Has anyone owned a shop?

[Doughdog]

Owning and running a shop has always been my dream job. I am at a point when it appears like it could be a possibility for me to attempt it. I just wondered if anyone owned or managed a small independent type shop and could share a bit about what it is like. Do you work an enormous number of hours outside of opening times? How did you establish if there was a need for the shop? Is it fun? And anything else that may be relevant.

I would appreciate your thoughts, thank you.

What sort of thing would you be selling? I wonder if there's a local market where you could start off to check the demand? Often council run covered markets / farmers markets have low rents so there's less risk.

Could you sell your products online? If so, what's to stop you falling victim to market forces like so many big retailers?

Dh does. I do tax/ accounts/ NI/ staff management. It’s a lot of work! Dh does SM (very necessary), buys stock, works in store. He never, ever switches off, though actual hours to an outsider (ie me!) aren’t bad. The stress levels are ridiculous, though if it’s your dream it may be worth it to you.
Disclaimer: I would never have chosen to be involved in running my own business personally!

Having managed a shop I guess a lot comes down to what sort of shop you want to run. A newsagent/corner shop will take up a huge amount of time but something with low turnover but high margins like a wedding shop may take up much less time and much of the admin can be done during opening hours. Organisation is the key and if you have people working for you training and delegation will help immensely.