Anyone here run a bike business?

Gotte

My wife and I are looking for a change. I was wondering about buying a bike business. It's only a vague notion at the minute, just something I'm rolling around in the back of my mind.
How do you find business? Is it better for the recession (more people buying bikes), worse (difficulty with competition from big retail stores and internet)?
Are you confident about the future, or not so?
What do you make most money on? I heard it was repairs rather than sales. Do you run an ebay shop on the side, If so, do you find it invaluable?
And here's the big one.How much do you average a year?

Like I said, just mulling over at present, but any input greatly appreciated.

redvee

If you want to make a small fortune in the bike trade, start with a bigger one :shock:

Slow Downcp

I don't run a shop, but had a similar thought mid last year - I looked around at a number of businesses for sale, and it didn't seem that any offered the sort of living that would let me retire before I was 65. Still not given up on the idea though - do like the idea of doing something that I enjoy for a living.

synchronicity

I run a bike hire business here in Spain.

It's not a conventional shop though. It's directly related to tourism and that has plummeted, so the immediate future is hazy. Suffice it to say that after two years, I still don't make much profit at all. Even so, I'm not going out of business.

Still, there are more options than just bike shops... think outside the square & be original.

Gotte

redvee wrote:

If you want to make a small fortune in the bike trade, start with a bigger one :shock:

I've heard that said about nearly every business. If it were true, there'd be no businesses.

mrushton

Unless you can find a niche, shopowners prob. make less than you think. I was staying withsomeone last week who imports bike eqpt. and supplements into the UK and he was of the opinion the average bike shop owner makes @£20k per year. Of course it depends on what you are selling and to whom. He also talked about some of the pitfalls. Lightweight wheels were brought into the UK by one supplier, now Wiggle have jumped in and can offer the items cheaper, where does that leave him? I'm sure a shop owner can tell us more. The chap at Maestro gets a good/bad press depending on who you read. I'm sure he has lots of stories of why you should (not) be in the bike trade.

HungryCol

Showed off my new build once to my friendly LSB Manager and joked "sure you'd be giving me a job next". He replied that I wouldnt want one, said that it'd no longer be my hobby. Happened him, 20 odd years ago. Was a very keen cyclist and took a job in the bike shop and lost interest over time. It became work to him and no longer a hobby. He's now mad into motorbikes as a hobby, rebuilding them, etc etc. Can talk for hours on end about bikes of both kinds.

I can appreciate his point of view. Where once a new bling bike product is launched we think hubba hubba I want I want; he thinks, RRP, margin, stock, capital, insurance.

So as nice as the notion of owning working in a bike shop is, approach this one with caution. It could be the worst thing you could do to your hobby.

Crapaud

synchronicity wrote:

... Still, there are more options than just bike shops... think outside the square & be original.

Make a fortune: Grot.


I'd just started looking into franchising last year when the credit crunch happened. I regard it as a narrow escape.

onbike 1939

Bike repairs do not make money in my experience and I can't see a bike shop as a good way to make money unless you have a large scale selling operation. I agree with the previous post that repairing/selling bikes for a living can destroy any enjoyment you once had. Most of the bikes for repair tend to be low quality rubbish really as these account for a high percentage of sales.

biondino

My friend is shutting his bike shop and he is saying good riddance, despite the shop having been in the family for over half a century. Suppliers are a nightmare to deal with (Shimano are the worst - only small concerns like Brompton are decent, he says), margins are small, buyers expect discounts and take advantage of the lbs for test rides etc before buying online. He wouldn't wish it on anyone.

synchronicity

mrushton wrote:

Unless you can find a niche, shopowners prob. make less than you think. I was staying withsomeone last week who imports bike eqpt. and supplements into the UK and he was of the opinion the average bike shop owner makes @£20k per year. Of course it depends on what you are selling and to whom.

Yes. I took in about £10k last year. Not bad takings considering the business is only 2 years old, but that's certainly not all profit. So I basically live like a student (or worse) and most of that money is tied up reinvesting in more stock and paying bills.

I can also see my love of bikes slowly vanishing [unfortunately]. I'm still passionate about it, but these days, I have to think in more practical terms. I.e. I can only stock/buy stuff that will make a profit.

But on a more positive note, I don't have some arsehole boss on my back day in day out. I don't wear a suit and tie. I do the work when I feel like it. I meet lots of like-minded people. I get a lot of job satisfaction.

Prior to this I was a scientist. I don't regret the change, but I can kiss that career goodbye now.

pbracing

I am well in to motorbikes, always have been. I'm also a mechanic so opened my own place up. If you're successful it is b***ard hard work. If it isn't hard work you're going bust. The only time in my life I didn't own at least one bike and ride was when I had the shop. Took me a long while to get my personal interest back and to work on my own bikes again. it is true that most of what you repair isn't much good, but that's why it needs repairing. You do get good stuff just less of it. Nature of the beast.

Running your own business is brilliant even if it nearly kills you, but don't chose a hobby or passion, open a flower shop Good luck.

Gotte

Hmmm, salutary words there. I'll bear it in mind. Like I said, I'm only mulling it over. I'm basically a commercial artist - have an agent who sells my work (and I do a bit of wedding photography on the side), but I've had a lousy year, and have to look at some other way of making money. My wife works in housing, and gets a good wage, but is bogged down with it, and, in an ideal world, would like us to do something together. I'm not convinced now is a good time for her to be jumping ship, as a guaranteed income is a blessing in this day and age.
I had it in the back of my mind that things were probably pretty rough for bike shops. We have a couple near us, but also a big Decathlon, which can always undercut. I had a
quick look on the internet, and all the businesses for sale didn;t seem to offer great profits.
Oh well, back to the drawing board.

Thank for the input.

All the best.

mrushton

Of course if you can find a niche product or service and can hang on to it then you might do OK.Harry Hall got a nice house out of his business in Mcr but i suspect a lot of hard work was necessary and times were different. Someone I know used to own a shop and some of the stuff he got to work on was rubbish, it looked like it was ready for the skip so he enjoed building something special. he also ran an online mail order business which did well but he did get some 'crackpot' orders.
I've spoken to the guys at Cyclefit, a high end London shop with a great reputation and great service but they were told that they 'were not scalable' by a venture financier as they were unique aand difficult to place outside of Central London. So there you have what appears to be a good business but you can't expand. Someone else I know runs a tour firm in France and makes 'a living' He gets to live in Annecy and ride the Alps but works 18 hours a day (plus) and has some picky clients who expect a v.high level of service as they are in well-paid careers where they expect deference as standard! IIt's taken him about 5 years to achieve his current level and his season really only runs April-October so 6 months to get your money.One of his clients was John Kerry the US Senator who was described as 'high maintenance' due to the type of client. High profile,security etc.

alfablue

It seems like a lovely idea, but if you like cycling, running a bike shop (or any shop) does not seem to be the way to get the time to enjoy your hobby / sport. If however, you are content to run a business and all that entails, sell and fix bikes, probably from Tuesday to Sunday 8.30-6.00, then it might be a good idea.

one_bad_mofo

Not even a niche is as good an idea as you might think. For several years I was a partner in an internet-based business bringing top-end niche frames into Europe from the US.
Okay I didn't lose money but then again I didn't make any either. What I did lose was all my free time and a good deal of my sanity... :shock:

rustncogs

I dabbled a bit selling tools (not cycling tools) and then abandoned the idea because I was only breaking even.
My 2cents is that retail of pretty much any kind is a volume business, unless you are in a really unusual niche.

My hunch is that even in a good location you would struggle to make an average salary out one shop, and to make any kind of real money for your effort you would need two or three at least. Along with doubling or tripling your potential sales, volume supplier discounts would increase your profit margin.

On the other hand, if jobs are scarce and the masses switch to cycling to save money, it could be a good way through the recession. The trade off is that people will spend less on recreation.

Bill D

Hi, Gotte. I've never run a bike business but here are my thoughts on what's been written here:

1. I don't think anyone is going to post something on here saying that they are making a fortune or doing very nicely thank you out of their bike business, even if they are. Safest for them to keep quiet and let us all feel sorry for them instead.

2. If you look carefully enough I'm sure you will find people who are running bike businesses who are obviously enjoying what they are doing. I can think of a few I've come across recently. I don't know how much money they are making but they are certainly getting a lot of satisfaction from their businesses.

3. Now probably isn't the best time to start up a new business, but when is it ever?

4. The London Olympics, BTW scheme, cost of motoring etc etc will probably help to keep up demand for cycling products & services for the next few years, at least.

5. Most important of all, to my way of thinking, is that we only get one life. So, I say, if you have the opportunity to do something you really want to do, then do it. It mightn't work out, of course, but at least you won't be left for the rest of your life wondering what might have happened . Who knows, you could end up rich AND happy. Wouldn't that piss everyone else off now?

Good luck whatever you and your wife decide to do.

Bill

Bill D

Hi again. I didn't write 'wee wee', I wrote p*ss. Just to clear that one up.

Matchstick Man

Gotte wrote:

What do you make most money on? .

inner tubes and cheap rubbish replacement tyres for <£100 MTB's. % mark up on those items is great. Bikes are a luxury in terms of stock in a bike shop - ironic huh? Clothes are ok but like bikes they hang around too long and take up too much room.
If I were you, I'd open an off-licence - better mark-up and much quicker turn around on stock. Plus anything that's still there after 6 months won't look out of date

ride_whenever

My LBS owner still loves it, maybe not as much. But he is always going off on riding holidays, he went to glentress for the new year and came back with a massive grin!

Gotte

Bill D wrote:

Hi, Gotte. I've never run a bike business but here are my thoughts on what's been written here:

1. I don't think anyone is going to post something on here saying that they are making a fortune or doing very nicely thank you out of their bike business, even if they are. Safest for them to keep quiet and let us all feel sorry for them instead.

2. If you look carefully enough I'm sure you will find people who are running bike businesses who are obviously enjoying what they are doing. I can think of a few I've come across recently. I don't know how much money they are making but they are certainly getting a lot of satisfaction from their businesses.

3. Now probably isn't the best time to start up a new business, but when is it ever?

4. The London Olympics, BTW scheme, cost of motoring etc etc will probably help to keep up demand for cycling products & services for the next few years, at least.

5. Most important of all, to my way of thinking, is that we only get one life. So, I say, if you have the opportunity to do something you really want to do, then do it. It mightn't work out, of course, but at least you won't be left for the rest of your life wondering what might have happened . Who knows, you could end up rich AND happy. Wouldn't that wee-wee everyone else off now?

Good luck whatever you and your wife decide to do.

Bill

Thanks for that, Bill. I appreciate your outlook
I don;t know if I'll take it any further. Like I said at the off, I'm just mulling it over. But it's good to see a positive outlook on it.

All the best.