Opening your own store is an exciting journey. It’s going to have its ups and downs, but as long as you are consistent, believe in yourself, and work hard, you can and will succeed in it.
Throughout your journey of opening your store, there will be plenty of things for you to consider. You’ll have to make a decision on your branding, a decision on your store’s location, a decision on which retail POS systems you are going to use and the number of people you’re going to have to employ – most stores will need a few sales people as you can’t be there everyday.
To help give you a head start, we have put together a quick guide on considerations when opening a store. From your payment systems to your location, we hope we can give you some inspiration and useful pointers.
Choosing Your Shop’s Location
The location of your store will have a big impact on your success. As you can imagine, a nicely placed store in a busy area is more likely to attract a greater footfall than a shop in a quiet, unappealing area. When choosing your location, look up the crime rate in the area, speak to anybody you know in that area and do some research on social media channels like X or Instagram. The only downside in being in a popular area, is that your monthly rent will most likely be higher. The area you work from is important, even if you aren’t running a physical business.
Employing Staff for Your Shop
You’ll need staff to help you run your shop, especially when you need to take time off – you can’t be there every day. Knowing how many staff members to employ can be tricky, which is why some companies will offer 0 hour contracts; this way, they aren’t committed. To find staff, you could run an advert on social media channels. Alternatively, you could try and use a job board like indeed.com or hire a recruitment firm to find people for you.
Consider a Pop-Up Shop
If you are thinking of opening a shop but aren’t 100% sure your idea is going to work, you could go down the route of a pop-up shop. A pop-up shop is a temporary shop that pop’s up in a certain location as and when required. It could be in your local market or at a festival. By doing a pop-up shop, you can gauge the public’s reaction and learn about your offering and whether it would be a good full-time shop or not.
How Are You Going to Take Payment?
You can’t run a shop without having a way to take payment. You should dedicate some time to researching payment options and deciding which one is best for you. Some payment systems will charge you a small percentage on each transaction, such as 2% or 3.5%. Other companies may charge you a monthly fee, but do not charge you on each transaction. Which one is better is down to your preferences. The best thing to do is read the user reviews and contact each company to ask them any questions you have. Taking cash isn’t generally considered the best option anymore, but you can accept cash as well as other payment methods, in case a customer does come in with cash.
Take Out the Correct Insurance
One requirement when running a store is to have insurance to cover you in case something happens by mistake. You should have public liability insurance as well as employee insurance. You may also want to have business insurance which covers your assets, in case they get damaged such as your laptops or your stock, in case they get damaged in a fire. When doing your research, you’ll see many different types of insurance. It’s always worth speaking to any friends or family members who run a business, as they will be able to help you with choosing the right ones for you. I
No matter the type of store you are opening, you are going to go on an exciting journey. As we said above, make sure you always believe in yourself and never give up, even if, at times, it gets hard.
What type of store are you thinking of opening? What tips would you recommend to someone thinking of opening a store? Which of the above suggestions did you find most useful? Let us know in the comment box below, we look forward to hearing from you.
