Steps to a Great Dollar Store Grand Opening

For those who approach the exciting day of actually opening a dollar store, their dream business has taken shape.  They are making plans for their dollar store grand opening event.  But something is missing.  They are not sure exactly what, but at a time when everything must be perfect, there is concern about whether every single action required to get a huge numbers of first-time shoppers in the door has been taken.  In this article I present some of the most important actions to take as you prepare your store for opening and you prepare to celebrate your grand opening event.

    Set the date.

Once you have found the perfect location, completed all negotiations, and have a signed lease agreement accompanied by the keys, it is time to set the target date for your dollar store grand opening event.  Without a completed lease, hold off moving forward with any specific buying or ordering of equipment, merchandise or supplies.

    Develop a simple project plan.

Your business plan needs to be completed well in advance of opening your dollar store for business.  However an easy way to make sure you don't forget about required actions to prepare and opening a dollar store is to treat the set-up and opening process as a project.  Just list each action required on your project plan and then track actions taken and progress for each of those actions.

    Focus attention on the main actions.

When opening a dollar store put first things first.  For example; complete all required licensing and notifications upfront.  Then start working to complete all store build out tasks.  Locate and purchase all required store fixtures for your new location once a lease has been signed.  Just place all actions in chronological order and…

    Go to work – Check Progress

Start working to get each task listed on your project plan underway.  Be sure to keep the targeted opening date in-mind as you proceed.  Check current actions daily to make sure they are on-track for completion.  Check your entire start-up project plan weekly.  Do this project by project to make sure every action is moving forward.  

    Grand opening event.

When opening a dollar store it is important that you do not forget the actions required to make your dollar store grand opening event one to remember.  Many of these actions will require some upfront planning and work.  Reserve required equipment and preorder all supplies.  Make sure everything is targeted to be in your store at least one week prior to the event.