gift for women executives image
Ashley K
I've been debating with the idea of going out on my own - or continuing to work under someone else. My thoughts have leaned towards opening a school supply store, which would carry everything for students/teachers both. I live in a very small town - the only decent store we have is Wal-Mart. I used to be Asst. Mgr of a dollar store here, and alot of the parents/teachers/students would come in complaining because they needed to complete a project, or just needed one more thing off their school list, and Wal-Mart didn't have it. So, they would have to drive 40-60 minutes just to get what they needed. I think this idea would take off in a small town that's centered around its children and education, and it would be helpful to the parents as well. How do I get started? I have NO idea!!
Answer
The first step is to do your research. Starting a small business takes a lot of courage. But, as they say, courage does not pay the bills. To be successful â to stay in business â you need more than courage. You need a combination of hard work, skill, perseverance, and lots of luck.
Some things you need to consider:
- "How can I support my family while I build up by business?"
- How long will it take this business to reach the financial goal you have?
- How big is the school/student population in your area?
- Do you think the size of the market is enough to keep your business profitable?
- If not, what other things can you sell that this market would want?
- Do you have the resources to lease a store, buy inventories, and jumpstart the business?
- If none, are there resources that you may be able to get, keeping in mind that loan programs even that of SBA requires collateral and equity investment
You may want to read the article "How to Start a New Business Successfully" http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol51/launch.htm , which lists six steps to launch a new business successfully:
1. Provide a benefit.
2. Determine the fit with your market.
3. Right timing is everything
4. Be ready to support your business
5. Develop a blueprint for success (your business plan)
6. Market, market, market
To give you ideas on what exactly do you need to start your own business, here are ten things you need to know before launching your own business â10 Things You Need to Know When Starting Your Own Home Businessâ http://www.powerhomebiz.com/052006/startingbiz.htm .
Here are some resources that can help you learn more about your business:
Gift store business plan (not exactly what you said, but you may want to consider gift inventories for your store) http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/business-plans/Business-Plans-Volume-05/Gift-Store-Business-Plan.html
Novelty Shop Business Plan http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/business-plans/Business-Plans-Volume-05/Novelty-Shop-Business-Plan.html
How to Start a Retail Business Guide http://www.entrepreneur.com/howto/retail/0,7167,,00.html
Small Store Retailing http://retailindustry.about.com/od/seg_smallstores/
It may help you a lot to consult with a small business guide or expert. There are organizations where you can find a mentor who can help and guide you as you think through your business:
- Government Mentoring Programs such as SBDCs, which works with community colleges and local business development councils to offer mentoring programs http://www.sba.gov/sbdc/sbdcnear.html ; or the Women's Network for Entrepreneurial Training http://www.sba.gov/womeninbusiness/wnet_roundtables.html
- Volunteer programs such as SCORE http://www.score.org which is composed of mostly retired executives and entrepreneurs
- Formal mentoring programs such as Athena Foundation http://www.athenafoundation.org/programs/globallinks.html , Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program http://www.helzbergmentoring.org/HEMP/ , or The Aspen Institute MicroMentor Program http://www.micromentor.org
- Professional organizations such as the National Womenâs Business Council http://www.nwbc.gov/Mentoring/programs.html
- Industry and trade associations
- Local business groups, such as the chamber of commerce
- Local chapters of business groups
If you wish to get in-depth information on starting your own retail store, I recommend the following books:
- Retail Business Kit for Dummies by Rick Segel
- Specialty Shop Retailing: How to Run Your Own Store Revised by Carol L. Schroeder
- Start and Run a Profitable Retail Business (Start & Run a) (Paperback) by Jim Dion, Ted Topping
- Retail Success! by George Whalin
- So You Want To Own The Store : Secrets to Running a Successful Retail Operation by Mort Brown
You may also find a wealth of information from the following associations:
National Retail Federation
http://www.nrf.com/content/default.asp?folder=home&file=main.htm
Retail Industry Leaders Association http://www.retail-leaders.org/new/index.aspx
In Store Marketing Institute http://www.instoremarketer.org/
Check for retail or merchant association in your state
The first step is to do your research. Starting a small business takes a lot of courage. But, as they say, courage does not pay the bills. To be successful â to stay in business â you need more than courage. You need a combination of hard work, skill, perseverance, and lots of luck.
Some things you need to consider:
- "How can I support my family while I build up by business?"
- How long will it take this business to reach the financial goal you have?
- How big is the school/student population in your area?
- Do you think the size of the market is enough to keep your business profitable?
- If not, what other things can you sell that this market would want?
- Do you have the resources to lease a store, buy inventories, and jumpstart the business?
- If none, are there resources that you may be able to get, keeping in mind that loan programs even that of SBA requires collateral and equity investment
You may want to read the article "How to Start a New Business Successfully" http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol51/launch.htm , which lists six steps to launch a new business successfully:
1. Provide a benefit.
2. Determine the fit with your market.
3. Right timing is everything
4. Be ready to support your business
5. Develop a blueprint for success (your business plan)
6. Market, market, market
To give you ideas on what exactly do you need to start your own business, here are ten things you need to know before launching your own business â10 Things You Need to Know When Starting Your Own Home Businessâ http://www.powerhomebiz.com/052006/startingbiz.htm .
Here are some resources that can help you learn more about your business:
Gift store business plan (not exactly what you said, but you may want to consider gift inventories for your store) http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/business-plans/Business-Plans-Volume-05/Gift-Store-Business-Plan.html
Novelty Shop Business Plan http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/business-plans/Business-Plans-Volume-05/Novelty-Shop-Business-Plan.html
How to Start a Retail Business Guide http://www.entrepreneur.com/howto/retail/0,7167,,00.html
Small Store Retailing http://retailindustry.about.com/od/seg_smallstores/
It may help you a lot to consult with a small business guide or expert. There are organizations where you can find a mentor who can help and guide you as you think through your business:
- Government Mentoring Programs such as SBDCs, which works with community colleges and local business development councils to offer mentoring programs http://www.sba.gov/sbdc/sbdcnear.html ; or the Women's Network for Entrepreneurial Training http://www.sba.gov/womeninbusiness/wnet_roundtables.html
- Volunteer programs such as SCORE http://www.score.org which is composed of mostly retired executives and entrepreneurs
- Formal mentoring programs such as Athena Foundation http://www.athenafoundation.org/programs/globallinks.html , Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program http://www.helzbergmentoring.org/HEMP/ , or The Aspen Institute MicroMentor Program http://www.micromentor.org
- Professional organizations such as the National Womenâs Business Council http://www.nwbc.gov/Mentoring/programs.html
- Industry and trade associations
- Local business groups, such as the chamber of commerce
- Local chapters of business groups
If you wish to get in-depth information on starting your own retail store, I recommend the following books:
- Retail Business Kit for Dummies by Rick Segel
- Specialty Shop Retailing: How to Run Your Own Store Revised by Carol L. Schroeder
- Start and Run a Profitable Retail Business (Start & Run a) (Paperback) by Jim Dion, Ted Topping
- Retail Success! by George Whalin
- So You Want To Own The Store : Secrets to Running a Successful Retail Operation by Mort Brown
You may also find a wealth of information from the following associations:
National Retail Federation
http://www.nrf.com/content/default.asp?folder=home&file=main.htm
Retail Industry Leaders Association http://www.retail-leaders.org/new/index.aspx
In Store Marketing Institute http://www.instoremarketer.org/
Check for retail or merchant association in your state
How do you start a business?
Carrie P
What's the best way to start a business from scratch? I have a really good idea for a retail store/cafe, but I don't have the first clue about how I should go about getting finance for it and where to open, or if I should even start as an online store first. Can someone please give me tips on the best way to start a business.
Answer
Starting a small business takes a lot of courage. But, as they say, courage does not pay the bills. To be successful â to stay in business â you need more than courage. You need a combination of hard work, skill, perseverance, and lots of luck.
Some things you need to consider:
- "How can I support my family while I build up by business?"
- "What are my abilities?"
- "Is there a market for the product or service I have chosen?"
- "How long will it take this business to reach the financial goal I have?"
Here are the basic steps to launch a new business successfully:
1. Provide a benefit.
2. Determine the fit with your market.
3. Right timing is everything
4. Be ready to support your business
5. Develop a blueprint for success
6. Market, market, market
I recommend that you start reading and learning more about the business you are planning to start. You did not specify the type of retail store you want (e.g. is it a clothing store, sports store, gift store, etc) but here are some guides to starting a retail operation
How to Start a Retail Guide http://www.entrepreneur.com/howto/retail/0,7167,,00.html
How to Start a Clothing Store
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,287057,00.html
Starting a Specialized Clothing Retailing Business http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol89/specialized.htm
Retail Store Operations and Management http://retailindustry.about.com/od/storeoperations/
Starting a Retail Clothing Store http://www.cbsc.org/servlet/ContentServer?cid=1102419629706&pagename=CBSC_SK%2Fdisplay&lang=en&c=GuideHowto
I suggest you start preparing your business plan. Even though you may not apply for loans from financial institutions, the process of business planning can help you think through your business. It can help you determine the costs involved, how to get suppliers to sell to you, how to market the store, expected profitability, etc. Here are sample business plans for a retail store that you can check out:
Retail Clothing http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/business-plans/Business-Plans-Volume-01/Retail-Clothing.html
Men's Clothing Retailer http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/business-plans/Business-Plans-Volume-04/Men-s-Clothing-Retailer.html
Special Needs Clothing Store http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/business-plans/Business-Plans-Volume-07/Special-Needs-Clothing-Store.html
For detailed information, I suggest you check out the following books:
Start Your Own Clothing Store (Entrepreneur Magazine's Start Up) (Paperback) by Entrepreneur Press http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1891984314/104-9178108-5912741?v=glance&n=283155
Retail Business Kit for Dummies by Rick Segel http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/076455381X/ref=pd_sim_b_1/104-9178108-5912741?ie=UTF8
Specialty Shop Retailing: How to Run Your Own Store Revised by Carol L. Schroeder http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471212644/ref=pd_bxgy_text_b/104-9178108-5912741?ie=UTF8
Sometimes you may want to have someone guide you as you start your business and help you with the right things to do. There are several places where you may be able to find a mentor:
- Government Mentoring Programs such as SBDCs, which works with community colleges and local business development councils to offer mentoring programs http://www.sba.gov/sbdc/sbdcnear.html ; or the Women's Network for Entrepreneurial Training http://www.sba.gov/womeninbusiness/wnet_roundtables.html
- Volunteer programs such as SCORE http://www.score.org which is composed of mostly retired executives and entrepreneurs
- Formal mentoring programs such as Athena Foundation http://www.athenafoundation.org/programs/globallinks.html , Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program http://www.helzbergmentoring.org/HEMP/ , or The Aspen Institute MicroMentor Program http://www.micromentor.org
- Professional organizations such as the National Womenâs Business Council http://www.nwbc.gov/Mentoring/programs.html
Industry and trade associations
- Local business groups, such as the chamber of commerce
- Local chapters of business groups
There is so much to learn about starting a business that it is hard to put everything here. I suggest that you to check out the following websites and learn from their content:
Entrepreneur http://www.entrepreneur.com
Inc.com http://www.inc.com
SBA http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/
You may also want to check out the resources of the following associations:
National Retail Federation http://www.nrf.com/content/default.asp?folder=home&file=main.htm
Retail Industry Leaders Association http://www.retail-leaders.org/new/index.aspx
Electronic Retailing Association http://www.retailing.org/new_site/default.asp
Professional Apparel Association http://www.proapparel.com
American Apparel Producerâs Network http://www.usawear.org/
Worldwide Responsible Apparel Manufacture http://www.wrapapparel.org/
American Apparel and Footwear Association http://www.americanapparel.org/
National Association of Fashion and Accessory Designers http://www.nafad.com/
Fashion Group International http://www.fgi.org
Apparel News http://www.apparelnews.net/
Starting a small business takes a lot of courage. But, as they say, courage does not pay the bills. To be successful â to stay in business â you need more than courage. You need a combination of hard work, skill, perseverance, and lots of luck.
Some things you need to consider:
- "How can I support my family while I build up by business?"
- "What are my abilities?"
- "Is there a market for the product or service I have chosen?"
- "How long will it take this business to reach the financial goal I have?"
Here are the basic steps to launch a new business successfully:
1. Provide a benefit.
2. Determine the fit with your market.
3. Right timing is everything
4. Be ready to support your business
5. Develop a blueprint for success
6. Market, market, market
I recommend that you start reading and learning more about the business you are planning to start. You did not specify the type of retail store you want (e.g. is it a clothing store, sports store, gift store, etc) but here are some guides to starting a retail operation
How to Start a Retail Guide http://www.entrepreneur.com/howto/retail/0,7167,,00.html
How to Start a Clothing Store
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,287057,00.html
Starting a Specialized Clothing Retailing Business http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol89/specialized.htm
Retail Store Operations and Management http://retailindustry.about.com/od/storeoperations/
Starting a Retail Clothing Store http://www.cbsc.org/servlet/ContentServer?cid=1102419629706&pagename=CBSC_SK%2Fdisplay&lang=en&c=GuideHowto
I suggest you start preparing your business plan. Even though you may not apply for loans from financial institutions, the process of business planning can help you think through your business. It can help you determine the costs involved, how to get suppliers to sell to you, how to market the store, expected profitability, etc. Here are sample business plans for a retail store that you can check out:
Retail Clothing http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/business-plans/Business-Plans-Volume-01/Retail-Clothing.html
Men's Clothing Retailer http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/business-plans/Business-Plans-Volume-04/Men-s-Clothing-Retailer.html
Special Needs Clothing Store http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/business-plans/Business-Plans-Volume-07/Special-Needs-Clothing-Store.html
For detailed information, I suggest you check out the following books:
Start Your Own Clothing Store (Entrepreneur Magazine's Start Up) (Paperback) by Entrepreneur Press http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1891984314/104-9178108-5912741?v=glance&n=283155
Retail Business Kit for Dummies by Rick Segel http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/076455381X/ref=pd_sim_b_1/104-9178108-5912741?ie=UTF8
Specialty Shop Retailing: How to Run Your Own Store Revised by Carol L. Schroeder http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471212644/ref=pd_bxgy_text_b/104-9178108-5912741?ie=UTF8
Sometimes you may want to have someone guide you as you start your business and help you with the right things to do. There are several places where you may be able to find a mentor:
- Government Mentoring Programs such as SBDCs, which works with community colleges and local business development councils to offer mentoring programs http://www.sba.gov/sbdc/sbdcnear.html ; or the Women's Network for Entrepreneurial Training http://www.sba.gov/womeninbusiness/wnet_roundtables.html
- Volunteer programs such as SCORE http://www.score.org which is composed of mostly retired executives and entrepreneurs
- Formal mentoring programs such as Athena Foundation http://www.athenafoundation.org/programs/globallinks.html , Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program http://www.helzbergmentoring.org/HEMP/ , or The Aspen Institute MicroMentor Program http://www.micromentor.org
- Professional organizations such as the National Womenâs Business Council http://www.nwbc.gov/Mentoring/programs.html
Industry and trade associations
- Local business groups, such as the chamber of commerce
- Local chapters of business groups
There is so much to learn about starting a business that it is hard to put everything here. I suggest that you to check out the following websites and learn from their content:
Entrepreneur http://www.entrepreneur.com
Inc.com http://www.inc.com
SBA http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/
You may also want to check out the resources of the following associations:
National Retail Federation http://www.nrf.com/content/default.asp?folder=home&file=main.htm
Retail Industry Leaders Association http://www.retail-leaders.org/new/index.aspx
Electronic Retailing Association http://www.retailing.org/new_site/default.asp
Professional Apparel Association http://www.proapparel.com
American Apparel Producerâs Network http://www.usawear.org/
Worldwide Responsible Apparel Manufacture http://www.wrapapparel.org/
American Apparel and Footwear Association http://www.americanapparel.org/
National Association of Fashion and Accessory Designers http://www.nafad.com/
Fashion Group International http://www.fgi.org
Apparel News http://www.apparelnews.net/
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