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Question
Small business owners....I need advice?
I'm a stay at home mom and I make and sell boutique items for children from my home. I have many repeat customers and I'm always taking orders for them and their friends. It keeps me busy! I would like to eventually (possibly early next year) open up my own little boutique in or around Austin, Texas. Where do I begin?
4 months ago - 4 answers
Best Answer
Other Answers
Hard to know for sure without a little more data. But contact your local Small Business Association (SBA). They'll give you good, free advice. Good luck! :)
by beancounter- 4 months ago
Start out by making sure you are Licensed and then start working on finding a suitable location for your shop.
by ezachowski- 4 months ago
G'day mate. Starting a small business is a nerve-wracking thing to do. It's also very rewarding if you get it right. Give yourself the best head-start advantage you can by doing as much market research as your able to. Try advertising your products in your kids school newsletter if you're able to, advertise in the local paper, at a comunity notice board...that type of thing. You could set up a stall at week-end markets, see how your sales do there. Going out on your own is a fairly big gamble, you'd have to be sure that your products are going to support your sales straight off the bat to cover the rent of the premises & the type of expenses that your going to encounter. Why don't you try taking your goods around to a few shops with the type of clientelle that your trying to target, & see if they'll carry them at first. you could approach them about renting a bit of space in their shop to set up a rack or cabinet with your products for sale. Do your research mate, it's an invaluable excersise, the more research you do, the better you can judge the viabillity of having an outlet of your own. You might also like to think of going into a partnership with someone else aswell. Someone with the type of products that are going to be sympathetic to your own, if you know what i mean, that way, you can half your risk. I do think that getting some advice from your local small business ascociation is a great idea. That's what they're there for, to advise small businesses. Use their resources. They're a wealth of information no matter what type of business you're thinking of starting. Also make sure you get some advice from an accountant that specialises in small business, that's a must. They'll be able to advise you on all the risks you're likely to encounter, & any benefits that you're entitled to when you start up. Hope you do well mate, good luck. Cheers, Mulga.
by Mulga M- 4 months ago