They all have day jobs: Shira Kastan lobbies for a university. Leslie Munsell applies makeup for photo shoots and co-owns a hair salon. And Tracy Wilson Mourning heads a charity, filling her schedule with philanthropic endeavors.
All three are busy, high-energy professional South Florida women — who still found time this year to launch new makeup and skin care lines, fulfilling their entrepreneurial dreams and tapping into an industry many feel is less sensitive to a recession.
Formulating the products with the help of outsourced manufacturers, designing the packaging, creating a logo and website, marketing and selling to distributors — all have taken loads of time, effort and resources.
But all three women are excited to harness their creativity in a new direction, mixing business with beauty, offering something different to enhance a women’s daily aesthetic ritual.
“I think there’s a market for it,” Kastan said. “I think women will still splurge on themselves. And they should.”
Experts agree that the beauty business, while highly competitive, is an industry ripe for new small businesses. Unlike some other types of start-ups, contract manufacturing helps drive new enterprises and keep costs down.
“There’s always an opportunity for somebody with an idea to start up a cosmetics company,” said Jeff Falk, editor of Global Cosmetic Industry, a trade publication based in Carol Stream, Ill. “It’s a self-regulated industry, so there’s responsibility in launching a company and a line, but there are not some of the hurdles you might have to go through to get a food on the shelf or an over-the-counter drug.”
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