In this episode of Ask Evan, host Evan Carmichael answers a question from newsletter reader Manuela, a makeup artist who invented a cooling makeup bag. Evan walks through a step‑by‑step framework for turning the invention into a viable business. He first stresses the importance of defining the target market—whether the product serves a mass consumer base or is a niche tool for professional makeup artists—and explains how that decision drives pricing. He then advises focusing on B2B sales, seeking large orders from companies, salons, or industry associations rather than trying to sell one‑off units to individual consumers. He highlights the value of customizing the bag (e.g., adding logos or design tweaks) to meet corporate client needs. Finally, Evan recommends leveraging influencers and respected industry figures to endorse the product, using their credibility to reach a wider audience. The video concludes with a call to action for viewers to like, comment, and stay tuned for future episodes.
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Hi, I'm Evan Carmichael. Welcome to another edition of Ask Evan. In today's episode, I'm answering a question from one of my newsletter readers, Manuela, who is a makeup artist, and she's invented a makeup bag product that helps keep makeup cool. So what she found was when she's doing her makeup outside for her clients, It's really hot, the makeup starts to melt, it doesn't perform as well as if you can keep the makeup cool. So she invented this bag to help keep things cool. She wanted my advice on if it was a good idea and how to start executing on it. So Manuela, I'm obviously not your target market, don't use makeup, and don't need a makeup bag to keep it cool. But you obviously have to start talking to your demographic. The first question I would have is looking at it as an owner or an investor in this business is what is your market? Are you able to target a mass market? Is this something that every woman would want to buy? Is it a big enough problem that every woman who goes out and it's a hot day needs to have their makeup, you know, in a cool place? Or is it something that only people in your industry, so people who are makeup artists, would be interested in buying? So that's kind of the first question that you need to resolve. So is it something my wife would be interested in or something just for makeup artists? And then you can price it accordingly. So if it's industry-specific, It could be a lot more expensive. If it's mass market, you can bring the price down to be able to reach more people and interest more people in the product. The next thing I want to try to figure out is, can I go after one big customer to make a lot of orders, or do I have to go out and sell these things one at a time? Most people think when they're starting a business to sell these products one at a time to the consumer market. It's a really, really hard way to grow your business. A better way is if you can target a business customer or a bigger customer who can make, you know, an order for 1,000 of these at a time, 10,000 or more, just depending on how many people, you know, are in the organization. But can you sell to a big company that would want to buy this on behalf of their employees or as a giveaway to, you know, customers that they have? Trying to make those sales can bring cash in the door, and you can also build your product around the challenges that they may have specifically to them. So So you might have to design the bag in a certain way to help accommodate certain products. They might have specific needs that they're asking for. You can put a logo on the bag or whatever it is. But if you can design around the customer, then you have money coming into your business and it's sizable money. It's not one-off selling to consumers, but they're making orders hopefully at least in the hundreds. So it's a great way to be able to kind of get that business off the ground. The last thing I would do is try to find influencers, so people who are in your market who can be a source of influence and can recommend your product. So it's great that you are your own target market, you understand the needs of makeup artists, that's fantastic to kind of build around the problem there. Who is the most respected makeup artist in the world? And can you get them to use your product and endorse it? Or are there celebrities who need their makeup with them all the time and they can potentially recommend your product? Or is there an industry association for makeup artists that you can show your product to and get them to endorse it? So look for people who, if they said it was a good product, other people would listen to them. So it's a lot easier to go after that one person and have them influence many other people than for you to try to reach all those many other people by yourself. So hopefully that helps. So, you know, look at how big your market is. Is it just for makeup artists, or is there a bigger market? Try to go after a big customer and get them to place at least hundreds of orders, and then look for influencers to see who can help recommend your product and promote it for you. So hopefully that helps, Manuel. If you guys like the video, please give it a thumbs up. I love seeing those come in, and I'd also love to hear what you have to think. If you have any other advice for Manuel as well, if you want to leave a comment under the video, and stay tuned for the next episode.
