I'm 18 and this fall I'm going to college for a bachelors in business admin. My dream is to start up an offroad product store to sell lift parts and accessories for jeeps and trucks, along with wheels, tires, etc. Any incite whatsoever on this would be beneficial to me. What to expect? Easy to become successful? Anything would help. If any of you guys own a store or a chain, or just have any info, I would appreciate it

 

that would be a tough market to break into. you would have to be heavy on the marketing and have a fantastic online store that worked really well. look at quadratec or morris for example. look at everything they offer on the site, and then you would have to come up with some kind of gimmick that was unique to only your business, and would draw people in to at least have a look. one of the main things i would focus on is drawing traffic (like some forums that i know of) for advertising space as well. hits = $$

good luck, and remember to offer ridiculous discounts to cherokeeforum members!

 

come up with some cool niche products. like military wrap 2.5" leaf packs or 35 spline D44 lunchbox lockers

 

Got any fabing expierence? Cause if not you'll want to learn are hire someone who knows. To make signature products that are good quality. While finding a way to keep cost down. I've made money off stuff I've built for my Xj. I always said if I would ever own a offroad product store. It would have 3 parts. A part out section with basicly a junk yard in the back, parting out jeeps, a machanic section to fix the jeeps that's are salvageable useing parts from the back that are good. And the offroad section. And id have the jeeps I fixed up put custom parts on and and offroad products I would sale on them, parked in the parking lot in the front parking lot right by the road . Road and wheeling ready!!! Open to people coming threw any section of my shop business junk yard everything.

 

And build a couple of badass shop jeeps to get your shop info basicly on a moving billboard that makes people wanna go see what you have to offer at your place

 

Just remember alot of successfully businesses start in people's sheds!! And times may get hard and business may get slow just stay positive and it will eventually be we're you want it!! Look at me about 7 years ago my boss started fixing torches and regulators in his shed a few mill later. And customers that are happy we fix air tools air winches and he got like 30 people working for him cause he can't keep up with business. Living down here in south louisiana by the gulf helped him out but if you go into business doing what people want are good quality products there's always gonna be a want/ and even a need for a buch of people

 

I think it'd be cool to have a offroad shop with stuff in stock (assuming you live in a city with people who build jeeps) in addition to the online scene. Offroad shops around me just order stuff and I'm like dang I coulda done that. I don't know if its financially feasible but it'd be nice to have lift parts and what not in stock.

 

Being a parts ***** is probably the hardest way to make a good living! Everyone person and their brother can sell parts, out their garage. We don't sell parts because of this very reason. We have a building we lease, 7 employees, pay for health insurance, business insurance, electricity and heat. No way we can compete with someone with no overhead.

 

damn 7, good thing you're not in NY, you'd be out of business...

 

Here is my experience. I tried this a few years back with Trans Am and Camaro stuff. It is a VERY hard market to get into for any vehicle line. UNLESS you sell parts you design and manufacture yourself. Added bonus if you can offer a full service shop. The market for bolt-on retail places is super saturated. My business failed in one year. And I have a good reputation and am well known in the F-body circles, too.

If I were to do it again I wouldn't even consider it unless I could offer installs and fabrication work.

 

Good for you for continuing your education.But......

my wife went to school in the same exact field.All she got out of it was a piece of paper & a bill for $19K.Her last two jobs have been answering phones for a vet. office & making appointments for a hospital.

Either way,good luck.

 

i would def love to get some more opinions from actual venders on here as well.

after school is done me and a few buddys have this in mind as well, we do plan on having a full shop equipt with a fully liscened mechanic and welder and fabricator. i have a few ideas up my sleeve for what needs to be done for the shop to equal success but these ideas are from a guy whose never run a business before. thus any input from people who have in the car industry would be the best way for future business owners to avoid common mistakes etc. im not asking for everyones secret to success just some tips to help others avoid throwing there life savings away.

 

im sure there are mags and newspapers and online sites that cover all the questions you are asking good luck just remember most get rich quick schemes never work you may toil away at this project for 20 years and work 16 to 18 hours a day to make the same dough you could have made working for someone else and let them take all the risk and headaches

 

I've started a few businesses from the ground up, and like everyone else has said, you probably won't get rich in a retail enviroment that's already pretty well saturated. Let's face it, a Cherokee forum is probably not the best place to even ask the question. Cherokee ownership is a dying breed, and sure no one wants to hear that, but they aren't being produced anymore, so every day the number on the road gets smaller. So instead, you concentrate on Wronglers, and other 4x4's. The only problem with that is there are hundreds of vendors for those parts, from your local 4x4 parts shop to national chains like 4wheelparts. Another problem is for the most part, people that read the online forums want to avoid taking it into a shop. They want to do their own lifts, repairs, etc. So they're just looking for the parts at the absolute best deal. That's just the tip of the iceberg with getting a customer base.

Another issue is you mentioned you and a couple of buddies want to do this. You also mentioned hiring a licensed mechanic/welder/fabricator. Are you or any of your buddies one of the above? If not, I wish you good luck. On top of the payroll expense of having a licensed mechanic, welder/fabricator, you'll also have x number of owners with their hands out each and every month to pay their living expenses. If you and your buddies don't have a minimum of 12(low) to 24 months of living expenses saved up, you will never make it. Don't expect to make a profit in the first 2 years. How much do you need to make in a year to be happy? Now times that by the number of owners. That's the bottom line.

I'm not trying to scare you off the idea, but before you even spend a dollar, look around your target area. Is there a need for this type of business in the area? Do you have a background in this type of business? Have you worked in a garage before? I've seen too many people quit their jobs with good companies and jump on the be my own boss bandwagon and be bankrupt in 2 years. They think it's glamorous to open their own bar/restaraunt/franchise/retail store. Not realizing that their 40 hour work weeks just skyrocketed to 90 or more hour work weeks with very little time of for family events, etc.

I've been on both sides of the fence. Ultra successful and bankrupt. It's no picnic being broke.

 

well stated ^^^^^