How to Open a Business

Starting an Incense & Potpourri Retailer

These tips are ideal for aspiring entrepreneurs who plan on opening an incense and potpourri retailer. This is a must-read before you begin your venture.

Wondering how to start an incense and potpourri retailer? We take you step-by-step from start to success.

How to Write a Top Quality Incense & Potpourri Retailer Business Plan

A business plan is the skeletal framework for your incense and potpourri retailer's mission, goals and strategic vision.

In contemporary business culture, business plans are also litmus tests used by external interests to assess real world viability and marketability.

Early in the process, it's worth your time to learn how to write the market analysis section of a business plan. It includes the identification of your target market and in many cases, the inclusion of supporting research to back up your claims and sales forecasts.

Consider the Competition

Before you open an incense and potpourri retailer within your community, it's a smart move to find out how strong the competition is. Use the link below to find competitors near you. After following the link, enter your city, state and zip code to get a list of incense and potpourri retailers in your area.

Before you open up shop, make sure you know what you will offer to your customers that provides a significant advantage over your competition's offering.

Learning More About the Industry

If you are seriously contemplating launching an incense and potpourri retailer, the next step is to speak with somebody who is already in the business. If you think your local competitors will give you advice, you're being overoptimistic. The last thing they want to do is help you to be a better competitor.

Thankfully, an owner of a an incense and potpourri retailer outside of your community may be willing to share their entrepreneurial wisdom with you, after they realize you reside far away from them and won't be stealing their local customers. Indeed, many experienced entrepreneurs enjoy offering advice to startup entrepreneurs. If you are persistent, you can find a business mentor who is willing to help you out.

Where does one find an incense and potpourri retailer founder who is willing to advise you because you live in different cities?

It's easy. Here's a link you can use to find a mentor outside of your area.

Entry Options for Incense & Potpourri Retailers

Would-be incense and potpourri retailer business owners can either launch a new business or acquire an existing operation.

Startup incense and potpourri retailers can be attractive because they allow the entrepreneur to have more control and greater influence. Yet startups are also more difficult to finance because their nature is inherently risky.

On the other hand, an incense and potpourri retailer purchase is more attractive to lenders and investors. Buying a business means that you'll have access to a documented financial history, an established business model and other factors that are unknowns in a startup � and that makes the ownership opportunity less of a risk to both you and your incense and potpourri retailer's key stakeholders.

Explore Franchising Options

Your chances of achieving the entrepreneurial goal of avoiding failure in business immediately improve if you purchase a franchise rather than going it alone.

If you planning on starting an incense and potpourri retailer, a smart move is to determine whether franchise opportunities in your space might be worth investigating.

The link below gives you access to our franchise directory so you can see if there's a franchise opportunity for you. You might even find something that points you in a completely different direction.

More Advice for Startups

These additional resources regarding starting a business may be of interest to you.

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Coming Up With Good Business Ideas

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Franchise Opportunities

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