I have heard lots of people ask how one can start a hair business in Nigeria. The fact remains that, the Nigerian hair industry is a vast one, and knowing your exact position or niche interest in the industry sets a stronghold to starting a profitable hair business in Nigeria.
However, giving the hair business a head start, let us begin by simplifying what it is all about, and how you can maximize profit while accumulating your customers as time goes on.
What is the hair business all about?
The hair business in Nigeria is one that comprises the sale of hair extensions, production, processing, and distribution of hair or hair material to various geographical locations where they are most needed.
This definition describes how large the hair business in Nigeria is and also its components. With this in mind, you have an eagle eye on where and how to start a hair business in Nigeria, even from home.
Steps to start a hair business in Nigeria
The following steps are ways to give your hair business a start in 2024.
- Learn about the hair industry
- Identify your target market
- Conduct market analysis
- Write a business plan
- Source for hair wholesale distributor
- Develop a marketing strategy to promote your business
Learn about the hair industry
Anyone venturing in the hair business must acquaint himself/herself with prior knowledge of how the industry works.
Customers will ask a lot of questions, and you must be learned sufficiently to give them answers.
You should know the type of hair you have, their trend names, brand, quality rate, and how long each of these can last. Knowing all these helps your customers to make informed decisions on what to purchase.
Identify your target market
Be niche specified! Focusing on a specific class or group of people with the same interest in the hair industry can foster your business, especially if you are just starting. This would help you to identify the ins and out of how to start a hair business in Nigeria.
Also, you would rapidly be able to identify what is trending and what is not selling at the moment. For example, ladies buy hair or extensions at a specific season for specific occasions and purposes.
You can use this as a selling point and drive profit to yourself. Think about it: Ladies who love high-heel shoes are also lovers of bone-straight hair, and they dress gorgeously to seasoned occasions.
Also, if you are not involved in distributing to final consumers, identifying your target market is not left out for you. If your business is to distribute wholesale, analyze and obtain a target market that suits your business model.
Conduct market analysis
Market analysis is just like identifying your target market, but the two work hand in hand to boost businesses. Conducting market research involves analyzing your potential customers and your competition simultaneously.
You should access the general industry that you want to venture to know how large your customers are by quantifying the customers that you will be targeting for sales in the long run.
Write a good business plan
Writing a business plan is one of the key components of starting a hair business in Nigeria. Business plans are mostly regarded as the starting point of any business because they help entrepreneurs setup their plan in a strategic manner.
This implies that a good business plan provides a business with a vision for the future and a clear strategy for how to expand. In a business plan, you should state your overall goals, what your business is all about, how to secure funds, and some other vital information.
Generally, a business plan contains anything you can imagine about starting a hair business in Nigeria.
Source for hair wholesale distributor
Hair quality is one factor that businesses selling hair in Nigeria cannot compromise. The demand for quality hair material in the market is far greater than that of quantity per person (No one wants to stock their log with under-quality hair anymore).
With this in mind, there is a need to source for a professional hair wholesale distributor either traditionally or online.
Although, Nigerian wholesale hair vendors are actually distributors who import hair and hair extension from hair factories in Vietnam, China, and India, and you can also buy from them.
Should you buy from Nigerian wholesale vendors or just import directly? I would generally advise you buy from Nigerians. Reason being that it is challenging to import hair into the country, especially if it is your first time.
Here is a list of all the best wholesale hair vendors you would like to partner with in Nigeria.
Develop a marketing strategy to promote your business
To promote your hair business, you should develop an offline and online marketing strategy to help you boost your hair business sales while you are just starting out.
Businesses like these trivial mostly through social media, as it is where your target audience spends most of their time.
How do I advertise my hair business online? You can create a website or online store. Doing this allows you to showcase your products conveniently and organized, provide a more detailed explanation of the product description, and also incur some online sales.
Social media can be a great tool to market your business website or store. Use platforms like Instagram, Tiktok, Youtube, and Facebook to increase your business’s awareness to potential customers.
Your marketing strategy should include running target advertisements, and you must be available to interact with potential customers.
Also, using the influencer marketing strategy can boost your sales. Consider partnering with a beauty female influencer who aligns with your target market to promote your products. This method works the most as people (ladies) buy hair from celebrities they love or whom they trust.
To build an offline presence, you should network or become an affiliate to stylists and salons and offer them affordable wholesale prices or structure a commission program to encourage them to patronize or recommend you.
You should also participate in local beauty shows, events, and other related events to gain popularity in the industry. This might take time, but trust me, the process is worth it.
How profitable is the hair business in Nigeria?
With the current high demands for human hair in Nigeria, the hair business is very profitable. Hair businesses make a whopping profit of N40,000 on every N100,000 investment.
This profits, however, depend on quality, cost management, and strategic marketing. Putting these in place, making six figures from your hair product business in Nigeria is achievable.
How much can I use to start up a hair business in Nigeria?
In 2024, the minimum capital to start a hair business in Nigeria is N100,000. This amount is enough to source for whole sellers, and build a small marketing strategy to promote your business to your potential customers.
To get help running an effective social media advertisement for your hair business, send us a message from our contact us page and we will respond as soon as possible.
Can I start a hair business with 500k?
Yes! You can start a hair product business in Nigeria with N500,000. In fact this money would be enough to buy larger products, get a website, promote your business and make incredible profit from your hair business.
Can i start hair business with 50k
As of 2024, starting a hair business with 50k will be so challenging. My prior advice is to start with at least N100k.
How to come up with a hair business name?
To come up with a business name, imagine a catchy hair brand name that resonates with the industry. Mostly, you would want your brand name to be girlish and catchy simultaneously
Ensure your brand name speaks what your business is all about. However, you can make a beautiful hair business name by combining your names together or combining letters from it.
If you find it difficult to come up with a business name, there are diverse AI models that help in generating suitable Hair business names, and you can utilize them.
AI models like Name lix, chatGBT, Google Gemini can help gather your thought to generate an outstanding business name of your upmost desire.
How do I advertise my hair business online?
To advertise your hair business online effectively, rent or buy a large social media audience that resonates with your target customers, then push your product to them in a catchy way.
Also, you can utilize the power of social media advertising. All social media platforms allow people to advertise their product by paying a little amount and getting their product in front of a larger audience.
Conclusion
Whatever your choice may be, either starting a hair attachment business, wig business, hair salon business, or even an hair extension business. Curating a good business plan and knowing more about the hair industry is an effective way to begin.
Below is a video to help you understand the hair business industry in Nigeria;
