Islands for shopping centers: starting a business in retail trade. What is the most profitable way to trade? Choosing a profitable direction before starting a business What to trade in the city

We bet that you have ever visited a local bazaar or a collective farm market? Or maybe you dream of opening your own outlet there? And what? Warm, light and flies do not bite. You are your own boss - you want to trade, you want not. Full autonomy and independence from the employer. Moreover, the state can help you with this with money - in the amount of 58 thousand rubles. How? Read carefully!

the site has already written about . In this article, by popular demand from readers, we will give some useful tips and provide complete instructions on how to do this.

So, if you first decided to start working for yourself, then you are entitled to help from the state - a subsidy for Federal target program of employment of the population. Everyone who wants to start their own business, according to the program, is paid gratuitous financial assistance in the amount of 12 monthly unemployment benefits. In 2018, the financial assistance of the state to a start-up entrepreneur is 58 800 rubles. This first step on the way to its own market independence.

How can an entrepreneur get a subsidy to develop his own small business

To qualify for this subsidy, you must be official unemployed. For a period of at least a month. This requires registration at the local state Employment Center (CZN). During the unemployed month, reject all vacancies offered by the center. Let's make a reservation right away. Unfortunately, this instruction does not work for people who have violated the accounting rules of the employment center; having a criminal record; receiving an old-age pension; students at the university on a full-time basis; dismissed from the previous place of work by a court decision; completed business activities less than 6 months ago. The rest, as we say in Russia - "welcome to the club." In other words, in Russian - welcome, dear citizen!

Having solved all the formalities with the Center of Employment, you can begin to receive a subsidy. According to the federal program, in most regions, it is the EPC that is responsible for financial assistance to entrepreneurs.

To do this, you should contact the specialists of the center to find out what targeted assistance programs exist in the region, and what is needed to participate in them. You may have to pass a small test to identify entrepreneurial knowledge.

After clarification, as a rule, it is required to describe in detail your own project in a small business plan. This is where it comes second step to its own market independence. Yes Yes. In the business plan submitted to the Employment Center, you need to write about what the point of sale will be, assortment, promotion paths, expected profit and other details. If you can't do it yourself, knowledgeable intermediaries will put together a good plan for a small cost.

A business plan, an application for a desire to receive a subsidy and other documents must be submitted to the CZN. Where within 10 days, after consideration of the application, the final decision will be made. You may have to defend your own project before the city commission. If the decision is positive, you need to go to third step. Registration of an individual entrepreneur (you can do this automatically by clicking on the link) and opening a current account. The subsidy in the amount of 58 800 rubles.

This amount will be used to rent retail space at the local market and purchase the initial batch of goods.

How to organize correct and profitable trading in the local market

Of course, if the entrepreneur only took the first steps towards trading, then he was on the market only as a buyer. And he has his own idea of ​​market trading. Most often, the representations are somewhat erroneous or too ideal. The market, like any other trading establishment, functions according to the laws and established traditions.

1. More sellers - fewer buyers. Having made a purchase, we think - at a certain purchase price, how much does the seller earn if he serves 10 buyers in a day? What if there are 20 buyers? Stop. Unfortunately, we forget that the buying flow has its own ceiling. Demand is not rubber, an increase in the number of offers does not increase sales. Therefore, when deciding on an assortment, one should not stand in a row where all merchants have the same type of goods. It turns out that the number of buyers has not increased, but there are more offers. Who will be left without profit?

The market has not been operating for the first day, the number of sellers dealing with a similar assortment has self-balanced - the superfluous ones, with poor profit indicators, have changed their trading orientation. Do you want to follow their path?

To organize your own outlet, you need to think about the product range. Ideally, find something that is in demand, but not yet on the market.

2. Demand creates supply. Not vice versa. Everything is simple here. If the product does not "go" - it needs to be changed. No - I like it, so the buyers will like it. The one who will satisfy the buyer wins the market, and not his ambitions.

Pareto Principle: 20% of effort - give 80% of the result. That is, in relation to trade, 20% of the range brings 80% of the profit. You need to find those 20% and focus on them. Don't forget about the rest of the range. The buyer does not go to an empty shop.

3. Not a place makes a person beautiful. It defines the range of sales. The market has an entrance and a common trading area. Those who trade at the entrance can look forward to impulse selling. That is, a product with everyday demand and random demand. Food, groceries, household utensils and the like. In places that are not located on the aisle, namely, they are given to beginners (good places have long been occupied), such goods do not sell well. There you should sell what the buyer will come for - special, narrowly focused and characteristic goods. For example, a pavilion with yarn and fabrics; everything for anglers; cosmetics and more.

The main disadvantage of this approach is the need to constantly attract buyers. Advertising at the entrance, streamers, announcement on the local speakerphone - a prerequisite for successful trading.

4. Money loves an account. Starting your own business, you need to assess all possible risks. Goods without demand, rent increases, taxes are expenses independent of income. That is the first risk. Without compensatory capital, when the month can close in the "minus", it is not worth starting such a business. As a rule, such an amount should be enough for 3 months of the existence of an outlet without profit. That is, the payment of all risks should come from this reserve amount.

5. "First, taste you ...". The main mistake of all beginners is that they do not experience all the "charm" of trading, they immediately hire sellers. Thus, they completely lose control over demand, do not study all the subtleties, for example, the impact of location on sales. An employee works for wages. The owner is on point. That is, without trying yourself in trading, you can not draw conclusions about its success. It is better to do this with someone you trust (a friend or relative). But, not with hired workers.

How to start a successful trade in the collective farm market

Undoubtedly, a big plus is the help of the state for those who want to open their own business, choosing the most affordable - opening a retail outlet on the market. Subsidies, soft loans and other local programs depending on the region of residence remove the last barriers between unemployment and a person's financial independence. It remains the smallest thing - to increase this capital: rent a retail space, find a product range, attract buyers.

The key feature of the business at the opening of a retail outlet is that the seller works with market visitors, that is, he simplifies the consumption pattern as much as possible, other problems in the functioning of the premises are not his responsibility.

An acquaintance recently came to me for advice - what kind of business is best to start, where to start, what is the best way to trade, how much money can you start doing business with, etc.

You, he says, have already gained some experience and will be able to tell what is more profitable to do now.

Experience of working for yourself, of course, appeared in two years - a little experience in retail sales (at one point in time, my partner and I opened 2 small retail outlets and 2 retail stores, and the number of staff reached six. To date, we have sold 2 small retail outlets, and 2 stores were combined into one and moved to another location).

During this time, we sold everything: fresh flowers, DVDs with films, programs and games, blank media - DVD blanks, flash drives, batteries, light bulbs, and then a large assortment of electrics of 200 items , connection services to OPSOS, cell phones, chargers, batteries and other accessories for them, plumbing, photocopying services. They even sold children’s “coloring books.” This, of course, is not everything, but what I managed to remember offhand :)

I can’t consider myself a professional in the field of retail sales; on the contrary, the more I learn, the more I feel like a loser. However, I had already developed my view on most of the issues and problems that I had to solve. I tried to give my answers to these questions, they are subjective, but now these are the beliefs I have.

I divided our conversation into several semantic blocks and will slowly post them. If you want to jump right into practice and get an answer to the question “what to trade/what services to provide,” then immediately read about it in the article “ "(warning! There are no ready-made answers in this article, but it is highly recommended to read it, like all the articles in this series).

So, about my friend who came to me with a question “what is better to trade and what to do”.

The situation in which my friend finds himself is also interesting. He practically doesn’t work anywhere, but he is well off—he has food and housing, i.e. in principle, he can afford not to work at all. He just wants to do something so that he has money, and enjoys it, and so as not to have to go to work for his uncle. Overall, I was a little surprised.

- Tell me what you want.

“I want to do exactly what is profitable now, what works best now!”

- But this is never known in advance. Look, we moved one retail outlet just 200 meters to the side, and revenue increased 10 times - everything is the same as it was, only the location was changed. Well, i.e. In the “old” place it was completely unprofitable to deal with this product, but in the new one, you see, some prospects loomed... That is. How can we say for sure what is the best way to trade?

- Well, tell me, what are you trading now? Is it profitable to do this?

“Well, I’m telling you, no matter what I tell you, it won’t help you at all!” Do you think it's all about “what to trade”? Now I think that this is the last thing you should bother with. Especially if you just want to get started. Don't take your attempt to start too seriously and expect super mega success. Most likely this won't happen. This is training and gaining experience, and your task is to minimize the cost of this training. The training, I must say, is very interesting. Those. It’s not a sin to spend money on such training, but if there is an opportunity to reduce its cost, then take advantage of it.

- Well, you say so... If you immediately set yourself up for the fact that “it won’t work out,” then what’s the point of taking on it? Wasting time and money?

- Well, in general, yes. You need to answer yourself the question - how important is this for you, how much do you reject possible failure.

If you decide to work for yourself, i.e. in some way become an entrepreneur (which, in general, is not always the same thing), then in your activities you will more than once change not only the product you will sell, but also the location of your stores, and the form of organization, and key employees etc.. You will have several projects (areas of activity, product groups), some of them will be profitable, and some will be unprofitable. There will be mistakes in your activities, which are an integral part of any development, any purposeful activity. The word “entrepreneur” comes from the word “to undertake” - i.e. you will constantly have to move, be on the lookout, ideally a little ahead of the others, and this is impossible without some kind of risk, even a very small one.

If you mean to engage in any activity that will be guaranteed to generate profit, then put the money in a bank deposit. Bank interest is a profit for those who want guarantees.

If you are planning to engage in entrepreneurial activity, then there are only probabilities and opportunities. And if you want some kind of universal formula that will guarantee success in your very first business project, then I don’t know one. Maybe it does exist.

- Well, damn it, but if you take a retail space in a walk-through place in the city center and bring clothes - is it really possible to fly by? In the center, right? Clothes, I see, they take them everywhere, at any price. It seems to me that the days have already passed when people looked at the price of clothes. Do you remember how it used to be - even the expressions were “they got a new coat” - it was a whole event, and such clothes were worn for years. And now, every year people buy something new for themselves. It’s the same with shoes - they’ve been worn for a year, fashion has changed - you need to buy new ones. Clothes and shoes are now bought almost as often as bread. It seems to me that this is a win-win option...

- Well, this is already very close to my point of view that it is better to start with traditional options tested by others. Personally, I like Chichvarkin’s entrepreneurial concept - “if someone is selling something somewhere, then stand next to it and sell it cheaper.”

The more traditional the business you start with, the better - you will get better at it and learn to see the opportunities that will allow you to stand out among your competitors.

However, I am skeptical about the idea of ​​​​certain “guaranteed” scenarios - such as “in the center”, “a hot commodity that will definitely always be taken.” Everything is interconnected - the closer to the center, the more expensive the rent. The more expensive the rent, the higher your prices, and so on. All gears in this mechanism are interconnected.

- How about this thought? You know, they say that you should go into business only if you have some kind of unique idea that has not yet been implemented by anyone, some kind of revolutionary product. Maybe I shouldn't do business until I come up with something innovative, some unique product?

- Here I categorically disagree. In my opinion, the concept “we need to offer some new, revolutionary product” is wrong. At least you don't need to start there. Build at least one stable trading system in a traditional business, and you will not have a shortage of innovative ideas. You will see such a field of activity and development options that you will have something to make money on even without any revolutionary products, if you are not lazy.

Or maybe, indeed, over time you will come up with a successful innovative idea about a unique product, which you, having experience in entrepreneurial activity, will be able to competently and effectively implement. This is exactly the situation when the seeds fall on fertile, prepared soil. But one innovative idea is not enough - if you cannot implement it, you will be completely disappointed in business. You need to at least practice a little in working with these business mechanisms: sales, purchasing, relationships with partners, relationships with staff, reporting and accounting.

Do you know how many potential “brilliant businessmen” have not even reached the stage of obtaining a certificate of state registration of an individual entrepreneur? It's so difficult! I know several of them.

This applies not only to registration, but to any “technical” aspects of doing business. When you own technology, it will be easier for you to evaluate “innovative” products from the point of view of... a businessman.

Yes, precisely from the point of view of a businessman. From time to time people appear who have come up with another “unique product” that may be truly unique, but... on which you cannot make money. You should not be misled by the revolutionary nature of the product; this alone is not enough to make a profit from business.

Previously, the show “Capital” was broadcast on TNT, in which various people came with their innovative products, who were looking for investors among the famous capitalists of our country. 90% of “innovators” stalled and broke down when asked by potential investors “tell me how I can make money using your product?”

- Listen, I still don’t understand what should I trade? It still makes a difference what to trade - shoes or medicines, food or clothes?

- Let's do it this way. I'll speak for myself. Look, since I believe that it doesn’t matter where to start or what to trade, then start with what you like best. That's all. This will be my advice to you. If you like clothes, start making clothes; if you like household chemicals, learn to sell them. It's your business. The main thing here, in my opinion, is to master business technologies - sales, purchasing, etc.

And vice versa - a successful entrepreneur can make money from almost everything he undertakes. And if it doesn’t work out, then this is not a reason to stop doing business - one more project - one less project. Therefore, it is strategically more profitable to “upgrade” yourself than the product. It doesn’t matter what you are going to trade, your chances of success depend on it very little.

Figuratively speaking, before making scientific discoveries, at least learn to read and write - this is the basis.

This is my opinion, use it as you wish.

The main conclusion of this article:

For retail sales, choosing WHAT to trade is not as important as WHERE to trade. In a good place, almost EVERYTHING will sell well. And vice versa, if the location is bad, then you will have to experiment with the assortment and specialization of the store.

With the advent of huge self-service supermarkets, even in the most run-down towns and villages, trading at the market has ceased to bring good income, but buyers only go there for a certain category of goods. As practice shows, some goods can be purchased here for a much lower price and are also of high quality. Find out what is profitable to trade on the market in this article.

What goods are profitable to trade on the market?

1. Meat, lard, offal. Residents of villages and villages who themselves raise pork and beef come to the market to sell such goods, so its quality remains high, which cannot be said about the meat that is presented on supermarket shelves. In addition, it is mandatory to be checked by regulatory authorities, so you should not be afraid of poisoning.
2. For those who are interested in what products are profitable to trade at a spontaneous market, the answer is seasonal vegetables, fruits and berries. Of course, it is tempting to buy a peach in the supermarket in winter, but you must remember that the various chemicals and pesticides that are used to treat them are responsible for its safety. Seasonal ones, grown in the beds of local residents, do not have these disadvantages, and their price, as a rule, is not high, because the owners do not need to spend money on transportation.
3. Household chemicals, all kinds of fertilizers, insect killers, paint and varnish products, etc. They are always in good demand, and the weather does not affect their safety in any way, so this is an excellent option for those who are thinking about what is profitable to trade on the market in winter.
4. Various hosiery, underwear, knitwear. The cost of such goods, as a rule, is low, so it is not profitable to sell them in covered pavilions, where all the profit will be “eaten up” by rent. In addition, women most often go to boutiques to buy expensive lingerie, but they buy inexpensive lingerie at spontaneous markets.
5. Those who are wondering whether it is profitable to trade in clothing on the market should answer that this is not the best option for. First of all, there is no place to try on clothes, as a result of which the seller loses half of his potential clients. It is very important here to study the demand, understand exactly what items of clothing people need and present them in this particular market.
6. Household goods such as window thermometers, extension cords, flashlights, etc. They are always in price and there is always a demand for them.

Before investing your money, energy and time in a business, any aspiring businessman asks this important question. How to occupy exactly that market niche where there will simultaneously be good demand for its products and a sufficient number of solvent consumers. Every new entrepreneur dreams of this, but these dreams come true very rarely and, more often than not, remain dreams. And the reason for this is the most common - competitors.

Competition was exactly what we dreamed of during the Soviet Union, when there was a shortage of goods. Today, if someone has found a profitable industry that is not occupied by anyone, they will find out about it almost immediately. And tomorrow there will already be two or three entrepreneurs in this industry, who will begin to multiply at the speed of mushrooms after rain. And in a short time this niche will be filled with militant competitors.

There is, of course, a better situation, provided that somewhere in a large state organization your uncle works as a director, who, out of family feelings, will transfer orders for services and the purchase of goods only to you. And since this is only your uncle, there will be no competitors. But this is fraught with an article about monopolism and corruption in state enterprises. Therefore, it is better to consider the ideal version of a competitive market with the condition that in this industry there are simultaneously a large number of approximately identical competing entrepreneurs and enterprises that use similar technologies or sell a similar range of goods.

All market niches today seem occupied and fully filled. But in fact, no, due to the fact that the market is steadily growing and developing, technologies and products are changing, and the demand for them is changing. Because of this, new product industries arise, quickly filling with the most active and competitive entrepreneurs. And also those who simply happened to be in the right place at the right time.

And now a few examples of how you can and should use the uneven development of the market, and how to take advantage of the changing situation in order to gain a local advantage over competitors in conditions of a crowded product niche.

Once upon a time in the distant past, there were no cockroach pencils in Russia. And there were countless cockroaches in the houses. One commercial organization learned that this miracle remedy can already be found on sale in China. And this same company entered into an agreement for the supply of a huge amount of goods. The first batches were snapped up like hot cakes for several months, despite the fact that prices were two to three times higher than the purchase price.

Then, when other companies found out about this after some time and also began to import pencils from cockroaches to Russia, along with the amount of profit, prices also fell. A year later, this product was no different from an ordinary commercial one, and there was the same markup of 20-30% of the purchase price.

Or another situation from the relatively recent past. A good communicator, the Palm Treo 650, was released in the USA. For some time it was the best. But progress does not stand still. They began to produce more advanced communicators. But the Palm Treo650 still continued to be in demand because it was a very successful model. In this regard, it was released in a very large batch.

In one year, this communicator managed to become the best-selling communicator in the States. Then, of course, the fashion for it ended and it became outdated. But there was a significant remainder of the batch left on the market. And the change in fashion has not yet reached Russia. And there were enterprising people who figured it out, did the math, and began shipping containers of these communicators to our markets. For comparison: once the United States recognized this model as obsolete, its purchase price was reduced and amounted to $100-120. In our country, the Palm Treo650 cost $350-400 as a new product. This went on for over a year. Several large companies, seeing this situation, also decided to make money and began to import these communicators in very large quantities.

And the boom ended. Since there was a surplus of goods on the market, the price quite naturally fell. Just at that time, the cost of newer models began to decrease in our market.

Therefore, in order to really make money, you need to constantly look for different options for earning money, new products and services.

Now let’s see what goods and services are in demand now.

As elsewhere, you can choose here. For example, the market for everyday products. Every day or quite regularly people buy bread, potatoes, kefir, cereals, sugar, salt and other products. But since these goods are constantly needed, there are very, very many manufacturers of this assortment, so you can’t count on the profitability of this trade. In order to have more than competitors and always have demand for your products, you need to constantly introduce some new technologies that will reduce the cost of goods, or count on large sales volumes. Here we can no longer talk about small and medium-sized businesses, since we will have to create large supermarkets, shopping centers and chains.

There is another option - to look for completely new products and services. You will be the only one on the market, and for some time you will be able to work without competition. If we talk about a product that can be quickly found and is suitable for any region, then these are constantly changing fashionable styles of clothing and shoe models.

Designers and marketers work to create such products every year. If you already have a sale of clothes and shoes, you can contact suppliers of popular fashion brands in your price category, and every season delight your customers with an assortment of new collections. All this will be in demand, but only for a certain time.

Then competitors will learn about the profitability of your enterprise and begin to import and sell similar models. Demand and margins will inevitably fall. Therefore, take care in advance about purchasing new models that are relevant for the next season, and buyers will always come to you.

It is also necessary to take into account that constantly evolving progress can not only create new business lines and market niches, but also destroy old ones. More recently, the sale of cassettes for cassette recorders was widespread. It was very profitable. But then the development of technology stepped forward, laser discs appeared, and cassette recorders became obsolete and disappeared from production. Cassettes are no longer needed by anyone.

Or let's look at another similar industry. Every year our market is massively replenished with new mobile phones, laptops and netbooks, tablets, electronic gadgets and other equipment.

The batteries for these devices wear out faster than the device itself deteriorates or becomes obsolete. Therefore, many entrepreneurs have managed to arrange supplies of batteries and other spare small items and accessories for electronic equipment directly from Chinese or Taiwanese manufacturers. They help people and don’t forget their profits - everyone is happy. Or they buy from the largest online stores known all over the world, for example, ebay.com. There you can purchase spare parts and various components for existing equipment much cheaper than from the supplier of this equipment itself.

The scheme is very simple. The communicator supplier purchases batteries from the direct battery manufacturer and adds its own markup to them. Then the equipment supplier makes purchases of electronics along with spare parts, brings them to its warehouse and once again makes a markup for delivery and separately for storing the equipment in the warehouse. And at an online auction you can buy batteries directly from the manufacturer. It is clear that in this case you save a lot of money, which also increases depending on the quantity of goods in the delivered batches.

Modern means of communication and delivery make it possible to receive the ordered goods quickly and easily. And there is always effective demand for it, constantly increasing with the acquisition of equipment

Here a logical question arises about whether a novice businessman should do everything the same as those who already have many clients, large sales volumes, turnover and good income. The answer may be simple: if someone came up with and created a successful business, then this someone is a smart person. This means that the same business can only be reproduced if for some reason the enterprise is closed, or it can be set up in another, less busy place. For example, there was a certain company that successfully worked in the clothing market in one city. You are from another city. We arrived and got acquainted with the assortment, how to find suppliers and clients. In your city today there is no such product and such trade. And you copied this type of business and moved it to your city. In this case, the option will be successful.

The likelihood of success will become even higher, and you will be especially pleased if you manage not only to do everything the same, but to bring in some of your own ideas - new and original. But at the same time, it is necessary to realize that any undertaking in the market is primarily a commercial risk, and not just profits and opportunities. And the more profitable the business, the greater the risk for the businessman.