How To Start A Health Food Store

How To Start A Health Food Store

nullIf you are an entrepreneur with an interest in health and nutrition, perhaps you have been thinking about how to start a health food store.

With today’s emphasis on healthy lifestyles, healthy and organic food sales are soaring.

As you investigate how to start a health food store, explore all of your options. Do you want to lease space and run a retail health food store? Are there any health food stores currently for sale in the area?

Do you want to sell health food online? Are there any franchise possibilities to investigate? The preliminary research you do will help you decide which option best fits your vision and offers the best chance for success.

How To Start A Health Food Store – Get Started
A thriving retail health food store requires the following:

1.An ideal location: Shoppers should already exist in the area. Locating close to a gym or workout business is an added plus.
2.Inventory: Your inventory should reflect current health food trends and in-demand products.
3.Staff: Staff should be knowledgeable about store products and current health food research. They should have the ability to make recommendations to customers and steer them in the right direction.
Choose a business name that reflects what your business is about. All too often, cute or obscure names hide what a business really does. No one should have to guess that you sell health food products.

After deciding on an appropriate business name, contact your local business office and apply for your business license.

Keys To A Successful Health Food Store

Ongoing research into the latest health studies, healthy and organic food products, and buying trends will be essential in order to properly align with customer demand. The typical health food store customer is well-read and informed.

As the proprietor of a health food establishment, you will be expected to have considerable knowledge about the industry and products you carry.

A constant marketing campaign that targets the health conscious will also be important.

How To Find Customers
The more you learn about how to start a health food store, the more obvious it will be that finding customers will be a never ending process.

Prepare for your Grand Opening by mailing out fliers to gyms, fitness centers, and local business organizations. Advertise in local newspapers. Offer something free to the first 100 customers, as an example. Give people a reason to make that first visit!

Happy customers are the best form of free advertising. Offer loyalty perks to returning customers. Have special preferred customers sales.null

Form partnerships with other health oriented businesses where they either recommend or sell your health food products within their establishments. These types of business alliances are valuable because they expose your products to more people.

Expanding Your Business
There is a wide variety of health related products to add to your inventory and increase your sales. Health and herbal supplements, vitamins, books, and workout videos are all viable options.

In addition to adding products, consider bringing experts in to lecture or hold classes on nutrition, exercise, and healthy living. If you run a retail store, adding sales from an online store could bring in more profits.

By learning how to start a health food store, becoming an expert in the field, making the right business decisions, and offering customers the products they want, your health food store is on its way to success.null

Starting A Firewood Delivery Business

Starting A Firewood Delivery Business

Find related startup resources at the end of this article

If you love the outdoors and want to start a small business, starting a firewood delivery business is something you will surely love.

The recent hikes in fuel prices have brought in a new era of profitability for alternative fuels.

Many firewood suppliers are now even struggling to keep ahead of the demand.

Because of the demand, you should be able to earn a solid seasonal income in your firewood business.

Figures
Firewood is measured by a unit called as cord. A cord has the following dimensions: 8 feet in length, 4 feet in width, and 4 feet in height.

One cord of firewood releases the same amount of heat when burned as 155 gallons of fuel oil. A cord of firewood typically costs much less than its heating oil counterpart which makes it a great deal for customers with wood burning stoves and fireplaces.

Keeping up with heating oil prices (prices can fluctuate wildly) will be useful when placing your firewood for sale directly against fuel oil distributors.


Starting A Firewood Delivery Business – Regulations
The firewood business owner has to follow regulations when starting a firewood delivery business. Check your local regulations regarding the chopping of trees in your area, as many types of firewood are sale-prohibited in certain areas.

For example, some counties may temporary ban the selling of hardwood cut from the region.

The proper stacking of the wood in a cord will be crucial to your success, and failure to do so can invite regulatory measures from the authorities. The cord should be made of wood pieces that are parallel to each other, and there should be no space between the pieces.

You have to provide a receipt to your customers on delivery of the cords, and this receipt should contain the names and contact details of the buyer as well as seller. It should also specify the price and quality of cord, and what type of wood was sold.

As an added precaution, undo and stack the wood in the customer’s firewood storage area when they take a delivery. This will give them a chance to check the quantity of wood and prevent disputes if they claim later that they received inferior wood.

Processing Wood
You will need to set up facilities for drying wood, and it’s cheaper and more eco-friendly to take the natural option. Naturally dried wood pieces will not necessarily have the uniformity of length that artificially dried wood has, but this may not matter to many customers – particularly the owners of country lodges and log cabins.


Kiln dried wood is another alternative to consider, and is drier than sun-dried wood. These pieces can also be given a uniform size and have less chance of catching mold or insects than their sun-dried counterparts.

Many firewood suppliers also sell firewood racks. These neat devices allow customers to store their logs safely and ensure there is no piling of wood in front of attic doors. Firewood holders are used for keeping logs securely in the fireplace as well.

While wood is mainly bought to be burnt for cooking and heating, you are bound to find some customers in unexpected places. Designers frequently source wood logs to provide the backdrop for a photo shoot.

Related Startup Resources
Check out the following related resources that can help you learn more and get started with this small business (will open in new window)...


Business Plans and Financials

Research Reports For The Other Fuel Dealers Industry
Industry Report - Fuel Dealers In The US
Need help creating your business plans? Our planning software can help.
BizMiner Industry Financial, Market, and Competitive Analysis

Small Business Bookshelf (powered by Amazon)

How to Give a Good Toast

How to Give a Good Toast


A toast is not just a useless tradition intended to embarrass or roast the celebrant, or worse, give an inexperienced public speaker a really tough time. It’s an opportunity to set the tone of the occasion, give a few wonderful insights on the celebrant, and exhort all guests to celebrate in honor of those they are toasting to.

It’s definitely a part of a ceremony that guests have begun to look forward to. Thus, if you are given the privilege of offering a toast, it is important to learn the proper etiquette and prepare for it days in advance, even if it only entails about three sentences.

Below are some DO’s when offering toasts:

DO wait for your turn. Wait for the host to call on you before you say your piece.

DO stand up. Unless you are toasting in front of a very small group of people, you have to stand up to be recognized. It will also help quiet a rowdy crowd and call their attention.

DO make sure everyone has a glass to raise before making the toast. It’s okay to use a non-alcoholic beverage, but never use water to toast as it is deemed bad luck to do so.

DO use a microphone if you have to. It’s pretty tricky to say something sweet and nice at the top of your voice so those at the other end of the hall can hear you.

DO introduce yourself briefly if not all the guests know you that well.

DO keep it short. Anecdotes should only be told by professional stand-up comedians or celebrities who will definitely catch the crowd’s attention no matter what they say. But if you’re new to giving toasts, limit it to around three sentences only. Any longer and the crowd will start being restless.

DO personalize your message. It’s better to have a prepared toast rather than speak off the cuff, but don’t extract a cookie-cutter toast, either. Try composing one especially tailored for the celebrant/s in an inspired moment and rehearse in front of family and friends. Ask them to be honest in evaluating it. If it falls flat, come up with another. You can also use a fitting quote to end your short speech.

DO say something nice. If you need to give a brief roast to break the ice, then by all means do so. But always say something flattering (but sincere) in the end.

DO make eye contact. Some people become so nervous that they stare at the ceiling, into the wine glass, on the floor, or straight at the camera when giving a toast. The proper thing to do is to make eye contact with the guests, not focusing on anyone in particular for a long time but randomly sweeping the room, and then end it by making eye contact with the person or people you’re toasting.

And here are some DON’Ts:

DON’T get drunk. Some people take a few sips of wine to help them loosen up before the toast, but overdoing it can slur your words and make you say something you weren’t planning on saying.

DON’T embarrass the celebrant. There’s a fine line between a roast and a secret that only the two of you should know about.

DON’T give a tired or inappropriate shoutout at the end. A simple “Cheers!” or “To the groom and bride!” will suffice.

Lay the Groundwork Before You Start a Business

Starting a Home Business
Lay the Groundwork Before You Start a Business


* starting a business
* working from home
* business startup planning

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Dreaming of starting a home business? There are a variety of reasons why people decide to go out on their own and start a home business. There's a certain appeal of being your own boss that creates a feeling of independence that's hard to deny. Starting a business is an everyday dream that not many are fortunate enough to realize in their lifetime. Unfortunately, not everyone is cut out to run their own business.

Working From Home
Working at home has its own appeal for many people – but not for everyone. Even if you're not cut out to operate your own business you can still work from home by taking a job that allows you to telecommute – at least a few days per week. Technology is making a work at home arrangements more feasible and more accepted every day.

Challenges to Starting a Home Business
Neither starting a business nor working from home is always a piece of cake. Starting a business can be a very risky proposition. You not only need to do your homework, you need to stay on your toes and remain alert to potential pitfalls as well as potential opportunities. Additionally, you need to be able to handle not having a steady income. This requires advance planning on your part and good money management. It also requires the support of your family or others in your household: without that there's a strong possibility that either your business won't succeed or you'll have a poor work/life balance and family relationships could be severely strained, sometimes irreparably. You may need to work every day of the week to generate the income you need, but you still need to find time to enjoy your loved ones. An occasional getaway is a perfect way to do this without jeopardizing your business.

Working at home requires an environment that's conducive to getting your work accomplished. That means in addition to being self-motivated, you'll need some control over noise and family interruptions. Depending on the nature of your business, you may need to make some substantial changes to your home's environment in order to be successful.

You Need to Plan Before You Start any Business
Someone once said, "If you fail to plan, you should plan to fail". Most new businesses don't survive – this is not doom and gloom, this is fact, and it's a fact you need to be aware of so you can be among those who not only succeed, but who prosper. My 10 Steps Before You Start a Home Business will help you achieve your dream - or it may help you decide that you really don't want to.

The purpose of completing the 10 steps is to determine if you have a workable business idea, if you can reasonably operate your business from home, to help you understand how much money it's going to take, and to help you understand how your family feels about the whole idea.

You'll benefit from completing the 10 steps whether you decide to go ahead with your home business idea or not. Make the most of it and, if you don't have to, don't rush it. It's very tempting to think you can skip steps, but if you do you may regret it later.

As you go through each step, keep notes of what you've learned. At any point in the process you may encounter an insurmountable obstacle in your path that will require you to go back and either retrace a step or start all over.

If you decide to go ahead, your notes will come in very handy when it comes time to prepare a business plan.