The Best Way to Run a Newsstand Business

Business Overview:

If you enjoy interaction with people and have been looking for a profitable business idea, consider learning how to run a newsstand business. Even with unlimited access to information on the Internet, many people find that there is just something appealing and satisfying about holding a newspaper or magazine in their hands. You see newsstands in big cities and in small cities but there is always room for another stand if the location has a lot of traffic. People rushing to and from work, on their lunch breaks and out running errands will stop to buy the latest headline or pick up their favorite magazine. Once you’ve selected your location, you need to obtain the appropriate permits and licenses from the city, just as you would with any other street vendor business. Requirements vary by city so be sure to check with your local government website to see what applications you need to submit. A business plan will help you put all the pieces together and help you focus your efforts. Business plan examples can be found online or you can get professional help. Next, you’ll need to establish a relationship with a distributor that handles many different publications. This makes your job easier in that you don’t need to buy from individual publishers. And depending on the number of items you will stock, this can save you a ton of time and paperwork. Many distributors even have a buy-back policy so you can return out of date publications and get your money back. Even with a stand stocked with the most popular (and a few unusual) publications will only get you so far. To truly be successful with a newsstand business, you must diversify your stock and add items like cigarettes, snacks or lottery tickets. Everyone loves a one-stop-shop and the more items they can purchase at your stand, the more likely they are to stop by regularly. With a great location, high quality stock of items and wonderful customer service, a newsstand can be one of the more profitable business ideas available to entrepreneurs today. You may even want to eventually consider opening additional newsstands around town and hiring staff to help you operate them.

A Day in the Life of a Newsstand Business Owner:

Your day will begin early since you want to be set up and open before the first commuters rush by on their way to the office. Throughout the day you will help customers find items and restock papers and magazines as needed. At the end of the day you will close up your stand, properly storing the day’s leftover items and locking up. You will record your day’s earnings and place orders for any new items you may need. If you have multiple stands, you will visit your staff to see if they need any new orders and to collect the earnings from their stands.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will be passersby who need magazines, newspapers, candy, gum etc. These will likely be businesspeople, tourists and shoppers.

What You Need to Start:

• Business plan
• Permits and licenses
• Newsstand
• Various publications
• Other items like snacks, cigarettes, etc.
• Computer with bookkeeping software

The Good:

• A newsstand business is easy to operate once you get everything set up.
• You get to work with people all day.
• This is a cash business so you don’t need to bother with credit cards.
• You can buy a franchise business which would be much less work up front.
• You get to work outside, not stuck in an office.

The Bad:

• The startup investment may require you secure funding from a third party.
• The hours can be long if you don’t hire people to help you run your stand(s).

Resources:

• Newsstand Association of Philadelphia
• Street Vendor Association
• Bureau of Labor Statistics on Door-to-Door Sales Workers, News and Street Vendors, and Related Workers
• Wikipedia on Newsstands

About The Author

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