Starting from scratch

You could start a mobile bicycle repair / tune up in a panel van
greg 🙂
"Scott_Palacheck" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hey... I'm trying to start a bicycle repair shop in St Petersburg FL.
I have my own tools, and I know how to use them. If I could get a job
at a bike shop that needs a tech, email or reply to this thread. I'm
looking forword to hearing from anyone with suggestions or ideas.

Scott

Scott Palacheck said:

Hey... I'm trying to start a bicycle repair shop in St Petersburg
FL. I have my own tools, and I know how to use them. If I could get
a job at a bike shop that needs a tech, email or reply to this
thread. I'm looking forward to hearing from anyone with suggestions
or ideas.

Don't do it! Bicycle shops are not a great way to make money,
especially if you know nothing about the business, and the business
end is where most such shops go under, not in understanding the
maintenance of the machine. Sales is where it's at as well as
marketing.

You'll find that a long term bicycle shop is competing against a bunch
of short timers who don't know that they are in a "going out of
business" mode. Repair shops are a necessary adjunct to a good retail
shop but that isn't the main income.

I think before making such a move, the question should be, as in many
pursuits, "What is my contribution to the art and is there a demand?"

Jobst Brandt
[email hidden]

Jobst-<< and the business
end is where most such shops go under, not in understanding the
maintenance of the machine. Sales is where it's at as well as
marketing. >><BR><BR>

I agree that business sense is where many LBS commit suicide but Knowledgable
labor is a far higher margin than bicycle sales, which typically are the lowest
margin of things 'sold' in a bike shop.

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

[email hidden] (Qui si parla Campagnolo ) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Jobst-<< and the business
end is where most such shops go under, not in understanding the
maintenance of the machine. Sales is where it's at as well as
marketing. >><BR><BR>

I agree that business sense is where many LBS commit suicide but Knowledgable
labor is a far higher margin than bicycle sales, which typically are the lowest
margin of things 'sold' in a bike shop.

Peter Chisholm

Hmmm... can I agree with *both* of you? "Knowledgable Labor" is quite
valuable... but communicating that to the public requires a high
degree of sales skill, marketing, and political adroitness. Omitting
any of these will be a handicap in making a successful new bicycle
business.

To the original poster: it's a noble pursuit, but that's not enough.
Before you invest major chunks of cash, make sure you want to
*run*a*business* first. As Jobst points out, the bicycle business is
overstuffed with people who are willing to cut everything to the bone
simply to stay involved in the "Bicycle Business". Either that, or
people who are very successful in other arenas and are looking to burn
off excess cash (I've seen both).

My advice: do your homework. Figure out how much cash you're willing
to lose. Make a business plan. Be prepared to make hard decisions and
stick with them. Marry someone with lots of money.

Jeff (A pretty good mechanic, fairly knowledgable, but lousy in the
sales/marketing area. I married a beautiful, smart woman who earns
lots of money and rides bikes, too.)