How to Open a Shop from Scratch: the First 90 Days, Step by Step
Opening a shop is not one decision; it is a ninety-day chain, and a skipped link snaps after launch. This article cuts those ninety days into weekly boxes: what happens which week, and which task waits on which.
The decisions beneath the calendar — what to sell, on what budget — live in the complete guide; here we handle execution order, with the timing notes a foreign founder managing from a distance needs.
Days 1-30: Ground and Paperwork
Week one is decision week: the field choice is confirmed, two or three candidate units are visited, and the municipality is asked about licence eligibility for each. Week two is contract week: rent negotiation, deposit, eviction and transfer clauses.
Weeks three and four run paperwork and renovation in parallel: the tax registration and the document chain start with the accountant while the renovation plan is drawn once and launched. Parallelism is this month’s keyword; a sequential setup doubles the month.
This month’s exit gate
By day thirty you should hold: a signed lease, a filed licence application, a drawn renovation plan and a revised budget table. If one is missing, do not enter month two; the gap returns later with interest.
Days 31-60: Build and Fill
Month two builds the physical and the digital together. Physically, renovation ends, shelving lands, POS and register connect. Digitally, the Google Business Profile opens with phone, hours and a signage photo — set it up in Turkish, since your customers search in Turkish.
Stock enters in the second half of the month: a narrow first order, balanced variety. Payment terms and return rights are negotiated now; bargaining power peaks while shelves are empty.
Rehearsal week
The month’s last week is the soft opening: the door opens, no drums. Till flow, barcodes, price tags and returns are tested with real customers. Every fault found now is fixed cheaply, before the crowd.
Days 61-90: Launch and the First Loop
The official opening sits at the start of month three; neighbouring tradespeople and the street are invited, and a simple introduction campaign covers week one. Aim for repetition, not spectacle: leave the first customer a reason to come back.
The rest of the month is measurement: daily till reports, hourly footfall, best and never-selling products. Day ninety is the first revision day: shelf layout, order list and working hours update to what the till says.
Three Traps That Break the Calendar
One: renovation scope creep — every “let’s also do that corner” adds a week. Two: starting the licence after renovation; the right way is parallel. Three: opening before stock completes — a half-empty shelf damages the first impression permanently.
The antidote to all three is the same: say no to any task not written in a weekly box. The calendar is the brake on enthusiasm.
Field Note
In one café setup the rehearsal week was skipped; on launch day the POS terminal failed to connect and the shop ran cash only for two hours. The loss was not the turnover; it was the picture of first-day customers turning at the door. Since then, rehearsal week has been a non-negotiable box for us.
Quick Summary
Days 1-30: decision, lease, paperwork and renovation in parallel. Days 31-60: build, stock, digital profile and soft opening. Days 61-90: official launch, measurement, first revision. Rule: no month begins before the previous month’s exit gate closes; parallel tasks write the calendar, unplanned wishes write the trap.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sık Sorulan Sorular
With a takeover unit and light renovation it drops to sixty; from scratch, ninety is the healthy middle band. Speed comes from running licence and renovation in parallel, not from wishing.
Not on your sector’s busiest day but just before it: a weekend trade opens Thursday or Friday and meets its first rush already run in.
They need rhythm, not budget: profile setup, a launch announcement and a weekly photo routine are a sufficient start for most shops.
Next step: Write your calendar into these boxes; if the budget side is open, go to the cost guide, and if money runs tight, to the small-budget guide.