How to Open a Business in an Antique Mall

Acquire antiques for resale at little or no cost.

It takes a lot of financial planning and judicious thinking to start business in an antiques mall. Develop a global clientele online while working with local clients and centers of influence. Procure items at low costs by offering consignment services. Try to cash in on the advantages that the mall setting has to offer. Zero in on an active and happening mall where the neighbors' successes will add to your own bottom line. Conduct some informal research to gain insight into your potential customers' spending patterns. Talk to other sellers to learn from their successes and failures.

Instructions

1. Chalk out an exhaustive business plan for the first year of operation. Arrange for funds to conduct business operations for six months to one year. If the business is a part-time venture, consider savings or cash flow to fund expenses. Consider rent payment and other overhead expenses while calculating costs.

   Procure goods for sale at the antiques mall. If you wish to refinish your merchandise before selling out account for the time, tools and expenses required to accomplish this task.

   Contact a local clerk before starting the business. Apply for the necessary licenses and complete all paperwork well in time to avoid legal hassles in future.

2. Know your marketplace and your fellow marketers before applying for space in an antiques mall. Evaluate other proprietors in the mall to see if they can benefit you indirectly. If your shop sells antique jewelry, other antique jewelry sellers may help draw traffic to your business. Indulge in discussions where the antique sellers talk about their trials and successes. Identify sellers that have well-designed space and customer flow. This exercise can give you a good idea of what clicks in the business.

3. Create an online business before entering the actual marketplace. According to "Make Your Business Survive and Thrive" (2006), your new business needs more than a couple of outstanding customers. Use online resources to spread your business net and support your antique mall location. Customers may get to know of your antique mall location after a pleasant transaction on the net. Creating a virtual site costs almost nothing. Since developing an online antiques business requires client development, consider starting your own site before opening a storefront at the antiques mall.

4. Develop mutually rewarding relationships with clients and other sellers as your antique mall business grows. Trusts and estates attorneys have clients that need to liquidate high quality items. Consider forming a collective with other antique mall sellers when a large estate sale presents a substantial opportunity for profit.

5. Procure items for sale at very low or no cost by creating supply networks. Start with family and friends to identify people who want to liquidate antiques. Think about the average sale in the antique mall. If most clients in your area spend an average of $100, filling your shop with expensive items may frustrate the best of plans.

Tips & Warnings

• Planning is the key to success in a new antiques business.

• Antique reproductions can confuse the most sophisticated seller. Verify antique items to avoid returns and refunds.

References

• Business.gov: Necessary Licenses
• Rhode Island Antiques Mall: Applying For Space
• Business Week Bloomberg: Sellers Discuss
• "Make Your Business Survive and Thrive"; Priscilla Huff; 2006: According to
• Ruby Lane: Pleasant Transaction

Resources

• "Start a Business in Florida"; Mark Warda; 2006
• "How to Start Your Home-Based Antiques Business"; Jacqueline Peake, Bob Brooke; 2005
• "Small Business Bible"; Steven D. Strauss; 2009
• "The Small Business Start-Up Kit"; Peri Pakroo; 2008
• "How to Recognize and Refinish Antiques For Pleasure and Profit"; Bob Brooke; 2006