7 Steps to Open a Uniform Store

Uniforms are needed in all occupations and industries. However, due to location limitations, you may find that people don’t have many choices for buying medical uniforms. If you are considering how to open a uniform store, follow us, we will list you the seven helpful steps on opening a store successfully and starting your own business. The following are the 7 steps to opening a uniform store.

1. Target a niche market
2. Develop a business plan
3. Obtain the qualified license
4. Find retail and storage locations
5. Purchase and personalize your products
6. Get the website
7. Marketing your business

1. Target a niche market
Before opening your uniform store, you need to know what type of scrubs uniform your business will focus on.

Are you planning to sell in only one niche market, such as labor clothes and medical uniforms? Will you focus on multiple industries such as healthcare scrubs, construction, and law enforcement? Depending on the industry, the appearance and function of scrubs uniforms may vary greatly.

For example, retail customers usually need to distinguish between the scrubs uniforms of employees and shoppers. Again, the development and assembly of equipment can improve the well-being of employees, while medical clinics and centers use clothing to combat the spread of bacteria.

Before starting a new business, you should have a clear understanding of the problems and ideal solutions. Knowing who your audience is and who you will target is the first step in starting your scrubs uniform store.

2. Develop a business plan

Companies, no matter what industry you are in or what products you sell, need a scrubs business plan. A scrubs business plan is an important tool for planning how you will run your scrubs business. Making a plan can help you set achievable goals to improve your business and sales.

Make sure to include the following in your medical uniform store’s business plan:

A detailed description of your niche: A good niche statement highlights all the aspects that make your business unique. It communicates your extraordinary pitching position to the world and lets your target niche know what you can offer. Start-up cost: The cost of the physical store, geographic location, deposit for the first month, insurance, utilities, license fees, etc. all account for the initial start-up cost.

Monthly expenses for at least the first three years: Prepare a list of the amount you will spend on scrubs business and employees each month. Three-year profit analysis: The entrepreneurial world is changing too fast to make a 5-10 year plan. Three years of analysis seems to be the best time to create a vision, giving you the “just right” intuition to understand where your scrubs business is currently.

Analysis of other medical uniform stores -these are your competitors. Before starting a medical uniform retail business in your area, it is important to understand who your competitors are. Make sure you fully understand the competitive landscape and where your new scrubs business fits.

Growth plans: These are the activities you will perform that will help you build your scrubs business and determine its growth. You may need to find an area for your new scrubs business or buy a website that your customers can visit. Each activity should be developed in a direction that satisfies the rest of the strategy.

Marketing plan for your scrubs business: There must be a proper marketing concept, which will help to deal with the current niche market in your scrubs business and enable you to make your mark on that niche market. The scrubs business plan may include advertising or other tools centered on building your scrubs business.

Remember, banks and other prepayment providers usually expect you to come up with detailed marketable strategies before approving any loans. Be sure to include the type of medical uniform that your store will sell (i.e. industrial shirts and pants, work clothes, lab coats, official vests and coats, medical lab coats, school uniforms, etc.).

3. Obtain the qualified license

When carrying out any type of business, you must have the qualified licenses and permits to operate. When opening a medical uniform store, you may need to obtain a resale permit, a pseudonymous certificate, a DBA (to “do business”), or a sales and use tax permit.

The rules for obtaining these permits vary from state to state, so make sure you understand the process in your state. Apply for a business permit from your neighborhood area. This helps to connect your scrubs business to your city or region.

If your state has a sales tax, you need to charge sales tax on any items sold-so please apply for a tax account with your state’s tax department. You can also apply for a tax identification number (TIN) or employer identification number from the IRS (Internal Revenue Service).

If you do not have all the prerequisites for authorization to open a medical uniform store yet, you can contact the Uniform Retailers Association (URA), a non-revenue-driven exchange affiliate dedicated to the development and prosperity of independent medical uniform retailers.

4. Find retail and storage locations

Before starting your scrubs business, you need to have an operational foundation.

This will obviously vary depending on the type of business you open, but in the simplest sense, if you open a physical store, you need to find a retail storefront for your scrubs business. If you are running an online medical uniform store, you may need to consider some type of warehouse or storage option for your merchandise.

The location of your store can make or break your company. When surveying the location of your medical uniform store, take a close look at the surrounding community-is it enough to help you start your scrubs business? Does it include your target market? Is the economy stable? Are there enough parking spaces in the area for your customers? These questions should all be related to the location you choose.

In addition, please ensure that your monthly rental period matches the expected profit of your marketable strategy. Almost all scrubs store owners will allocate leases to their property areas on a monthly basis. Make sure that the size of your location and monthly rental costs match the forecasts of your scrubs business plan.

5. Purchase and personalize your products

Purchasing goods for your medical uniform store is a very in-depth topic, and we will not discuss it in this blog post, but it is still worth mentioning as an important but obvious step to starting your medical uniform business.

The first step is to establish product inventory. First buy hooks, hangers, uniforms, inventory display stands, sign stands, and other equipment. There is a free wholesale catalog that contains purchasing information for different types of medical uniforms.

You can also consider joining the North American Uniform Manufacturers and Distributors Association (NAUMD) and Uniform Retailers Association (URA) to establish contact with medical uniform suppliers.

In addition to buying medical uniforms that suit your market segment, you also need to know how to decorate your clothing. Can I invest in embroidery machines? Or do you need to find a local service to decorate your customers’ medical uniforms? Remember, you can contact the organization to purchase equipment and supplies at a discounted price. In any case, you must have a way to decorate the medical uniform to meet the buyer’s needs.

6. Get the website

Every business needs a website. As a unified retailer, if you can’t sell goods online, you will miss a big chunk of your scrubs business. Many customers want to buy online instead of going to a store, so having an online medical uniform store is an advantage. In addition to having an online presence, using best practices for your website will greatly increase customer satisfaction and trust in your brand.

Make sure your website is responsive and optimized for mobile users, has a clean professional design, and is fully functional. Use SEO to optimize your website pages for specific keywords that your audience searches. Owning a scrubs business blog is also an important part of your website.

Blog content will help educate potential buyers and help you find them in search results. Choosing an e-commerce platform for your website is also an important decision, but you must understand which (among many platforms) is most beneficial to your scrub business promotion.

7. Marketing your business

There are many ways to market your medical uniform business. First, send coupons and/or flyers to local groups, sports teams, and medical associations, launch promotional websites, or offer discounted shipping if you run an online medical uniform store. Promote your scrubs business to offices, hospitals, schools, and other companies that are interested in your medical uniforms.

Bring a catalog sample and scrubs business card with each visit. Promote your medical uniform store in any distribution that matches your brand image. Another key component of marketing your medical uniform store is to provide medical uniform customization for any medical and healthcare facilities that may require embroidery services.

The selling point of customized medical uniforms helps companies expand their image because every time patients see the name of the treatment office on the medical uniform of the medical care worker, they will have a sense of familiarity with your brand. You should also consider establishing a relationship with a custom embroiderer who will customize the uniforms you sell. Provide this option on your website to stand out from competitors who do not offer medical uniform customization.

Pro tip: Now that you understand the steps to open a medical uniform store, you can also include a medical uniform catalog without actually holding any inventory or searching catalogs from manufacturers or suppliers. These are all the guidelines you need to know about the unified catalog.

Whether you want to stick to traditional strategies, choose more modern digitalization, or combine the two, Fuyi Group can help you develop a medical uniform business. 50+ years of industry experience help us understand the unique needs of individual retailers and wholesalers. We provide sales and marketing tools and technical support to assist medical uniform wholesalers. Fuyi Group can help medical uniform companies like you. Learn more about our work.