allright, so heres the deal: arcticzap and i are serriously considering opening up a custom car audio shop. we’re gonna start very small and hopefully work our way up. right now, we’re just trying to gauge interest on 2 things:
would you guys actually come to us to do your car audio stuff?
we would be needing like 2 or 3 other people (who would be willing to really put a lot of hard work and effort into this) who kno how to do installs and would want to work with us
if your interested in working with us, send one of us a PM otherwise post you opinons up
We appricate all the feedback so far. I do feel the market is flooded, but with alot of crappy shops IMHO. No one does the work that I expect from a business thats suppose to be good. Right now it is just an idea and until some more details are discussed it will stay an idea, but we are both serious about making a high quality custom shop.
How much market research have you done? Do you know any numbers for how many audio installation locations there are around, how much money is spent on car audio in the area annually, how many shops start every year, how many end every year, etc?
before you seriously plan this, you need to create a business plan, get some money together/secure financing, find a good location, determine the competition etc…
the market is already fairly saturated, what you need to do is find a location that would distinguish yourselves from the other car audio shops.
you need to create an identity that will be appealing to potential customers, you need to give them a reason to go to your shop instead of an established shop.
you need to promote your shop. you will need insurance.
there are a ton of things you will have to consider before you can realisitcally decide to open a shop. if you want to be successful you must find a market niche for your shop and gain a customer base
We have a location in mind that were not talking about right now that just might give us a slight edge. And right now as stated before we are only gathering interest for this. If there is enough interest, we’ll work out more the details then. No sense in working out the details without any interest.
Don’t take the selling stuff on e-gay advice… Consumer electronics are beat on ebay… you guys need to come up with a good location, as well as a good business plan. My advice… get a taxid now… and start looking for distributors / reps… in my experience from my own business, unless you are a high volume dealer… good luck buying from the manufacturer… even then those ppl buy from distributors, which I’m sure you already know from past experience. Also… Who are you bringing w/ you? you need one or two well known installers…
Also… Look at the market and see who’se there…
Stereo Advantage
Harolds
Daryls
SCAP
That place in buffalo that advertized for high end cars…
Think about location… Williamsville is full. you’ve got stereo and SCAP.
Dont know of anything in tonawanda, but harolds is kind of close…
This is the problem with starting small and eventually growing bigger. You need to open big, spending a ton on marketing and advertising.
Custom Workz did this by sponsoring like every concert last year, among other advertising. They had a wonderful fall season, and are doing well even with a not so good location.
Also,
high end is nice, but doesn’t pay the day to day bills. You need consistent sales to keep the doors open, and the big, high profit sales to make a name for yourself and the money in your pocket.
I would seek advise from an outside business consultant if you are serious.
Theres a nice shop that has been around for eons here called The Stereo Shop. They do everything, low ball stuff, high rollers in ferraris and all that. They have been around for at least 2 decades
that’s a good question to ask. what will set you apart. how established are you guys? in terms of working in shops (sorry I’m not familiar with you personally)