Still dreaming....advice please

[Ihaveadream]

Hi all

After more months day dreaming about running my own shop (baby clothes) I have changed tack. I am now thinking a maternity and baby boutique, selling a range of essentail maternity wear and gifts as well as some baby wear and gifts. I thought of this idea as a shop has come up let in my local area which is right next to a local school and opposite our community centre where a pre-school is run from. The area I live in is ideal as it is quite an affluent area (if there is such a thing at the current climate) and there are plenty of expanding young families. I have however unfortunately realised that there is no way I will be able to afford to start a b&m shop up and am now thinking an online shop (initially).

In March my husband gets a bonus and I am planning on usng some of this to try and start up. As funds will be limited I am planning renting a website. I was wondering if anyone has any experience of doing this? Is it worthwhile and is the quality up to scratch - as I will be aiming at high end products I need a site that will look the part. Also ones I have looked into offer SEO in with the package, will this be enough (this is something I dont completely understand at the minute) to get my website noticed.

I will continue to work part time so things like mortgage, bills etc will not be effected if things go to plan.

I have some other questions which if you have time I would be great for any in put.

I am currently on a DMP and my credit is not the best - will this stop me from opening a business acc (not applying for a loan)?

I have heard that Business link can help with the costs of setting up websites, does anyone know of this is true?

Thanks for reading, and sorry if this doesn't make sense - typing from my sick bed!

Sharon (she will not give up, there must be a way)

 

[tony84]

It doesnt matter about your credit as such, your applying for a bank account so whilst you may not get an overdraft you should get a basic account.

As for getting stock, again you may not get it on credit and i doubt any new business would so that shouldnt be an issue.

As for the shop, i have never used any of the sites where you pay a monthly fee, I have always gone with the likes of prestashop etc. The reason being, i have access to everything, i can change things for SEO purposes etc. Also if the company who owns your shop goes under, you could lose everything.

But i think it has its benefits in starting off so it could be ideal for you.

 

[Oakleaf Studio UK]

An acquaintance of mine did very well selling exactly those things. Obviously times are not what they used to be so I can't imagine it will be easy for any new venture at this time no matter what field you choose, but it can still be done.

Your Website (Renting with included SEO etc)

SEO is such a broad, specialist field. I imagine you will get a 'Search Engine Friendly' site with a bit of thought to title and meta, and that will be about it. As with anything you get what you pay for. Some companies are investing hundreds of thousands in SEO alone.

Ecommerce Website

You could look to a company that does a deal whereby you pay a reduced set-up fee and then a monthly payment of £25-50 per month for a hosted solution. I know of a few companies that offer this (ourselves included).

 

[DPOM]

Hi There

Our service offers an online shop for £49.99 which includes unlimited support, unlimited updates, a new design every year and monthly SEO so customers can find you....

No contract either, so you have no commitment and can cancel anytime without penalty if worse came to worse...

loads more features too: www.RentAWebUK.com

 

[AceCream]

I would advise going with a 'rented' shop site such as volusion or bigcommerce (these are just two examples, ask around this forum and research properly into which one suits your needs best as you'll be contracted to them for a year or maybe more) instead of using something like magento etc. This is because from the sounds of it you don't want too much of a technical workload and also these sites put everything into one manageable pile rather than sorting it all yourself.

True you will not have as much detail and control as using your own independent site but I think it is good to get things going using an interface where it is all sorted for you and has 'arguably' more reliability- before I get demolished for that, what I mean is you have paid for online support to 'attempt' to sort out any problems.

Once the business is afloat maybe a year or two down the line you could move to an independent site with the money and experience to invest in it to expand the business and get more out of it.

 

[Hoojuan]

Hi,
I would like to say, i am a Chinese girl ,maybe you will say ,**** chinese,but i really like to tell you ,if you have a dream,you would try your best to do it.I also have a dream ,which to own a clothing shop,just now, i do a little, even i know there is a long way to go,but really hope you and me can make it. Friend, all the best.

 

[Ihaveadream]

Thanks for the advice guys.

It was actually you I was thinking of renting from RentAWebsite, but it will be at the beginning of next year. Going to try and visit Business Link to see get some advice in the mean time, just a bit scared of telling people my idea when I have no momey!!! But need to be prepared for I have the funds in place.

Hoojuan - would never say that, good luck with your venture too.

Just one thing. In the long term I would still like to have a b&m shop. Do you think by having a online shop first, I am doing it the wrong way round? What I mean is if I have an online prescence that is successful, what is a b&m going to add to that?

Thanks again x

 

[DPOM]

Thanks for the advice guys.

It was actually you I was thinking of renting from RentAWebsite, but it will be at the beginning of next year. Going to try and visit Business Link to see get some advice in the mean time, just a bit scared of telling people my idea when I have no momey!!! But need to be prepared for I have the funds in place.

Hoojuan - would never say that, good luck with your venture too.

Just one thing. In the long term I would still like to have a b&m shop. Do you think by having a online shop first, I am doing it the wrong way round? What I mean is if I have an online prescence that is successful, what is a b&m going to add to that?

Thanks again x

Hello, Thanks for thinking of us! We're here whenever you need us.

Don't worry about business link, they can be really helpful, i've worked with them over the years, you might aswell get as much out of them as you can while they are still here.

Good luck and all the best!

 

[Oakleaf Studio UK]

Hi,
I would like to say, i am a Chinese girl ,maybe you will say ,**** chinese.

The Chinese have such a great way of expressing themselves!

 

[Miranda]

Thanks for the advice guys.

It was actually you I was thinking of renting from RentAWebsite, but it will be at the beginning of next year. Going to try and visit Business Link to see get some advice in the mean time, just a bit scared of telling people my idea when I have no momey!!! But need to be prepared for I have the funds in place.

Hoojuan - would never say that, good luck with your venture too.

Just one thing. In the long term I would still like to have a b&m shop. Do you think by having a online shop first, I am doing it the wrong way round? What I mean is if I have an online prescence that is successful, what is a b&m going to add to that?

Thanks again x

We sell a few clothes as a sideline to our main business of nappies. The clothes don't really sell at all well on the website - the price is pitched similar to high street maybe a little more, but the quality (which the customers can't see or feel online) is superb. When we take the clothing to an event or show, we always sell loads of clothing because the cusotmers can see and feel it - much of it is sold as presents, so at an event the newborn/smallest sizes sell best, online it's the regular customers who buy, so online we sell more in 1-2 years + sizes.

 

[Miranda]

We sell a few clothes as a sideline to our main business of nappies. The clothes don't really sell at all well on the website - the price is pitched similar to high street maybe a little more, but the quality (which the customers can't see or feel online) is superb. When we take the clothing to an event or show, we always sell loads of clothing because the cusotmers can see and feel it - much of it is sold as presents, so at an event the newborn/smallest sizes sell best, online it's the regular customers who buy, so online we sell more in 1-2 years + sizes.

 

[Ihaveadream]

Thanks for that, I had been thinking lately about the fact that you can't 'feel' the products. I was also thinking about the fact that if I am wanting to sell maternity wear then ladies would want to try on before they buy. Oh I dont know what to do???? Still need to speak to Business Link for advice, although I am pretty sure that I wouldn't be eligible for any grants etc. I have been trying to think of a way of setting up a b&m shop which also has some sort of benefit to the community incorporated within it, to try and get social enterprise funding??? cant think tho.

 

[Miranda]

One type of shop that might work is a secondhand shop, there's one for good quality baby clothes and goods in my village, which, despite only having a sign on the side saying The Rocking Horse that appeared a while after they opened - and not saying what they actually DID on the outside so I never went in for months, seems to be doing OK> it was annoying, as one frequently finds oneself stopped outside the premises waiting for the lights to change, and as the windows are quite high up one can't see in properly from the lights!
From memory they charge to join a nominal fee - think it's £1, then there's a charge of 10p for ev ery item that you give to them to stock, and it's kept in stock for a couple of months or so and when it's sold I think you get 50:50 or so on the sale price, if not you get the item back.

 

[BrightIdeas]

I would imagine that many customers will want to try on the clothes first, unless it's a real bargain (e.g. bought on ebay or NCT sales) or it's a recognisable brand, where they can be confident about sizing etc and trust the quality of the clothing.

With a B&M shop and maternity clothes, I don't think there would be enough pregnant women in the local area to sufficiently support sales. But, if you could maybe combine it with a bump-to-baby-and-beyond product range, more customers would visit. But, there's a lot of competition. I think that basically you would need to do the opposite of what Mothercare does in terms of what you offer to customers.

With good SEO, perhaps a online would be a better way to go?