By Christina Devlin & Carrie Vestrand, Retail Strategists
Where do you start? How do you make your dream a reality?
Here’s a few steps to get you going:
- Flesh out your idea. What gap will your business fill? Who is your target market? Who will be your competitors? What will set your business apart from the others in your industry? Share your idea with friends, family, and anyone who will listen, and gather as much feedback as you can.
- Write a business plan. You can download a free template online and write it yourself or take a course to get some assistance with the process. Your business plan will be your roadmap for making business decisions. It will help you define what your business is and what it isn’t. It will also help you figure out if your business can make money.
- Determine your business structure (LLC, S Corp, Sole Proprietor, etc.) and register your business with the State to receive your federal and state tax ID’s. Obtain any permits and/or licenses that may be needed for your business. Helpful hint: before you register your business, make sure your business name is not being used by anyone else! If it isn’t, get it trademarked. If it is, you will need a new name.
If you’ve done these things, you are off to a GREAT start! But wait…there’s much more to do! Good news- there are many resources available to you in the Detroit entrepreneurial ecosystem that are just a click away! TechTown’s Retail Boot Camp is just one option.
Retail Boot Camp is an intensive 12-week program that gets the serious entrepreneur ready for opening a brick-and-mortar business in Detroit, Hamtramck or Highland Park. You will learn from industry experts the following:
- How to select the right location
- Negotiate a lease
- Develop quality retail operations
- Design impactful visual merchandising
- Incorporate top-notch customer service skills
- Select the appropriate point-of-sale system for your business
- Be a part of a network of like-minded entrepreneurs who can offer support and get 1:1 business coaching with a member of our team after completing the program.
If you aren’t quite ready for Retail Boot Camp, TechTown has other ways we can help. Schedule a free Strategy Session to talk to a member of our team about your business and how to open, stabilize, and grow your business.
Thanks for your informative and entertaining article. With the emergency of online commerce, I realized how important it is for my online business to have a brick-and-mortar store as well. I didn’t learn it at first, but after reading your article, I believe starting a solid brick-and-mortar business is my best bet for dependable long-term success. After all, people will always shop locally. Your article is on-point and very simple to read. I will definitely share this with my friends.