Starting a Retail Business

What You Need to Know About Bricks & Mortar Small Business Ideas

Starting a retail business is a huge responsibility. The stakes are high, considering the leasehold improvements, the decoration, inventory, staff, marketing. And then you have to wait for the traffic to arrive at your doorstep.

If it's a restaurant start up, there's the added concern of perishables. Oh, and that little statistic that 50% of all restaurant start ups fail...

But does that mean that you shouldn't start a bricks and mortar business of your own? On the contrary, it just means you need to go into such a venture with both eyes wide open and with the proper advance planning.

All relevant factors have to be figured into your pricing, so remaining competitive requires close scrutiny with a sharp pencil - especially for a restaurant start up.

Keep in mind that starting a retail business requires you to look closely at your target market... For instance, some fitness franchisors expect a community of 40,000 families to support one location.

How many families are needed to support a small business idea like yours?

Remember when it was revealed that McDonald's was the largest owner of commercial real estate in the world? Not bad for a network of hamburger joints.

As the global marketplace ebbs and flows, real estate has also ebbed and flowed. In fact, although it can be risky, historically real estate has produced more millionaires than any other venture.

What impact does that have on your plans for starting a bricks and mortar business? HUGE.

Do you have the "stomach" it takes to open your boutique at 9 and wait for people to beat a path to your door?

Or do you prefer to schedule appointments to visit families in the evening? Are you picturing yourself working hands-on with your clients? Or will you outsource or delegate in order to grow?

Do Your Homework

Each decision has a different financial expectation that will impact the decisions you are making today. So do your homework before starting a retail business of your own and explore each option as objectively as possible in your market analysis, to help you steer the course in the face of new opportunities.

This part of your planning falls under the Market Analysis section of your Business Plan. Going through the plan is what will help you make the better choices, or at least to narrow down your options... whether they include starting a retail business, a restaurant start up or any one of many other small business ideas.

Or, if starting a retail business isn't the right choice for you, maybe you'd like to start a work at home business?

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