CRAZYRYAN

My Feedback: (1)

Hi I have a business lawn/landscape for about 2 yrs kinda a one man show with help on the side and someday maybe 5-10 yrs from now open up a buisness in this industry. the only problem i have is i hear a lot of people say it' a good way to lose money. I know this is true for most of ya'll but what can i do to improve in this industry? I know how to treat my customers with my lawn bus. and had about 30 of them with ZERO problems last yr. made well over 14k very good for 2nd yr. and starting 3rd yr. after April. I live in Houston TX in the bearcreek area where theres all kinds of traffic not to mention contruction!!I've been driving around to customers accounts and i would look at what would be a great place to lease for the shop so far ive seen quite a few good ones. anyone here that owns a hobby shop has any sound advice as what i sould do? should i go alone with employees or partner up with couple other owners? Defenitley keeping my lawn biz in case things are fairlure.

Thanks

RC-Captain

As hard as it may seem to a hobby shop owner to accomplish, 2 things make me not want to return to a LHS

1. not having availibility of parts in the store (of course obvious parts )
2. not being open for business early in the mourning 8 or 9 AM

I went to a hobby shop a week ago and the guy opens his shop at 11:30 AM not to mention he didn't have the glow fuel I needed. [:@]

CRAZYRYAN

My Feedback: (1)

thats one of the reasons why i want to fix make it available to anyone who needs parts on demand and in stock i would open up earlier than that of course like 7:30am-6:00pm plus sund aft.

sweetpea01

My Feedback: (10)

As someone who helped a guy open one that is very successful.........

1. Location is very important
2. You need to advertise.......radio spots, get the news to the flying field, bring dirt into the parking lot and have cars run on it.
3. You need to sell the cheap stuff like Aerobirds etc....
4. If you don't fly or race cars.......stay out of the hobbyshop business. You need to have vast knowledge of both aspects to create a good shop.
5. Carry what people race/fly. (don't do the Hobbytown/Hobbypeople approach and carry everything that no one uses)
6. Keep your Kit prices low and part prices normal
7. Don't be afraid to match mail order + 10% or so (shipping)
8. Hopefully you are the only game in town........will make it easier

Lastly make your place pleasent to the eye. Peg board looks awful, but its cheap. Slatwall is more expensive but it makes the store look more professional. Hire knowlegable staff, not just partime kids who can't even count money.

Remeber at a Hobby shop........70% of your business is walk ins or impulse buyers.....the key is to hook them into R/C like the rest of us on here so that they become your loyal customers.

TexasAirBoss

My Feedback: (22)

Man, I heard that one of the hobby shops on the west side that opened about 8 or 10 years ago had way over 100k in inventory when it opened !! Hobby shops are super expensive to start.

You just can't win. I hate when they say , "we don't have that , but we can order it". Guess what, I can order it to and without the tax. Seeya !

And I hate to say it, but it must be very difficult to get good "help" for the wages that these shops can afford. The "help" always seems very limited in their knowledge of the hobby. But even worse, they don't realize that their knowledge is limited.

FedEx FedEx FedEx

Location....hmm...Larry's at 45 and 1960......Mikes in Kingwood.........Kingsway down near Richmond.........Olivers on 290.........something in Pasadena..........and one just went TU in the Woodlands . That leaves.........the forth ward maybe.

Hmm, maybe a virtual hobby shop that is run out of a warehouse and has a dozen Nissan pickups delivering parts all over the city . And pizza !

OR..... Just open your shop on the internet. Advertise and sell on Ebay. I see lots of folks doing that.

I got it....first you make your millions with an internet porn site. Then you can blow it all on the hobby shop fantasy. You hang out at the hobby shop and let the "help" run the web site !!! Before you know it, you are hanging out with Branson and sailing around the world.

Just make an infomercial and let us know how it all turns out.

piper_chuck

My Feedback: (12)

Here's some more input from a non-owner.

These hours would not get me in your store too often. I can't shop during working hours. Weekday evenings, on the way home from work, are the time I am most likely to shop.

If you currently fly or participate in other aspects of R/C, be prepared to just about give them up. You'll be at the store all the time.

Be prepared to deal with unreasonable people on a nearly daily basis. You're going to get stupid questions, people wanting something for nothing, unreasonable warranty requests, etc, etc, etc. In the landscaping business, as long as you keep things looking nice, life is good. Not so with retail, customers can be very demanding.

Work with the local clubs by offering discounts. Having a pool experienced people as customers will buffer all the dealings with people who are clueless.

Have several YEARS of living expenses in the bank, you are going to need it. You mentioned keeping the landscape business, how will you do this plus keep a store open?

Know your products. The justification for paying a little more to get something from a LHS is the person experience the people at the shop can provide. If you don't know anything about the product, I might as well buy online for a lower price.

As others have said, you've got to have inventory. We can get everything online these days. The only time I "have" to go to a local shop is when something breaks, or I need a small part to complete the latest project, and I'm trying to get it in the air within the next few days. You can't make a living on that kind of business. However, if I know you regularly have interesting new kits, ARFs, etc, I'm likely to stop in on a regular basis to check things out. It's also likely that when I do go there for a part, fuel, etc, that I might end up buying something bigger, just cause it's cool. I went to a motorcycle shop for an air filter one time and ended up buying a new bike. Two of my friends went to the same shop for a tire and they both ended up buying new bikes. If it's not on the shelf, I'm just as likely to order online and have it arrive at my doorstep than to order from a shop.

If you're considering having a place where people can gather and perhaps work on projects, DO NOT leave any of your own supplies, tools, etc, in this area. They will disappear.

RC-Captain

LOL , The one shop I go to , when I walk in it is basically help yourself, even with the stuff behind the counter. The one guy there, is normally working on something and doesn't want to be bothered . A good tip is to hire experience people in all areas of the hobby , plane, boat, car, models, heli's,. One thing I can say about the guys where I shop is they are knowledgable in every aspect of RC.

vicman

My Feedback: (10)

I have a close friend who started a LHS because he couldn't get the deal he wanted from others and some of the same reasons you mentioned. He is still better than the others but he has learned in the past 6yrs there is a reason hobby shops are the way they are. One is $. In most cases they can't lowball other shops or the internet because they all buy from the same places, Horizon, Global, Great Planes, etc. and have what is called MAP (Minimum Advertized Pricing) pricing. As you may guess they use the same pricing on the internet themselves. So the margin is very competitive. I like the internet suggestion the best. Otherwise If you want to sell stuff become the local hangout at the field with a ton of stuff in a motorhome guy.
My friend? While keeping the HS going is getting into the excavating biz so he can support the hobby shop.[8D] PM me and I will give you his info and you may contact him if you would like the inside track.

Edwin

My Feedback: (2)

One of the better HS in the Austin area has a club field within a mile of it. He also has a car track for the car guys. I didnt think he would last 3 years, but he has and is still growing. He is also a member of the club and supports events in the club. He really goes all out for helping people find a place to DO the hobby. I think the best thing he does is provide flight training to new pilots. He has a couple of very knowlegable airplane guys and one is a club instructor. On the other hand, you dont see him flying for himself very much anymore. Says he misses that the most.
Edwin

rorywquin

I once had a LHS that opened from about 12 noon to 9pm during the week and Saturday mornings (personally i can't see the point in having a hobby shop open on a workday morning) . Whenever I went there after work 6pm - 9pm, he was always busy. People got to know that he was open late and came from all directions. Also he was a hobbist so knew what he was talking about. If he didn't have what I wanted he was prepared to order it and mail it to me at no exter cost.


GOOD SERVICE IS VERY IMPORTANT!!!

The LHS where I live now, usuall does not have what I want and tries to sell me what he has. So - I only go to him for stuff that I need in a hurry and will drive 40 miles to a better shop for the rest of the stuff I need.

You have to stock what people want and in a hobby shop, that can add up to quite a large inventory.

The other thing I would do is go to a few local clubs and offer card carrying members a discount! Go for high turnover with a low mark-up and you will get them coming through the doors. Sponser club events! You gotta spend money to make money![:-]

I once had a retail business (one-hour photo lab) that was not in an ideal location - I offered very competitive pricing, top quality and the best service in town and eventually people would go a long way out of their way to come to me.

hookedonrc

I think your biggest obstacle is what has already been mentioned. The large distributors on the internet are your biggest concern. Most of us can always find enough stuff to buy in order to keep from being charged for shipping, then there are sales that also bring down the costs, and finally, no taxes. (And it is all delivered right to my door) I support my LHS whenever possible, but I really don't see how you can make a lot of money with the competition you will have. I do not know what the wholesale cost is, but with some of the products, there can't be too much of a mark-up and if it is marked way up and can be purchased somewhere else like Lowes, Home Depot, etc. then that's where I go.

BadAtti2de

Why not buy enough land to have a field behind the shop. Like a gun range does. That way when they crash or need a part, boom, there you are. then you can set up your workstaion for the peeps in a large shed or area outside. you would have ppl drive for miles to fly at a field with a store.

Gringo Flyer

My Feedback: (18)

I think the idea of operating out of a warehouse and then delivering would be pretty neat. You could setup in a lower rent area and maybe even have a small showroom. But it would be awesome to browse like I do at Tower and then have the order delivered that afternoon to a home or business address.

The closest hobby shop to me is about 800 miles away in the capital. Where I buy from, the guy hardly even keeps shop hours. We email him what we want and he sends the stuff to us on bus overnight (you can do that cheap here). But I really like the idea of being able to order something and have it delivered on the same day.

CRAZYRYAN

My Feedback: (1)

i was thinking the same thing would be a neat idea plus i should throw in a huge pond for the boat guys and car track montsrer truck track etc!!!!!!!!!!

Jim Messer

My Feedback: (2)

I've been there and done that, but in a small town. I had a shop in the basement of my house - the only way to keep costs down and show some type of profit. Modelers will come there if you have the stuff that they want. I also gave them a substantial discount, so that they always left "happy", but in the end I really didn't make enough money to say so.

BUT - where I made the most money was going world-wide sales with products that I made or had made exclusively for me. My suggestion to you is to forget about selling hobby shop items that anybody can get easy on the internet, but rather put your talent to work doing specialty items. For instance I manufactured a line of model kits. Also had a line of cockpit kits for all of the Dave Platt models, plus for my own design kits. I converted wheels like on my golf cart to WW-I type wheels, and sold thousands of them. And, because these items were not available from any other source, there was no need to ever discount any of them.

When you go into business like making kits, a lot of doors are opened for you. First, as a manufacturer, you can purchase balsa, hardware items, and everything that they sell in the model shops at 50/10 discounts, whereas when you buy those same items through a distributor (as model shops have to do) the normal discount is only 40%. In other words, you become the distributor, but you can only do that as a manufacturer.

If you aren't able to design a kit, pick an old one and make a clone of it. Take the old Goldgerg Senior Falcon for example, or the VK Cherokee, or the Top Flite Taurus, or the DeBolt Acrobat, and clone it. There are hundreds of old kits that you could clone, and you would sell a lot of them. In doing this, nobody wastes your time like if you were standing behind a counter, and remember that "Time is money"!! Simple as that.

I sold to every country in the world. I made a lot of money doing so. Don't waste your time on the locals - it just isn't worth it. You can manufacture from your home or garage, or warehouse. You don't need anything elaborate to get started. The important thing is to make up your mind that you are going to do something, and then get at it. The clock is running.

ballgunner

My Feedback: (1)

Been in both the manufacturing and LHS business. Lucky to break even on either but fortunately had another job that kept the milk in the reefer and bread on the table. The last time I checked inventory was about 200 grand minimum, marketing area population at least 250,000 within 25 miles. Club connection an absolute necessity plus a limit on the aspects of RC you want to supply. Aircraft first, cars second (for the younger crowd), boating only if you have a good pond within a couple of miles. Sold the mfg end to one of my suppliers. He sold my designs as kits and made a living but that was about it for him. An oft used quote "If you want to make a million in the hobby business, start with ten million".

RC-Captain

LMAO are you sure this didn't dip into your profit ?



I misunderstood 'reefer' ....where I am from this is a word used for weed. I'm sorry [:@] I didn't under stand what you where saying . It's weird how the same words mean different things in the same country.

rcfury

My Feedback: (5)

I can agree with everyone here on this thread. Granted im not no owner of a hobbyshop but, im the manager at hobby town. Granted the biggest thing is inventory. You need to carry the items people are looking for. When i started at this store, ive noticed a lack of business for our size of store. Im really big in RC planes and was big in cars till planes got in my life. I started ordering a lot of RC plane's and parts that i usually use in my own personal life. Granted you cant get everything as space does limit a lot and if the market is not there there is no use having an item taking up shelf space. By the end of the year i nearly increased the sales by a quarter from what they were.
Definatly get in touch with the local RC clubs. Offer them discounts etc. They are a great way to "adverstise" and to bring customers in. Treat the customers with respect and listen to them and you will do pretty good.

CRAZYRYAN

My Feedback: (1)

i had to dip in my pocket all the time when i started up my lawn/landscape biz

once i get my lawn biz with honest employees i will let the main manager take over still making a certain % b/c its my business still and thats when i will try to open the hobby shop. im serious about this so it will take a hell lot of time and patience plus im going to have to stop flying anyways in about a half a month when thiings are going to boom up again. so i already know i wont be able to fly anymore hardly once i get my hobby shop going in full gear it wont be any time soon i have to see how this business im focussing on how successfull it will be. thanks for all the inputs guys keep them coming in it might even help those who are trying to search for starting there business in this industry as well!

Fletch124

My Feedback: (7)

the big thing is that you have to very knowledgable and you can not can not over charge you customers but the main thing is being super knowledgable about the airplanes and engines and radios

and you have to be very supportive of the local club\s . like if a club member comes in and buys something you should give the guy a 10% discount. and you need to advertise for the club. have parts in that people need not parts that you will keep in the shop for over a month.

jessiej

You will need a LOT of start up capital, and a good line of credit. You may also want to investigate a franchise, even if that is not the route you wish to go you will gain some info.

jess

sweetpea01

My Feedback: (10)

You'd be surprised how little start up money you will need.............Most of your money is going to be spent on the store, fixtures, advertising etc. Very little of your intial investment goes toward inventory. As long as your credits good banks will loan you the money for a business.


Another thing I forgot. Try to open in a shopping center.......that way you get more walk in traffic. You really don't want the only cars to be in your lot to be the ones that came to the hobbyshop only. Because now you've just got rid of all your impulse shoppers. And since 95% of R/C is male........try to find a shopping center with a craft, clothing, etc store for the wives/girlfriends to shop at while your customers shcop at the hobby shop.

Fletch124

My Feedback: (7)

LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION!!!!

airbatic

No, no, no!

Planes are all one needs. Silly to have experience outside of planes.
Who cares about cars, boats, and helicopters. They're just toys
anywayand are for kids. We're grown, mature men right!?

88

Kraus

bubbagates

My Feedback: (32)

Since when. I'm 45 and my other half says I'll never grow up (she's right by the way, I don't want to ths is way too much fun), but then she does quilting and collects dolls, go figure.