If you need someone to manufacture pre-made MLT's for cheap, let me know. Nebraska's not too far.
Stone cellar?
500 bucks a month?
Screw the store you should move in there.
There are two things I think are sorely lacking in most LHBSs that I've been to: Professionalism and marketing.
Professionalism: Don't get me wrong, its a pretty niche market and there's no need to wear a suit & tie to work, but at the same time, its not a record store, either. Some people I've dealt with really don't seem to have much in terms of customer service skills and sales skills.
I used to work retail and I favored a "consultative" approach. My opinion was, if this person I'm talking to leaves happy and with the product that best suits their needs (and nothing more), then they'll come back. And they always did.
Wouldn't be afraid to venture into the craft/premium wine business, either. Truly "cellar aged" wine will get some attention. With some crafty/knowledgeable marketing, you might gain some new homebrew customers from the wine crowd.fancy beer + stone cellar gets my thoughts racing.
Keep in mind with an Internet storefront you have access to customers worldwide & not just locally. Meaning don't let local population sway your decision too much.
I'd assume your highest margins will come from equipment as opposed to ingredients. Newer brewers tend to spend alot of money on upgrading their equipment (I do).
Being a "generic" homebrewing shop will put you in direct competition with all other online homebrew sites. Find a niche within the brewing community. Be the one store everyone goes to for XYZ be it service, specific equipment or otherwise.
There are alot of brilliant minds on HBT and several of them build their own brewing devices. One idea might be to tap into their expertise & labor by helping them sell their parts/services through your storefront.
I'd say building a niche among the brewing world would be the most beneficial for a new homebrew store. Example: I go to store A for most my ingredients & stuff, but Store B (your store) is the best place to get product or service XYZ. Hope that makes sense.
COGS, I suspect, is going to be a deal breaker.
COGS Cost Of Goods Sold
COGS Campaign to Organize Graduate Students
COGS Centre of Geographic Sciences (Annapolis Valley Campus, Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia)
COGS Chesterfield Open Gaming Society
COGS Clarke-Oconee Genealogical Society
COGS College of Geographic Sciences (Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia)
COGS Combat Oriented General Support
COGS Complete Online Gaming System
COGS Computer Oriented Geological Society
COGS Council of General Synod
... shame on you for not wanting to brew socially ...
I think you should. If you have the desire to be your own boss, have at it. I didn't read all these posts, but my LHBS owner researched for about 4 months prior to opening his shop (and I wish I could have beat him to it!). You mention that there isn't another HBS for 20-30 miles from your location. What would bring potential customers to your shop? I would provide a great selection (costs a lot of money) and freshness of ingredients. My original HBS was about 40 minutes away and really didn't carry quality ingredients. Now, my LHBS is 10 minutes away at most and carries the freshest grains, hops, etc. Maybe offer how-to shops to draw in other customers. Make your store an attractive establishment to enter. Maybe have hops growing on the side of the building and to top it off, have grain growing in the back! Ok, maybe that's stretching it a bit, but you get the idea. Anyways, if you are interested, drop me a line at [email protected]. I potentially can help you out with the website as I'm a software developer.
Good Luck!
COGS. I had to look that one up.
My LHBS has a kitchen where they brew beer on premises (so you can taste the recipes), and you can rent the kitchen on certain nights to brew beer there. They also offer an on-site beginner brewing class I think. The more useful services you can offer your customer, the more loyal they will be when it comes to buying supplies and equipment. Free advice and a few perks now and then will get and keep customers, even though it seems like a waste of time at first - for instance, mine gives me a free beer glass with their logo every time I spend over $20-30 or so, and I think that's cool.
At the very best, if you'd like to open a shop and have it produce meaningful income, you'll need a good quarter million people in your potential customer base, at least in your market area, free of competition.
+eleven bijillion to all of those pointsWhile I think it's a great idea, let me play Devil's Advocate and throw out a few things you need to consider:
1) your profit margin will be minimal, most local LHBS that I have seen are a part time operation with hours in the evenings and weekends.
2) with the continued hop shortage you may have a hard time getting a hops contract and the contract you do get may be extremely limiting in how far you can grow your business
3) with the current economic situation, people are looking for ways to cut down on their spending and hobbies are typically the first things to go.
I'm not saying don't do it, I'm just saying now might not be the most opportune time to start.
you better re-read Forest's post, you are trying to create a market that doesn't exist in your area. And another thing, with the economy the way it is, now isn't the time to invest in a risky business venture.
3. Do not over extend yourself. If you are busy, find a helper - don't try to run it all yourself. There is nothing more annoying or potentially deal breaking than someone running back and forth between the stock room, the shipping area and taking orders off the phone/online.
I will agree with that. I was on a job interview and there is a LHBS located pretty closed. I stopped in after the interview with my list and the owner said it would be like an hour if I needed the grain crushed because he was expecting a shipment and all he has is a hand powered mill. I told him that was fine, take your time, and I would just hang out at the Dogfish Head Pub/restaurant right :cross:. As I sat there at DFH I felt for the guy because it definitely seemed like he was doing a million things at once.
If you open a cyber-store, I'll be a customer!
PS If you want to start a new business, the only thing that sells is sex, pets and kids. If you can figure out how to combine all three you may have a gold mine.
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