Summary

Lash and Brow Training Institute that offer accredited short courses to individuals and salons throughout South Africa and Mauritius Selling price: R1,8 Million Average monthly net profit: R63,000 Return on investment: 42% - Established training institute - Online shop to purchase stock and starter kits - Preferred supplier to local salons - Exclusive supplier to Mauritius salons - Premium, quality brands - Unique opportunity to expand services and product range

Give me more information

Fully describe the business's activities?

This is a Lash and Brow Training Academy that offers accredited short courses to individuals and salons throughout South Africa and Mauritius. Their online student portal is powered by Learndash and allows students to study and access course information online, as well as make course submissions, shop products and starter kits, and purchase additional training courses. Each student is assigned to a dedicated Educator that assists them through their training programme, be it online or in person at one of our training venues. They have partnered with some amazing brands and spent years sourcing the most premium quality products available.

How does the business operate on a daily basis?

All calls and enquirers are fielded by our Head Office in Cape Town. New bookings are processed and assigned to the various Educators in the relevant region. All starter kits and training aids are packed and despatched from HO to the various venues once a month. Training classes are carried out on the allocated dates each month and all product orders are despatched daily by head office. (I hope I have interpreted this question correctly)

What Advertising/Marketing is carried out?

We run monthly social media advertising campaigns through Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Our target market is largely females between the ages of 18 and 40. Newsletters are also distributed monthly via mail chimp to our data base of 10,000 students.

What competition exists?

There are a number of small independent lash & brow trainers in South Africa, but few National Academies that offer local and international accreditation like ourselves.

How could the profitability of the business be improved?

Importing bigger quantities of products to increase mark ups and profit margins rather than sourcing small amounts locally with small margins.
Expansion into further treatments and courses - diversifying the business offering and cross selling to existing customer base - possible to do without increasing overheads.

Give a breakdown of staff/ functions/ length of service?

The Educators form the core of the business and are the face of the brand as they interact with the students / customers personally. 2 of our Educators have been with the company since inception almost 10 years ago. The 2 full time employees manage the day to day running / admin / sales / enquiries and stock management.

Do any have management potential?

Yes all of our ladies have years of experience in the industry and are qualified professionals.

How involved is the Owner in running the business?

Very hands on in terms of stock management, branding and marketing as well as course development.

When does the current lease end?

End of April 2025 (9 months)

What are the trading hours?

9am - 5pm Monday - Friday

What are the main assets of the business?

Stock and Intellectual property

Strengths?

Training forms the core of our business, and the Intellectual property that makes up 10+ curriculums is an asset that can continue to be sold repeatedly. Our online training component is especially lucrative with minimal cost of sales and has the potential to enter the international market too. Our online student training portal is a strength that sets us apart from any competition and is a strong platform for growth and cross selling as students interact with the educators and spend time on their course content, where they can also choose to upskill and add new content / courses to their shopping basket at any time.
The recent addition of the online shop makes it possible for students to 'shop' supplies and top up their starter kits, creating repeat business long after a training course has been sold.
Our CRM data base is managed on OnePage CRM which has full records since 2012 of every student that has trained, which courses they have completed and all assignments, submissions and certificates that have been issued. The data base currently has over 10,000 contacts.

Weaknesses?

We currently stock lash extensions and adhesives that are purchased from a local supplier (The Lash Collection). The mark up on these could be doubled if we were to launch our own private label range of products. We are currently working with samples from a number of suppliers so are in the testing phase here.

Opportunities?

The obvious point of growth at this point would be to increase the range of stock being held and distributed through the online shop so that students have access to all full diverse range of beauty products. Also the expansion into new and upcoming treatments such as dermaplaning and airbrush brows. There is also a lot of potential in resorts and hotel chains that have not yet been tapped into, as well as cruise liners (we recently conducted online training for a super yacht and their staff in the privately run spa)
To launch a private label range of lash extensions.

Threats?

Increased competition in the SA market.

What is the reason for the sale?

As the owner I have recently had 2 babies and dont feel I have the capacity to keep driving the business and give it the attention it deserves to be cutting edge right now. The Lash and Brow market is an exciting and growing industry and it is important to keep abreast of new trends and training opportunities.