Need help with my idea...

[PlaypenIII]

Hello everybody! Here is my story and I'll try to make it short. I wanted to stop smoking so I tried somebody's Blu. I thought "I can do this". So instead of purchasing "disposable" I thought I will just go a little farther and get something rechargeable. I purchased a KR808D1 Starter Kit with two bottles of juice to refill the "disposable" carto's. That work out good for awhile. I was in Baltimore and passed a vapor store so I thought I will just stop in. I left with two 650ah EVOD batteries, Vapeonly MAXI BDCC Clearomizer Kit, charger, and three bottles of juice (she told me I would be upgrading "shortly") and a lot of knowledge. I lost the clearomizer and battery and lived an hour away from the store so I ordered online a Kanger Pro Tank 3 dual coil, another battery, CE4 clearomizer and three more bottles of juice. Since then I have spent a lot of time daily, sometimes hours, studying about EGO/EVODs, APV/MODs, RBA's, RDA's and so on on this site and all over the Internet.

Here is where I need the help. I have recognized the need (I have a huge state university in my area) for a B&M store front/lounge in my area and I want to be the one to start it. I want to offer smokers a way to quit smoking analogs and other smoking alternatives. I want to provide super friendly customer service and be able to help all the newbies from start to finish. I really enjoy this and I am NOT out to make a quick buck. I want to offer prices at what it would cost online plus shipping (+/-), no gouging (I think that is fair). I also want to offer as many vaping devices (no knock offs) as possible, juices (US only), and all the supplies for the DIY'ers. Vape night mingles and vape swaps. My question is what all do you want to see in a vapor store? What MOD's, EVOD's and so on do you want/are the most popular? What is a good number of different juices to carry? What are the best starter kits? Do I carry pipes and disposable cigar/cigarettes? Plus anything you can think of that would make the vapor store you were going to visit the most awesome place it could be??

Thanks for listening and I appreciate all your feedback!

 

[InfernoOrangeSS]

I would suggest you carry as many different juices as possible at first. The ability to get anything you want and also try them out in person would be most welcome to people. I know it was for me when I went to my first B&M.
Good luck! I would love to start a vape business myself, but alas...doubt I ever would.

 

[Dogeggs]

You may have to charge more for your stuff because of all the overheads you will incur, the money spent renting space/paying staff/fitting out the shop has to come from somewhere. My advice would be to get some professional advice.

 

[Papajohns]

Hire experienced people. I cant tell you how many shops I will never go to again, simply because the worker had NO IDEA how the devices work. I was talking to one worker about recoiling my protanks. "You can do that??" *sigh*

Also, whatever juice you decide to carry, ALWAYS keep it in stock. I absolutely HATE going to a shop for my favorite juices, to find they are sold out. Guess what? That other shop down the street isn't sold out, I guess I'll go there from now on.

 

[ImperfectFuture]

First off, you need mucho deneros for this,

For beginners, you want a variety of starter kits. You want to focus whom your initial target audience is, beginning vapors or experienced. The experienced are probably not gonna shop there too much. You will probably want to make your own juices, reselling what's on the web, not so profitable (and you still need to pay rent and taxes, so as noble as you want to be, you still need to make a profit). Suggest hiring someone to help, experiment with some mt baker vapes for awhile, mixing up your own concoctions.

Suggest charging minor cover charge for vape lounge, or investigate the popular method in your neighborhoods. Vape lounges aren't allowed where I live (though that may change, might have already, with the separation areas for the other stuff smokers). If this becomes regulated, you might need a license (check your area for those regulations now).

PS, you're not the first to come up with that idea. But checkout how the b&ms are already doing in your own neighborhood.

 

[KODIAK (TM)]

Lots of luck dealing with the overhead that goes along with a brick and mortar operation by selling at online prices.

You need something that differentiates you from the multitude of online e-tailers. A good sampling bar is a must have. For me, that's the only reason to even go to the trouble of visiting one of these places. I'd also research any pending anti e-cig legislation in your area first before even considering such a venture.

 

[BobAA]

One feature I have seen mentioned on this site (in other words, not my idea), is to have a free juice exchange. We all get juices we don't like and would love to exchange them for something we might like. How you make this work is your issue.

Regards,
BobAA

 

[PlaypenIII]

Thanks, I forgot to add I wanted to have it setup so you could try all the different juice before purchasing.

 

[PlaypenIII]

Thanks. I understand I'm not the first to come up with the idea . There just is not B&M's in my neighborhood and the service I received at the one in Baltimore I thought was atrocious...

 

[vaquino41981]

My area has two distinct types of vape shops, one I would say caters to customers that are looking to quit smoking or casual vapers. They mostly carry ego style batteries, some vv/vw, and an assortment of tanks. The other caters more to a hobbyist/vaper lifestyle. They carry egos as well and would not turn away a novice looking to quit smoking, but they mostly carry mech mods and rebuildables. Both types offer juice tasting and in a lounge type of setting.

While it is possible to be able to accommodate for both types of business models, it might come down to your startup funds. It would be costly to just stock everything and your inventory would be out of control, so you might have to pick and choose products that you keep in stock based on the demographic that the store would cater to.

Good luck on your new venture and I hope you are successful, but most importantly, have fun in the process^^

 

[HecticEnergy]

It will be expensive to start a B&B as others have mentioned.

One thing you may consider doing is just get a business license to sell out of your house. That is area dependant and you will want an accountants advice. Buy a ton of "starter kits" I think the evod kits have a good reputation. From there, Vape publicly as much as possible. People will inevitably ask what the heck you are doing. From there you go into the sales pitch. You could buy some starter kits in bulk, (or build them yourself buy getting the pieces and putting together your own kits) and make a little money for your troubles. You would have less overhead and could still help people move from cigarettes like to you want.

If you already have vapers in your area, start a community group. Put it together on social media. Work with a local bar or coffee shop for Vape friendly meets. From there you can talk to people about their gear, try different juices, etc.

I know this is a thread about starting a B&m, but maybe with this you can work up to that. This would also give you some people to test out diy juice recipes if that's a route you want to venture!

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