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.