How to Run an Online Fabric Store
Operating a fabric store from a traditional brick and mortar storefront can be a challenge for maintaining profits in the face of rising expenses. Running an online fabric store can reduce your overhead expenses and allow you to carry a wider or more specialized range of fabrics, as well as to serve customers outside your own city and test new ideas inexpensively. There are a few steps you can take to ensure that your store runs as smoothly and profitably as possible.
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Instructions
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Budget your business before you start. Running any business is usually more expensive than it appears from the outset, and retail businesses are particularly susceptible to hidden overhead costs due to taxes, unsold inventory and shipping costs. Anticipate your potential revenues and costs carefully. Ensure that you have enough cash in the bank or access to a large enough line of credit to meet all your expenses until the business is profitable.
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Determine your specialty. You want your customers to associate your name with a certain type of shopping experience. If you have a particular love for imported silk and a good relationship with fabric mills in Thailand and Cambodia, base your brand around exotic silks rather than trying to compete directly with one of the large brick-and-mortar fabric stores.
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Secure one or more suppliers for fabrics, notions and equipment. You may be importing fabrics directly from Italian weavers or Chinese mills, or reclaiming remnants from top designers. Whatever your niche, you'll need to ensure that you will always be able to fill the orders you receive, and that you have the flexibility to buy as much or as little as you need. Select your suppliers carefully and treat them as partners in your business.
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Set up your technology. You'll need a customer-facing e-commerce website that can showcase photos and allow customers to specify details of their order such as yardage or color, as well as a checkout system that accepts credit cards. On the back end, you should also have a database containing your inventory, so that you always know when you need to reorder. Both e-commerce sites and inventory management systems can be purchased off the shelf, but be sure to shop around for features and prices.
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Price your products appropriately. If you specialize in antique lace, you may want to charge top dollar, whereas a remnants recycling service should probably charge less than traditional retailers. Get to know your competition and ensure that you can either underprice them or provide better services that justify a higher price.
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Manage your inventory. Holding unsold merchandise is expensive due to storage costs, possible spoilage and the risk of never being sold, as well as tying up money that could be used to meet immediate expenses. It's best to aim for just enough inventory to meet your orders. This step may be the most difficult part of managing your online fabric store business.
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Tips & Warnings
Ask advice from other fabric shop owners.
Sign up for free counseling provided by volunteers at the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE).
