Independent record stores are like any other retail business in many ways, but their success often relies on creativity, impressive industry knowledge and a sense of intuition. It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to stock for every musical genre and satisfy all the customers who come in and you can’t always rely on your own tastes. You need to know what will sell, what format are people listening to music now and, above all, you need to be able to adapt with changing trends while maintaining a unique identity. To get started you’ll need a business plan and, ideally, a marketing strategy.
Research the
Local Market
You need to know what other record stores are already in your area. You can do
this with local knowledge or independent research, or you could hire a
marketing company to do this for you. When you know what your competition is
you can look at the customer base in your area. This
will inform not only the products you stock but also the best marketing tactics
to use. What will your store bring to the area that isn’t already catered for?
Make a Business
Plan
Your
record store’s business plan is your guide
to running your business in terms of both finance and practical considerations. It
will include ownership structure, the store specifications, displays,
equipment, stock, prices, profit projections and a range of other details.
Business plans aren’t easy, so you may
want to get some professional guidance to make sure you haven’t overlooked
crucial factors.
Get a Business
Permit
To start a business you’ll need local
business permits, zoning and planning
permissions from your town hall, a tax
registration and retail sales certificate from your state’s department of
revenue. If you plan to run the business as a
corporation, limited liability company or partnership, you’ll need to send the
necessary paperwork to your secretary of state. If you’re going to be employing
staff, you’ll need to apply for a federal
Taxpayer Identification Number and Employer Identification Number EIN from the
Internal Revenue Service (you
can do this online here).
Plan Your Waste
Disposal and Recycling Processes
You’re going to be creating waste and, depending on the size of your store and how much stock you process, this could be a
lot of material to store and dispose of. Think
about equipment which could make this easier
such as baling wire which binds
recyclable waste into bales for neat storage and easy, secure transportation. There is a wide range of baling wire
available at www.balingwiredirect.com.
Find the Right
Premises
Do you want to rent or buy your premises? Choose your location wisely as an
inaccessible location or quiet area of town will have a significant impact on
footfall. The store needs to be large enough for your operation now and able to
accommodate some expansion in the future.
Source Stock,
Equipment and Store Displays
Display equipment like signage and shelving needs to be found and you need to
think about how you’ll be marketing your store. Find some local printing
companies who can provide free quotes for signage and printed marketing
literature. You’ll also need business equipment such as telephones, computer,
credit card machine, cash register, security cameras and an inventory control system.