EinGutesBier
Well-Known Member
Recently, I've been toying around with the idea of starting a LHBS. The Bismarck-Mandan area has a fairly large population and there isn't even one brew club in the area, though plenty of people have signed on a signup sheet I put in the wine shop. It seems that people here are fairly receptive to the idea of brewing their own beer and learning more about it in general. Which leads me to my question...
Aside from the wine shop, which is definitely not a LHBS, there are zero stores of that type in this 77,000 population area. What I'm considering, if only lightly, is getting the area brew club started to get an idea of whether this idea would fly. Then, perhaps I'd start by doing an online store only, doing it out of my house. Depending on how that goes, I'd invest more into the possibility of getting an actual store front and so on.
Are there any vendors here who could offer me any pearls of wisdom in regard to this sort of venture? I can only imagine how many challenges are involved in this and I don't take it lightly. I have a good handle on some of the business/marketing side, though I'm not as sure of the legalities, etc. If all goes well, maybe I can help the North Dakotans here (re)discover the love of brewing at one point in the future. All of your input and advice is appreciated.
Aside from the wine shop, which is definitely not a LHBS, there are zero stores of that type in this 77,000 population area. What I'm considering, if only lightly, is getting the area brew club started to get an idea of whether this idea would fly. Then, perhaps I'd start by doing an online store only, doing it out of my house. Depending on how that goes, I'd invest more into the possibility of getting an actual store front and so on.
Are there any vendors here who could offer me any pearls of wisdom in regard to this sort of venture? I can only imagine how many challenges are involved in this and I don't take it lightly. I have a good handle on some of the business/marketing side, though I'm not as sure of the legalities, etc. If all goes well, maybe I can help the North Dakotans here (re)discover the love of brewing at one point in the future. All of your input and advice is appreciated.