How to open a grocery store in a village?
Do you like contact with customers, have good interpersonal skills, do you want to settle in a village and participate in local life by opening a business? Why not open your own grocery store in a rural area? How to open a grocery store in a village? Here is our guide.
Fleeing the city, settling as close as possible to the people, weaving, and maintaining social ties while being at the head of your own business, there are plenty of good reasons to get started. Be careful, however, if enthusiasm and motivation are necessary to complete your project, they will be far from sufficient.
You will also have to develop skills in management, in the commercial field, or even in management if the structure is relatively large and requires the hiring of staff.
Are you sure of yourself and are now wondering how to open a grocery store in a village? In this article, discover the methodology to be followed, on the program: market study, human and material needs, development of the business plan, avenues for fundraising.
Market research before opening a grocery store in a village
Opening a mini-market or a grocery store in a village requires, first of all, to carry out a detailed market study. An indispensable prerequisite for the construction of your project, the market study gathers the main information on the sector in order to assess the commercial potential of the implantation area.
The different steps to carry out a market study before opening a grocery store in a village
Whether you want to open a mini-market in a village or take over a grocery store in a small town, the approach to adopt remains the same.
You will first need to analyze the trends in the sector: is it growing or at half-mast? Is turnover evolving positively or negatively? What factors can explain this increase or decrease in turnover? Do we see new trends emerging? Are we witnessing a change in purchasing behavior? Which?
It will indeed be necessary to carefully study the expectations of your future customers: what is the typical profile of a customer (age, socio-professional category, income, etc.)? What is his budget? How often is it purchased? What are the buying opportunities? What is the average basket?
You will also need to pay close attention to the competition, in particular, ask yourself:
- Who are your direct and indirect competitors?
- What products do they offer?
- How many people do they employ?
- Are they flourishing or in difficulty?
- How many kilometers from the village are they located?
By looking at the existing offer, the competition, and the customer base, you will be able to determine the ecosystem in which you will operate. You will thus be able to adopt a commercial positioning that meets the expectations of your customers while standing out from the competition.
Opening a grocery store in a village: the regulatory context
No diploma is necessary to open a grocery store unless you exercise in parallel a regulated craft activity. For example, you will not need the training to offer a bread depot; on the other hand, to exercise the activity of a baker, you must necessarily provide proof of specific training.
Also, pay attention to the supervision of the sale of alcohol. Compulsory training “license to operate” will allow you to acquire the take-away license, essential to remain legal. Do not forget to declare this activity in the town hall. Also remember to respect the accessibility standards for people with reduced mobility, in force in all businesses and places open to the public.
Finally, make sure you are familiar with and respect the health and hygiene standards inherent in your activity, but also, for example, the standards related to weighing instruments.
The human and material needs to open a grocery store in a village
Opening a grocery store in a village, like any business creation, requires investments that should be well defined within the financial forecast.
The material investments needed to start a grocery store
Material investments primarily concern the premises (purchase or rental, as well as any fitting-out work) and its equipment (cash desk, computer stations, shelves, stalls, etc.). But you will also have to acquire the initial stock, which represents a cost far from negligible.
Do not forget either the costs related to the creation of the structure and any costs related to mandatory training.
The recruitment needs of a grocery store
Going alone is an option, especially if the structure you plan to open is small. However, you may need staff during peak hours and periods (during the summer holidays if it is a tourist or seaside village for example).
Before hiring, take into account the schedules and periods over which you will need staff. It will also be necessary to think about the types of contracts (recruitment of a seasonal worker on CDD), the salary you intend to pay, and the profile you want to recruit (student job, the person with experience in sales, etc.).
The ancillary services required to launch a grocery store
Opening a grocery store in a village will also involve additional costs that will have to be taken into account, such as ensuring your activity with an insurance company.
You will also have to resort to ancillary services if you do not want to or cannot assume them yourself, such as upkeep and cleaning of the premises. In this regard, be careful to respect the standards in force for all surfaces in direct contact with food.
You may also want to delegate the administrative and accounting management of your business to a management firm and/or an accounting firm.
For all of these additional services, do not hesitate to request quotes from various professionals. You will thus be able to more accurately assess the cost when carrying out your provisional budget and bring into play the competition when selecting your partner.
Make a business plan before creating a grocery store in a village
Realizing a business plan to open a grocery store in a village is a necessary step for anyone wanting to open their own structure.
Indeed, it is thanks to this document and in particular to the financial tables that accompany it that you will be able to verify that the company is financially viable, at least on paper, before you start. But the business plan is not only used to assess the profitability of a grocery store.
This exercise is also a precious help for the entrepreneur because it forces him to look in detail at each aspect of the creation of a business, leading him to precisely quantify the means necessary to launch the activity.
Also, remember that the business plan is the reference document to convince your financial partners to follow you on the adventure. It is systematically requested by banks and institutional investors as well as public bodies.
To put it simply, a village grocery business plan has two parts:
- A written part
- A quantified part, which is the financial forecast, used to highlight the financing needs and the profitability potential of your business
The exercise can seem tricky, especially if you have never made a business plan and are not sure how to go about it. Know that solutions exist, you can for example use an online business plan software.
How to finance a grocery store creation in a village
Opening a grocery store in a village requires investment, as with any business creation. To best finance your project, several solutions exist, to be combined with each other if necessary.
First, you need to assess your own funds, the money you have that you can allocate to the creation of your grocery store. If you are starting with several, also take into account the savings of your partner (s) which may be devoted to the project.
Once you have determined the amount you have in equity, you can then turn to institutional players by emphasizing your personal and financial involvement.
Do not hesitate to file loan application files with several banks. You will then be able to compare offers and play against the competition.
Donation crowdfunding may also be an option to consider. You can seek the help of individuals to help you financially in exchange for future consideration, related to your activity.
For example, you can consider giving your donors a free delivery service: delivery for smaller donors, up to a month, quarter, or even a year of free delivery for your most generous donors.
Aid for business creation is also a valuable aid that should not be overlooked. Think of ACCRE or NACRE for state aid, but also aid from the region, the department, or even the municipality for small villages in rural areas, which are suffering from the disappearance of businesses.
Indeed, regional aid zones (ZAFR) and rural revitalization zones (ZRR) can benefit from the exemption from income tax.
Our article is coming to an end, we hope it has given you a better understanding of how to open a grocery store in a village. If any questions remain after reading this article, please do not hesitate to contact us. We will answer all your questions regarding the creation or takeover of your grocery store.