any advise please

bugbabe

5 months ago i started a retail shop things started of well i started with a tiny budget of £7,000 which was soon gone ,i have not been taking enough money each week to pay the rent so am in debt with suppliers and my landlord am in around £4,000 of debt and i dont know what i can do, cant have any help of the bank keep thinging should i just get out but dont want to fail i made a massive mistake with the location of the shop it doesnt get much passing trade as its in a courtyard ive spent ££££££ on advertising please help what can i do i have no money to put in? as ive been a stay at home mum for a few years please any advice i need help

Debt_Free_Chick

What do you sell? Perhaps more direct marketing would help, but it depends on what you sell.

bugbabe

i sell designer petwear ,dog collars ,leads etc

*zippy*

Hi Bugbabe

How long are you tied in with the lease?

A couple of ideas

Do you have a website with buying facilities or have you tried selling some of your stock on ebay to reach a wider audience?

Have you managed to get any free editorial from your local paper?

zippy x

Debt_Free_Chick

Could you afford to do a special offer and put up a poster in every local vets? Find out where dog training classes take place and put up a poster there, too.

Armed with posters (with discount), could you walk around the town/area and give one out to everyone you meet. You might want to ask "Do you have a dog/pet?" if they say yes, hand them a voucher saying "here's a discount voucher for you". Smile and simply respect those people who say "no thank you" or brush past you. It's rude of them, but some people really don't like being approached in the street.

You could couple the discount voucher with a discount day - bring this voucher in on 1 November (whenever) for a xx% discount and a free glass of mulled wine or someother giveaway.

If you're in a tucked away location, your first priority is to let people know that you're actually there. You clearly need to get people in through the door.

Let me think more ... or maybe other MSEers will have other ideas.

How much do you need to take each week to pay the rent and all other bills?

bugbabe

thanks for you great advise we have done most of the things we have had vouchers in the paper ,been to local shows handed out goodie bags with dog treats ,handed out flyers thanks debt free chick for all you help i really need it at the moment , my lease is i can get out at 12 months 24 ,36 i need to make around £450 a week am worried ive took on to much ive never been in buisness before ive been a stay at home mum looking after my disabled son for the last 10 years any more advise

bugbabe

hi zippy thanks for your advise ive just put on some items on ebay would love to get a website up and running but have no more funds to do it

*zippy*

Do you have friends with dogs that you could dress up and do a mini fashion show in your high street when it is busy, thats bound to stop people and grab their attention. Hand your leaflets out with a discount voucher, always tell them where you are located, as you are not easily visable and if you want to build a data base do a competition to win an outfit where they need to fill in a form with name, address and email. Tell the paper they may be interested in covering the story and if they turn up ask them to also to do a picture of the winner in their outfit, so you get double publicity.

If your local paper is anything like ours...full of rubbish, they will more than happy to have pictures of cute dogs to fill some space up.

Good luck

*zippy*

bugbabe wrote:

hi zippy thanks for your advise ive just put on some items on ebay would love to get a website up and running but have no more funds to do it

Hi Bugbabe

I have just bought a website package for £35, you have the option of a shopping cart included in that price. I haven't started it yet, but there was a few recommendations on here for it.

Have a look at the website link below

https://www.mrsite.co.uk

zippy x

bugbabe

thanks zippy will have a look ive just took in a dog halloween outfit to one of the local radio station for one of the djs and they talked about the shop so that was good ,i think i will try the fashion show just dont know how to handle the debt

*zippy*

Our local dog groomers which is very busy has a display case of diamonte collars etc, could you approach some near you and ask them to display your best sellers for a cut of anything they sell.