What business to open

[Murtaghjames]

So an opportunity has arose for me to open my own shop. A retail unit has become available in the village I live in. Its not a typical village, very busy with lots of amenities and passing trade. I had originally wanted to open a clothes shop as there is none in the village but I'm not sure now. What shop, service would you like most in your area? We currently have:

2 pubs
4 takeaways
3 pharmacies
2 Hairdressers
Beauty salon
Nail bar
Credit Union
Newsagents
Tesco Express
Home savers
Funeral Directors
Hardware shop
Bookmakers
A small takeaway coffee shop (most recent)

@UhtredRagnarson, I am actually a qualified beautician but haven't work at it in years.
@sunflowersandbuttercups, I ran my husbands business for 5 years which included payroll, holidays, insurance, vehicle maintenance and payments, invoicing etc. As the business grew and with three young children I went part time and we now employ two full time office staff. I think it's more impractical to open a business based purely on a hobbie or an interest. I'm opening a business to make money and that's why I feel its important to open something that makes money and is wanted in the community.

I am actually a qualified beautician but haven't work at it in years.

There you go then! Do a refresher, renew your insurance and get set up. Sorted!

@UhtredRagnarson, I did think about opening a salon that offered botox, non surgical face lifts, teeth whitening etc. Also a blow dry bar. I know blow drys are a big thing around here, there's a Chinese salon close by and they are out the door busy because you don't need an appointment and they mainly do blow drys.

It’s a goer! Honestly the only things that are surviving on the high street are services you can’t buy online- food, beauty, hair. Clothes, giftware, trinkets etc can all be bought online and with Covid that’s what everyone is doing.

You have the beauty experience- go for it.

@UhtredRagnarson,thats true, so much can be bought online now and I think with Covid that has obviously increased and may have changed people's shopping habit. I don't know any hairdressers, beauticians, nail salons in or around my village that has ever closed down. They all seem to do good business and can be hard to get appointments.

They’re always rammed full round here too and there are so many of them. Even ones that actually aren’t very good!

[quote Murtaghjames]@UhtredRagnarson, I am actually a qualified beautician but haven't work at it in years.
@sunflowersandbuttercups, I ran my husbands business for 5 years which included payroll, holidays, insurance, vehicle maintenance and payments, invoicing etc. As the business grew and with three young children I went part time and we now employ two full time office staff. I think it's more impractical to open a business based purely on a hobbie or an interest. I'm opening a business to make money and that's why I feel its important to open something that makes money and is wanted in the community.[/quote]
But you still need to know the industry you're going to be opening your business in otherwise it won't really work.

If you're trained in hair and beauty then I would go down that road tbh - hairdressers etc. are always in demand 😊

Rent out shelf space to artists and crafters to cover your costs and then sell artists and crafters and makers kit especially knitting and haberdashery ..etsy best sellers are craft and jewellery supplies

etsy best sellers are craft and jewellery supplies

Yes, Etsy, the online shop! That’s why they’re doing well in these lines. OP doesn’t need to set up in competition with very successful online retailers! Fast way to kill a business.

You need to identify a gap in the market first surely?

Plus as pps said take account of what skills/experience you have

If it were me, I'd do an old style sweet shop/confectioners.

Nostalgia is HUGE just now, and it would require less work to set up and regulations to deal with than a cafe.

You could include home made chocolates and locally known confections (not sure where you are but eg if it were here in west of Scotland then things like tablet and macaroon would be popular but I've lived all over Uk and know most locales have equivalents eg pontefract cakes, Edinburgh rock pieces, Everton toffees, Kendal mint cake...)

And retro sweets in the old style jars sold by weight - pear drops, cough drops, rhubarb and custard, sherbet Bon bons etc

I bet that would do a roaring trade with locals and visitors alike.

You could (if this is still legally allowed I think it is) even still use a retro mechanical scale, get a retro designed logo and have all your paper (eco) bags for the sweets printed up with it.

You could possibly even look into getting your own lettered seaside rock created for the shop even if you're not near the coast.

Maybe even retro drinks if they're available? Ginger beer, bitter lemon and dandelion & burdock I know you could get.

Just a thought...

You could have a sideline in small locally made trinkets as gifts or maybe combine with a deli type section selling not only modern delicacies but maybe some more unusual retro ones like potted meats or locally made jams and pickles?

You can't rely on tourist money it's too seasonal so you need to look after potential bread and butter local customers and something that's likely to bring repeat business

Online tend not to be any good for small amounts of things.

But yea I can see why you're being advised to go down beauty/hair route as that can't be put online.

Doesn't have to be the Botox type route, what about therapeutic massage, pedicures etc?

I must say I'm very uncomfortable with non medically trained people doing things like Botox personally I don't think it should be allowed

The retro style sweet shop in our town ended up having to become a cafe and eventually got rid of the sweets altogether. It was a bit odd after that as their shop name was very specific to sweets and they didn’t sell any anymore.

As people are just posting random things and OP hasn’t got a Scooby, I’m going to suggest dog grooming/pet shop linked to doggy day care/walking service.

A restaurant.

When I was a child the supermarkets and shopping malls all had a free crèche so the mums could drop the kids off and do their shopping. They all disappeared, presumably due to the increasing costs and paperwork involved in running a childcare setting. I’ve often wondered about opening the same sort of thing in a unit in town but charging for it. Say £5/child per hour for children aged 1-5. No food provided- maximum stay 2 hours sort of thing. Especially as there are so many hair dressers and beauty salons so people, mainly women, are spending time in town. I know I’d certainly have paid a fiver when my DC were small to be able to get to the hairdresser when I had no one to watch them. Depending on the size of your unit OP it might be worth looking into.

Well that's my bubble burst ain't it!

Ughtred...one of the busiest shops in my similar sounding town sell ribbons , fabrics, upholstery stuff and silver clay jewellery kits..people like to see what they buy too .

@Graphista

Well that's my bubble burst ain't it!

Tbf it is only one shop in one town. It may be we are just odd sweet refusing cake gobblers in this town

@ginandbearit

Ughtred...one of the busiest shops in my similar sounding town sell ribbons , fabrics, upholstery stuff and silver clay jewellery kits..people like to see what they buy too .

What are the other shops if a fabric shop is one of the busiest??

Can't move for sweet shops here suddenly. None of them will last, I know one personally and she's regretting it.

The ice cream shop seems to be doing better but we're coastal

There was a thread on here recently about someone wanting to open an old fashioned sweet shop and the general consensus was don't bother!

The overheads are huge - most people who come in for sweets will be kids with pocket money or the odd older person for nostalgic reasons.

We have a local shop that sells them - they're also the post office, sell children's clothes, party balloons, stationary, personalised clothing and gifts, normal sweets and chocolate, coffee and more.

They've had to diversify massively over lockdown as they were in real danger of going under.

It’s funny you say that @sunflowersandbuttercups as I was in the post office yesterday. A few years ago they started selling very overpriced trinket type things and yesterday they had cleared a space and put a little rail of children’s clothes. Only about 15 items on it, the rail was 2/3 empty. Tbh it looked like a charity shop rail. No organisation or order. No two items the same. and of course far more expensive than the clothes in the B&M store right next door so i can’t imagine it will make them any money but clearly they’re needing to diversify. (They’re just not doing it very well)