A Primer Before Opening a Clothing Store

I'm going to assume that you've done some research before you decided to open a retail clothing business. Actually, I hope you've done extensive research. It would help if you have experience in this area yourself. Maybe work in a retail clothing shop or for a wholesaler. Perhaps even a merchandising course.

You will need to decide which type of clothing you wish to sell. Are you looking at childrens, men's, or women's clothes? Will the clothes be new or preowned? The clothing business is one of the largest industries of today. This is why you will need to make this choice. Of course, this choice will depend somewhat on the funds you have available.

You can begin with just a few items and then add lines as your business prospers. Where will you buy your clothing? Lets say part of your inventory includes various fashion tops. You will need to find some place that deals in wholesale fashion tops or will wholesale tank tops to you. You can search the web for wholesale tops for a start. You can, of course, find many wholesalers this way.

You will need to have a place to sell your goods, unless you plan to sell on line, and that's a whole different article. Most likely you will need to rent a retail space. Look at a number of stores for rent. Compare cost of rent or lease, look carefully at the neighborhood the store is located in. Check other businesses in the area. Another clothing store near by may not be good, but a shoe store can compliment your business. Don't forget to try to bargain with the landlord, you may be able to talk him down on the rent. It can't hurt, after all, you're a sales person.

Lets talk about financing your business. If you don't already have the money you're in for a fun time. Opening and operating a retail clothing business can be very expensive. There's rent, you can't keep you clothes in boxes so you will need racks, counters, shelves etc. There are signs, advertisements, registers etc. So, if you don't have the money yet, where will you get it?

If you can't get it from friends or family and you're not independently wealthy, you will need to go to banks or the Small Business Administration. Either of these entities are going to ask to see your business plan. By the way, a business plan is not "If I buy something for $2.00 and sell it for $4.00 I've doubled my money". There are numerous sites on line that can help you with writing a business plan. Some, if not all, lenders will ask to see some proof of sales performance in your past. If you lack this, you'll most likely have to provide collateral. See, I told you this part would be fun. By the way, you can pretty much forget grants from good old Uncle Sam. These are usually given to non-profit projects.

Using Glass Candy Jars in Your Store

You don't have to be a candy store owner to want to create an attractive candy display for your customers. All sorts of businesses - from convenience stores and grocery stores to bookstores and ice cream parlors - create candy displays to both please their customers and increase sales.

But before you head out to order glass candy jars wholesale, there are three things you should consider: Your customers, your store's environment, and the kind of candy you want to display.

1. Consider Your Customers

Glass candy jars might be best known for the roles they've played as charming display fixtures in old-fashioned candy stores, but that doesn't mean the typical candy store customer (i.e., a child) is the best person to trust around glass candy containers.

Of course, not all candy store customers are children - many customers consist of parents and adults who like candy, too! If your candy store customer base consists of a mix of ages, consider using plastic candy containers as display fixtures in the areas where children are most likely to venture, and save the more elegant glass candy jars for the areas where you display candy products geared toward adults, such as gourmet chocolates.

2. Consider Your Store's Environment

Even if your store sells no other kind of candy but the kind of candy adults would be most attracted to, such as gourmet candies, you need to consider your store's environment before you decide whether or not to use glass candy jars.

Fast-paced stores with high volumes of traffic lend themselves to the kinds of situations that can lead to broken glass, so if your store stays pretty busy, you might want to opt for plastic candy jars instead of glass candy containers. Of course, you could also mix your containers up, using plastic containers in the higher traffic areas and glass containers where things seem to be calmer. You know your store's usual traffic volume best, so be sure to consider it before you order your glass candy jars wholesale.

3. Consider Your Merchandise

Obviously, candy is going to work well with glass candy jars - but you need to consider the kind of candy you want to display in your jars before you actually purchase them.

• Some store owners like to use glass fish bowls to display their candy. These containers work well for a number of merchandise displays, and it's no surprise the work well for creating candy displays, too; however, fish bowls leave the merchandise exposed, so if you opt to use glass fish bowl containers as part of your candy display, make sure you choose wrapped candy.
• If you plan to display unwrapped candy, choose glass jar lids. These glass jars are just as attractive as every other kind of glass display fixture, and the lids offer extra protection to the unwrapped candy.
• Note that some candy just isn't right for glass candy jars. Candy bars, for example, look out of place and fit awkwardly in these kinds of candy containers. Save your glass candy jars for smaller pieces of candy. And remember: Brighter pieces of candy help create even prettier displays!

How to Start a Clothing Business

One of the most important aspects to start considering while you're doing your research into opening a clothing store is what your demographic is. For example, if you're in a college town and intend to open a small to medium sized clothing business, you would mainly cater to a younger audience. One of the things to also take into account is the season of the state you're living in. For example, Colorado has warm summers but winter is freezing cold. So you would have to be able to change your stock out so that you can meet the demand.

Meeting the demand of your clients is very important and remember, variety is the spice of life. People enjoy options, not only in styles, but remember everybody is shaped differently, so you'll also need to provide different size options. Some people prefer tight clothing and some people prefer looser fitting clothes. Both the positive and the negative is that fashion is forever changing. So on the one hand, this will allow you to buy last year's seasons, relatively cheap and they will still be pretty much in style, but it also means keeping the most up to date styles will require extra capital. Once again both these options have advantages as some people prefer to pay for the extra style, while others are happy just to look good.

Once you start your profitable clothing store try to use a variety of distributors or suppliers. This way you can help spread the risk and the cost. If anything was to happen to one supplier, you wouldn't be left high and dry, and it also helps to be on a personal level with your clothing distributors. This could help you secure extra sales that they have or they might just think of you first, whenever they have excess stock they want to get rid of at rock-bottom prices. Owning your own clothing business has many advantages. You might also choose to not only buy clothes in from national suppliers, but also from local distributors. Always look at issues from a client perspective in buying clothing stock. Knowing your demographic is important. Is this piece of clothing something that they would want to buy, is this something you would actually like to sell in your store. Your budget and running capital is something to be considered too.

While you are doing research into your demographic and potential store locations you should also pay to have somebody draw out a business plan for you. This will give you a clear and precise indication of where you are going and a backup plan should you need to secure funding to open up your store. You will need a business plan to present to potential investors, whether they are private or through a bank. Never underestimate the importance of the business plan. Even if you've raised all the capital yourself, a business plan will help give you clear guidelines on what your goals are. How long you expect to accomplish them, who will supply your needs. What your demographic is and give you a general outlay of the next three to five years in business.

How to Buy Wholesale Clothing

To operate a clothing business and be able to buy your clothing wholesale you need to be a legitimate retail business. This means you will have to obtain a Sales Tax ID. This is an easy, low cost process. You can even do it online. Real wholesale suppliers will only deal with legal retail businesses. There a lot of unethical companies who claim to be wholesale distributors or drop shippers that will tell you that you don't need to have a Sales Tax ID or be a legal business to buy wholesale.

Now that you have the legal stuff out of the way, its time to decide what type of woman's fashion you wish to sell in your clothing store. Compose a list of what you think will sell, then visit other clothing stores to see what appeals to you. The tags on the clothing you look at may have a style or color number. Make a note of these to use when you finally contact a wholesale fashion clothing dealer or clothing wholesaler. Take note of the prices other clothing stores are charging for the type of merchandise you will handle.

Now you may ask yourself, "where can I buy these items at wholesale to resell it at retail in my clothing store"? The answer is there are thousands of clothing wholesalers on line. It is easy to look up companies that deal in wholesale woman's fashion to use as your clothing supplier. Most of these are set up to deal in smaller quantity orders for smaller buyers.

As a new buyer you will most likely have to pay in advance for shipment. By the way, when pre-paying, I suggest you use a credit card and not cash. This can help if any problems with the company arises.

When first dealing with a wholesale fashion clothing supplier, there are questions you need answers to. What is their policy when it comes to returning items. If the item is defective or not up to your expectations what do you have to do to return it, and at who's cost? Keep in mind, if the prices of the clothing are super low, it may not be worth buying.

You should find out if there is a minimum number of items you must purchase to get the wholesale price. You may have to buy more more then you need or can afford. Keep in mind shipping can sometimes take a while to arrive at your store. It could take up to 6 or 7 weeks, longer if you purchase from out of the country. Remember to factor shipping costs into your budget.

You are not limited to the internet to find wholesale clothing. There are many wholesale trade shows in the US each year. Every big city has wholesale only centers you can visit. It can prove to be difficult to get into these shows. You will have to prove you are a legal business in the trade. To get in the first time you visit be sure you bring something to show you are in the business. Sales Tax ID, business card letterhead etc. It will be worth your time and effort because dealers can offer trade-show deals. You can make new contacts there.

How to Find a Merchant Account

There are several different aspects that need to be understood about merchant accounts before anyone decides on which account provider to sign up with.

Generally, the people who do NOT take the time to understand these things end up with a nasty surprise when they get their statement at the end of the month, or when they cannot actually process transactions.

Firstly, do not ask a company for their best rate. What everybody needs to understand is that there are many charges that can be applied to an account not just the rates, such as a standard transactions fee for example.

Also the rate that is charged can vary greatly, from when and where the transaction is taken to what information is recorded at the time.

The only real way to understand how much it will cost you to accept credit cards with each different company is to have a proper consultation with them so that they can explain all the charges.

However, most won't do this, preferring hard core sales tactics and hiding hidden charges in the contracts. if any company you approach tries this then it should set alarm bells ringing and they should be avoided no matter what they promise.

Also it's very important to choose a company with an excellent customer service and technical support record. I can't stress this enough.

Unique Ideas For Using Wooden Barrels

Wooden barrels are attractive and functional fixtures for many different environments, but how exactly can YOU use them? Do they work well as display fixtures for store merchandise? Can you use them at home, and if so, how? What about special events - would wooden barrels work for those?

Clearly, wooden barrels open the doors to many possibilities in terms of decoration and function. Read on for how you can start using them for both your business and personal needs.

Using Wooden Barrels In Stores and Businesses

Wooden basket and barrels are wonderful fixtures for creating merchandise displays. These visually appealing barrels and baskets are durable and available in various sizes, making it easy for store and business managers to choose the ones that will work best both for holding the merchandise they want to showcase and fitting within the space they want to display them.

Depending on the kind of store or business you manage, you can use wooden barrels to:

• Create displays of items on your store's floor - near or within aisles, against walls, or in the open center.
• Create POP barrel displays of impulse purchase items near your store's checkout counter and register.
• Hold bulbs or packets of seeds in your greenery.

Of course, the possibilities are numerous; these are just a few ideas. Think about the kind of store or business you manage, the kinds of merchandise you want to display for your customers, and the amount of display space you have to work with to think of the best way you can use wooden barrel displays in your store.

Using Wooden Barrels At Home

You can use wooden baskets and barrels in your home for both functional and decorative purposes. Consider using wooden barrels:

• As flower planters or pots both inside and outside your house.
• As tools for organization in your work shed.
• As parts of decorative displays on your porch, in your yard, or in your garden.

How you use your wooden baskets or barrels depends on your own personal decoration style and the kinds of functional needs you might have for them.

Using Wooden Barrels During Special Events

Whether this is the first time you've organized a special event or you have a few festivities under your belt, you should understand both the decorative and functional benefits of using wooden barrels and even creating wooden barrel displays.

Whether you use barrels or baskets, they offer a visually appealing rustic charm wherever they're located, so depending on the kind of even you're organizing, you might not want to use them. For example, a wooden barrel display probably wouldn't be the best choice for an extremely formal black tie affair.

However, if the event's environment does allow for them, wooden barrels work great at:

• Birthday parties and anniversary parties.
• Weddings and wedding receptions.
• Graduation parties.
• Proms and formal dances.
• Business parties and gatherings.

Wooden baskets and barrels are quite versatile, and you might want to use yours to hold decorative items like flower displays or you might want to use them to serve functional purposes like hold game prizes or bagged snacks. It's entirely up to you - let your imagination run wild!