Monday, November 30, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
My First Cart
A few years ago, I was fresh out of college and accepted a job that I thought was cool and paid good (I'm not telling you what it was, so don't ask). It wasn't related to my field of study (Economics & Psychology), they just wanted anyone with a college degree. A few months into it and I started hating it, it just wasn't me. So I left that job and moved to a new town, closer to my sister, for a new beginning.
I started looking for jobs more closely related to my degree, but couldn't find any. A few months later, my pockets were getting empty and so was my patience, so I started looking for ANY job, but I couldn't find any. I had moved from a city where most of the Malls had Convenience Stores. So when I had visited the Shopping Mall in my new town, I noticed they didn't have one. I thought it would be a good opportunity. I ran the idea by some family and friends and was promised funding if I wanted to pursue it. My next step was to run the idea by the Mall, hoping they would approve it. I spoke with the leasing agent and as soon as I said the magic words "Convenience Store," the deal was approved.
The leasing agent had given me an option to open it in a regular in-line store front or open it on a Cart. I thought, "how is it possible to open a Convenience store on a Cart?" There are so many types of snacks, candy, drinks, etc... It just didn't register in my head. But, if I were to start it up on a Cart, I would be saving over $10,000 a year just on rent, not to mention utilities and garbage fees (you don't pay for utilities or garbage when you have a Cart). And the Mall gives you a Cart for FREE for the length of the lease term, unlike a Kiosk which you have to purchase on your own (Average pricing on these is about $6,000+ for a new one). Not to mention, Carts and Kiosk do not need to be marketed as much as in-line stores. That's because they're right in the middle of Mall pathways and right in the middle of all that foot traffic. Carts especially promote a lot of impulse buying because products are more openly displayed. So I thought, if there was a way I can open this on a cart, I would save a ton of money, and I would certainly start making money from day one with all that impulse buying (Mmmm, look at all that Candy! I'm so thirsty, oh look, they have soda!).
I started looking for jobs more closely related to my degree, but couldn't find any. A few months later, my pockets were getting empty and so was my patience, so I started looking for ANY job, but I couldn't find any. I had moved from a city where most of the Malls had Convenience Stores. So when I had visited the Shopping Mall in my new town, I noticed they didn't have one. I thought it would be a good opportunity. I ran the idea by some family and friends and was promised funding if I wanted to pursue it. My next step was to run the idea by the Mall, hoping they would approve it. I spoke with the leasing agent and as soon as I said the magic words "Convenience Store," the deal was approved.
The leasing agent had given me an option to open it in a regular in-line store front or open it on a Cart. I thought, "how is it possible to open a Convenience store on a Cart?" There are so many types of snacks, candy, drinks, etc... It just didn't register in my head. But, if I were to start it up on a Cart, I would be saving over $10,000 a year just on rent, not to mention utilities and garbage fees (you don't pay for utilities or garbage when you have a Cart). And the Mall gives you a Cart for FREE for the length of the lease term, unlike a Kiosk which you have to purchase on your own (Average pricing on these is about $6,000+ for a new one). Not to mention, Carts and Kiosk do not need to be marketed as much as in-line stores. That's because they're right in the middle of Mall pathways and right in the middle of all that foot traffic. Carts especially promote a lot of impulse buying because products are more openly displayed. So I thought, if there was a way I can open this on a cart, I would save a ton of money, and I would certainly start making money from day one with all that impulse buying (Mmmm, look at all that Candy! I'm so thirsty, oh look, they have soda!).
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