Fashion business is one of the trendy business spheres from which a significant number of Nigerians have carved out remarkable success. With the impressive rate at which Nigerians demand fashionable items and accessories, we can safely assert that boutique business will continually thrive in the country.
Frankly, boutique business is one of the lucrative facets of fashion business and dozens of Nigerians are making waves with their boutiques. Although it is a profitable venture, boutique business isn’t something you can take up without first mastering its nitty-gritty.
Therefore in this article, you’ll be guided on how to start a boutique business in Nigeria and make reasonable business success in the long run.
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Conduct a Market Survey
Carrying out a survey on the local boutique sphere is the best way you can gain insightful information about the boutique business. On the one hand, a market survey lets you find out the level of competition among the boutique owners in your locality. This survey, on the other hand, will provide you with adequate knowledge of the ins and outs of boutique business as well as the strategies that bring about long-term business success.
Make a Choice of Business Niche
It’s irrefutably important that you thoroughly decide on the kind of boutique business that interests you. While some boutique businesses are gender-specific, several others specialize in both men’s and women’s wear. Therefore, you have to decide on the target market you would like to cater to.
Write a Business Plan
The essence of a business plan cannot be overemphasized especially for businesses expected to yield long-term success. Specifically, your business plan should spell out your proposed capital, how you expect to generate the capital, the marketing strategy to be adopted, the needed business inputs and the projected business success over a given period of operation.
Generate Capital for Your Proposed Boutique
Boutique business isn’t a venture you can start without first having set aside a considerable sum of money. In fact, some experts say you’ll need to put up at least #2 million if you really want a standard boutique business for yourself.
So, there’s the onus of generating sufficient capital probably by obtaining loans from financial institutions.
Acquire a Suitable Business Space
After acquiring funds considered enough to get your boutique business off the ground, the next thing is to get a suitable business space. Importantly, the business space is where your boutique will be located. So, endeavour to choose an urbanized area with a high concentration of traffic.
Meanwhile, the location you’re opting for should be an open area that can easily attract the attention of passers-by.
Register Your Business
Registering your business with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) is one of the official requisites for setting up businesses such as companies, organizations, firms, sales outlets, etc., in Nigeria. Also, the registration avails you the possibility of branding your boutique business so that customers can easily distinguish it from competitors’.
Furnish Your Boutique
Practically, a well-furnished Nigerian boutique should have glimmering fluorescent lights, exquisitely decked racks (for shoes, bags and other wares), eye-catching furniture and comely overall ambience.
One way you can give your boutique some inviting ambience is to consider high-quality interior and exterior designs. While you should equip your boutique with air conditioners, you should also consider giving it a transparent entrance made of glass coverings. This way, on-lookers or passers-by can clearly sight your lovely wares even before entering your boutique.
Stock Your Boutique
At this point, you’re expected to purchase such supplies as bags, jewelry, belts, shoes, shirts, etc., that you wish to sell. Importantly, you should connect with the distributors, suppliers and/or producers of these supplies in your locality.
Do well to connect with several suppliers or distributors rather than sticking with a single supplier. Doing this avails you the benefit of easily getting various supplies as the items customers demand in the dry season will be different from what they’ll expect from you in the rainy season.
Hire Staff
If you’re not extremely serious about cutting costs (probably by being the only person managing the boutique), it’s advisable that you hire a number of experienced persons. Given that you wish to have a fairly sizeable boutique, hiring workers becomes indispensable.
In the instance that you aren’t hiring experienced persons, you should be ready to train your employees in the areas of marketing, sales negotiation, customer relations, etc.
Promote Your Boutique Business
Promoting your boutique business means expanding its visibility so that your wares can attract people’s attention. In addition to the conventional advertising run on radio, TV and newspapers, you should use social media in promoting your boutique business.
Conclusion
Boutique business is obviously one of the flourishing ventures in the fashion sphere. If you dream of making success as a boutique owner, note that sufficient capital will only get the business off the ground while effective business strategies are the key ingredients for long-term success.
