I m trying to start my own online retail business. For now I m just going to start out making t-shirts. They will be customizable, different colors, styles, logos/texts, and sizes. My biggest problem is knowing how much inventory I will need to get this going. How can I determine how many of each color/size/style shirts to get? I m just in the planning stages right now. I figure it will take me a few months to get my website up and running for business. But, I figure I should start with a month s supply of inventory. Is this a good idea? Should I have more than a month s supply of inventory? Or less? How do I determine what a month s supply of inventory should consist of? Please give me an tips/suggestions/advice you may have. Thank you. And please...no negative comments, or spam.
Associations may be a good avenue to explore. These organizations will address many of the thoughts, questions and concerns you ll inevitably have as well as many you haven t anticipated yet. Also take a look at Entrepreneur s online guide.http://www.entrepreneur.com/howto/retail -- Entrepreneur s How to Start a Retail Business Guidehttp://www.nrf.org �C National Retail Federationhttp://www.narda.com -- North American Retail Dealers Associationhttp://www.imra.org �C Retail Industry Leaders AssociationResearch, research, research �C this cannot be stressed enough. Read as much as you can about the industry. Here are some book titles that are relevant:* Selling Online: How to Become a Successful E-Commerce Merchant by Jim Carroll, Rick Broadhead* The Complete E-Commerce Book: Design, Build, and Maintain a Successful Web-Based Business by Janice Reynolds* Intelligent Selling: The Art Science of Selling Online by Ken Burke * E-Commerce for Dummies by Don JonesThere are plenty of free informational resources out there. Check out these articles:http://www.ezinearticles.com/?Building-R�� �C Building Retail Business without Financial Muscle by James Littlehttp://ezinearticles.com/?Start-a-Small-�� �C Start a Small Retail Business with Multiple Sales Channels by Jacob Wrenhttp://ezinearticles.com/?Retail-Selling�� �C Retail Selling Strategies by Donny LowyHope that helps! I wish you much success happiness in all your ventures!
In order to answer your questions you would need to do market research to determine what the expected demand would be. It is a question which a bunch of random strangers can not answer, at least not with any information that would have any real value o your business.