Small business in australia

Question

i want to open a small business, nothing from home, no franchise stores. I need a unique funky modern idea. our town is a country town so but it has all the main shops etc but i would just like some ideas please. Any ideas will be appreciated, thanks

Answer 1

what are your hobbies, interests and skills?

would you rather import and sell, onsell from Australian companies or manufacture goods?

do you have a starting budget in mind?

Answer 2

Keep your business mainstream rather than too innovative. My experience in business in a country town is that way out ideas don't attract much business. Country people are more traditionalist than city people generally. There is less money and customers in a country town compared to a city and whilst this is an obvious thing, needs to be emphasised.

Why don't you do a survey and see what the locals feel is missing? If you are going into business to make money, forget about doing what you think is a good idea and find out what your potential customers need.  

My sister opened an art gallery and gift shop in a country town. Her friends all encouraged her and said they would buy from her. In the end she learnt that her friends didn't really want her to know how much they spent on gifts for friends. They generally only came in when she had a sale.  

In a country town, people mostly spend on essentials and when they do buy non essentials only spend relatively small amounts. In the country towns where I have retail experience, the more affluent people have tended to purchase their non essentials and big ticket items out of town.

Having said that, does your town have a mobile cafe to service the industrial part of town, local events, sports events etc? Mobile cafe's can do a great business if you are regular and provide the food and drinks people want.

Answer 3

It really depends how "country" your town is.  I lived on the Sunshine Coast for a long time and even there businesses would close as quick as they opened because people just don't have money to spend on frivolities (unfortunately happened to a few friends).  

Just have a really good think about the population in your area and what people have to spend.  The only question you have to ask yourself is "what do the people here want?".  Is it funky shower curtains or cheap horse feed?  Cheap horse feed may not be your dream - but it may be the moneymaker.  Is there a tourist trade coming through - what would they need from your neck of the woods?  Is want you want to sell something you could also sell online to increase profits?  Analyse what it will realisitically cost per week for you to exist (rent, electricity, phone, etc) and ask yourself if you can realistically take that amount of money plus some.  And most importantly - always have something that sells for $1!!  Even if it's something completely unrelated to the rest of your store.  Good luck with it all!!  As long as you're realistic you should be fine.

Answer 4

What sort of business are you looking at, what are your skills or qualifications, what interests you, People who answer this will need something to work on to give ideas?