Hi ladies (and men)!
I've been thinking of opening a retail store and honestly when I think of the logistics of it all it's overwhelming! I'm just wondering if anyone has any pointers? Where to start? It'll only be a small store but the stock to fill it initially will be quite expensive. On top of that, there's fitting out a shop, marketing, leasing, etc etc. Any advice or tips would be much appreciated! Sorry for being a bit vague, I want to keep it under wraps until I'm 100% certain I can make it work.
3 Replies
What about starting as an online shop and building your customer base that way. Have a look at Instagram and the number of retailers on there... with good social media and marketing people, you could give it a shot, without the expense of leasing premises etc. If you are going up-market, then you will need to be in the right area etc for it, which mean higher rent prices along with everything else.
Start with your local small business centre. Before starting you need to know your numbers.
1. Is there a market for your business (you can do some simple market research).
2. How much cash do I need to cover the expenses before the business starts to break even.
3. How long before I create a surplus
4. When do I expect I can pay myself for my time.
5. Is it better to go online, build a business and then move into a shop.
Businesses cost money to run, and most businesses close in two years because the expenses outweigh incoming for a long period of time. Meanwhile you can't work in a job with pay.
I'm the poster.. just an update. An opportunity has come up to buy the already established business that I currently manage, so I know the products, what sells, what doesn't, the suppliers, the customers, etc. The business is the only one of its kind in the town so I don't have any competition other than online stores, however I know from experience that a lot of people prefer to buy local and get their products right there and then. Still looking into it all though.