Starting a Small Retail Business
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What to Sell
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Find items to sell. Retail sales items can be items you create, such as clothing or knitted items. Items can also be material you have bought wholesale are and reselling for a profit such as books or housewares.
A good initial strategy is to specialize in a single type of item. You may have a huge interest in Venetian glass beads or homemade cranberry apple pies. Translate that knowledge into a business venture. Specialization allows you to distinguish yourself from your potential competitors.
Where to Sell
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Find a marketplace to sell items. You can choose to sell online via ebay or etsy. You can also open your own small retail store in a physical location. An online venture can offer you several advantages such as low cost of initial capital and the possibility of reaching a large consumer base, but the online marketplace may already be crowded with competitors.
A physical location may have higher start-up costs such as rent but can offer you the chance to sell to customers directly and create your own local niche. One way to find low-cost selling space is to approach an already existing store owner and ask if you can sell your products in his store. You may also wish to rent tables at church yard sales, flea markets and local street fairs to determine if there is a customer base for your retail items or if you have a talent for retail selling.
Payment
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Accept payment. Make it easy for customers to do business with you by accepting as many forms of payment as you can. Visit the bank and get lots of small bills as well as coins. Set up a Paypal account to make online purchases easier. Take credit cards and checks for purchases over certain amounts. Call up credit card companies and find out what you need to do in order to set up a business credit card account. Accept personal checks, provided the check is backed up with several forms of identification.
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