Entrepreneurship: should I go for it or not?
Coralie Frébourg
A hot topic: is going it alone right for everyone?
Entrepreneurship, in cosmetics or anywhere else, means asking yourself a few questions.
Before you start: 3 things to assess
- Your current situation (student, unemployed, fixed-term or permanent contract). In my case, I was unemployed and hoping to find work quickly (zero hires, thanks pandemic!).
- Your resources: the funds you have available (loan? equity? crowdfunding?).
- Your motivation: do you feel ready to leave everything behind? If your motivation is below 100,000%, forget it.
The roller coaster of building a brand
- The desire to do something else, to learn, to work for yourself and answer only to yourself.
- The excitement of taking the first step, the ideas flying around, the support of your loved ones.
- The self-doubt, which is inevitable: is my product good enough? Will people like it? Will I manage to pay myself? A stable job is less risky, right?
- The relief, once the doubts are gone and the solutions found: what a joy to see your project come to life!
Careful: when you build a brand, there's no downtime. Just because the product hits the shelves doesn't mean everything stops and you can sit back and wait for the money to roll in. You have to keep growing your business, creating new products, improving, expanding. An endless tunnel (routine lovers, move along!).
One of the keys is your support network, especially if you're going it alone (like me). Family, friends, friends of friends, colleagues, former teachers: everyone has to be on board. If you run a crowdfunding campaign, your inner circles will kick-start its success. And either way, outside opinions are invaluable: you're not creating products for yourself, but for your future customers.
What are the steps to create your brand?
Check with the INPI (the French National Institute of Industrial Property) that the brand name you want is available. If it is, register it: the process takes about 5 to 6 months and the price depends on the number of classes in which you want to protect your brand.
At the same time, set up your company (articles of association, registration…). Personally, I went through the start-up Legalplace, which handled the paperwork (3-week turnaround). You can do it yourself, but you need some know-how and time.
Finally, deposit your share capital with a business bank (I chose Shine): a minimum of €1 for an SAS or SASU.
How much does it cost to create a brand?
- INPI trademark registration (3 classes): €270
- Legalplace fees to set up the company: €600
- Shine fees for the capital deposit: €150 (excluding monthly bank fees)
So the paperwork costs around €1,000, your first investment. I also put in €5,000 of capital, released immediately to pay my first suppliers.
There are still loads of costs to plan for: first production run, professional insurance, domain name, accountant, business email, regulatory files, GS1 registration for barcodes, design and website…
In short, I spent €20,000 to create Versatile and its first production run, whereas most founders spend between €60,000 and €80,000.
How I avoided some costs
By doing everything myself (or with the help of those close to me): photos, logistics, packing, comms, marketing, visual identity, website… No premises at first (yes, we stored everything at home!), so no overproduction and no huge upfront costs. When you don't delegate, you save money, but it takes time and energy!
Is a business plan mandatory?
I'm the bad student on this one: I didn't write one. I knew the industry, my investment was relatively small (so quicker to pay back) and I had a good handle on the creation processes and cost prices.
I don't know everything, but here's a tip: don't get stuck on what you don't know how to do. Read up on all the formalities, know your production and resale costs by heart, and with a bit of luck, you'll make it!
How do you handle failures and wins?
As in any job, there are up phases and down phases. Being your own boss doesn't mean the end of your worries, not by a loooong shot! You could decide to get up at 3pm and work 2 hours a day, but let's be realistic: if you want your company to succeed, that's not the way to go.
You answer only to yourself, and maybe that's the difference: you take things much more to heart. In a big company, you're a little ant reworking your presentation overnight for a CEO you only know by name. As an entrepreneur, if the little ant makes a bad choice, it directly affects its brand, its company, its image. You learn a lot about yourself.
What are the keys to success?
If I had them, everyone would know! No one is safe from running out of creative steam or from consumers changing their minds.
Believing in yourself, going your own way, hitting walls, managing to climb over them, learning from your failures and celebrating your wins: those are the keys to being an entrepreneur. As for the rest, only time will tell!
Looking back: from 2021 to today
End of 2021, after just a few months: 26 stockists (2 online stores and 24 shops in France and Belgium), more than 1,500 perfumes sold and a community of more than 3,600 Versatilians.
2026 update: five years later, Versatile has more than 400 retailers in around thirty countries, a range of Extraits de parfum in roll-on and spray, Eaux de Parfum and body care. And still the same drive to grow the brand. Thank you for everything.
I hope this article helps you think things through. If you're hesitating, here's one piece of advice: go for it.
Photo: Versatile Paris
