Most of the inhabitants of Russia are Orthodox Christians, and many of them regularly visit churches to light a candle, try to adhere to the basic Christian postulates and fasts. Almost every church has church shops where believers can buy icons, candles, candlesticks, Christian literature and audio recordings, crosses, chains, icon lamps, souvenirs and other religious goods.

But, unfortunately, not in all Russian cities the number of churches and temples corresponds to the real need for them, so very often there are not enough church shops. In this case, opening a store with goods of a religious nature can be beneficial to society and a very promising option for entrepreneurial activity.

Study the market, get a blessing

As in any other business, you should start with a careful study of the market. Evaluate whether your city (district, village, etc.) really needs another church shop, or whether the existing ones more than cover the existing demand.

Before opening an Orthodox shop, it is advisable to consult with local priests who are well versed in religious specifics and will always help with advice. And in general, getting a blessing from the local diocese in organizing this type of business activity will be just as necessary as registering an individual entrepreneur with state tax authorities.

Otherwise, opening a church shop is not much different from opening a regular store.

We register an individual entrepreneur, select a room

The first step is to register as an individual entrepreneur. It is not difficult to do this, since in recent years the procedure for registering an individual entrepreneur has been significantly simplified.

Then you need to find a suitable location. It should be a passable place with a large flow of people - near metro stations, next to grocery supermarkets, shopping malls, markets, etc.

The point of sale must be decorated in colors that are as close as possible to the Orthodox style - brown, gold and yellow.

We select suppliers of church products

Today, it is not difficult to find suppliers of products for a church shop - it is enough to type the corresponding request in a search engine, however, in this type of business, special specifics must be taken into account. It is better to buy goods from those manufacturers with whom church shops working at churches cooperate.

The entire assortment must comply with Orthodox dogma, and, if possible, must be approved by local clergy.

We are looking for a seller for a church shop

This issue also requires a special approach. Of course, anyone can serve the goods from the shelf to the buyer, accept money from him and count the change, but not everyone can answer the questions that buyers often ask.

Only those who are well versed in religious subjects can cope with this role. Therefore, a deeply religious person should be hired for the position of the seller, who can give an exhaustive answer to any question of the visitor.

Everyone will agree with this: most of the population of our country are Orthodox Christians. Therefore, the demand for various icons, crosses, prayer books and other church paraphernalia remains quite high. Of course, each church has its own church shop. But it is not always convenient for an Orthodox person to buy the necessary goods. Some simply cannot explain what exactly they need or, seeing the queue, postpone the purchase until the next time. That is why opening your own virtual church shop is a fairly fresh and profitable idea.

Room rental.

To create an online store of a church direction, it is necessary to rent a room in which you can store basic goods and all administrative work. Church paraphernalia requires maintaining a normal microclimate in the room, with air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter.

The area of ​​the room should be about 20 m2. Of these, about half will be separated for storage needs, and the other part will be organized places for staff work. The premises must be equipped with sewerage, electricity and water supply. It is advisable to choose a room closer to the city center, with the possibility of a convenient entrance. The cost of renting the premises is about $600.

Staff.

To open a virtual church shop, it will be necessary to invite staff to work. This is System Administrator who will perform the function of the equipment adjuster. The accountant who will perform the settlement work. Programmers who will develop the site and its promotion. A sales manager who will consult on products and sell products.

Purchasing manager who will work with product suppliers. Additionally, you can invite a courier to work. It is important that these people be Orthodox Christians and have at least some understanding of church paraphernalia. The cost of remuneration of the staff of employees is about $ 2.5 thousand per month. But, if you decide to become a sales and purchasing manager at the same time, then wage employees will be reduced to $1.8 thousand.

Purchase of furniture and equipment.

To organize an Orthodox online store, you need to buy the following equipment: 3 computers for staff, a laser printer, cash register. This is the main technique. Its cost is about $2,000. In addition, you need to buy office furniture and storage equipment: tables, chairs, racks, shelves, filing cabinets. The total cost of investments is about $3.5 thousand.

Business organization tools.

To start a business in this direction, you first need to buy a domain and hosting. The cost of the first in the ru zone is about $20. Hosting to work on a fast and reliable server, 500 Mb, with unlimited traffic, MySQ, PHP is about $90 per year. The next step is to develop the "engine" of the Orthodox online store. Its cost can fluctuate between $3,000 and $5,000. This amount includes the development of website design, programming, design, filling with products and placement on the Internet.

Also, the organizational aspects of the business include the costs of registering an enterprise and the costs of opening a bank account. All this carries with it the sum of $700.

To promote an Orthodox online store, it is important to first of all cover the following points: Advertising in Yandex Direct, Yandex Market, Rambler Shopping. This advertisement will allow your online store not to get lost on the web. Additionally, you need to engage in online and offline advertising to promote your own site. This may be the purchase of advertising space on partner sites or any publication of an advertising nature.

Additionally, every month you need to invest in the development and support of the site itself. In addition to virtual advertising, you can promote an Orthodox online store using standard advertising tools: printing and distributing leaflets, advertising publications in church magazines, and outdoor advertising. The marketing plan for this type of activity is about $0.8-1.3 thousand.

Purchase of products.

You can, of course, work directly with the supplier, without organizing a warehouse. But over time, all the same, you will have to purchase the main, most popular church goods. This will allow you to quickly fulfill orders and control the availability of products. Our business plan is based on opening an Orthodox online store with a warehouse, applying standard and most cost-effective approaches to organizing a business.

Since the purchase of a consignment of goods has always been more profitable and brought more profit to the enterprise. In total, you can spend about $ 800 to start buying the most popular products (icons, church calendars, candles, bibles and prayer books, baptismal paraphernalia, crosses and chains). In the future, you can monitor the demand for goods and expand the warehouse.

Basic costs.

Below are the main costs of opening your own Orthodox online store:

1. Room rental - $600;

2. Personnel - $1.8 thousand;

3. Production - $800;

4. Purchase of furniture and equipment - $3.5 thousand;

6. Costs of organizing a business - $3.7-5.7 thousand;

7. Office expenses - $200.

In total, to open your own virtual church shop, you need an amount within $ 14 thousand.

Calculation of profit and payback period.

To calculate the profit, it is important to determine the pricing policy of the online store. Most often, the store's income from the sale of each product is from 20 to 40%, in a highly competitive environment. Given the demand and specifics of this product, a small Orthodox online store at the beginning of its activity can earn about $2-3 thousand.

But with further promotion of the business, this amount can increase by 3 or even 5 times. On average, the payback period for a business in this area ranges from 8 months to 1.5 years, depending on the marketing and pricing policy.

Sales of goods and business development.

You can sell Orthodox goods in the following areas:

1. Orthodox shops and shops;

2. Temples and churches;

3. Christians and believers.

You can develop an Orthodox online store by offering consumers more and more new and rare goods. Additionally, you can organize a consultation with the priest, which will certainly attract clients. Still, as an option, you can start opening a real store or outlet.

Most of the inhabitants of Russia are Orthodox Christians. Therefore, there is always a demand for icons, crosses, icon cases, Orthodox books, audio and video recordings. Often church shops are organized at churches, but they do not always fully meet all the needs of the consumer.

You will need

• - business plan;
• - registration documents;
• - room;
• - trade software and goods;
• - outdoor advertising;
• - Father's blessing.

Instruction

To open a church shop, like any other type of business, you need to calculate investments and profits. To address this issue, write a business plan. It can be useful in the future also when applying for a bank loan to open or develop a store.

Be sure to go to the tax office. It will be enough to register as an individual entrepreneur.

Find a place to trade. It is desirable that it be near a large temple. Pay special attention to the repair and design of the trading floor. Use brown, gold, soft yellow colors. Take care of subdued lighting. Choose natural wood furniture. Use icons, lamps, candles, lace tablecloths and napkins as decor elements.

Negotiate with suppliers. The main manufacturer of church utensils in Russia is the Sofrino art and production enterprise. Most of the range you can buy there. But this should not limit your imagination. Discuss with icon painters the possibility of selling their products in your church shop, try to negotiate deliveries from Jerusalem.

Find good employees for the church shop. Often a person is embarrassed to ask a priest a question in church, but it will be much easier to do this in an ordinary store. Therefore, a sincere believer who knows and observes Orthodox customs and traditions should stand behind the counter.

Helpful advice

There are many believers in the global network. Therefore, you can open an online store, delivering church goods by mail.

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Each person will agree that most of the inhabitants of his country are Orthodox Christians who attend churches and similar temples. A person comes to church to pray for health, light a candle for the repose, order a prayer service. All parishioners try to observe Christian canons and acquire Christian paraphernalia in their homes. Each church or temple has its own church shop, which sells various themed utensils: candles, icons, Christian literature, calendars of saints, prayer books, icon lamps, crosses, souvenirs.

And all the parishioners, without exception, periodically buy the necessary goods of a religious direction in the church shop. But not all cities and corners of the country have the necessary number of temples and churches where parishioners can come. Therefore, in many places there is an urgent need for church shops. In this case, opening a church shop is a good idea and profitable. profitable business in which goods of a religious nature will be sold.

Where to start a business?

Each business begins with a study of the demand for selected products, as well as an assessment of purchasing power. If there is already more than one church shop in your area, is it still needed? Estimate the demand for Christian products, given the number of parishioners and competitors.

Before you start your business selling religious products, get a blessing from local priests. This will help you navigate in the future in building a business, because the ministers of the church can help you not only with advice, but also with deeds. Without receiving blessings and permission to engage in religious business, your idea will not flourish. After all, the ministers of the local diocese have the right to refuse you in your venture, as well as to allow

Receiving a blessing for trading in a Christian institution, you become a full-fledged cell of their society, taking into account all the canons and covenants. Although, otherwise, opening a regular store is a similar procedure for creating a church shop.

Church shop registration and room selection

Opening your own business, you automatically become an individual entrepreneur. Therefore, you need to register with the tax authorities and get permission for your idea. Registration is a common procedure, although recently it has been greatly simplified and does not require much time.

If you have received permission to sell Christian products on the territory of a temple or church, then you have decided the issue with the place. What will it be - a gazebo on the street at the temple or a corner in the church, decide in a planned manner.

If you are looking for a suitable room, try to find a crowded place for this occasion. The bulk of the flow of people should be concentrated in it. Best positioned outlet next to a large supermarket, railway station or metro station. Try to arrange the room itself in a similar color scheme that appeals to the Christian direction. Gold, yellow and brown tones are quite suitable for decorating a trading place.

Choice of suppliers of church paraphernalia

Finding suppliers of Christian products will not be a problem for you. You can search for them on ads or on the Internet. Although, for the purchase of this kind of goods, there are some nuances. To get high-quality products, ask who the church shops operating at churches buy goods from. Select the assortment only in the direction you need, although priests and ministers of the church may well help you in this matter

Christian Goods Seller

This issue must be approached very seriously and responsibly. It is not difficult to trade the imported goods, as well as serve it from the shelf and receive money for it. But, here to give full answers to questions of interest that are often asked by parishioners, not every seller can do it.

Therefore, a competent person who is fully versed in the religious direction is needed in this matter. It is best to give preference to a believer, and he, in turn, will be able to advise the necessary paraphernalia for a particular occasion.

........................................................................................

Business in Russia. Guidelines for starting a business in the regions.
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* Calculations use average data for Russia

1. PROJECT SUMMARY

This project considers the opening of a workshop for the production of paraffin church candles. The production will be organized in an industrial premises on an area of ​​40 sq. meters. Products will be sold in bulk to church shops and parishes of one of the dioceses.

Among the main advantages of the project:

Low cost of production of candles;

Large volumes of production due to the use of automatic machines;

Short payback periods for equipment;

Lack of strict requirements for the premises for production;

Ease of mastering work with equipment;

Lack of strict storage conditions for products;

No need for highly qualified personnel;

Wastelessness of production.

Investments in the opening of the workshop will amount to 756 thousand rubles. Source of funds - own savings. The payback period of the project is 10 months.

The planned sales volume used in the calculations in this business plan is set at 185 thousand rubles. The net profit of the project is 84 thousand rubles. Profitability of sales - 45.4%. Integral performance indicators are given in Table. 1 business plan.

Table 1. Integral performance indicators

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE INDUSTRY AND COMPANY

A candle is one of the essential attributes of the church and a symbol of religious faith. There is a demand for it all year round - it is impossible to imagine more than one Orthodox church without candles. Most parishioners who purchase candles are observed during church holidays - at this time, candles are purchased several times more than usual. In church shops, prices for candles range from 2-3 rubles to several tens of rubles per piece. At the same time, the cost of producing candles, for example, from paraffin, is only a few kopecks. In this regard, the business of selling church candles is considered high-margin.

It is quite difficult to accurately estimate the volume of the market for church candles. This is largely due to its closeness and a large number of shadow producers working semi-underground. The key players in this market are the enterprises of the Russian Orthodox Church, which provide most of the market with their products. The rest is a small workshop that meets the needs of individual churches and dioceses. Often, the diocese strictly prescribes to its temples to buy candles only in a certain place, in connection with which entry into this business difficult for private companies.

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Nevertheless, if there are certain connections and the ability to negotiate, the prospects of this direction are obvious. In this project, we considered the opening of a workshop for the production of paraffin church candles. The production will be located in its own industrial premises with an area of ​​40 sq. meters.

The business is opening from scratch: an individual entrepreneur will be registered, equipment will be purchased, personnel will be hired. Paraffin candles will be manufactured products. At the initial stage, we will produce 8 standard sizes of candles on an automatic drum candle machine of domestic production. This equipment will require the least time and labor costs in the process and will allow you to expand production volumes with the company's consolidation in the market. The markets will be churches and parishes of one of the dioceses, an agreement with which was established at the stage of business planning.

Investments in the opening of a workshop for the production of paraffin candles will amount to 756 thousand rubles. Source of funds - own savings. The payback period of the project is 10 months. In Table. 2 of this business plan presents start-up cost items.

Table 2. Investment costs of the project

3. DESCRIPTION OF GOODS AND SERVICES

Paraffin church candles of eight basic sizes will become the main products of the shop. As a raw material, paraffin grade P-2 worth 150 rubles will be purchased. kg and a cotton cord for a wick worth 25 rubles. per sq. meter. Products will be sold in volumes from 2 kg (the size of one package). Prices for candles will be set below market prices. The cost of one package will be 210 rubles. The number of candles in the package will depend on the size of the candle. The nomenclature and variable costs are given in Table. 3.

Table 3. Nomenclature and variable costs

	PRODUCT	Product description	COSTS PER UNIT (2 kg), rub.	TRADING MARGIN, %	UNIT COST, rub.
	Candles number 20	Paraffin candles No. 20, weight - 2 kg., height - 305, diameter - 9.2, quantity in a package - 102
	Candles No. 30	Paraffin candles No. 30, weight - 2 kg., height - 290, diameter - 8.2, quantity in a package - 154
	Candles No. 40	Paraffin candles No. 40, weight - 2 kg., height - 270, diameter - 7.7, quantity in a package - 200
	Candles No. 60	Paraffin candles No. 60, weight - 2 kg., height - 210, diameter - 6.8, quantity in a package - 300
	Candles No. 80	Paraffin candles No. 80, weight - 2 kg., height - 190, diameter - 6.1, quantity in a package - 396
	Candles No. 100	Paraffin candles No. 100, weight - 2 kg., height - 170, diameter - 5.8, quantity in a package - 507
	Candles No. 120	Paraffin candles No. 120, weight - 2 kg., height - 160, diameter - 5, quantity in a package - 602
	Candles No. 140	Paraffin candles No. 140, weight - 2 kg., height - 160, diameter - 4.7, quantity in a package - 705

Let out production does not need any strict conditions of storage and transportation. Finished products will be wrapped with stretch tapes and packed in carton boxes 10 packs of 2 kg each. The total weight of one box will be 20 kg. This packaging will minimize any possible damage. The production of candles is practically waste-free: if a candle fails for some reason, it will be sent for remelting.

4. SALES AND MARKETING

The sales market will be local church shops and parishes of one of the dioceses, the supply agreement with which was established at the stage of business planning. Customers will be provided profitable terms deliveries that have advantages in terms of price, timing and quality. Products will be sold in small wholesale lots.

Due to the closeness of the market to outsiders, a key factor in establishing sales should be your own connections with the ministers of the church. It is planned to expand the sales market through personal meetings with potential customers, telephone conversations, distribution of business cards with contacts, etc. It is also planned to participate in specialized Orthodox exhibitions, posting information about yourself on classifieds sites. Advertising expenses are taken into account in the financial calculations given in Appendix 1.

5. PRODUCTION PLAN

Production will be organized in a rented industrial premises on an area of ​​40 sq. meters. For production, a domestic drum-type machine will be purchased from a well-established manufacturer.

This type of machine is characterized by high productivity and is capable of producing from 50 kg of candles per hour. The principle of its operation is based on pulling the wick through a bath of molten paraffin and then cutting the candle tape. The thickness and length of the candles is adjusted by changing the speed of the machine. Equipment costs are shown in Table. 4. Equipment operation training is provided by the supplier, the cost of training is included in the cost of the equipment. The seller provides a guarantee for the machine and warranty service for a period of 1 year.

Table 4. List of equipment

Theoretically, when operating at full production capacity, this type of business can pay for itself in as soon as possible, the duration of which is calculated literally in days. In just one hour of work, 50 kg of No. 140 candles weighing 10 g can be made - which means that 400 kg can be made in one 8-hour shift. candles. Given the 5-day work schedule of the workshop, even when selling candles at a price below the market price of 210 rubles. for a package of 2 kg (the price of 1 candle No. 140 will be about 30 kopecks), the monthly turnover will amount to 924,000 thousand rubles. That is, theoretically, the initial investment can pay off in a month.

However, it should be noted that such indicators are achievable only in the presence of well-established sales markets. In our case, as a planned mark, the volume is set to be 5 times less than the indicated one - 185 thousand rubles. That is, to achieve this indicator, the workshop will need to sell church candles in the amount of 6.1 thousand rubles. on average per day. Financial calculations based on this sales volume are given in Appendix 1. The seasonal factor is taken into account in the calculations - with an increase in the planned indicator by 50% on the main Orthodox holidays (Christmas, Easter).

6. ORGANIZATIONAL PLAN

The legal form of business will be IP. Personnel management will be carried out by the project initiator, who will be in charge of financial activities companies, sales market management, strategic planning. One operator is required to operate the automatic machine. Another employee will perform the duties of sorting and packing the goods. staffing and wage fund are given in Table. 5 business plan. In the future, with an increase in the sales market, the number of staff units will be increased. Accounting will be outsourced. The term of the preparatory period of the project will be 2 months.

Table 5. Staffing and payroll

	Position	Salary, rub.	Quantity, pers.	FOT, rub.
	Candle machine operator
	Packer
Total:				39 000
	Social Security contributions:			11 700
	Total with deductions:			50 700

7. FINANCIAL PLAN

Starting investments in the opening of the workshop will amount to 756 thousand rubles. Articles start-up costs are detailed in Table. 2. The fixed costs (see Table 6) of the enterprise will include accounting, advertising, depreciation charges (calculated on a straight-line basis for the 10-year life of the production line). Variable costs include the cost of purchasing raw materials (cotton yarn, paraffin), electricity costs, transportation costs, and packaging. variable costs are detailed in Table. 3. All key financial indicators in the main period of work are given in Appendix 1 of this business plan.

Table 6. Fixed costs of the enterprise

8. PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

The effectiveness of the project is indicated by simple and integral performance indicators. The volume of monthly revenue will be 185 thousand rubles, net profit - 84 thousand rubles. Profitability of sales - 45.4%. The payback period of the project is 10 months. The discounted payback period is 11 months. The attractiveness of the project for investment is also evidenced by: the net present value (NPV), which is positive, the internal rate of return (IRR), which exceeds the discount rate, and the profitability index equal to 1.15 (>1). Integral performance indicators are given in Table 1 of this business plan.