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Anyone of you young people ever have the itch to open a B & M Cigar Biz?

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I honestly would like to hear why, and what you would do to succeed. No we there is only one catch you only have $500,000.00 to launch the business with.

The money would pay:

First 18 month of lease.

Interior designer.

Build out.

All permits, fees, licenses.

First 18 month insurances, utilities, fax, phones, cable, Internet, fixtures, your Salery if you take one, employee Salery, and last inventory.

Where would you do this, how would you become profitable. This is not a trick question, it is a what would you do to not have a hobby business, but a profitable business?
 
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I thought about what i will do after i retire, and thought of either a boxing gym or a b &m. You dont have to get too fancy around here 500,000 would probly be over kill honestly. Hard to say exsactly what i would do to make it a profitable venture. I am sure it would be fun though
 
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It's my retirement plan. I want to open a B&M close to the interstate, in a stand-alone building, with decent parking so I can hold events. The rest of my details/ideas are staying close to the chest because I have trust issues. :angelic::cautious::whistle:
Probably a good idea to not disclose details. Lay out a really great idea and someone with the cash will take your great idea and run with it. For me, I would use the 500k to visit all the B&M's y'all plan to open.
 
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I'm home today, so I'll bite.

Not young by most standards, but I've thought about it. Since most people view smoking as less appealing than eating the last bite of tuna found in a can left on the floor of a gas station bathroom... If I ever thought about it seriously, I'd probably go find a Dr and tell them I need to be medicated.


Assuming the medication didn't work and I still wanted to try, then I'd :
  • Keep my day job, but find part-time employment at an established B&M to see/experience first-hand how they operate. Would be up-front with my boss about my plans, but would also be clear about not opening my eventual business anywhere near his.

  • Join every club/go to every trade show/convention/event I could make it to, and basically meet, greet, hand-shake, kiss babies and network the #$%# out of every opportunity I could think of. All the while being up-front about what I was doing. Few people like hidden agenda's, but most people can respect honest ambition.

  • Before I spent a penny, accept that I'm not going to compete on price/volume, so ask myself the question: Why would I pay more to buy from me? Why would other people? Until I was satisfied with my answers, I'd go no further.

  • Bust my ass at the B&M I'm working at... talk up the customers, host events, use all my networking and ideas to increase sales at my boss's business. If I can't bring in $$ to his store, I won't be able to bring in $$ to mine either. Rinse and repeat this step until he's ready to give me his daughter and make me partner.

  • Beg, borrow, steal, and as a last resort, pay for every bit of demographic & statistical data I could get.

  • Cross match the states, counties, cities with the best small business (and tobacco) regulations with the most desirable demographics to find the best places to put a cigar oriented B&M.

  • Check to see if in most of the locations I identify, there are already an above average # of B&Ms. If there aren't, figure out where I messed up. If there are, pat myself on the back for being so clever, then assume I messed up anyway and use some of the $500K to pay professionals to review my projections.

  • Decide what kind of place I'm going to open. Believing in your product and having passion for it are important, but doing what it takes to keep the lights on is important too. i.e. selling Acids, whether you like them or not. Setting aside the classic leather and mahogany smoking lounge you envisioned for a karaoke stage, if that's what the customers want. If I couldn't make peace with that, then I'd adjust my medication again and look for a location where there was a population of people that liked what I liked.

  • Diversify my income streams as much as possible, while keeping the core of the business. Coffee? Alcohol? (licenses are big $$, regs/zoning may not allow it), Live bait? Topless dancers? Topless karaoke?

  • If I wasn't adept at technology, I'd make it a priority. Online sales and advertising are required.

  • 50 more things that I thought of, but this is already too long

  • 500 more things I didn't think about

  • 5000 more things I don't understand

  • ????

  • Profit!
 

bwhite220

Brandon | BotM Jan 2038
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I'm home today, so I'll bite.

Not young by most standards, but I've thought about it. Since most people view smoking as less appealing than eating the last bite of tuna found in a can left on the floor of a gas station bathroom... If I ever thought about it seriously, I'd probably go find a Dr and tell them I need to be medicated.


Assuming the medication didn't work and I still wanted to try, then I'd :
  • Keep my day job, but find part-time employment at an established B&M to see/experience first-hand how they operate. Would be up-front with my boss about my plans, but would also be clear about not opening my eventual business anywhere near his.

  • Join every club/go to every trade show/convention/event I could make it to, and basically meet, greet, hand-shake, kiss babies and network the #$%# out of every opportunity I could think of. All the while being up-front about what I was doing. Few people like hidden agenda's, but most people can respect honest ambition.

  • Before I spent a penny, accept that I'm not going to compete on price/volume, so ask myself the question: Why would I pay more to buy from me? Why would other people? Until I was satisfied with my answers, I'd go no further.

  • Bust my ass at the B&M I'm working at... talk up the customers, host events, use all my networking and ideas to increase sales at my boss's business. If I can't bring in $$ to his store, I won't be able to bring in $$ to mine either. Rinse and repeat this step until he's ready to give me his daughter and make me partner.

  • Beg, borrow, steal, and as a last resort, pay for every bit of demographic & statistical data I could get.

  • Cross match the states, counties, cities with the best small business (and tobacco) regulations with the most desirable demographics to find the best places to put a cigar oriented B&M.

  • Check to see if in most of the locations I identify, there are already an above average # of B&Ms. If there aren't, figure out where I messed up. If there are, pat myself on the back for being so clever, then assume I messed up anyway and use some of the $500K to pay professionals to review my projections.

  • Decide what kind of place I'm going to open. Believing in your product and having passion for it are important, but doing what it takes to keep the lights on is important too. i.e. selling Acids, whether you like them or not. Setting aside the classic leather and mahogany smoking lounge you envisioned for a karaoke stage, if that's what the customers want. If I couldn't make peace with that, then I'd adjust my medication again and look for a location where there was a population of people that liked what I liked.

  • Diversify my income streams as much as possible, while keeping the core of the business. Coffee? Alcohol? (licenses are big $$, regs/zoning may not allow it), Live bait? Topless dancers? Topless karaoke?

  • If I wasn't adept at technology, I'd make it a priority. Online sales and advertising are required.

  • 50 more things that I thought of, but this is already too long

  • 500 more things I didn't think about

  • 5000 more things I don't understand

  • ????

  • Profit!
My man! So many things in here I screamed "YES!" at but the only one that had me ready to go was "Naked Karaoke". haha!
 

Prine

Nerf herder
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I personally like the newer style Gun Shop/Coffee Shop vibe where you get your regular customers returning all the time. Add in a cigar lounge to go along with the coffee and then market the shit out of guns and culture related to all three. Would never fly here but the gun shop/coffee shop boutique but has started to be popular in larger cities.
 

BigSkySmoke

Lanceros, Cowgirls and Burritos
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I think most of us have thought about what would make a great B&M at one point...
If I ever had the chance, I would open in a location where I didn't share walls with any other business. Good security cameras. Full bar and food. Paid membership for 24 hour access and lockers.

A business model that could survive with out the sale of tabacco.
 
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You could open a solid B&M for a lot less than $500k. Probably around $200-250k.

Well honeslty I use 500K as I want to fund everything for 18 months + build out, stock, fixtures, permits insurance, etc. Trust me this is a very realistic figure. Plus I want the person to be about to eat more then tortillas, rice, and bean for 18 months.
 

mjones9630

Who?
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I'm home today, so I'll bite.

Not young by most standards, but I've thought about it. Since most people view smoking as less appealing than eating the last bite of tuna found in a can left on the floor of a gas station bathroom... If I ever thought about it seriously, I'd probably go find a Dr and tell them I need to be medicated.


Assuming the medication didn't work and I still wanted to try, then I'd :
  • Keep my day job, but find part-time employment at an established B&M to see/experience first-hand how they operate. Would be up-front with my boss about my plans, but would also be clear about not opening my eventual business anywhere near his.

  • Join every club/go to every trade show/convention/event I could make it to, and basically meet, greet, hand-shake, kiss babies and network the #$%# out of every opportunity I could think of. All the while being up-front about what I was doing. Few people like hidden agenda's, but most people can respect honest ambition.

  • Before I spent a penny, accept that I'm not going to compete on price/volume, so ask myself the question: Why would I pay more to buy from me? Why would other people? Until I was satisfied with my answers, I'd go no further.

  • Bust my ass at the B&M I'm working at... talk up the customers, host events, use all my networking and ideas to increase sales at my boss's business. If I can't bring in $$ to his store, I won't be able to bring in $$ to mine either. Rinse and repeat this step until he's ready to give me his daughter and make me partner.

  • Beg, borrow, steal, and as a last resort, pay for every bit of demographic & statistical data I could get.

  • Cross match the states, counties, cities with the best small business (and tobacco) regulations with the most desirable demographics to find the best places to put a cigar oriented B&M.

  • Check to see if in most of the locations I identify, there are already an above average # of B&Ms. If there aren't, figure out where I messed up. If there are, pat myself on the back for being so clever, then assume I messed up anyway and use some of the $500K to pay professionals to review my projections.

  • Decide what kind of place I'm going to open. Believing in your product and having passion for it are important, but doing what it takes to keep the lights on is important too. i.e. selling Acids, whether you like them or not. Setting aside the classic leather and mahogany smoking lounge you envisioned for a karaoke stage, if that's what the customers want. If I couldn't make peace with that, then I'd adjust my medication again and look for a location where there was a population of people that liked what I liked.

  • Diversify my income streams as much as possible, while keeping the core of the business. Coffee? Alcohol? (licenses are big $$, regs/zoning may not allow it), Live bait? Topless dancers? Topless karaoke?

  • If I wasn't adept at technology, I'd make it a priority. Online sales and advertising are required.

  • 50 more things that I thought of, but this is already too long

  • 500 more things I didn't think about

  • 5000 more things I don't understand

  • ????

  • Profit!
Dang dude, clearly you've thought about this before.. :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
I'm down for some karaoke-strippers and a cigar.. I'd even be ok with a stupid cut fee! Lol
 
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The thing about this type of business venture, it will be more work then putting in 40 hours at a job with a paycheck twice a month.

If you are not prepared for high, lows, cleaning up after people, cleaning bathrooms, and a lot of fun stuff that doesn't include smoking a Cigar. Then jump into the pond, and good luck with the swim for success.

If you are not committed 110% to long hours, dealing with people, deal with vendors, etc., etc., etc. Keep your real job.

Most new business fail in the first year, most lest less then 5 years, some do real well, and continue year after year.
 
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