Hi Twinkle Toes

Best advice is do your research. Try www.businesslink.gov.uk and also find local business groups in your area. They are an invaluable source of information and experience.

Opening a shop can be an expensive business. Apart from the rent, insurance, equipment, etc there would be the fixtures and fittings, decoration, initial stock for the shop, advertising and promotion, legal fees for checking the lease, etc. Once up and running there would be wages, heat & light, water rates, etc.

There is a lot of competition in the child's clothing market from the likes of Tesco and Asda aswell as on the High Street and online.

Have you considered maybe supplying shops with your product range rather than having your own shop? Or considered selling online, eg at twinkletoes.com? You could do this before, instead of or aswell as having your own shop. It would let you test the market to see what demand is out there. You would also reach a wider market and more people would get to know about you and your product range.

Good luck whatever you decide to do. Find and talk to some like-minded people in your area. You will find there are people who have been through what you are considering and are more than willing to share their experiences with you. Take a notepad and pens!

Good luck and have fun!

Kind regards

Gordon
www.astonaccounting.co.uk