paintball store

im not sure where i should put this but new players forum could also mean new store forum.

ok a guest speaker from the government came to speak to us today in class about small business management. i was so bored until she said that we could open up a small summer business too and could apply for a $1500 (cdn) grant to do so. all we had to be was between 15 and 29 and still in school (i'm 15). opening a business has always been a dream of mine. so i thought about opening a pro shop in my small town the first here. my plan is a mail order paintball supplies business. i would rent a portable office and have a few items for display only. then if people wanted to buy something i would contact the manufactuers and order it for them.

before we apply we need to make a business plan. this includes estimated costs and what suppliers we would use.

please list any ideas you have that are realistic for my budget (which for now is 1500-2000) then you could list some companies that i should contact. list all the major ones that you can think of even the obvious ones.

only problem is i don't think manufacturers cater to this type of business. for example: the tippmann aplication is worded for stores which have all their products in stock. (mine is closer to mail order with a storefront) basically im asking how all the internet companies do it.

you actually can im talking renting a portable for 3 months

 

 Tha twould be cool.

hmm how much do you figure for renting a space? (that is actually one of the few major costs that must be worried about) and about ordering online: this way people dont have to go through paypall and is is easier and there will be some items on display so you're not buying blind. how much do you figure would be a better grant. the maximum is 3000 is that better? plus they pay for basic costs such as inventory (up to $600) and cellphones and insurance.

yeah the only major cost that is necessary is the space. yeah my main question is how much per month do you figure to rent a space about half the size of a classroom?

More so than rent, which would simply be an unnecessary drain of funds for an online/mail-order business... $2000CDN might not buy you enough STOCK to begin selling stuff and make a profit.

Unfortunately, paintball is a VOLUME business. The profit potential for most items is miniscule, so to make up for it, you have to sell A LOT.
Doing so, while competing with bigger companies that have built themselves up... will be an immense challenge. And over the years, we have seen many many stores and businesses come and go, because it was just too difficult to keep up.

I ran a "business" more as a hobby than a job. Got my tax ID and resale license, didn't get any Gubmint grant though. With the tax ID, was able to establish wholesale-dealer accounts with several companies. Some companies I couldn't get accounts with because I couldn't meet their minimum purchase requirements. You'd be in the same boat. You'd be able to get small accounts with smaller companies... but the large ones would eat up all your grant money, and in many cases... even your grant amount wouldn't be enough to cover the minimum initial cost.
In the end, I let my resale tax license expire... and gave it all up.   Never made a profit. Still have stock in boxes that I need to offload. If anything, it enabled me to get some stuff cheaper for myself.

So, as far as a career venture... you have an uphill battle to fight. If there are no local stores within 100km of your town, then you *might* fare well with a small storefront, but you'd have to start off by offering just the basics (a few guns, basic components, paint and air fills) and make everything else "special order" until you gather enough capital to carry more stock.
Otherwise, your only option as I see it would be a drop-ship business. Establish an account with NPS, people order it from your catalog... and it's shipped directly from NPS to the customer. You carry no stock, the up-front costs will probably be less... but the profit potential will be drastically smaller. Plus, I'm not sure how shipping/duty expenses will work out due to you being in Canada.

Either way... keep researching. Again, an uphill battle... but worthy of further exploration on your part to see if it's feasible. Don't think of the above responses (and my own) as something telling you not to try. We're simply showing you the challenges you'll face before you get to them.   Good luck.

and if they are just "coming through" then they have no real reason to stop and buy paintball gear. Be like my friend and just download DvDs before they come out and sell them to peoplge at school for like $5. you can also CDs, computer games, music what ever. just buy on of these  things!  <<<< they are disk duplicators. you'll probablyonly need one that burns like 4 at a time. but you can probably just burn them off you computer until buisness picks up. then just go down to you local computer shop and buy blank DvDs and CDs.



Edited by Fiestyboy - 11 April 2006 at 4:29pm

Fiestyboy wrote: and if they are just "coming through" then they have no real reason to stop and buy paintball gear. Be like my friend and just download DvDs before they come out and sell them to peoplge at school for like $5. you can also CDs, computer games, music what ever. just buy on of these  things!  <<<< they are disk duplicators. you'll probablyonly need one that burns like 4 at a time. but you can probably just burn them off you computer until buisness picks up. then just go down to you local computer shop and buy blank DvDs and CDs.

Yeah! Be like his friend so you can sell illegal copies and face lawsuits and possible jail time!

more profit for my riend then. if you need anything just PM me .


Edited by Fiestyboy - 11 April 2006 at 5:32pm

ok this program is a youth program. the requirements are 15-29 and still in school. i dont plan to be in school till i'm 29. (hmmm... 12 years of university) second this comes with 20 hrs of free business classes.

yeah but see i dont have 2 or 5 years. anyways im gona figure it all out with my local small business centre.