My friend and I had recently opened up a store in Pune. A gift shop and we are really happy with the way it has taken off! We always wanted to come up with a dream venture of ours and here we are with our store selling quirky gift items, targeted predominantly towards the youth. If you too, want to come up with something like this, here are a few tips which would help you. These are first hand experiences we had so I am sure you would relate to it!
Choose the location critically. Keep in mind your target audience and strategically choose a location. We deliberately wanted for a place next to a popular college of the city, and turns out we were right in our decision! We get lots of students in our store, exactly for which we have our merchandises on show! We are the only gift shop in the vicinity and we have taken a manufacturing space for lease and turned into our fancy store!
Fix a budget and be extremely clear on the financial terms, if it is a partnership, be transparent about the expenses and keep a record of everything. You don’t want to ruin the partnership because of financial disputes! Make it a point to keep the records with both/all the partners. Clearly mention the capital amounts contributed and the ratio in which the revenue would be divided. Mention the sources of funds and try not to exceed the estimated budget. If you are taking a loan, be clear with the interest rates and the terms of repayment.
The area you choose to be store is a crucial decision. How much space you would require is another major question. Have a rough estimation of you inventory and then decide. We initially thought of going for a warehouse space in Pune, but that was too big for us and hence the per-month rent was too high.
Marketing becomes a requirement if you are starting up a business. Allocate a separate budget for the marketing and promotions of your newly found company. Reach out to your target and make sure you have something unique to offer.
Take care of the legal aspects of the business as well. Make sure you have the necessary license and the registrations done so that there are no hassles on the legal front. Choose the name of your store tactfully as that’s how you are going to be known in the market. Moreover, make sure you don’t hurt the sentiments of any sect of people with your name or tagline.
Choose the location critically. Keep in mind your target audience and strategically choose a location. We deliberately wanted for a place next to a popular college of the city, and turns out we were right in our decision! We get lots of students in our store, exactly for which we have our merchandises on show! We are the only gift shop in the vicinity and we have taken a manufacturing space for lease and turned into our fancy store!
Fix a budget and be extremely clear on the financial terms, if it is a partnership, be transparent about the expenses and keep a record of everything. You don’t want to ruin the partnership because of financial disputes! Make it a point to keep the records with both/all the partners. Clearly mention the capital amounts contributed and the ratio in which the revenue would be divided. Mention the sources of funds and try not to exceed the estimated budget. If you are taking a loan, be clear with the interest rates and the terms of repayment.
The area you choose to be store is a crucial decision. How much space you would require is another major question. Have a rough estimation of you inventory and then decide. We initially thought of going for a warehouse space in Pune, but that was too big for us and hence the per-month rent was too high.
Marketing becomes a requirement if you are starting up a business. Allocate a separate budget for the marketing and promotions of your newly found company. Reach out to your target and make sure you have something unique to offer.
Take care of the legal aspects of the business as well. Make sure you have the necessary license and the registrations done so that there are no hassles on the legal front. Choose the name of your store tactfully as that’s how you are going to be known in the market. Moreover, make sure you don’t hurt the sentiments of any sect of people with your name or tagline.