While starting a boutique is somewhat easy, running it and improving on sales is a bit complex. ADEMOLA ALAWIYEwrites on how to start one and keep it running
Many people dream of opening their own business. The freedom to have your own schedule and to do things your own way is very enticing.
For fashion lovers, there is nothing more exciting than opening a clothing boutique. With proper preparation and a lot of hard work, you can make your dreams of opening a boutique a reality, and improve your chances for success.
Boutiques are small stores that usually have a specific sales focus. For most, a boutique will sell clothing or accessories. Put differently, boutiques are small businesses that offer personalised customer care and a more thorough shopping experience than a larger store.
Experts say before opening a boutique, it is important to figure out what type of items you’ll be selling. This will determine the location of the store, what financing you’ll need and who your competitors will be. In-depth research of these areas will be necessary at the business planning stage.
Of course, a boutique like any other business, will have a better chance of succeeding with planning and research. Whether done by yourself or a consulting firm, the business plan is essential to organisation and financing. A full plan will include licensing information, tax identification forms, financial projections, mission statements and examinations of nearby competition. Experts say because a boutique is small and more vulnerable to economic upheavals, good research can be a security blanket in the face of uncertain times. According to them, the following steps should be followed to set up and improve the sales of the business.
Learn everything you can about your industry
The best way to do this is to work in the clothing industry, either at a boutique, a design house or a clothing manufacturing business.
Decide what kind of clothing you’ll sell in your boutique
Will you design and manufacture your own clothing, or sell items designed and made by others? If you plan to feature your own designs, begin researching where you will have these items made, and what the manufacturing costs will be.
Choose your location
Make sure you choose an area that will provide the type of traffic you expect to shop in your store. If you plan to sell expensive, designer clothing, you’ll want to set up shop in an area that can support this type of store. It’s also useful to look for locations that will allow for lots of walk-in traffic, such as in strip malls or downtown shopping districts.
Secure the financing that you will need for your business
This could involve getting a business loan from a bank, borrowing money from family, or utilising your own savings. If you plan to apply for business loans, you’ll need to prepare a business plan with solid financial projections.
Set up your boutique
This will require either making the clothing you will sell or arranging manufacturing by others. Get any required business licenses from your town or state. This is also a good time to set up sales and income tax accounts. Open your doors for business. Let all of your friends and family know about your boutique and have them spread the word.
Stock the boutique
Once you’ve planned the store, the next step will be stocking it. The buying process sounds like fun, but it can be complicated and easy to mess up. When first opening a boutique, it’s better to under buy than over buy. Most retail items have a shelf life, especially clothing, and discount sales to get rid of extra items can eat away at profits. Purchase sparingly, unless the manufacturer has a very limited production run of a particular line. Find wholesalers at reputable trade shows or through trade associations and merchant groups.
Experts say that after you must have set up your boutique, you will then need to improve on your sales. Having growing profits is the backbone of any company, but especially for boutiques. Since these small business ventures specialise in items such as clothes, perfumes, bath products, wines, special occasion gifts and other specific items, they say improving business sales would allow a boutique to expand operations, but only if the business owner knows what to do in generating more sales while keeping the established customers you already have. According to them, a solid marketing strategy will allow you to focus the necessary resources on the operational areas that will help your boutique succeed. They say the following steps should be followed to improve sales:
Analyse your business operations
Develop a marketing strategy plan that outlines all your sources of income, competition and market area. Track business sales to understand your best customer base. Pass out boutique surveys to understand customers’ opinions concerning pricing, availability of products and service. Improve business operations, such as late vendors not delivering products on time, slow production procedures or poor customer service handling. Streamline business operations to promote efficiency by consolidating or removing repetitive or unnecessary business functions. By updating your boutique’s internal productions, you will be able to offer more quality products to customers at a faster rate, which will increase sales.
Expand your boutique’s operations into other selling avenues
Create a website to improve sales on the Internet and offer a wide variety of payment options. Contact other local retailers and forge business agreements and relations to sell products on their shelves to draw customers to your boutique. Book concession and event stands at local conventions or outdoor public events to offer a sampling of products while passing out promotional flyers.
Offer reasonable sales to move stock on the shelves that might not be selling well
Give away door prizes to establish customer relations and good word-of-mouth advertising. Review your competition’s selling tactics and pricing so that you can adjust your pricing strategy to stay competitive and draw in more sales.
Source: Punchng.com
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