What you should know before commencing a retail start-up?

Looking back on the past 18 years of my life, I can confidently assert that I’ve put in some long, hard yards in the retail sector. My first couple of retail jobs were for high end fashion labels. The price tags were stratospheric, the quality questionable, and the designs unimaginative. Consequently we made approximately four sales a week. With so much time to stare listlessly out the window, I did what any reasonable person would do, and ate all day, every day, until I began to resemble Violet from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory after she turns into a super heavy human blueberry. Yet somehow, the owners of the business scraped together a passable income from these paltry takings. They would not be so fortunate these days.

The changes that have taken place since that time are truly extraordinary. The retail landscape has been indelibly marked by the advent of online shopping, and would be retailers more so than ever need a strong grasp on the fundamental requirements of a successful business. The retail sector I started in no longer exists- the one in which retailers could afford to make mistakes.

Street retailers, ideally, should be trading in a product that people do not traditionally feel comfortable purchasing online. If your product is one which people can cheaply and readily get online, it is vital that you create a unique shopping experience for them within your store. Loyalty cards are a terrific idea, as are in house launches, exclusive previews of new collections with drinks and canapes, seasonal parties - anything that helps people identify your shop as a destination.

Research the competition. When I began my second retail job, at a thriving little boutique selling quirky designs imported from Hong Kong, there was nothing else like it around. Fast forward fifteen years, and the streets are littered with imitators. Unfortunately, the business is now struggling to make ends meet- much less exceeding sales targets as a matter of course. Ask yourself this: does my business have long term viability? Is it easily replicated by would be imitators?

But if you get it right, the rewards are great. With planning and foresight, there’s no reason your retail business shouldn’t thrive. For more information, visit Jeanette Maree.

Small Business Saturday- Shop My Accessory Business today!

This Small Business Saturday, shop www.MyAccessoryBusines.com We ARE a small business located in Los Angeles, CA! Unlike other corporate owned jewelry sales companies out there, we are run by just a few people, mostly who are family. Please remember to shop any and all small businesses this Christmas instead of spending your money with large corporations.

Start your own small business with My Accessory Business sales kits starting at only $49 and sell to your family and friends for the holidays. We also offer special "Holiday Gift Kits" that include fancy  jewelry boxes and ribbon to wrap up the jewelry to give as gifts this holiday season. Enjoy over 60% off retail when you buy a sales kit or holiday kit. It's a great way to save money on gifts this year.

A new type of online auction site: Tophatter

Buy and sell jewelry online with the new colorful auction website http://tophatter.com/ Categories include jewelry sales, supplies, and more. The site is colorful and well designed giving you the feel of being at an actual auction. Tophatter describes itself as "the world's 
most entertaining live auction site featuring gorgeous items at exclusive prices." 

You can set it so that you receive a text message when your item is up for auction so you can go online and answer any question people have about it. The auctions go fast, maybe about 2 minutes for each. Bidders view information about your product like product name, pictures, description and you can also add a link to your website by writing simple HTML to include <a href> links. Be sure to post about your website so that people can check out what else you have for sale online. You set a price range instead of a set price like "$10-$20" Tophatter makes 10% commission on your sold item. With an instant sale, it's not a bad deal. You don't have to wait days until your piece sells like on other websites. Take a look at Top Hatter for yourself, there is no cost to join. http://tophatter.com

Financing your dream business

A lot of people want to start a business but the main problem is finding the financing to start the business.

- Some ask family and friends to invest in their dream.

- Some start small and use their own money to get started. Which is a great way to start before you jump in to a large investment.

- Some start campaigns like www.kickstarter.com to gain investment money from peers by giving incentives for donating.

-Some use credit cards to aquire everything they need to start up. Some credit cards offer periods of "no interest" for instance 6 months without interest so it gives you time to make up the credit card payment by selling off your investory and paying it back without having to pay the extra interest. Search online for the different credit card options available to you.

- There are online payment solutions for businesses like www.zazma.com that help you pay for your business supplies now and pay later with low interest. Zazma helps buy the items for you through the suppliers you want to buy from, you receive them and you only have to pay back Zazma for the supplies within an amount of time you choose. This is great for buying inventory at wholesale, reselling it, and then paying for the supplies after you sell them without putting money down up front.

Whichever method you use to fund your business, be sure to pay back your loan when it's due, and pay off your credit cards as soon as you can to avoid growing interest fees.