If your idea is for a retail business of some kind, you have probably given it a lot of thought and you have either seen or have had some experience in the kind of store you want. Perhaps you have even drawn pictures of how you envision the floor plan and exterior to be. That’s good because you need those thoughts; but on the practical side of getting started, you need to start planning and prepare to spend some money.

1. Is your concept sound, and have you done any market research to see if there is a need for your kind of store? If you can afford to pay the pretty steep price, you may want to contact a market research firm and ask them to find out where small business opportunities exist in your area. They will do extensive research on consumer preferences and population studies and present you with a very detailed report. However, if that is not a realistic option, you'll have to gather information yourself. We suggest that you do a personal survey, with a clipboard and some survey sheets in hand. Ask people and businesses if they would buy your product. Further, ask them if they have any ideas for a product or service. Remember...you're looking for opportunities, no matter how small they appear. Quite possibly you will discover a 'niche' which isn't being served by the bigger companies.

Another good source is your local newspaper. Also look at magazines devoted to business, like Fortune, Forbes, Business Week, or any of the business periodicals in your library. What you are looking for is social and cultural trends; it will probably be tough getting used to reading in this way, but here is where you will find the biggest opportunities to get in on the 'ground floor'. Some examples:

• Electronic age. The Internet is the newest 'thing'. Many business owners, however, don't understand the Internet, don't have time to learn it, and lack the in-house expertise to take full advantage of it's potential. Opportunities: web site developer, graphic arts, and desktop publishing.
• Baby Boomers. The Baby Boom generation is getting ready to enter the retirement years. Not only is this a very large group of people, but they also have a lot of money to spend on leisure activities! Opportunities: travel services, vacation services, recreation, entertainment, gardening services.
• Company lay-offs. Due to economic reasons, big companies are forced to lay employees off in order to stay competitive. But the work that these employees did still needs to be done. Opportunities: janitorial services, secretarial services, copying and printing services, accounting functions, public relations services, and maintenance services.

2. Is your product one which can be obtained now? If so, you may want to take it around to various places to see if people like it and would use it. 3M Corporation used this technique in the development of it's now legendary Post-It notes. They had no idea whether this little pad of sticky paper would be useful to people, so they simply sent them out to offices, free of charge. Pretty soon, they started getting calls from these offices inquiring as to where they could get more. 3M knew then that there was a demand for this product.

3. Once you have determined that there may be a market for your product, go to your local library business reference desk and get the names of Retail Trade Associations that serve the interests of your kind of business. In practically every specialty field there are trade associations who have all kinds of information about pricing, marketing and inventory systems. Be sure to join the Trade Association that serves your industry. Contact them to find out what information they have. Spend some time reading the news letters they send out.

If you need to find the Trade Associations associated with your industry, check out the Trade Association section of Yahoo! or use your favorite Search Engine (like Altavista) and search on "Trade Associations".

4. Location is everything for a retail business. You cannot be successful if you try to get second best or save money here. Select your location carefully according to the needs of your market, another good reason for conducting a thorough market test. You may want to hire a location expert to find and negotiate the perfect spot for your business.

5. Contact your suppliers. You need to do this well in advance of signing the lease for your location. Be sure to have in writing their terms, minimum orders, shipping schedules, etc. They will generally work with you and help you get ready to open.

6. As you can see there are some major expenses to incur before you ever open the doors. Our suggestion is that you write out a business plan before you go much further in your endeavor. In it you need to list all of these expenses and to project expenses for your first two years. You can find a business plan outline at your local SBA office, or call them and they will send it to you. There are also resources available on-line...check the tutorial at the Small Business Administration, or samples at Jian or Silicon Valley SBDC or Business First; or use your favorite Search Engine again (like AltaVista) and search on "Business Plan". Finally, there is Business Plan software available which will guide you through the process of writing a very professional business plan. Some common examples are BizPlan Builder and Business Plan Pro and Plan Maker and Plan Write. (Note: we don't endorse any of these; they simply represent a good sampling of what's out there.)

If you are going to need financing before you get started, the business plan will become part of your financial package, so it needs to be done properly. We suggest that you contact the SBA desk of your bank and discuss these requirements with them.

7. Determine if there is a franchise program that will offer you the same challenge and the same retail experience you are anticipating. Owning a franchises is an excellent way to begin in business, since much of the up-front work is done by the franchisor. If you choose this route, we have the expertise and the contacts to assist you in finding exactly the right franchise. Click here to learn more about this exciting opportunity.

8. We strongly recommend at this point that you take the Personality Profiler and Carland Entrepreneurship Index. The Personality Profiler will tell you whether you have the right personality and attitude to sell your ideas effectively, or whether you should remain the "brains behind the scene" who hires the right people to do the interface work. How well you interface with buyers, brokers, producers, customers, and suppliers will ultimately determine your success or failure in this business endeavor. If you have partners or associates, have them take the tests as well, so you can determine who has the best personality match for interfacing with people in this highly competitive industry. Business personality is probably the most under emphasized aspect of starting a business, yet without question one of the most important.

The Carland Entrepreneurship Index will show you what level of entrepreneur you are...should you start a very small enterprise, or are your capabilities more geared to competing with Microsoft? The Carland will tell you.

We offer these two tests, and we provide you with all the interpretations and recommendations you need to make the crucial decision facing you at this point. Click here if you want to learn more about the importance of business personality.

9. There are many specific questions that cannot be answered here. If you have a question, e-mail it to us (biztest@biztest.com) and we will attempt to answer it for you.

10. We have also prepared a more general listing of things you will need to consider when starting a new business. Just click here!

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