PABowhntr

Greg,

Let me tell you the story of the shop I help out at. It may provide some insight into your questions/situation.

The shop I work for began as a fishing store back in the late 80's/early 90's. Their location, close to three major fishing hotspots, was a true boon for business. The owner keyed in on this and moved to a larger building offering a great variety of live bait and tons of fishing gear.Since he had alot more space to work withhe also decided to get into the archery business (a personal hobby). He decided to offer a wide range of services...indoor lanes (league shooting) a technohunt range. He also did some research and found out which archery gear manufacturers were popular and sold their equipment almost exclusively. He provided a full service pro shop to both hunters and target shooters across the Lehigh Valley area.

Eventually he even expanded to include an online ordering service for those products that would allow it. That was right around 1999-2000 and right around the time I started to frequent his shop on a regular basis. Business was excellent and he was doing quite well financially.

Sadly, right after 911, he noticed a significant drop in sales especially on the big ticket items. He was not initially worried but as the months passed and sales did not improve he did become more and more concerned. In an effort to remedy this he decided to again delve into new areas by exploring the kayak and canoe arena. This became a saving grace for him because he was really into kayaking and canoeing himself (having gotten personallyout of both fishing and archery gradually over the previous year or two).The shopsold tons of boats at that time and he was doing all types of shows/demos, etc....

Again, sadly, I think that was a big part of his downfall because there was limited space in the shop. Stocking and selling a complete inventory of boats took away from alot of floor space andsubsequently the techno-hunt range disappeared. Any marketing/advertising for archery/fishing disappeared entirely and attendance at any fishing/archery trade shows or outdoor expos also dwindleed out.

At the same time Cabelas set up shop 40 minutes away...D.i.c.k.'s Sporting Goods opened up a store less than 15 minutes away and two major archery pro shop competitors opened up shop within 10 minutes of the store. All of this combined spelled major trouble for the big-ticket items. Almost as soon as Cabelas and D.i.c.k'.sopened sales for things like treestands, ground blinds and any of the bow lines both carried ground to a major halt. The pro shop only lines held their own for a time but the other two pro shops managed to end up selling the shop's most popular line of bows thus further reducing sales. The other shops were also able to specialize more in custom services as they were archery shops only and did not have to worry about sharing space or time with fishing and kayaks/canoes.

The owner of the shop saw the futility of what had happened and eventually decided to go in a different direction entirely. He opened up a second business which was totally unrelated to anything outdoors. He put the same effort into it that he originally did with the shop and the business took off. Because of the nature of the business he did not have to stock alot of inventory, have many employees or put as much effort into turning a profit (in comparison to the services required for the archery shop).

So you are probably wondering what happened to the shop. Well, eventually the shop carried less and less items inthefishing, archery and the kayak/canoe areas. Fewer and fewer people frequented the store. Employees were fired, hours were reduced and the shop pretty much just relies on the fishingbusiness to support it. The next few weeks/months are the biggest of the year for the shop because of the opening of PA's trout season. This is basically what the shop lives on for the entire year. There is only one full time yearly employee with three others helping out seasonly (me being one of them).

The final proverbial "straw" was the selling of the building, but not the business. This occurred this past year. The building is going to be subdivided into three business...one of which will remain the archery/fishing/boating store. Inventory will be drastically less than before because of the limited floor space. The shop will only be carrying one line of kayaks, no canoes, one line of bowswith limited accessories and, ofcourse, enough fishing gear and live bait to cater for that which gives it the most business.

I think that story provides answers for many of the questions you asked... in a nutshell.

SwampCollie

PM sent.... several actually.... character limits are hard to deal with.

mobow

Dan, you are SOOOO right. In fact, the shop I work at IS a rural shop. That's part of the problem, it's kind of out of the way. BUT, that's also an advantage. We have our own ground on site to hold outdoor 3D shoots and such. And being an "employee" I'm also a shop shooter. You are 100% right, come the 2nd week of August, we're so busy we need 2 or 3 guys every day. My main "job" is arrow building, and I can barely keep up. But this time of year.......LOL.....I shoot my bow alot. Or look after the shop so the owner can run some errands, that kind of thing. And you're also right, the shop guys promote the shop and essentially are "walking advertisements." Some folks don't know what they want, look @ what we shoot, and end up with nearly the same. Doesn't always work that way, but sometimes.

And, it's a GREAT deal for the guys working there. I don't get a paycheck, but the kickbacks are awesome. It's 100% worth it. In fact, I wouldn't have half of what I do if it weren't for that. I get a new bow every year, and that's why. Contrary to popular belief though, it's not free. Otherwise, I would still be shooting my 12 year old Riptide. I'm extremely grateful he asked me to help him out. For that reason, I work my tail off for him, and there's not much I won't do to help.

The customer service side of things was a difficult transition I'm still working on. I went from customer to employee, VERY different point of view. I'm learning though.

JNTURK

you pose the question as if you or someone you know wants to open an archery shop....i don't work in one and many of my questions here can simply show you i am no expert in the archery world. but running a business is running a business regardless of what it is...period...

customer service should always be first...MOST people rely on this and will go where they are welcomed, liked, understand etc. second is PRICE....those that don't mind paying a little bit more for products in an archery shop to get that one on one customer service is good...but those who want the buttom line will come and go and not worry about customer service to save a buck, IMO as from what i have seen for the past 7 years...having competitive prices and customer service would be an ideal for the best of both worlds...most of this i am sure is common sense, but TOO many times i have seen people forget it...

one thing i personally do and that has worked well for me, in what i do for business, is to always explain what you are doing or to answer peoples questions in depth....after a few sentences you can tell if they want to hear it or not...if they do, keep going.....this will lead to life long customers (in my experience) and if they don't want to hear everything give a brief overview of what you are doing and why and let them go on their way, (most of these customers are looking for low prices and less c/s)..

another suggestion....watch your advertising...it can get very pricey..don't get caught up in long term contracts as they MAY bit you in the butt. INSURANCE is another thing to consider--an indoor range policy will be, in most cases, much more then a Retail policy!!

don't let yourself get burnt out...there will be lots of enthusiasm to begin with, business will be slow to start and then pick up..it may pick up fast and you will get slammed with orders, work, etc....this is when you don't want to let yourself get burnt out.....because when the slow times come, most in my experience, tend to relax and do less work.....which is not good when times are slow....

location is another key and is a large key to having a good business....find a good area and look over potential buildings....rent is something else to watch....avoid a tripple net lease (not sure if they do it in other states but it is very common in CA)....not to say some tripple net leases are ok, but most are BAD!(reason being landlord requires you to cover building coverage on your insurance which depending on your location can be anywhere from $500-$1500 or more in insurance a year)...

this is all i can think of for now...........but getting started with products, being a dealer for X company, etc is a starting point, find your location, get prices for rent, get prices for insurance, advertising cost, etc.....THEN if there is a profit go forward with it........

also, try to stay away from sale requirements from certain dealers....one of the reasons i don't go to one local shop for bow selections is because he ALWAYS pushes bowtech..not to say they are bad, but i am the kind of person that wants to know facts, warranty, price,performance, etc..then let me decide...

hope in all this rambling you can pick out things to help you some.

josh

Buellhunter

Not sure what I can add at this point in the thread?
The first year for me has been an "adventure" to say the least.
But, my business and customer base continues to grow, slowly, but steady. I feel this is the best growth as it doesn't overwhelm you that way.

I picked a location in a small town. Many thought I was crazy and should have set up shop right in the Waterloo/Cedar Falls metro area.
Had I done that I would not be able to have Mathews and I have just also added Hoyt to my line up. If I was in the metro area I would not be able to have either. La Porte City is "just far enough" away for me to be able to have 2 of the big 3 brands. That is a HUGE thing in my opinion. Crazy huh?

My location is also only 30-35 miles north of Cedar Rapids and I pull a ton of business from that area too. Yep, half way between to of the biggest cities in Iowa. I also feel most of my customers kind of like the small town atmosphere that La Porte City provides. Almost like going on a hunting trip. My out of town customers make a day of it. Of course, the longer they are here, the more stuff they find that they need/want.

The obvious things have been pointed out. Success is in the details.

What sells?
Bows, especially top tier bows
Used bows
Arrows
Bow acc.
Range time, 3d is way more popular in this area than shooting paper
Service, great service

What doesn't sell?
Camo
Treestands ( I do ok with Summit stands, you can't buy them at WalMart)
targets

Other things to have/do

Have Demo bows, lots of them. I usually have at least 4-6 bows all set up for people to shoot. When ready, make a good customer a smokin deal on it.

Change your range! It gets boring to shoot the same targets in the same position week after week.
Get new and different targets. Many of us will never go to Africa but here you can shoot a Wart Hog
I have deer, turkeys,fox,coon, bears, coyotes, antelope, wild boar and my newest addition, the moving buck that ravels across the range on a garage door opener.
DLA also has 4 Delta shot blockers for sighting in and shooting paper
Have a broadhead target!
I feel it is important to have a big range. Ours is 8 lanes wide and 35 yards long. Nothing is more boring than hitting 12s at 10-20 yards all the time.
In the future I'd like to build a building that would allow an even bigger, longer indoor range.
Help the customer get sighted in. Almost every bow I sell gets sighted in to 35 yards before the customer leaves with it. Nothing like getting a customer hitting 12 rings before they even take the bow home.
Have a shop dog! I have 2 and they each work 3 days per week. Lots of my customers come as much to see my dogs as they do to see me. Many even bring treats every visit. They even know what days each dog works.

I guess I did have a few things to say/add

Greg / MO

Guys, I can't begin to express to you how appreciative I am for all this so far...

mobow

Greg.......I gotta tell ya.......My curiosity is absolutely THROUGH THE ROOF right now........I just hope, at some point in the future, there may be some kind of explanation??

Oh.....and......You're welcome.

GMMAT

Here's another "customer" opinon or two......from what I see at shops where I have shot this year.

What does a shop owner make on a new bow? $100? $150, tops???

So on a top-end bow.....his return on investment is 18-20%?

I go into shops and see sveral bows. Good enough.

Where I think theses guys are missing the boat.....is on accessories and incidentals. I'm betting the margin on accessories is anywhere from 50-400%+. Yet.....I don't see the shops I go into putting the majority of their inventory $$ into accessories. I think this is a mistake. A man will wait for a bow. WHen he wants a sight, though.....he wants it, now. Same with a stabilizer.......wrist sling.......etc...

Just my opinion.....

Buellhunter

400%!
Hahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah ahah

I wish

Buellhunter

PS, besides your % thing, you have a point.