Opportunity knocking or sign from hell?

what you may want to consider is asking them if they wanted to do like a partnership kind of deal. go in together. i'm sure with their knowledge they would probably do things differently and stuff.

just my two cents.

Francious70 wrote:

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Hey kidtransam,

Do you live in Humboldt, TN?? I'm in business with some people down there (consumer finance) who may be able to help out.

Paul

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Right here dude. Installing is not easy, your life depends on it if you are going to open your own business. Opening a business is not an easy thing to do, especially if you have little to no business experience. It takes huge coin to secure lines. You have to be in an area that has lines available. You may have to do a huge buy in to secure a line which may take dollars away from another line that you need. I had the opportunity to work in this industry for 8 years before I decided to open my own store, all the while I was paying attention to how business was done. If you have no experience on the sales side or business side, you are doomed for failure. I succeeded because I am an excellent customer service person, I know how to sell and I sure as hell know how to install.

Based on what I read and my knowledge, I personally would see this as an opportunity. If you have my kind of background you would probably do good as well. That said though, you are also going into a market that may have a very limited draw area for a very limited amount of product. I would want to know why exactly the big box guys are moving shop and I would not expect to hear the real reason anytime soon.

Man Henderson is a good market. I used to work for one of the stores you're talking about. (auto radio)  Nice market for a custom shop. Custom is something Best Buy & Jerkit City can't offer. Do your honework and godbless.

For what its worth, as a business owner (not stereo related), but customer service is all based on three major areas:

1 - Service Standards - Being the "Best of the Best" requires going above and beyond clients expectations. Business growth and/or decline is a direct result of customer satisfaction. Your best advertising tool is "word of mouth", but it could also be your worst enemy if job not done to expectations! With our business community becoming more crowded every year, this only increases our challenge to stay on top, as it brings customer expectations higher and higher. Make sure you can deliver on your commitments on time.

2 - Location - Does the area have sufficient population/demand to sustain an adequate volume of customers. Additionally where you locate store front needs to have good visibility (Avoid hard to find locations, rent may be cheaper, but it will cost more in the end!).

3 - Product - Selling a good product at a reasonable price, having a reputation as the "cheapest place in town" is not always a good thing. It would not be adventagious to compete against the "National Brand" stores on their playing field, so raise the bar a few notches. Know the economics of your area to get a better idea.

Owning your own business is very gratifying, but requires alot of work and effort to be successful at it. If your heart is there, you are willing to work 8 days a week, and have done your research than you are ready to do what makes you happy. I wish you great success whichever road you choose, just be as knowledgable as possible.

Partners -  This subject has its +/-. A partner could help you in times of need, or could hinder you to the point of need!