Many people dream of going into business, which is a good thing! Small businesses are the mainstay of the world economy, so you could consider going into going into business a noble ambition. There is a huge amount of satisfaction on knowing how to start a store so you are making a significant difference in other people's lifes, as well as your own.

I won't go into the paper chase of financing, licensing or the rest of the mountain a person has to climb in order to buy a business - that's another story! A person could write volumes upon volumes of information on how to start small business, so I'll try to keep it short. The deal is to make sure you have a good chance of success, you need to pay attention to a few factors to ensure you start small business the right way! Those factors are location, product purchasing and selling, product diversity, and profitability.

1. Start Small Business with the Right Location: Many larger chains seem to get the prime locations when it comes to business sites, and there is a really good reason for that...they look for them. Very simply, they have people who do nothing but look for future business sites, researching everything possible about it: traffic flow, future growth of the area, competition, ordinances, land and tax costs, and the list goes on. If they find a site that fits their needs, the buy it and build on it. If the site doesn't fit their criteria, they pass on it. Did you do the same research for your site? Many small business owners end up with a business on a particular site because it was the only one available, the only one they thought the could afford, it looked good at the time, etc. If you DID research your site thoroughly, congrats! If you didn't, why did you buy that business again???

2. Start Small Business with the Right Product Supplying/Selling Mind-Set: Experience and knowledge of your given business play a large role in your abilities to find product at the "right" price. The same formula applies to pricing, as well. Once again, the large retail chains have teams of employees who research every sales catagory their businesses are involved in - do you? Have you ever checked with other vendors to see if you could get the same quality of product cheaper? Have you looked for a wholesale outlet where you could buy the product yourself and save money, thereby increasing your profit? Are you totally aware of what the market price is for your products? Have you ever shopped at competitor's store to see what they charge for the same product? Anyone can sell anything once - the trick is to do it over and over again with the same customers! That's called "repeat business", and it usually only comes around when your quality and pricing is on target through research.

3. Start Small Business with Product Diversity: Many small business owners get into the habit of focusing on one core product, such as car washes, snacks, hardware and tools, hair cuts, pizza, or whatever. I own a convenience store, and they have more categories of product then you could shake a stick at. Shake it up a little and step outside your comfort zone - increase the reasons a customer would want to come into your business! For example, if you own a car wash, add some inexpensive car parts like windshield wipers, car cleaning products, fragrances, coolant, oils, etc . If you have a hair salon, add a gormet coffee and confectionary station. If you own a hardware store, add a DVD kiosk. I read a while back where one of the larger home hardware supply chain stores added fresh groceries to their product offerings - talk about diversity! Don't lose sight of all the other things you could be selling.

4. Start Small Business to be Profitable: Obviously, most people want their business to be profitable. Some may not for tax purposes, but that normally doesn't apply to the small business owner! Once again, you could read volumes about this subject, but it really comes down to playing defense or offense. You need to figure out which one you are going to play once you learn how to start a store:

A. Defense: Many owners try to stucture their business expenses based on their sales volume, so if your volume is low, the tendenacy is to keep cutting expenses until you get to where you need to be. This usually results in a diminished customer and employee experience for the business! That would be playing defense.

B. Offense: Some businesses actively seek to raise their sales volume to meet or exceed expenses - in other words, I need to pay $10,000 per month, so I want to make $13,000 per month, and then figure out how to go out and do it! That would be playing offense. Always play to win and never give up, no matter what!

This is an extremely simplified overview on how to start a store or to start small business endeavors, but you have to start somewhere! By sticking the principles of location, product supplying/selling, product diversity, and profitability in the back of your brain as you go forward, you'll realize greater successes as you go forward. Remember, you are your own biggest obstacle, and don't be afraid to get the right guidance when you need it!