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Intro
You're finally deciding to take a step toward opening your new bead store. Before
you do, please read some of the helpful tips below. Find why you should make Czechbeads.com
your number one source for wholesale beads.
Good planning = Better success
As with almost everything you do, planning your business can be the most important
contributor to success. It can help save many of the frustrations that encompass
starting a business, not to mention saving you time and money. We recommend getting
to know the industry, discover trends, and most importantly know your local customer
base.
There are a handful of very experienced people around the country who can help.
Barry Kahn of Caravan Beads teaches a seminar about starting a bead store. Many
of our customers who have taken his course have found it beneficial to further understanding
the industry and raise awareness of their supplier choices. See a quick overview
of some of the topics that Barry covers including: advertising, inventory, employees,
and the abundance of decisions that you the owner must make.
Link: http://www.caravanbeads.com/pages_f/beadstorestartup.html
Whether or not you decide to seek advice from an industry expert, be sure that you
take the time do your research. We have had a number of new startups call us for
inventory recommendations on a shoestring budget. After speaking with them it was
apparent that they will be paying more rent for their store than for their initial
inventory, and that there was very little planning involved.
What can Czechbeads.com offer?
We want to help you succeed so that we can do business for the long term. Our goal
is to provide you not only with excellent service but also with an outstanding product
and selection of Czech beads. When starting a new store choosing your inventory
can be a daunting task especially when you are unfamiliar with the current trends.
Let us take some of the burden off; due to our industry experience many customers
have asked us to put together initial orders for them. Allowing us to select your
order has many advantages:
- You can focus on starting your business; let
us worry about Czech bead inventory.
- We are aware of the general trends and hot colors.
- You will get items that have a higher inventory
turn; we want your continued business.
Choosing your product lines
We recommend the basic colors in fire polish to start. Fire polish along with seed
beads has become the staple of the industry. Customers seek out birthstone colors
for many designs. Try to avoid color duplication in the same style items for higher
inventory turn. For example, our Silver/Crystal cathedral beads look very similar
to the Silver/Light Sapphire. Most customers will buy on overall looks rather than
specific color shades. Then select pressed beads to compliment the fire polish selection.
Try purchase similar colors or colors that go well together with the fire polish
when selecting the pressed beads. Remember that crystal and jet are the fundamental
colors of beading; be sure to keep good stock of these colors. You will also want
unique styles and colors that keep your customers in awe and coming back for more.
Lastly, choose some hand made beads that customers will use to accent their designs.
Depending on the size of your budget the proportion of fire polish, pressed, and
handmade beads varies.
A commonly asked question: Do you carry Swarovski beads? Although we do not carry
Swarovski beads, we do carry a good selection of Czech crystal. Many consumers cannot
distinguish Swarovski and Czech crystal but demand the brand name. Stores that plan
to carry Swarovski crystal will typically not carrying Czech machine cut crystal
as part of their initial inventory to avoid duplication.
How much should you spend?
In order to get a wide selection of Czech beads, we recommend an initial investment
of about $5,000. This will get you started with an inventory of beads that customers
regularly use and allow you to accent with some special or more unique shapes, colors,
and finishes. We carry a variety of the general birthstone colors in the most popular
bead styles along with thousands of unique styles to give your store that special
touch. Once you�re established you will find other, more unique bead styles to offer
your customers. Give us a call @ 888-683-2323 for more recommendations and to find
out about our new startup bead store specials.
As an entrepreneur myself, I know first hand how many nights and weekends it takes
to build a business. If it were not for our vendors who guided us and provided us
with excellent quality products, our customers who gave us the inspiration and trust,
and our hard working staff; we would not be here today. Please let us provide you
with the high quality service and products that we received during our critical
first years.
Why Czechbeads.com?
- Quality
- Service
- Convenience
- Selection
- Price
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