Opening of a stationery store It is no secret that the success of business activity largely depends on how relevant the idea is for the business. If you evaluate all modern startups for resilience to the crisis, then a business based on the sale of office supplies will certainly receive a high score. The demand for these products remains practically unchanged, despite the economic instability. The target audience of businesses selling stationery is numerous and varied: they are parents of preschoolers, schoolchildren, students, office workers, and many others. Moreover, this group of goods constitutes a separate item of expenses for any company. Therefore, if you are a beginner entrepreneur and are looking for a suitable idea for starting your own business, we suggest you learn how to open a stationery store from scratch. How to start a stationery business Before starting your own office supply store, you should carefully study your main competitors and draw up a detailed plan for starting a business.
The level of competition in this area is quite high. Therefore, in order to get your customers, you need to either offer a unique range of products, or affordable prices that will be lower than in other stores. However, there is a third option - concluding a franchise agreement with a well-known retail chain. The stationery franchise is interesting because by purchasing it, you get an almost ready-made business model that you only need to adapt to the conditions of your region. The special appeal of a franchise is that you start working under the name of a well-known brand and from the very first days you get loyal customers who trust it. The sequence of actions when opening your store from scratch and for a franchise will differ slightly, but there are several stages that you will need to go through in either case: Finding space for a store Paperwork and choice of tax regime Purchase of equipment Hiring staff Assortment formation Advertising campaign It takes an average of two to three months to open a retail stationery store, depending on the size of the start-up capital and what retail space will be used. Premises for a shop When choosing premises for a store, it is worth starting from the target audience. Who are the main buyers of office supplies? Children and their parents. The neighborhood with preschool and school educational institutions will be successful for a point selling stationery. The entrepreneur will also benefit from the proximity to the store of large business centers. It is advisable to rent a room on the ground floor. If we consider renting premises in a supermarket or a shopping center as an option, then the neighborhood with grocery and household departments, as well as with stores of goods for children, will be favorable. The minimum area of the trading floor is 10 sq. m. Even in such a small space, all the most popular groups of goods can be placed, and at the same time, customers will not have the feeling that they are in a cramped closet. If the budget allows, then, of course, it is advisable to rent a more spacious room. The standard area of a separate stationery store is from 40 to 60 square meters. m. In addition to the trading floor, the store must have a warehouse, a bathroom and a staff room. An important point when choosing retail space is their assessment for compliance with sanitary legislation. When negotiating with the owner about the lease, check with him for the availability of a sanitary and epidemiological conclusion on the premises. In addition, you will also need an opinion from the local authority of the Ministry of Emergency Situations on compliance with fire safety standards. Don't forget about advertising. It is necessary to provide for the possibility of placing advertising structures on the facade of the store, above the entrance or at the entrance. Registration of a company and the choice of a taxation system The stationery business does not require licenses or other special permits. Basically, all you need to get started is to register a business with the tax office. Of all the existing organizational forms, it is better to choose an individual entrepreneur (individual entrepreneur). In special cases (for example, when buying a franchise, if required by the franchisor), you can register a limited liability company. According to the current (as of 01.01.2020) classifier of economic activities OKVED, the activity code suitable for the sale of stationery as a business is 47.62 "Retail trade in newspapers and stationery in specialized stores." It is this code that should be entered into the application for registration of entrepreneurial activity. When submitting documents for registration, you should choose the simplified taxation system (USN) with a rate of 15% and fill out the corresponding notification in the prescribed form. Both tax regimes will allow you in the process of doing business to significantly simplify interaction with the tax service and reduce the amount of mandatory payments. Read what is the amount of the single tax for an individual entrepreneur, as well as what taxes the individual entrepreneur pays on a simplified tax system. Point of sale equipment The next step is to purchase equipment for a stationery store. The standard set for the trading floor will include: Shelves with shelves and perforated panels Showcases Counters Stands and racks Cash desk or reception Hooks, stands, booklet holders, price holders, shopping baskets and other little things In addition to shopping, you will need to buy storage equipment: you will need sturdy racks. You will also need office equipment, cleaning equipment, etc. It is advisable that your store has a multifunctional device (printer-scanner-copier). This will allow you to earn extra money on the services of photocopying, printing text, scanning documents and photographs. Store staff If your store is small (the area of the sales area is up to 20 sq. M), then you will not need many people to serve customers. It will be enough to have two sales clerks. In this case, you can use the traditional over-the-counter sales method in combination with the open display method. If the retail space is larger, it is advisable to use the self-service form. In this case, you will need additional employees (at the rate of 1 seller per 20 sq. M. Area) who will advise buyers and monitor the safety of goods. Commodity content Approaching the issue of assortment formation, it is advisable to choose one specialization. Conventionally, all office supplies can be subdivided into school supplies and office supplies. It will be too expensive to cover both directions at once. Experienced entrepreneurs do not recommend purchasing goods that are too cheap. It is advisable to choose something in between: high-quality and inexpensive. Please note that prices in your store should not be higher than those of your nearest competitors. You shouldn't buy many varieties of the same product. For a start, three are enough: cheaper, more expensive and average in price. Do not ignore groups of goods that are in seasonal demand, for example, school backpacks, diaries, etc. But it is not worth purchasing such goods in large quantities either. Advice: if the budget allows, include in the assortment souvenirs, books (children's educational literature is especially in demand), goods for designers, artists, etc. All this will help increase the volume of sales. It is best to purchase goods at large regional wholesalers, visiting them in person, or ordering via the Internet. Do not rush to purchase goods from the first wholesaler that comes across to you, consider several (at least five) offers, compare prices, delivery terms, a system of discounts, and only then make a choice. Advertising The stationery business, like any other, needs competent advertising support. There is no need to invest large sums in the advertising budget. It is enough to spend money on a bright, attractive signboard, order a small amount of printed materials (for example, flyers, discount coupons) before opening, and provide contextual advertising on the Internet. It would be useful to create your own website, or even better - an online store. But if the start-up capital is not enough, then this step can be taken in the future, as soon as the store starts to make a profit..
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