How to Start a Boutique Store Business

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

How to Start a Boutique Store Business

A boutique is "a small store that sells stylish clothing, jewelry, or other usually expensive things". The word is French for "shop", which derives ultimately from the Greek ἀποθήκη (apothēkē) or "storehouse". This term can also refer to a specialized firm in other industries, such as a boutique investment bank or boutique law firm. The word is often used to describe a property in the independent sector of the hotel market (such as The Rockwell in London) in order to distinguish itself from larger chains (such as Hilton Hotels). In such cases, the establishment aims to convey the idea that its operation is small, elite and highly specialized. Some multi-outlet businesses (chains) can be referred to as boutiques if they target small, upscale market niches. Recently, the term "boutique" has begun to be applied to mass-market items that are either niche or produced in intentionally small numbers to be sold at very high prices. A boutique store typically sells clothing, decorative items, housewares, art, sports uniforms and equipment or shoes. Before opening a boutique, check out the competition to determine if the items you want to sell are in demand and not available at other retail locations close by. As the owner of a boutique, you should enjoy interacting with customers, managing employees and have some knowledge of business management and growth to ensure that your business continues to make a profit each month.

Boutique Store Business Instruction:

Things Needed

Business plan
Commercial retail space
Retail supplies
Business insurance

Step 1

Create a business plan to outline each stage of business development necessary to start a boutique store. Describe the types of items you plan to sell, the image you want to create for the store and the types of clientele you want to attract in the first section. List start-up costs, business or personal loans, amount of sales needed each month to cover monthly costs, labor and insurance costs in the second section. Design a marketing plan to attract customers in the third section. Marketing plans may include advertising in local newspapers and magazines, building a website and listing your boutique in online and print business directories. Outline all managerial and employee roles and duties in the fourth section.

Step 2

Register your business with your secretary of state's office and the county clerk's office that oversees the county where you plan to open a boutique. Visit IRS.gov to apply for an employer identification number (EIN) to use when filing federal and state tax forms.

Step 3

Apply for a business license in your area through the small business administration office in your area or county clerk's office. Apply for a sales tax license through your state's department of revenue to collect sales tax from customers.

Step 4

Purchase business insurance from a licensed insurance provider. Business insurance may include general liability, property, product, auto and worker's compensation. General liability, property and product insurance help protect business assets in the event of a lawsuit or settlement.

Step 5

Lease retail space. Choose a space in a busy retail area like a shopping mall or downtown location to attract potential customers. This space should be large enough to display items, and should have display windows, dressing areas and inventory storage areas. Contact local commercial real estate agents to view available properties.

Step 6

Purchase equipment and stock for your boutique. Equipment many include display shelving, mannequins, clothing racks, hangers, tables and cash registers. Purchase retail software to track sales, earnings, returns and invoices. Place orders with vendors that manufacture the types of items sold at your boutique.

Step 7

Contact credit card companies to open merchant accounts so you can accept credit and debit card payments.

Step 8

Advertise your boutique by passing out flyers that include the name, location, hours of operation and contact information.

Step 9

Hold a grand opening sale to let customers know that your boutique is open for business and use the best or most unique items in your boutique to decorate display windows to attract customers.

Step 10

Create a website that includes pictures of your boutique, a list of common items and hours of operation and contact information.

Tip

Present your business plan to lenders when applying for a business or personal loan to open a boutique. Lenders want reassurance that you have a plan for starting a profitable business to reduce risk of loan default.

Warning

The start up costs for a boutique may range $30,000 to $200,000 or more depending on the types of products you want to sell, the commercial real estate market and costs to operate a business in your area.

References

No comments:

Easy Tips and Ideas to Start Business

Although anyone can start a business, many people fail because of a bad product or improper research. If you want to start your own business, you can improve your chances for success before you even begin. In order to make your business successful, start strong and make sure that your idea will hold out for the long haul.

Have a Good Product

Ensure that you plan to sell something useful. Although you may think that your product is important or special, that doesn't mean the general public will agree. Ask friends, family and strangers what they think of your product. If they don't seem that interested, ask them why. With their suggestions, you can either improve the product or scrap the idea completely. According to Brad Sugars of Entrepreneur magazine, most small businesses fail because they sold a product that didn't have an adequate market. This also applies to small businesses that provide a service. A lawn-care business might be useful for part of the year in a northern state, but it is in-demand year-round in the south. Consider whether people will actually want to use your service and get constructive advice from those not afraid to give their opinion.

Research Local Businesses

Research local companies before starting up your own business. This will not only give you an idea of the amount of competition you will have, but it will also help you price your product or service. If you're looking to start a wedding photography business, you may find during your research that the market is over-saturated in your area. If not over-saturated, you should contact each business and ask them for a price list. Alter your prices so you can stay competitive with the competition in town. Researching similar local businesses will also help you decide where to locate your business location. Try not to start up a store or office close to another business of your type. If your small business is located away from similar business types, this will cause locals to choose you over businesses that are farther away from where they live.

Get Professional Advice

You may know someone who has started their own successful business. Ask him for advice and listen to his stories of how he started his company. You may gain useful advice on the good and bad ways to start a business. Local entrepreneurs can also introduce you to local product providers or advertisers that you may not have met without their help. Accept any advice with open arms, especially if the advice is coming from someone successful in the area.

How to Calculate Business Start Up Costs

Starting a business in no easy endeavor. It takes a great deal of research, perseverance and hard work. While sweat equity will make your small business more successful, you will most likely need real capital to get the business started. Before you start raising capital and/or investing your own funds, the first thing you need to do is determine the total start-up costs.

Step 1

Determine your costs of sales. For most small businesses this means inventory, the cost of raw materials, manufacturing equipment, shipping, packaging, and warehousing. However, not all businesses sell products. In this case, the cost of sales is primarily the direct labor involved in making the sale. For example, to open a small shoe business entails purchasing enough inventory ($10,000) to stock the store.

Step 2

Determine professional fees. Planning your business structure, i.e., limited liability corporation or general partnership, means hiring an attorney. There may also be the need to pay an attorney for help with establishing trademarks, copyrights, and patents. In this scenario, that puts total professional fees at an estimated $20,000.

Step 3

Determine technology costs. Technology can greatly reduce the cost of labor for small business if used effectively. Most small businesses require computers, printers, cell phones, website development, Internet access, software applications, information security, data storage, and outsourced information technology (IT) consulting. If the cost of technology is $10,000 to start, add an additional $5,000 a year for maintenance (hint: maintenance is not included in start-up costs).

Step 4

Determine administrative costs. This varies with business types and may include items such as business insurance, office supplies, product packaging, parking, rent, express shipping, desks, chairs, fax machines, phones, or anything else necessary to operate the business daily. A good estimate for start-up administrative costs would be $5,000 for the first six months.

Step 5

Determine initial sales and marketing costs. Now that you have your product, you need to let folks know about it. Sales and marketing costs generally include marketing materials for presentations, printing stationery, business cards, advertising, trade show events, and public relations. These initial sales and marketing costs can add up to $3,000.

Step 6

Determine the wages and benefits needed to secure a staff. This includes employee salaries, benefits, workers compensation, and payroll taxes. Let's put the cost of wages and benefits estimated at $20,000 for the first three months of business.

Step 7

Add all costs associated with starting the business for a total. Be sure to only include business start-up costs that will be incurred in the first three to six months of operations. For this example, the calculation is: $10,000 + $20,000 + $10,000 + $5,000 + $3,000 + $20,000 = $68,000.

Pages

Tuesday, February 3, 2015