High end toddler clothing

[FLF82]

My wife came up with a good idea. She currently is working for corporate co. We have been trying to find a niche for her to start her own business. We live in fairfield county connecticut. Its one of the wealthiest county in the country. She wanted to open a store front that retail high end childrens clothing. I told her to start this slow by doing a lot research. We talked about start by opening an ebay store and an ecommerce website. Any suggestion on contacting suppliers? Should we register the business first before contacting suppliers? Some advice please!

[Stick Me Designs]

Hey there, great idea! I'm not totally up on that industry but have you done the research for the local market yet? I mean how many households have children and what are their spending habits and what type of shopping experience are they looking for.

Scope out trade shows and see the vendors there, you can really get a good idea of trends in that industry and where it is going. Decide on if niche'ing' would be a good idea for this too. I'm not sure if you've done a search on the high-end children's boutique but there is a lot of competition out there.

I always tell anyone who asks, to niche! I cannot stress that enough. When you niche, you can pinpoint that market and really cater to what they're looking for. But you need to make sure the niche market can support where you want to take your business also. Hope that helps some.
Best of Luck to you and your wife....oh and hey tell her to get on here and get to talking too!

[nelsen3000]

You will certainly want to register the business first since most wholesale suppliers who I assume you would be getting your high end toddler gear will not work with you if you are not a registered business. Read baby and mother publications and find out what the needs are, then create a website thats sells your products through paypal and other ecommerce means, create an ebay store an drive traffic and sales through ebay, remember not everyone who goes on ebay will purchase on ebay many will go directly to a web link you provide on ebay, advertise in the magazines that you previously looked at, visit more trade shows, FINALLY open a brick and morter storefront after you have done everything else. That is the order you want to approach everything in!

[Hooman]

Yes, register the business first. I would also recommend selling sheepskin 'baby booties' those are a really hot item...margins are very good, and they have virtually zero shipping weight (I guess that would apply to most of the items you plan to sell). But I'd definitely recommend getting into sheepskin products as part of your store. Good luck.