Entrepreneur Ideas
Starting a Skate Shops Business
Wouldn't it be great to start a skate shop? It takes time and effort but it can end up being a great and profitable business.
Thinking about opening a skate shop? We tell you what you need to know to get started.
Creating a Business Plan for a Skate Shop
A common mistake for an entrepreneur is to launch your company without having written a business plan.
The key benefit of writing a business plan is that it defines the game plan. If you don't have a business plan, your leadership will be handicapped, making decisions that could be detrimental to your skate shop's values and long-term goals.
Start by defining your business mission. The process of writing a mission statement doesn't have to be complicated. From there, you can begin to build on it with goals, budget estimates, marketing plans and other elements that are typically found in startup business plans.
Review Competitors
Well in advance of opening a skate shop within your community, it's worthwhile to determine how strong the competition is. We've provided the link below to help you get a list of local competitors in your city. After clicking on the link, type in your city, state and zip code to get a list of skate shops near you.
Before you open up shop, make sure you know what you will offer to your customers that provides a significant advantage over your competition's offering.
Learning More About the Industry
If you want to open a skate shop you really ought to learn from folks who are already in business. If you think your local competitors will give you advice, you're being overoptimistic. Why would they want to educate a future competitor?
On the other hand, an individual who has a skate shop in another town will be much more likely to talk with you, after they realize you reside far away from them and won't be stealing their local customers. Indeed, many experienced entrepreneurs enjoy offering advice to startup entrepreneurs. It can take a while to find an entrepreneur who is willing to talk, but it's well worth the effort.
How do you locate a skate shop manager outside of your area who is willing to talk?
Simple. Let your fingers do the walking by using the link below.
Advantages of a Skate Shop Purchase
On a percentage basis, more entrepreneurs intend to enter skate shop ownership through a startup than through a business purchase. Yet skate shop startups aren't easy - many fail within the first year.
The decision of buying vs. starting a business shouldn't be taken lightly. By buying a profitable skate shop, you'll shorten the amount of time it takes to achieve a return on your investment because you'll have the advantage of a proven operation and an existing customer base.
Don't Forget About Franchising As an Option
Your chances of achieving the entrepreneurial goal of growing your business are greatly increased if you opt for franchising and benefit from the prior work of others and their lessons learned.
Prior to making the decision to open a skate shop, you ought to determine whether franchising might make your life much easier.
The link below gives you access to our franchise directory so you can see if there's a franchise opportunity for you. You might even find something that points you in a completely different direction.
Related Articles on Starting a Company
These additional resources regarding starting a business may be of interest to you.
Recurring Revenue Business Models
Share this article
Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs