Threadless Loves Polos Design Contest

Check out my Polo Design for Threadless's Love Polo Design Contest!

If you love it, head over to Threadless to vote for my Caged Plane. If they print it, you can then buy it and wear it like a rockstar!  I'll also win $2500!  That money will go right into my shop fund.  It will bring me $2500 closer to opening my own indie gift shop.  Oh I have all of my fingers and toes crossed for this one!

Entrepreneurial Dreams...Spinning in Circles

As I mentioned in some previous posts, I am in the process of writing my business plan for the indie gift shop I dream of opening.  I have had moments of pure elation and excitement realizing that I can turn my dream into my reality, but I have also had moments of feeling defeat, apprehension, and fear.
 After I had finished up my Cash Flow Projection, I had a dizzying amount of numbers and totals to analyze. I used the totals to help me figure out my "Break Even Point", which is basically the amount you need to make monthly in order to pay off all of your bills..  I think that I did it correctly, and my break even point was roughly $4700 give or take $100.
That breaks down to $157/day of sales that I need to hit to break even.
Now, that's not a whole lot to expect to make in a day, however I know that retail is unpredictable.  There might be some days where one person goes into a gift shop, and you make zilch, zippo, nada.  So is it possible to make $314 in a day to make up for an extreme down day?  You cannot know. 
This is something that I have been struggling with.  I expect to be successful, and I have so much faith in what my shop will be, however you cannot predict that people are going to go shopping on any given day.
So this dilemma has led me to another dilemma:  LOCATION and RENT.
I have quite a big list for my location, as this is a HUGE key in getting the customers that you want, and thus getting the sales you need.
Here's a small idea of what my ideal location includes:
WALKABLE
HIGH FOOT TRAFFIC
COFFEE SHOPS
NO STRIP MALLS
BUILDINGS WITH CHARACTER
1200-1400sq feet
DOWNTOWN
So the dilemma is this:  the better the location, the higher the rent and the higher the rent the higher your bills and the higher your bills the more you need to make in a day to break even.
ALSO, if you pay more rent for a place that already has high foot traffic, and other area shops that people come to, then you can get away with paying less for advertising as some of it has already been done for you.  If you pay less rent for a place that is less visible to the public then you are going to need to pay more for advertising and basically cancel out what you saved in rent.
So I keep spinning in circles as I continue writing my plan and trying to figure out if I can do this, do it well, and do it successfully.
But even with all of my apprehension and fear of the unknown, I just have a feeling that I need to do this.  It's a gut instinct that is telling me that this is going to work.
I will keep you posted as I continue forward! 

Taste Test Tuesday Wishlist Edition

My wishlist for awesome gift shop items:

Love Robots by Monkeyminddesign09

Map Handbag by SkyTurtle

Wearable Planter by Colleenjordan

Mini Journal by inblue

Star Wars TShirt by MisNopalesArt

Coffee Cozie by KnotWorkshop

Octopus Plushie by JanyeDanger

Pirate Owl by MyLittleFeather

Plushie Deer by OutlawHeartCreations

Ceramic Mug by Sewzinski

Bunting Clutch by theonutmegtree

Mary Jane Cupcake Shoes by EmandSprout

Topographical Tie by ToyBreaker

Camera Straps by
IvyandA

by TheJollyTog

by TheHoneyHutch

Jackalope! by Crochette

Faux Succulent Garden Necklace by Woodandbelle

Entrepreneurial Dreams

So the wheels have been set to motion, the cogs are moving and my dream of owning my very own gift boutique is starting to take shape!  I met up with the local SCORE Chapter of Fort Worth and I am putting together my business plan, and am starting to figure out my start-up costs!

Needless to say, I am so super excited, motivated, and just plain overjoyed to be working toward this huge goal in my life.

Now, this is not going to happen overnight.  I'm shooting for an opening in 2 years so that I have time to plan everything out.  And by plan everything, I mean everything.  You need to take every single detail into consideration, right down to what type of floors you want to have.  I expect to be searching for the actual store location, and the loans this time next year.  This will give me time to really work out my vision for the shop, and make sure that I have all my ducks in a row before I commit to such a huge undertaking. 

Today I was just poking around for some display inspiration...here is what caught my eye:

 Image Credits: Click on each picture to be taken to the source page

A Postcard Wheel?  HOW COOL!

I LOVE the colors here.  So unique, and so much character!

 

 The colors, the setup, the kitsch...LOVE:

Oh LOVE the texture.  There are only two actual display pieces, but you are drawn to look because of all of the awesome cascading fabric...and the colors, do I even need to say more? <3

OMG...Holidays and owning your own gift shop...bring it!

Oh buntings...love buntings:

No words needed for this green awesomeness:

Oh, honeycomb!  YES YES YES!

I don't know how this would work for my shop, but whatever, it's awesome!

I adore these 3D Box shelves...and the items in them!

I love the idea of a whole wall of products, so that I can have more open space on the floor.  I am not a fan of clutter and crowding:

Skylights, dangling leaves...perfection:

 

There is a lot to plan, consider, and think about.  It is an overwhelming amount of work that is going to go into this business venture, but I am so excited and determined to have my very own shop.

I'll keep you all posted with my baby steps in shop ownership!