Attention:: Any Small Business/Store Owners

[warriorchief]

I need some advice if you could spare some time and knowledge. My best friend and I are looking into starting a business in Oconee County (Seneca specifically) with an intended demographic of Oconee, Pickens, and Anderson Counties in SC, and maybe, MAYBE, Stephens, Habersham, and a couple others in GA.

I've worked retail for a total of about 5 years, and he's been in the military for the last 4 years. He's been working towards a career in Law Enforcement and is looking at joining the local Rescue Squad. Well, we've talked more and more recently about the lack of a place in the area to purchase the necessary equipment/accessories that go with those jobs. Tactical gear (shirts, pants, boots, belts, etc), accessories (holsters, flashlights, sunglasses, tools), light bars/sirens, uniforms/badges, radios/scanners, etc. And our discussions have turned more and more into wanting to legitimately open up such a business in this area.

Our only concerns are really the lack of knowledge to get this idea off the ground and give it some legs. What processes/procedures do we need to go through? Applications, licensing, leasing, insurance, vendors, potentially some grants/funding, etc? Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated. You can either post it here, or PM me if you'd prefer the more direct approach. Thank you in advance for any well-informed replies guys/gals.

[c-girl]

There is/was a small shop on Hwy 153 in Powdersville that sold this same type of thing. You may be able to google them and see what state & local records are available. Not sure if they are still in business or not though..

[USC80]

The potential client base is already purchasing these items from somewhere. You should find out what you will have to do to compete first. What profit margins are they making and can you give people a reason to buy from you rather than them. Can you make a decent living at it?

I would talk to the local sheriffs about your business plan to judge the interest level even before proceeding in further research and planning. Good luck!

[warriorchief]

Originally Posted by USC80

The potential client base is already purchasing these items from somewhere. You should find out what you will have to do to compete first. What profit margins are they making and can you give people a reason to buy from you rather than them. Can you make a decent living at it?

I would talk to the local sheriffs about your business plan to judge the interest level even before proceeding in further research and planning. Good luck!

the thing is, a ton of them are buying from online retailers right now, and the shipping costs/wait time are pissing them off. the fact we could potentially have it in stock where they could come in and pick it up that day would gain their business.

luckily we both know officers/paramedics/firemen in various departments so judging interest level would be relatively easy. We plan on meeting this weekend to work on that.

[TaterHater1984]

What USC80 said is the first thing to worry about. The customers you would have are already buying the same things somewhere else, be it online or other stores. You always have to have the mindset that you aren't the only store like that out there. You have to find out what people like and don't like, then base your store on those things. You can't just rent/buy a building, buy a bunch of crap and open a store. You're looking at a great deal of research.

[warriorchief]

Originally Posted by TaterHater1984

What USC80 said is the first thing to worry about. The customers you would have are already buying the same things somewhere else, be it online or other stores. You always have to have the mindset that you aren't the only store like that out there. You have to find out what people like and don't like, then base your store on those things. You can't just rent/buy a building, buy a bunch of crap and open a store. You're looking at a great deal of research.

really? damn, that was my exact intention!!

trust me man, we're not gonna go lease a place tomorrow and get started by any means. we know how much work and research this is gonna take to make sure it's gonna be successful before we spend any ungodly amount of money to open up a place. we're looking at months, if not a year+, of research and planning.

[TaterHater1984]

haha. I know you're not that dumb man. Just be careful and don't jump into anything before you know you have something awesome. Good luck, btw.

[warriorchief]

Originally Posted by TaterHater1984

haha. I know you're not that dumb man. Just be careful and don't jump into anything before you know you have something awesome. Good luck, btw.

Haha, it's all good. appreciate it man.

[johnnyb]

That's like around here, wally's in Mullins used to carry all of that stuff and slot of the guys would use them, but other than Wally's the closest place was in cola, 2.5 hours away, if someone were to open a place like this in the Conway area, and be competitively priced, you don't have to be as cheap as Internet stores, just be resonably close, it would be a gold mine, then once they had money to expand start carrying guns and add a indoor traditional or tactical range.......

[johnnyb]

Horry county has over 300 full time fire/rescue personal, over 300 county police officers, prob another 60 sherriffs deputy's, and 200+ volunteers........that's just county personal, not counting all the city/towns that have their own staffing..... Plus you have normal people who use some of that stuff, like tactical lights (many hunters love surefire/streamlight type lights)

[Sweet Pea]

Originally Posted by warriorchief

I need some advice if you could spare some time and knowledge. My best friend and I are looking into starting a business in Oconee County (Seneca specifically) with an intended demographic of Oconee, Pickens, and Anderson Counties in SC, and maybe, MAYBE, Stephens, Habersham, and a couple others in GA.

I've worked retail for a total of about 5 years, and he's been in the military for the last 4 years. He's been working towards a career in Law Enforcement and is looking at joining the local Rescue Squad. Well, we've talked more and more recently about the lack of a place in the area to purchase the necessary equipment/accessories that go with those jobs. Tactical gear (shirts, pants, boots, belts, etc), accessories (holsters, flashlights, sunglasses, tools), light bars/sirens, uniforms/badges, radios/scanners, etc. And our discussions have turned more and more into wanting to legitimately open up such a business in this area.

Our only concerns are really the lack of knowledge to get this idea off the ground and give it some legs. What processes/procedures do we need to go through? Applications, licensing, leasing, insurance, vendors, potentially some grants/funding, etc? Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated. You can either post it here, or PM me if you'd prefer the more direct approach. Thank you in advance for any well-informed replies guys/gals.

You guys will need to figure out what form of entity the business will be. From there you will need to get employer ID numbers, federal and state. Depending on the entity you choose, you need to think about if you plan on paying payroll. Open a business bank account in the business name. There are grants and funding out there, but those are things you will just have to research. As for vendors, that is another thing you will have to research as I am not that familiar with that line of merchandise. The best thing to do is look up vendors and start calling around. Let them know what your intentions are and try to establish some good relationships. Insurance you will need a general liability insurance, and depending on how many employees or sub-contractors you have you may need workers comp insurance. As for location, that is something you just have to look around until you find a spot.

[The Yancey]

I would strongly urge y'all to get free help from SCORE: http://www.score.org/index.html. Fantasttic advice both from their web site and in person from the volunteers.

[GotSpurrier82]

Oodles and oodles of research. And "oodles" to me is an insane amount. There may be laws nobody knows about but you have to abide by. Crazy things like that.

Visit the Army-Navy store in Greenville. See what they have and maybe bounce some ideas off of them. They'll have some knowledge of that kind of stuff, maybe.

[bhall]

Also, the both you need to know how long you can go without any type of regular paycheck. That's a big thing to think of. You may be making money intially but if it goes back into the business, that means it's not going in your pocket.

We just got over that hump at our store here. Almost a year without a steady paycheck. It's tough but well worth the risk if you can perservere.


Also, try to find out all the little fees and "knick-knack" BS things your gonna have to pay for initially.

[Stillwearingmyjoehat]

Call the nearest SBA office and ask for the S.C.O.R.E. coordinator.

The SBA's Service Corps Of Retired Executives is absolutely awesome. It's usually a bunch of old millionaires who made their money from the ground up. They get bored with retirement and go down to the SBA and volunteer to mentor and advise others trying to get started.

Trust me, nothing you experience, anticipate experiencing, dread experiencing or can't even imagine these people have done in spades. Just ask.