First Store Readiness Score

I’m the founder of Retail Growth and author of The Retail Roadmap, helping first-time founders plan and open physical retail businesses across the UK. Opening a first store can quickly become complicated. You are making decisions about your business model, location, property, lease, design, fit-out, compliance and launch, often for the first time, while committing significant amounts of money along the way. Retail Growth exists to make that process easier to understand and to help founders make better decisions before bigger commitments. I work with founders from the early planning stages through to opening, helping them challenge the numbers, assess locations, prepare for Heads of Terms and lease negotiations, plan the store properly and bring the right specialists into the project at the right time. I’m not a solicitor, property agent, architect or shopfitter. My role is to sit on the founder’s side of the table, help connect the different parts of the project and make sure important decisions are made in the right order. My approach is built around VenQ®, the methodology behind The Retail Roadmap: The Step-by-Step Guide to Launching Your First Store with Confidence. If you are considering opening your first shop, salon, café, boutique or other physical retail business, Retail Growth can help you understand what comes next before you commit.