Hoping to open a shop.

abby1234519

I've worked in retail for a while, I have found a smallish central shop to my city, rent and rates are reasonable. But other than having worked in retail I don't know where to start, I mean with regards to finance and all that. Are there any guides to follow or anything?

martindow

A good starting point is always Business Link. Lots of free help and advice available

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/

Good luck with your venture, but do plan it out and be sure you know what you are taking on.

paulwf

Ideally you would start the other way round...sort out what you want the business to be and some sort of financial projection then from there decide the size and location of the shop.

There are probably a lot more units available than it appears...a good property agent can find lots of shops which to the general public don't appear to be available

Rolo_Tomasi

You need to start off by seeing how much you need to take in order to cover your costs. You obviously know how much the rent and rates are but what about heat and light, telephone, insurance, staff wages, till system, advertising, your own income etc. Retail usually works on a 100% mark up so once you have estimated your overheads you can work out how much you need to sell in order to cover your costs - is the business still viable?

If so your next step is to work out how much you need to start up. This will include the initial stock, rent deposit, fitting out the shop etc. Once you have got all of this information, if you require to borrow any money then all banks will want you to do a business plan.

abby1234519

Oh I do know what I want my business to be,

Basically I am a student at university, I study in Leeds and I have a lot of friends who buy vintage clothing and bespoke clothing but in all honesty it is very expensive. Also some of the vintage shops you can't really find your way around, and the variety isn't brilliant. I'm not paying £30/40 for a grandad jumper!!

Likewise the charity shops don't always seem to have a massive selection and there aren't that many anyway.

My idea is to open a small shop that sells a mixture, I don't want to be just stuck with vintage. To sell key vintage pieces but also some mass market stuff. There is a website called Boohoo that sells cheap dresses like sailor dresses etc and I know that a couple of those lines would work really well next to the vintage stuff, thne you could afford a cheaper top but still purchase the expensive vintage jacket you want! Also I would like space to sell student bits and bobs, a girl I used to go to school with makes fascinators and they are top quality and really interesting, one of a kind each time. It doesn't cost her much to make them and I could have a few pieces in. Also maybe student photography, have some prints to sell even approach the textiles department for student fashion. My reasoning for this is, wouldn't it be satisfactory for a student to sell a design and realise its popularity/potential?

Theres a little shop I've seen that would be perfect but like I said I've only worked in retail. I've been on the business link website so going to give them a call, I just wasn't sure about whether when you start up a business, its YOU thats credit scored and all that or literally the business.

Also got to think of a name, mum shouted Frills Attached at me down the phone last night lol

stephenni1971

To sell key vintage pieces but also some mass market stuff

Where will you source your vintage stuff from?

I just wasn't sure about whether when you start up a business, its YOU thats credit scored and all that or literally the business.

To start the business you need capital - so you wont be credit scored any anything much unless you intend to borrow money to start. That could be difficult.

The majority of small businesses close in the first year or two so lenders will not be throwing money at you. YOu may be eligible for local or regional startup grants but these tend to be small and directed more towards manufacturing than retail.

How much have you got of your own for the business?

abby1234519

stephenni1971 wrote: »

Where will you source your vintage stuff from?



To start the business you need capital - so you wont be credit scored any anything much unless you intend to borrow money to start. That could be difficult.

The majority of small businesses close in the first year or two so lenders will not be throwing money at you. YOu may be eligible for local or regional startup grants but these tend to be small and directed more towards manufacturing than retail.

How much have you got of your own for the business?

I'm going to look at start up grants etc, vintage clothing is the same as any clothing. Wholesale and all that

stephenni1971

You are not going to get all the money you need to start up from grants.

If you are going to approach a lender they will want to see you taking some of the risk as well as them.

vintage clothing is the same as any clothing. Wholesale and all that

Have you already sourced suppliers? Worked out markups etc?

paulwf

Your main concern is going to be researching stock. "Wholesale and all that" needs to be a lot better defined on your business plan.

Be careful with setting prices, with all due respect as I know you are a student don't try and set your prices too low. If your student friends are still buying items that have a high price tag don't try and undercut them too much.

To get decent stock that keeps up with fashion (if that is the right word for vintage clothing) you may need to order 6-12 months in advance. You will of course need to order in several sizes and may need to hold more than one of each size as wholesalers may not keep them in stock.

That is going to require significant capital and will leave you liable to accumulating dead stock that no one wants. The clothing market is very fickle, you need to make a good markup on the bulk of your stock so you can write off the rest.

I've dabbled in the clothing trade by retailing specialist sportswear and that was bad enough, not sure I would want the headache of selling fashion. Still, it obviously is a profitable market as many major retailers demonstrate, so good luck with it.

edgex

dont start with a shop

start much much smaller & cheaper, have you even tested out your business by selling on ebay, or a market stall?

raebhoop

edgex wrote: »

dont start with a shop

start much much smaller & cheaper, have you even tested out your business by selling on ebay, or a market stall?

A market stall in a University town (ie.Loughborough) would test the water....BUT..be aware that markets are on the way out.I've worked them for many years and the effects of the supermarkets (with their own free car parks) and credit cards, have all but closed many markets.
The good old days, when the only place for shoppers to go on a Sunday were the Sunday markets are long gone.