Times of Eswatini

Running school uniform shop in Eswatini

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Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it.”

UNIFORMS are one of the only factors that the majority of schools in the country have in common. They’re instigated for various reasons – they promote unity, create a community and reduce bullying – to name a few.

School uniforms are currently more expensive than they’ve ever been. Which is leaving a gaping hole for a school uniform shop that isn’t overpriced. Running a school uniform shop is a long term business as school kids will always need uniforms.

And running a fairly priced one is even better – as parents are always looking for different ways to tighten their purse strings! So, if you’re looking at starting and running a school uniform shop, this article will act as a comprehens­ive guide to everything that you’ll need to look out for.

Will you require extra staff members?

Without staff members, you have no business. Whether that’s just yourself or a small team of you – your business won’t get off the ground without the right number of staff members.

When starting out, this all depends on how many schools you’re targeting and how much business you’re predicting.

You don’t want to have too little of a team to cope with the demand and vice versa. You’ll end up losing money either way and your first customers when starting out are some of your most vital. These first orders will set the tone and will be your first impression­s for other customers to base their opinions off.

Team members working together If your orders are taking too long because you haven’t got the right amount of staff members, then your first impression will be tarnished and it can prove difficult to overturn these.

It’s not just order numbers and demand that should determine your number of staff members.

A lot of school uniforms have custom embroidery on them, so you

This quote from an anonymous author resonates louder as we welcome you to the business opportunit­ies section. As per the new need to think whether you need to hire somebody qualified to operate an embroidery machine or not.

Adding this capability will add another string to your uniform shop’s metaphoric­al bow.

After all, if you’re just selling plain clothing, then what’s making parents choose to buy from you, rather than any other shop on the high street?

What equipment do you need?

This all depends on what range of products that you’re going to be selling. And whether you’re going to be selling online or operating from a brick and mortar store. It’s also dependent on whether you’re expecting to expand your store or not. Materials

Without raw materials, you have no norm, the first page of the business opportunit­ies section mainly focuses on tips, guidance and/or advice to businesses. Today’s focus is on products to sell. Simple. So, depending on your product range you’ll need a wide range of materials. These can usually span from polo shirts, sweaters and skirts to messenger bags, PE pumps and raincoats. It’s completely up to your product range. Embroidery machines

As we mentioned earlier, if you’re planning on selling custom embroidere­d products you’re going to need an embroidery machine.

If you’re looking at operating a start-up from home, then a single-head embroidery machine may be the right choice for you.

Whereas, if you’re in a commercial workspace you may be able to purchase a multi-head which will allow scope for growth and meet increasing customer demands. the sale of a uniform business in Manzini. Enjoy the journey as you make another informed business decision. Feedback and/or comments

What are the operations?

Like any retail store, school uniform shops have their peaks and troughs of business periods. Which means that your day-to-day role on busy days will be a far cry from your quiet ones. So, let’s take the day to day operations of a busy period, for example.

So, the obvious starting point is customers coming into your store. Before you can focus on processing any orders that you have in the backlog, you have to start with your customers that are in the shop.

So, get your most welcoming manner down to a tee and prepare to offer the utmost service with a smile possible.

That’s why you may need more than one staff member, as you can’t be in two places at once. You’re likely to typical day-to-day are most welcome and can be forwarded to business@times. co.sz or on 7627 9456. need someone who looks after the shop and a team who focus on processing and creating the orders.

General store jobs are a big part of owning a school uniform shop. So, that means that you’ll need somebody or yourself to open up the shop in the morning and lock up at the end of the day too. Plus, you’ll need somebody to count and bank the takings at the end of each working day.

Are you looking to open more than one store?

This is a huge considerat­ion as not only does it mean extra work but it also means that may need double or triple the equipment that you’re already shelling out for on one store. The number obviously depends on how many stores you’re looking to open and how far you’re willing to expand your brand.

As you expand your brand, one of the main things that you need to think about is recruitmen­t. You can’t be in two stores at once, so you’re going to need to employ people who you can trust to run the shop and process orders to the standard that your brand has set already. Anything less will tarnish your reputation that you’ve previously worked hard for.

As your team expands, your management style will need to change to accommodat­e more staff members. So, whether it means that you’ll need to look at further management training courses to help you cope and adapt, you need to factor this into the forecasted costs.

Your costs will be the biggest factor in giving the green light to a second or third shop opening. It’s a great investment when opening one store, so you need to make sure that you’re able to afford extra premises, equipment, materials and the rest of the requiremen­ts. When you’re budgeting, be sure to never miss anything out – you could pay the price at a later date.

What marketing strategies are most effective?

No business will ever be successful without the correct marketing strategies behind them. You could be selling the finest, nicely designed school uniforms in the world but if you’re not marketing them who’s going to know about them? Not many people.

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 ?? (Courtesy pic) ?? School uniforms are currently more expensive than they’ve ever been. Which is leaving room for a school uniform shop that isn’t overpriced.
(Courtesy pic) School uniforms are currently more expensive than they’ve ever been. Which is leaving room for a school uniform shop that isn’t overpriced.
 ?? – BY MHLENGI MAGONGO ??
– BY MHLENGI MAGONGO

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