so i started a bike shop. update 31/07/24

Re: so i started a bike shop. update 01/07/17

al-onestare":2mv2f2iw said:
I love this thread - it's really, really great to read and see a proper success story.

As mentioned on this page, you're success is down to the effort, attention to quality and passion. Without that last bit, it wouldn't work, so absolute kudos.

I was going to mention you should get an accountant to deal with the VAT, but you're already there with one so, again, cap doffed.

My only other question was on stock. You've got a lot of it, so do you feel comfortable you're covering the bases i.e. got the right balance between products and services?

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. :D
 
Re: so i started a bike shop. update 01/07/17

hamster":1r507b1k said:
I've got to ride over and say Hi soon! I take it that the BB came off a bike found underwater in Ashlett Creek?

kettle is always on ;)
 
Re: so i started a bike shop. update 01/07/17

jonnyboy666":a2075s56 said:
i haven't dreaded going to work one day since i've had the shop. :D

That's what it boils down to. Absolute kudos!
 
Re: Re:

Antstark":2y7rh0hv said:
Cracking thread this :cool:

JB ..do you do fork and shock servicing?

yes, but i'm realistic about it, there are some forks that are a pain, and sometimes it makes more financial sense to send them to TF tuned/Fox/Sram tech etc, but if it's a fork in reasonable condition i tend to remove lowers and make the appropriate decision from there and sussing out the prices as per what's needed. so for example, if you strip a Fox fork and find stanction damage then all of the suppliers will only rebuild the fork if you replace the upper assembly, that means a big bill, maybe £350! so by removing the lowers first i know if it's worth sending them away or not and can inform the customer about the damage at which point they can say, yes i'll have the full rebuild, no i can't afford the rebuild, sod it i'll buy a new fork or can you just do a basic rebuild and i'll run them until they are completely totalled!!

this is what i find works best as the customer has all the possible options and can make an informed decision with the money they can afford to spend.
 
Re: Re:

If only more shops were like that...and that's exactly the sort of thing I am after. I picked up a tidy and very tiny 2004 SWorks EPIC FSR frame recently but without any history. The forks (Fox) look and feel fine.. the Fox Brain IQ rear shock .. well that's just voodoo to me! Would rather not pay £200 for someone to tell me there is nothing wrong with either of them.

Its like this.......but much smaller.
https://bikemagic.com/bikes/specialized-2004.html

If you can give them a look I'll pop it over when the sun comes out.



jonnyboy666":5kn65wj2 said:
Antstark":5kn65wj2 said:
Cracking thread this :cool:

JB ..do you do fork and shock servicing?

yes, but i'm realistic about it, there are some forks that are a pain, and sometimes it makes more financial sense to send them to TF tuned/Fox/Sram tech etc, but if it's a fork in reasonable condition i tend to remove lowers and make the appropriate decision from there and sussing out the prices as per what's needed. so for example, if you strip a Fox fork and find stanction damage then all of the suppliers will only rebuild the fork if you replace the upper assembly, that means a big bill, maybe £350! so by removing the lowers first i know if it's worth sending them away or not and can inform the customer about the damage at which point they can say, yes i'll have the full rebuild, no i can't afford the rebuild, sod it i'll buy a new fork or can you just do a basic rebuild and i'll run them until they are completely totalled!!

this is what i find works best as the customer has all the possible options and can make an informed decision with the money they can afford to spend.
 
Re: Re:

Cheers bud..know where you are..used to live in Hythe :D

jonnyboy666":1tuqux5t said:
shouldn't be an issue, so45 1ub is the shop address, pop over whenever is good :)
 
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