18 years old and I would like to try to start my own small business. Mostly for experience.
My idea is to sell a set with hairdressing products and access to tutorial videos on how to cut hair. The primary target group is of course women.

Do you think my product idea will sell? be honest

And do you have any good tips?

Thanks from Bertram

 

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[Snowball]

To cut their own hair? To cut clients hair? (they'd need a license)

What's the exact need here?

 

[Bertram Thehilby]

To cut their own hair? To cut clients hair? (they'd need a license)

What's the exact need here?

The product is a lot of hairdressing products and videos on how to cut hair.
It should be easy so that you can get someone else in your household to cut it for you quickly.
In this way, the customer will save a lot of money in the long term.

 

[perchboy]

Who cares if it works?

Just go ahead and do it.

If it works out, you have a business that you can scale.

If it doesn’t work out, you will learn new lessons and gain experience which will bring you closer towards success.

Now start!

 

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[WillHurtDontCare]

Make a shopify store and use facebook ads to drive traffic there. Use mock product images. See if you get anyone to purchase.

If you do, then refund the money and email them saying thank you for their purchase, but you're currently out of stock and reordering.

If your ROAS is high enough, then buy the product and make it legit.

 

[Bertram Thehilby]

Make a shopify store and use facebook ads to drive traffic there. Use mock product images. See if you get anyone to purchase.

If you do, then refund the money and email them saying thank you for their purchase, but you're currently out of stock and reordering.

If your ROAS is high enough, then buy the product and make it legit.

Thank you for the replie. That is actually a great idea

 

[Bence Ur]

I am 18 years old and I would like to try to start my own small business. Mostly for experience.
My idea is to sell a set with hairdressing products and access to tutorial videos on how to cut hair. The primary target group is of course women.

Do you think my product idea will sell? be honest

And do you have any good tips?

Thanks from Bertram

It might work, my brother never was at a hairdresser in the last 10 years because he cuts his own hair always Even men might be your target market.

However we cannot say whether it will work or not. You should create an MVP and try to sell it then iterate. Don't spend too much money on it. Test your idea as quickly and cheaply as possible. So for example don't buy 100 sets of hairdressing products in advance, just buy 1 set and try to sell it.

 

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[Ing]

Imo that’s one of the best ideas newby had.
If your videos are good, I see a business!
Go for it!

 

[Bertram Thehilby]

Imo that’s one of the best ideas newby had.
If your videos are good, I see a business!
Go for it!

Thanks for the reply. I am motivated

 

[Disciple96]

This is a very interesting idea, actually.

I agree with @perchboy and his no-nonsense approach - the only way to know if it works for sure is to test it.

And while @WillHurtDontCare gave you rock solid advice, I do think it could be a bit big-brained for your current stage. ROAS is great and all, but it takes a hefty amount of capital to keep a consistent ad spend, and for some reason the ballers on this forum sometimes forget not everyone has capital to blow, especially when you aren't familiar with using google ads, etc. and are likely to waste it anyways on the learning curve.

My advice?

You could test first, but this is such a niche service that it would really be hard to "real-world test" the user experience fairly.

Your real-world solution will be kick-a$$, a "test", by comparison, will suck and cut corners in order to "prove demand".

It will underperform by design, because your test website won't be a real-deal website, with everything that entails. The overall user experience (and your ad spend) will be wasted on people who are very unlikely to reorder when you cannot fulfill the demand, were they to order at all!

Focus on creating the solution first.

Don't get carried away with it, it won't be a masterpiece, but brainstorm, "what is the minimum quality you will accept to START?"

Don't get carried away with quality to start, you can build quality up over time, but avoid "minimum viable product" mentality. You want this to be a kickass solution that works before you start the rest of the process of marketing, buying ads, etc.

Then, you graduate to testing your "Minimum-lovable-product" (recommended read).

This is where it helps to read MJ's chapter in unscripted about gumballs. It's all about refining your systems from there, one step at a time.


To start, here's what I would do:

1. Identify a target demographic. (40 year old men or 20 year old women? Very different marketing approach)

2. Create the instructional content, really focus on this part and iron out all the details you can.

3. Think about the customer experience from beginning to end.

• How do they get to your site?
• Why do they not immediately leave your site?
• What is their BIG PROBLEM?
• What is their story?
• Why do they trust you?
• How do they pay?
• Why are they so happy to be repeat customers?

4. Once you identify the answers to these questions and more you may ask, that will give you everything you need to create a kickass customer experience, at least, to start!

5. Move on to your site. Learn copywriting, learn web design basics, maybe learn some photo / graphic software like Ps/Ai. Understand how to create a compelling call to action. Use wordpress and your no-code theme-builder of choice (Try elementor first). Remember to incorporate the user experience addressed earlier along every step of your design process, really do your best here to make it easy to get excited about your product, trust your experience, and give you their money!

6. Identify pain points and problems your customers are having with the user experience you've designed for them. If they hate something, it's your job to fix it! This will never end basically (well, it shouldn't) but you will need to refine your process a lot in the early stages without much experience.

7. Update your user experience using the knowledge you've gained from step 6.

6. Here is where you get to learn how to spend a little of that hard earned money on an ad-campaign or three. Do your research, or hire a professional to teach you. This is pretty variable based on your target demographic. However, in my belief, unless you are already established, ads can be like playing with fire. Advertising services WANT you to spend money on ads. Don't forget that. If the numbers don't make sense - they don't make cents.

Next you need to think about the bigger picture: How are you going to build from here? This is a question you can only answer for yourself.

Good Luck!

Bonus tip: READ THE BOOKS! And update your profile with some flair using the stickied thread.

 

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[WillHurtDontCare]

And while @WillHurtDontCare gave you rock solid advice, I do think it could be a bit big-brained for your current stage. ROAS is great and all, but it takes a hefty amount of capital to keep a consistent ad spend, and for some reason the ballers on this forum sometimes forget not everyone has capital to blow, especially when you aren't familiar with using google ads, etc. and are likely to waste it anyways on the learning curve.

You don't need a hefty amount of capital to run Facebook ads. If you want to sell a proven product (shampoo is a proven evergreen product), you can study their audiences, their ads, their landing pages, and their product description and run a decent demand test for $100-$500. The purpose is to estimate the acquisition costs to test the feasibility of your business. If you sell shampoo for $20 per bottle and it costs $100 to acquire your customer, you might want to rethink your strategy before running with that idea. Though, you could add other products like conditioner & soap to increase the average order value to make the business more feasible.

You can also market a product very quickly, which is why you want to do it ASAP to figure out if the more time consuming parts of the business are even worth doing.

 

[shubham___3011]

I am 18 years old and I would like to try to start my own small business. Mostly for experience.
My idea is to sell a set with hairdressing products and access to tutorial videos on how to cut hair. The primary target group is of course women.

Do you think my product idea will sell? be honest

And do you have any good tips?

Thanks from Bertram

Congratulation on starting out your own venture.

If you are planning to sell the product to hair designers it will make sense and if you are selling it to individual to cut their own hair it might be abit dicey because girls look after their hair alot and might not want to cut their hairs on their own.

Tho the business idea is good and as @WillHurtDontCare said start a shopify store and run facebook ads, its a very good idea.

speaking of facebook ads, i am a facebook ads freelancer and id be happy tp help you if you need any guidance.

Best of luck!
GO THE FASTLANE WAY!!!

 

[Mikkel]

I would be your target audience. I have cut my hair for the last 6 years. I have my own barber scissors and I use a beard trimmer that doubles as hair clippers. I've always thought I did a decent job at cutting my hair but I still struggle with cutting my hair right on the part from the sissored part of my hair and the shaved side.

I also haven't got the stones to try and fade, though I think I could if I had the right equipment and a video to show me how.

I probably could use some tips on how to properly cut with scissors, as I only tried to copy what my old barber did right before I started cutting my own hair.

I say go for it. At worst, you learn something. At best, you make some money off me and some other people and have a real business.

 

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[Bertram Thehilby]

This is a very interesting idea, actually.

I agree with @perchboy and his no-nonsense approach - the only way to know if it works for sure is to test it.

And while @WillHurtDontCare gave you rock solid advice, I do think it could be a bit big-brained for your current stage. ROAS is great and all, but it takes a hefty amount of capital to keep a consistent ad spend, and for some reason the ballers on this forum sometimes forget not everyone has capital to blow, especially when you aren't familiar with using google ads, etc. and are likely to waste it anyways on the learning curve.

My advice?

You could test first, but this is such a niche service that it would really be hard to "real-world test" the user experience fairly.

Your real-world solution will be kick-a$$, a "test", by comparison, will suck and cut corners in order to "prove demand".

It will underperform by design, because your test website won't be a real-deal website, with everything that entails. The overall user experience (and your ad spend) will be wasted on people who are very unlikely to reorder when you cannot fulfill the demand, were they to order at all!

Focus on creating the solution first.

Don't get carried away with it, it won't be a masterpiece, but brainstorm, "what is the minimum quality you will accept to START?"

Don't get carried away with quality to start, you can build quality up over time, but avoid "minimum viable product" mentality. You want this to be a kickass solution that works before you start the rest of the process of marketing, buying ads, etc.

Then, you graduate to testing your "Minimum-lovable-product" (recommended read).

This is where it helps to read MJ's chapter in unscripted about gumballs. It's all about refining your systems from there, one step at a time.


To start, here's what I would do:

1. Identify a target demographic. (40 year old men or 20 year old women? Very different marketing approach)

2. Create the instructional content, really focus on this part and iron out all the details you can.

3. Think about the customer experience from beginning to end.

• How do they get to your site?
• Why do they not immediately leave your site?
• What is their BIG PROBLEM?
• What is their story?
• Why do they trust you?
• How do they pay?
• Why are they so happy to be repeat customers?

4. Once you identify the answers to these questions and more you may ask, that will give you everything you need to create a kickass customer experience, at least, to start!

5. Move on to your site. Learn copywriting, learn web design basics, maybe learn some photo / graphic software like Ps/Ai. Understand how to create a compelling call to action. Use wordpress and your no-code theme-builder of choice (Try elementor first). Remember to incorporate the user experience addressed earlier along every step of your design process, really do your best here to make it easy to get excited about your product, trust your experience, and give you their money!

6. Identify pain points and problems your customers are having with the user experience you've designed for them. If they hate something, it's your job to fix it! This will never end basically (well, it shouldn't) but you will need to refine your process a lot in the early stages without much experience.

7. Update your user experience using the knowledge you've gained from step 6.

6. Here is where you get to learn how to spend a little of that hard earned money on an ad-campaign or three. Do your research, or hire a professional to teach you. This is pretty variable based on your target demographic. However, in my belief, unless you are already established, ads can be like playing with fire. Advertising services WANT you to spend money on ads. Don't forget that. If the numbers don't make sense - they don't make cents.

Next you need to think about the bigger picture: How are you going to build from here? This is a question you can only answer for yourself.

Good Luck!

Bonus tip: READ THE BOOKS! And update your profile with some flair using the stickied thread.

Thank you for the long and comprehensive answer.
I have ordered samples of some hairdressing products from Ali Baba and bought a membership at Shopify. I will make sure not to rush the process and do everything carefully. Your message has definitely helped me along the way.
Thanks from Bertram

 

[Bertram Thehilby]

I would be your target audience. I have cut my hair for the last 6 years. I have my own barber scissors and I use a beard trimmer that doubles as hair clippers. I've always thought I did a decent job at cutting my hair but I still struggle with cutting my hair right on the part from the sissored part of my hair and the shaved side.

I also haven't got the stones to try and fade, though I think I could if I had the right equipment and a video to show me how.

I probably could use some tips on how to properly cut with scissors, as I only tried to copy what my old barber did right before I started cutting my own hair.

I say go for it. At worst, you learn something. At best, you make some money off me and some other people and have a real business.

At first my idea was only to sell it to women. But based on the feedback I have received, I have also considered whether men should be my target group. I just think it's harder to cut a man. But if my idea works then it could be a way of expanding. And i will of course make sure to reach out to you

 

[Mikkel]

At first my idea was only to sell it to women. But based on the feedback I have received, I have also considered whether men should be my target group. I just think it's harder to cut a man. But if my idea works then it could be a way of expanding. And i will of course make sure to reach out to you

Honestly, I don't know a single women who cuts their own hair. If you are targeting the DIY haircutting group, men might be the target. But that is only from my experience.

 

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[Amelia Manson]

I am 18 years old and I would like to try to start my own small business. Mostly for experience.
My idea is to sell a set with hairdressing products and access to tutorial videos on how to cut hair. The primary target group is of course women.

Do you think my product idea will sell? be honest

And do you have any good tips?

Thanks from Bertram

Hello! It's a great idea to start a new business at the age of 18 to get experience. Your hairdressing products selling idea would definitely work, you just need to find a good platform. Selling your hairdressing products through Shopify stores is indeed a viable option. You can get any Premade Shopify Stores as it can be a convenient way to start your business.

I am 18 years old and I would like to try to start my own small business. Mostly for experience.
My idea is to sell a set with hairdressing products and access to tutorial videos on how to cut hair. The primary target group is of course women.

Do you think my product idea will sell? be honest

And do you have any good tips?

Thanks from Bertram

 

[Amelia Manson]

I am 18 years old and I would like to try to start my own small business. Mostly for experience.
My idea is to sell a set with hairdressing products and access to tutorial videos on how to cut hair. The primary target group is of course women.

Do you think my product idea will sell? be honest

Do you have any good tips?

Thanks from Bertram

Hello! It's a great idea to start a new business at the age of 18 to get experience. Your hairdressing products selling idea would definitely work, you just need to find a good platform. Selling your hairdressing products through Shopify stores is indeed a viable option. You can get any Premade Shopify Stores as it can be a convenient way to start your business.

 

[Johnny boy]

Does playing basketball make money?

It does if you're as good as Michael Jordan.

It pays nothing if you suck.

Your ideas are the same way.

They work just fine.

The question is whether or not you are going to execute, make great decisions, bust your a$$, have any natural talent, and perform at a high level.

It takes the same daily effort. The same daily focus. The same level of working for years until something finally pays off.

Replace a lot of your questions with treating it like how you look at sports and that'll tell you a lot about what being in business is like.

 

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[Roli]

The product is a lot of hairdressing products and videos on how to cut hair.
It should be easy so that you can get someone else in your household to cut it for you quickly.
In this way, the customer will save a lot of money in the long term.

It might work. Most of the women I know would not let anyone but their trusted hairdresser near their hair. However, I don't know all the women in the world.

If I were you, I'd do some simple market research, ask the women in your lives/on social media, if they (your target audience), think it's a good idea.

For instance @BellaPippin would you trust a friend/your husband to cut your hair after watching a tutorial video?

 

[Amelia Manson]

Thank you for the replie. That is actually a great idea

Thank you for the long and comprehensive answer.
I have ordered samples of some hairdressing products from Ali Baba and bought a membership at Shopify. I will make sure not to rush the process and do everything carefully. Your message has definitely helped me along the way.
Thanks from Bertram

It might work. Most of the women I know would not let anyone but their trusted hairdresser near their hair. However, I don't know all the women in the world.

If I were you, I'd do some simple market research, ask the women in your lives/on social media, if they (your target audience), think it's a good idea.

For instance @BellaPippin would you trust a friend/your husband to cut your hair after watching a tutorial video?

Yes! it is a good idea.

 

[BellaPippin]

It might work. Most of the women I know would not let anyone but their trusted hairdresser near their hair. However, I don't know all the women in the world.

If I were you, I'd do some simple market research, ask the women in your lives/on social media, if they (your target audience), think it's a good idea.

For instance @BellaPippin would you trust a friend/your husband to cut your hair after watching a tutorial video?

F no! He made that mistake and I messed up. Also, for people with curly hair like me it's hard enough to find hairstylists that know how to cut curly hair. Maybe for guys who just like Great Clips that's a good idea but most girls I know of are very protective of their hair.

 

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[Roli]

F no!

Lol, I thought so!

 

[Desolation Row]

Hello Bertram,

I think that is a great idea, but I would target the product to mothers/families. I know lots of families where mum cuts the children's (and often husbands') hair to save money (+ it's much more convenient to spare yourself a trip to the barbershop with three kids ...)

But I agree with the others: Test your idea. Do you know anyone who cuts their children's hair? Give them a prototype set. make a video, film their reaction, and post it on Instagram / Facebook / Meta Ads.

 

[AlfaStream]

So basically an online beauty school that makes extra cash by upselling hair products? Might work, but consider that what you're doing may be regulated in some places, in the US people generally get a cosmetology license.

It might work, look into it, and if legal try it. Online businesses can be very lucrative and with things like Wordpress, and moodle and might me easy enough to get going, and the technology is generally low-cost/free.

 

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[Aetherius]

Make a shopify store and use facebook ads to drive traffic there. Use mock product images. See if you get anyone to purchase.

If you do, then refund the money and email them saying thank you for their purchase, but you're currently out of stock and reordering.

If your ROAS is high enough, then buy the product and make it legit.

I would not even return the money... I would say something along the lines of : "Thank you for your interest - we are sorry for the delay the demand has been so high -- here is a free gift (or coupon or whatever else to keep them hooked to the store)". This way you would have additional capital to get the goods.