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So, You Want to Start a Toy Store

Kathleen McHugh -- Gifts and Dec, 3/14/2011 3:24:32 AM

KATHLEEN MCHUGH NOTHING BRINGS OUT THE KID IN US LIKE WALKING INTO A toy store. Toys are the part of the magic of childhood, and toy stores, with all the bright colors and fun atmosphere and products that are both hot and cool, remind us of the simple hopes and dreams we had as children.
BUT NOW WE'RE ADULTS, AND IF YOUR DREAM IS TO HAVE YOUR OWN TOY STORE, that's a very grown-up proposition. A toy store - however fun it looks - is a business, and businesses exist to make a profit. What meets the eye in an appealing, well run toy store is the end result of extensive business planning and lots of hard work.
To be successful as a toy store owner requires putting pencil to paper as much as it does finding and merchandising the right product mix. Putting pencil to paper means that there are certain business basics that you need to consider: What are your start-up and ongoing capital needs? What percent of sales will be used for salaries, payroll taxes and benefits each year for the first three years? What kind of insurance do you need? How much rent should you expect to pay per square foot? What level of sales per square foot will make you profitable?

The American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) is a source of information for members who are in the process of creating a toy store business plan. Here are some resources to help you get started.

A Retailer's Testimonial
Mary Sisson, owner of Kazoodle Toys, Vancouver, WA, says the ASTRA network is priceless in building a toy store business plan and then running the business you create. "Joining ASTRA was the best investment we made in our journey from inspiration to realization of our toy store dream," says Sisson. "No matter the question, our ASTRA colleagues answer freely from their own experience. ASTRA has been our Toy Store University."

ASTRA BUSINESS TOOLBOX

Use the toy store planning "bible." ASTRA's book titled Play for Profit: A Retail Business Plan for Toy Stores gives you all the basics for planning a toy retialing business. Uselful for both experienced retialers and aspiring ones hwo are in the start-up phase of opeing a new store, this guide is packed iwth user-friendly tools for projecting financial statements, tracking how your toy store is doing compared to averages from other ASTRA stores, marketing on a shoestring budget and much more. The book is written by veteran ASTRA retailers who have managed through both strong economies and survived weak ones. It represents their collective knowledge about what kind of plan an independent store needs to be successful, and it's an all-in-one guide to thinking through the pieces you need to put together for your business. Find more information at www.astratoy.org
Tap the ASTRA Network. If you join ASTRA, you will find your fellow ASTRA members are generous about sharing business ideas and tips. ASTRA was formed, in part, thanks to a "let's grow the specialty toy industry together" spirit of cooperation. You can get daily access to ideas from other retailers in ASTRA's online discussion group.
Get help from retired volunteers. Head to www.score.org to see what SCORE, a non-profit organization that matches retired volunteers with small business owners, can offer to help you in creating your store's business plan.

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