«With your opportunities in China, I would have opened my store a long time ago!»
...and then I would close it. After all, 80% of such businesses close in the first year of operation. For some reason, it is generally accepted that women automatically have the knowledge and skills of running a clothing store built into them. Of course, this is not at all true.
The first is experience. It would be best if you did not go into this story without any experience at all. Six months of work in a large clothing store or some fashionable showroom will give you basic knowledge about supplies, accounting, merchandising, cash registers, checks, inventories, reports, filming, clients, and if you’re lucky, then about pricing and expenses.
You will say goodbye to the illusion that the store is about choosing a beautiful mirror with light bulbs and shooting Instagram stories. Most likely, most of the time you will think about the foundation that clients left on while trying on things; that 10 centimeters are missing so that there is a distance between the rails per fire standards; that they bought a dress from you, wore it to a corporate event and returned it smelling of perfume and cigarettes; that 1C does not synchronize, and the cargo is stuck at customs. This is reality!
The second important point is about money for opening a store.
We are often asked if it is possible to start a project with a small amount of money. For example, with 1 thousand dollars.
Is it possible to start with a very small amount? Yes, you can start without any money at all, but it’s like riding a bicycle, turning only one pedal. Not very effective. In this case, you pay with time: with a large amount, you quickly go through all the stages and either shoot, or close, getting away with a few months, and switch to something else. With little money, cool things, beautiful renovations, and experienced employees, advertising and filming are not available to you. You will spend all your nerves choosing cheaper hangers and will hate every centimeter that you thought was wrong.
The third part of the story about opening a clothing store is about the team.
Probably the most important thing is that employees cost money. Even if you stand behind the counter, even if your relatives help you (although it’s better to stay away from this format), it all costs money. Even if you don't pay yourself a salary, your time is worth money. This is also important to remember because when you start hiring employees, the cost of maintaining them will skyrocket compared to the «zero» costs when you work yourself. The truth is that they were never zero.
Another very important detail: never work based on «help». Any work must be paid. Then everything between people is transparent and honest. You will never be able to assign the same tasks and responsibilities to the «helping» person as to the person you pay. The «helper» can fall off at any moment, get offended, and accuse you of not appreciating his help. You don't need any help, just work and money for it.
And the last point: do not be fooled by «good people»; hire specialists for each area of work. A typical example in a small business: Sveta does her job as an online store manager very well, even if she also negotiates with bloggers about filming. And we should send her to the exhibition too, she’s so responsible. The mistake is that such entrepreneurs mix the employee’s personal qualities with professional ones (where specific knowledge, experience, and contacts are needed). In 90% of cases, everyone will feel bad from such dispersion: the business owner will be «disappointed» in the employee, and the employee will burn out from tasks for which he did not sign up.