My own little Laden

Dear All,
I am around a year old in Munich and intend to stay for a quite some while. I want to open a little store-one that sells neither necessities nor useless odds n ends. Something in between these two - lovely things from around the world that serve a purpose more than just being pretty. Does anyone have a store of their own who can advise me? Other than shop rent and business license, what are the things I should work on? Every vague or concrete tip is welcome as am only just starting with my dream..

If you use the search function (upper right corner) you will find that the topic has already been discussed on TT many a time. Here's one such thread: Opening a small business as a non-EU foreigner. Good luck!

Am I the only one who pictured a mini Osama Bin Laden when reading the "my own little Laden" subject line?

I did play with words there...:-) thats what i thought when i first learnt the word!

I had shops in the UK. In an ideal world you want/need lots of "foot traffic" - people walking by, but on the other side this usually means much higher rent.

However if you take a secondary location you CAN still makes things work - but only if you have products that people need to come to you for (so specialist) and of course whatever you save on rent, means you might need to then spend on advertising. Internet site can help - but not from the sound of your product sector.

So on balance I would take a better, more expensive location - but ensure you have a good break clause on the lease so you can escape after say 6 months if things dont go as planned. I have a good friend going bankrupt in the UK over a shop she opened with a partner (also going bankrupt). So ensure you get a break clause AND ensure you set up as Ltd or Gmbh so you can run away if it goes wrong.

Also you don't need a big shop at first - keep it small - keep the overheads low - and you can always store extra stock at home or in a garage etc.

hey! how about i name it "The Laden- just not that one!"

"The Laden Bin"

Strapline: "More 7-11 than 9-11"

that would get her media coverage and thus free advertising!

What JE said is very wise. I’m afraid I think it would be even wiser not to do it at all. I see so many shops opening and closing again within a year in Munich, and I don’t think it’s because they have already earned enough to retire on.

Well you should stock up on refuse containers of many shapes and sizes and call it...

The Bin Laden!

Sorry.

Three tips:
1) Choose a good location and invest a lot of time thinking about what this means in practice.
2) Choose a good location and invest a lot of time thinking about what this means in practice.
3) Choose a good location and invest a lot of time thinking about what this means in practice.

Good luck.

As with all new business, it is much easier and IMHO wiser just to budget for how much you are gonna lose. Seriously.

I just calculate how much to start, how much to run, worst possible sales until I have as close as possible worked how much it is gonna lose me when
it goes bust in 6-12 months. I never budget to actually make money - only losses.

I like internet businesses 'cos you can start them with almost no money at all. If they start to fly then you run with them. If they start to limp
then you just chop them loose. Sometimes they limp due to lack of love because something else is flying - that is also fine - your time is a commodity
like cash, so direct it where you get the best return.

My top tip:

Test market your "Bin Laden" products on Ebay first. Ebay is a really TOUGH marketplace but also an education. If you make sales and a little profit
selling them on Ebay then they will probably do fine in the shops.

But if you say to me "No, I cannot sell them on ebay because because because" then the alarm bells are ringing. If people don't want them on Ebay then
they just don't want them period. Of course in a shop you may hope to make a better margin than on Ebay, but you are also gonna be paying
a lot more (rent/rates/heat/time) to get them in the door.

In fact quite frankly - just become an ebayer. If you cannot find something to market and sell on Ebay then you are not cut out for being a shopkeeper.

that makes perfect sense!will definately try that first!

I don't want to discourage you, but you need to be a whole lot more specific about what you want to sell or this will fail. Once you know what you want to sell, have a good look round to see who is already selling it. There are lots of small specialist shops all around the city. If no one is selling it then you need to work out where you buy it from, and whether there are any restrictions that apply - especially the safety restrictions. Then decide who is likely to buy, and where to rent the space.

It is much better to find out that there is no market or too much competition or no way to source your product before you spend too much money. It isn't difficult but it is a hard slog. I wish you luck, but please do things in the right order.