Show us what you selling

Well retail is cyclical, right? I worked with clients in retail before, and it seems like Black Friday through Christmas is where they made the bulk of their sales. Do you have a plan for how you’re going to approach the holidays, or are you just winging it? This is literally the time of year people come in looking to spend money. There’s a reason why bookstores sell all sorts of $20 crap that isn’t books, and I would make sure you’ve got good gift material in your store.

Also-- side note-- if you’re going to run a business, you have to at least learn how to use a period between sentences. I know it’s Reddit, but it comes off as really unprofessional and makes you look like you don’t know what you’re doing.

I could help with social media management and content. Your not on Pinterest? If not, I could help build a presence for you there. Anything in fashion, pinterest is a must.

Is it a brick and mortar store? Or e-commerce? What’s your unique selling proposition to stand out in the retail clothing market?

Youre not failing. The economy is.

If you started off so strong and it tapered then fix whatever is wrong with your shopping experience

Word of mouth should mean increased sales over time if the offer is good and experience good

Advertise more and start selling items online to diversify your income.

I’m sure you already know this, but a large amount of clothing stores and boutiques are owned by rich people (particularly, their kids or wives) and they do it so they can have something fun to spend their time on and say they own a boutique, as it sounds cool and impressive.

So you’re already competing with people who don’t have to make any profit.

So, what do you do? I know a few owners and they have had success through

1. Being really good at thrifting and spending their time taking trips across the country and loading up on thrift finds and their good fashion sense.

2. A boutique does a lot of selling online through all the various online platforms for resale.

3. Store operates as a quasi event space that can be rented out.

4. Focus on weddings and sell other clothes as the lesser focus (particularly, for men, as there less ‘good’ options for men out there and many many options for women). Men and their partners care about looking good for their wedding. There is a market to be tapped.

Most of my experience is around thrift and boutique, I’m not sure what your space is. It’s a really tough market.

If you need some cash, try hosting some art popups. You get money for the booth fee and new people come through your store. Check with someone in your area who runs pop ups or markets to get the ball rolling!

Without knowing some basics it’s difficult to give advice.

• How much is your monthly rent
• How much is monthly payroll?
• How many square feet of space is your shop?
• Are you in a shopping district, a mall, a stand alone shop?
• How much is your average monthly sales revenue?
• How much revenue is tied up in inventory?
• How many different SKU’s do you carry?
• What type of retail competition is in the immediate area?
• what are you business hours?

Part of being an entrepreneur is being gritty, doing what it takes to make it and pivoting when you need to. Probably a million ways to cut costs, improve your cash flow and cash position. But how would I know without a p&l or cash flow statement in front of me. But there are also a million ways to drive business in the door or open sale channels (online, wholesale etc) Food for thought

I am a small business owner that runs a Furniture Retail Store for 7 years now.

I think every small business owner needs to know basics about the following:

• Social media marketing
• Design skills on things like Canva
• Local SEO
• Google ads
• Website Optimisation
• Getting customer reviews and testimonials
• Email marketing

I spend alot of time doing this monthly. The more time I get to spend on these, the more I revenue is in that month. As soon I get caught up in operations, these things get neglected and we see it in our sales.

Often we small businesses are too small to work with agencies. I have worked with a few that are cheaper and they just don’t spend the time getting to know our business to make a difference. So I decided to skill myself in these things, marketing is the life blood of business.

I’m sorry to hear that you’re feeling this way about your business. It can be helpful to take a step back and analyze the factors contributing to this feeling.

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Consider seeking advice from business professionals, conducting a thorough review of your business strategies, and exploring opportunities for improvement. If possible, consult with mentors or industry experts who may provide valuable insights. Remember that setbacks are a common part of business, and they often present opportunities for learning and growth.

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Yeah October is definitely slow, people will start to X-Mas shop from about now, can you hold up until after January to see how the Christmas and January sales go? Also are you selling online? Remember your market online is global. Promote online and even stick a link to your business on here, I’m sure that there are people reading this post that will be Christmas shopping for family, and rather help someone independent out.

It is hard to say without having access to data such as monthly sales volumes and income and balance sheet statements to prepare financial analysis.