4 Things You Must Know When Opening a Retail Shop

The British high street is worlds apart from what it used to be, and regardless of whether you live in a smaller town or a large city, wherever you are in the country, you will have surely noticed a substantial decline in both the variety and quality of the shops on offer.

If you are part of a commercial company that is involved with the planning and legislation side of retail outlets, or else are getting ready to open your own retail shop in the future, then you should certainly continue reading. 

1. Be Smart with Your Promotional Material

Every decision which you may well consider to be insignificant, such as the colour of the underlining marks underneath your tagline, for example, goes towards the overall impact your branding and marketing will have on potential customers and clients. 

For physical shops, by far the best way to promote your new business is to have a visually stunning and aesthetically impressive shopfront, with as many signs as you are allowed to have in and around the area of your plot. 

2. Never Avoid a Survey

As is often the case, in many different industries, it can sometimes be tempting for owners and managers to only ever conduct, or indeed have conducted, the surveys and checks they are legally obliged to. Often, this is simply due to the individual or company employing that age-old motto, ‘if it isn’t broke, then don’t try to fix it’. 

One such crucial component of structural planning, both for larger businesses and one-off stores, is to find expert quantity surveying services to ensure that every box is crossed, and nothing is left to chance. 

3. Choose Your Staff Carefully

Within the first weeks and even months of opening your new business, you can expect to not turn over the slightest bit of profit and are likely to lose money.

This is why, when thinking about staffing needs and costs, you should be incredibly careful to consider not only how many staff you will need, but also who they may be and how often they will work. 

Even if you only need two or three employees in the beginning, or maybe just the one alongside yourself, you should still advertise for vacancies both online and in the windows of local businesses and conduct proper interviews too. 

4. Your Start-Up Costs

Finally, you must be fully versed in all matters about start-up costs for your new retail shop, with the heftiest being business rates and rental for the property itself. 

Usually, unless you have a charity shop, of course, you will be required to pay business rates to your local council, the exact amount of which is worked out by the government. Other important start-up costs you must both be aware of and have money saved in the bank and prepared for include inventory and stock costs, public liability insurance and employers’ liability insurance. Learn about these things before you commit to anything.