Stay Focused On Your Target. Every specialty shop has a feel to it. You start to analyze the products individually and you can understand why the merchant made them part of the product mix, but no one product makes a specialty shop. The magic or personality of the shop is in the mix. And, what it doesnt have is just as important as what it does have. Successful shopkeepers who have made it through the Wal-Mart shake out know that they can not sell anything people can buy at Wal-Mart.

Topic for Discussion: What makes Orange Tree Imports unique?

Answer: Almost everything about it, from the location on historic Monroe Street to the interesting variety of vendors, products and people. What makes this shop work over the long haul is Carols ability to listen to customers.

They started with Scandinavian furniture that they discovered early on was heavy and very difficult to deal with -- they had to carry it up by hand from the basement. Today's product mix is based upon a philosophy Orange wrote about in her book, Specialty Shop Retailing. “You cannot be all things to all people. The ability to find out what customers want and get it for them quickly is one of the strengths that sets a good specialty shop apart from its mass market competitors.”

One of the biggest concerns is alkways space. Real estate is about overhead and the more space you have, the more overhead you have. Carol started with one building. She bought an adjacent building ten years ago in order to expand. Also, a shopkeeper must answer the questions, “What is my niche? Who are my customers?” The answer to those questions will get you started; however, you will still have hundreds of choices.

Next ask yourself, “What do I want my shop to look and feel like?”