How to Start a Wedding Makeup Business

If you're looking for a fun new career, consider starting a wedding makeup business. The wedding business can be a prosperous market for the right person with an artistic eye, a love for weddings and the ability to help women feel beautiful.

Instructions

1. Write out a working business plan on paper so you understand your goals and how to get there. As you define your business plan, determine who your clients will be and think about whether you want your makeup business to expand beyond weddings.

2. Find out if you need to hold a cosmetologist license to practice make up artistry for weddings in your area. Check with your local state advisory board for information.

3. Take a professional makeup course. You'll learn proper procedures for makeup application. You can find many makeup artist schools online, listed at websites like the Beauty School Directory.

4. Learn about how to hygienically clean your make up equipment. This will be covered to some degree in your course, but you may want to seek additional guidance to ensure that you have the most hygienic practices possible.

5. Buy supplies for your wedding makeup business. In addition to the basic tools, you'll need to have a variety of products to fit different types of clients and looks. Mac is a good choice if you're looking for pale and matte colors, while Max Factor makeup gives your client a glamorous look. Mineral makeup is a new popular trend that gives a natural looking face. Isa Dora, Bare Minerals and Afterglow are all types of mineral makeup.

6. Market your wedding makeup business to attract the clients you need by building a website, listing your business in the yellow pages and making business cards. Take pictures of the brides and post on your new website to promote your work, and ask current customers to tell their friends about their experience.

Tips & Warnings

• Word of mouth advertising is a good way to gain clientele. Offer referral discounts to friends of current clients. Mail a brochure to potential clients offering a free consultation for their first visit. You can use this as a question and answer session to find out the bride's needs and show her some makeup products.

Resources

• Visit Beauty Schools Directory to find training.