Market Research

[sally]

I am writing a business plan for a thrift store that would be run by an existing non-profit. I really need to do an extensive market analysis... for free. I have tried surveying stores in town, but as I expected, I got no response. I will be moving on to another city with the survey in the hopes that they will help me since I will not be a competitor.

Besides industry census books, does anyone have any advice they can give me to determine whether there is room for our store? Like I said, it is non-profit, so if we do not fit, it will take a lot of wasted money to figure it out the hard way.

Also, how do I predict sales?

I really appreciate any expert advice!

[Armenian]

I am in your shoes so I understand where you are at.
In our case we had a few volunteers from our nonprofit go and volunteer for couple of days with other organization stores to learn the ins & outs and to test the market personally.
Each volunteer went to a different organization and prepared a simple report of their findings on how each of their stores performed.

Good Luck

[sally]

This is interesting and helpful! I will need to run this by my boss, but definitely a great idea. Were the other organizations aware of why they were volunteering? Also, how much time did they volunteer?

[Armenian]

We are all non-profit so no matter what the cause our volunteers helped another organization with their presence. There is no reason to give an explanation. Just tell them you want to help. It's not like you will hurt or compete with them. Our intentions were strictly to educate and gain experience with no ill intent.
Each person volunteered for 1 day a week for 1 month. Preferably different days of the week.