How hard would it be to open your own archery/ hunting store.

[Jcoder]

How hard would it be to open your own archery/ hunting store? Just wondering

[flywise]

Probably not real hard if you got plenty of money.
Manufacturers will probably require you to buy a minimum amount of stock
But I can see a guy starting very small like at home just doing repairs and range
Then seeing if there is a market around you to keep you busy and profitable

[one2bowhunt]

If you have the money ( lots of it) and a good staff that is friendly and always willing to go the extra mile you could do very well. I'm lucky I have double g near me and Paul and Marjo are great people. You may can ask them. They are on here

[Chase This!]

Seems doable. There are some restrictions on dealers. Ie. You can't me too close. Might look into that. I don't think it would be all that expensive.

[jaspermac]

Not hard to open...very hard to keep open

[BigL]

initial set up cost would be high. Just think setting up range, getting enough inventory that will draw people in and enough bows where most customers can walk out with new bow in hand. Once you get past that then it's all about the customer service on getting them to want to come back.

If you could buy an established shop already, I think would be the best option...

[boh347]

Biggest thing would be buying inventory. Need a lot of start up money. Then you'd have to compete with academy/box stores and their low prices. Find distributorships for bows. That might be a problem if you have some stores that are already open in your town.

[Chase This!]

How many bows does the average shop have in inventory?

[M.E.B.]

Here are some things I have learned from being around people that own or work in archery shops and some of my opinions.

1. You make the most of your money before archery season. If you open a shop in Feb for example you will not be making much profit until August. Try to get some leagues set up to keep some income during the lean months.

2. You have to be X number of miles from another shop for a bow manufactor to allow you to sell their bow.

3. Keep inventory. I hate it when I go to a shop and they say they will order it. I pay more at the shop so I can handle/look at one and get it now. If I have to wait I will order it, save money and not have to leave the house. This means having a lot of money tied up in inventory.

4. If you open at 10 am. Open at 10 am. Run the place like a business. I hate it when I drive an hr to a shop and beat the owner there by 30 min to an hr because he is late.

5. Hire experience workers. I hate it when I get there early and have a snotty nosed teenager working there that cannot work on something. He can only sell me items. The owner can work equipment in the afternoon when he gets off of his REAL job.

I believe customer service and and inventory is what keeps a shop in business.

[Mudslinger]

In Clovis, there have plenty that have tried and failed. I. had one here in Lubbock for 9 years 1989 to 1998 and it was hard to make a living back then. Mark up on inventory is not good as you have more mail order catalogues. Or internet sellers than any other retail item. In the world. Sit down and think about everywhere you can buy archery/bowhunting items from including catalogues, mail order and the internet. Tough way to make a living unless you have something else to go along with the archery/bowhunting equipment. How many bowhunters do you think r3eside in or close to. Clovis that would fraternize a business like you are talking about. An indoor range would be nice to have also, but that will add to the cost of the overhead if you go that route. Like others have said, you better have plenty of money to start and will not have a need to r3ely on a salary from the business for a long time to get it established. l Good luck if you decide to go that route. I would do it again in a heartbeat, but only if I won the Mega Millions lottery!

[wes122984]

Start an online store. Drop ship. Half our a day - extremely low start up cost.

[Mike Murphey]

you will start off being on COD with the companies you are buying your inventory from...you need cash...if you are trying to go with a building that you are renting, how much is your lease per square foot. You will need somewhere for folks to shoot to try our your bows, you will require retail space, maybe 2,000 sq feet total....so your lease is $1.25 per square foot. That's $1,250 per month just to open, then you have your monthly electric bill....as you see it piles on rather quickly.