Online health and beauty boutique

Shoppers across Canada looking for products they cannot easily find in a big chain store, plus gift buyers.

You buy at wholesale and sell at retail, keeping the margin after shipping, payment fees and marketing. Bundles, gift sets and repeat orders help raise sales per customer.

• Choosing products customers want
• Social media and basic marketing
• Organised stock and order handling
• Customer service

• Health Canada rules for cosmetics and natural health products, including ingredient and labelling requirements, so check before you sell or import anything
• Bilingual labelling (English and French) is required on many products, and Quebec has extra language rules, so check what applies
• GST/HST registration once you pass the small supplier threshold, and provincial sales tax rules that vary by province
• Commercial general liability or product liability insurance, since customers can react badly to products
• Do not make medical or cure claims about products
• Check whether your municipality requires a home-based business licence

Startup costs are estimated at typically around $1,500 to $8,000, depending on the products you stock and how you set up your website. You buy from wholesalers or Canadian brands and ship orders yourself from home.

Monthly revenue is estimated at typically around $500 to $4,000, depending on your niche, your marketing and how many orders you ship. Treat this as a revenue estimate, not profit.

Check Health Canada rules for cosmetics and natural health products, including ingredient and labelling requirements, and bilingual labelling (Quebec has extra language rules). Also check GST/HST and provincial sales tax, liability insurance, and avoid medical or cure claims.