Opening a shop

Ovoxokk

Hi, I'm just wondering can anyone tell me in simple form what it is exactly I need to do to open a small clothes shop impoting from a wholesaler in the uk.. I've looked on enterprise websites and revenue.ie but its all so complicated and I have no business education whatsoever .. The plan is that me and a friend rent a small shop in our town buy the clothes we want to sell and then sell them in our store but how do we go about starting out? Any advice is greatly appreciated
Thank you

Sam Kade

Have you factored in rates, esb etc? Be careful with the rates and make sure the last tenant paid up to date otherwise you could get caught for the back payment.

endacl

http://www.enterpriseboards.ie/find_your_enterpirse_board.aspx

Good for your basic questions, OP.

Ovoxokk

Sam Kade wrote: »

Have you factored in rates, esb etc? Be careful with the rates and make sure the last tenant paid up to date otherwise you could get caught for the back payment.

I haven't even looked at shops yet tbh I just wanted to know what I needed to do tax wise and register wise.. Thanks for reply tho

mockingjay

Good advice as I think it's overheads that are crippling small businesses at the moment. I also believe more people are shopping online at the moment - would you consider doing a web design course, begin selling online and see where it goes from there? The cost of travelling, sourcing clothes whilst paying someone to work in the shop whilst you're abroad could prove challenging in these times.

I wish you both the very best in your new venture.

Ovoxokk

mockingjay wrote: »

Good advice as I think it's overheads that are crippling small businesses at the moment. I also believe more people are shopping online at the moment - would you consider doing a web design course, begin selling online and see where it goes from there? The cost of travelling, sourcing clothes whilst paying someone to work in the shop whilst you're abroad could prove challenging in these times.

I wish you both the very best in your new venture.

Well you see we both live here in the town and we have been best friends since we were 8 years old no exaggeration and I know we would not expect wages we would both do shifts there would be no staff our bills would be rent on the shop and esb and general stuff and we thought about selling on Facebook as there are loads if pages selling clothes that are doing so well and that was our 1st idea try that to get customers and kind of see what it is people are looking for .. It's just complicated online with PayPal and all the size differences in different brands also postage on Sales and stuff.. I really appreciate all the great advice peeps thanks

endacl

Be very careful mixing friendship up in business. Make sure you sort out your 'things aren't going as we expected them to' clause. Good idea to keep business talk for business meetings, and try not to allow it into social/friendship settings.

Ovoxokk

endacl wrote: »

Be very careful mixing friendship up in business. Make sure you sort out your 'things aren't going as we expected them to' clause. Good idea to keep business talk for business meetings, and try not to allow it into social/friendship settings.

I totally agree with you there! There is that worry playing in my mind like what if we kill each other ( not literally ) but yeah I get what yer saying about keeping business separate but we are two honest people and we would tell each other truthfully if we had issues.. I hope so anyway!!

sandin

Normally I'd be saying go ahead and give liads of info (30 years in retail this year) but I have to say get this out of your head immediately.

Firstly, yoy cannot buy what YOU like and hope to sell it. Good shops buy what their customers like.
Secondly, you have no experience. In the current market you'll drown. Get experience in another shop first.
Thirdly, it seems like its a small town. Chances are, the vast majority of women will shop in bigger towns around.
And finally, friendship - never go into business with friends or family - it rarely works out.

Sorry fir putting a danpner on it, but it doesn't look like the right move.

Ovoxokk

sandin wrote: »

Normally I'd be saying go ahead and give liads of info (30 years in retail this year) but I have to say get this out of your head immediately.

Firstly, yoy cannot buy what YOU like and hope to sell it. Good shops buy what their customers like.
Secondly, you have no experience. In the current market you'll drown. Get experience in another shop first.
Thirdly, it seems like its a small town. Chances are, the vast majority of women will shop in bigger towns around.
And finally, friendship - never go into business with friends or family - it rarely works out.

Sorry fir putting a danpner on it, but it doesn't look like the right move.

No such thing as putting a danpner on it we likes the truth don't want to be told what we want to hear! I appreciate the honesty! The thing is we would gladly go and work in other shops 1st but as you guessed it is a small town and there are no jobs in clothes shops and our main clothes shop is New Look and it's like they only get in stock that no other new Look can sell! Women would have to travel to Waterford city or Cork city to buy nice affordable clothes so as neither of us can find work we decided to make our own work! I'm not expecting this to be handed to us on a platter, we know its hard graft and a lot of stress involved but what's the worst that could happen? I also understand that we would have to sell what the people want to buy I get that totally as there nowhere in town to buy what we want to buy!
Finally, I think we both value each other as friends too much to let this come between us and as I've said we are honest with each other therefore I expect that if either of us had issues we would come outright and say so.. I really do appreciate the honesty though thank you

yellowlabrador

Maybe get a traders licence and have a market stall? The investment would be less and you can get a feel for the local clientele and get known. You could also trade at local events and fairs.

Ovoxokk

yellowlabrador wrote: »

Maybe get a traders licence and have a market stall? The investment would be less and you can get a feel for the local clientele and get known. You could also trade at local events and fairs.

That's a really good idea we have a market in town every Thursday morning could maybe try n go to that! Any idea how we would get a traders license?

endacl

Ovoxokk wrote: »

That's a really good idea we have a market in town every Thursday morning could maybe try n go to that! Any idea how we would get a traders license?

Local authority would issue it. That'd be the place to ask. Should be straightforward enough. Fill a form and pay a fee I'd imagine.

Ovoxokk

endacl wrote: »

Local authority would issue it. That'd be the place to ask. Should be straightforward enough. Fill a form and pay a fee I'd imagine.

Yeah it all seems like common sence really :L I'm going to the local council offices tomoro so I will ask

Shelflife

Ok you HAVE to draw up some sort of agreement between the two of you. Money will always find a way to come between friends.
What happens if you open a shop and one of you gets sick and the other has to work 10 hr shifts 6 days a week?

You need to do a basic business course and offer to work in a small shop for free in return for advice and training.

Running a shop is hard work and similar to being pregnant. You can be a little bit pregnant in the same way you can't be not fully committed to retail. It's all or nothing!

endacl

Ovoxokk wrote: »

Yeah it all seems like common sence really :L I'm going to the local council offices tomoro so I will ask

This time next year Rodney!

Ovoxokk

Shelflife wrote: »

Ok you HAVE to draw up some sort of agreement between the two of you. Money will always find a way to come between friends.
What happens if you open a shop and one of you gets sick and the other has to work 10 hr shifts 6 days a week?

You need to do a basic business course and offer to work in a small shop for free in return for advice and training.

Running a shop is hard work and similar to being pregnant. You can be a little bit pregnant in the same way you can't be not fully committed to retail. It's all or nothing!

I get what you mean .. I would hope to have a neutral person to come in and help us with them things along the way but this is early days! The idea came about in march and was thrown aside until a few days ago and we have not spoke much about it as of yet we are just researching ideas and laws and stuff we need to do such as stock taxes funding a shop I know there are a lot of things we need to sort but we are not naive we know it won't happen overnight it will take months with insurance and planning permission and all that stuff but we just need to know what we need to do to get the ball rolling as such! We both have a lot of spare time so consistency and commitment is not an issue! This may never happen for us but nothing will ever happen if we don't try!

Ovoxokk

endacl wrote: »

This time next year Rodney!

They were millionaires by the end

Peterdalkey

You probably have better odds on wining the Lotto, like the Trotters, than making a go of a new clothes shop in today’s market.
Even if you were both seasoned and experienced clothing retailers, you would have little chance. This market has suffered hugely and continues to do so, largely due to most people having next to zero disposable income.
The rise and rise of Primark with their incredibly low cost clothing is a clear example of how price conscious the market is today. They don’t deal with wholesalers, they buy direct from Far Eastern factories in huge volume and sell at prices even your wholesaler could not buy at!.
Sorry to be so negative but it would simply be a case of lambs to the slaughter. The first thing both of you should do is a start your own business course whioch will give you the basics of what you need to know to start your enterprise. At the same time you can investigate and research other ideas for a viable business model.

Cianos

You should hit the streets with a clipboard and ask as many people as you can about their buying habits. Your own perception of how the market is is one thing, but getting actual objective feedback from 100 people is much better.

You need to find out what way your fellow townspeople shop and buy clothes. They're obviously not walking around naked, so they have their established and familiar buying habits that you will have to try fit in to or around.

Do they shop online? What's the main reason for doing so? Price? Accessibility? Or do they go to a bigger town for the wider choice? If so, why? Where do they go? What are their favourite shops? Do they enjoy the shopping day out? Is there anything annoying about going to (town x) to shop for clothes?

Remember, when doing your survey don't begin by saying "We're planning on opening a clothes shop and wanted to ask you some questions..." because then the person will try and be nice, and give you overly positive feedback. You want the cold hard truth. It's fine to tell them after they've answered the questions, and then have a further chat about their thoughts on it.

Focus on people who will be your demographic for your typical customer - and remember, for the shop to be appealing, it can only be appealing to a narrow range of people. If you try and please everybody, you'll be appealing to nobody.

Edit: Another idea, you should also treat the survey work as a marketing opportunity. Set up a Facebook page and after each survey give the participant a small thank you card with the Facebook URL (Send me a private message and I'll tell you how to set up a proper Facebook page) written on it. Something like "Thank you so much for helping us with our survey. We'd love if you Liked us on Facebook to follow our progress! Our Facebook page is xxxxxxxxxxxx". This way, whether you open up a market stall, an actual shop, or sell from your living room you'll have a little prebuilt audience.

wmpdd3

I'm working in fashion retail with 15 years and I wouldn't dream of what you are proposing.
The small town part is the most worrying part.I know of a handful of places where this works usually because there's a tourist element to the town.
Unless its bridal or plus and a destination, location is the issue.
Imagine Janine Weeks where you takings are 326 euro, because there will be Weeks like that.
Feel free to pm me if you need more info.

Atomico

It will depend a lot on the size of the town and the footfall in the area in which you plan to set up. Based on what I can see, the long-established clothes shops in towns of a reasonable size are doing ok in some cases. It is the smaller, lesser known ones which offer the same as everyone else which seem to really struggle.

Factor limited spending power and the growth of online shopping into the mix, and it's not a business I'd be going into unless I was targeting a niche or a a sub-set of the market, e.g. weddings, specialist sizes, specialist sports-gear, etc. Even then you need the footfall and demand to support it, bringing us back to my initial point.

Plus if you don't know anything / much about fashion retail, I'd spend some time learning about the industry first!

endacl

Of course, if you don't give it a go, it definitely won't work! Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Do go in with both eyes open though.

Bandara

endacl wrote: »

Of course, if you don't give it a go, it definitely won't work! Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Do go in with both eyes open though.

I'd counter that with there has to be strong factors in place to make it 'gain'

You can also put €1000 on number 4 in the next race at Ascot, nothing ventured nothing gained.

And seeing as both these people are out of work I'd suggest that money is tight and they may be venturing everything they have, with zero knowledge.

So the number 4 at Ascot could be a better option, at least they will only lose what they put in, not what they put in and a multitude of debts on their back.

There has to be responsibility aspect, we can all dream and hope, but recklessness is rarely going to end well.

highlandseoghan

I understand the both of you are best friends and your friendship seems the strongest in the world but I hate to dissapoint you but a lot of friendships that go into business together never work out. Business finds ways of killing friendships. When i started out in the first year of business I lost a very good friend because we went into business together and it just went completely wrong A few years later I helped a family member set up a business basically he had no money and no job and we discussed a business that could get him up and making a career for himself 6 months later the friendship fell apart and we dont speak at all now. My advise dont go into business with friends or family. If you still believe your friendship is different and nothing will come between the both of you make sure then that you have a proper legal document drawn up and signed by the both of you.

Your living in a small town and that is going to make it very hard to make a clothing business work, I'm not saying it cant work but its going to be very difficult. Firstly go around and see what price is rents on different units, talk with landlords and estate agents and see if you can get a period of rent free to help your business at the start. Contact local athority and get prices on the rents on the units that you like. Go to sign companies and get prices on signage. Depending on the condition of the unit you will propably need certain fixtures and fittings get prices on all these ( second hand fittings / fixtures can be as good as new but cheaper ) Stand in the busiest part of town on both sides of the road for the day and do a survey with as many people as possible that stop and talk to you. Ask them questions like where do they shop why do they go there to shop and definetely ask them when was the last time they bought clothes for themselves.

Starting a shop is going to take a lot of cash. If I was you I would purchase a market stall €250 average and either buy small quantities of clothing and sell them or get second hand clothes and sell them like clothes you and your friend dont wear anymore friends clothes family etc... and start off that way. This will give you a very good idea of how the two of you get on in business and will teach you things about business and customers. There is markets on every sat and sunday and most fridays and now thursdays. So this could give you 4 days work and a lot of learning.

Think about it and sit down and go thru everything and see how the two of you feel.

robertdoyle

You need to develop a business plan that tightens every single nut between your relationship and the operations structure while also analyzing your market and macro environment. Try look up sample business plans to give you an idea of what you need to know before even moving forward with the idea. It will save you investing in a business before you know if it is viable. I have sample plans on my website for free, check them out www.trojanconsultations.com