Time to change or call it quits?

[julieMD]

Time to change or call it quits?

I have to got to the time in my lease where If I want to 'get out' my lease I need to put notice in by the end of May. I have to give 6 months notice so still have the shop until Oct 31st. If I don't put in my notice to quit I will be tied to the lease for another 3 years. The issue is that my business is not doing as well as I had hoped it would be.

I own a small gift shop with online store. It is a cat & dog themed gift shop ( gifts for cat and dog lovers, not for pets) and although the website does quite well with orders coming in from across the UK. If you google Present Purrfections you'll find me.

I started the Business almost 18 months ago. I'm a sole trader, I've not been able to take a wage at any time ( I've been lucky enough to be supported at home). 6 months ago I took a gamble and moved the business to a higher foot traffic area. More expensive to operate but I believe the gamble has worked, there are more feet through the door and sales but still not enough to take a wage or grow the business. After a couple of bad months I am now questioning the viability of the business. I believe I have done everything I can and to the best of my ability, just not enough actual sales to maintain.

I have to make the tough decision for the business, Adapt or Die?

Adapt....... Change the gift shop name and became another generic gift shop...... or ......I did have the idea of making my sister a partner( she hates her current job) and moving again to a bigger premises to incorporate a coffee shop and also change to more generic gifts (less cats and dogs more everyday) She has lots of experience running a cafe and tearoom so would work well, while I still run the shop side of the business. To do this I would essentially be changing the name of the business and expanding it. I stock a lot of locally sourced items which no-one else in our town sells and these are my best sellers so I would maintain those lines.

Or Die?.......Do I call it quits, put in my notice to end the lease and work my hardest to recoup my losses? and then get a job that actually pays?

I am completely torn between the two. I don't want to lose the business because, I love it. I have put so much into financial and emotionally over the last year that I am gutted to think I am going to lose it. BUT at the same time I am smart enough to know when enough is enough and time to change one way or the other.

What do you think?

 

[myfairworld]

How well do you get on with your sister? If you get on well with her now will you continue to do so when you are working together and taking financial risks together? Some siblings seem to run businesses really well together, some seem to be a disaster.

 

[julieMD]

We worked well together before I got married 16 years ago in our family owned tearoom. She is a bit older than me (10 years). I think it would work well. She knows things that I don't and vice-versa.

 

[boring-friday]

I'd probably close the shop and work on the website depending on how much profit it makes, think you could easily increase it with a few easy changes

I doubt the niche is big enough for a shop anywhere and no offense but Kirkcaldy seems like a bad choice (have a mad ex from there) and its a fairly poor area? Stuff like that is better suited to places where people with more spare cash.

Or get the smaller shop back if you're going to need somewhere to store products anyway to sell online. Saw it on google images, must of only been £3-400 a month?

 

[arnydnxluk]

The expansion into a more generic gift store and cafe would not only increase your costs and stocking requirements but also distract you further from the website which you say is performing well.

I don't understand why you're only considering offline expansion or dropping everything. It seems to me that going full time on the website could actually be the right way forward. Reduce costs, run from home and concentrate on growing the online store.

 

[arnydnxluk]

Looking at your website, it appears to be first and foremost an informational website for your offline shop. I don't know your business (only the information given here) but if you're doing well online, I would really consider pushing it further. I think there are loads of improvements to be made which will help push sales. The biggest one is making the online store the main feature of the website. I should be able to see your most popular products and begin purchasing as soon as I hit the website.

Keep working on the site - improve SEO, build the brand on social media, etc. I'm surprised you're not on Instagram, seems like the perfect place for this kind of thing. There's plenty of animal lovers out there for you to take the online side of things further in my opinion. Beginning with primarily cat/dog products makes sense but have you looked at or are you looking at gifts related to other pets (thinking small pets and larger ones e.g. horses)?

 

[DariusCool]

You are always going to struggle with bricks and mortor shops, especially when the item you are selling could be sold via the web.
From your circumstances Id decide on how much you want to earn and work out how much you would have to sell to meet that wage.

 

[myfairworld]

Mmm so bricks and mortar shops have no future? So why are organisations like Amazon starting to open bricks and mortar shops? Not denying running a 'real' shop successfully today isn't a big challenge but some people make it work and there are still an awful lot of people around who want to look and touch before they buy and who want to buy NOW and not have to go home and wait for it coming - even at a named time later today - and not have to traipse to their nearest collect point either. Many people still do not buy online at all and many buy a certain range of things online but still mainly buy off-line for what they regard as more 'fun' shopping. It is also worth remembering that the failure rate of online shops is actually much higher than that of bricks and mortar but less noticeable to the public. I also know of many online shops which have a bit of turnover, enough to cover costs, so they are not abandoned but they are not making a living for their owners either.

I think 'Cats and Dogs' is just too narrow a theme. On the other hand being a general gift store would make you not very distinguishable from all the rest + as someone else has said involve a greater challenge re: cost of stock and the channels you get it from. Maybe, again as someone else has said, an animal theme would give you more scope but keep more distinctive to market both off-line and online.

Do you really enjoy running your shop (apart from the financial anxiety?). Can the support at home willingly carry on supporting at least for a while? If, as you say, you think you can work well with your sister it sounds like a fantastic opportunity. People are obsessed with eating out! If you can get a cafe just right it will pull people in and then you've got a captive audience for your goods - and of course develop the online shop too. A few years back one of those 'paint your own pottery' type shops opened on our high street, I was convinced it wouldn't last, so many had come and gone before in the suburbs, but they included a really nice cafe and put that at the front & combined with always attractive window displays that you can 'see through' to people eating nice looking stuff... I've often been in, I'll never paint my own pottery but I can imagine many people going in for the cafe and deciding to book a pottery session.

 

[julieMD]

I am really torn about making the decision. My 'back up plan' if things went pear shaped was to work from home concentrating on the website and getting a second job as everyone has already suggested. BUT my passion and love is for having a Brick & Mortar shop. I love retail, I love meeting and talking to people, I love merchandising the store to look fab and changing the window displays to get peoples attention. I take pride in it all of it.... it is my passion. But I know that being passionate doesn't pay the bills. The business earns enough to cover the costs but not a wage for me. That suits me fine for now, I didn't start the business to make millions.

My sister owned a brilliant tearoom several years ago and had to sell because she was being treated for cancer and it took its toll on her. She has been clear for a about 5 years now is ready to start again. I know this would work but we need to find the right location. There are so any little tearooms with gift shops dotted around in the most unexpected places and they are always busy.

I spoke to my mentor who suggested I put in my notice to quit the lease regardless of what I decide so that if in a couple of months if I change my mind that I have the option to stay.

 

[DariusCool]

Amazon opening stores is nothing like what you are doing. Bricks and Mortor, when you have no USP, is not the way. Maybe if you were hand making them or were doing something unusual.
If you like retail id say it would be more interesting to buy a vehicle and kit it out and drive to different locations and events. That way you have an asset atleast which can be sold or adapted?
Those are the ideas you need.

 

[jimnotgym]

1) Could you go online only, or open a proper e-commerce store as suggested above
2) Re the lease, you have a break clause, have you spoken to your landlord? They might not want to lose a tenant so easily. Tell them you are probably going to break if nothing changes, maybe you could get a reduction or negotiate a new lease with a break in another 6 months rather than committing to a full 3 years? They are not going to want an empty property
3) If you stay there make sure your online offering is properly e-commerce as suggested above anyway. Niche shops need to be doing most of their business online, then the bricks and mortar store doubles as an office
4) Whatever you do make sure you keep your stock as low as possible, stock is where businesses like yours eat up their cash. 1k less stock is 1k in your bank!
5) If you love it and can afford to carry on, does it matter. Everyone needs a hobby?

 

[Pish_Pash]

Are your products unique?

if so, I'd runaway quickly from the B&M store & throw all your energies into online (incidentally your homepage should be your store...you've limited time to get people's attention...don't make them have to click on another link for your store)

That said, you've not presented any figures...turnover, gross profit, YOY growth etc.

How many products do you stock, how many of them sell well?

 

[jimnotgym]

Edit to above. I looked at your online store. I see it is built on go-daddy website builder. Did you do it yourself? It is very pretty and nicely merchandised. I would get rid of the home page like it is and get straight into selling however, it is easy with pages like that not to notice that there is a store. Whatever you take from this that is a nice online presence

 

[silvermusic]

Close the shop and concentrate on the website, together with eBay/Amazon if you don't already. seen far too many gift shops open only to close down months later. Unless you have a decent range of gifts and are in a tourist spot forget it. I work in a similar product area but I manufacture my own stock. Running it from home I make a good living. However, I know for sure that with the added expenses of a shop and all that entails it wouldn't be viable.

 

[Gecko001]

I really only go into gift shops at Christmas, but I do actually spend a lot of time doing my Christmas shopping and go into maybe 20 shops before getting all the presents. However, in recent years I have noticed that I just do not go into gift shops. I am not sure why this is. Probably because I expect to shop around these days for everything I buy.

I am afraid that is just a customer's view for what it is worth. I cannot give any advice on what you should do. If I was a web designer I would say you should get a better website (I have not looked at yours since the link has been removed from here) and that seems the obvious answer, but you would have to give up the face to face contact with customers that you like so much.

Having run my own business for years, I know how rewarding it can be despite the terrible challenges it can present at times. Best wishes with whatever you decide.

 

[julieMD]

I put in the notice to quit my lease and the landlord has asked if a reduced rent would make things easier. It is tempting to say yes, especially if I was to maintain until next year when the Business Rates changes come into force( I'd qualify for 100% relief instead of the 25% relief I get now).

Thanks to everyone who gave me any input. I have made the decision to close the shop and to really make the most of the online store. Thanks for the feedback about the website too, a lot of it has been very helpful.

I looked at your online store. I see it is built on go-daddy website builder. Did you do it yourself? It is very pretty and nicely merchandised.

Yes, I use go daddy for all our hosting and email, it is cheap(ish) cheerful and easy to use for me. I have a graphic design background so I modified one of their themes to suit my needs. It is basic but it lets me do everything I want to do at the moment.

Since I made the decision I feel like a weight has been lifted and I am actually more positive again.

 

[deniser]

I have made the decision to close the shop and to really make the most of the online store.

This is a very wise move. I have had two retail stores and multiple websites and although people do want to shop in person, there are not enough of them to make the shops viable on their own and they just constantly detract in time and effort from the online businesses which is where the real money is. For each hour spent with customers in the shop who may or may not buy anything there is so much you can do via online marketing and getting internet sales.

I wish you lots of luck for the future.

 

[Daniel Brownell]

Hi Julie,

Having read your post, I believe that although the idea of a cat and dog themed gift shop is a good one - it appears to be a niche not sufficiently popular in your area of operations.

So I would recommend that you do indeed adapt the business: change it's name and broaden its produce line while still retaining the locally sourced goods which will strengthen your ties to other businesses in the area. You could use this your advantage by asking the other businesses to recommend you to customers interested in purchasing a gift. Alternatively, you could arrange to have your business advertised in their shop windows while you have similar advertisements in your window on a quid pro quo basis.

After changing the name of the business, I would recommend an immediate advertising campaign to ensure that existing customers know that you're still in business and to increase sales from new customers. A good relationship and stable reputation with your customers is important to securing sales but special treatment for returning customers can ensure a steady flow of repeat purchases.
I imagine you have already considered this but gifts themed around public holidays and other celebrations (Christmas, Easter, St. Valentine's Day, etc.) can also boast sales. Discounts on wedding presents may also attract more customers, for example.
With time, there would be the opportunity to install a coffee shop and lounge area on the business premises in order to increase sales revenue and expose potential customers to your gift shop. At this point, I would recommend holding a free coffee morning for the local community to enjoy the re-branded shop. This would cost you but the long-lasting effects of introducing your business to customers in the area will be invaluable.

Helpfully some of this has been helpful. I understand that you have decided to move into a solely online enterprise and so my advice above is in the event that you decide to open physical premises back up again.

Kind Regards,
Daniel Brownell.