Opening own shop..

[DSM]

I'm thinking of a massive career change, and have been looking and applying for things but nothing that excites me. So, I think I'd like to open my own shop.

I have a niche market in which I have reasonable knowledge, and a void in my city (there are no shops dedicated to this field). It is really quite niche, though I know of a few other shops in other cities, and there is a definite growing market for it here.

However.. I don't know where to start. Would I get finance? I have no capital as we are renters, and no savings. Is this just a no-go without some financial input?

How does this work?

I literally have no clue so was hoping for some help.. Sorry to be so basic! I've tried googling but there is so much mixed advice I am feeling a bit overwhelmed.

I'm in Scotland, in case it matters.

only you can decide whether it's worth the plunge, then.

:)

wow, I'm really curious as to what your shop will be selling. Can I recommend weebly, its free and I managed to set my website up using it and I'm pretty rubbish with computers and stuff! www.treadlightlytoys.co.uk if you want to see what it looks like

oooh, fiddle i love Best Years toys!!
I used to stock some of them :)

Fair enough to be worried about limited space. However, overheads on a unit in an industrial park may be less than for a shop. So, perhaps you could make an online business work like that?

I agree that if you've got the time and patience it should be possible with a free web building tool- in my opinion Wordpress is the best, most flexible and easiest to maintain for eCommerce sites as well as blogs. However, as your website is your only "shop window" you want it to look professional so if you can't get to grips with the free tools (or don't have time to learn) it's worth paying a few hundred (not thousand) quid for someone to design and build in one of the free tools like Wordpress. I've had quotes for sites from local agencies which went into £10,000+ for a standard design + eCommerce site package - nowadays with all the outsourcing sites around a professional look can be achieved for hundreds not thousands.

Do you know about 'drop shipping' or being an 'Amazon affiliate'. There are lots of programs like the Amazon affiliate which you could Google. Both DropShipping or being an (Amazon) Affiliate would mean you would market and sell but not satisfy orders.
Of course this may not work for you if your niche is very ..errr... niche.
Good luck.