Why You Need to Start Selling Your Products Online

Many of you reading this are solo estheticians or beauty professionals who have been in the skincare game for a while. You have more than likely mastered your practice inside the treatment room, have a busy schedule full of committed clientele and you are thriving in your business. Yay! Let’s take a moment to own that energy and celebrate your successes and you wins in business both BIG and SMALL! Where YOU are at today is no small feat and I know with certainty there has been challenges, hardships and growing pains along the way. Recognizing where you’re at today versus where you started is going to be key in moving forward in your business and generating momentum for where you want to be. This is important so stay with me.

It’s also going to be important that we don’t play the comparison game or allow imposter syndrome to take over. This can look like “I’m so far behind”, “Everyone else is already doing it”, “Is it even worth it to sell my products online since they’re sold here, there and everywhere in between”, and the all too common “What’s the point if I’m competing against Target, Sephora and Amazon”.

STOP.

Mindset is a MASSIVE part of setting you and your business up for success. Also, your already committed clients and future ideal clients WANT to buy from you because (believe it or not) it’s not the actual product you sell that makes them buy. It’s the way you teach and educate your clients to use the products correctly. It’s the fact that they trust you wholeheartedly and it’s your personal touch and the experience you provide when they shop with you. Phew! Glad we go that out of the way. Okay, let’s dive in…

Starting your own e-store can feel overwhelming and scary to say the least. It takes work and commitment and there will be costs involved and you will have to troubleshoot and it will be hard AND it’s all worth it. Here’s some quick backstory about my own personal online store journey. I started my skincare business in 2012. In 2017 I partnered with a skincare company and brought in retail products to sell in-store. When Covid hit in 2020, I launched my e-store and started selling online. In 2020, my gross income TRIPLED. The next year it doubled and by 2022 it had double AGAIN. Now, this has not all been solely because of my e-store, but it has been a huge part. It’s also provided me the space to serve my clients BETTER. When they don’t have an upcoming appointment yet he or she is out of product or maybe she doesn’t feel like being social and coming into the store to shop or maybe she just wants to shop from her phone at 11 pm at night from the comfort of her own bed without having to bother anyone. Add to cart, select order pickup, purchase and DONE. You then receive a notification that there’s a new order to fulfill, you notify your customer when their order is ready for pickup and all of a sudden you have a new cash funnel flowing straight to your bank account.

If you’re considering launching an e-store (and I think you should be) I suggest JUST STARTING. Start by choosing the best platform that works for YOU, your business and that best aligns with your goals, vision and values. Then slowly start adding your products.

Sidenote: Let me let you in on a little secret about adding products to your website. Your partnered companies WANT their products represented online exactly how they are on their website because it brings consistency across all platforms. Therefore, your best bet when adding products to your own e-store it to replicate the product listing and stock photos from the original company website. This saves you time, money and the energy to create new wording and descriptions and helps create a consistent look and feel for the product that clients can trust.

If graphic design isn’t your jam and the thought of creating the look of your e-store overwhelms you do not hesitate to hire the design process out or enlist help from others to create what you want (this is what I do).

Your e-store should be easy to navigate, cohesive with your brand and easy to get to. Provide links to your website in your Instagram and Facebook bio, link your products to socials so customers can shop in the app and so you can tag your products in your posts and stories and reels. And above all, tell your people HOW to purchase from you and tell them often. Make it stupid simple for clients to shop.

If time is a factor for you, commit to waking up an hour early and dedicate 1-2 hours a week to working on your e-store. Babe, I know you want this and I know it’s been on your mind for a while because you’re still reading this blogpost. Dedicate the time to do the work, let go of the idea that it has to be perfect for your website to be seen by others or generate money - it doesn’t, and get out of your own way (MINDSET).

If you need help learning all the ins and outs about e-commerce and how to set up your own e-store so that you can start selling products online, I do offer a 1:1 E-Commerce Setup Class via Zoom. Email [email protected] for more information. 

I believe in you and I support you and I want to see you and your business succeed!

xo Tiffanie