Page 187 - One Thousand Ways to Make $1000

sandwiched in between a $1.88 hat store and a “five-anddime” store might
fail, in spite of the heavy traffic passing it.

Don’t be too sure that your store will attract people a block or so out of their
habitual path. People have gone broke trying to change buying habits. Don’t
hamper your store by selecting a location where people have to walk up
steps, or take a few steps down to a floor level, even a foot or so below the
sidewalk level. Obtain a location with floor exactly level with the sidewalk.
Beware of a store with a front that curves inward—people don’t notice such a
front.

Most young business men make the mistake of leasing a store that is really
too big. Figuring out how much you think you want, then cutting the space in
half, isn’t a bad rule to follow when selecting a location. Remember that a
large store requires more heat and light, more fixtures, and a bigger stock.
Just because a landlord wants to sell you the entire store is no sign he will not
divide the store and rent you half or two-thirds of it.

It may even be possible to lease space from a noncompeting store. Jewelers
occasionally lease a space in one end of a drug store. Sometimes you will see
a jewelry store in one section of a furniture store. Many expenses can be
reduced or eliminated if you can start your store as part of another store
which is already well established. In hundreds of department stores
throughout the country there are independent operators who own certain
departments, but operate them as a part of the big store.

Lobbies of office buildings, hotel lobbies, or even a small space in what
would be one entrance to a large store are frequently used for small stores.
Remember that every cent you save on rent and other expenses will enable
you to hold out successfully just that much longer.

What Makes a Store Successful

Sidney Carter, of the Merchant’s Service Department of Rice-Stix, the big St.
Louis wholesale house, has made a special study for many years of the
factors that make a store successful. He puts it this way: “I know a merchant
who isn’t very friendly, whose store isn’t very neat, but who does a big