How long does it take for a HDB retail shop to thrive

[Mr Tan]

I have opened a massage shop and there does not seem to have many people coming. i was wondering do i need to wait a little longer before business starts picking up ?

[beppi]

It's a general rule of thumb for new shops that you should be prepared to run the first six months at a loss and at the same time invest heavily on ads and publicity. Some people say a year.
After that, if you don't break even, you may think about closing down and trying something else (if you still have money for something else ...). Many new businesses fail in this way (and its not always the owner's fault - the shop might just be in the wrong location or the timing was bad), so don't be disheartened!

[generalsu]

I have opened a massage shop and there does not seem to have many people coming. i was wondering do i need to wait a little longer before business starts picking up ?

There are several factors that affect your business, such as location, timing, competition and more. Have you written a business plan for this massage shop? Where is it located? Exactly what sort of service features do you provide?

[ausinsg]

What location are you in? Under the block? Shophouse? Shopping centre?

What have you done to market the business to those who live and work in the area? Or come to the area to shop?

Sometimes you need to a promotion or event to get others in the door that first time. Once they have seen how great you are, then there is a better chance that they will return!

Good luck!

[KenChee]

Setting up the shop is one thing, kudos to that... but ultimately, you still have to market and get customers to your shop.

Since you are at a HDB area, I suppose your clientele would be residents, thus, you will need to let them know the existence of yr shop. This can be done through flyers or even JV ties ups with the local stores around you.

Run a promotion or something, get them into your door steps first... because that is what you want.

The true nature of how long it'll take for you to profit will depend on how well you sell. Because in the end, especially for start ups, the most important element to success is to sell, nothing else.

You can have the best products, best massage service, but if nobody knows about it, its hard to last. =)

[kelvan]

mr tan i'm a business graduate i've always a interest in business running.

some of my suggestions would include
running promotions with some of the stalls nearby(eg. buy a pair of shoes and get some kind of free massage(from there you can try to sell some of your other services but just don't be pushy as reputation is really important especially in heartland areas)

do not offer "discounts or promotions" too freely as that would devalue the services you provide and would make residents nearby think twice or even postponing their visit to you till your desperate and launch some "promotions"

do not give up even after 1-2 of losses because most businesses i see that do that have the potential to make it but just that they think that cutting their losses early seem more viable but in business, its all about lasting it out and maintaining your "brand" among that area.

review the services that you provide. for example instead of one hour long massages you could offer 15-20 minute value ones for office workers that just had their lunch at the nearby coffeeshops.

starting a blog with a work email to let other people know about your services. word spreads quickly with the few online forums that most locals go to so starting one(which is free most of the time) isn't such a bad idea but just don't forget to update it now and then.

provide good service and not do sub standard work because people are willing to pay for good service and goods but will shun bad ones indefinitely.

do not waste too much of your budget on advertising other than the first 1-3 months because advertising is seriously overrated. your objective is mainly just to get yourself known in your location and the service that you provide.

i believe that you may not be the only massage service provider in that area so go study their prices and services but do not under value yourself and go on a under cutting spree because most of the time under cutting each other just doesn't work out eventually.

if i think of more points i'll just add on. good luck with your business.