As we are settling in to our new home it is time for me to get a start on getting things together to open up a small trad only shop here at our house. My father owns a normal compound shop which i have done the tech and sales in for roughly the last 12 years but it is time to open something of my own. I would like to keep overhead down but still need to have a decent inventory before i open up. What are some good recommendations?
Are you planning on walk-in traffic or internet only sales?
Either way, you need to have a professional help you design a top-notch website...it can make or break you.
Id like to do both. Ive seen how internet sales have seemed to have taken over for the most part
I don't believe local traffic can or will support you. Even the guy across the street from you will likely cave and buy from the big internet shops...you have to be prepared to compete with that. I've seen too many neat little mom and pop shops knuckle under to the big guys. What can you provide that they can't? Think about that and focus on it.
Plus, website traffic gives you access to people all across the country rather than a 10 mile radius.
One thing sorely needed in today's urban encroachment are good, well-run archery ranges. Provide that and it may tip the scales in your favor.
One word... ARROWS!!!!! Nothing says "Traditional" like beautifull, hand crafted, feather fletched, WOOD Arrows!!! Customers may only buy 1 bow, but they will keep coming back to buy arrows!!!
Just one old farts oppinion.....
I'll second arrows! I make arrows for myself and a few bowyers and usually can't keep up! A range would be great too, but not sure of the insurance coverage that would be needed for the liability involved with that.Never hurts to get information from places who already have established ranges to answer questions you may have. Heck you've made a great decision on here already asking for input on what people want.
Customer service also comes to mind. One thing I've noticed here within the TG family is the customer service and attention to detail with regard to selling quality over quantity.
Where are you located in Indiana? I know we've got two great trad shops in the state with Kustom King and 3 Rivers, so if you're near them it might be a chore, but still totally doable.
Good luck and best wishes on starting up a trad shop!
I agree on the online aspect but there is one issue. Your gonna have to compete with **** and Amazon. There's also three rivers, Kustom king and a half dz others. Can you compete with their prices? If your selling the same things they are you'll have to. The advantage you'll have is personal service. Put your contact info on the website but also put hours. I wouldn't want someone calling me at 9pm. Try to find something people need/want that only you can provide. That will help a lot. There are a growing number of trad guys but they are still spread out all over the country. I wouldn't count on doing much local business. You may have an indoor range and convert some local archers but that's not gonna amount to much business imo. Good luck !!
Arrows would certainly be a big part especially wood arrows. Even though there is a lot of work that goes into custom wood arrows i feel most options out there are a bit high on price. Maybe a good quality no frills hunter series(walnut stain, single color cap dip) at an affordable price would move a good number of sets.
I don't know how trad shops even make it. We are lucky to have one in my town of 75,000, but it's an old guy running it who does it for fun. He is retired and well off. Last time I stopped by he said I was his 3rd customer of the week :eek:
Had my own archery shop and can honestly agree that foot traffic in this day and age won't support you unless there's a reason for people to go there. I had and indoor range and had all the local archery clubs coming in year round to shoot and especially winter leagues. I can't imagine what kind of inventory you would have to carry to have all the things people think they need now days. If you just want to do it for fun and make a few extra dollars then you can do that...good luck!
Thanks for jumping in!
Like others have already stated you need the Web to survive.
And a niche of items that other don't offer and more importantly we as customers Need.
One thing that frustrates me in online buying of archery supplies is that in most cases that I can't get all of the items wanted at one place.
Usually having to order at two different stores and this makes my cost go up due to separate shipping bills.
For example the glove brand I wants is carried at store XYZ but they don't carry the broad head I want. So I'm forced to buy broad heads from store ABC
Don't forget about the kids! Seems lots of Commercial stores cater to the adults but not enough for the younger kids and teens .
I just went to a Big Archery shop in Pa. and all I bought was a childs bow for our youngest last week who is only 5 now. She was born with out any thumbs but wanted a pink bow and saw one and I bought it for her. Her hands are turned to a 45 degree angle but she holds the bow between her right middle finger and pulls with her 4 fingers on left (one over and three under)
It is just a fiberglass $12.99 bow with suction cups but to her it was her own little custom bow.
I've found if you have things that some box stores don't have like the small things such as rests, barge cement,some leather goods, wool clothing and possibly ground seats of all sorts you might do good with walk in sales.
Congratulations on your new venture!
I'm so glad to see another traditional shop open up!
What to stock? Boy the skies the limit there!
I would figure the essentials , gloves,tabs,quivers, maybe a few selected broadheads
I would think that a selling relationship with some of our sponsors, who craft things like leather goods that are not available in the bigger stores, would be beneficial. I get tired of seeing the same old stuff at the bigger vendors' web stores, and like the uniqueness of more custom or handmade products.
Also, a YouTube channel would be helpful. My dad ran a shop for many years, and one thing that kept it going was the patrons who just wanted to stop in and shoot the breeze. A double edged sword, that, because if they always talk and don't buy, there's no money changing hands. But if you could capture that atmosphere somehow in a YouTube channel, you'd generate a lot of interest and traffic should follow. You might even sell ad space for some trad companies or products.
If I had a shop, I'd consider setting up an HD video camera full time, and turning it on to catch certain things that I'd like to show on YouTube, from conversations, products, activities, or customer interactions.
I wouldn't go into it expecting to get rich, but it might make for an interesting hobby.
Just some talk, and talk's cheap...
Kids and womens gear is definitely high on my list. Possibly carry some bows like black rhino or maddog. Custom leather products such as arm guards and quivers i feel would be a nice addition as well. I also plan to stock some in house made items as well such as beaver balls(still cant believe the price on hair silencers) and other fur items being that i trap. Bowfishing is really big here so a few completed bow fishing setups should go quickly during the summer months. Ive also been getting into bow repair/refinishing so i may also try to pick up used older bows for cheap and redo them for sale in the shop as well.
I dont have any expectations of making it rich or relying upon the shop as income but as i see it if i can make enough money to support my hobby then i consider it a success
Hoosierarcher, I THINK I read that you're in Greene county (squirrel hunting thread). I'm in Owen county and would support your shop. I can speak for a lot of other friends in that we feel like ducks out of water at the compound/crossbow shops often.
Still, we prefer supporting them versus ordering online. Even if the prices are higher, to a man, we will support a retail shop. We traditionals, by and large hate to see some of the changes in the country, and want a local "spot" to gather and talk archery, hunting, etc. Don't let any naysayers give you much pause.
Start smaller with a modest selection of superior goods/services and let the word get out.
It's a niche market. That said, it's made up of guys that like to support like minded brick and mortar businessmen. Best of luck.
Another thought, is selling string material, shafting, fletching, serving, etc for the independent do-it-yourselfers, which there are many amongst us.
Skychief.
A fella in my town runs an archery shop out of his home. He does little to cater to traditionalist but I swing by on occasion for Platinum, GT nocks and RW feathers. These are some small Items you'll need to consider. Perhaps you can order feathers in bulk but make smaller quantities available to your customers. You could even poll the GANG as to what colors you could stock up on. Barred, Chartruese, Hot pink and white are my pics. Best wishes in your pursuit.
Skychief, yep in in greene county, bloomfield to be exact. I have a 12'x18' building here at the house that i am going to finish out the interior and add ac/heat(already has electricity ran to it). It should be good enough to get a start. If things go well enough i will eventually get a larger one put in along the lines of a 14×40 so it will fit right along side the house.
Sounds great. Do me a favor and drop me a message once things are initially set up and I'll do my best to drum up business for ya.
Best of luck, Skychief
The good thing about building your own arrow stock is, you may be "sitting around awhile" waiting for customers. You could set up a "Lazy Susan" of Bitznburgers, and crank out a few dozen a day! My son Tyler made 2-3 dozen a week last summer, when he got on a building kick with his JoJan MultiFletcher. We've arrows coming out our ears! Lol
Best of luck on your new shop!
Include bows that are lighter in poundage for us women. there are more women getting into trad archery
I hope it works out for you, especially if it's just to be hobby income. I've seen 3 local trad shops fold in the last 5 years, mainly due to internet competition. Definitely try to use the trad forums as a platform; you will find more dedicated trad hunters and archers in one spot than in a whole city out in the world, and most of us are hard-core and want to support little guys that are giving back to the community. Just a thought.
If you aren't already, educate yourself as much as possible on the items you carry. Sell products you use yourself, or would use yourself, and have an answer when someone asks "why?". Don't fall for gimmicks, and don't use hype or gimmicks to make a sale. You will have your preferences (we all do), but try to be objective...i.e., if you are stuck on recurves, still be educated to the positives of a Hill-style longbow, or vice-versa. Great service means a lot. Good luck!
Chad
Why open your own shop when you don't yet have the sales to back up the overhead & inventory? In my experience (10 years in my business so far), product is cheap & plentiful. Folks can get it anywhere and good product makers are a dime a dozen. What makes businesses successful is sales. You can have a rotten product that you push like crazy and sell it hard and make out like a bandit. But the inverse is not true -- you can have an awesome product with little sales and you'll be yet one more small business statistic. Obviously, having both is best. But sales are clearly the leading indicator of success, not product. I hate this reality and still focus my business on good "product" (service business) but I also know that I can only do that because I spent 3 years knocking on doors every day to drum up the customers I needed to eventually run the business I wanted to have. But for all those years, I watched my colleagues and competitors make a ton of money offering vastly inferior product/service, win awards, get bonuses, etc. Their customers don't know any better and even if you told them, they wouldn't believe you because they're sold. So instead of asking about inventory, consider looking to team up with a few other shops to work on selling whatever will sell. If your dad has a compound shop, work that connection to access that customer base & sell it hard. Find some vendors that will allow you to have some free demo models on-hand to put in the hands of prospective customers or start an Amazon drop-ship business for stuff that sells everywhere, using your website as a marketing channel for other people's products. Private label another business's product. Work with outfitters, coaches, etc. to access their customers. Lots of options here but the point is to focus on driving sales first, then worry about how or exactly what product to carry. Once you have the sales coming in, you can negotiate with product providers for discounts (increasing your margins) or allow other vendors to access YOUR customer base to sell their stuff. Sales are the biggest challenge of any small business, hands down. Figure that one out first before committing too hard with your time and money.
But like all free business advice on an internet forum, it's probably worth every penny that you paid for it. I don't think myself any exception to that rule. It would make me very happy to be proven wrong and I sincerely wish you all the best in business.
Yosemitesam, sales is not the issue as we already have a shop, the main issue is that the shop is small and already overfilled with compound related gear. This shop is a split off to cater to the traditional group in our area and will be at my house so there will not be the need to travel to get to my shop
Broadheads-maybe a few different kinds, waaay too many to hold them all. you then call your supplier to have them shipped when needed. People like to look and handle things-lots of thing, but that increases your on hand inventory and cost. The guy I work with keeps a lot of onsey -twosey things to handle,and the ships in.. realize things go out of style-you hold inventory. NO clothing-however tempting-it can be had cheaper other places.
Hold classes-teach folks. They buy spools, you teach string. Same for chopping feathers, cresting etc. if you can get NFAA certified then you
'Teach" not that you can't now, but paper on the wall. Speaks. If you can tune bows to people's form, you will gain a following. Many folks give up trad bows because they fail at form and tuning-get frustrated and leave. You have an opportunity, just realize-and you do-investment for a very small % of archers. Luck to you
Me thinks you will need a line of Trad bows there
:bigsmyl: :bigsmyl:
Best of luck to you.
Lol mike of course i need a line of trad bows there. And what better than something made in my own state.
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