Another School project!
05-26-2004, 11:49 AM
#1
50 Watt CAFz'r
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 295
Im making a fake Car audio store and I need to know how much it costs as a retailer to get the gear into my store, as well as other amounts of money I will need to pay to get my venture started. Can anybody that owns a shop or anything give me some advice?
05-26-2004, 12:38 PM
#2
Guest
Posts: n/a
How detailed does it have to be? You taking a Business Admin course?
You can open with less, but your chances are best if you have a good $100k to start out with.
Figure $8,000 per highlight brand you want like Pioneer, Alpine, Jl, RF, whatever. You need at least two, 3 is better.
Figure $3-5000 for each secondary brand. You need at least one.
Better add $5000 for install accessories such as kits, wire, carpet, etc.
Add $2000 for each demo board. You need at least two, probably 3. These are basic boards - want a big fancy one with electronic switching? Add $5k per board.
Unless you move into a vacant stereo shop it is gonna cost you a solid $20,000 for store renovations. Carpet, walls, electrical, etc.
Figure $5,000 for decor. Chairs, computer/cash register, display counter, etc.
Add another $5,000 for install bay tools and benches. This is the bare minimum and will get you the tablesaw, compressor, dust collector, a couple workbenches, and maybe some power hand tools.
Set aside $10,000 for heavy advertising and promotion in the first 3months you are open. (Better keep a solid $1500 a month after that for the next year. We'll leave that out of this budget though.)
Yeah so there's $80k. Keep the other $20k for crap like insurance, business licence, signage and, oh yeah, you're not going to make a dime for at least 6months to a year so better live on the cheap cheap cheap.
Now all this assumes you go in cold with personal accounts with your vendors and don't hook up with someone like TransCanada Finance - which I don't recommend anyway as people overspend and get into trouble.
[img]smile.gif[/img]
You can open with less, but your chances are best if you have a good $100k to start out with.
Figure $8,000 per highlight brand you want like Pioneer, Alpine, Jl, RF, whatever. You need at least two, 3 is better.
Figure $3-5000 for each secondary brand. You need at least one.
Better add $5000 for install accessories such as kits, wire, carpet, etc.
Add $2000 for each demo board. You need at least two, probably 3. These are basic boards - want a big fancy one with electronic switching? Add $5k per board.
Unless you move into a vacant stereo shop it is gonna cost you a solid $20,000 for store renovations. Carpet, walls, electrical, etc.
Figure $5,000 for decor. Chairs, computer/cash register, display counter, etc.
Add another $5,000 for install bay tools and benches. This is the bare minimum and will get you the tablesaw, compressor, dust collector, a couple workbenches, and maybe some power hand tools.
Set aside $10,000 for heavy advertising and promotion in the first 3months you are open. (Better keep a solid $1500 a month after that for the next year. We'll leave that out of this budget though.)
Yeah so there's $80k. Keep the other $20k for crap like insurance, business licence, signage and, oh yeah, you're not going to make a dime for at least 6months to a year so better live on the cheap cheap cheap.
Now all this assumes you go in cold with personal accounts with your vendors and don't hook up with someone like TransCanada Finance - which I don't recommend anyway as people overspend and get into trouble.
[img]smile.gif[/img]
05-26-2004, 03:12 PM
#4
Dukk is pretty close, both my stores were in the 150,000 neighbourhood. One display alone was almost $50,000 by the time it was built, installed and a switcher sourced out. Most companies that are major lines will not let you do a 5000 opening order, they will usually require double that. The little things add up as well, to equip an install bay is not cheap by any means.
05-26-2004, 03:46 PM
#6
50 Watt CAFz'r
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 295
Thanks guys.ya its for my Entrepreneurship class. It doesnt have to be very accurate as most of my classmates are doing the easy things such as Lawn Care, and Ice Cream shops. I need to create things such as Balance sheets and Cash flow forecasts for 2 months and I needed some figures.
05-26-2004, 07:41 PM
#8
A lot of companies want you to make HUGE orders for your first one....Eclipse is something like 25,000 or something like that, IF you can get alpine they'll quite possibly want you to have some or all of the F#1 stuff there which by it's self is outrageously priced espcially if you get into the new amp and comp sets....Amp retailes for like 10K or something like that it's insane.
Then you'll need wiring kits...5K MIGHT get you barebones stuff....10-15K you'd be ok for a good 8 months...You musn't forget to order wiring, plus soundboards for all your equipment, which I don't like, that's why I'm a big fan of the way Audiowaves is set up because they have one massive demo board that replicates a car in the way it sounds and the way everything is installed....everything else is on shelves, chained down so a customer can come in and actually pick up a product and look at it instead of just seeing the front of it while it's in a demo board.
Anyway, then you have to think about a good location for the store,rent(first and last), cost of renovation if need be....tools if you don't already have them....then expect around 5-6K for all the little things you don't think of.
Then you still need an inventory system which means you'll need a computer, you'll need to have 150-200 bucks or so as a float incase somebody pays cash for something...then you need an Interac/Visa/Mastercard machine.....then you'll need a security system. You'll also have to think about hiring employee's unless you can do installs REALLY fast and good by yourself....you'll need to find someone that's MECP certified to do alarms and car starters and stuff like if you choose to do that kind of thing.
It's a lot of work and TON of money to open your own buisness, it's also a lot of fun to do and is worth it in the end when your turning out 3-4 small installs a day and maybe 2-3 big ones in month.
Good luck with your assignment by the way.
Then you'll need wiring kits...5K MIGHT get you barebones stuff....10-15K you'd be ok for a good 8 months...You musn't forget to order wiring, plus soundboards for all your equipment, which I don't like, that's why I'm a big fan of the way Audiowaves is set up because they have one massive demo board that replicates a car in the way it sounds and the way everything is installed....everything else is on shelves, chained down so a customer can come in and actually pick up a product and look at it instead of just seeing the front of it while it's in a demo board.
Anyway, then you have to think about a good location for the store,rent(first and last), cost of renovation if need be....tools if you don't already have them....then expect around 5-6K for all the little things you don't think of.
Then you still need an inventory system which means you'll need a computer, you'll need to have 150-200 bucks or so as a float incase somebody pays cash for something...then you need an Interac/Visa/Mastercard machine.....then you'll need a security system. You'll also have to think about hiring employee's unless you can do installs REALLY fast and good by yourself....you'll need to find someone that's MECP certified to do alarms and car starters and stuff like if you choose to do that kind of thing.
It's a lot of work and TON of money to open your own buisness, it's also a lot of fun to do and is worth it in the end when your turning out 3-4 small installs a day and maybe 2-3 big ones in month.
Good luck with your assignment by the way.
