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Re: so i started a bike shop. update 01/07/17
appreciate the love Al,
well the accountant doesn't actually do much (no disrespect Jody!), my book keeping lady does it all (for only £72 a month) and then the accountant looks at it and says, yeah that's ok and off it goes, i haven't touched any paperwork since i opened the shop! i think the best thing to do is get people who you know can do the bits you can't do or rather, can't do well.
regards the stock, it's surprising how often i still have to special order stuff, but i need a lot of stock, the internet will have stuff to the customers door next day, if i can beat that by having it in stock then i will get the sale. the shop i used to work for 6 miles away quite often phones me up and asks for spares, BB's etc, his money is tied up in bikes, where as mine is parts, so i have pretty much every BB type/brand/size/model in stock, this enables me to be confident enough to say "yes, bring it in and it'll be done to pick up later" and that's where i win, being able to pretty much constantly able to say Yes.
regards the accessories, these are important, they are not expensive enough that people will go online when they might only save a quid and regular customers get a bit of discount anyway and they have realised it's easier just to come to me, and don't forget that i'm not aiming at high end riders, frankly they aren't worth the time to try and convince them to buy from me, it's too much of a fight, i'd rather have 10 £300 bikes to work on rather than 1 £3000 bike, i'll make more money and they'll appreciate it more as the £3000 bike customer will want me to price match and fit parts labour free, i make this clear to them but politely, "i'm sorry i can't get anywhere near that price, but if you want to go buy it all and i can fit for you for labour rate" at which point it stops them being a pain and shortens the conversation down to "ok thanks i'll do that" or "do you not want my custom?" to which the response is "i'm sorry, i just can't hit that price point, i can do a bit but that's trade price there, i'm happy to fit the parts you supply but if i don't make anything i won't be here for you in a couple of years", that usually makes them realise they are being a pain but softly enough that they say "fair enough", at which point they either bring me a box of XT from CRC or don't come back, but if that happens i haven't really lost anything, you'd be surprised how many people with big money bikes go into small shops and play the big i am expecting people to run around them, it's dick waving in it's highest form. :roll:
that said, 99% of my customers are great, and realistic and just appreciate what i do and i haven't dreaded going to work one day since i've had the shop.
al-onestare":2mv2f2iw said:
appreciate the love Al,
well the accountant doesn't actually do much (no disrespect Jody!), my book keeping lady does it all (for only £72 a month) and then the accountant looks at it and says, yeah that's ok and off it goes, i haven't touched any paperwork since i opened the shop! i think the best thing to do is get people who you know can do the bits you can't do or rather, can't do well.
regards the stock, it's surprising how often i still have to special order stuff, but i need a lot of stock, the internet will have stuff to the customers door next day, if i can beat that by having it in stock then i will get the sale. the shop i used to work for 6 miles away quite often phones me up and asks for spares, BB's etc, his money is tied up in bikes, where as mine is parts, so i have pretty much every BB type/brand/size/model in stock, this enables me to be confident enough to say "yes, bring it in and it'll be done to pick up later" and that's where i win, being able to pretty much constantly able to say Yes.
regards the accessories, these are important, they are not expensive enough that people will go online when they might only save a quid and regular customers get a bit of discount anyway and they have realised it's easier just to come to me, and don't forget that i'm not aiming at high end riders, frankly they aren't worth the time to try and convince them to buy from me, it's too much of a fight, i'd rather have 10 £300 bikes to work on rather than 1 £3000 bike, i'll make more money and they'll appreciate it more as the £3000 bike customer will want me to price match and fit parts labour free, i make this clear to them but politely, "i'm sorry i can't get anywhere near that price, but if you want to go buy it all and i can fit for you for labour rate" at which point it stops them being a pain and shortens the conversation down to "ok thanks i'll do that" or "do you not want my custom?" to which the response is "i'm sorry, i just can't hit that price point, i can do a bit but that's trade price there, i'm happy to fit the parts you supply but if i don't make anything i won't be here for you in a couple of years", that usually makes them realise they are being a pain but softly enough that they say "fair enough", at which point they either bring me a box of XT from CRC or don't come back, but if that happens i haven't really lost anything, you'd be surprised how many people with big money bikes go into small shops and play the big i am expecting people to run around them, it's dick waving in it's highest form. :roll:
that said, 99% of my customers are great, and realistic and just appreciate what i do and i haven't dreaded going to work one day since i've had the shop.
