As I’m going through the motions of starting a skateshop, there are little valuable tidbits I learn each day. I’m going to start calling these “tips” and list them here for the benefit of the three people who ever visit this website.
Tip #1 – Be Serious.
What I mean is that it’s hard to get far starting a shop if you’re just playing around. It’s fun to “play” business the way little girls play house, but are you serious about starting a shop, or are you just excited about getting free stuff? Cause if you just want stuff, you can get it faster by getting a job and buying it.
What I really mean though is that if you’re not serious, nobody else will take you seriously, including the people who are going to sell you product. Think about it from a sales rep’s point of view. Let’s say there’s a skate shoe rep you need to deal with and his name is Shane.
You want to carry a certain skate shoe brand in your shop. You call up the company and they tell you your rep is one Mr. Shane, and they give you his number. You give Shane a call, but he doesn’t answer so you leave a voicemail. You also happened to get his email so you send him an email.
A week later, you haven’t gotten any response. So you call again. No answer, so you leave another voicemail. A week later and no response again. What’s going on?
What’s going on is that Shane is getting 20 phone calls every week from people who want to carry his product, and another 20 from kids who say they want to carry his product but are just looking for a way to get free stuff or get sponsored. He knows from experience that if he answers all the calls or calls everyone back he won’t have time for anything else, so he pretty much ignores calls unless they’re from someone he knows. The same goes for email.
So what do you do to get through if you’re serious? There are a few steps you can take. One is to get an introduction. Maybe you’ve had better luck with a rep from another company. Ask that rep if he knows Shane, and get him to introduce you to Shane as someone who’s serious about opening a shop.
Another method is to go back to the company. Call them and say you’ve been trying to get a hold of the rep they referred you to but you can’t get him to answer your messages. Tell the company you’re ready to place a $3,000 order the day your dealer app gets approved. They’ll call Shane and tell him to get on it, or they’ll let you deal directly with them without going through a rep.
There are other methods such as tracking the rep to his hotel or home and stalking him, leaving notes on the windshield of his car, leaving messages on his phone offering him free food, etc., but I’d try the other methods first.
Loading ...
Thanks for these tips, because right now im at the “what the hell am I going to do with my life phase”, and i really think a skateboard shop/company is a plausible route.
thanks for the tips, because of your tips im going to try to start up a shop. your tips sent me in the right directions thanks a million
thanks becouse i am really interested in start my own skateshop in medellin Colombia where de skate is gettin popular and there is no many shops
Ok im 15 and i skate allot. my dad skated all the time and still does. he is a sergical tech and he has had it with his job. we are going to open a skate shop and indoor skate park together. i was wondering if you could help me with the know-how parts of it. we really have no idea what permits wher to get them land buying locations all that jazz….but we are serious about doing it. we just need know-how.
The tips kick @$$ man, thanks. I want skateboarding to be a major part of my life and i think opening a shop will do that. Ride to live bro.
These tips are great man, thanks a lot. Thanks to this, starting a shop seems more than possible.
this did not help me
I thank you for posting your “tips”, I have found it to be helpful and funny. My husband and I are in the process of gathering up as much 411 as we can on this in the hopes of opening up a skate shop in a city where almost every kid owns a board (including my own) and the nearest skate shop is a good 45minutes away and not accessible by public transportation. I am also trying to push my husband into making a private skate park possibly in the back of the shop. If you can provide any insight or more tips please email me.
You had some great vender tips, My husband and I are interested in opening a skateshop/skatepark. I need any info on the process, permits ect… any input would be great! Please e-mail any advise.
someone please email me a suggestion or two, i want to open a skate shop, but really want a rep or a specific company that is trustworthy where I can order everything from, how about it?
Hey the tips are great! Had a few more quesions, if you could contact me that would be great. creaone1@msn.com Right now it’s just kinda of a pipe dream that I would really want to take seriously. I don’t hav a business degree, but much ambition. If starting at ground zero in a small city, Boise, ID, would it be smart to start out with blank decks and materials?
dude i need to open a shop and its not just sumtin for fun for me the closest shop is 40 sumtin miles away and me and my friends cant drive for another 2 years plus the town with most of the skaters they r old enough but they cant drive either so right were i live would be a good place for a shop
check out a new skateshop in Redding,California. opening either 2012 or 2013.
Thanks Sir. im hoping to open a shop for skate and bmx but go to college for some buisness after i graduate highschool. And maby expand as it gets bigger. I didnt really have any idea on how to get products from big manufaturers or anything but this is good info. When you make big orders do the companies give different prices, like wholesale? Because if not people could just go anywhere else. Thanks
Thanks for the tip, I think opening a skateshop/skatepark would be really cool. If you have any other imformation please send it to my e-mail, THANKS ALOT.
hey im 16 and live in a small called swansboro in north carolina. I love all the time there only a few skate shop in the area one is in jacksonville but you have to go through all these lgihts and traffic. The other one is in emerald isle but thats in another county. Do you think swansboro is a good place to open a skate shop? Please email me answers.
As a little grom growing up I always dreamed of having my own shop. I think now i can make it a reality.
Well I opend up a small skate shop in az. And that is my biggest tip is start small. Alot of people think you need a big shop to start and thousands of dollars to start. I opend my with only 5k. Thats paying the first and last months rent. Also i am located a block away from a skate park, thats my other big tip. And because i dont have the huge overhead i am able to beat zumiz and those big skateshops owned by old rich guys who dont care about the local kids. Good luck to all those who plan on opening one. its about the kids and about a way of life, not just making money cause u dont know what to do with ur life.
Hey thanks heaps this really helped me.I am only 16 but I am really looking into this for my future I have some really good ideas about what I could do with my own skate shop I also understand that just thinking about it won’t do any good and I have to make some actions towards this long term goal.
this was a piece of crapp and did not help me aat alll worst tips ever
2010!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks I am pretty sure I am going through the same phase as Mike so I needed that advice
Mike
||
||
\ /
\/