So my dad owns a motorcycle shop where they sell and repair motorcycles. He is moving spaces and his new space has a lot of room. It even has a second floor which is just a pretty large, empty room. This is my thought: Would there be a way to make money there if I opened a little store, or even like a room with parks or something? My dad is wondering what to do with that space, and he was even the one to suggest opening a little fingerboard store. I was also thinking about having a little event there if I end up opening something. Ya know, to get a little revenue flowing.
I'll post pics of the space in a few days if possible, and I'll add more to this thread later, I'm typing this in a rush because I need to go somewhere.
So anybody, leave me some advice or anything! Are there certain licenses I need to obtain? Is there anyone who would be willing to bulk sell me product to sell? Is there really money in it if I were to start this? Etc.
Thanks!
BTW This shop would be in Union City, New Jersey. Which is very very close to the Lincoln Tunnel (the tunnel into New York City) and it's basically right next to Hoboken. Just in case that location helps anyone's advice.

You're kind of getting ahead of yourself lol. Post some pictures of the room/area of where it's located. Then setup a little park and invite people, if they come then bring in product. Don't just jump to the idea of buying product in bulk or whatever lol. See what ideas people have, and what they have to say about your little project.

but...

I'd say no. Unless you're putting thousands and thousands of dollars into product, parks, etc.. like Mike does for Store Sessions/Rendezvous. Yeah, it'd be a chill spot for local fingerboarders to come sesh at like the Patio in Portugal, but then again Oak Wheels makes a lot of money off of that because.. well, they're Oak Wheels ha. But if you want to, go for it. You might need a business license if you plan on selling things, but maybe your dad can bring you under his wing. Try it out, maybe setup a little park up in the room and invite people, if it gets a good amount of traffic through it, then bring in some product if people are actually gonna go there most of the time to sesh. Don't put any money into it yet until you know who/how many people will actually go, cause what'll happen is all that money you spent on product is going to waste, and you'll be stuck with it. But go with whatever your little heart desires lol.

SteepHillFB wrote:

Don't put any money into it yet until you know who/how many people will actually go, cause what'll happen is all that money you spent on product is going to waste, and you'll be stuck with it.

Pretty much summed up what I was thinking with that sentence.

In short, it sounds like a good idea. But yeah, I would STRONGLY advise evaluating and researching the fingerboard market in your area thoroughly before committing to such a project.

Personally, I would use that space to host some kind of epic event (rather than a shop) and bring a small amount of product to sell at first. If the event is successful host another...and another (with increasing levels of stock). If the success is consistently successful THAN maybe consider opening a shop of some kind

- Jono

you live very close to me

also, is it metropolitan motorbikes?

milk wrote:

you live very close to me

also, is it metropolitan motorbikes?

yes http://www.metropolitanmotorbikes.com

Pop factory failed because it was in Indiana. I assume being next to the largest city in the USA can't hurt? am I right?

milk wrote:

you live very close to me

also, is it metropolitan motorbikes?

Wow it is! How did you know about it?
And yes don't you live in one of the Oranges? I remember talking to you about that on chat once

he wasn't going to put any money in it yet. he's just testing the waters. i think its a great idea. look in to it and do some research.

Arapoib wrote:

he wasn't going to put any money in it yet. he's just testing the waters. i think its a great idea. look in to it and do some research.

Thank you Andy. Exactly what he said, I was just wondering what other fingerboarders thought of the idea. But I appreciate all the advice so far, keep it coming!

WantSomeSlaw wrote:

Arapoib wrote:

he wasn't going to put any money in it yet. he's just testing the waters. i think its a great idea. look in to it and do some research.

Thank you Andy. Exactly what he said, I was just wondering what other fingerboarders thought of the idea. But I appreciate all the advice so far, keep it coming!

This.

Make sure you thoroughly do your research Henry and that you have a backup plan in case things go wrong. Didn't you use to make decks Henry? I'm sure if you open up your store you can sell your decks as well as other products you're distributing.

skatemaster231 wrote:

WantSomeSlaw wrote:

Arapoib wrote:

he wasn't going to put any money in it yet. he's just testing the waters. i think its a great idea. look in to it and do some research.

Thank you Andy. Exactly what he said, I was just wondering what other fingerboarders thought of the idea. But I appreciate all the advice so far, keep it coming!

This.

Make sure you thoroughly do your research Henry and that you have a backup plan in case things go wrong. Didn't you use to make decks Henry? I'm sure if you open up your store you can sell your decks as well as other products you're distributing.

I never made decks? And of course I'd do plenty of research before I even get close to starting. (that's assuming I decide to do this)

WantSomeSlaw wrote:

milk wrote:

you live very close to me

also, is it metropolitan motorbikes?

Wow it is! How did you know about it?
And yes don't you live in one of the Oranges? I remember talking to you about that on chat once

i have been past there a few times and yes south orange

milk wrote:

WantSomeSlaw wrote:

milk wrote:

you live very close to me

also, is it metropolitan motorbikes?

Wow it is! How did you know about it?
And yes don't you live in one of the Oranges? I remember talking to you about that on chat once

i have been past there a few times and yes south orange

That's crazy to think of haha. So then you would be a good person to ask, if I were to host a little meetup there, and maybe got some people to send in products to sponsor it/to sell there, would you show up?
This is just an idea right now, folks.

WantSomeSlaw wrote:

milk wrote:

WantSomeSlaw wrote:

milk wrote:

you live very close to me

also, is it metropolitan motorbikes?

Wow it is! How did you know about it?
And yes don't you live in one of the Oranges? I remember talking to you about that on chat once

i have been past there a few times and yes south orange

That's crazy to think of haha. So then you would be a good person to ask, if I were to host a little meetup there, and maybe got some people to send in products to sponsor it/to sell there, would you show up?
This is just an idea right now, folks.

i mean i don't know, maybe. i don't really like meetups, so i'm not really the person to ask about that, but i'm sure plenty of fingerboarders from nj/ny/pa/ct would come if it was closer to them than driving all the way to rendezvous/the flatface store in mass. the location is pretty good (in terms of population density) but i don't really know how many people around us know you or other fingerboarders who would be there. really though it depends how well planned it is and if it's going to be a quality meetup. if it's just you with a couple of ramps and a few rails then it might be a little lacking. i think the reason people love the flatface sessions is because of the ridiculously large selection of ramps and parks to fingerboard in. if you could manage to get a park/parks that are reasonably large and fun, and get sponsors for giveaways and local companies selling stuff there, then you've got yourself a pretty great meetup that would definitely be worth it.

Pm me. I just opened a business and have been open for about 2 months now. Your situation (with your dad and what not) is a bit different, but I feel I can lend some real help here. Either pm me or I'll start typing in this thread when I get to a computer. Hate doing this on mobile.

And by business I mean I own and operate an LLC and rent out a building, etc. It's a parkour gym/park. So in a way kind of the same thing you are talking about. We'll talk.

Edit: and I'll just say this....fingerboarding and parkour are both pretty unknown and new. So parkour gyms and fingerboard stores are pretty unheard of and there aren't to many to reference or go off of when starting your own. I definitely had wished there were people to get help and advice from that had done the same thing as me when opening the business, so I really want to help you. From legal crap, business planning, projecting, to marketing, etc. I can lend some advice. For the most part I'll probably be the bearer of some difficult truth or even bad news or naysaying, but anything I say is up for interpretation and for you to take how you want. It is really up to how much you want this to happen and your dedication. I'm only 20, so I was not taken seriously a lot when trying to open my place. City workers, attorneys, property owners, insurance people, business personal, etc. looked at me like a kid with an absurd idea a lot of times but, got the place open and running well so far. Again........we'll talk.

sounds like a cool idea. Im in the UK but it sounds fun and if i were near i would totally use the facility

im in nyc, so if you were to hold some sort of event i would definitley try to make it out. i think your best bet would be to hold events before opening a store. if you advertise it well, then i think you can profit off of that. as for a store, im not so sure.

g.fb wrote:

im in nyc, so if you were to hold some sort of event i would definitley try to make it out. i think your best bet would be to hold events before opening a store. if you advertise it well, then i think you can profit off of that. as for a store, im not so sure.

This is super good advice. Like using it more as a venue? Getting some parks, holding a few events, and getting some money from that? (I.e, charging a few bucks as an entry fee?)

the location is prime, the tri-state area arguably has the biggest fb scene in the u.s. as long as you have quality ramps, parks, and items for sale at some point, im sure people would show up. if i were you tho, id try and have it on a sunday wheres theres a less percentage of people working. id go to the rendezvous every time if i didnt hafta work on saturdays

Personally i pretty much recommend the same as the others. Build some homemade parks and set them up in the room then hold a meetup or something. Then have a couple decks trucks ramps etc sold on the side and charge admissioon

tbh i think one of the best things you could do is hold regular meetups (like a monthly or twice a month thing), that's what the competitive super smash bros community has been doing for 15 years and now it's really popular. helps the scene grow and helps people get better at fingerboarding because they're around other fingerboarders more

as far as making money i think meetups are your most stable bet, if you get 10 people to come and charge $5 each that's $50, since the place is your dad's, i doubt he's gonna charge you so it's basically straight profit. selling/distroing product might be hard because you'd have to choose popular items that are basically 100% gonna sell, otherwise they're gonna collect dust and you'll lose money. you might wanna watch this video to get a little inspiration

also having ample parking helps because driving/parking in hudson county gives me a fucking aneurysm

the smash scene is sick

kevin wrote:

tbh i think one of the best things you could do is hold regular meetups (like a monthly or twice a month thing), that's what the competitive super smash bros community has been doing for 15 years and now it's really popular. helps the scene grow and helps people get better at fingerboarding because they're around other fingerboarders more

as far as making money i think meetups are your most stable bet, if you get 10 people to come and charge $5 each that's $50, since the place is your dad's, i doubt he's gonna charge you so it's basically straight profit. selling/distroing product might be hard because you'd have to choose popular items that are basically 100% gonna sell, otherwise they're gonna collect dust and you'll lose money. you might wanna watch this video to get a little inspiration

also having ample parking helps because driving/parking in hudson county gives me a fucking aneurysm

Kevin you've given me a lot to think about. Maybe I'll spend this summer working on getting parks for this space, and perhaps I'll start hosting meetups sometime after school starts. That's a super great idea.
So I guess this is the next question. Fingerboarders of NJ, NY, CT, etc if there was a meetup in the Union City NJ area, who would show up?

i would make the trip down. it would be worth it