Opening a music store can be highly rewarding — but to get started, you need a plan.
Many entrepreneurs who own music stores are musicians themselves. They choose to open music stores because they want to share musical instruments and music education with others.
And while owning a music store can be both personally fulfilling and financially lucrative, there’s a lot you need to consider before you dive in headfirst.
In this blog, we’ll discuss the seven steps you need to follow to succeed as the owner of a small music store.
The first step to opening a music store is to determine what products and services you’ll offer. If you’re a proficient guitar player, you may want to open a guitar store. If you love the piano, you may want to open a piano store. Or maybe you want to open a general music store with all different kinds of instruments.
If you’re an expert at a certain instrument or group of instruments, you can use your knowledge to inform customers about their options and sell more instruments. You also need to determine if you’d like to offer additional services like instrument rentals, instrument repairs, or music lessons.
There are advantages and disadvantages to different types of music stores, but when you make a decision about what your store will sell, it’ll help you make other decisions about branding, target demographics, and how to market your store.
These decisions should be based on your expertise and what you want to sell, but they should also be based on market research, which will help you make smart business decisions.
Related Read: What Do Music Stores Sell? Stock Your Shop for Success
Before opening a music store, do extensive research about the local market. Determine if there are competing music stores close by and what they sell. Then, research which instruments tend to be most popular both nationwide and locally. Look into what options local residents have for music lessons, and consider the demographics of the area’s population.
If a nearby music store specializes in a specific instrument, you may want to choose a different instrument than the one they sell. If there’s a large, popular general music store nearby, you may want to specialize in a specific instrument to set your store apart from theirs. This helps you find a unique selling point (USP), so you can give customers a reason to choose your music store over a competitor.
Consider the purchasing power, habits, and preferences of your potential customers when choosing which products to offer. If instruments are too expensive for local residents, you won’t sell many of them. If prices are low but quality suffers, customers may choose to buy from a competitor.
Your research will reveal how you can set your music store apart from the competition and address a market with unmet demand. Doing your due diligence with research helps ensure the investment is worthwhile.
When it comes to financial planning, it’s not enough to hope for the best. While you can’t estimate your costs and income with certainty, it’s important to put in the effort to create informed estimates of these and other key metrics for your music store before you open your doors.
Based on where you want to open your music store, determine how much you’re likely to pay in rent and utilities. Based on the instruments you offer and the suppliers you want to work with, determine how much you’ll spend on inventory. Don’t forget to factor how much you’ll pay your employees and any other costs you’ll have to set up your store and keep it running.
Finally, use research about competition and levels of demand to estimate how much money you expect to bring in. Make sure your music store will make enough profit to keep you in business.
It’s a good idea to speak with a financial advisor before opening your music store so they can look over your numbers and determine if your plan is viable. Their expertise can help you solve problems and make improvements before you ever open for business.
Related Read: Music Store Business Plan: 5 Steps to Success
To create a quality brand, you need great visuals. Choose a color scheme, create a well-designed logo, and keep these visuals consistent across your entire business so your customers recognize your brand anywhere.
You should also develop your brand’s personality and values based on its USP. Maybe your music store offers affordable instruments to families and beginners to promote the study of music for a younger market. Or maybe you’ll run a high-end instrument store for experienced professionals that champions the intricate craftsmanship of premium instruments.
Whatever you choose, communicate your music store’s story on your website, on social media, and in-store.
To run a great music store, you need great musical instrument suppliers. To find the best suppliers, be sure to research multiple options. Make sure a supplier offers the type of instruments you want at the level of quality you’re looking for, and that they can reliably ship items to your store.
Negotiate terms that are beneficial for both parties, and make sure a supplier you choose will respond to you when you have questions or concerns.
As your music store opens, pay close attention to your inventory. How fast is it moving, which items are selling the most, and which are selling the least? Adjust your inventory orders to get more of the highest selling items and less of items that stay on the shelves longer.
Pro tip: The best way to manage inventory at a small business is with a point of sale (POS) system. A POS system gives you access to suppliers, keeps track of all of the items you sell, and automatically adjusts inventory levels when you purchase inventory or make a sale.
Related Read: Master Music Shop Inventory Management in 10 Steps
An effective website and social media presence expands the reach of your music store and helps you attract customers. Your website should make it easy for customers to learn about your business, plan a trip to your store, and explore the products you offer.
Your website should be well-designed and showcase your music store’s brand. It should also be easy to navigate — clearly showcase your store’s address and hours, and direct users to your online store.
Social media channels allow new customers to find you and help you communicate new products, discounts, or store events to past customers. Use these channels to demonstrate playing different musical instruments and respond to comments and direct messages where possible. This will help you increase customer loyalty.
Related Read: How To Start an Online Music Instrument Store: 9 Simple Steps
Customers in your music store will have questions about your products — and despite your best efforts, they will have issues with their purchases from time to time. Make sure to provide great service to help your customers resolve these issues.
When a customer feels you’ve gone above and beyond to help resolve their issue, they’re more likely to choose your music store again and to spread the word about your business to their friends.
Learn as much as you can about the instruments you sell so you can answer as many customer questions as possible. Train your staff to be knowledgeable and helpful so your music store can consistently offer quality service.
As you prepare to open a music store, keep these essential steps in mind:
As you follow these steps and set up your music store, keep your customers in mind. How can you provide great musical instruments and a great experience? How can you make navigating your website and your store simple and straightforward? As you create a great experience for your customers, the word will spread and your store will see greater success.
Running a small business requires you to manage a variety of tasks simultaneously — and a POS system helps you keep track of all of them.
Music Shop 360 is an all-in-one platform specifically designed to help you run your music store. It includes general retail features like inventory management and payment processing, as well as music-specific features like instrument rentals and repairs. With all of these features in one place, you can maximize your store’s potential.
To see what Music Shop 360 can do for your business, schedule a demo today!