Starting a Bowshop....help please
 

Whats all the essentials for having a Bow-shop?

I know-

Vise
Press
Arrow Saw
Fletching Jig
Scale
Screw Kit

What else??
I want to make sure we have everything ordered and what we need to order!

RE: Starting a Bowshop....help please
 

T square
Draw weight scale
Grain scale
String and arrow level set
draw length measuring device
Bow Drawing board
serving thread/nock tying thread
Arrow/Insert squaring device
String splitter
serving tool
E retaining clip set
Arrow spin checker
Center shot tool
Lazer aligner
Limb pocket lube/cam lube
Chrono
Insert remover/installer/thread repair tool
shaft debburing tools
string wax/cleaner

If I think of more I will post.

RE: Starting a Bowshop....help please
 

If you don'talready know what you need or how to use it I would question going into business for myself. Good luck with your venture;)

RE: Starting a Bowshop....help please
 

A lot of money and thick skin are pretty essential...;)

Don't forget to get very good liability insurance and a tax I.D. Number from Uncle Sam..

RE: Starting a Bowshop....help please
 

No doubt. I was going to sayroughly $200,000, no need for an income for at least 12 months, a great location, and 2 major bow lines.

RE: Starting a Bowshop....help please
 

200K? Really. I was going to go in business with a friend and backed out and we put together all the equipment, and 20-40 top of the line bows and came up with 100K max.

With 4 complete apple benches, your talking 5K max. 15K accessory inventory, and 40 top end bows at 30K max. 5-10K max arrow inventory.

RE: Starting a Bowshop....help please
 

What about the building your are going to put the business in (location does matter), modifications that will need to be made to it including display cabinets etc, and utility/insurance/salary/lease/mortgage bills you have to pay until it gets off the ground? ;) What about some advertising, a webpage, or an indoor/3D/techno hunt system to get people through the doors during the slow season?

I speak from a bit of experience. I had direct access to the books at the shop I used to help at and we started (over again, purchased a previous business that had closed for 4 months at that point) and it was roughly $200k to startup when it was all said and done. We cut a lot of corners too.

RE: Starting a Bowshop....help please
 

Plus dont forget about a good knowledge of bows and how to work on them, many shops have opened and closed real quick because the guy/s behind the counter did not know what they where doing.

When I looked into opening a shop it was right around the 200k mark as well.

RE: Starting a Bowshop....help please
 

Well...I know and have most tools...I just wanna make sure I have everything.

This will be a very small shop....just so people don't have to drive 25mins to the closest shop which is thru the roof on prices

RE: Starting a Bowshop....help please
 

Dude, just go out to your garage and double check, hahahaha.

RE: Starting a Bowshop....help please
 

Yeah it was like I was making an inventory list of my stuff.

RE: Starting a Bowshop....help please
 

With the economy like it is.....don't plan on making money for.....a LOOOONG while.

RE: Starting a Bowshop....help please
 

were not in it for the money...we just want a place wear people don't have to drive 30-60mins to buy archery stuff.

We love archery and love helping other people.

Were not going to stock a lot of stuff...just most of the stuff people use around here!

RE: Starting a Bowshop....help please
 

Honest to God......... If you aren't doing this to make a profit then DO NOT DO IT! You will see real quick that it costs quite a bit to keep an archery shop open.

Unless you have a few million sitting around that you are willing to throw away.

Imanage a small shop, we don'thave arange,and we have about $60,000 in Bowtech/ diamond, $10,000 in Mathews, $8,000 in Bear, $8,000 in PSE, $50,000 in three brands of arrows and probably $30,000+ in sights, rests, broadheads, etc... And then add in two presses (we are going to have to upgrade to the X press soon), all of the hand tools, etc... etc...

ShouldI go on?

RE: Starting a Bowshop....help please
 

Been there/Done that. Dude YOU DON'T HAVE A CLUE WHAT YOU ARE GETTING IN TO.

DON'T DO IT. What you are going to have is a mail order shop. Pretty soonpeople will get tired of you not having what they need, you get a bad name and they drive 25 miles and pay to get what they want, when they want it.

IF you want to order your stuff wholesale, and a place to bury a little income tax...which is what it sounds like you are doing, then go ahead and do it. But you can only claim a loss 3yrs and then the IRS is gonna come looking for your business plan.Have you written that outyet?

The worst business move anyone can make is not reallybeing in business. And what you areproposing is not being in business.

Besides you won't get the big bow lines unless you are a real dealer, and you won't be. Then what you get as clients is the guy that wants 2 arrows and cheapest broadheads you got. Not a well set up archery tool. Guess what, in the end you are promoting the poor sportsmen the reside under the umbrella of "bowhunters". I am not busting your chops here, just a reality check.

Now, if you decide to go ahead with this there are some other tools/items needed that I didn't see listed.

Propane torch w/auto lighter
Asst of Glues
Asst of e-clips
Asst of O-rings
Asst of Nylon washers
Asst of metal washers
Asst of different thread machine screws
Bow sting wax
Graphite Lubricant (liquid lubes will hold dirt and eat above nylon washer(bearings) up.
Quality THandle Allen and star wrench asst.
1/4" drive socket set
String Loop Rope (bulk)
Tubing (bulk)
CatWhisker Material (bulk)
Noc Points (bulk)
Eliminator Buttons (bulk)
3Basic Styles of Peeps (tube,horizontal, tru-peep)
Kisser Buttons (lg and Sm)
Field Points ( 75-125gr)
Paper Tuning rack
Arrow Backstop
A bag target is good to stock as well, they move pretty good. Anyone can use them, even in the basement
A kids bow is a good thing to have on hand (guy brings his kid, kids sees bow, kids get what they want)
Different Release styles for folks to try out (if you are gonna sell them a different one, you gotta let them try the new style to convince them before you order it, or they won't like it when it gets here an you eat it for breakfast next month)

By the way that brings me to the most important aspect of being an archery dealer.....a taste for eating archery equipment because believe me, cheaper bows, bows that aren't Mathews, Hoyt brand...you will be eating them for breakfast as starting in November. Arrows too.

Ordering in some Muzzleloader supplies will help you fill in the gap from archery season till the end of the year. Namely Pyrodex Pellets and Sabot Bullets, and caps/primers, and of course some cleaning stuff.

Hope this helps.....Good Luck

RE: Starting a Bowshop....help please
 

That is right on target. Most shops open because someone has a lot of know how. But you cannot run a business just because you are handy at tying in peeps..... and most folks who run businesses well don't really do so hot on the service end of things.... it takes a lot of balance and its a real gift to do both well... most folks let their wives do the business part of it while they handle the service end... the wife tends to be mightly lean on a dollar.....