Starting a Small Retail Kiosk Business
A Home Business Article Contributed by Sharon Hill
How to Start Your Small Business Kiosk
If you've ever been to the local mall (yes, the brick and mortar in-your-hometown kind - not online) you've seen the small business kiosks as you start down each mall aisle. They may pierce ears and sell jewelry, sell T-shirts, cookies, paintings - just about anything you can think of.
Location is a Crucial Start for Your Small Kiosk Business
You can make good money with this type of business - if you start by selecting the right small business kiosk location. First, you need the right mall (which means that folks with the right demographics need to shop there. If, for example, you're selling studded earrings and offering ear piercing as well, you don't want to land smack dab in the middle of a retirement community.
Ask the rental manager at the mall office for the demographics. Wander around the mall yourself a few times and see who's wandering with you. Ask store proprietors. Make or ask for a list of all the businesses that are there. If there's a video or virtual reality center as well as a movie complex, that tells you they cater to teens and generation X. Try going there in the morning before the stores open and see how many senior walkers are there. While that doesn't necessarily say they shop there it does tell you how many 50+ folks live near enough by to go there for a morning walk.
Now the location in the mall where you start your small business kiosk is crucial as well. Taking the lower rent spot could be a mistake. If the other is a heftier price tag there is a reason. Ask! You might also ask why it's available, as well. Ask who rented there before. Now find them and ask them about their success. Ask other kiosk owners how they do (not competitors - they might not be forthcoming.) If the more expensive location is available, perhaps it has been for awhile. Offer a lower price, one you can afford. The rental agent just might go for it.
You'll also want to ask what kind of mall promotions and events are scheduled. Ask for the events calendar. Tell the agent that you'll be an active part of that. Tell her or him you want to be included in any advertising for the events or the mall itself.
Look at the stores around you. Place yourself around the more high traffic locations, and the retailers whose products may complement yours. That small earring kiosk business might do well if you start it with a kiosk in front of T.J.Maxx and Hollywood Video, for instance, instead of near Lane Bryant and Walton's Book Store.
Starting a Small Kiosk Business Doesn't Have to Mean the Mall
The mall isn't the only place you can locate your kiosk, however. In fact, you might fare better and find less small business competition by starting with a kiosk at a large corporate office complex, or even an amusement park.
To be successful in a retail kiosk you must be personable, outgoing and assertive. While I'm not suggesting you take the carnival barker approach, you do need to draw folks in. From the start, your small business kiosk should look busy, with an almost over abundance of small and large ticket items. It should be crowded, vibrantly colored and entertaining. The key is to have so many items easily perusable that someone would take much time standing and looking.
The more folks stop by the more folks stop by. Give something away. Make a sign as large as permissible that denotes this. Play music if allowed. Be noticeable. Draw them in.
