If you’re looking to set up a new bridal boutique, Maria Musgrove-Wethey has years of experience under her belt. A writer, coach, trainer and boutique owner since 1997, Maria now co-owns Get Savvy Coaching with Christine Skilton, offering advice on customer attraction, sales and business management.

Read on for Maria’s top five tips that she’s shared with clients she has coached to open their new boutiques, from California to County Cavan. When considering opening your new store...

Nail your Niche

Wed2b did just this back in 2009 with their unique ‘no appointment, no stress’ approach to wedding dress retailing. They say “the major change to tradition was allowing brides to take their dress home the very same day and this new approach allowed for a lower cost price, whilst guaranteeing the same great quality”. Industry naysayers declared “that will never work as brides want the boutique experience”. 59 stores later proved them wrong, as many brides will trade convenience and good value over experience any day.

Client Carole was a newlywed newbie, but naive she was not. With a solid retail background and a Masters in Business, she smashed it out of the park and 9 years later is one of Ireland’s best award-winning bridal destinations. 

Wed2b focused on convenience and price, while Client Carole focused on the bridal experience.  

If you don’t find your niche (or USP) you run the risk of being a “Me Too” company. Your niche can be product focused - plus sizes, tea length, vintage, once worn, British designers etc. Once you’ve nailed that niche, the next secret to success is to research if there is a niche or you’re just hoping that there is one. 

Research

A Japanese proverb states “Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare”.  Once you have a vision you need to research by:

•    Checking out the competition 
•    Profiling your ideal customer
•    Sourcing product that is a good match

Reality may kick in as you realise that radical changes may be needed to achieve your dream. Once you’ve found your niche, your product and a possible location the next step is to...

Crunch the Numbers

The worse case of ’Newbie Naivety’ was when a bride’s friend (whilst in my boutique) announced that she was considering opening not too far away from me in a town called Battle. Apart from a very good school and re-enactments of the Battle of Hastings there isn’t much to recommend this as a location for a bridal boutique. When I asked “Why Battle?” she replied “My friend needs to get out of her lease and the rent is only £25000 so I only need to sell 2 or 3 dresses (wait for it) a month at £2000 each to cover the rent and pay me a salary of £30000. So brides don’t need lighting, heating, air conditioning, schmoozing with wine and nibbles and you don’t need a phone, Wifi, insurance and you won’t be paying bank or card charges and you’ll be designing and maintaining your own website and, of course, you’ll be getting all of your sample and repeat gowns for free? When asked if she had considered other costs, her curt comeback was “I might need to pay a Saturday girl”. She simply didn’t have a clue about the true financial costs of running a business. Never mind the emotional costs of being a small business owner.

Buying an Existing Business or Franchise

This is particularly relevant if, after the research stage, you discover that your niche isn’t that niche after all.  Buying an existing business has advantages, as you’re buying a turnkey operation with everything supplied from till rolls to toilet rolls and often a handover and a hand holding period from the existing owner. You should have income from the start as brides will owe balances which helps cash flow. A cautionary note – know what you are buying. One new owner discovered that she could only re-order from 10% of her stock. as the rest was discontinued and there were no balances due from any brides. Due diligence obviously wasn’t her forte!

There are several franchises which can be an easy way to get started if their business model fits your vision. Yes you are paying for their expertise.  However it can save you a lot of time, money and heartache in the future.  If you still want to go it alone then I would recommend...

Getting Expert Advice

Most bridal boutique owners start in business because of a passion for “all things wedding related”, love the idea of being involved in special “life moments”, have binge watched every episode of “Say Yes to the Dress” or simply adore wedding gowns.

The hard truth is: this passion alone simply isn’t enough to run a successful bridal business.

Maybe you thought that all you needed to do was buy some dresses, get a website, post on Facebook and Instagram, sell a few dresses and that would be it! Alas, there’s so much more.

You need to consider what your strengths and weaknesses are. If numbers aren’t your thing, then you’ll need help with your business planning and forecasting. If you think that a reel is a Scottish dance, a carousel is a fairground ride and a story is what you read to kids at bedtime, then you definitely need help with social media.

Client Carole was a spreadsheet supremo, and as a millennial, social media marketing was easy. What she needed from me was industry inside information as to brands, buying, brides and the day-to-day running of a bridal boutique. Her business 9 years on is thriving and not just surviving.

Let Get Savvy help you start up (or kick-start your existing business) by visiting our website. Better still, if you’re heading to Bridal Week London, make sure book an appointment to meet myself and Christine at Bridal Buyer’s Business Advice Clinic by clicking here. Make sure to register for Bridal Week London in advance.