Someone I supported is now opening a rival business

@Bluebells81 I would not be happy about this. It feels like she has taken advantage of you. There won’t be restrictions on what shops can open and I assume it doesn’t need a license.

You need to find a special reason for your customers to stay loyal. I think there’s a need to attract clients from a much wider area too. Can you offer something slightly different? Offer a different experience? Do special events? Obviously I don’t know what you sell, but think of a way to be different. I wish you well.

😂 That’s just what I was thinking- what a ray of sunshine!

Also if you are established as a business you will know what sells and what won't. You will be able to buy in bulk or from abroad and get better deals that way??

If it's taken you two years to get to minimum wage then it may well be similar for her and the business will fail before it is established. Can she afford to live below minimum wage for that amount of time if she was struggling before?

Even so, I would use this as motivation to go even harder. Online selling, clever adverts, brush up your shop front so that it will stand out from hers, be especially lovely and helpful to return customers. New exclusive merch (source from somewhere that won't put their name on it so she can't nick them) can you sell stuff made by friends and family so you know you have loyalty?

I imagine she won't find it as easy as she thinks, shitty of her though. I don't think I could stay close with her considering it a betrayal of sorts.

shops in my local are that sell small brands tend to have an agreement to not stock the same brands, unless she’s stocking the same things and undercutting you on price I think it might actually benefit you having the competition, particularly if you make sure your opening hours are sensible and consistent. A local shop that recently closed down was always opening at 11-3 and missing footfall from people after school drop off / commuting. Unsurprisingly it’s closed down

I used to work in a bookshop and we used to send people across the road to the other bookshop when we didn’t have what they wanted and they did the same. Op you’ll get a very bad name if you tell sellers not to go with her

Agree with this. Get on Instagram and Facebook. I left a Google review for both dress shop owners praising them but that’s what I look for myself, a good review.

We had the exact same thing happen in our town. A well established and popular dress agency on the high street, and then a woman she used to work with went and set up a "rival" dress agency across the road. The dress agency which was opened by the rival didn't last long at all - literally a month. The original shop was well established and had loyal customers and plenty of people who would take her their clothes/shoes (including myself) for her to sell on their behalf, whereas the other shop just didn't have enough footfall once their friends and family members had run through it. So just because it's there doesn't mean it will last!

Another thing the original shop did was start doing more online selling - she spent some time growing her instagram page, on Facebook, set up a better website for her stock. She's now more successful than she was before to be honest! Could this be an option for you though?

As an aside, though, sending lots of sympathy. It feels a really shitty thing for someone to do, especially when you've built something up from scratch and you've helped them. Been there myself and really empathise with how you'll be feeling.

Do not bad mouth her or tell your clients not to go to her, that will make you look bad. Just make your business the best it can be, great service, competitive pricing etc.

A clothes shop I go into was in competition with another one and the same street (different styles) and they talked to each other. Then a junk sort of shop opened which sold vintage clothes on the same street. Now one of the clothes shops has closed down, unsure why as it was popular.

What is the business?

That's shitty.

But it's business. For many.

I think some councils do like to preserve individuality for standalone shops like the OPs. It depends very much on the council.

On the positive side, you've inspired her and that's something really lovely.

The fact you say it's a struggle, she doesn't know this yet, but you are established and have/are working hard to overcome this.

Id wish her well, stay friendly, but also be aware she may come to fish for tips. You are not in business with her, so prepare for this and just keep on working hard and let her find her own way.

I doubt very much if business is slow, hers will be different but a new fresh shop might attract more customers and that will benefit you both.

How would there be? Sainsbury's aren't prohibited from opening across the road from Tesco if they want to. In our high street there are four hairdressing salons within around 25 yards of each other!

@Bluebells81 I think you have to do as much as you can, as soon as you can, to ensure you have a good database of your customers, so that you can encourage their loyalty - perhaps with some kind of event or loyalty scheme?

Are there any locally planning or training laws that prevent this? I’d check with your local council planning department just in case.

A good deed never goes unpunished, does it?

However, her business is not open yet so are there things you can do so your business is not entirely reliant on bricks and mortar?

I think the most successful independent shops now seem to have an amazing social media presence. It’s probably a different area to yours but have a look at the Botanical Candle Company on insta. Gorgeous shop in Shaftesbury, but also huge mail order side, which I believe has grown mostly from SM. (I don’t work for them, just a frequent visitor!)

I’m sorry you’re facing this position, but you might want to get legal advice around telling suppliers they can’t supply to her if supplying you. Competition law usually frowns on this - but there might be ways to do it legally through exclusivity contracts. But definitely get legal advice or she could sue you which is the last thing you’d want!

It's tricky - I wonder whether from her point of view, your supportive attitude means that she assumes you are quite secure and successful, and you were happy to help her, so perhaps she thinks this is a natural progression? She might indeed be assuming, as a PP says, that having two shops nearby will increase rather than decrease trade.

It feels like it's unfortunate it's so geographically close to your business. Though surely while working together you knew her intention was to start selling in a similar market to you as you helped her.

I'd say to fall out over it wouldn't really help though. You need to focus on making yours the best in the area. It's unusual for there to be only one of any type of business in a town so maybe the competition won't be a terrible thing.

If you and her together with other small businesses help make the high street a shopping destination, then having a few businesses of a similar type near eachother can actually attract footfall overall.

Though in this climate it's never going to be easy.

Totally unnecessary and unsupportive post.

I think that reliability and recognition will be your strong suit in this upcoming battle of the shops.

We have several small, independent shops in my village. The ones that are doing best are the ones who open reliably at set days and times, advertise on Facebook and via word of mouth.

There are frequently posts on our local FB page from some small business owners bemoaning the low footfall and cries of 'support small businesses' but then they treat it like a hobby and open on Tuesday 12-3, Thursdays 10-2 and Saturdays 3-6 - WTF.

If your rival is just starting out on this new path, she might be ill prepared for the hard work required. It might fall apart for her pretty sharpish, with zero input from you.

That’s incredibly rude and very unhelpful. Perhaps you should take a look at your user name and maybe follow the advice. Or change your name to something a bit more appropriate.

“Follow me for more motivational tips…”