Perfume

Startup Costs: $2,000 - $10,000
Home Based: Can be operated from home.
Part Time: Can be operated part-time.
Franchises Available? No
Online Operation? No

THE BRIEF:

Creating, packaging and distributing your own perfume line could lead to real profits. Developing your product will take careful planning and research, but that hard work can pay off if you can secure national accounts with well-recognized specialty retailers. In terms of the type of perfume your business develops, consider an all-natural approach to the ingredients, as many customers in this day and age prefer transparent ingredients. The perfume can be sold to retailers on a wholesale basis, directly to consumers via the internet or by establishing a perfume sales kiosk in high-traffic community gathering places.

ASK THE PROS:

How much money can you make?

As with a whole host of other entrepreneurial ventures, there isn’t much of a ceiling on your line’s potential success. It all depends on product quality, marketing and -- most of all -- popularity with your customer base.

What kind of experience do you need to have?

“You never can get too comfortable… I don’t care how famous you become, or successful; you think your last job may be your last job. And so you learn to live with that uncertainty… Keep yourself busy.” -Michelle Pfeiffer, Henry Rose Fragrances

What’s the most important thing to know about this business?

“Is it challenging? Yes… But I don’t see what I’m missing; I see what I have. If you start complaining, ‘I don’t have this’ or ‘I don’t have that,’ you’re shooting yourself in the foot at the beginning.” -Pascal Gaurin, perfumer