Closing down your retail store is not an easy decision.
You’ve put in a lot of time and effort into building your business.
But maybe you felt that it was time for a change and decided to close down your retail store.
Now you might be asking yourself, what’s next?
If you’re not ready to retire, you may be considering switching careers and doing something else.
Regardless of which direction you choose to go in after closing down your retail store, you want to set yourself up to be in the best possible position to take advantage of new opportunities.
But you don’t have to go through this on your own, we can help.
A retail store closing consultant at Silverman Consulting can help guide and prepare you for the next phase of your life after you’ve closed down your business.
Once you’ve successfully had a store closing sale and liquidated your assets, you’ll be ready to start a new career path.
But how do you switch careers, and what are the things you need to think about to do so?
Today we’re going to be taking a look at some things to consider when deciding to start a new career so that you can make the best informed decision for what to do next.
Consider What Careers Are In Demand
One thing to consider is what careers are currently available and in demand on the market.
This can give you an idea of what type of opportunities you can expect and help you tailor your approach accordingly.
Another thing to consider is the turnover rate in the career you’re considering.
Your years of retail and customer service experience are valuable in many industries.
What opportunities do companies in your area have, and how can you translate your skills to these opportunities?
This phase will require you to do your research.
It’s always advisable to start building your network and speak to people, colleagues, customers, even competitors who are active in the business community.
It can also be beneficial for you to attend local business networking events, chambers of commerce, seminars, conferences, and organized social gatherings with business people working in your area.
You can even reach out directly to employees and companies to do informational interviews.
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This can help you get yourself noticed and gather valuable insights about the current job market and available options.
However, it’s also important to consider what careers align with your skills and experience.
Consider Your Transferable Skills
The benefit of being a former retail store owner is that you have a wide range of transferable skills.
These can be adaptable to many different types of careers and positions.
You have always been the face of your business and were largely responsible for its growth and success.
You likely had to take on and perform various roles throughout your business, which have given you and developed many transferable skills that can be beneficial for a new career.
Being a retail store owner means that you need to be adaptable and able to multitask while working in high pressure situations.
As such, you’re self-motivated and able to assess, handle, and adapt to diverse situations as they arise.
One key skill of having a successful retail store is to provide excellent customer service.
This relates to customer satisfaction, conflict resolution, and cross functional communication.
Your customers being happy with your products and services is essential to your store’s success.
As an owner you’re also responsible for making sure that your team operates smoothly and conflicts and issues are resolved quickly and effectively.
This applies to both dealing with customers as well as management and employees.
These elements further relate to project management and time management skills to ensure that your business operations run smoothly.
As a former retail owner, you also possess considerable sales skills.
From promoting products, to upselling rewards programs, to understanding and appealing to your customer base, your sales skills were an essential component.
You’ve remerchandised your store a thousand times, found ways to liquidate old inventory, created window displays, and much more – all with an eye toward increasing sales.
Furthermore, as a former retail store owner you have considerable financial literacy.
This includes budgeting, handling money transactions, accounting, managing your cash flow, and using financial software to stay organized.
Once you’ve gotten a good idea about what your transferable skills are, it’s important to craft a strong resume to promote yourself and switch careers successfully.
Your transferable skills, experience, and accomplishments are your greatest advantage, so you want to ensure that other people are aware of them.
Consider What You’d Like To Do
If you’ve decided to close down your retail store it means that you’re ready for a change.
This is an opportunity for you to consider what exactly you’d like to do.
What was it about being a retail store owner that you disliked?
What do you need or want to make you feel motivated and satisfied with what you’re doing?
What are your financial expectations?
These are questions that you need to ask yourself to help you determine what kind of career you want to move onto.
This is a good time to self-reflect and really look at your personality, skills, interests, and values.
The idea is to think about a career that aligns across all of these aspects and brings you interest and satisfaction.
There are a lot of steps involved in the process of switching careers.
However, if you have a good support system in place, this is a chance to explore your passions and interests and transition to the next stage of your life.
Career Options For Former Retail Store Owners
You may be wondering what specific career options you have as a former retail store owner.
The good news is that because of your adaptable skills and experiences, you can fit into a wide range of career options.
Some particular careers that are suited to your transferable skills as a former retail store owner can include:
- Office manager
- Recruiter
- Sales agent
- Human resources worker
- Accounting and billing specialist
- Customer service representative
- Real estate agent or broker
- Hospitality worker
- Retail consultant
While this list gives you some idea of the types of careers you may be most suited for, your possibilities are much vaster.
By looking at both your transferable skills as well as thinking about what you’d like to do, you can pursue a multitude of career options.
It can be hard to narrow down exactly what you want, but if you’ve closed down your retail store and aren’t ready to retire, we can help.
Contact Silverman Consulting And Retail Services Today
Making the transition from being a retail store owner to wanting to start a new career can be tough and overwhelming.
But you don’t have to do it on your own.
At Silverman Consulting we can provide you with the advice and resources you need to enter the next stage of your life.
Most of our consultants were retailers that left the retail space and now help retailers move through this difficult process successfully.
Contact Silverman Consulting And Retail Services today.
Silverman Consulting & Retail Services229 Yonge St suite 400,
Toronto, ON M5B 1N9, Canada
1 (888) 955-1069