Opening a store

[Fandango]

I've been thinking on opening a t-shirt store for a little while. I've gotten a little more serious about it recently but I haven't done a lot of research yet. I Basically wanna open a shop that sells unique shirts I'll be purchasing online. I'd most likely look at selling some accessory stuff too... glasses/hats/whatever (like I said not a lot of research done yet)

Just wondered if some of you guys had some advice on what to do and how to plan everything (i do plan on seeing a business planner) and even some stories on your own experiences etc.

[DexterPunk]

an actual shop front??

ive gone pretty far into opening my own business, including nearly putting down an offer on a rental location, and speaking to lawyer and accountant etc.... lots of market research and writing of my business plan went into it before hand... I ended up pulling out of it, i just didnt want to risk the money, my projected budgets showed id be having trouble making profit after paying myself, and the staff i would have had to employ. Did an extensive business course to work towards it etc... i was actually really very close to pulling the trigger, so i did a lot of work on it. If you have any questions, give me a yell... it was a while ago though now. I wouldnt mind betting theres are some people here who actually run a shop front.

[macca]

Do some type of business course, especially one that involves learning how to prepare a busineness plan, get the the plan reviewed. Research is the key word. I have worked for myself on & off for abot 30 years now & have leased office space a couple of times, can be a millstone around your neck but it all comes back to that initial research, especially for a shop front.

Be prepared to work the long hours, but it is oh so much more satisfying doing it for yourself.

Good luck with whatever you do.

[Pinger$]

Something like a tshirt company could start online with minimal cost while you get up and running.
Then when things reach a critical mass, move forward and get a shop.
This would also give you some time to figure out marketing/advertising.

[Fandango]

Thanks guys. Definitely a bricks and mortar shop. The places I plan on getting the shirts from will only allow "vendors" to sell in the "real" world. Otherwise I'd be competing directly with the suppliers. I do plan on doing a lot of research. I'll give you a yell Dex thanks mate. Just need enough info at the moment to make sure it's the right thing to do. Plus hours don't bother me... I work 60 hours a week at the moment for someone I don't wanna work for lol.

[Quincy]

Shopfront = $$$$, which means you'd need to make a SHITLOAD of profit on the items you are selling, just to cover the rent/electricity/heating/cooling/phone/net/staff etc. . .

So, a $250 a week shopfront rental, actually costs more towards $300+.
You sell a shirt for $30 (?) your profit is probably $20. . . so you need to sell 15 shirts a week, just to cover rental. You'd then have to sell another 15 shirts to cover your OWN costs of living (rent,food,electricity, blah....) That is a lot of shirts in a week, and to be completely honest, the shirt industry is fucking cut-throat and flooded. Some punkarse will look at the shirt you've imported and say "i'm going to search for the same shirt on the WWW, bet I can find it for $15 cheaper/delivered" etc.etc.etc.

What about

Where do you live? on a busy street? lots of passing traffic, pedestrians? If so, put a small sign out front, with a few hanging shirt examples, (on your days off initially) and see if you get any response?
If you don't live in a busy area, consider moving into a premise you can live/work from.




Renting sucks, especially for small business. The vendors don't want the hassle of bringing in a small untried business, then having them walk away in 6 months because they cant afford the rent, they want the safety of "Mr Big franchise" to pay the rent and their mortage . . . Hence the high price of shopfront rental these days.

[Fandango]

Thanks for the advice Q.
Been looking into things a bit more and getting advice from people around me and I'm sorta starting to realise it may not be worth the risk. Rent your talking is actually cheap compared to what I was looking at... of course there'd be a lot of traffic to offset that (be looking at a location more likely to sell 60 and up shirts a week going off similar stores in area) but It still seems more and more like too much of a risk.

To be honest I'm actually just sussin my options for the future at the moment. I'm 27 and bloody sick of working in jobs I don't really like, for people I don't really like. I'd love to work for myself but I think I might need to put that on the backburner for the time being. I've had aspirations to get into graphic design for quite a while and even though it'd mean going back to school and study and ultimately still working for someone else I'd at least be doing what I want with my working life and more than likely enjoying working for people with similar passions and interests.

I'm at a turning point in my life which is pretty darn scary but also damn exciting at the same time... I'm just happy that I'm actually doing something about things at the moment instead of procrastinating and having nothing come from it as has always been the way in the past for me.

[Quincy]

Goodluck mate. Sounds like you are doing what needs to be done to make a change for the better.

Risks need to be taken, however, financial risks are the most scariest of all! Pretty sure your head is screwed on the right way, you'll make the right decisions.

[Fandango]

Thanks Mate

[Gizmo]

Fandango, have you worked in retail before? I've been in the rag trade (menswear) for a couple of years now and this is the worst i've ever seen it. Generally figures are down around 50% over last year :o It's not a good time to be owning a business in retail and alot are seriously considering closing the doors.

One word of advice i can give you is look into selling womens clothes, if you only have male gear you'll go broke as men don't shop for themself, and even when they do, more often that not you are dressing the wife/girlfriend! lol

Ysu, did you make up your rent figures? They seem extreamly low. If you can find a shopspace that has rent as low as that, give me!!!!! The two things that are your biggest expensies in setting up a shop is rent and the fitout. Rent is $20,000 - $30,000 a month in a normal shopping enter for a decent size shop is a decent location. And a fitout....oh boy. Your spending as much as what people do on building a house! And it's hard to do on the cheap because the centers goven what you can and connot do.

Hope this helps mate, and good luck withe everything! If you think i can be of any help to you don't be shy to send me a pm. I don't bite....hard. Just ask woodsy or hertz

[AstrO]

And what is the name of the store you work at now Gizmo?

[Gizmo]

It's called Mandate.....lol google it hehe

[Quincy]

Ysu, did you make up your rent figures? They seem extreamly low. If you can find a shopspace that has rent as low as that, give me!!!!!

Ysu? He hasn't said anything in this thread? So i'm assuming you mean me;)

Average rent in small country towns = low, just going off my experience. $250 is low, $450 - $550 is probably more so. So yeah, pack your bags and head bush.

[Hz-Lab]

and really giz, it doesn't matter how much the rent is. he was using those figures as an example... heheh.. mandate.