|
|
Joined:
November 2006
Posts: 3969
| In 3 years I'll have 30 years continuous employment with the State of Florida - get 60% of my 5-year highest average salary for the rest of my life. Won't touch my retirement investments (such as they are now) for another 20 years, let 'em keep growing tax-deferred. I'll use short-term investments (such as they are now) for start-up, and with the retirement coming in I won't have to worry too much about income from my little project. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2006
Posts: 1634
Location: Chehalis, Washington | Originally posted by Paul Templeman:
I am an online music retailer and that income makes up a significant part of my living (and I make an OK living for something that doesn't seem like "working" ) I do not sell guitars or amps or anything mainstream and do not want to. My business model is simply this: I stock all of the weird crap that the majority of stores think is too specialist to carry. I do not have to compete on price because my customers can't find the same products anywhere else. Niche. That's the key, that and geeky esoteric product knowledge. Anymore, finding a niche for a small business is critical in any industry. There's always a monster super-commercial version of whatever you do that can do it cheaper, larger quantities, and in more areas than you can. The trick is to find what you do better and do that.
We do a lot of specialty breads, like you can buy anywhere else, but we do them in 93 different flavors. No one else does that, therefore we have our 'niche,' and it's worked for us for 15 years now. We started a line of seasoning blends, which lots of people do, but we did ours all natural, organic, gluten free...you get the idea.
I think we're going to see the big music stores dying out, and more service-oriented specialty stores being the only ones surviving. Music 6000 here in Olympia is one great example. They have a great service department, excellent variety of gear (though few Ovations), and a staff that is experienced and actually helpful...musicians, not just people wasting time. Plus, I don't get brain damage or get accosted walking in the front door. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 4026
Location: Utah | We do have a relatively new "Pop" store, The Acoustic Musician, which has been in business for a couple of years. He is moving this month to bigger quarters and has a small concert venue. In his current digs he has a bluegrass open jam and a rock open jam each week.
His thing is quality mid to upper priced guitars and mandolins, though he does carry some decent entry level stuff in the $200-$300 range that is affordable but not crappy.
His real forte is service. Great customer service in fact. Free setups on new guitars, and free adjustments on anything you buy there.
His instrument prices are OK. His accessory prices are just about full retail, but he carries good stuff and unusual stuff that the big box stores don't have in stock.
I think this guy has a good recipe for success and his new location will be a big improvement. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
May 2008
Posts: 194
Location: Las Vegas, NV | Originally posted by ProfessorBB:
There's a few very small shops remaining here in town that are worth visiting, one because of the owner and the other because of the selection. The latter is a pawn shop that deals almost exclusively in guitars and related gear. I walked in one day looking for a Les Paul knock-off to jam with some colleagues and the manager brought out about a half dozen real Les Pauls, including one that he said was a prototype but knew nothing else about it. I played all of them for about three hours and was ready to make an offer. He then said he had another dozen or so downstairs if I wanted to try a few more. I declined and after about 15 minutes of negotiating (that's the fun part), I walked out with the prototype and later confirmed its history with the factory. The manager could very well be the owner, but refers to himself as the manager. He caters to older customers and has buyers out looking for gear. He even invited my son and I to go down to his basement drum room and crawl through piles of cymbal stands (there had to be hundreds of stands) looking for some drum stuff (we bought three plus a stool). We passed by more rooms with hundreds of old guitar cases, presumably containing guitars. The only downside is that the place is totally cluttered with gear, to the point of a resembling a junk shop, but the manager knows where the good stuff is and is willing to bring it out for you to try. If you're looking for a clean pristine showroom with lots of space, go elsewhere. I got a little excited just reading this. What a cool place this would be to visit monthly (or weekly, or daily)... |
|
| |
|
Joined:
February 2009
Posts: 335
Location: Reisterstown, Maryland | Originally posted by CanterburyStrings:
Darkbar, you are right about the big manufacturers requiring a store to stock what they tell you to stock. That's why I carry Morgan Monroes. After the initial buy-in, I can carry as many or as few as I want. BUT, what helps me is the used guitars. I have had vintage Gibsons, Ovations, and tomorrow I am getting in an early 60'd Martin D-35. It's true that I also carry inexpensive starter guitars, but I don't carry junk. To me, it is even more important to carry decent starters so the kids don't get discouraged with junk that is unplayable. So I have Celebrities, Jasmines, Ibanez, Yamahas, and the like. I go through everything on the wall to make sure it is in good shape, playable and decent sounding. If they take good care of their starters, I will let them trade up when the time comes, so their initial investment isn't wasted. As I've said before, service is what keeps people coming back to my shop. Buy strings from me, and I will put them on for free. My prices on repairs are very low. People remember that stuff, and they are loyal to me.
Oh, and the coffe pot is always on. I would to be able to visit your store! Sounds like the one I used to go to when I was Teenager and still played before life got in the way. (Its great to be playing again)
Anita |
|
| |
|
Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Check 'em out here. There are others who feel the same way . . .
Wedgles Music and Pawn |
|
| |
The music stores don't care anymore...
