BTRACK

Yes - making money is the key. I'm looking to retire soon and will need something to do rather then the gig I have now. I have been successful for 20 years doing what I don't like. Now I would like the opportunity to do what I do like and make some money as well. In my early 40s with the house paid off - debt free and money in the bank loans are optional depending on at what scale I might want to enter into this at. I know all the drawbacks to retail and maybe I'll decide to just do some investing as the market rebounds up and down but ya gotta have goals - and if you don't ask opinions outside of your scope of friends - (that will often stab you in the back for a dollar) - then your shortsighted and not prepared for the real world. I'll worry about the real world of busdev-101, the leases, capitol, demographics, commerce, marcom etc -but what I want to know is what your trusty or not so trusty local shop looks like. Range, layout,Bows, tournaments, tech capabilities,accessories, services etc. What ya like and don't like about the setups - the services and the folks attitudes. On the side I got just what I expected from the question - the unhappy or bitter- who have struggled and the ones who had the luxury of not having to struggle and made it just the same. That's ok - running a business is hard and to some its rewarding and to some it's not. Appreciate all the inputs.

Cougar Mag

Better start talking to the mfgs. first to get an idea on what it will take. Many if not all mfg. demand a minimum order of their products now. Some want a minimum of dollars. I really screwed up yrs. ago when I could have started out. I contacted mfgs. back then in the 80's and could have gotten inventory simpler and cheaper back then, with few minimums required but I didn't. What a fool I was, no archery shops around my area for many miles back then. Good luck and hope you can do it!

davidmil

My trusty archery shop has it all. Great selection of bows(about 14 manufactureres at last check, range, all accesssories. They'll set up any bow with your drawlength, weight etc for you to try. They have 3 super qualified full time employes that can tune a G-String. They have a couple other good part time tech. and some arrow builders. They support state archery, hunting and local ranges. They have a huge selection of arrows and will make them to your specs right the first time. They had a dart system, shut it down for a few months due to problems with it but are putting it back in. They probably have at any given time 300-600 bows in stock. If they don't have it they can get it. The owner has another fulltime/flexible job but puts in long days in the shop. Undoubtedly the largest shop in the Baltimore area and probably the state. Small building. There's no wasted space.




Edited by - davidmil on 01/13/2002 19:29:04

Greg / MO

Thanks, davidmil, you kept me from a lot of typing! <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

Seriously, that was almost word-for-word what I was going to say. NOT to discourage you; it's a shame this country has lost its entrepenuerial spirit, and allowed themselves to be owned by someone who can provide a paycheck. PLEASE find some kind of business to build. But, as david says, the bottom line is money. And most businesses don't make money for 3-5 years.

I have the opportunity to listen to the No. 1 ranked financial planner in the country (as voted by his peers), and he says &quot;whatever you think it'll take as far as investment capital, triple it.&quot; Things have a way of cropping up.

Len in Maryland

Thanks for the good words, Dave. Actually, we shut down the DART because we needed more retail space. Saying we are in a &quot;small building&quot; for what we have is certainly understated.

Dave was mentioning all the &quot;non-archery&quot; items that you would need to get started. Then there are the &quot;nuts and bolts&quot;, literally, that you need to survive. If you need a 1/4&quot; longer bolt and don't have it, service is not really being provided. If you don't have a string or cable at a critical time of the season, it may not be readily available from a Distributor and customer service is not therefore provided. We have a custom string maker close by that we use from time to time. Making your own strings sounds neat; but, if you don't do it often, it will definitely be non-profitable.

These &quot;little&quot; things can make or break the &quot;Good Pro Shop&quot; desires. Just in strings, you have the recurve market, the old &quot;tear drop&quot; market, modern two cams, long ATA single cams and the new shorter ATA single cams. These new one cam sizes are tough because they are so long and usually are required in 1/4&quot; increments. If the customer wants &quot;X&quot; brand and you have &quot;Y&quot; brand, customer sevice is again not provided. And don't forget the need for cables as well for all bows.

On top of that, if someone walks in with a 10 year old Oneida bow, do you know how to work on it? Do you know how to work on crossbows? Remember, not all presses work on all bows and you can damage a customer's bow if incorrectly pressed.

I could go on and on and on, but you get the picture. If you want to do it right, it is a major investment in time and money. Be prepared to loose certain &quot;friends&quot; and finding new ones that understand what it is to run a business. One of them may even become your &quot;hunting buddy&quot;. <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

Good luck. It's not impossible; but, it is tough in this economy; and, with the mindset of Discount and Internet sales, be prepared to &quot;bite your lip&quot;.

The Mouse

The U.S. Small Business Administration has an excellent workbook titled Starting Up Your Own Business. Everyone who is seriously thinking of opening their own business should read this several times.

I wouldn`t mind opening a specialized sporting goods/archery shop in my home town but one thing is keeping me back: every sports shop that has opened has now closed its doors. The local market will not bear it. People want one, but there isn`t enough volume to economically support one.

Just because people in hell want ice water doesn`t mean that they can pay for it...

The Mouse

BTRACK

That is the question - if you build it will they come. Have run another retail/web org before in area with marginal success. 1.2M in the county and college with archery program. 200k in 15 square. People with money - but then, that's always the question - will the market bear. If I go ahead it will be a stepped plan like my last to keep the risk at a min. Again - appreciate all the inputs.

Straightarrow

Btrack,

I did something similar 20 years ago. I took a hobby and made it into a business. It was a long hard road, but the rewards have been beyond my wildest dreams. There are a million little bits of advise I could give you, but I will only give you one. Unlike a couple others, I would advise you not to concentrate on making money. That may well lead to your downfall. Your only goal should be to provide the best service for your customers. Always concentrate on how you can improve your service and offer more for your customers. Trust me, if you take care of your customers (even if it means taking a loss on some transactions), the money will come. Businessmen become rich by providing more and better service than their competition and charging according to that level of service, not by concentrating on making money. Don't get me wrong. You can and will make many costly mistakes, but this is what all business owners go through in learning how to take care of finances, but if you want to be truly successful, then you should be looking to improve the service you provide on a continual basis. The people giving you their hard earned money, don't care how much you make. They only care about what you do for them.


Almost forgot to give you some things attract me to a bow shop. I want one with a range. At least an indoor range and preferably one that has both indoor and outdoor. The best shop around here also has a 3d range on 50 acres out the back of his shop. I also, want one that is open a lot of hours. Nothing makes me more discouraged in a shop than one that is open only nights and weekends. Part-timers will always struggle for business. I also look for a shop with a lot of inventory or at least the willingness to quickly bring in what I'm seriously interested in buying. I want to be able to test shoot any bow I'm interested in, without feeling the owner will be mad if I don't buy one of his bows - I'll run from that kind of shop owner. The last thing that is important to me, is someone with a lot of technical knowledge about bow tuning and maintenance. I already know all the basics, so I if a shop owner is going to offer me that little extra service, they have to know more than I do.


Edited by - Straightarrow on 01/14/2002 15:45:07

Phuloschit

Here is one tip, visit other bow shops and pick their brains. If there are none close, then you won't be in competition with them so they should be willing to support a fellow small business owner. Visit their shop, make notes of what you like and don't like.

Find a trusted part-time employee who can work while you are off hunting. However, if you are a hunter, you will have to give up some of your hunting time to run the shop. Chances are you won't be able to compete with the big box stores on prices for large items like bows and treestands, so you must beat them with service, knowledge and accessory availability.

Another tip: start a web site and let trusted customers place arrow orders via email.

Good Luck.


Hunting is a right, treat it like a priviledge - respect nature

FIRESTORM

Quote from BTRACK.....I have been successful for 20 years doing what I don't like. Now I would like the opportunity to do what I do like and make some money as well.


I want to compliment you on that statement. People need to really think about that statement. You have just made me rethink my entire career. If I can be successful at something I dont like (as you stated), then in my opinion if you ad true passion for something you love with the proven track record of your ability to be a successful business person then with a well thought out plan you have the ingredients for success and fulfillment. &quot;GO FOR IT&quot;

I take a different approach than many of the posts i have read.

I dont know who said this quote but it means alot to me....... &quot;it is better to have tried and failed than to never try at all. There are plenty of success stories of people starting a business and making it big (this country thrives because of them). Why cant you be one of those stories