Converting Your Online Interior Design Business Into a Storefront

Let’s say you have an online interior design business. On your website, you’re able to communicate with clients on design concepts, give them guidance on home improvements, and even make in-home visits to help them with decluttering. You pride yourself on your business because you do a little of everything and have helped lots of people but it still isn’t enough for you.

You’re very proud of the success you’ve had online but something is still missing… you feel like there’s still so much more you can do with your business. So what’s the next move you can make? The only logical thing to do is to take your online business to the streets!

What to Consider Before Opening a Physical Store

Coming to the decision of opening a physical store can be overwhelmingly exciting but it’s very important to not jump the gun. You definitely need to do your research and weigh out the pros and cons of such a large conversion.

Pros of Opening a Physical Store

There’s a Lot Less Competition

You have to think about it. How many online businesses are there in the world? Millions. Now, we can’t forget the fact that your online business has had quite the success but even with that, just imagine how much more successful your business can be with a physical store in conjunction with an online store… the success possibilities are limitless!

Consumer Awareness Will Certainly Increase

For this aspect, you’ll want to pick a highly trafficked area to set up shop. How many times have you rode past a construction site and built up anticipation wondering what was going to be built? I think everyone has whether you choose to admit it or not.

If you build your interior design business from the ground up, you’re going to need to rent cost-effective pickup trucks during the entire construction process of building your store, put up signs with your company name and logo on it saying “coming soon,” and hire a crew of workers to build your store.

Once people driving by see all the commotion in the area, it will definitely spark their interest to see what your business is about once you’re ready to open.

Your Product Be More Tangible to Customers

According to the California Institute of Technology, customers tend to pay more for items they can actually touch. The same can be said for seeing things in person too. Now, that’s not speaking against online shopping, but there are people who don’t shop online because they can’t see or touch the actual product.

There are Great Marketing Opportunities for Physical Stores

For one, your store will have a big sign in front of your store to draw attention to it but there are also other opportunities to get your business out there. If you’re new to the physical world of retail, your interior design business can get major exposure by setting up exhibits at expos. This can work wonders for not only your storefront but it can also work wonders for your online store as well! The networking possibilities can definitely drum in more business for you.

The Cons of Opening a Physical Store

Laying out the cons of opening a physical store is not meant to discourage you or deter you from doing it… it’s more so to give you a realistic of what to expect, and from there, you can make your own decision on whether or not it’s the best route for you to take your business down.

More Added Expenses

When it comes to comparing your online store to having a physical store the financial differences are like day and night. To have a physical store, you’re going to have to pay for utilities, insurance, permits and licenses, staff, and furniture… expenses you don’t have to worry about with online stores.

Locked Down to a Physical Location

With your online store, you could pretty much work anywhere remotely but now that you’ll be owning a physical store, you will more than likely be spending a lot of time there trying to get everything up and running; because of that you want to relocate to an area closer to where your business will physically be.

Do What’s Best for You

There’s clearly a lot more that will be required of you when you convert your online store into a physical but these are just a few things for you to consider. Before you make such a big decision like this just make sure you take the time to really think about the decision you want your business to go in and thoroughly weigh out the pros and cons of it all.

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