To really open a small shop, investors have to make many choices. Whether to open a physical store or an online store; Whether to open a new store or an old one; Whether to rent a storefront or buy a storefront; Whether to go it alone or join a chain, investors need to make a suitable choice according to their own situation.

Although online stores are very popular in recent years, many investors prefer to open physical stores because of their own limitations. Speaking of physical stores, then, for investors, is it to open a new store or an old one?

As the name implies, the former started from scratch and the latter took over the shops run by others. Which is better or worse? Different people have different views, each with its own advantages and disadvantages, which need to be carefully evaluated. Judging from the preparation for opening, the store is definitely the most labor-saving, such as license application, which is ready-made. Opening a shop is different. We must start from scratch, from the initial personnel planning and training, to store decoration, commodity procurement, marketing and publicity ... every link must be grasped and planned by ourselves. Shops also have advantages in terms of customers, investment and capital use. Because the original store must have its own regular customers, there is no need to invest too much money, and there will be cash income turnover immediately. If you open a shop, the biggest problem at the beginning is the source of tourists, which takes time to cultivate; And you need more cash to turn around. However, in other ways, the risk of the store is much greater. For example: financial problems such as old-fashioned debts and taxes, legal problems such as contracts, and equipment quality problems ... These are sometimes difficult to see at a glance, and you will fall into the trap if you are not careful.

For investors, whether they like to eat "ready-made rice" or enjoy the happiness of "having a baby once" through "pregnancy in October" should be considered clearly. For most investors, unless they are 100% sure of the old store, they are still more willing to start from scratch and open a new store.

So, do investors rent shops or buy shops? For most investors, the money on hand is still limited, so most of them start their own entrepreneurial journey by renting shops. In recent years, due to the shortage of shops, commercial facilities in many communities are still under construction, and people renting houses are already crowded, so there is a phenomenon of pre-leasing, and sometimes disputes will inevitably occur. If investors want to rent a shop in advance, they must know whether the shop meets the pre-sale conditions of commercial housing and whether the developer has obtained the pre-sale permit of commercial housing.

At the same time, whether you buy or rent, you should pay attention to the location of the store. Here, Joyce jewelry chain system, an internationally renowned female fashion product chain brand, is taken as an example to illustrate. Usually, before opening a direct store or franchise store, Joyce's site selection department will conduct a detailed investigation and site selection audit of the store, or provide detailed site selection training for franchisees. Because for a Joyce fashion jewelry store, the location of its store is very important, which is almost a prerequisite for success. For example, Joyce jewelry is mainly sold to women, so department stores and commercial streets where women often choose clothing stores have become one of its location combinations. Because there are many fashion products to choose from in these places, which is also determined by women's shopping psychology.

In order to determine the appropriate address, we must first determine the customer base. Taking Beijing as an example, if women aged 18-25 are selected as the customer base, Xidan is more suitable than Dongsi. Because although it is also a bustling commercial street, the shops in Dongsi area are mostly white-collar women aged around 25-35, and the goods are of high quality and relatively high prices; Xidan, on the other hand, faces younger customers. When choosing clothes, it pays more attention to styles and is not too picky about details such as fabrics and workmanship.

For restaurants, choosing a good location is almost half the battle. There are three main considerations in choosing a restaurant location. First, it should be a room facing the street, or at least an alley, near the street; Second, the company's office buildings are relatively concentrated; Third, residential areas are relatively concentrated. Of course, the place where all three are concentrated is better.

The road where the shop is located is also very particular. It is not that the wider the road, the better the business environment. Wide roads, large traffic and few pedestrians. Some have guardrails in the middle of the road, which makes it inconvenient for pedestrians to cross the road and naturally affects business. In the catering business, it is most important to have enough people near the store. Only with people can there be passenger flow, and only with passenger flow can there be "capital flow". In short, whether buying a storefront or renting a storefront, the location is the first.

Do investors do it themselves or join the chain? For investors, if they want to open a store, but they don't have good ideas or are not confident enough about their personal abilities, then opening a franchise store is a good way.

The United States has done a survey on the success rate of opening a store. The results show that the success rate of franchise system is 80%, and the success rate of independent store is about 20%. Joining the chain of Joyce jewelry stores, the success rate is as high as over 99%, which is also a powerful explanation of this law. Joining the chain has indeed rounded up investors' dreams of small shops to a certain extent and reduced investment risks. But we must pay attention to the following aspects.

(1) Choose to see the profit.

After collecting information, investors can choose 2 ~ 3 franchise chain projects, negotiate with franchisees, and understand the operating strength and concept of the headquarters. In the process of shopping around, investors should pay attention to the probability of successful profit after joining, not the total investment.

(2) Contrast is indispensable.

Investors should calmly analyze and compare. The joining mode and conditions of franchisees are generally similar, but it is these "small differences", such as the payment method of joining fees and the price of supply from headquarters, which will be important factors affecting the operating profit after joining. Some business strategies advocated by franchise chain system, such as reducing and returning franchisees' investment and subsidizing decoration expenses, have provided strong support for their franchisees, and Joyce jewelry chain is one of them.

(3) Training should pay attention to

After investors sign a preliminary agreement with their favorite franchisees, franchisees generally provide a series of pre-opening training courses. For example, the systematic training courses provided by Joyce jewelry chain headquarters provide a strong guarantee for its franchisees to win the market. This training course often teaches solutions to problems that may be encountered in starting a business. In addition, some industry knowledge related to joining projects may be taught, and investors should take it seriously.

Perhaps, in the above problems, no matter what choices investors make, they all have their own advantages and disadvantages. However, the following points need to be determined by all prospective shopkeepers.

(1) Interest is the forerunner.

Hobbies play an important role in the development of small shops. Choosing the project you are most interested in to open a shop will make you enjoy it and go all out. If you are creative, passionate and radiant, you can consider running a buffet hotpot restaurant or a traditional snack bar. If you like exquisite and tasteful goods, open a fashion jewelry store, a second-hand boutique, a handicraft shop and a small coffee shop to let you show your talents; If you always follow your heart and always put yourself in others' shoes, pet shops, flower shops and garden shops just need your characteristics. It is difficult to start a business. Interest, ideals and enthusiasm are the driving forces that support investors to persist, and even determine the future development of new businesses. Therefore, investors must be interest-oriented.

(2) Ability is the most important.

Every industry has a threshold for entry. If investors do not have the conditions in this respect, they will rashly set foot in it and be more likely to fail. Therefore, your own ability is the most important reference factor, and you can do what you can.

(3) Information is indispensable.

As the saying goes, know yourself and know yourself. Investors should fully grasp the market prospect, profitability, investment situation, fierce competition and other related information of the project. The richer the information, the less likely it is to fail.

(4) Prepare for opening a shop early.

Before opening a store, we must do a good job: while decorating the store and purchasing equipment, investors should move around more, do a good job in neighborhood relations, be familiar with the local market and develop potential customers; During the preparatory period, we should recruit enough staff and do a good job of training in advance to cope with the busy opening.

In short, although the storefront is small, it is very knowledgeable, and the mystery needs investors to savor it carefully.