How to Open a Convenience Store — Ultimate guide

Business Plan & Strategy

Opening any store requires significant effort and financial cost, so you just need to be able to clearly plan each of your steps. To make your job easier, use a business plan or financial model. They exist to make the process of developing your business as easy as possible. With their help, you can effectively simulate hypothetical situations, including financial ones, calculate the percentage of profit for a certain amount of investment and derive the arithmetic average. This is necessary to fully understand the nature of the work of this field, as well as dynamic and productive growth.

To open your own store, you need to register your person as a private entrepreneur. To do this you need to collect all the necessary documents and go to the tax office. Now you will pay taxes to the state. This is a very difficult process, you will have to go to many instances and collect various documents that you have not heard about before, but it is a prerequisite for starting your business. Without this, you simply won’t get the right to do your business.

Naming

Many people mistakenly believe that a convenience store cannot have a bright and original name. You can change that and break all the stereotypes. Come up with an authentic and loud-sounding name that will immediately let the customer know that in your store he/she will definitely find everything he/she needs. You can express yourself however you want, but if you have no imagination, you can find a specialist who will help you find a suitable name. In addition to the name, you will need a logo. This is very difficult, because it is very challenging to create an image that will be in harmony with the name and emphasize its strengths. You will have to put a lot of effort or find someone to help you solve this issue.

Staff Search

Responsible and punctual workers are your direct way to success, because it is very important to be able to trust your business to reliable people. Of course, you will need a wide range of specialists, from the sales assistant, cashier and cleaner, to the accountant. The field of sales is very relevant in today’s world, so it is better to hire a person who already has some experience in this industry and understands the basics. You can find the right people through an agency or a job ad, there are special sites for this. Give preference to candidates who are polite, have good communication skills, and have the ability to make clients feel welcome.

Supplier search

Every entrepreneur who has chosen sales as his sphere of activity needs to look for suppliers of products. In today’s market it is quite difficult, the choice is too great, but we do not know about the quality. This question should be approached with great responsibility and caution.

First, the supplier must have a good base and preferably positive feedback from other people.

Secondly, he must have documents certifying the high quality of products and other necessary information. As for the price, you can negotiate in person so that you are satisfied with everything.

Nothing prevents you from finding several suppliers for different types of goods, but it is not very profitable from a financial point of view. It may take you years to find your ideal supplier.

Assortment of goods

It’s time to think about what the assortment in your store will consist of.

First of all, it should be food, fresh fruits and vegetables, greens, groceries, bakery products, sausages and other gastronomy.

Household chemicals and personal care products are also very important. In general, you should have everything that can be useful for home use or use in food.

People usually prefer the simplest and most necessary products, so you don’t have to look for exotic and super expensive products, because the most common items are always in high demand.

Try to diversify all categories of goods, so that each has its own characteristics and high demand among the population. But most importantly, always take care of quality and freshness, because the health of your customers and their well-being create the foundation for your reputation.

Compliance with sanitary norms

For grocery stores are made quite stringent requirements, which relate not only to the quality and freshness of products, but also the serviceability of equipment and cleanliness of the premises. Firstly, there must be water in the premises, i.e. piping.

The rooms must be ventilated. Damp cleaning must also be performed regularly. Goods must be stored under all necessary conditions, at a certain temperature and humidity, taking into account the shelf life. There should also be a sanitization of the room and the warehouse from rodents, cockroaches, fungi, damp and mold, which are harmful to the goods.

Food stores must have isolated and specially equipped premises for the preparation of goods for sale or additional space in the warehouse for this purpose. Stores should have amenity rooms: sanitary units for employees, dressing rooms, showers, eating rooms, etc.

All rooms must be kept clean and thoroughly cleaned daily: wet sweeping and washing floors, wiping dust, removing cobwebs, wiping windows, doors and panels. For the routine cleaning of the premises during the store’s work, the lunch break time is used primarily.

At the end of store operations, all areas must be thoroughly cleaned and left overnight only in complete sanitary order. When in direct contact with meat or other products, every worker must use gloves.

Store employees must observe personal hygiene as well as undergo regular medical examinations.

Advertisement

To expand your business and customer base, you need advertising. First of all, you need to use the tools of mass influence on people, i.e. social networks. Post information about your store on your personal profile or website, talk more about everything and wait for feedback. Flyers and signs can also be used as advertising. Large chain stores have their own website, if you want, you can also follow their example. Today there is a profession of marketing, which is designed specifically to advertise and promote brands and products. If you find a qualified specialist, you will have a high chance of success.

Specials and promotions

In order to attract as many customers as possible, you need to hold regular promotions on your products. You can also create a system for accumulating bonuses so that customers receive a percentage of each purchase into their bonus account. This is very convenient and profitable.

Try to constantly delight people with variety and a wide range of products, without making the prices too high. By showing your customers you respect and care about them, you increase your chances of success. This is a subtle psychological technique; people like to feel important and respected, so you should do everything you can to make everyone feel superior and comfortable.

Be sincere in your aspirations, not just chasing profits, customers can sense when they want to cash in on them. We wish you prosperity and success and that you never forget that real success is not only about money, but also about love and recognition of people, and this is much more pleasant, because living with the thought that you have made someone’s day better is very pleasant.