You have heard this many times before…Location, Location, Location. For those who opening a store this means examining possible locations before signing a lease. You will discover that it is well worth the extra money to have a well traveled location on a busy road than a bargain deal on a unit down a side street. The activity on the well traveled road is going to pay for itself time and time again by increased exposure which will lessen your advertising costs and marketing expenses.

Once you have the location, it is important to lay out the store properly.

• It should be simple for shoppers to locate and merchandise you have on display. Never create dead end aisles or direct shoppers into tight spaces as they walk around the store.

• Make it easy for the shopper by providing baskets and carts and make sure that you have plenty of them. The more a shopper can put into the carts, the more they will buy!

• Make sure you have enough inventory. You will see that many discount stores place inventory stacked high into the sky, and even utilize the area at the front windows to stock products as well.

• Design your aisles methodically. Typically, dollar store and variety stores group their item categories together to make it easy and enjoyable for shoppers to find products. If your shoppers feel they have to hunt around the store to find things they will bypass coming to you.

• Sloppy cluttered stores lose business! Make sure that your store upkeep is done regularly. Have staffers go around the store a few times a day and before closing to make sure that items that were “moved” to various wrong locations by shoppers are put back into the right areas. Re-merchandising is an important part of recovery of items from the store.

• A sloppy store means an unprofitable store. You need to maximize the amount of money that each shopper comes in spending. The easier they find things, the more organized your store is, the bigger your sales and customer satisfaction.

• Variety of merchandise. There is PLENTY of
wholesale merchandise to stock your store with, Be on top of new trends through news, reviews and merchandise offerings from wholesalers. There are many great trade publications and websites to source products, including Retailers Forum Magazine (since 1981) that offers free online access at Retailersforum.com.

Here is to the growth and success of your new business!

Tags: Retailers Forum Magazine, wholesale merchandise

The economy has been the toughest in many decades and many people have lost their jobs or are on the verge of losing them or losing hours. For many workers, the thought of starting their own businesses may have loomed a long time for them, and some of them will make the jump this year to join the ranks of entrepreneurs. But, before you leap, there are many things to consider!

I started Forum Publishing Company back in 1981. I have been self-employed since I was about twenty years old. That is about 32 years of highs and lows in the self-employed world. For the first several years I worked more than double the time of any of my “regularly employed” friends did and made less than half of what they earned on their jobs. The next decade was boom and I made eons more money than anyone I knew. Of course, the hours were long and the stress was greater. Then in the downturn, while I still had an office to go to, I did not receive the same money that I was accustomed to. Sales are down, my take is down. My friends who are employed in stable jobs receive the same pay and work their same hours, while I am working double the hours for less money.

When the going is good and the money is flowing, there is a lot of jealousy towards the self-employed business owner. What you need to realize is that you do not see behind the scenes of the self-employed. Vacations include bringing work, anxiety, emails and computers with you while you are sitting on the beach. The late-night phone calls with business problems that follow you wherever you are. When you are a business owner you are never “off” from work. When you are an employee you “clock out” and enjoy your nights and weekends.

My purpose of this article is to enlighten you as to the realities of starting your own business. In this economic downturn you need to think wisely about risking your hard-earned money into new ventures. As you may have lost your job, business owners have lost their businesses as well. However, if you do have a business plan that makes sense in this economy, this could be a great time for a launch. There are many benefits to starting a new business now, including tax credits and favorable rents, advertising discounts, etc. Just be sure that you have the drive, passion and will to work night and day to make your venture successful.

For those who are between jobs or have a job that isn’t making them enough income, I suggest that you dabble in your own business part-time. There are many opportunities in the market for part-time businesses. One of the most popular is selling merchandise online. I am not suggesting you have an eBay garage sale, but that you buy wholesale merchandise and market it through your own web site or eBay similar sites. If you find the right merchandise and mark-ups you can successfully earn extra income in your spare time, from your own home. You will also see what it is like to run your own business and if you enjoy it or not. If yes, start building it into your own empire.

Tags: Retailers Forum Magazine, wholesale merchandise