Thinking of starting up a Disc Golf Shop. Need advice!

[ATrainWecker]

I am a college senior, who is really over school. I am majoring in Music, and I have just lost interest the last two years, and I don't know what I will gain from finishing school. I have been playing disc golf the last few years, and it is amazing how fast I have seen the sport grow in my area in only that span! I live in Monterey, CA. We have five or so courses within 15 minutes of Monterey. Lately I have been thinking about my future, and what I can do with my life. I know I am not going to make a living playing disc golf anytime soon (rated under 900), but I love the sport, and have been learning more and more about it. My question to you guys is, do you think it would be a good idea to start up a Monterey disc golf store? I see more and more cars at our local courses each day, and we only have a few Sporting Goods stores that carry a slim selection of overpriced discs. I feel the sport is growing more and more each year, and I feel a disc golf store here in Monterey is a needed business. I could move back in with my parents while I am starting up my business, as I imagine I wouldn't be making money for a while. Sorry if this post was really long! Any insight, advice, or comments would be appreciated! Thanks!

A-Train

[PanicKJ]

If you are a senior I hope you still plan on finishing school before starting up a store. Just having a degree will help you in the future should the disc golf store not pan out. Other than that if you finish school I say go for it.

[Jay Dub]

I would consider it only a supplement income at the best...and not to get personal with a stranger but since you said it in your post, if you don't finish school when you're this close to the end you will regret it later in life.

[harr0140]

I do not think starting a business by renting a shop to sell the merchandise is possible quite yet in order to make a living. You might want to try small time by getting an enclosed trailer and stocking it with discs, then driving to the local courses on busy weekend days and see how tha goes. If you get a dedicated following then think about a store but to pay $500-1000 in rent per month to own a store probably is not going to work. That way you can still have a normal job during the week and this is more of a trial run on being a disc salesman. I suggest learning everything you can about the discs first however or you will just be a guy selling discs and not a guy who can help people decide what discs to purchase. Sure most purchase on how cool it looks or the name, but many people want advice too! Keep in mind this thought has probably passed through a lot of DGCR's minds. The game just isnt mainstream enough to focus just on DG in the store.

Oh yeah and no matter what you do finish the degree even if you dont think youw ill ever use it. I have seen it happen so many times and people always regret it!!

[jkdisc]

get the degree in your back pocket and then tryout some ideas, if things don't work out you can always reach into that pocket

[Cnote]

Might want to check out / talk to the guys at World Disc Spots in San Jose http://www.worlddiscsports.com/ or the other option is have a traveling store like the guys at DeLa with the van full of discs and snacks. That way you go to the customer.

[sloppydisc]

I think the old addage should be your guide. Do what you love. But you also need to decide what your priorities are. Fortune, fame, the ladies??? If you truly love and enjoy disc golf, and don't mind not being the richest kid on the block then go for it. But before you commit you need to do a lot of work. You need a viable business and marketing plan that will take everything into account, and allow you to be successful. I have no clue whether a music degree has prepared you for that part, but maybe you have a family member, friend or possibly even a paid consultant that can help guide you. Opening even a small business is not easy, and doing it unprepared would be a huge mistake. If you do get it up and running I would love to come play a round and buy some discs from you. Monterey is great. Damn I miss CA sometimes. Good luck, I'm sure you'll get some good insights and ideas from this crew.

[scarpfish]

To me, the best way to run a disc golf "store" is to avoid the store part as overhead like rent and utilities will likely kill any hope of making a profit. There's a reason that a great deal DG commerce is online and a great deal of offline enterprises I know are set up in basements and out of people's vehicles.

See if you can set up a kiosk at the courses in the area on prime days, or perhaps a business nearby will "rent" you a piece of their parking lot to set up there. Make some business cards and develop some rapport with the players there. Become a certified PDGA official so you can run sanctioned tournaments and turn over plastic via player's packs and payouts. This is where a lot of disc vendors make their bread.

Note: I've seen some of the big time vendors with inventory much bigger than anything you're dreaming, and to my knowledge, very few of them are getting by on selling disc golf stuff alone.

[ATrainWecker]

Thanks for all the quick comments guys! You are all very helpful. First day of the semester is today, and I have yet to sign up. I am really close to my degree, but have been treading water the last two semesters, part of the reason I am still in school is my parents. I need to suck it up and finish my degree up.

[cblack129]

Originally Posted by ATrainWecker

Thanks for all the quick comments guys! You are all very helpful. First day of the semester is today, and I have yet to sign up. I am really close to my degree, but have been treading water the last two semesters, part of the reason I am still in school is my parents. I need to suck it up and finish my degree up.

If you're not interested in music anymore, couldn't you change your major?