E-commerce sites might be incredibly quick and convenient, but there is still a place in the world of retail for brick-and-mortar stores. If you want to start this kind of business, don’t be put off by the preconceived notion that you won’t attract any customer. So long as you charge fair prices, market yourself effectively, and put the rest of the advice below into practice, you’ll be able to run a successful store in no time.
To find out what you must do to start your brick-and-mortar store, be sure to read on.
Choose a legal structure
Once you embark on your venture into the world of retail, one of the first and most important things that you must do is choose a legal structure for your business. While it is possible for you to tweak this structure as time goes on, you should try to hone in on the perfect long-term plan as early on as you can. It is possible for you to make changes to your legal structure, but these changes will be probably very difficult and expensive to perform.
If you have no previous experience as a business owner, you should opt for the most common business structure: LLC. This is the simplest route to go down and will leave you with the spare time you need to put the rest of the advice laid out below into practice.
Do everything by the book
You might not intentionally set out to break the law when starting your business, but it’s incredibly easy to do so if you aren’t aware of the rules and regulations that govern you. Whether they’re small and seemingly insignificant or quite serious, you should attempt to abide by the laws that your local governing bodies enforce. By not doing everything by the book, your retail business could be finished before it even has the chance to begin.
The specific laws that govern you will depend on the geographical location in which you are based. It’s important that you research these rules and get to grips with them before you open your retail store. Should you choose to operate in New York City, for example, you will be required to abide by FDNY sprinkler violation and testing regulations. To showcase the fact that you have adhered to these rules, you must have professional fire sprinkler companies come out and test your emergency water dispensing equipment regularly. By staying on the right side of this law, you won’t be slapped with a hefty fine and, more importantly, you will make your retail store fire-safe.
Determine your product range
Your product range will define your retail store, which is why you must take care when determining it. If you want to hone in on a range that is going to help you stand out from the crowd, you must:
- Identify or even create a product that solves a problem in your market
- Find a range of products that impassion you
- Keep your finger on the pulse of trends and hop on a theme early
- Look for niche products that cater to guilty pleasures
If you want to own a brick-and-mortar retail store, be sure to put the above advice into practice.