Author's note: This post is only advisable to those contemplating on a career in the beauty biz. Can apply to bloggers who want to dig deeper, students or new graduates who want to enter the corporate side of the biz, etcetera. Not worth shit for all others.
And forewarning, uncensored language- not for the squirmish.
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I regularly receive "Dear Auntie Rowena" emails from those aspiring for a career in the beauty business. Through these, I have met many a passionate individual willing to share me their story- and for that i feel so privileged, thank you. I get fielded with questions like what course to take, how do i make myself interesting enough to land a job, what should i be training myself to do and all that shit.
I have also been told that a school in L.A. offers a major in beauty industry marketing and merchandising. The school apparently says that "one should definitely study on their major in order to get into a beauty company because their programs are so much specialized than any other 4 year University" and for only $29,300 per year.
Well, er, fuck that. No one is required to take a specialized course and this is definitely not a requirement to get in the biz. Though we get people who are clever, personable, ambitious and passionate (and yes, have a college degree)- most things are learned as you go along.
But heck, some of you are more driven than others and would do anything to get ahead- and i have a lot of respect for that. But I do not wish you to fall into financial abyss by following your passion.
So I have been promising each and everyone that i will hold online courses on the corporate side of beauty and this post is a start towards that.
First of all, i will be straight with you what this course is and is not .
Personally, I will not shove it to your face. I do not think anyone 'needs' this course.
Will it give you practical knowledge on how the business works? Yes.As well, though I have successfully managed a whole global brand, I have my limitations.
Will it give you a headway and make you do your job well? Yes.
Do you need it to get a job? No.
Do I guarantee it will land you an interview? No.
Will you be better prepared for an interview? Yes.
So anyway, my plan is to have short courses where you can enroll in one or more as you want and i can release them in phases. But to get into the succeeding ones, the first basic course i would suggest. I have not finalized the courses but i give you more details what they are about.
- I am not a chemist. I do not talk ingredients or formulations.
- I am not a makeup artist. I do not do how-to's and do not get all ga-ga over textures
- I have 'attitude problems'. I will not scrub anyone's balls to get ahead. And I give my people credit for what I myself have done well and own up to their blunders. If you want to go corporate, this attitude will not do.
- I am very good at what i do but I am not passionate about cosmetics. And life is too short to spend your life doing things just because you are good at them.
As this is a start, I do not want to offer it to a lot of people, just 20 per course. Being the course's willing guinea pigs*, the first 20 will have access to the course's future improvements and updates - provided you give me your no bullshit feedback which i will work on.
*marketeers will call you pioneers to make you feel good buying but i am not to mince my words here just to sell.
No, i will not offer a money back guarantee, so if you are not sure, ask me more questions- i will tell you no lies. And if in doubt, don't do it. I have seen enough self proclaimed wunder yogi rock star guru samurai "experts" out there who will promise you invincibility to sell more. Fuck that. I will only do it if there is truly an unforced "need" for it.
So, after all that and you still think you need special beauty business courses, read on what courses there are that i can comfortably offer as an "authority" -
- Beauty quickie
A general overview of the cosmetics market from a corporate vantage point, how to evaluate a brand, how to prepare for an interview, sample actual interview questions, links to useful references. This course is very basic but i suggest it anyway so you can have better understanding of the context of the future courses. Though it will give you concepts and buzzwords, this does not give practical knowledge to do a good job once inside.
Waiting list of 50 but will preselect the first 20. Approx price 300€. - Beauty business strategy. From business expectation to industry, country, competitor analysis, to product line strategy, forecast. This course is number heavy. Brush up on your excel skills prior to start of course.
- Brand pyramid and product story. Understand and dissect the context under which a brand operates and build the story about it.
This course has both theory, case studies and your own brand assignment. - Emotional branding. How to train your eye on imagery and design your own brand image.
This course is image heavy with lots of exercises. It will help you dissect an advertisement and understand the "story" behind it. I suggest you take this after a brand pyramid background to have more "context". - Product Development. Primer on product development: basics of product development, prepare a brief that will be taken seriously by your suppliers, finding and evaluating suppliers, how to conduct plant visits. Will cover all textures and packaging types.
- Image Development. Construct imagery for a brand - how to plan and supervise an image shoot (with models), how to plan and supervise a product and texture shoot. I would advise this course only after courses 3 and 4 so you can have better context in planning and which is a good foundation for execution.
Cheers!
Rowena
