If you owned a disc golf store...

[KniceZ]

Disc golf store / head shop. Perfect for hippy golf.

Most of the other ideas on this thread have some merit and maybe this was intended as a joke but PLEASE stay away from this if you want DG to get some respect and attract the main stream.

Not saying you have to be like a preppy ball golf store but don't go drug / gangsta culture.

 

[xdzt]

Where were you in economics and math class??? I could've totally copied off you and made pretty good grades lol. Love the way you broke it down though. Very informative. :hfive:

I don't intend to sound condescending, but I would strongly recommend that you brush up on your math/economics before you seriously consider opening a business. Edgar Allen Bro's post contained very simple, very obvious math, and it's pretty clear from your post that you're not super comfortable with basic math / economics. It'll be a vast help to you, should you decide to become a small business owner, to become much more comfortable with numbers.

 

[rusch_bag]

LOCATION is so important. You need to be like across the street close to a course. Also, your prices need to be decent. There are plenty of places around here to buy discs, but many of my friends still buy online since they can get them for much cheaper. Our local PIAS has always had a buy 10 get 1 free deal that I have liked. I worked in a shop for 2 summers and I can tell you that Innova was by far the majority of our sales followed by discraft. We had all of the lines and the rest did not ever really sell unless we really pushed them to a customer. I would not waste to much of your time and money on the other companies. DVDs did not sell ever, bags sold quite well(fade,innova), so did quad shocks, clothing with our logo on it sold well, the companies clothing did not sell very well, towels never sold, birdie bags did, light weight discs always sold if we put them in a special section (parents wanted them for their kids), ultimate discs sold well, fly dye discs sold as soon as we got them to high school kids. That's all I got for now.

 

[mfcastillo17]

Be in tune with your local DG community before you open it. See what the local community wants/needs because that is who your customers will be, not us here on DGCR. A dude moved in to our community from the east coast and opened up a DG store without scoping out the local scene first which isn't very vibrant. I wish him the best and will support his store but I don't know if he would have opened the store had he done his research first.

 

[MrGlass01]

if this does happen open the shop!!! there were two rather nice shops in my home town that had great selections and one was a hang out sorta place, but they both got lazy and never opened at consistent times or even at all. your customers will come if you are open. Get a van or a car and stuff it full with stuff from the shop and send someone to the local courses. They get to see the discs and also have the chance to learn about the shop.

 

[TOURNEYPLAYER]

I say put the store inside of the hangar at the best course ever. oh....and have a place to crash too. wish someone would have thought of that.

 

[giles]

The only way I'd own a disc golf store is if it was a pro shop attached to my (not existent) private pay to play course. I would need a barn or hanger for what I would like to do. I'd also love to branch of into other areas with it. Lots of cloths, small BMX parts selection, some skate stuff. Small lunch counter, have a place to set up some turntables, drum set and a small PA. Have a pool table and a large patio.
Maybe after my company sells my wife and I can do something like this if we find the right land. Not sure if I would want to stay in the DFW area, but it would make sense for this adventure.

A DFW guy has a cool setup that I haven't seen. He owned a rehearsal studio and after he got into disc golf he merged the two loves and now does course design and sells discs. I think he is also trying to do a reality show about it all called Kings of Rock. Don't now if it is just going to be an online thing or what.

 

[heartman]

An ACE Hardware just went out of business right next to McCurry Park. 10,000ish sq. ft. ... no idea what the rent would be, but a man can dream

... there's not nearly enough demand to support such a large store in that location though.

 

[Haynes]

I dont know if i could open a DG store. That just seems to risky to me. Rumor has it that ones opening in my area. I'm not sure how it will do.

 

[Jeronimo]

If I opened a disc golf store I would quickly go out of business because I would be pilfering my stock for the best looking discs as they come in with every shipment...

 

[simpletwist]

Most of the other ideas on this thread have some merit and maybe this was intended as a joke but PLEASE stay away from this if you want DG to get some respect and attract the main stream.

Not saying you have to be like a preppy ball golf store but don't go drug / gangsta culture.

Get over yourself. Its an idea that has merit even if you don't frequent head shops. The only thing holding disc golf back are closed minds.

 

[shawny0123]

As someone who currently runs a retail disc golf business I can tell you it is not as easy as it sounds. I think there is great advice in here but like others have said focus on your core product and building selection before you spend a lot of money on advertising and other things. What is the point of spending a bunch on advertising only to have people come in, see your selection is not great, than never come back. First impressions of your business are key so you have to have a lot of inventory. Also discs are not a big ticket item so to sell only disc golf is a tough business. If you make 40% on a disc that sells for $15 you need to sell a ton of discs just to pay your expenses. My store is also an Orvis retailer so I have other means of revenue. Even $500 in rent a month is a lot of product to sell. Online retail website is key but to compete in that your prices have to be rock bottom so than you are in the catch 22 of your retail store prices having to match your online business prices which make it hard to make enough just to cover overhead. Honestly as much as others want to talk about carrying every brand I sell probably 90% Innova and have built that up to carry almost everyone of their models because that's what sells the most no matter what anyone on here wants to say. An outdoor area for throwing would also be a nice touch as well as weekly putting leagues. Keep it simple and just have a lot of inventory. 500-1000 discs in stock is a good start.

 

[ZAMson]

Its an idea that has merit even if you don't frequent head shops.

this. you guys are welcome to stay out of headshops and leave the severely OOP plastic to us
like it or not, the markets overlap heavily.

 

[Haynes]

this. you guys are welcome to stay out of headshops and leave the severely OOP plastic to us
like it or not, the markets overlap heavily.

hell i dont smoke the tweed and for the longest time i thought head shops where the only places that carried discs

 

[ZAMson]

used sports equip patrons, record store patrons, head shop patrons... they're all welcome in my disc golf

 

[ALPO]

Store in Murfreesboro? They have 1 course. You would be competing against Play-it-again sports on Thompson and that gas station on the corner of Barfield.

If you want to stay in business you would have to have an online backing or another product. Why don't you run the business from your home and put the driving range in your backyard. Have "test" discs. Do not let folks throw just anything.

Their is a sweet convienance store in Memphis that sells discs...and they sell a TON of them. But they also sell and cater to the locals and discs represent a minimal amount of revenue (somewhere behind their amazing cheeseburgers).

 

[TheOtherBill]

I opened a disc golf pro-shop last month

And we aren't closed yet! We caught a break on the rent to get us started as the building is owned by another avid discer, otherwise it'd be impossible without a ton of start-up $$. Just getting a business account for power costs over $1k in deposit alone.

We are really just using it as a place to keep everything together, there are 3 partners each with 9-5 jobs. Keeping everything split between 3 garages was just not working and no one had a big enough spare room. Plus, Innova will no longer sell to online only retailers so you have to have a 'brick and mortar' store.

It works ok for drop-in sales, but only for 100-200 a month, and I doubt our best month would be twice that. We really only have it as a place to meet with TDs of the tournaments we are vending for and we also do custom dyes and shirts there.

The biggest problem so far is not growing too fast and getting over-extended. We have a great spot for an inside driving range and putting station, and hope to do a lot of the things that are mentioned int his thread but you CANNOT spread yourself too thin. Focus on the 3-4 biggest manufacturers only and big-time on local tournaments/leagues. We are staying away from online sales for now, too much competition and it requires too large of an inventory that as a start-up we just can't do yet.

But the players are there and this isn't a big town, we have had a HUGE amount of support and yes, people don't just come in and pick a disc and leave. Each sale has probably taken an avg of an hour apiece but these are also our friends, not just our customers.

 

[Haynes]

And we aren't closed yet! We caught a break on the rent to get us started as the building is owned by another avid discer, otherwise it'd be impossible without a ton of start-up $$. Just getting a business account for power costs over $1k in deposit alone.

We are really just using it as a place to keep everything together, there are 3 partners each with 9-5 jobs. Keeping everything split between 3 garages was just not working and no one had a big enough spare room. Plus, Innova will no longer sell to online only retailers so you have to have a 'brick and mortar' store.

It works ok for drop-in sales, but only for 100-200 a month, and I doubt our best month would be twice that. We really only have it as a place to meet with TDs of the tournaments we are vending for and we also do custom dyes and shirts there.

The biggest problem so far is not growing too fast and getting over-extended. We have a great spot for an inside driving range and putting station, and hope to do a lot of the things that are mentioned int his thread but you CANNOT spread yourself too thin. Focus on the 3-4 biggest manufacturers only and big-time on local tournaments/leagues. We are staying away from online sales for now, too much competition and it requires too large of an inventory that as a start-up we just can't do yet.

But the players are there and this isn't a big town, we have had a HUGE amount of support and yes, people don't just come in and pick a disc and leave. Each sale has probably taken an avg of an hour apiece but these are also our friends, not just our customers.

sounds like you got a sold start!

 

[xdzt]

Maybe after my company sells my wife and I can do something like this if we find the right land.

I spent longer than I'd care to admit trying to figure out just what sort of business you're in that your company is going to sell your wife.

 

[Haynes]

I spent longer than I'd care to admit trying to figure out just what sort of business you're in that your company is going to sell your wife.

:clap::clap: i caught that too :hfive: