Owning your own retail business can be a great way to bring products you love and believe in to people, while also making a living working for yourself. Whether you want to sell things you are involved with producing yourself, cater to a niche you care about, or you simply see a gap in the market for a certain type of retailer, you can make a go of your idea. However, if you don’t want to set up a shop, your product range isn’t big enough yet to warrant a whole physical store, or you can’t find a location to buy or lease that is right for your business, what can you do to get your retail business up and running?
Online Selling
The most obvious route for many new retail businesses is to sell online. This has a lot of benefits for some kinds of shops, because it means you can set up very cheaply. You won’t need to staff your shop, or pay overheads for keeping it running as a physical location. You also will have more flexibility about stock, because you will need only storage space, rather than shelf space, and can use your home for this in many cases.
The downside to only operating online, however, is that you don’t get the benefits of being the only seller of your kind locally, or filling any kind of local need. You’ll have a lot more competition, and marketing is much more important. It is also not really an option for things people don’t tend to look for online so much, like convenience or impulse buy items.
Kiosks and Booths at Malls
A great way to have a physical presence in a good local location without a whole shop is to open a kiosk in a mall or at a retail park. You can check out how to get one by looking at mall companies like Westfield Specialty Leasing, who can lease out a mall booth or kiosk you can operate out of. This way, you can get the same kind of local and passing trade as a shop, display your products where lots of people will see them, and still keep overheads low.
Markets and Fairs
A similar option, if you want your business to be more mobile, is to set up stalls at markets, trade fairs and other similar events. This can allow you the same benefits of being small and not running with overheads like lighting, overnight security and lots of staff, but can allow you to be right where the customers for your niche are likely to be shopping. If you sell a product range that fits with a certain type of regular market or event, then this can often be a great way to reach your target audience.
There’s a few ways you can spice up your market stall and make it stand out. A cafe barrier is a great way to direct queues, and also an easy way to add some extra branding and appeal. Cafe barriers that are made with some high quality images can entice your customers from a distance, increasing sales and keeping the queues nice and tidy so people feel your stall is more approachable.
These are three ways you can start the retail business you want to if opening a physical shop is not your best option.
