Renovations and remodeling are exhilarating times for storefronts looking to better meet the needs of their customers. Whether you’re rearranging or expanding your building, the business renovation process requires careful planning and preparations. Let’s explore some ideas on how to prep your retail storefront for renovations before you dive into construction.
Consider a Pre-Renovation Sale
Having a pre-renovation sale has two key benefits: the deal can help clear out some of the show floors and generate excitement about the upcoming changes to the storefront. While you can always have a sale on products, smaller, local businesses can also use this as an opportunity to sell off unneeded furniture and even equipment. If you’re replacing these items, offering them up for sale means not having to move them to a dump or leave them in storage.
Create a Realistic, Flexible Timeline
A crucial step in prepping your retail storefront for renovations is working with your contractors to develop a realistic timeline for the work. After all, these renovations can temporarily lower sales or prevent you from operating the store entirely. Work with your contractor to gain a clear understanding of the time frame necessary to accomplish excellent work on their end. Try to remain flexible as well. Personal emergencies and severe weather can often throw a sudden wrench into renovation plans.
Speak With Your Team Members
Your staff and peers can offer incredibly valuable insights as you generate a mockup for what renovations you think the store needs. While not every team member’s concepts may align with your vision, some additional feedback can help you create a more functional storefront overall. Speaking with your team members is also crucial to helping you decide if it’s best to remain open during ongoing renovations or to close the storefront temporarily.
Find a Temporary Storage Solution
Renovating a retail storefront often means having little space for the construction crew, materials, and machinery inside and outside of your building. Your business will need an accessible storage option for any inventory or supplies that need to move in the meantime.
Ideally, your business should keep this storage on site so that you can access stored inventory and return your items to the store immediately after the team completes your renovations. Shipping containers are a fantastic option for businesses, as customers are familiar with seeing them in parking lots. They can safely contain many items, and they’re portable.
However, businesses using a shipping container may require permits in their city or state to keep the structure on their property. If your business is unable to keep a container on property, self-storage businesses and temporary warehousing solutions may work instead.
