Almost all of the bead stores we have helped start up are still open and doing well. Some, however, have closed, and since 2006 many bead stores have seen sales plateau or even drop. Here is some cautionary advice if you are considering going into the retail bead business.
1) Population is critical. The smaller your local population, the more challenging it will be to earn a living from your beadstore . Your local population (within a 20 to 30 minute drive) should be at least 150,000; 250,000 or more is better. Counting on tourists or college students to make up the difference is risky. In addition, rising gas prices are already having a negative impact on retail sales and this trend is likely to continue.
2) Adequate financing is critical. While it need not take huge amounts of capital to open a bead store, there will be slow times during the first few years when you will probably be spending more than you are taking in. The money to cover those periods should be available before you open your business.
3) Don't count on the store to support you during the first two to three years. Early profits are almost always put back into additional inventory.
4) Owning and operating a small business takes a lot of time and energy. Working 60-70 hours or more per week is common. If you are an artist or designer, owning a store will take a large chunk out of your creative time.
5) The more you know before you open your doors, the higher your chance of success. Look at real estate, take advantage of small business courses, talk to the owners of other small boutiques in the area you are exploring.
6) If there is already a bead store in your area (or more than one), think very seriously about whether it makes sense to compete with an established business. Will your local population support multiple bead stores? Established stores, if well-run, have many advantages over newcomers. During the bead store ‘boom times’ of the past decade, many people opened shops in areas that already had enough or more than enough bead stores to serve the local population. During the past few years some of those newer shops have shut their doors.
7) Be cautious of wholesale suppliers that advertise "one-stop shopping" for bead stores. No single company has everything you need, and those which claim to do so are more interested in their profits than they are in your long-term success. Take your time, do your research, and get references before you trust people with your hard-earned money.
8) I'm not the only person in the country offering this sort of training, although I believe that I've done it for much longer than anyone else. I suggest you talk to everyone and make sure you ask for references (the more the better) before you decide who to work with. If you can't find other people doing the training and would like to compare what they offer and cost, let me know and I can point you to them.
Good luck!
Barry Kahn, President, Caravan Beads Inc. .