Starting a Supply shop

[Agent Shnully]

Can someone point me in the right direction on how I mite be able to start a business in a med. size town on carring massage products and supplies. Such as tables, chairs, creams, lotions, etc... We have a school here now and boy are they pumping out the new ones. :-/ But we have to drive 100 miles or order out of catalogs that take too long. Everyone is complaining about we all wish there was someone closer to just be able to run and get what we needed. Can someone give me some ideas? ???

 

[FliPp_Havok_13]

Hi,There was a guy in our medium sized town who started a massage supply business but folded after about a year.  Not having done it myself I am giving you my opinions from the therapist's (customer's) point of view, looking in from the outside.  He had a storefront which was small with difficult parking.  It was a nicely done space, but inventory was limited.  I did get a massage table from him and delivery and service was excellent.  Here are the factors that I think contributed to his lack of success....1)  I was never quite clear if the massage therapist or the general population was his primary market, as he carried a little stuff for each segment, but not enough of the types of inventory to cater to one or the other.2)  It seemed that he was short on working capital, which will sink any business in the first year3)  Due to the possibility of not enough working capital, I think a storefront was too much overhead, especially since....4)  His location was one where you had to seek him out rather than it being conveniently and centrally located...5)  Because he had to do other work to keep himself afloat, he was not always open when you needed something.So here is how I would have done differently.  1)  I would have gathered a data base (through personal relationships) of all the massage therapists and holistic practitioners in town.2)  I would have assessed their individual needs to find out what they use and how often they need it3)  From there I would have compiled a schedule to call each therapist on a regular basis to see if they needed something4) Then I would have put them on account and personally delivered their products to them....kind of like a cross between a door to door salesman and a personal buyerI think if he had called me monthly, for instance, to find out if I needed more of my brand of oil or to let me know what was on special Iwould have bought from him on a regular basis...and thought of more things to purchase through him, saving me the effort of researching, ordering and waiting for delivery.The physical storefront would have been the last thing I would have implemented, opting to put my resources into an ecommerce website and expanding my market outside of the town.  To minimize risk, I would have sold overstock on Ebay to at least recoup investment money and keep cash flowing.My $.02.  Hope it helps.Cassandra

 

[AtS- Abraxas]

Starting a Supply shop

Thanks, Helps me out alot. Now I know exactly what I need to do and not to do.