What does it take to start/run a LBS?

[davidB]

a bachelor's in a field that doesn't really inspire me as much as it used to combined with my desire to one day own a small business, and my inquisitive nature with more questions than answers, has led me to ask how one starts up and maintains a bike shop for more than a year?

obviously like most small business, the success rate has to be horrible. Find a space to rent, get some money from the bank, call up some companies and become a vendor? Seems to be just like any other small business, but what else goes on that people don't know?

the hours many owners work leads me to believe there's very little time to ride anymore, so how is the desire to do so still maintained/kept alive and not burn you out?

location, location, location has to really be key like the popular cliche goes. But different styles of shops seem to work so what's the trick?

*dreams of one day being the owner of a successful LBS*

[tbowren]

I would recommend getting a job at your LBS for a few months. That would give you the most thorough education possible to your questions.

Plus you'd get sweet deals on parts!

[2wheel_lee]

Although it may not apply to all bike shops, the trick to get your first $1 million is to start out with $2 million.

But seriously, opening a bike shop is easy. Making a good living off it is something else. As you said, location has a lot to do with it and a little bit of luck also helps.

You may want to look into purchasing an existing bike shop that you think is in a good location, but you think that you could improve upon they way business is done there. I've known this approach to work very well for several people.

You may also want to work your way into managing a shop before you move out on your own. This is also a popular approach.

When I retire, I would like to work in (not own) a bike shop again.

[Jman]

Cool question as this is one of those pipe dreams of mine. I doubt I'll ever have the capital to either buy/own one but it would be interesting. I think as with anything if the passion is there you'll find time to ride and if the shop is successful you might be able to work the ride into a shop ride and get the word out. I think location is key as well, someplace that gets lots of traffic but is not surrounded by a ton of other ore established shops. I would think that somewhere near Southridge might work with all of the stuff going on there through out the year.

Locally we had a great bike shop in Back Alley Bikes but once the original owner passed away the name alone couldn't keep it afloat amidst the numerous other more active shops. (Man I miss Ken and Back Alley).

For those in the know how does one go about getting the financial banking in an economy that SUCKS!

[allison]

I'd say money, probably. Though I'm sure you also have to somehow establish yourself as a shop in order to purchase from the distributors, no?

[Ciclista]

DavidB,

I happen to know the answer to some of those questions. The location, location, location is actually very truth, you must consider the fact that even if you find the location, you can’t get all the bike brands you want and you can only get those brands that other bike shops don’t have close to you, that limits quite a bit the actual locations you can use. Next is the cash flow, your business will not make enough money to pay for bill in at least 6 months (that is if you are lucky) it could take a year or more, the overhead is quite high so you need money, money, money for advertising, insurance, product, at the beginning you will need to buy a lot of your inventory, most distributors start with cash terms. The key area in your business is getting customers in, remember other bike shops have loyal customers so in order to get them you must be better or offer something more that will make them give you a chance, and if you have a lot of friends that ride bikes don't count on them! They will still buy on line or somewhere else were they can save some more money and just ask you for advice for free. Opening a bike shop is not easy but is doable, investigate the field work on a bike shop for experience and then go for it. If own a bike shop you should make a priority to ride and should be part of your job, a big part of getting recognition can be you ridding with the customers. Cheers.

[andygua]

I'd say that the key to a successful LBS is customer service...I'm quite sure that most of us just rather to buy certain things to our LBS than on-line (where you can usually find a very good deal), and why do we do that? Because we know our LBS will give us the best advise, they'll replace our broken stuff (most of the times) and handle the warranty claims, they'll service your bike, etc...

That being said, if you want to have a good LBS, make sure that the people working in there are as "good" and give the customers the service they deserve...

IMHO, that's the only real differentiator between the different LBS (and, of course, that some are dealers of different brands, but that's different )

[El Salt]

Originally Posted by 2wheel_lee

When I retire, I would like to work in (not own) a bike shop again.

Heck, I'd love to quit my job (and get paid less - no joke, not trying to be an a$$) and work in one for the first time!

[JoeTruth]

David, I might have a good lead for you. Check your PM.

[Jman]

So when you say money are we talking out of pocket money or based on some sort of small-business loan? I know one of the LBS basically buys all of their products up front and then slowly pay the stuff of as they sell the bikes. It's one of the reasons they can play with the price a bit. That, however, can hurt almost as much as it might help from what the LBS owner told me.

It does however give you a chance to try out everything you sell!

[davidB]

Originally Posted by JoeTruth

David, I might have a good lead for you. Check your PM.

unless it's a tree that sprouts money, i'm in no way looking to be a shop owner at the young age of 24. I'm just thinking....got to get me a job first with this here degree ya know?

[Kid A]

dude - its a cash machine no brainer. Customer always smiling, register overflowing with benjies, work what maybe 20 hrs week, ride and drink the rest. vendors always make good on their promise to deliver product on time and it never the wrong stuff. hard working, loyal employees who always arrive on time and never call in sick on race day



j/k suggest you do your homework but chatting to ALOT of owner/principals at some of the local shops as they ahve been at it a while and hav seen it "all". coukld be a cool way to make your living but by no means a layup

[pitmang1]

Originally Posted by El Salt

Heck, I'd love to quit my job (and get paid less - no joke, not trying to be an a$$) and work in one for the first time!

Me too, but I still haven't figured out how to get my wife on board with the less money part.

[elab]

Originally Posted by davidB

location, location, location has to really be key like the popular cliche goes. But different styles of shops seem to work so what's the trick?

Ever been to the Bicycle Station in Highland Park? I went there recently for the first time and was very impressed.

Not a single mtb in the shop. They have a few road bikes but they mainly focus on bmx and fixed gear bikes. Lots of inventory, including some bling, bling (CK salt & pepper shakers & hubs).

I think that due to their location, they have capitalized on the fixed gear trend that imo was started by the Bicycle Kitchen/Midnite Ridazz.

The current owner has owned the shop for 3 years now and seems to be doing well.

[BoingBoing]

OMG! All that's been said is true, but hiring competent staff needs to be at the very top of the list (right next to location, a big wad of cash for inventory, service, etc)

You don't want someone like me bringing in a bike for a free 30-day tune-up only to go home with it worse than before. True story--crank fell off 2 days after I asked them to check the BB! That kind of thing could kill a business.

[JoeTruth]

Matt (OPP) and Nate (FullFaceNate) both gave up lucrative high paying jobs recently and went for their dream job instead. They now both run Hermosa Tours (they advertise here), based out of Colorado. It's a mtn. biking tour company designed to cater to those who want to ride amazing trails but don't want to worry about planning anything else. Obviously, it's not the cheapest option and you narrow down your customer base when you're targeting such a market but they don't care. They say they're doing what they love and as long as they can put food on the table, the money is secondary. I hope they're successful and make it work.

[dstepper]

Originally Posted by JoeTruth

Matt (OPP) and Nate (FullFaceNate) both gave up lucrative high paying jobs recently and went for their dream job instead. They now both run Hermosa Tours (they advertise here), based out of Colorado. It's a mtn. biking tour company designed to cater to those who want to ride amazing trails but don't want to worry about planning anything else. Obviously, it's not the cheapest option and you narrow down your customer base when you're targeting such a market but they don't care. They say they're doing what they love and as long as they can put food on the table, the money is secondary. I hope they're successful and make it work.

Hopefully I will be using their Colorado services later this summer.

Dean

[UR2KLOS]

disclaimer: I have no business experience whatsoever.

I'm guessing the internet mail-order business makes it very difficult for any new small shops to get established. Businesses that were established years ago are able to compete but they probably are not growing. Big companies are buying up the small shops due to the economy of scale.

Most new independent stores are probably started by people who can afford to retire and never work again but they think it will be fun to have a business to keep themselves busy.

Independent bookstores have almost disappeared and it will happen to other stores also.

Don't mean to sound gloomy. Most of us benefit from the extreme competition but the small business owners don't. I would never open a small business unless I had something unique to offer. Good customer service alone won't save you. Walmart has terrible customer service but they have low prices and that is all that most people care about.

If you're going to do it don't use your own money.

[JoeTruth]

They'll take good care of you.

Originally Posted by dstepper

Hopefully I will be using their Colorado services later this summer.

Dean

[Jman]

What's interesting is how there are two sides to it even in the brief conversation here. On one side is the consumate consumer who wants good products and excellent customer service and on the other side is the reality of location and capital. The average user here wants good customer service but in reality to keep overhead down you're going to end up having to be a jack-of-all-trades and keep the staffing to a minimum! Interesting dilema.

Another idea is to take a known company and see how the current owner feels about expanding it. Just think how cool it would be to open a bike shop in the inland empire that is connected to say The Path. You'd be under some constraints but man that could really go a long way to getting the street cred!