Starting a brick and mortar

[Crusader]

Anybody here start one up recently. Buddy and I are kicking it around. My guess is the fed makes it tough but would be interested to hear someone's story.

[Zane]

Originally Posted by Crusader

Anybody here start one up recently. Buddy and I are kicking it around. My guess is the fed makes it tough but would be interested to hear someone's story.

I think your biggest issue will be local trouble. Smoking bans and all that.,

[mosesbotbol]

Unless you have a sweetheart deal on rent, I would not open a tobacco B&M. All the odds are stacked against you unfortunately. Opening a cigar lounge, provided you can serve alcohol is another story and would need further consideration.

If you opened a business that bread & butter was something else and includes cigars and least you have a core business to sustain itself.

[Crusader]

Originally Posted by mosesbotbol

Unless you have a sweetheart deal on rent, I would not open a tobacco B&M. All the odds are stacked against you unfortunately. Opening a cigar lounge, provided you can serve alcohol is another story and would need further consideration.

If you opened a business that bread & butter was something else and includes cigars and least you have a core business to sustain itself.

This is more in line of what we are thinking. A high end lounge gentlemans club, no not strippers, where things like shaving razors, suits, higher end alchohol, traditional items. A place where professional and semi professional guys would want to hang out and watch a game smoke a stick and check out some stuff for him.

[shilala]

I think your idea has merit if there's the demographic to support it.
I'd think broader, with lots of stuff to shop. Then the "lounge" as an afterthought.
Moses hit it on the head, I suppose I didn't need to parrot him.

What I wanted to say is that I personally think B&M smoking isn't going to be around much longer. It sucks, but I think it's inevitable that the anti-smoking legislators will push them to extinction if they try to hang on as they are today.
Whether someone can even open a new smoking area legally is another question you'd need to answer. I'm sure it completely depends on your state.

[ColdCuts]

It sounds like a dream come true, owning and operating a B&M. But, sadly, I bet it would prove to be a nightmare with bans as they are and only getting worse. I'm afraid the B&M is going to go the way of the dodo.

As has already been said more than once, you'd obviously have to open where you've got enough suit-wearing, top-shelf liquor-drinking, cigar-smoking, 'professional and semi-professional guys' to frequent your business. It would be foolish, for example, to open that kind of a place in Brooklyn. If, on the other hand, you opened a B&M that catered to jeans-wearing, mid-shelf liquor-drinking, non-professional guys, and you carried, say, beard grooming supplies, and had a tattooist working alongside your walk-in humidor, then you should definitely consider Brooklyn.

And, I'd like to submit an application to work there, please.

[CRIMPS]

Originally Posted by shilala

What I wanted to say is that I personally think B&M smoking isn't going to be around much longer. It sucks, but I think it's inevitable that the anti-smoking legislators will push them to extinction if they try to hang on as they are today.
.

Unfortunately, I agree with Scott on this. My uninformed and uneducated recommendation, not even worth , would be to diversify as much as possible.

Good luck. Where there is a will, there is a way.

IMHO, it all depends on the location. Here in Florida, there are a lot of B&M shops, but few are good ones. By good, I don't mean big. I mean good with service and offerings. Where I live, there are a lot of cigar enthusiasts that are really looking for good places to go. Interesting thing is that there may be one shop packed to standing room only and another one just down the street that is nearly empty. All boils down to service and the connection with clients. Very similar to pubs that way. I know a guy who has a primary job that bought a poorly performing small shop. After renovations to update and clean up, he's doing well and has been in the black from his second month. His thing is superb customer service. I say go for it and good luck! Live the dream while you can. BTW, restrictions are not that bad here at all. Probably because FL is a service based state.
RR

[nutcracker]

Luxury tobacco is simply under siege.
I would be very cautious.

[RWhisenand]

I think you need to consider how much you need to make, are you comfortable already? Do you need this income to make ends meet? Are you semi retired and looking for a hobby business? Where would this be located? What are the margins on the merchandise you wish to sell? Is your target demographic strong in your area, and do they have disposable income? What are you going to offer to beat CBid or Amazon?

Do some hard marketing research, and avoid cherry picking your results.

[ApexAZ]

I am fortunate enough to be within 5 miles of one of the best cigar bars in the entire valley (Phoenix) and I would be absolutely shocked if the owner isn't making money hand over fist. They sell a ridiculous amount of tobacco and liquor and the staff are amazing. They do a really good job of making you feel welcome and important and I've seen them double in size in like 3 years since they opened. They have an amazing selection of whiskey and they always rotate new craft beers on tap. Not only are they drawing cigar connoisseurs, but also whiskey and beer connoisseurs. It's a great way to get people interested in other tastes.

The moral of the story? If you can serve drinks and your place has an awesome vibe in a good location, then you'll do well so long as you have the demand from the proper demographic.

[Crusader]

Both of us are in retail rv dealership. I am administration and he in finance. My ideal is to make men Men again! Dudes now days grow out nasty scraggly beards dress in t shirts and cargo shorts and have added a new color to the wheel called Real tree . The feminization of men has also been pushed to a point. Some of us remember when the dad on TV was the wise all knowing thought of reason and now on the shows they are bumbling fools that the kids are smarter than the parents.
My dream would be a place where guys can get back to feeling like a man and hopefully dress and act more like a figurehead than a dunderhead!

: sorry rant over

[Chainsaw13]

Originally Posted by ApexAZ

I am fortunate enough to be within 5 miles of one of the best cigar bars in the entire valley (Phoenix) and I would be absolutely shocked if the owner isn't making money hand over fist. They sell a ridiculous amount of tobacco and liquor and the staff are amazing. They do a really good job of making you feel welcome and important and I've seen them double in size in like 3 years since they opened. They have an amazing selection of whiskey and they always rotate new craft beers on tap. Not only are they drawing cigar connoisseurs, but also whiskey and beer connoisseurs. It's a great way to get people interested in other tastes.

The moral of the story? If you can serve drinks and your place has an awesome vibe in a good location, then you'll do well so long as you have the demand from the proper demographic.

Fox's? Was there a couple weeks ago when in Phx. Great place.

[mosesbotbol]

You have to figure out who you core clientele will be. Is it business professionals & executives, college students, blue collar... Each have their own demands and narrow focus.

The "something for everyone" approach may not be ideal. Doing fewer things better may hit the nail on the head. Finding out what your market is, is not easy task. You may be too close to too see the forest for the trees. Even the location itself could determine your niche.

[ApexAZ]

Originally Posted by Crusader

Both of us are in retail rv dealership. I am administration and he in finance. My ideal is to make men Men again! Dudes now days grow out nasty scraggly beards dress in t shirts and cargo shorts and have added a new color to the wheel called Real tree . The feminization of men has also been pushed to a point. Some of us remember when the dad on TV was the wise all knowing thought of reason and now on the shows they are bumbling fools that the kids are smarter than the parents.
My dream would be a place where guys can get back to feeling like a man and hopefully dress and act more like a figurehead than a dunderhead!

: sorry rant over

I'm actually in the market for an RV. Do you sell 5th Wheels? Can I contact you with some questions about the whole process (i.e. how can I save money? )

As far as the type of demographic, money doesn't discriminate. If you want to make money, sell cigars to anyone you can legally sell to in the highest volume possible. That's just my opinion. Even still, Fox seems to understand the need to place the highest priority to the people who keep returning over those who disrupt the groovy atmosphere. I think that's a good approach. The cigar enthusiasts are the bread and butter. The bar goers and casual smokers are the icing on the cake.

[ApexAZ]

Originally Posted by Chainsaw13

Fox's? Was there a couple weeks ago when in Phx. Great place.

Yes, Fox Cigar bar in Gilbert. It's my home away from home!

[ColdCuts]

Originally Posted by Crusader

Both of us are in retail rv dealership. I am administration and he in finance. My ideal is to make men Men again! Dudes now days grow out nasty scraggly beards dress in t shirts and cargo shorts and have added a new color to the wheel called Real tree . The feminization of men has also been pushed to a point. Some of us remember when the dad on TV was the wise all knowing thought of reason and now on the shows they are bumbling fools that the kids are smarter than the parents.
My dream would be a place where guys can get back to feeling like a man and hopefully dress and act more like a figurehead than a dunderhead!

: sorry rant over

I've never owned a pair of cargo shorts. I do, however, have a big beard. And when I'm not at work I often wear t-shirts. And I promise you, Crusader, I am as much a man or more than the suit-wearing demographic you intend to build your B&M around. You want to open an exclusive lounge for clean-shaven rich guys, that's fine. You're entitled to do so. I'll go someplace else. But understand this: being a man is a thing of substance that does not require a barber or a tailor. And sitcom dads are not the best barometer for the contemporary definition of manliness.

[Subvet642]

Risk is the moral justification for profit. If the rewards are worth the risk, then go for it. But, like everyone else has basically said: do your homework and study your demographic. Personally, I like your idea, I'd practically live there.

[Porch Dweller]

Originally Posted by ColdCuts

I've never owned a pair of cargo shorts. I do, however, have a big beard. And when I'm not at work I often wear t-shirts. And I promise you, Crusader, I am as much a man or more than the suit-wearing demographic you intend to build your B&M around. You want to open an exclusive lounge for clean-shaven rich guys, that's fine. You're entitled to do so. I'll go someplace else. But understand this: being a man is a thing of substance that does not require a barber or a tailor. And sitcom dads are not the best barometer for the contemporary definition of manliness.

Yeah, I'm not sure how my beard, my T-shirt with "My Gun License is the Second Amendment" written on the front, and my cargo shorts which expose my hairy calves somehow are symptoms of "the feminization of men". Seems rather counter-intuitive to me. But what do I know, I'm only a whiskey-slugging, cigar-smoking, beer-brewing, BBQ-ing veteran of almost a quarter century in the military; perhaps my "feminization" is so complete I don't even recognize it in me. I guess I'll go watch some TV shows from the '50's so I can learn what I should be doing as a man. That is, if I can get to the remote before I menstruate all over it.

[CRIMPS]

Whoever makes a Mad Men reference first wins.