Starting your own retail business??

[European Treasures]

I started out doing festivals and open air markets. Now I have a brick and mortar business which I have been running for over 2 years. It is a lot of time involved but the rewards of the customers and friendships are well worth it. I now have customers from all over the country. I do plan on phasing out one part of my business and concentrate on the other. Plus, the internet is good and bad. I can save money on rent, have a life and enjoy the sun rising and setting but that is all too impersonal. I love my customers! I would definately miss meeting, knowing them and helping them to decide what mother liked when she came in last week...

[John23]

Retail seems brutal. When I read about mall closures, bankruptcies, trends in shopping, and the fickleness of shoppers.....seems like it can be a blackhole of long hours, of months, years, is there a light at the end of the tunnel?

Everyone seems to compete on the same basis (the big box stores and smaller guys). None of them stand for anything. None of them seem well prepared for a downturn in spending. One recession, and these chains are out of the game.

And all the extra headaches of employees, insurance, etc.

Then there's demographics (say a model train store, and your clientele is getting older, retiring, not as much money to spend on trains). Then you've got to worry about rent, or construction outside (say a mall). I don't know how most stores in a mall make it.

And changes in shopping patterns, outdoors malls vs indoor. Inability to change or catch trends is a big part of failure.

But you could do really well with cheaper items in a niche.

[Art Lover]

Oh my, this is a very good idea. If I had $$ I'd do this. They are very popular and I would think it would be hard to fail as long as you have some business savy. People love their pets and pamper them all the time and in many ways. Pet Cafe's were big in CA. Why don't you go for it?

Originally Posted by Racelady88

If I were to ever take the plunge in a retail business it would have to be a pet cafe. There was one near where I used to live. My dog & I went there every single Saturday for lunch.

It was an awesome place full of fresh baked goodies for dogs and cats, plus premium foods, toys, etc. The owner had costume parties for the dogs every year for Halloween and photos with Santa every Christmas. I would drop $50 every time in that place.

As far as other types of boutiques, I rarely shop at them. Prices are usually too high (says the girl who spent $50/week on dog treats).

[litlux]

I did retail for a decade finishing up a few years ago. I found it was impossible to buy goods at the low costs that chains can negotiate, and to get the same sorts of terms, especially the ability to return unsold or mussed goods.

Then too, the rents you pay for good locations are truly astronomical, while chains in the malls can get better deals than you can. Independents operate under severe financial handicaps, not the least of which is the inability to get much in the way of capital from banks and investors other than family and friends.

Here's hoping that your experience will be better than mine was. After all the bills were paid, I didn't make much at all.

[canyontothesky]

Originally Posted by litlux

Here's hoping that your experience will be better than mine was. After all the bills were paid, I didn't make much at all.

What's not much at all? I, too, am considering going into retail ownership, and I wonder what some people's expectations are as far as salary. If you don't feel comfortable sharing here, PM me, or if you dont want to say at all, fine, but I really AM curious as to the take home of some retail owners. Then again location and type of goods is going to matter.

What else did and didn't you like about it? What did you sell?

[induhvidual]

Retail!!
Finally some conversation that I can participate in.
I have been in retail forever.
As a little kid, I would buy toys in thrift stores to resell to my friends.
I started my career working for a store for about 6 years and then branched out on my own.
Like any other business, it has its pros and cons.
The most important thing is "knowing" exactly what you are doing.
I have seen way too many people start out without doing their research and then fail.
This is one of the things that looks easy (and it is) but you have to know your market, customers, prices (most important) and costs.
Once you master this, it will pay you more than any other investment, be it real estate, stocks etc. You will be surprised.

What most people see is a storefront and happy salespersons ringing up sales.
But there is a lot more to it "under the hood" invisible stuff that makes this possible.

And in case you were interested, yes, it is very easy for a small business to compete with the big stores and win.
I should know, becuase I do; been doing it all my life.

inDUHvidual