People brought up that I should open up a shop in my area because of the run of luck that I have had with other shops around the area. When I went to work this morning I talked to a good friend there and he had been talking to his dad about doing the same thing.
We both have plenty to learn still, and are just kicking around the idea. But we both had a LOT of the same ideas and would love to pursue something like this.
My question I guess is, what are some goals we should meet before hand? I plan on getting all the equipment to service bows and do it myself for a while, and probably a couple friends that I hunt with to get a hang of that part of it. Also, does anybody know if there are any online classes, or would it be a good thing to look into a night class somewhere for some type of business management class? What requirements should the two of us meet before we go for it
We both agreed that it would probably take a while, and may be a little rough starting out. But what the hell. You only live once right? And this is something that we both are very passionate about.
Sorry for the long, somewhat rambling post. But I am just looking at what you guys would look for in a shop. And maybe what some of you yourself did before you opened your own shop.
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'06 Switchback XT - 29" 66.3 lbs
Toxonics - Biskit
Gold Tip XT Hunter 7595
Blazer Vanes & Wrap - Rage 2 Blade with 25 grain insert (125 Grain)
No experience with them other than buying a bow at them. BUT the best course of action with most other business is to contact themanufacturers themselves. They want more dealers though some may limit the amount in one area. Talk to them about becoming a distributor and see what they require. Most of themprobably offer free classes etc to be certified with their bows etc. Understand they want more "their brand" certified bowsmiths cuz a "their brand" certified bowsmith is probably going to sell more "their brand" bows than anything else. Lots of manufacturers send out reps who will teach you to install their products if they think you will sell more of them. Likewise talk to arrow manufactures etc and also give you an idea of the amount of cash you need to setup and get some inventory etc. Also some of them may offer free equipment if you sell their products etc. example almost every fishing store has a berkeley or stren line winder as they all sell berkeley or stren line. Alot ofbars willsell one brewers line of beers on tap exclusivelycuz they will get the taps and lines for free and a bunch of credit for doing so.Ask around cuza whole lot of people selling archery stuff would like you to succeed andproabbly offer lots of incentives for doing so.
Hope it helps.
There are some bow tuning seminars that you can pay for, to teach you the basics. I think PSE runs one. Certainly, you can learn a lot on your own if you buy lots of books on tuning and read everything you can that is available on the internet. Use the search function thoroughly on archery forums to learn as much as you can on a subject. Just be aware that you have to carefully read to discern who is knowledable and who to ignore.
There are ususlly lots of local people who will help small businesses with the general knowledge needed to run a small business. Make some phone calls to your local chamber of commerce and other local small business associations.
My only real advise is to forget about the partnership - they don't work and I mean almost never. For every one that gets by, barely - there are 100 that fail and usually very quickley. No two people have the sames goals and ideas on how things should be run (among a thousand other things you'll disagree on). If you do a partnership, you'll be severely handicapped from the beginning. I can't stress this more. I've seen some last several years, but they all eventually fail and in every single instance the people getting out, wish they had never done it. Don't do it because the other person has money or a building or anything that money can buy. You can hire part-time help a lot cheaper than a partner and you'll pay them less and get to run things your way.
You have to treat it like a business and not like a hobby if you're going to succeed. Take a real cold, hard, analytical, non-emotional look at it from all angles. Set definite, and realistic business goals for what you want and what you can realistically do/expect. Are you going to buy/lease retail space or work out of your basement/garage? Look at the competition in the area and see if it is realistic to add another shop or is the area already saturated? Employees or are you going to do it all yourself? Full time or just evenings/weekends? Are you willing to give up your evenings and weekends for your customers? (Open the shop for your customers, not for yourself.) Have you got the capital to invest? Most manufacturers want to see a full time pro shop with a minimum annual order for their stuff (although most will work with you if you're in a low density area) figure about $10K for that. It sounds like the best training for you would be a dealer school like the one PSE offers. It gives you some business intro as well as technical training. They have a direct investment in their dealerships, if their dealers succeed, they sell more equipment. It's a lot to weigh out. Do it for the right reasons and stick to your goals and abilities and you'll do well. Over extend yourself and forget about putting the customer first and you won't...
And you can forget about hunting for a long time to come.
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"The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the Presidency........... Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. The Republic can survive a Barack Obama, who is, after all, merely a fool. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their president."
Starting an Archery Shop
