Opening A Second Hand Store in Sanford, FL

[paish]

Hello all.

Thanks for reading my posting. Hopefully I will get some more insight.
I am moving back to Florida in September. I would like to open up a
second hand store in sanford, fl. However I need to know the market in
that particular area! Further adding what should I be looking for? I
am a novice when it comes to researching markets!

Any and all advice would "greatly" be appreciated! I look forward
hearing back from you soon. God Bless You.

[FSB Moderator]

Hello,

I'm not sure from your post whether you previously lived in Sanford or
in some other part of Florida. But if you are completely new to
Sanford, you probably want to spend some time getting to know the
neighborhoods when you arrive in September. As with any business, the
location of your second hand store will be one of your most important
decisions.

For a good overview of the region, go to Florida Trend's Business
Florida site and read about East Central Florida. Here is the link:

www.floridatrend.com/biz_fl_article.asp?aID=49742

A good place to look for detailed demographic information (including
household income information), commercial real estate data, etc. is
the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission. They have data on
both Sanford and Seminole County. I could not open either the pdf file
for the Sanford demographic information and the Excel file seemed to
be empty, so you may have to call them at 407-422-7159. Here is the
link to their website.

www.business-orlando.org/Data-Center/demographicdetail.shtml#seminole

Another source to get to know the area is the Sanford Chamber of
Commerce -- www.sanfordchamber.com. You could find out if they have
any other local second hand stores as members and also if there are
any national chains in the area that sell used merchandise. Plato's
Closet, for example, is a chain that sells second hand clothes for
teenagers.

Finally, if you are new to running a business, I would suggest
contacting the Florida Small Business Development Center at Seminole
Community College. The SBDCs are not-for-profit organizations financed
by the U.S. Small Business Administration and Florida colleges and
universities. They offer free or inexpensive classes and one-on-one
counseling. Here's a link to the Seminole Community College SBDC.

http://sbdc.scc-fl.edu/

Good luck -- and welcome back to Florida!

Barbara Miracle
FloridaSmallBusiness.com