Starting and Owning My Own Business...

[Allanon]

So far, you guys have provided great ideas and feedback... I really appreciate it...

Biggest point made: Customer Service...

I really think that is something that is missing these days... not just in this sector of business, but in a great many of them. I think that's why I would want to open up something is a bit of a smaller town; you get to know your customers better. I live near Saint Louis, but live in a bit of a smaller town on the East Side of the river and would rather set up shop over here rather than in a big city...

Some ideas of mine (well, not original ideas, but ones I've gathered together) that I think would draw a lot of customers and keep them coming:

Trade Nights - open the store to the community to come in and buy/sell/trade with other hobby enthusiasts. Not that the internet is bad, but you really don't get a personal connection/feel for the person you are trading with, that and it doesn't cost anyone a stamp . Allow free access to price guides/trade magazines giving everyone the opportunity of a fair trade.

Community involvment: Sponser a little league, donate to local fundraisers, anything to get your name out in the community that lets people know one major thing - your store is a good/safe place for their kids. One thing I remember from high school is being able to go to the local card shop and just hang out, play some Magic: The Gathering, and not really spend money, but just go and have fun... then, when my birthday came around, my parents always went to that shop to pick something up for me.

Player Signings - point that was made earlier... draw customers with local players that are willing to sign. One thing though about this is, I've seen a lot of stores bring in good players, but then charge an arm and a leg for the signatures... is this to offset the cost of bringing the player in?? Or are they just trying to make sure that they (customers) won't profit hugely from selling that auto on Ebay or something?? I never could understand that... I don't think I would charge customers for the signature, but if they wanted to buy an 8x10 or a baseball, etc, I would probably only charge for that unless there is a good reason someone can provide.

Memorabilia - I've made this point earlier: have something in your store that people are going to enjoy coming in and looking at... I guess I get a little erked by people who have these great peices of sports history, but never bring it out to show anyone except their closest friends... kids need to know that there is more to the game than the current steroid crises or getting the biggest hit out of a pack of cards... there is a lot of history to these sports that have really made an impact on a lot of lives... I don't think that should be hidden away in someone's basement safe.

Biggest thing: Overall customer satisfaction... I once read somewhere that if a customer has a good experience, they will tell 3 or 4 other people... but if they have a bad experience, they will tell 10. I think having a customer be able to come in, enjoy the store, have access to buy the latest stuff and a decent selection of older products as well as supplies, and also not have to worry if their kids hang out at the shop after school, they will want to keep coming back and bring their friends with them.

I know this is long winded, but I have a lot of ideas and really think that a good sports hobby/memorabilia shop can work!!!

Thanks again for all the great feedback... please, keep it coming!!!

Mike

[bosoulja82]

dude...i can tell ur heart is in doing this........my advice to you is get all the info you can......if u can afford it.......then do it........you owe it to yourself to try it......if you go into with the knowledge on what to do if things are goin great or things arent goin well, u will be ok.......just like other people said just have a backup plan and dont just depend on cards alone....if you dont try it u will always be wondering what if........and on the on the other hand if u do it and fail at least u had ur own shop at least u chased one of ur dreams,and u accomplished one of ur goals.......go for it dude...good luck

[Marcus42]

I have toiled with an idea like this too...

here's my take:
I work for Cardboard Heroes (a memorabilia/apparel company) and we have graduated Ohio State football players in for signings along with Browns and Bengals players...the key to our success is building the loyalty base so the customer will buy their apparel at our store too...

but with a card focus too a key is utilizing the biggest part of the hobby right now: The Internet...
-a Website, so people know about your store and product, it reaches the whole world..selling boxes online too would help build a customer base
-Becoming a member of multiple trading forums, so you could help customers look for singles and make your singles available for trade on sale on there
-using eBay as well would help using your store name as the eBay username...

I've thought about it too and with the smarts it would be a great idea...good luck!

[ican]

Here is my little experience on business.

I think its best to understand that going into business just to sastisfy your hobby hunger is not the best way to go. You are gonna deal with rent, utilities, salary (if you intend to hire), and all the misc stuff like stationaries, printing, marketing cost etc.

And if $$ or profits is not your end goal, then you will find yourself quite depressing and will ask yourself why you are doing such and such for.

Having passion for your hobby is good. But you've got to equip yourself with a business person mindset. Good luck!

[HIJACK12]

A few pieces of advice I'll give as a consumer is to : 1. Have decent hours. My store closes at 6 and if your parents work until 4:30 or 5:00 it might be tough to get to the store in time. I would say 9:00 would be a suffcient time to close. 2. Set up a Bulletin board Displaying polaroids of the big "hits" pulled at your store( Wall of Fame ) . 3. last I would say is to put hits that are pulled in your shop into penny sleeves and top loaders free of charge for the customer. This not only makes the customer feel like they are being taken care of, it also makes sure that if ten years down the line little Johnny wants to sell his old Tiger Woods auto to you that is will be in mint condition.

Hope everthing goes well. Best Wishes