Kiosk Business Series

by
Jason Phillips

A Checklist for Starting

While perhaps not as “sexy” as other forms of small businesses, kiosks offer a viable and practical way to earn a great living, all without dealing with the substantial challenges required for many small businesses operating out of traditional brick-and-mortar storefronts.

Yet even thought kiosks offer greater flexibility and less red tape than traditional businesses, they still provide their own laundry list of steps to complete before you can get your new enterprise up and running.

• First, you need to decide between purchasing or leasing your kiosk business. For many business owners, the seasonality of their market settles this decision for them. The more seasonal your product, the better of an option leasing appears. The more “evergreen” your product, the greater chance buying will appeal to your bottom line.

  Whether buying or leasing, keep in mind the price you pay for your kiosk depends on a variety of factors, including the time of the year and how much foot traffic your location receives. The higher the potential of your kiosk’s desired location, the more you will pay for it.

• 
  BigStock: Kiosks at Shopping Mall

  Determine the right size for your kiosk, and find the perfect location. When it comes to the size of your kiosk, you should select the smallest location you need to sell your products. While brick and mortar stores can make good use of extra space, kiosks benefit from a focused, efficient layout.

  Choosing a location for your kiosk seems like a no-brainer, but there’s more to profitable positioning than simply selecting the highest traffic space you can find. Heavy foot traffic passing your kiosk is good, but only if that traffic is composed of your product’s primary demographic.

• Run the numbers. Compared with brick-and-mortar stores, kiosks require relatively low overhead, but that doesn’t mean you should approach your financial analysis and planning with a cavalier attitude. Factor in every cost associated with not just setting up your kiosk, but also running your kiosk from day-to-day. Be conservative with your cash flow estimates and then decide whether taking the plunge and establishing your new business is fiscally sound.
• Acquire your financing. Kiosks represent a smaller financial investment than brick and mortar stores, but you still probably won’t be able to set up your business with whatever free cash you have on hand.

  Once you have the details of your kiosk in line, along with your financial projections and your anticipated expenses, you will be ready to apply for the credit you need to launch your business and keep the lights on as it establishes itself.

• Finally, you need to round up all of the necessary paperwork, complete it, and file it. If you’re starting a kiosk business in a space that has already been highly developed and already provides a home to many kiosks, such as within a mall, then your new landlord will likely be able to help you breeze through the red tape as quickly and as easily as possible. However, if you’re trailblazing a new location, prepare yourself for a potentially frustrating bureaucratic slog.

  The volume of licenses you need to apply for depends almost entirely on what you’re selling. For example, a food kiosk needs to abide by far more legal regulations than a kiosk selling something as inert and harmless as sunglasses.

  Once you’ve acquire all of the licenses and forms of insurance you require, you will be ready to finally launch your business and move forward with this next step of your professional life!

Congratulations, now it’s time to get to work.
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Thank you, Jason!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!