Starting A Small Business ? | Here Are The Steps To Develop Your Business

Online trade is booming, and some large retailers have massive economic problems, but cleverly designed retail is still in vogue. Here we show you how to open your shop if you are starting a small business.

Especially when setting up a physical, local shop, there are numerous factors to consider so that long-term survival in retail is possible. This post outlines some basic steps you should consider when opening a store in starting a small business.

Step 1: Open the shop – from the idea to the planning for starting a small business

Would you like to fulfill your dream of having your shop? Do you want to sell a highly specialized product locally in your city, or do you have a different concept for your shop? Your idea must be subjected to an obvious reality check in the initial phase of founding because the concept’s viability decides on success and failure of starting a small business.

It is also essential to define clear, unique selling propositions as early as possible – i.e., everything that makes your shop unique.

Critical questions for planning your store should include:

• What does my shop/shop offer that is not yet available locally?
• What makes my request and the experience in my shop so distinctive?
• What are the ideal target customers for my store?
• Are these customers also sufficiently represented at the location?

Step 2 Open a shop: an overview of the costs – a decisive factor.

There are high initial costs for opening a shop: if you don’t own the building, you have to reckon with rental prices, and there are also additional costs for water, electricity, and other necessary infrastructure.

The equipment, furnishings, cash register system, work clothes, and countless other factors must be listed and provided with a cost estimate.

This gives you a realistic overview of what the store costs every day. Of course, a profit calculation also belongs in your business plan. This makes it possible to assess what sales you need to generate to run the shop successfully in the long term.

Especially if you are dependent on outside capital, for example, from the bank, to open your shop, you cannot do it without a business plan.

Step 3: Choose the ideal location for your store

Choice of location and business idea are inextricably linked for shops. A shop in the pedestrian zone will certainly attract walk-in customers, while a retailer with a highly specialized shop, even in a central location, will need targeted marketing.

Depending on your store concept, the advertising measures on and around the store can also be considered.

Do you have big shop windows? Then use this design option to draw attention to, for example, seasonal offers, special offers, or events in your shop.

With marketing basics for the opening, you can attract curious people to your store – and convince them of your unique offer.

Step 4: Permits & regulations for shop opening

Unloved but essential: the paperwork. Clarify with the regulatory and building authority which specifications you must meet with your shop.

You may also have to clarify with the authorities whether and how you may later attach outdoor advertising and apply in good time.

Checklist: You must make these registrations

Business registration: You must register the start of your business with the competent authority (business registration).

Registration of your self-employed commercial activity at the tax office: Traders will receive a questionnaire for tax registration (business opening form) from their responsible tax office, which was informed by the municipality about the founding of their shop after the business registration.

Obligation to have business liability insurance: You must check whether your start-up project requires liability insurance.

n addition, various insurance companies come to you. Which ones are obligatory and which make sense as an additional supplement for your shop must be checked on a case-by-case basis.

In addition, you should cover the entrepreneurial risk, the operational, and your risks.

Legal form and your company: Basically, you have two different options, you can give your shop a nice descriptive name and name the organization (i.e., the company) differently, and then you have to comply with the rules depending on the legal form.

Registration of your employees: Your company needs a company number, which you apply for at the responsible employment agency.

You need the social security card of your employees to pay your employee’s social security contributions to the responsible health insurance fund(s) every month.

Step 5: Open shop – more than a party

At the opening ceremony, advertising measures can be drawn from the entire portfolio to create local attention.

Soft opening – a test run

Nothing is worse than when you botch the start in your store – disgruntled customers not only don’t come back – they also tell around that you don’t enjoy it.

So before you call for the opening with drums and trumpets, think about the possibility of starting with a so-called soft opening: You can check whether the processes are correct, whether you have designed your shop in a sensible and customer-friendly way, and what else the organization could still lack.

Friends and acquaintances can be invited to test under the natural conditions of an entire store whether the technology can withstand the load and whether the work processes work.

Opening checklist

Because the local media can be invited to your shop’s natural opening, first-time visitors can be attracted by unique campaigns such as special prices, music, a children’s bouncy castle, or a playful auction.

Here are a few more critical questions you should have answers to:

• Is the local press aware of the opening?
• An opening ceremony with attractive program items attracts attention
• Is there sufficient advertising material for interested parties?
• Signage helps to find the way to your store quickly.

Many other activities and campaigns individually tailored to your business help attract potential customers’ attention.

The most crucial online marketing measures

Even if your shop only operates locally, you should not neglect your online marketing measures and address your target group as directly as possible.

After all, most people today use their mobile devices to search for deals, including from local stores.

• Therefore, a well-maintained entry on Google MyBusiness is a must – there is probably no easier or cheaper way to get a good ranking on Google!
• With good ratings on online portals such as Yelp, you show interested parties what you can do – and do something to make yourself easier to find.
• Well-designed social media profiles help you increase your reach and attract customers from outside the region.