Anybody ever thought of retail?

[Scott]

When I thought out my bizness from the beginning I wanted to eventually go to a retail/service oriented store. I wanted to offer anything that would go into a yard henceforth, Yard By Nelson.
I was thinking wooden swingsets, patio furniture, above ground pools (which also led me to service), etc...
Anybody have any ideas or thoughts on this?

[jrservices]

When I thought out my bizness from the beginning I wanted to eventually go to a retail/service oriented store. I wanted to offer anything that would go into a yard henceforth, Yard By Nelson.
I was thinking wooden swingsets, patio furniture, above ground pools (which also led me to service), etc...
Anybody have any ideas or thoughts on this?

I assume there would would be a fair amount of liability involved with what you have in mind? I have thought some about getting into retail in one way or another, maybe in time.

[Woody]

Recurring service oriented business means that the service must be performed on some kind of a regular basis. Thus, each customer is worth much more than the total of a single sale. In retail, you may only get a single sale from most of your customers.

Retail means your hard earned money sits around in a shop. The products cost you money, the shop costs you money, the electricity costs you money, the constant advertising costs you money, and the employees cost you money (someone has to bee there all the time during business hours).

I'm sure Grassmaster can post a mile-longer on why he wants to get out of retail, and why you should avoid getting into it!

All of your money invested into product is basically worthless until you sell it. Some look at it as an asset, but I see it as a liability. Nothing is worth more than liquid cash. Cash can be spent without converting it into anything. Almost everything else (precious metals excluded) must be converted into cash before it is truly worth anything.

Due to huge markups, many see retail as high profit. It isn't. It may seem like it is, but in reality, once you account for everything, including how long your liquid money is tied up in goods that are worth nothing until someone pays for them, you'll see that it just isn't that profitable.

My advice is to get yourself a nice 8 GPM hot water skid unit. Oh, wait a minute... I'm preaching to the choir!

[Seascape]

Retail was not very good to me, my career was short and salty. Something about money laying around and collecting dust on shelves (literally) and waiting on them to come to me. I made more on the bldg deal in 1 year than i could have made on the retail % in 5 yrs.

Im with woody on this one,,,, go get yerself a nice powerwasher,, one of them hot tank deals they got out now.

[GrassMaster]

Why did you have to ask...

Mr. Scott:

I suggest that you listen to Woody, if you want more Mr. Seascape can elaborate more on that.

Do you like taking time off, do you enjoy taking time off.

Retail is a business that has to be open no matter what you think or do. Yes, I'm home sitting on my butt every morning but if the wife can't open up I have to do it no matter what?

We've closed the shop down 2 Saturdays in 15 years this Feb 2nd. 1 time my fathers funeral, another time my mother in law funeral. We even put a reef with a note on the door. I was cussed out both times & customers said they were going to quit doing business with us. What Horses asses customers are.

During January & February, we are closed on Saturday. Almost every year at least 1 person will pitch a fit, because we don't care enough about the customer to stay open on Saturday. They'll even complain to the BBB about it.

You must stay open those hours or they will pitch a fit. We're not a big company, My Wife & I work it part time, then I have 1 full time employee. Yes I can bring another person in, but it eats into my bottom line, then you got to worry about how many Bicycles, Engines, Parts & what ever get thrown over the back wall when we are not around.

I worked my butt off & have lived a minimal life so I could pay everything off & be debt free. In 1995 I decided it wasn't worth it. Ever since then I'm sitting on a business that's been appraised for over $400K. I've tried 3 separate times (1 Year Each) to sell it for less than that & offer the business broker $40,000 to sell it. No takers at all.

If I tried I could cash out the shop, I could sell my paid for $300K to $325K shop for maybe $250 if I'm lucky. Then my $100K plus inventory I would have to run it down to minimal maybe $70K to $75K by now every blood sucker in the area knows what I'm doing so the rest of the inventory is worth ($70K to $75K) maybe .30 cents to .40 cents on the dollar if I'm lucky, the average is .25 cents on the dollar.

So now I would have to take at least a $100K ass whooping to get rid of it. Then what? There will come a time when I will have to eat a $100K crow & take that whooping but not right now.

I have 3 to 5 people a year that want to buy the business. You give them all the good info, some decide it's not worth it the others open up & compete against you.

Then you got the deal where my wife gets a Unknown blade form a moron goes into the back & sees if she can match it up because the moron doesn't know what kind of mower he's got, he's 30 miles from home & nobody to call to see what it is so she plays the match game for a $10 blade that we have to pay $6 for...

10 minutes later she comes back, the store is full of customers & she says I'm sorry I can't find that blade. If you call me with Model # I can order it for you & have it here in 2 days.

The customer starts laughing & says that's not my blade Bish (Mispelled Correctly) what did you do with my F'ing blade? There's 10 people in the store, yes he needs to be stomped but he knows if you lay a hand on him, he'll sue you for money. Then I have to step in because by now my wife has about lost it.

Then he's demand his blade back, we stole it, she's a Bish & we're nothing but thieves. By now 3 customers has walked out & will never come back. The other customers either thinks its funny or they are wondering what will happen next?

Then you got the people that make Slave Wages $100K & up working for some company that tells them when & where to crap, When & where to eat when they can go on vacation and when they can't, they always have to lose to the boss when playing golf & if their wife is fugly & don't fool around they'll be trapped there for another 25 years with no promotion & they absolutely hate you because they think you got the world by the balls and they'll do whatever they can to beat you out of a dollar. I don't make no where near the $100K a year but I can eat when I want too, where I want too & do what I want too except go on a vacation when I want too. So they going to make your life miserable as their's is.

People don't think nothing about bringing in a mower that we worked on a year ago & want us to make that last repair good no matter what, then it's more BBB BS.

You might think you want it & you might do good at it. But dealing with a couple of 100 customers a year, is nothing compared to dealing with 10,000 or more a year. Just whatever your problems are now multiply it by a 100.

You can trip & fall and break crap all day long on customers properties. Let one of them trip & fall on your property, then see what happens?

I can write a 1,000 more real life scenarios from the past 15 years, if I could relive it I would never have got in to retail... The service business that has no posted hours, no physical location is a blessing in it self! Trust me!

Here I am having to stay open & money is not even crawling in. Last week, Mon & Tues we grossed $12.96, now how far does that go when your expenses are over $300 a day just to keep the doors open. Do you know what it feels like when you monthly charge card fees exceed what you make a week? Just so they can get their air miles on their card.

LOL, my shop has been paint balled numerous times. Our shop is in a decent section of town but we've been broken into so many times we had to put bars up. Irate customers will come by & bang the doors hard, that causes the alarm to go off. Then when it does that at 4:00AM in the morning you got to go there, after the third time in a year the city charges you $25 a call, it's happened up to 7 times in one week. If it happens a lot the police will not even get out of their car & look to see if it's a break in.

The alarm company & every other service you need at one time or another is going to ream you out like there's no tomorrow when you need work done. The alarm company is going to make $200 if all the guy does is come in & break wind.

I don't even what to talk about company vehicles or even think about going there?

Good Luck & if you need more negative input please tell me more about what you're wanting to do. Oh, a $100K is nothing in retail?

Now if you could open up a place with a lot of employees & have Managers & all that other stuff it would be a little easier by then you would have to increase your problems at least 200 fold?

[Seascape]

I did a couple good months , or what i thought were good. It was 85% existing seasonal inventory that was purchased on the side. So i basically got all that $$ back and made a couple grand. Had i not baisically stolen that inventory from the seller i would have made in 4 months what i can make in 1 week or less during spring with my scape gig.

My last day was when i covered for this guy i had running it (story there to) one night. Closing time was 9 pm.,,,, 8:56 this 80 something year old lady comes in. I hadnt seen a soul in 2 hrs. she smelled every candle picked up every trinket in the place i think. Hands all over everything. Gave me a dirty look at one point in time. She carried this little cactus around 1/2 the time (3.49) but eventually put it back on the shelf below the one she got it from. The one time i asked her if she needed assistance she barked at me. Just when i was getting ready to kick her ass out she left without saying a word. It was 9:35. When i got home my dinner was covered with foil in the fridge and my kids were asleep. Stupid *****,, i had the keys in my hand and had my jeep running when she pulled in.

I had to fix a wall where some dumbass put his bumper on it and bowed it. I was inside and heard a loud snap,, it was stud breaking in wall about 50 ft away. Couldnt hardly see any damage at the time but later we pulled some shelving back and there was significant damage. The guy was just out putting around with his wife ,, they were about 60 or so. I went out to see if everbody was alright because i didnt really know what happened i just knew something wasnt right ,, at first i though it was a kid on a bike running into the bldg........ he soon informed me i should put barriers up ,, or curbs. Well i considered those but i didnt think it would occur so soon. Had to pay the guy that does work for me around here to strip all the vinyl and 1 sheet of that black stuff ,, install new stud and put it all back together. $600 and some change and i think he was being nice about it.


Only my wife and my father knew that the only reason i purchased that place in the first place was because i was tinkering with theory of putting a tackle and hunting shop in. I already knew where i wanted my minnow tanks! I wasnt in a hurry to do it because , well i just wasnt but i spent alot of time thinking about it and actually drew some layouts ect.... It'll never happen now unless i can convince myself the patrons would be differant in that specialty (see im still tossing it around) but its highly unlikely after my experience. Years of dreaming shot down in months.

I can shut my phone off anytime i want right now. Take a day off for the most part any time i want? Sit at home in jogging pants all winter,,, i call all my own shots ,, nobody calls NOT 1 SINGLE SHOT FOR ME. I felt like a ball and chain that night up at my store. It was for sale by 2 pm the next day,,,,,,,and sold about 30 days later for a quite substantial profit but all that being said,, i only got a few $1000 ahead by opening the doors. Had i just took the bldg and refused the inventory,, sat on it until that offer came in i would have been just as well really.

[LindblomRJ]

Grassmaster and Seascapes are dead on right. I sold out last April 12th and never looked back, missed it, or even step foot in side my old store.

Hours were long, nothing like going to the airport at midnight to pick up tropical fish. Nothing like trying to take a vacation and have your employees call with problems.

I sold out, payed off the bank notes and vendors and started out about where I started.

Customers get mad at you because their fish died, usually due to their neglect. Then the big stores come to town and make life even more difficult. It takes a lot of cash to keep things running. And a lot of cash tied up in inventory - and not always easy to liquidate either.

[Seascape]

Customers get mad at you because their fish died, .

I do a 50% change evey other day!!! Yer fish suck!

[LindblomRJ]

I do a 50% change evey other day!!! Yer fish suck!

You know that and I know that. But the customer was not smart enough to understand ich or proper treatment.

They were healthy when they left my store. When the customer does with them after they leave, that is up to them. We explained proper technique to acclimate the fish and what to watch for.

[Scott]

hmmm, somebody is making money at it or we would have no retail businesses.
I was just thinking installing pools is a big market here and there are only 3 retail stores here and they all also sell hot tubs too. My supplier has all the stuff I need to put one up but I guess I need to run some #s and see just how many kits he sells.
Patio furniture is another story, they're all over.
Now nice wooded swing sets, well I guess you could go to HD or Lowes and buy their kits but I don't recall anybody locally offering design, supplies and setup.

[LindblomRJ]

Money can be made at it. But you need to invest a lot of money to make the money.

[60miles2tahoe]

...they all also sell hot tubs too. My supplier has all the stuff I need to put one up but I guess I need to run some #s and see just how many kits he sells.
Patio furniture is another story, they're all over.

Now nice wooded swing sets, well I guess you could go to HD or Lowes and buy their kits but I don't recall anybody locally offering design, supplies and setup.

When was the last time you knew 2 people in the last 3 years that bought a hot tub, a nice wooden swing set or patio furniture?

It is VERY difficult to make money selling things that everyone doesn't buy on a regular basis.

We sell patio stuff, BBQ's, yard art and all that stuff, but it doesn't sell daily and it has a short season when it does sell daily. It makes good gross profit, but not consistantly. It is our icing on the cake per say in a hardware store.

All the nuts, lightbulbs, batteries, wire, hose fitting etc is were we make our daily turns and create cash flow. Without cash flow, the best GP dollars mean nothing.

I want out of retail and into LC and you want into retial...the grass is always greener...

[LindblomRJ]

I want out of retail and into LC and you want into retail...the grass is always greener...

I did and I enjoy life a lot more.

[MASTERMOWER]

Retail is not cool.

I had my taste of retail while at Hell's Acres. Granted, it was owned by a complete dip****, but still, the profits, scratch that.....what profits????????
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He couldn't have turned a penny in the place. We'd spend a few days every month dusting off merchandise. That's stupid....a $1.99 item requires $3 of labor into it before it sells...if it sells????????? I can't even count the number of days with both my fingers or toes that we'd go a day without one sale.....that's gotta suck! He'd spend THOUSANDs on the most hedious concrete statuary - the manager placed it throughout the lot.....yeah....it rarely would sell....in the mean time, morons with the wagons would bump into them---chipping the hell ouuta them. I believe the owner, at one time, had $300,000 worth of merchandise just sitting in the store......all stuff which was lucky to sell. It was a good day if we brought in more than $200.

I could go on and on about this nursery - the stories are endless. Yes, the owner was stupid, and perhaps if he hadn't ran the place it could have done better...but not by much. Seems to me, a service business would spin circles around any mom and pops retail shack. Big Box America ruined it for the independent stores - it's a tough fight anymore - you litteraly have to drag the money in.

[GrassMaster]

Retail? OH NO!

One of the worse things about retail...

You find something or a salesman comes in with something you know is a winner & will sell like hotcakes. Then it doesn't sell & it happens all the time.

It's common for me to sell something in the $500 to $1000 range that has sat on my floor 2 to 5 years. My wife sold a nice bike the other day that was a $100 under retail & it had been on the floor for 6 years.

I'm selling just a very few Honda generators, but the 6 I purchased sat on the floor for over 6 months before I made my first sale. I had to pay for all 6 of them 90 days after I received them. I sell mainly 3 out of 6 models I carry, 3 of them are 14 months old this month. Will I sell them, yes I will but how long will they sit there?

No matter how much you mark something down just to get rid of it, they still want a discount. There's no way pleasing customers now, when you have big box stores that will sell you, say for instance an Echo SRM 2400 during the year it breaks down (Non Warranty) or you make it til Thanksgiving with no break downs & the big box store will take it back, refunding your money or give you another one. Mom & Pop's can't compete with that.

You see a Killer BBQ Grill for say $300 to $500, you buy 10 to get the best price & Free shipping. It comes in, it's in 3 Brazilian pieces, you spend 3 hours putting it together. You then decide you'll take one of them home? Man this BBQ Grill is nice, I'll sell them in a month.

6 months later you still have 9 of them & the one you took home. Then you hear Honey come here & look at this? It's that killer BBQ Grill you got the deal of the century on & one of the big box stores has it in the Sunday paper for less than what you paid for it? Now what, yeah you'll probably sell them but it might take 3 to 5 years.

The Box stores bankrupt 1,000's of Mom & Pop operations a year. You sell service, service after the sale, the box stores sell boxes with stuff in it & sometimes it's put together, but they never have parts for it. The Box stores beat you out every time.

Real Life scenario...
A regular customer of ours for over 10 years comes in store, she's mad, she was at one of the big box stores. They couldn't answer her 1,001 questions about a hand held Echo Blower. My wife spends over an hour explaining BS that don't mean nothing at all but hey it's customer service.

She ask us about Cold Fusion, how hot is the air coming out of the hose, will it burn her, will it shock her, can you just mix a cup of gas at the time, why do you have to put oil in the gas, will it last 20 years, how loud is it, why does it vibrate when it's running, why does it stink, will it leak gas & only 988 questions left. You get a call & say excuse me, I'll be right back & she walks out the door, it was a frigging telemarketer trying to sell you a postage machine. You tell them the same thing you did last week, last month, last year & you were only on the phone 1 minute. She's gone Gone!

An hour later she calls back & says can you match or beat their price? You want $159.99 for it serviced out & running. I can buy it in the box store for $159.00 & they know nothing, but they say you do the warranty work on it.

BTW: She lives a block away, the big box store is about 10 miles away. Does this make sense? She going to drive 10 miles 1 way to save .99 cents, it's still in the box & they couldn't even wait on her because all they know is what is on the box? If they can read... most the employees went to public school in Georgia in the past 10 years & can't even spell Bicycle?

10 Years ago I would have told her to go buy it at the box store and when it breaks down go there for service & parts which they don't have. Now (Today) I eat that .99 cents, the hour plus my wife spent with her the first time, then another 30 minutes when she comes back with more stupid questions (Why is it so Heavy). Then she wants us to carry it out to her car, she sees gas in it & is now worried that it will blow up the entire neighborhood. So now you take it back in the shop drain the gas out of it, she now wants a plastic bag to put it in & another trip out to her car. By now...

You now have over 2 man hours in it & your cost for the blower alone is $129.00. That's a lot of crap to go through for less than $30 gross profit. She says she's a good customer of ours for over 10 years...

How many can you afford like this a year?

Remember in 1999 when the Push Razor Scooters came out. We bought 10 of them our cost was $50 each, free shipping. What a deal, most were around $80 or $90 at the stores. We sell ours for $79.00 each. 2 weeks later it was either Dillard's or Gayfers had the same exact Razor Scooter for $29.99. We sold half of them at some price not $79.99 & the other half we stripped them & sold them for parts.

I can tell you another 100 similar stories. When the rest of the older generation that believes in being loyal to their neighborhood business dies in the next 10 or 20 years, it will be a 3 ring circus from the time you open til you close.

Wait till you practically giveaway a Patio set, you tell them cash walk out the door bottom dollar price is $400. You discounted it until there's nothing left. They go pay you with a Charge Card, then they give you their address & start drawing you a map of where to deliver it. Nothing ever mentioned about delivering it. They just assume that you deliver. They are only 20 miles away & you can just follow them to the house? They don't have a big old truck? LOL, I've heard it a Million times.

You either finish kissing their butt & deliver it or lose that sale you spent 2 hours on. They don't care if you live or die or ever feed your children again, they just want a good butt kissing & save some money so they can go on a sea cruise in a month. If you starve & die by the time they get back from the cruise, they just go down the street & find someone else.

The real kicker is, when you go to deliver it & there's a truck sitting in the driveway. They think it's funny, they think they're bringing Funny back? Butt it ain't funny to you or the Misses?

And it's the end of the day, your wife closed at 6:00PM & your pulling in the driveway at 7:30PM. Tomorrow is another day in Retail Hail! :laughing:

You know if you did Pool & Spa repairs, service, sales & really go after the service. You might throw in Pool tables, maybe even tanning beds, have tanning booths their they can use, that way you see what you didn't get the first time? You might make it & enjoy it... Good Luck to Ya!

You can forget the being gone for 5 hours & making a $1,000 in the clear on a light install, because by the time the lease, property taxes & all the other good things that go along with a physical Brick & Mortar business, there's not much left? Some times not even an Onion is left! :alien:

I've had pressure washing, rental property repair, lawn service then retail business. I've seen both sides of the fence. Retail is for the birds, remember when you don't have no work to do so you go home, stay home or you schedule in vacations. Those days will be over forever. If it's freezing cold or raining all day, you & a employee are going to be setting there with nothing to do & not a drop goes in the cash register except those memories of 1000 dollar days before 2 in the afternoon?

The Grass is very seldom greener on the other side of the fence, you think it is & you can't even see over it, you just think it is?