One of the most exhilarating parts of opening your new store is the preparation and build up to the magical opening day. It can also one of the most exhausting, overwhelming, and frustrating parts of the endeavor as well.
Honey’s Place is here to help you to be successful.
We have put together a checklist on what you need to do, and need to know to get your business off the ground!
- Do your homework. Now, we won’t spend much time talking about this, because honestly, if you’re preparing to open your business you should have already done this. If you haven’t done this yet, either take the time to do it or hire someone who can. Find out your product viability, seek out the competition, assess the risk vs the reward. DO NOTHING UNTIL YOU HAVE COMPLETED THIS STEP.
- Consider your location. Does your business require street visibility? Do you expect walk in traffic? Is there a certain part of town that is more frequented by your target market? Take the time and find the right space and the right type of facility.
- Hire professional help. Sure, it is great that your sister’s boyfriend’s cousin’s aunt is a lawyer. Don’t skimp on this aspect of it. Hire a professional lawyer for real estate and rental negotiations once you’ve determined what space you want.
- What is your vision. While the motto for real estate is ‘location, location, location’, the motto for retail space is ‘design, design, design’. Create a design that expresses your business, your goals, your product.
- Establish your brand. This is different than vision. Your brand is how people will recognize you and first experience your business. It is your letterhead, your uniforms, your correspondence, your website. It is everything. Your vision is how you portray yourself: Your brand is who you are.
- Create Your Logo. You can work with a professional designer or with sites such as Fiverr.com to create a logo that sends the correct message about your store’s vision and brand.
- Get the permits and a real timeline from construction. So many businesses set themselves back and hurt their chances of long term success (or even fail) because of poor planning when getting permits. Permits take time. Construction takes time. Plan accordingly.
This is just the first in a long list of steps to help get your physical business started. We haven’t even talked about furniture, operations, retail supplies, hiring, human resources, taxes, policy creation, marketing, and social media. These steps just get you to the point of physically creating your space.
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