Thinking about opening a gift shop, with emphasis on garden decor. I would like to hear from other gift shop owners as to how they decided to open their shop and how they learned all they needed to know before opening their shop--did they work in another shop and decided they could open their own, did they talk to other shop owners (outside the town they're thinking about opening in) for ideas and advice, did they attend trade shows to get suppliers line up before opening their doors, how long it took them to get everything in place to open, etc.? I've been laid off from my FT job going on two years. I've always wanted to run my own card/gift store so I'm thinking why not now. I know this isn't the best time to be thinking about opening a business selling items that people don't necessarily need, with their limited disposable income these days, but I have some money saved so I'm thinking about giving it a go. I had a home-based gift basket business in the past, on the side while working FT (didn't do a lot with it) but I have some experience in finding suppliers, etc. Would appreciate hearing from fellow gift shop owners about all the "research" they did before deciding to take the entrepreneurial plunge. Thanks to all who's willing to mentor a newbie. Feel free to post here or email me privately. :-)