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Original poster

Right, How Do I Close My Shop?

107 replies

UniqueAndAmazing · 31/05/2013 12:02

I think I've pretty much decided that I will close when the lease is up in October.

I've got a total of £20k debt (in loan and credit card) to pay off, as well as bills and invoices until I close.

How do I make sure that all this wonderful stock that no one wants to buy goes before my deadline of 24th October?
How do I close?
How do I close all my accounts? (and yes, I'm pretty sure that I'll have to pay get out fees for phone line and utilities)

I feel fucking gutted.

OP posts:
Original poster
UniqueAndAmazing · 03/06/2013 22:19

thank you mikkii - s long as I can sell the stock I won't have to go insolvent.

OP posts:
Original poster
UniqueAndAmazing · 03/06/2013 22:20

and I havekept in touch with them, paying bit by bit aand using the credit card Blush)

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cloutiedumpling · 03/06/2013 22:26

I'm so sorry. Flowers

musickeepsmesane · 04/06/2013 08:52

Unique Sad Sounds like you have fallen to the recession. If you are at the quiet end of town that is hard at the best of times. I am aware of how busy shops are if I am walking down high streets, kind of a left over thing from having my own I suppose. It is very sad how many shops have no customers but the street has lots of pedestrians.
Flowers and good luck

Original poster
UniqueAndAmazing · 04/06/2013 10:43

yup, I have. That's exactly it.

thanks

OP posts:
greenhill · 04/06/2013 10:58

YY It sounds as if you have tried everything and have had some bad luck and got caught up in the recession.

I didn't mean to be so down about the high street in yesterday's post, so today have had a practical think for you: Is MN local busy for your area? Have you advertised your events on that? My local one (bucks) doesn't have much of a chat board but local library events etc. are posted on it. Also are you on MN's bloggers network? Could you talk about your bookshop on that?

Want2bSupermum · 04/06/2013 15:25

I understand where you are coming from. It is very tiring and the one thing I always bring to my first meeting is a box of coffee because the owners/ management are so exhausted they can't think straight.

Get some sleep. Think about what you have learnt from this and good luck with your next business venture. What you need to do to close your shop is on here. I would also speak with CAB regarding your personal debt. They also might be able to help you with freezing the interest etc.

Good luck!

Original poster
UniqueAndAmazing · 04/06/2013 15:49

thanks

I am in the worst possible mood today - and I feel like all the "customers" have been time-wasters and cheapskates.
(not that many either)

And I think I already feel like I'm winding down and just don't feel like caring anymore.
This is my life and my passion - I love books more than anything else in the whole world, and I feel like I hate them at the moment. :(

I don't like coffee, it makes me feel sick. Wink

yes, thank you ever so much for all the advice (everyone!) and the good wishes (and sad faces too)

I also had a call from the paper this morning asking if there was anything they could do, but it really is too late now.

and life goes on as normal until September, I suppose.

OP posts:
Original poster
UniqueAndAmazing · 04/06/2013 15:50

(the hardest thing is running down the stock - it is just so depressing knowing that I won't be ordering anything else for the shelves, and that I'll probably lose customers because I don't have How to Train Your Dragon for the next 4 months)

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Xenia · 04/06/2013 17:41

Something else will emerge - a new business idea or venture and what you learned with the book shop may well be useful for that.

greenhill · 05/06/2013 19:53

How are you feeling today unique?

I looked at your website, it is great. Was it busier today?

BIWI · 05/06/2013 20:31

I have some friends who emigrated to Australia, and set up a business there dealing in books.

Their first venture was selling second hand books, in markets - in Australia new books are prohibitively expensive. Then they moved into a shop, to get out of the market environment (no doubt fed up with being too hot or too cold and wet too often!) But that was also very expensive. So they started a business then selling books in shopping malls - took a stall in any shopping mall where there wasn't a 'fixed' book shop. Overheads were much lower. They then developed this so that they managed the process (buying stock, organising distribution, etc) and had teams of people dispatched to the various malls around Sydney. Is this something that you could consider?

Original poster
UniqueAndAmazing · 06/06/2013 12:39

it hasn't been busier at all :(

i had an article in the paper yesterday (weekly paper)

the only shopping centre round here has market stalls available, but they're £3000 a quarter (so the same as you'd pay in rent!)
and some random woman has set up a frigging remainders bookstall in there.

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greenhill · 09/06/2013 09:49

Have you had a better weekend unique?

How irritating that someone has set up a rival bookstall, are there other toy shops around too?

An independent toy shop closed here because Toys R Us did a pop up Christmas shop in the local shopping centre and took 85% of their trade away. The shop manager was bitter because she'd lost all her experienced assistants and would have to return to the original store (5 miles away) as an assistant there.

Since we've had a new shopping centre built, the old parts of town have emptied and the shopping arcades have either emptied or filled with phone shops or charity shops. Big chains have folded too, of course.

I hope people come and buy lots at your summer events x

BIWI · 09/06/2013 10:49

Do you have a database of customers? Can you send out an e-mail with this week's offers? I know you do a lot with your Facebook page, but perhaps you need to go to them, rather than them coming to you, IYSWIM. (Sorry if you already do this - just trying to think of some more ideas!)

BIWI · 09/06/2013 10:50

Could you also run a competition? e.g. spend £x amount (a reasonable figure, say £10?) for the chance to win a bundle of books of your choice, worth £x. Anyone spending £x gets their name put into a hat and you make the draw a week or so later - and get the local paper to cover both the competition and the drawing of the name out of the hat.

Original poster
UniqueAndAmazing · 10/06/2013 14:45

no other toy shops!
Angry at Toys r Us

had a few comments on a facebook page that they thought i'd already closed. knew it was a bad plan to allow the paper to run a story... Hmm

took £149 on Saturday.
but a friend of mine runs a War Gaming event each year and gave me a free table to sell Games Workshop - so I took £75 there on Sunday
Grin

I do have a customer database but don't take email addresses. so all the emails I have are from mail order customers - I did a round robin email to them a couple of weeks ago. (no response of course...)

People here don't like competitions where you have to buy something to take part - they really do want something for nothing!
we've got a 12-shop prize draw taking place at the moment - it'll be drawn on Carnival Day.
We've also roped in a local artist to paint a courtyard wall for us on Carnival Day (me and the cafe next door - they're turning my courtyard into an outside cafe for them, with the theory that it'll attract mutual customers - I just like the fact I don't have to do anything and they look after my space!) - it should bring in a few people I hope!
The press will hear about that and hopefully will advertise it in advance.

OP posts:
greenhill · 10/06/2013 17:34

It sounds as if you doing all the right things and it's a symptom of the recession that things haven't improved yet for you.

Congratulations on doing well at the War Gaming event.

I hope you get a lot of publicity from Carnival Day and customers remember that you are still there. Smile

Snog · 10/06/2013 17:45

Maybe you can sell as a going concern?
Would be an easy option. Someone else may be keen to try their luck with your shop?

Original poster
UniqueAndAmazing · 10/06/2013 18:03

Snog if it were a going concern I wouldn't be closing, I would be carrying on. Wink

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Original poster
UniqueAndAmazing · 10/06/2013 18:03

(and i certainly wouldn't want anyone else to have it.)

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Snog · 11/06/2013 20:29

yes but someone else might think they can make a success of it when you can't?

Original poster
UniqueAndAmazing · 12/06/2013 15:45

yes, but i don't want someone else to make a success out of it.
it's not just any old shop, it's a book shop
this thing is personal - it's my dream, and i don't want anyone else to have it.

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BIWI · 12/06/2013 17:21

Snog - when you read what Unique has been doing (and the issues she has been facing) I doubt anyone could make a success of it.

Snog · 12/06/2013 18:41

Its not a question of whether anyone could make a success of it though, its about whether someone else thinks they can make a go of it or fancies a try at it.
Plenty of folk have a running a bookshop dream and a bit of money to invest. And after all you may be right that if BIWI can't make a go of it nobody can, but there again you may be wrong.

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