Regardless of how innovative or unique your products and services are you must have some sort of a shop window from which to sell. I use the words shop window loosely here as your ‘shop’ could be anything from a website to an ad in the small classifieds of your favourite hobby magazine.Choosing the right venue to sell your goods is crucial to your success. Wherever you decide to sell your goods it has to satisfy the following criteria:
Be Exposed To Your Target Market
The reason many businesses fail is not because there isn’t a demand for what they’re selling, but because their products and services are not marketed at those who want and need them.
Be Affordable
Wherever you rent it must be affordable. We’ll look in a moment at what’s involved in taking on a shop lease, but wherever you decide to locate your business you must be sure that the products and services you’re going to offer have a fair chance of generating not only enough to cover rent, rates, insurance etc, but also pay you and give a profitable return.
Allow A Degree Of Flexibility
One of the keys to running a successful business is to be flexible. You’ll need to be able to adapt to market changes either as they happen, or
preferably to anticipate them. If your business is located somewhere where you have no scope to change in any way – for example rearrange the sales areas, introduce or remove a workshop area – you will not be able to adapt to change and this will impact on your success.
Be Secure And Safe
In the case of the antiques shop, not only was the business located in the wrong area but it was also exposed to frequent attacks. The advantages of having a shop window for your business is that passers-by can look at what you’re offering and be tempted to return to your business when you are open. If you have shutters and security doors where no one can see your window displays, you are losing out on potentially valuable sales.
Some years ago a new bicycle shop opened in our area. Being a keen cyclist I was eager to have a look at what they were offering, but by the time I got home from work every day they were closed. However, they had laid out the shop in such a way you see all the lovely bicycles and their prices.
I bought a new bike from this shop a fortnight after they opened for business. This is the power of window shopping sales. I’m delighted to say that this shop is still thriving and its owners are going from strength to strength.
Choosing Where To Sell Your Goods
There are lots of places you can market your goods. Your business could include a combination of these or just one:
- website;
- space in another shop;
- concession in a retail area;
- direct marketing;
- exhibition or trade fair;
- hotel foyer;
- train station platform;
- shops, cafés and kiosk;
- boot sales or market stall;
- shop;
- local authority concession;
- an existing business.
Website
In
Chapter 8 we’ll cover what’s involved in setting up an online business. Whatever type of business you are planning to start a website can be a great and inexpensive way of either selling your products or promoting your business.
Space In Another Shop
Probably the most inexpensive way of getting your own shop is to hire a space in someone else’s. While this can be an ideal solution for some businesses it won’t suit everyone.
The type of products most suited to this type of arrangement are:
- antiques
- collectables
- jewellery
- paintings
- restored or unusual furniture
- toys
- memorabilia
- non-perishable food items
- other ‘craft’ items
- books
- art supplies.
Generally speaking the way these businesses are run is that you hire either a cabinet or a space somewhere in the main shop where you display your goods, for which you pay either a weekly or monthly rent. These type of shops have what’s often referred to as ‘easy-in easy-out’
terms, which means there are no tiresome leases to deal with. You can rent your space for anything from a month to a year or beyond.
You may be required to work in the shop one day a week where you will be responsible for selling other retailers’ goods as well as your own. Weekends are usually the busiest times in these types of businesses and you would do well do run your own stand/stall during these periods even though it may not be your turn.
The retailers that I know who rent spaces usually rent a number of them in businesses across the country, so achieving lots of exposure for their goods.