Advice

[Mommy]

Hi, my husband and I are thinking about selling movies and cds etc at new years and opening up a small movie store at the Hmong village. I was wondering if you guys can give us any advice of how to start one and how to improve. Negatives and positives comments are welcome. Thanks

 

[pink_juliet_kashie]

Is there going to be anything different or unique about your store? Something that sets it apart from the rest. Otherwise you'll just disappear into the seas of movie sellers. Meaning that I as a customer won't have a preference for your store & I'll just most likely head over to the closest store instead.

One thing I see that need to be improved is customer service in Hmong bossiness. Especially towards teens/young adults. You need their business so please don't let them approach you for questions/ products. Go up to them and sell your product. Sell your service. Smile and acknowledge them. Too many times I have walked into stores and the owner/worker/vendors don't even look up from their phone or say hi from behind the counter.

But good luck on your business.

 

[chongsong]

You can cater to younger customers with things like Thai Lakorns, Japaness Anima, various hmong translated English Anima films. Cater to a more specific audition can help you draw in a younger clientele and keep your business going. Even with the impact of the current recession, you can stay afloat. With the much older clientele, you can provide a specific section for them. In some Hmong video sale and rentals stores you can get lost in the mess of videos and the disorganization of it all, can mean a client will just walk out without buying anything. Also have people walks the aisle and help people. Normal respond time for me is almost 30 minutes on a slow day, before they even notice someone needs help finding something.
 
You  can start with a smaller booth at The New Years, or during the year at the flea market, to build-up your base income until you have enough to run a shop. Then I would suggest opening one in The Bingo Supermarket Area, Since there is not big competition there for Hmong Video Sale or Rental. Except for the one inside Bingo Supermarket. but you can win by providing a bigger selection of films at a reasonable price and running specials to entice people away from them. Since Asian Village already has a video store for rentals and sale of video's. That if your in Fresno.