Sandygirl

I would WORK in a shop for 6 months to make sure that this is what you want to do. It is a huge investment of time, talent and treasure. (Investment). It is a retail business and you must have a working understanding of the day to day interaction with people, merchandising and stocking the store, etc. A previous post mentioned $100,000 in inventory....are you in a position to spend at least $50,000 to open the doors? You have to make a good first impression when you open your doors. Quilters want to see lots of inventory when they walk in.

Read lots of threads on this board to get the mind set of the consumer. Good. Bad. Ugly.....they all apply. Not trying to talk yourself out of this but really think it through and talk to shopowners. Not your local shops....call shops a few states away to see if they can be helpful.

research the demographics in your area. So....important! The info is found on City websites. Income, age stats, occupations, gender, etc.

Good luck and let us know how it is progressing.
sandy

tropit

Great thread...I'm glad that you brought this up, as I've been considering the very same thing. We're building a commercial building in town and if we don't get it rented out, I may open a store in one of the spaces. In my area, people are very environmentally conscious, so I would stock only organic fabrics, battings and thread, locally dyed yarns, beautiful, handmade gifts, vintage sewing machines, notions, etc. These are items that are hard to find online, would reflect the local interests and cater to the tourist trade. I would also off lots of free classes to get the locals interested in quilting, as well as top quilting instructors for paid seminars and retreats. I'd offer wine 'n quilt tours and have a host of B&Bs ready for tour groups.

Still, all that being said, I think it would be tough to stay in business, especially if I were depending on just the locals. The store would have to be a destination. An online presence would also be necessary. I'm already experienced in owning a retail establishment, but if you've never done that before, take some classes. It's very easy to lose a lot of money in the retail trade, especially now, with the economy still lagging. It will take lots of money, being very brave and the willingness to spend long hours in the store during the day and behind a desk in the evening. But, if it's your passion, go for it and never look back.

Good luck in your venture!

~ Cindy

Onebyone

I won't go back to a store that gives me the deer in the headlight look when I ask about a new quilt product. If you are going to have a store know what is new in the quilt world how it is used and why. Subscribe to the quilt trade magazine. Many quilters do and will expect you to do know what they do. My favorite is Fabshop News and American Quilt Retailer.

JenelTX

I live in Central Texas. Nearby, there's a small business development center that helps small business owners or people who are thinking of opening a small business. If I were you, I would see if you have something similar nearby, someone who can help you think of all of the questions you should be investigating at this time.

I buy most of my fabric online. In theory, I want to support our local quilt shop, but there are a couple of things that hold me back: One, their hours are pretty limited. For example, they're not open on Sundays. And two, and probably more importantly, the people who work there don't always seem excited about having customers. There have been times when I've waited five minutes while the employees finished a conversation with each other. I took a class there, and the employee who taught the class got annoyed when I didn't want to use my Gingher scissors to cut a piece of paper. Just weird little things that make me feel more like an imposition than a welcome customer. You should train your employees to ask quilters what they're working on, and to be excited about it.

When I do go to the quilt shop, I usually have a pattern in mind, so I'm looking for fabric. If I need red fabric, I want to see a wide variety of options. You'd probably need to stock lots different fabrics of each color. While traveling, I have impulsively bought precuts--jelly rolls, charm packs--and I imagine these are good moneymakers for the businesses. (I hope they are!) So it would be good to have some of them on hand.

It *is* possible to be very successful with a quilt shop, even today. Look at Missouri Star. They started as a small quilt shop and are doing amazing things. They opened in November 2008, according to their website, when the economy was at its lowest. This can be done. If I were to open a quilt shop today, I would plan on selling online, as well as in the store. Find as many different revenue streams as you can.

We went to North Carolina this summer, and I was surprise when I went into a few quilt shops and found only quilts for sale, but not fabric or thread or other sewing supplies and quilting accessories. I love that they sold quilts, but as a quilter, I wasn't interested in buying someone else's finished product. If I were you, I would cater to both types of customers, those who want to buy quilts, and those who want to make quilts. You could also do fun things like, "Featured Quilt of the Month," and have your customers send in pictures of their finished products, and then choose one to feature on your website or Facebook page.

Good luck, whatever you decide!

Geri B

I like the idea of library/shop workshop .....wish we had that here.....I would like to find regular workshops

luvstoquilt301

Listen to the latest podcast by Canadian Quilt Talk. She interviews a shop owner who is very successful and has great ideas. She uses social media alot.

Boston1954

You may want to check and see how far other shops are. Will folks feel the need to come to you? Back home in Massachusetts, there is a Dunkin Donuts every few miles. They are so close to each other, I wonder how they all stay in business.

patmadrid

Sometimes all it takes is getting customers in the door.

Quilting gets to be very expensive and most of us are looking for a bargain. We need to be able to stretch our dollars as far as possible.

So... maybe a daily big discounted item... or a corner for used quilting supplies or bulletin board for customers to offer their quilty items for sale....

Once you get them in the door.....they will look at all your other items.

IrishNY

I live in W-S, right on the edge of Clemmons. When I moved here 3.5 years ago, I was excited by the number of quilt shops but sadly disappointed after a while. The hours are very restricted, so if you work, it's hard to frequent them. The prices are high and the selection not terribly good at several. If you have the shop in your house, you could keep prices lower because of less overhead. I would suggest a strong online component too. I know someone in NY who has done that and she is doing quite well. I always visit her shop when I am near.

She also does LAQ. I'm not sure if there is anyone locally in NC that offers LAQ. I still have my done in NY since my DH still lives there and I am back feprequently. He will be moving this year and it would be great to find someone in NC.

So my answer is good selection, lower prices, evening hours and online presence. Please post if you decide to go ahead. I'll certainly come to shop.

tessagin

Here in Corpus Christi, we have a few nice LQSs. One is a sewing center. They specialize in machines and sewing classes. They are open a little later on some days and have late sewing classes (all nighters) and next weekend (Jan 31) they are having a "Tea". Don't remember what all is included but will provide all supplies and tea cups and having couple speakers and class demos. Eveyone will go home with a project. They have little material. Multitude of thread. ANother shop has multlitude of fabric but if you order a specific fabric (I wanted to order Sirens by Alexander Henry) sometimes they will tell you it's not the type that they sell. They ask that you use their machines for classes because that's what they know. And we have the big box, JAF & HANCOCKS. ALso 3 Walmart Superstores. Many of the specific rulers and templates have to be ordered. Most of the stores have the basic and a few specific. Some notions they've never heard of. I would ask a couple store owners that live in the next county or depending how close you live near the state line ask an owner in the next state. If you ask someone in your same town, I don't believe they would be very helpful. Some do not like competition. Good Luck on your decision.