Establishing a budget BEFORE you begin your boutique journey is crucial to your success. Overspending will leave you broke and take away from purchasing essential items necessary when opening a boutique. If you buy too much inventory that does not sell, you will feel discouraged and possibly disrupt your finances. Finding the right budget will help you stay on track, and you will be less likely to be left in the negative at the end of the year.
When determining the budget for your boutique, there is no right answer, but there is a wrong answer. The wrong answer is spending too much on too much inventory or not having a budget and plan at all. In a previous post, Boutique Expenses, we outlined all of the expenses to consider when opening your online store. I recommend reviewing this post as it includes all of the expenses you might encounter when opening like website costs, legal costs, shipping supplies, and more.
Boutique owners have opened their boutiques with as little as $200. A budget like this might include one pack of wholesale clothing, a free facebook group to sell in, and shipping supplies. Most boutique builders want to offer a few styles to select from on their grand opening day, but I would still highly recommend starting small. There is nothing worse than getting stuck with inventory from last winter that you cannot sell during the summer season, nor do you have a budget left to buy summer items. Starting with a handful of products allows you to get your feet wet and test to see what your customers are interested in purchasing and what they are not.
The customer base you start with might not have the same style that you do. Consider whether your friends and family members share your fashion sense and buy the same types of items that you do because these will likely be your first few customers until you begin growing. More inventory does not necessarily mean more sales when you first start. It is imperative to have a marketing plan to attract your ideal customer who will share your style.
Think through all of the factors that will go into your budget, and determine your plan of action. I highly advise against spending more than $10,000 when you first start, because there is no guarantee that you will make that money back within the first year. Think through what you can afford and begin saving early. Check out the article How to Start Saving for your Future Online Store with as Little as $5 and get ahead of the game to avoid going into debt.
Once you have determined your budget and begin purchasing materials and inventory for your boutique make sure to track all of your expenses for tax purposes. Check out our article: How To Track Boutique Expenses