I have never considered owning an actual store, so I had to think about this for a bit.
I don’t know how financially sustainable it would be, but I think I’d enjoy owning a store that sold long-lasting and/or reusable products.
Basically, I’d like to sell things that don’t turn into trash a year or two after purchase.
(So many current consumer products are of such low quality, they can’t even be repaired, refurbished, or up-cycled.)
Selling things that last is not a particularly smart move in terms of making money, of course. It’s better for a business if a customer has to repeatedly buy items.
But from a personal conviction standpoint, it would feel great to sell things that
a) are a good long-term value for the customer
and
b) are a good long-term value for the environment
All that said, I really do not foresee myself opening up a store! There are lots of other options I’d pursue first because a store just seems like such a headache.
I would love to work in or own a bakery. Fresh bread! Brownies! Cookies!
I owned my own store several years ago; I sold only products that were made in Oklahoma, where we live! It really surprised me how MANY products are made in our great state. I loved it…
It would be a cafe. Baked goods and lunch items. Pies. All homemade. I know how to run a business. I know it’d be successful and there is one for sale in my little town. I’d love to do it! But, the hours and amount of work would be horrible.
I am not enough of a creature of habit to want to own a store of any kind.
In the hypothetical, personally created jewelry, cards, framed photos/art, and the like. Things that are cute or on trend just get replaced in a couple years, so this would be not that kind of stuff.
Our town grocery store is currently for sale, and I did think about that for a hot minute, but instead now I’m working with the committee that’ll help set up financing for a potential buyer. We really need someone to buy it before the end of the year so that it doesn’t close. If anyone passing through here would like to live and own a business in a great small town, let me know.
Do you remember that movie “Say Anything” with John Cusack? His character had a great quote that I thought of when I saw this prompt: “I don’t want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don’t want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed.”
I am the farthest thing from an entrepreneur, I guess. I don’t even like to buy things myself, much less sell them, so I would be the world’s worst store owner.
Lloyd Dobler! Yes, I do remember that quote. That’s one of my favorite romantic comedies of all time. Classic.
I *know* it wouldn’t work, these days, but I would love to have a bookstore, maybe with some baked goods- these are what I love to do. Kids’ books, fictions and non-fiction; book clubs and browsers and regulars and travelers. Oh, and maybe some garden stuff. Yeah,a dn some antiques and collectibles. But I might have sat around reading all the time and eating baked goods. There used to be such awesome new and used bookstores. Thanks, internet, for ruining it.
I’m going to assume that my business will stay open regardless of finances, so I would pick to open a Christian bookstore. The one in our town closed (like the ones all over the country) and I miss it. I miss seeing what books are available, having a place to go but gifts… And the list of what I want to read is getting long. I’d read when the store wasn’t busy. (My dream… I can do what I want. 🙂 )
How about an Etsy store? I’d sell alcohol ink tiles or pictures for huge amounts of money. I’d have fun making them, but wouldn’t sell too many so the mechanics of selling, packing, posting etc wouldn’t be too arduous. 😀