Last week I opened my very own LHBS and I wanted to share some pics

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You're shop looks great! I like how everything looks clean and well organized. I'm also in the midst of opening my own homebrew shop out here in Canada. If you don't mind offering some advice I was wondering how many square feet your shop is and if you feel like it's to big or small. The location that most interests me is 900sqf and has an additional 400sqf for overstock in the basement. Are you running a point of sale software? My biggest obstacle right now is choosing my POS. I'm leaning towards a quickbooks POS as it offers inventory control, gift cards, loyalty points and integrates with quickbooks. Best of luck on your new venture!
 
The whole building is about 1,500 sq ft, but we are only using the downstairs for retail. My guess is that our retail square footage is somewhere around 900. I would like for it to be bigger.

I'm using Shopify for our POS, and I'm not all that fond of it to be honest.
 
thatfatbastard said:
The whole building is about 1,500 sq ft, but we are only using the downstairs for retail. My guess is that our retail square footage is somewhere around 900. I would like for it to be bigger.

I'm using Shopify for our POS, and I'm not all that fond of it to be honest.
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Thanks for the input :D
 
Toga said:
Nice shop! I have to stress a Few things.

Top of the list. Homebrew shops are a niche market. You have to keep the customers that find you.

1. Customer service!! This has to be at the top of the list. Many people are @zz wipes however they are your customers. Smile and sell `em yeast and grain :) They will keep coming back.

2. Customer Service! (yes again) Service and nurture the newbies. These are going to be your bread and butter customers. You just have to get them started. Give them the best advice possible and they will keep them coming in the door. I did not get this treatment at my local shop when I started. They lost my business for a very long time due to this.

3. Ensure you keep up your inventory. Nothing worse than going to a shop that is out of one or more of the ingredients you came to buy. Especially when it happens often. This is one of the reasons my favorite homebrew shop went out of business and I had to go back to my local store :(

4. Keep the place hospital clean. You have to be a cleaning nazi! We have a store in our area that is just plain dirty. Needless to say it really keeps people out of their store.
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All of this.
 
It looks really nice. Best of luck.

And sure I'll start the why not just sell better bottles instead of glass carboys discussion!
 
ram5ey said:
It looks really nice. Best of luck.

And sure I'll start the why not just sell better bottles instead of glass carboys discussion!
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Cuz there ain't no Better Bottles right now. I am selling PET carboys though, and I actually recommend them to my customers over glass.

Better Bottle production has been shut down for a while now, I'm not sure when they are going to get pack in to the distribution stream.
 
thatfatbastard said:
So, I'm very interested in this and I have gotten the name of someone from another small business owner, but I was wondering, how much does a CPA usually cost for a small business?
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rokfreek said:
How much a CPA cost is hard to answer. If you have bookkeeping software, quickbooks is the most popular but definantly not the cheapest, and you use it correctly you will save your accountant a lot of time, and time is money. I don't know how you set up your business but most likely it's just a sch C as part of your personnel return so if you keep good books it should only be a few hundred dollars.
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Like most answers your get from a CPA, it depends. And it's honestly something I've struggled with for some time with my own firm. It really depends on how much time the work requires, how much risk they are exposed to, and the complexity of the work. Many folks take the risk and complexity part for granted, but for every return, financial statement, or piece of advice an accountant produces, there is a malpractice risk factor involved that increases as the complexity increases.

For example, say you are a client and you shoot me an email that says you had to replace all of the locks in your building which totaled $500 and when you are putting it into Quickbooks, you don't know whether it should be a Repair & Maintenance expense or considered part of the Building (i.e. capitalized as an asset). Although this sounds like a fairly simple inquiry, a good CPA would recall from his/her continuing education class that the IRS issued new regulations targeting this issue effective 01/01/2014. Just like medicine and law, accountancy is a practice: so like a lawyer may research case law or statute, a CPA researches the IRS publication drawing on his/her past experience and knowledge (Add Complexity). Then let's say the IRS decides to audit and the CPA got it wrong (we're all human). The CPA runs the risk of a law suit, IRS sanctions (Circular 230), and increased premiums for malpractice insurance.

Having said that, it's impossible for the small business CPA to charge on a per question basis. So the approach that I have found to work the best for me and my clients is to charge based on how many forms I prepare and present and allow a reasonable amount of questions on the house. Because chances are if you have a question about your repair and maintenance, there is a good chance that I'm going to prepare a form for you on it. If not, then it's simply chalked up to the cost of doing business.

Rokfreek hit a good point too. Having your bookkeeping already done is a huge time/money saver, especially if you are keeping an inventory. Having a CPA do your book keeping is the equivalent of having a brain surgeon take your vitals. However, if you were my client, I would get you off of a Schedule C as soon as possible, and into an LLC taxed as an S-Corporation while paying yourself a reasonable salary to avoid the 15.3% self-employment tax trap. If you own the land and building you probably want to put that into a separate entity for liability purposes. When looking for a CPA, they will likely go over a preliminary game plan in the initial consultation. An S-Corp structure would be one of the minimum advisories I would look for. Most important, if he offers you a homebrew, make sure it's after you've discussed business! :mug:
 
April15Hater said:
Like most answers your get from a CPA, it depends. And it's honestly something I've struggled with for some time with my own firm. It really depends on how much time the work requires, how much risk they are exposed to, and the complexity of the work. Many folks take the risk and complexity part for granted, but for every return, financial statement, or piece of advice an accountant produces, there is a malpractice risk factor involved that increases as the complexity increases.

For example, say you are a client and you shoot me an email that says you had to replace all of the locks in your building which totaled $500 and when you are putting it into Quickbooks, you don't know whether it should be a Repair & Maintenance expense or considered part of the Building (i.e. capitalized as an asset). Although this sounds like a fairly simple inquiry, a good CPA would recall from his/her continuing education class that the IRS issued new regulations targeting this issue effective 01/01/2014. Just like medicine and law, accountancy is a practice: so like a lawyer may research case law or statute, a CPA researches the IRS publication drawing on his/her past experience and knowledge (Add Complexity). Then let's say the IRS decides to audit and the CPA got it wrong (we're all human). The CPA runs the risk of a law suit, IRS sanctions (Circular 230), and increased premiums for malpractice insurance.

Having said that, it's impossible for the small business CPA to charge on a per question basis. So the approach that I have found to work the best for me and my clients is to charge based on how many forms I prepare and present and allow a reasonable amount of questions on the house. Because chances are if you have a question about your repair and maintenance, there is a good chance that I'm going to prepare a form for you on it. If not, then it's simply chalked up to the cost of doing business.

Rokfreek hit a good point too. Having your bookkeeping already done is a huge time/money saver, especially if you are keeping an inventory. Having a CPA do your book keeping is the equivalent of having a brain surgeon take your vitals. However, if you were my client, I would get you off of a Schedule C as soon as possible, and into an LLC taxed as an S-Corporation while paying yourself a reasonable salary to avoid the 15.3% self-employment tax trap. If you own the land and building you probably want to put that into a separate entity for liability purposes. When looking for a CPA, they will likely go over a preliminary game plan in the initial consultation. An S-Corp structure would be one of the minimum advisories I would look for. Most important, if he offers you a homebrew, make sure it's after you've discussed business! :mug:
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Ugh, my brain hurts :)

That's why you guys do what you do. I did incorporate as an LLC (Yay!), so I got that going for me, which is nice.
 
I appreciate everybody's comments here over the past week or so. I've had a great time meeting some of the HBT members face to face, as well.

I just wanted to share with y'all a couple of quick updates.

1. I had a great talk today with a representative of the AHA and we will be selling memberships and Zymurgy in the store real soon. There may even be some events hosted here at the store in the future.

2. Our local Visitors Bureau contacted me today and we are going to be listed on their website. They already have a program called Virginia's Blue Ridge Beerway that's pretty awesome.

3. I can't say much about this right now, but hopefully soon we will have some exciting announcements about some partnerships with local breweries.
 
In the original post. I read it was in Roanoke (I'm getting excited now) Then I read Virginia and get sad all over again b/c there is not a LHBS in Roanoke, TX.

But the pictures are awesome, and I pray the best for your new venture :) I love that "rustic" feel without the "run down" atmosphere.
 
thatfatbastard said:
I appreciate everybody's comments here over the past week or so. I've had a great time meeting some of the HBT members face to face, as well.



I just wanted to share with y'all a couple of quick updates.



1. I had a great talk today with a representative of the AHA and we will be selling memberships and Zymurgy in the store real soon. There may even be some events hosted here at the store in the future.



2. Our local Visitors Bureau contacted me today and we are going to be listed on their website. They already have a program called Virginia's Blue Ridge Beerway that's pretty awesome.



3. I can't say much about this right now, but hopefully soon we will have some exciting announcements about some partnerships with local breweries.
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Sounds like some very exciting developments! I hope everything works out well!
 
Congrats on the shop!:D Love the log cabin look. Gives it more of that DIY look. Definitely wish you were closer though. My closest LHBS is 60 miles away and it is surely isn't as cool looking as yours.

I wish you the best of success this year and the coming years.
 
fstfrd00 said:
In the original post. I read it was in Roanoke (I'm getting excited now) Then I read Virginia and get sad all over again b/c there is not a LHBS in Roanoke, TX.



But the pictures are awesome, and I pray the best for your new venture :) I love that "rustic" feel without the "run down" atmosphere.
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We don't have one in Abilene Tx either. The closest "local" HBS is over 2 hours away in Ft Worth.

To the OP, if we did have one here I would want it to look like your place. Very nice!
 
Stopped by the store earlier today. Even more impressed than the pictures. Its easy to get to, nice selection of ingredients, and knowledgeable owner. Hope you do well, I'll definitely be a return customer.
 
Dude. Awesome store. Love the log cabin vibe. Im abt 4 hours north of you but if I'm ever down in ole virginny then I'll definitely stop by.
It looks fantastic. Good luck to you man!
 
Looks better and cleaner than the store I goto. Hope it works out for you.
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Congrats on the store and your own business. I've recently been having thoughts of starting my own business as well.... but that's besides the point. I am lucky enough to have several LHBS's relatively close. But I continue to return to one more than the others for one main reason. The owner has a prepay base malt program which costs $1/lb. You prepay $50 and whenever you need base malt, just pop in and weigh out what you need. He keeps track of how much you've used up and when done, you re-up for another $50. It's a great incentive to keep going back to the same location.
 
thatfatbastard said:
Cuz there ain't no Better Bottles right now. I am selling PET carboys though, and I actually recommend them to my customers over glass.

Better Bottle production has been shut down for a while now, I'm not sure when they are going to get pack in to the distribution stream.
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Same difference. Best of luck though. The shop looks great!
 
I like the country sort of look you've got going there. Like it'd be right at home in VA or WV, especially on our mountain. The outside reminds me of the cabin my aunt & uncle built with plastered walls & everything on the inside. Grew up spending time there. Cool look! :mug:
 
xandersaml said:
Long time since we've heard about the shop... I hope all is well.
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Things are going well, thanks for asking! We've been open now for just over three months and we're building quite the following here in the area. We are still working on getting the word out though. We have a limited advertising budget (like, shoestring) so we have been relying on social media and word of mouth for the most part.

We've got several breweries in the area that are using us for when they need small amounts of ingredients that they don't have on hand and we are working with a couple to develop extract kit versions of their beers. One has even offered to let us use their bottle labels on the kit boxes.

I've moved the grain mill to a new enclosed cabinet that helps keep down the dust -
wEo1ldG.jpg


We keep expanding our product lineup, as well. I think we have somewhere around 80 grains and adjuncts, 70 hops and 150 yeast strains now. We are carrying Virginia grown hops and yeast cultured in Virginia as well. I am trying to lock down a source on some Virginia malt so that our customers will be able to brew a beer using all Virginia ingredients.

When I decided to walk away from my career in IT and start this endeavor I realized that I would have to go whole hog. This isn't something that you can half ass. Luckily, my wife and kids have been really supportive and understanding. It's been a lot of long hours, and quite a few stressing days and nights, but I think it's the best thing I've ever done for myself.

If y'all would like to check out more about our store, then please check out our website and social media pages:

http://southernhillshomebrew.com
https://www.facebook.com/southernhillshomebrew
https://twitter.com/RoanokeHomebrew
https://plus.google.com/+SouthernHillsHomebrewSupplyRoanoke
https://instagram.com/southernhillshomebrew/
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/40186/

And if anybody has any tips, suggestions or questions, then just fire away!
 
Awesome looking store, next time i hit 81 south bound i'll have to swing by there [emoji482]
 
does your area have a homebrew club? Why not start a club if it doesn't and have the meetings (at least some of them) at your store. This would definitely help get the word out about your shop. If there is already a big club in the area contact the club about having a meeting at the shop, perhaps throwing in some freebies for them if incentive is needed.

Nice looking shop good luck!
 
HausBrauerei_Harvey said:
does your area have a homebrew club? Why not start a club if it doesn't and have the meetings (at least some of them) at your store. This would definitely help get the word out about your shop. If there is already a big club in the area contact the club about having a meeting at the shop, perhaps throwing in some freebies for them if incentive is needed.

Nice looking shop good luck!
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We have three clubs in the surrounding areas and we offer a 10% discount to those clubs and AHA members.
 
xandersaml said:
I'm curious how it's going after so long without a post. How is business?
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Sorry about the (lack of) updates. Things are going well, I suppose. We are now about 11 months in to this thing and we're paying all of our bills, which is good. I haven't yet taken a dime from the store and every dollar that comes in goes right back in to expanding our inventory and selection. For instance, when we first opened our doors we had somewhere around 50 different grains. Shortly after we expanded to 80 or so, and now we have over 100 different grains in stock. My biggest problem with the inventory is trying to expand it while keeping the shop organized and uncluttered.

We have had great support from our customers. I really can't tell you how much that has meant to me. We've also had a lot of support from our local breweries. Several of them are customers of ours, and we are working on collaboration beers with them and some clone kits, as well.

Last November for Learn To Homebrew Day we had representatives from several of the local breweries come out to our store to give talks and hold Q&A sessions with our customers and the public. We also had a beer tasting and brewing demonstrations going on. Next month is our 1 year anniversary and I am trying to put together something very similar for that.

The shop is still a one man operation, and probably will be for quite some time. I'm working 6 days a week at the store, and usually doing something store related on that 7th day, as well. If I could do it over again, I would change some things, but overall, I'm happy with my decision to walk away from my IT career and open the store. I think that in the end it is going to work out well for us, and I've already had some customers from nearby cities ask me to open a store near them, too.
 
I love the rustic design and am jealous of your good fortune in living your dream. Congratulations and wishing you much success in the coming years..
 
Good to hear business is at least not a drain in year one. That is a feat in itself. Wow, over 100 grain choices? How often does that inventory turn? It sounds like you will have sufficient support to build to an actual profit sometime - hopefully soon.
As a fellow IT guy (actually seeking employment) I wish you well. I hope Southern Hills Homebrew Supply becomes "world famous" in Roanoke :0)
 
xandersaml said:
Good to hear business is at least not a drain in year one. That is a feat in itself. Wow, over 100 grain choices? How often does that inventory turn? It sounds like you will have sufficient support to build to an actual profit sometime - hopefully soon.
As a fellow IT guy (actually seeking employment) I wish you well. I hope Southern Hills Homebrew Supply becomes "world famous" in Roanoke :0)
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For the most part the grains turn over really well. We have a couple that don't and they get replaced by something else.

Good luck with IT, after 20 years I decided that it just wasn't for me anymore.
 

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