Business Opportunity

tuxedo

Hi Guys,

I was driving through my a very busy street in my city today and a To Let sign caught my eye. There is a very small shop to rent on a Short/Long Term Lease with very flexible conditions. The shop is only 12ft x 13ft with full window frontage, but has not water points inside or toilet facilities. I would still have to pay water rates and the owner is currently finding out the costs to introducing a water point.

The rent is very good and the owner is willing to neg on any offer provided.

Has anybody any ideas what could work here in such a small shop?? My background is retail sales and i would be willing to consider any idea.

Thanks,

Dave

delllat

tuxedo wrote: »

Hi Guys,

I was driving through my a very busy street in my city today and a To Let sign caught my eye. There is a very small shop to rent on a Short/Long Term Lease with very flexible conditions. The shop is only 12ft x 13ft with full window frontage, but has not water points inside or toilet facilities. I would still have to pay water rates and the owner is currently finding out the costs to introducing a water point.

The rent is very good and the owner is willing to neg on any offer provided.

Has anybody any ideas what could work here in such a small shop?? My background is retail sales and i would be willing to consider any idea.

Thanks,

Dave

I thought every shop had to have at least a staff toilet!

a shop that size could have many good uses,anything that dont need much space for stock would be good,

mobile phone repairs+laptop repairs

ticketmaster kiosk

fruit+veg maybe

shoe repair+keys cut etc

DubTony

156 sq.ft. without a toilet? FFS my shops toilet is bigger than that.

SUBWAY franchise. Everyone else around here seems to be opening one of those these days.

sorry

tuxedo

Ya i know the shop is tiny so it eliminates an awful lot of business.

I couldn't do anything like subway, coffee shops etc as there is no water supply.

The city is full of established key cutting, shoe repair and mobile repair companies, goog ideas tho!!

Any other thoughts??

betonit

internet hub (cant call it cafe). Just a few terminals, coin operated with a drinks vending machine?

also a phot printer, and sell small items like usb sticks, memory cards etc

tuxedo

Yeah i was thinking a internet 'hub' at the start but a friend of mine questioned the fact that would running costs be its downfall?? At the most you could only charge €1 an hour?? Having somebody there to man it too?? I don't think it would be profitable in such a small place, maybe a bigger premises??

delllat

tuxedo wrote: »

Yeah i was thinking a internet 'hub' at the start but a friend of mine questioned the fact that would running costs be its downfall?? At the most you could only charge €1 an hour?? Having somebody there to man it too?? I don't think it would be profitable in such a small place, maybe a bigger premises??

it could be coin operated so that would do away with the need for staff,and btw the going rate appears to be €2 per hour thesedays in city centre anyway

The Minstrel

maybe a shop selling dirty mags

betonit

regardless what you have indoors somewhere its going to need to be manned, so the drinks vending machine, photo printer, selling tech bits & pieces may increase your turnover along with the few terminals

tuxedo

delllat wrote: »

it could be coin operated so that would do away with the need for staff,and btw the going rate appears to be €2 per hour thesedays in city centre anyway

Would a coin operated store not get alot of unwanted characters about and make it intimidating?? Just a thought...

Has anyone any experience of these?? Good or bad??

If i had a coin operated shop how could people get printouts etc?? Or purchase usb sticks, memory cards etc??

delllat

tuxedo wrote: »

Would a coin operated store not get alot of unwanted characters about and make it intimidating?? Just a thought...

Has anyone any experience of these?? Good or bad??

If i had a coin operated shop how could people get printouts etc?? Or purchase usb sticks, memory cards etc??

im not in favour of coin operated businesses,it was just a cheaper suggestion to your staffing problem

you "could" sell usb sticks and mem cards from a vending machine as well,it isnt done here but theres no reason why any low value item couldnt be vended from a machine

if this was germany or any other efficient law abiding place any coin operated system would probably do well but in eire it would more than likely be vandalised to bits without any staff , maybe even with staff!

you would have people pouring drinks into your keyboards etc just for entertainment

graffiti artists tagging your screens etc

beggars,junkies and homeless people might make the place their own and leave paying customers afraid to go near it


i would go with a staffed shop/kiosk for sure ,if possible like a ticketmaster or something simple to run like a prepacked sandwich shop stocked from a third party

how many washer/dryer machines could you fit in there?launderette?

delllat

The Minstrel wrote: »

maybe a shop selling dirty mags

do people still buy dirty mags since the internet was invented?

MB74

A shop that size nearly needs to be a specialty shop. Or if it's close to a school then it sounds perfect for a small sweet shop!!! Kids have more money than anyone else these days.

tuxedo

Yeah a sweet shop is a great idea... No school directly near it but i like the idea of it... Quick & easy to fill with stock, inexpensive and not alot of money tied up in it if it goes bellyup, its easy to change the shop or pack it in and move on...

Thanks

D.W

What about selling bottles of water and toilet paper?:)
Your advertising slogan could go like " Just Because We Don't Have it-Doesn't Mean You Can't!"

delllat

You could maximise the space by sealing it off and selling through a hatch or window ,like that place that used to sell the donuts oconnell st or theres another place on the quays that sells coffee and pizza slices like that

tuxedo

delllat wrote: »

You could maximise the space by sealing it off and selling through a hatch or window ,like that place that used to sell the donuts oconnell st or theres another place on the quays that sells coffee and pizza slices like that

Fantastic idea considering space it very small and it could work extremely well... My only problem is that water is my problem!! The shop doesn't have any!! :pac:

I think i'd have to really look for something different and find something that isn't in the city i'm in... I seen on a thread somewhere that there isn't a good mens shoe shop where i am, and this is true, every shop is mixed with womens and of course the likes of river island but none of these have a great full range...

But i think the shop could be too small but something to think about for a new location....

EKRIUQ

I know a men's clothes shop similar in size and no facilities it's just off a main street but has plenty of footfall.
The owner uses the public toilets and it's being established a couple of years and seems to be do ok.

tuxedo

EKRIUQ wrote: »

I know a men's clothes show similar in size and no facilities it's just off a main street but has plenty of footfall.
The owner uses the public toilets and it's being established a couple of years and seems to be do ok.

Hi,

Yeah somebody suggested a men's shoe shop, but stock storage is an issue!!

Dave

MagicMarker

An ice cream parlour?

A barbers?

Or you could just it as an office and become a solicitor.;)

tuxedo

Hi Guys,

I've got some great views on my idea, and i've been in touch with loads of different suppliers from all sorts of backgrounds so i'll be talking further with these to make the maths work and see if my ideas become viable!!

Thanks Again,

Tux

gags89

hmm set up an online store and use the space for people to pick up their orders??

supplement store?

kissing booth?

touristy kiosk where they can book activities?

accessories store(necklances,bracelets,headbands etc)

customised t-shirt printer

maan its hard without water!



best of luck!

tuxedo

gags89 wrote: »

hmm set up an online store and use the space for people to pick up their orders??

supplement store?

kissing booth?

touristy kiosk where they can book activities?

accessories store(necklances,bracelets,headbands etc)

customised t-shirt printer

maan its hard without water!



best of luck!

Yeah is very hard to figure something out wthout a water supply!! I'm still racking my head to try find the best outcome as this store is in a good location!!

delllat

tuxedo wrote: »

Yeah is very hard to figure something out wthout a water supply!! I'm still racking my head to try find the best outcome as this store is in a good location!!

is it so hard to get water into a building ?

do the neighbours on either side have water?

could you figure out a deal with them to tap into their water supply?maybe give them a discount or free coffee etc


couldnt you just bring in a few 5 gallon drums of water every morning?either from your house or borrow from one of the aforementioned neighbours

niceirishfella

delllat wrote: »

is it so hard to get water into a building ?

do the neighbours on either side have water?

could you figure out a deal with them to tap into their water supply?maybe give them a discount or free coffee etc


couldnt you just bring in a few 5 gallon drums of water every morning?either from your house or borrow from one of the aforementioned neighbours

yeah, but what happens when you want to have a Turkish and you have no jacks!:eek:

delllat

niceirishfella wrote: »

yeah, but what happens when you want to have a Turkish and you have no jacks!:eek:

an extra 5 gallon container perhaps? :rolleyes:

niceirishfella

Nice! LOL

delllat

if hes prepared to use the public toilets like he suggested earlier it just might work out ok
he could serve sandwiches in bags and coffee in paper/foam cups
that would eliminate dishwashing,

buying premade prewrapped from another company may eliminate having to have a hygienic food preparation area?

making the sandwiches at home would be a better/cheaper idea if he could be arsed??

id say the sandwich and coffee industry has been hit hard though by tightcnuts savers making their own sandwiches so making them available for about €2.50-€3.00 would be good or €4.00 with free coffee?

tuxedo

What about disposal of the leftover coffee/tea etc?? Into a bucket/container of some sort??

I've tried to get in touch with some prepacked sandwich suppliers and still haven't got replies!! :mad:

Can i make sandwiches from home & sell in a shop?? Wouldn't i need to be HACCP Approved??

€1 for good quality tea/coffee will generate massive interest and also a tasty sandwich at a good price!!

delllat wrote: »

if hes prepared to use the public toilets like he
suggested earlier it just might work out ok
he could serve sandwiches in bags and coffee in paper/foam cups
that would eliminate dishwashing,

buying premade prewrapped from another company may eliminate having to have a hygienic food preparation area?

making the sandwiches at home would be a better/cheaper idea if he could be arsed??

id say the sandwich and coffee industry has been hit hard though by tightcnuts savers making their own sandwiches so making them available for about €2.50-€3.00 would be good or €4.00 with free coffee?