Starting a hardware store may be a hardship for any entrepreneur as there are many requirements. Here we propose simple 5 steps to start one.

1. How to start a hardware business in India
The popular culture of “Do It Yourself” among techno wizards has come into
practice and drawn them to the real world from their virtual world. These
youngsters will try their hands at their day-to-day necessities as well. Yes,
the 21st century youngsters are ready to work for their needs by themselves.
Hardware amenities are no exception to this. So, venturing into hardware
business makes perfect sense.
Here, we guide you through the steps that you ought to pursue in order to
start one.
Setting up the space
A hardware store deals with items ranging from the smallest screws to
lengthy pipes, small mechanical gadgets & machines. Some hardware stores
may also stock and sell building materials like cement, steeletc. So it’s
obvious that a hardware store requires spacious premises in a busy locality.
This is not only for storage purposes, but will also help you with logistics as

2. well. Big cargo-haulers and other large vehicles will be making their rounds
of visits regularly to your store. Hence, it’s an imperative requisite to have
enough space to run your business.
Funding
It is too obvious from the first requisite itself that you got to have healthy
funding to start your hardware store. As mentioned earlier, the business is
going to involve dealing with all the high quality hardware items. To get this,
you must invest heavily, and this is the challenging part of starting this
business. You can source the funds for your business from the public
through crowd-funding, or have a partner with you to overcome the financial
barriers.
Picking the spot
Like any other business, you need to focus more on the location of the store
that you are going to launch. There are a lot of industrial hubs around the
city, where there is a lot of construction activity going on. Moreover, people
are ready to spend few bucks extra instead of travelling and spending 10 -
15 minutes of their precious time. The success of your business depends on
the proximity with your prospective clients.

3. Stepping-up to the competition
There is a widespread notion within hardware industry that it is dominated
by big names. However, this isn’t completely true. Although the big names
contribute to the most of the revenue in this business, the retail chain serves
majority of the consumers. Yes, the stats say that the customers prefer to
have their requirements fulfilled in their own locality instead spending time
at the bigger stores. An aspiring business-person should take advantage of
this.
Stocking up the goods
You can get your stocks from a wholesaler or even directly from a
manufacturer. This depends upon your ability to negotiate with your dealer.
While thinking about sourcing the products, you also have the option of
taking up a franchise. However, as you don’t have any control over the
inventory, you’ll need to maintain stocks as directed by your principals. In
spite of this, there are added advantages in overcoming the start-up hiccups
by associating with a leading franchiser.

4. Considering the demand and the profitability of hardware stores, the very
idea of venturing into the hardware store business is itself a success. Proper
auditing and promotional activities at a brisk pace can yield you benefits at a
higher rate than you would have ever imagined.