setting up a card / gift shop

[kirsty000]

Hi Im wanting to set up a car and gift shop and Im just wanting to know if anyone has a card and gift shop how they raised the money to set up, was it your money or did you get grants from anywhere.Thanks

[m8internet]

You are very unlikely to obtain any grants for such a business new start
However, depending on where you are in the UK and the age of the owner(s) you may be eligible

Personally, there are far too many hoops to jump through to get grants and assistance from your local enterprise company, so I dumped them all

I attended my local enterprise start-up workshops for a week
It was free as I was "unemployed" and claiming benefits at the time
One of the people doing a presentation was interested in my business idea and I ended up working for them for a few months, which gave me more insight into this field
Other presentations were made by other local business people and the Manager from a bank

This experience was helpful for knowing what exactly a bank wants in terms of a Business Plan and cashflow forecasts

One of the other people to attend had setup a gallery hire shop, and I couldn't see how they were going to make any money
They seemed more interested in getting planning permission for a sign outside their shop than actually running their business!

After all this I just went to my bank with my proposal
Sadly their Business Accounts Manager was really difficult to get in contact with, so I went to another bank I use
They asked me to wait 10 minutes and they created my business account within the hour, as I had already brought all the required proof of address and ID
I also had to submit a Business Plan to their central Business Accounts Manager, but at least contacting them was very easy
He responded later that week, having reviewed my Business Plan and also commented that it was one of the easiest to comprehend he had seen in some time
He asked what I was after, and I said I was only after banking facilities only at this stage
Turned out he was expecting me to be applying for a loan and overdraft facility
He phones me once every 6 months just to make sure everything is running as expected
At our last conversation was the shift from cash and cheques to PayPal and other online payments, and he is trying to get me revised banking charges as a result of that
The main problem is I was banking locally once or twice a week, so the bank charges were about £5.00 a week, but with online payments this has dramatically increased, even with lower transaction charges

You might also want to consider the governments loan guarantee scheme
This is also administered by your local enterprise company
The main advantage is the lower interest rate over a bank loan, but the criteria is quite strict
You need to fund at least 50% of scheme yourself, the maximum loan is 50%

Once you are up and running you can also consider employment schemes
This pays up to 50% of the minimum wage, however again the criteria is quite strict
The disadvantage is you are taking unemployed people, you must spend time training them, and they may have no interest in your business, however if you find the right person this may be advantageous in the long-term

[retailworld]

Excellent post from m8.

As said, you are unlikely to get a grant for opening a shop. However, dependent on your age and circumstances you may be able to find a grant scheme you're able to apply for.

The best way to secure finance would possibly be with friends/family, and failing that to find a bank. Just be prepared with a good business plan, including profit/loss and trading forecasts.

Why do you want to open a card & gift shop? Whats competition is around you? Its a tough market!