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#1
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Opening a shop
Hi all,
I am contemplating opening a jewellery shop it will sell my own work and other designer-jewellers work whom I admire. I have never operated a physical shop before as I have sold via galleries and direct from my workshop. The shop is in a quiet but slightly touristey village location in the Southwest of the UK. I do not expect masses of passers by dropping in, but hope a physical shop will give me more credibility. I expect to have to attract people to make a special journey to visit. So does the group have any advice you are willing to share with me? What should I look out for? What are the pitfalls? what are the things you wish you had done and the things you wish you had not? best wishes, Hillary -- Hillary Corney Designer Silversmith and Jeweller http://www.designersilversmiths.com |
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#2
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Hi Hillary
You need to do your 'homework' regarding the costs of running your projected shop. Your shop will cost you money - even when you aren't selling anything. My parents ran a small gifts / jewelry / gemstones shop down in Cornwall - and while it generated enough revenue to provide them with a living and put my brother & I through college, it never made them a fortune. Lots of the people who visit your shop will be there 'just to look' (or because it's raining!) - rather than actually buying anything. If you're trying to make items as well as run the shop then you may find that the two don't sit too well together. Watch out for the people who will help themselves to your stock without paying.... Hope this doesn't seem too negative - but you need to look carefully at the down-sides as well as the positives. I'm not sure exactly what 'credibility' gains you expect from having a shop rather than allowing visitors to come to your workshop. Hope this helps Adrian Suffolk UK |
#3
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So does the group have any advice you are willing to share with me? What
should I look out for? What are the pitfalls? what are the things you wish you had done and the things you wish you had not? The best advice I can give is to make sure you have enough money before you open, to run the business for six months to a year with nobody walking through the door. Next, don't stint on advertizing. If you can't get people into your store, you can't pay the bills (profound huh ) ). Last I would recommend hiring a professional sales person to sell for you. It's been my experience that most jewelers are poor sales people. They also tend to get too emotionally involved with their own jewelry to sell other pieces. Just my 2 cents and worth every penny it cost you. |
#4
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Excellent advice. I would only add that you should not get discouraged if you
don't sell anything immediately. It takes time to build a clientel. We opened a gallery (Midwest, USA) 15 months ago, and have made our rent, utilities, advertising expenses, insurance and other expenses, but no profits to date. Not bad for a poor economy. The best advice I can give is to make sure you have enough money before you open, to run the business for six months to a year with nobody walking through the door. Next, don't stint on advertizing. If you can't get people into your store, you can't pay the bills (profound huh ) ). Last I would recommend hiring a professional sales person to sell for you. It's been my experience that most jewelers are poor sales people. They also tend to get too emotionally involved with their own jewelry to sell other pieces. Just my 2 cents and worth every penny it cost you. |
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