Lol Kelowna has the best weather in Canada outside of Victoria. You'd never survive Survivor Siberia.
Just had my first 1200 sales day at my retail E-cig shop
- Thread starter gattaca
- Start date
Lol Kelowna has the best weather in Canada outside of Victoria. You'd never survive Survivor Siberia.
Congrats!
I advised against it when you posted about the idea - I just don't like businesses who have the FDA/big-pharma/big-tobacco in their cross-hairs. To me it's a risky opportunity cost, but it sounds like you're doing well so far!
As someone who vapes, and has purchased stuff from at least 30 vendors, do yourself a favor and actually market that stuff.
I've never received an email, direct mail or any followup marketing from ANY place I've bought from - and this is a massively impulse/repeat purchase driven business.
Just sending out a "Deal Of The Week" email will put you ahead of 99% of the pack.
Do you have a website?
Do you sell anything unique - your own juices, rare mods, attis, etc? If so PM me, I'll throw some cash your way.
Best of luck!
I advised against it when you posted about the idea - I just don't like businesses who have the FDA/big-pharma/big-tobacco in their cross-hairs. To me it's a risky opportunity cost, but it sounds like you're doing well so far!
As someone who vapes, and has purchased stuff from at least 30 vendors, do yourself a favor and actually market that stuff.
I've never received an email, direct mail or any followup marketing from ANY place I've bought from - and this is a massively impulse/repeat purchase driven business.
Just sending out a "Deal Of The Week" email will put you ahead of 99% of the pack.
Do you have a website?
Do you sell anything unique - your own juices, rare mods, attis, etc? If so PM me, I'll throw some cash your way.
Best of luck!
Dude that is awesome, could you give us more details about the costs of setting stuff up? How much is your rent, what was your initial build out cost, starting inventory cost etc. Have you already sold your initial inventory and reordered? I know you said it was 38-42k I am just curious about the breakdown if you're willing to share.
Congrats again.
Congrats again.
Congrats on the success! I'm trying to help my friend quit cigarettes. Are there any ecigs that are like Newports?
A few questions coming from someone who's considering doing brick-and-mortar.
1) Why did you choose your location? (foot traffic? car traffic?)
2) How did you promote this business?
3) What percentage of your customers are new vs returning?
Thanks and good luck with everything!
1) Why did you choose your location? (foot traffic? car traffic?)
2) How did you promote this business?
3) What percentage of your customers are new vs returning?
Thanks and good luck with everything!
In my experience it's usually nicotine replacement/harm reduction therapy.
As a smoker I was skeptical until about a year or so ago. Then I did some research, found this sub-forum specifically - E-Cigarette Forum and started doing some heavy research.
I spent a few hundred bucks before I found a setup/tank/juice that worked for me. I used to smoke around 2 packs a day. Now I smoke around 5 cigs a day - give or take.
I'm a huge advocate for e-cigs. Despite the MSM scare tactics, there's a lot of credible research out there that concludes e-cigs are anywhere from 99-9999% safer than smoking. You can feel the difference (if you're a heavy smoker who switches).
They have a much higher success rate than any FDA approved secession methods. Like over 70% if I remember right.
I know a lot of people who've made the switch. My best friend, after seeing how they helped me, decided to try them. He hasn't touched a real cig since, and it's been a few months.
A lot of people go from cigs to vaping nic to vaping zero nic to quitting. It really depends.
But IMHO they're a million times safer than cigs, and can/will save millions of lives.
Hey everyone, busy day today, but a employee forgot to charge a customer for a 55 dollar item.. things like that happen all the time so folks looking into retail need to prepare for things like that. im going to try my best to answer everyones questions. please note i just got home at 12 am and i still have my online stuff to do so im a bit tired. i apologize if i dont answer everything perfectly.
jose - Im promoting my store by yelp pay per clicks.. facebook with our customers (we have 120 real likes) 12 5 star reviews and 1 1 star review.. i put a sign on the back of my window of my car. i did a coupon add/flyer on pizza boxes that still hasnt gone out yet and were doing a 15 second commercial that will run 3 times a minute at a local community collage. im also throwing BBQ like today at the shop and 1-2 times a month we have poker night.
sirk - no its not a hotdog stand type of thing. its a 1200 full retial store in southern california.
seaborn - yes most of it is directly from china, some of the real authentic mods come from korea philiplipines italy poland etc.. but 90 percent of the shit is from china..
r3- i rather not say the specific city but basically it was really easy to open the shop with the city its just when you put in a bar or crap you have to get plans for it.. also the city is consdering a ban in public places similiar to cigs.. that can be a headache.
Gimp - all of the above lol.. but i have a natural business sense.. meaning im naturally good at business esp sales and talking poeple in general but i did a lot of research online. i went to a few local stores and sat in the parking of especially one in my city.
i showed up at at 10 am when they opened. then i sat in the car stalking them for 5-6 hours. i would count how many total customers went into the shop per hour.. then i counted the ones that came out with a bag.. then i would spot check the shop randomly.. i went show up at 2 pm 6 pm 9 pm and randmly check the store and how busy it was.
the goal was to see how busy a store gets. then i calculated how many total employees they had and how much the owner of the business had to make per month to pay the amount of employees he had. then i correlated that number with how many customers i saw walk in and out. i did this for months.. peole call this market research but i call it due diligence.
damnepc - yeah i dont think i can make the 40k back in a month.. my estimation currently is late sept or october..
pretty tired for now ill answer more questions later.
jose - Im promoting my store by yelp pay per clicks.. facebook with our customers (we have 120 real likes) 12 5 star reviews and 1 1 star review.. i put a sign on the back of my window of my car. i did a coupon add/flyer on pizza boxes that still hasnt gone out yet and were doing a 15 second commercial that will run 3 times a minute at a local community collage. im also throwing BBQ like today at the shop and 1-2 times a month we have poker night.
sirk - no its not a hotdog stand type of thing. its a 1200 full retial store in southern california.
seaborn - yes most of it is directly from china, some of the real authentic mods come from korea philiplipines italy poland etc.. but 90 percent of the shit is from china..
r3- i rather not say the specific city but basically it was really easy to open the shop with the city its just when you put in a bar or crap you have to get plans for it.. also the city is consdering a ban in public places similiar to cigs.. that can be a headache.
Gimp - all of the above lol.. but i have a natural business sense.. meaning im naturally good at business esp sales and talking poeple in general but i did a lot of research online. i went to a few local stores and sat in the parking of especially one in my city.
i showed up at at 10 am when they opened. then i sat in the car stalking them for 5-6 hours. i would count how many total customers went into the shop per hour.. then i counted the ones that came out with a bag.. then i would spot check the shop randomly.. i went show up at 2 pm 6 pm 9 pm and randmly check the store and how busy it was.
the goal was to see how busy a store gets. then i calculated how many total employees they had and how much the owner of the business had to make per month to pay the amount of employees he had. then i correlated that number with how many customers i saw walk in and out. i did this for months.. peole call this market research but i call it due diligence.
damnepc - yeah i dont think i can make the 40k back in a month.. my estimation currently is late sept or october..
pretty tired for now ill answer more questions later.
Huge Congrats!
Read this now if you haven't: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Built-Sell-Creating-Business-Without/dp/1591845823"]Built To Sell[/ame]. (I prefer the audible version).
i don't have any experience in brick and mortar stores, so feel free to ignore me. But this seems like the perfect situation for the book. This business seems like an awesome thing for a couple of years, but a real life drainer in the long run. Systemitize it, and sell the bitch in 2-3 years.
That's what I'd do, but I'm a noob.
Read this now if you haven't: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Built-Sell-Creating-Business-Without/dp/1591845823"]Built To Sell[/ame]. (I prefer the audible version).
i don't have any experience in brick and mortar stores, so feel free to ignore me. But this seems like the perfect situation for the book. This business seems like an awesome thing for a couple of years, but a real life drainer in the long run. Systemitize it, and sell the bitch in 2-3 years.
That's what I'd do, but I'm a noob.
Dude you fucking rock. I love mail order, but retail is foreign territory for me. However, the adwords unfriendly environment makes it a 100% rational move. This is a ballsy move that makes me uncomfortable. Like I said, this retail shit is something I am in awe with. If only LukeP could be like you! Keep kicking some serious ass!
Great start OP. Retail is brutal and seems like you got in a high demand niche with little competition.
I opened up a franchised retail store 1.5 years ago here in Northern Cali and it's been a complete money drain so far. $$$ in the six figures that I won't get back.
I opened up a franchised retail store 1.5 years ago here in Northern Cali and it's been a complete money drain so far. $$$ in the six figures that I won't get back.
Competition - Just FYI for anyone considering this.. southern california is becoming very saturated there is a shop every 2 miles it seems. i see more vape places then i do hair soulons.. (jk on that)
If you are considering opening a place up consider going out east or east of california anyway.. the midwest.. collage towns.. i mean if you can get a shop next to big univ in say south carolina or virginia or texas.. your going to be doing great..
the reason i opened my shop in southern california is the 2 cities closest to the beach have banned stores of ecigs and to get more mainland you have to pass an artery "highway" or we call them streets and to pass that you have to pass by my store.. and the rent was "reasonable" for the area i live in..
zul, sure ask any questions you like!
eric - thanks so much man, but it will be impressive when i make a profit on my total investment. not there yet.
shindig - its hard living in very liberal city.. they pass a almost 100 percent tax on something that is used to quit the other thing they have a 100 percent tax on..
jr - what i did was i took all the young 21 year olds who are really into this and i said how would you like to intern here... they were there everyday at the shop anyway cause its a cool hangout place.. i built trust with 3-4 of them.. and i pay them about 20 bucks a week to internet and they help out a lot.. but just like yesterday they also fuck up a lot so you have to keep an eye on them.
i like c- i did make it sound like i was doing all the work. i actually do have interns..
mpbriz drave - thank you for the compliments.. it means a lot that so many of us care about the rest of us doing well.. but more importantly i believe in a hand up.. not a handout..if i can help anyone in this thread make some money from my actions i consider that a success.
kelowna - honestly when i first opened my doors.. i would work 16 hour days for a total of 2 transactions totalling 16 dollars... to see a 40 transaction day with a little over 1200 in gross sales made it seem worth the hours i have put in.. and i dont have to worry about a google update or pr update.. BUT i do have to worry about cities banning us and shit.
bo - this is where i have been terrible at!!!! i honestly dont know the answer to that question.. i can tell you i have minimum employee cost as most of that is paid to interns who do it cheaply BUT i do need to make 110 dollars a day in NET PROFIT just to pay the rent and electricity.. right now im just working on making the store as busy as possible and building a great customer service.. i will at some point have to get an accountant to audit my business and see how much everything actually costs.. this part has been my failure.. that being said i have kept my costs at a minimum.
scott- i have set up an email reciept for customers when they buy something.. to date i have almost 180 email customers who have bought from me.. i havent sent them an email with specials yet but working on it! you better believe im going to put those emails to work. im a IM'er at heart after all.
zaino - a lot of poeple use this to quit.. a lot of poeple do both.. a lot of poeple just do it to look cool.. BUT it has helped a lot of poeple get of real cigs..
talk - those are great questions and i will be explaining that in series i plan on doing chronicling my retial business in detial. please look for that.
marin - if your female, and own your own retial business and make money? id love to stalk you.
vipervin - im really sorry to hear about your retial business.. believe me the idea of losing 40k makes it so that i go to work 7 days a week. i feel you.
If you are considering opening a place up consider going out east or east of california anyway.. the midwest.. collage towns.. i mean if you can get a shop next to big univ in say south carolina or virginia or texas.. your going to be doing great..
the reason i opened my shop in southern california is the 2 cities closest to the beach have banned stores of ecigs and to get more mainland you have to pass an artery "highway" or we call them streets and to pass that you have to pass by my store.. and the rent was "reasonable" for the area i live in..
zul, sure ask any questions you like!
eric - thanks so much man, but it will be impressive when i make a profit on my total investment. not there yet.
shindig - its hard living in very liberal city.. they pass a almost 100 percent tax on something that is used to quit the other thing they have a 100 percent tax on..
jr - what i did was i took all the young 21 year olds who are really into this and i said how would you like to intern here... they were there everyday at the shop anyway cause its a cool hangout place.. i built trust with 3-4 of them.. and i pay them about 20 bucks a week to internet and they help out a lot.. but just like yesterday they also fuck up a lot so you have to keep an eye on them.
i like c- i did make it sound like i was doing all the work. i actually do have interns..
mpbriz drave - thank you for the compliments.. it means a lot that so many of us care about the rest of us doing well.. but more importantly i believe in a hand up.. not a handout..if i can help anyone in this thread make some money from my actions i consider that a success.
kelowna - honestly when i first opened my doors.. i would work 16 hour days for a total of 2 transactions totalling 16 dollars... to see a 40 transaction day with a little over 1200 in gross sales made it seem worth the hours i have put in.. and i dont have to worry about a google update or pr update.. BUT i do have to worry about cities banning us and shit.
bo - this is where i have been terrible at!!!! i honestly dont know the answer to that question.. i can tell you i have minimum employee cost as most of that is paid to interns who do it cheaply BUT i do need to make 110 dollars a day in NET PROFIT just to pay the rent and electricity.. right now im just working on making the store as busy as possible and building a great customer service.. i will at some point have to get an accountant to audit my business and see how much everything actually costs.. this part has been my failure.. that being said i have kept my costs at a minimum.
scott- i have set up an email reciept for customers when they buy something.. to date i have almost 180 email customers who have bought from me.. i havent sent them an email with specials yet but working on it! you better believe im going to put those emails to work. im a IM'er at heart after all.
zaino - a lot of poeple use this to quit.. a lot of poeple do both.. a lot of poeple just do it to look cool.. BUT it has helped a lot of poeple get of real cigs..
talk - those are great questions and i will be explaining that in series i plan on doing chronicling my retial business in detial. please look for that.
marin - if your female, and own your own retial business and make money? id love to stalk you.
vipervin - im really sorry to hear about your retial business.. believe me the idea of losing 40k makes it so that i go to work 7 days a week. i feel you.
I'll chime in, I'm not OP but I have several hundred $$$ invested in learning what works for me.
If you're just starting out, E-Go Twists or spinners are a great way to go. They're cheap, and more importantly they're variable voltage - which allows you to adjust the power to give you more TH, flavor, etc and you'll find you like different settings on different tanks/juices.
I still have a couple for backups.
My primary setup is an E-vic with an IClear 30 tank. I like the IClear's, the Kangar Pro-Tanks and the Vivi-Nova's. I also have an ITaste MVP and an Anyvape CVI. I've heard good things about similar PV's, Vamo's, Zmax, etc.
I just prefer my E-vic. My Anyvape screws up a lot. I like the ITaste because it'll last for days and you can use it as a portable charger for your phone, laptop, etc - which actually comes in handy as hell. But whatever you go with doesn't really matter - I'd recommend getting something with both variable voltage and wattage - wattage is much more consistent.
A lot of people swear by Provari, but honestly I've tried them and wasn't overly impressed - but they're an option to consider if you want to spend the cash. Really the PV just supplies the power, the vape/taste/TH all come from the tanks and the juice.
When I started I made the mistake of buying a bunch of tobacco flavored juice, thinking I'd want it to taste like cigs. I've never found any that did the trick for me, and I'd go back to cigs because I hated the juice. Juice is a personal thing, but I found I enjoy sweeter flavors, like fruit or baked stuff.
My current all day vape is something a local guy came up with called "The King", it's PB&J with banana thrown in. I vape 18-24mg nic. About a month ago I stopped buying commercial juice and ordered a ton of stuff to make my own.
So all I vape now is home-made, it costs me like 1/10th of commercial stuff, but the real value is that it's fun and easy to do. I can test out new mixes, make big batches of my favorites, etc. And I think a big benefit if you really get into it is that it does become sort of a hobby/obsession - you always want to try the next big thing or stumble upon the perfect juice.
You turn other smokers on to it and watch them make the switch. It's a great conversation starter - there's kind of a whole sub-culture/hobby aspect to it that really helps keep you invested in staying away from the smokes.
Regarding throat hit, the 4 big things are nic level, PG level, the flavor, tank and the power supplied. I can make juices that will choke me out every time.
That's my experience, hope it helps.
scott made some great points.. id stay away from mods like proveri because there to expensive when they break.. and they dont work all that much better then a lot of other mods..
if you dont care to much about looks.. the best setup in my oponion would be
MVP-v2 with a Kanger Aero tank.. you have a really good adjustable unit.. what i mean by that is you can really set how much power or variable voltage to burn the coils at which makes it if it burns hotter and creates more smoke etc.. then you have the aero tank with a dual coil lower ohms and the tank has adjustable air flow so that you can take a tight hit or a very airy hit...
you have a decent tank with a 3 day (more like 2 and half day) battery that comes with a charger that is best of its kind..
at a retail shop something like that could cost you abotu 100 bucks.. but PM me and ill hook you up with a unit tank and juice for what i pay whole sale.. i have no problems hooking up my fellow wicked members
Is it 1200 profit or 1200 net sales. .? if 1200 profit , you are doing good. .congratz anyway. .
