- Original Poster
- #1
We opened our shop on 22nd November 2008 ....... exactly 3 years ago today. I can't quite believe how fast the time has gone or how much things have changed since we first wrote our business plan - 3 different levels of VAT, the dramatic downturn in the economy generally, a couple of major suppliers we used in the beginning have gone out of business, our average spend per customer has decreased from around £18 to just over £9.
During that time we've learned alot, made some mistakes, and had a few successes but still have a long way to go before we get to where we would like to be.
I thought that by the time we hit the 3 year anniversary we would be in a position to take a reasonable salary (we're nowhere near) and hoped that we might be able to take someone on to help run the shop (no chance).
On the plus side, we haven't had to increase our borrowing to stay afloat, we are able to pay our overheads and suppliers and have increased our range of stock quite considerably. We are becoming known locally for having a good stock of knitting yarns which sell really well - knitting has become much more popular than we had anticipated it would but not many shops stock a good range at the moment so this has been a great way to get new customers in.
Our art & craft classes do well, and the growing trend for handmade and unusual goodies is great for us - we now have 61 artists and crafters selling their handmade goods through our shop so we are able to offer customers things that they really can't find anywhere else.
The big question I suppose is ...... had we known a recession was looming would we have opened the shop in the first place? Probably not ......... but I'm glad we did!!!!
During that time we've learned alot, made some mistakes, and had a few successes but still have a long way to go before we get to where we would like to be.
I thought that by the time we hit the 3 year anniversary we would be in a position to take a reasonable salary (we're nowhere near) and hoped that we might be able to take someone on to help run the shop (no chance).
On the plus side, we haven't had to increase our borrowing to stay afloat, we are able to pay our overheads and suppliers and have increased our range of stock quite considerably. We are becoming known locally for having a good stock of knitting yarns which sell really well - knitting has become much more popular than we had anticipated it would but not many shops stock a good range at the moment so this has been a great way to get new customers in.
Our art & craft classes do well, and the growing trend for handmade and unusual goodies is great for us - we now have 61 artists and crafters selling their handmade goods through our shop so we are able to offer customers things that they really can't find anywhere else.
The big question I suppose is ...... had we known a recession was looming would we have opened the shop in the first place? Probably not ......... but I'm glad we did!!!!
How very dare you!
