I bought a shop.....

missbridal

Hiya, my husband and I were in approx £100k of unsecured debt which my mum agreed to secure on her home so it became more affordable for us. It put us in a perfect position to be able to pay it off. We were so grateful but stupidly, with 40k of the money we bought a clothes shop which doesn't seem to be doing very well. It's not even breaking even but we have only been open less than a year. I dont know whether to keep going and hope it picks up or to give up and take a hit with what will probably be a 20k loss.

Any advice? I'd love to keep it but my husband is getting very upset with the mounting debt.

Plus i'm pregnant with our 3rd, and the whole thing is really upsetting

ILW

No one can tell you if a business is viable without at least seeing all the numbers.

BigCraigJohn

Sorry to hear things are going rough. I run a purely online business and it has been very quiet this last year so you probably hit a hard time to be starting. People are still being tight and theres not much credit about.
From a personal point of view I have had to just sell more variety of items for less money and put in a lot of hours to earn what I was before.
Do you sell online?, I think its absolutely crucial. Use Ebay and any other large specialist sites in the field. Dont rush out and spend thousands on your own site.

missbridal

I don't at the moment but I will try anything! I have a website but it's just information so maybe I'll start ebay. I'm just feeling so naive that I thought it would just make money straight away! I don't know how to work out if it's viable and I don't know who to ask but I'm kinda just keeping my fingers crossed it will pick up. How far do you let it go before you give up?! Thanks BigCraigJohn, I'll def look into selling online!

KingElvis

Yep, you need to get "non shifting" stock onto ebay or gumtree or similar.

Clothing is a difficult business due to the fads of fashion and the huge competition from the high street and the likes of Primark, Matalan and even Adsa.

dancingfairy

Hi - it sounds like a right pickle to be honest.
Firstly do you have any experience of running a business especially a clothes shop? Do your staff have the experience necessary?
It might be worth giving the National Business Debtline people a ring to see if they can help.
First impressions are that maybe it may be better to walk away before you end up even more but without knowing the full facts its impossible to say.
I also feel that I need to point out that the 100k of debt you owe hasn't gone away and is now secured on your mums house which means if you/she can't pay it she will loose her home. Please Please whatever you do don't do this again no matter how well intentioned.
You might also want to speak to the debt charities Martin recommends - once you've sorted the shop out you might be left with a personal debt but get in touch with the debt charities oe National Debtline ,CCCS or your local CAB for info/advice.
Good Luck
df

ILW

missbridal wrote: »

I don't at the moment but I will try anything! I have a website but it's just information so maybe I'll start ebay. I'm just feeling so naive that I thought it would just make money straight away! I don't know how to work out if it's viable and I don't know who to ask but I'm kinda just keeping my fingers crossed it will pick up. How far do you let it go before you give up?! Thanks BigCraigJohn, I'll def look into selling online!

Have you any sort of written business plan?

missbridal

Thank you dancingfairy and kingelvis, nope, no experience, nothing. I must have been nuts. We can afford to pay all of the debts and the shop rent but it means my husband works 7 days a week because of it. Before we bought it we were paying of 1500 a month off the debt my mum took and now were paying interest only. Its my fault because I was bored sitting at home and my kids wern't getting much stimulation so I thought I would be helping by earning money and they could go to a playgroup which they really do love. I should have just shut up and got on with it I dont even know where to start with selling it.

missbridal

I do have a business plan but I seem to have overestimated everything. I was expecting more customers than I'm getting because I based it on figures from a local established business which I'm not. My business plan may as well say anything.

annibee

Hi,

didnt want to read and run....dont have any practical advice but wanted to say you are not the first and wont be the last to think you can open a store and make money so easily!

And I am also pregnant (2nd not 3rd) and very stressed about our debt so i can only say try not to get too bogged down by it because youll only make yourself ill!

At least you can see that its not doing well and if you do decide to sell it then you know you tried....but with the market the way it is its extremely hard for new businesses to get into a proper flow.

theres lots of support on here from people who know more businesswise so listen to them.

Hope everything works out ok(it will im sure) and im sending virtual hugs

x

markozorro

There is nothing worse than a mounting debt in a business. You need to look very carefully at your numbers. Ebay is a great tool to shift stock. When you bought your business do you own the property or do you rent. If you rent speak to the landlord put your situation to him, trust me he wont want an empty shop at this tiime, make it clear to him the bonus he would need to offer a new tennant to get them in the door and try and get a rent reduction/holiday. There are lots of ways to cut costs. Good luck.