Ideas for a small business?

[Potter]

There is a retail unit for rent in our village, it's next to a Coop/Spar type general store, within another 100yds is a butcher, a hairdressers, a barbers, a corner shop type newsagents and a hardware shop.

The retail unit is a small shop size and the rent is £19k pa.

I'm not looking to get rich, I want a hobby and perhaps employ a couple of family members part-time to help them out. To make it worth getting out of bed it would need to pay a wage but a grand a month in my hand would be enough.
The locals are asking for a cafe and I reckon it might be popular, but there are quite a few within a couple of miles already.

It can't lose money and I reckon to break even it would need a revenue of at least £150 a day over 300 working days? - That's not counting materials/stock (e.g. food if you make it into a cafe, or stock if you make it a sweet shop).

What do you reckon would be fun/interesting, not be a PITA and generate £150 a day at least (plus cover the cost of stock)?

[KungFooBob]

I reckon to achieve the turnover requirements it's going to need to have an online side to the business, you can't just rely on passing business in a small village.

Or a very specialist business that people come from miles around to engage in it's services.

Maybe the UKs premier gay porn emporium?

[Yorick]

Knocking shop

[Horse]

The retail unit is a small shop size and the rent is £19k pa.

What do you reckon would be fun/interesting, not be a PITA and generate £150 a day at least (plus cover the cost of stock)?

What's the business rates? For this unit, it could be about £10k.

And how much have you allowed for bills (heating, lighting, waste) and fitting-out, etc.?

[asmethurst99]

I heard a good prog on the Beeb with Evan Davies talking about the restaurant industry - Mostly positive but the retail analysts whilst praising ' casual dining' (which i know you're not suggesting) cautioned the issues of pivoting a food/restaurant if its not working because you cant easily start doing something else.
The above is a very poor summary

[Horse]

Knocking shop

Could you supply your dungeon's fittings?

[Skub]

A car wash with...extras if you set the keys on the dash.

[Horse]

A car wash with...extras if you set the keys on the dash.

Well, someone will need a change of username ...

[Greenman]

Vaping shop, all the rage these days and money for nothing really as just trading stock.

You could maybe have a cafe in there where people can vape and you can upsell them drinks, food etc.

Maybe get some vinyl decks and do some spin what ya bring nights, this is quite popular around here and brings in extra business.

[Scud]

I think a cafe would be a right pain in the arse with food safety regs, we deal with councils just as non-food market traders, they are useless pains in the arse.

There’s big money in flowers and plants, maybe a small local garden centre style shop?
You’d need to be doing local deliveries and funeral flowers too though, we’ve looked at opening a premises but the costs just spiral and I think you’d be needing more than £150/day

[Scud]

Or a tattoo studio/coffee shop combo where people can hang out - call it Costat - I’m sure you wouldn’t get any law suits over that

[MrLongbeard]

Laundromat, couple of one arm bandits, couple of vending machines, virtually no need to keep it staffed.

[Yorick]

Laundromat, couple of one arm bandits, couple of vending machines, virtually no need to keep it staffed.

The laundry here has a brothel next door. Just saying.

[KungFooBob]

Picture framing, you'd only need to do a couple a day.

[Yorick]

https://ashanderie.com/

[Horse]

Or a tattoo studio/coffee shop combo where people can hang out - call it Costat - I’m sure you wouldn’t get any law suits over that

There was a cafe in Cornwall called 'Coaster'

[Count Steer]

Was pondering this recently when looking at all the empty units in the High Street in the next place over. Started with the questions 'What does this place need?' and 'Why didn't the previous occupants make a go of it?' (Heaven knows how the barbers, nail bars and tanning salons survive...there's a lot of them. Money laundering?). There are several charity shops too and the owner of the book shop that shut blamed Oxfam books...I blamed him, pompous turd).

Juice bar....failed, 'Eco' grocery (fill your own containers with everything from rice to washing up liquid)....failed, shoe shop...wound down, retired, couldn't sell the business, Turkish restaurant...failed, Specs shop (chain, the independent does ok) - only open 3 days a week, award winning independent travel agent, shut the shop, works from home, furniture shop...failed, children's clothes, failed, posh s/h wimmins clothes, struggling...the list goes on...and on. It's an absolutely awful time to be in retail and the rents and business rates seem designed to keep places empty. It's not a poor area and has a pretty big rural catchment.

The one that keeps going steadily is the cobblers - but only one is needed. It's getting to the stage of - if you can buy the stuff on-line or at the local Screwfix etc, forget it. Even the Thursday market is a shadow of what it used to be.

So, dunno, we couldn't think of anything.

[Count Steer]

Picture framing, you'd only need to do a couple a day.

Why pay to be in the High Street? It's not exactly a passing trade/footfall sort of business.

[weeksy]

Cafe i say. But one that does snobbish stuff, eggs benedict, quiche, vegan cake, gluten free cake etc etc... Not a sausage egg and beans cafe. You want a spot for the mummies to turn up and relax as well as free wi-fi for working from home people.

Throw in some Artisan Bread and posh snacks and you'll be all good.

[weeksy]

After that, pet grooming, cleaning, sorting services. Wash and blow dry etc..