Thinking of opening a guitar business - suggestions?

[Twinfan]

Seeing as how we have a nice little guitar community here, I thought I'd try and tap into it a little if I may.  Tell me to bog off if I'm out of order  :)

Basically, it's like this.  I've been playing guitar for about 25 years (since I was a nipper) and I've got a LOT of guitar related knowledge stored in my head.  Models, features, history etc - it comes from 25 years spent reading magazines, tweaking, buying (and occasionally selling ;) ) guitars, amps and pedals.  Anyone who knows me will tell you it's an obsession - I am the very definition of GAS.

My day job is completely unrelated to the music industry - I'm a computer systems manager.  However, I'm under the threat of redundancy at the moment and could possibly be given my marching orders in the new year with a pot of cash for my trouble.  Enough to start a business probably, and some credits for a running your own business course...

So here's the dilemma.  What kind of guitar business could I set up?  There's no way I can compete with the likes of GAK, Coda, Machinehead, Music Ground, Sound Control etc so I'm trying to come up with a niche market.  A unique selling point, something that could be a success on a relatively small scale and make a reasonable living out of.  Some ideas that I've discussed with people so far include:

* Coffee shop combined with a guitar shop - making the shop a social hang out
* A specialist shop in one particular model - an SG specialist for example
* A second hand only shop focussing on "bang for buck" deals

What do you think would make a great guitar shop?  What's missing in the guitar world?  What do you think would work as an idea?

Any thoughts you might have would be greatly appreciated, and will earn you a permanent discount at my emporium  :D

[WezV]

i think the second hand guitar shop aint a bad idea but i dont know how profitable it is.  Most shops around me are just focusing on newbie guitars and i miss being surrounded by second hand bargains as soon as i walk in.

i wouldnt go with the 'just SG' idea, Gibson Sg's are such a bad design !!(ducking and running).

How about 'coffee shop/blues club/second hand guitars' kind of thing

[_tom_]

I dont think that a specialist shop for one model would be very good, not enough variety and you wont attract as many customers I'm guessing..

Coffee shop combined with guitar shop could be good, but also seems kinda weird as the two are unrelated really :lol: The main thing I find missing from all the guitar shops round here is competetive pricing, they're always much more expensive than internet shops, then I guess its not possible in a small shop as you cant order as many as a big internet shop or something. But then if you cant get the prices low enough, maybe offer free/discount repairs/set ups for up to a year after purchase or something like that, to make people want to buy from you instead of a cheaper internet seller who wont offer this service.

Also, all the shops round here seem to stock cr@p amps, mostly solid state Marshalls etc. I'd like to see a place where theres loads of decent amps to play through. Basically I think you should decide what the shops in your area are missing and see if you can offer what they arent..

Maybe you shouldn't listen to me though, I'm no expert, I've only taken A level business studies and dont know if I've even passed that yet :lol:

[Twinfan]

i wouldnt go with the 'just SG' idea, Gibson Sg's are such a bad design !!(ducking and running).

How dare you!  ;)  Not enough demand for an SG shop, it was just an example!

How about 'coffee shop/blues club/second hand guitars' kind of thing

That's the kind of thing I thought might work.  Like you, I enjoy searching out a good used guitar.  The supply of good second hand instruments at the right price is the hurdle I see with this one, as eBay rules the world to some extent.

[Twinfan]

Also, all the shops round here seem to stock cr@p amps, mostly solid state Marshalls etc. I'd like to see a place where theres loads of decent amps to play through. Basically I think you should decide what the shops in your area are missing and see if you can offer what they arent..

Thanks Tom.  The trouble I have round here is that most brands have a dealer pretty nearby, either the centre of Manchester or just outside.  I'd need to look at another area where there's a gap maybe?

Competing with the internet is a no-go.  I can't buy the volume that Peter Cooks or GAK do so I'll never compete on price.  I need something that other gutar shops don't have - hence the coffee shop idea, or the good second hand stuff shop.

[noodleplugerine]

I think the idea of a Guitar Shop/Coffee Shop/Sandwich Bar is a bloody great idea!

Set it in a town or city near a Secondary school and you'll get loads of lunchtime metalheads buying your coffee and trying out new gear - I know I would!!!

Also - Whenever I pop down to Soundcontrol with mates/family they always piss off to the Costa in the corner of the place - So instead of parents with credit cards standing around idly being bored they can have a coffee and read the paper!

Not only would you have gangs of young guitar players coming around - You'd also have a pretty decent business.

Now - Twinfan, seeing as you're on the net and have alot of knowhow in guitars etc - You're allready in on a Niche.

Most guitar shops around me stock awful stuff - Obviously things like Fender Strats and Crybabys are needed in every shop irrelevent of how good or bad they are due to sales figures - But since you have a good know-how on gear, a guitar shop filled with things you actually want to buy is a rarity in itself - Stock ESP, Tokai, Ibanez and other Japanese guitar makers on top of Some Gibson/Fender stuff and some entry level equipment and you have a good guitar shop.

Honestly - the main problem with guitar shops around London is that very few of them actually have desirable guitars/amps - I think the only shops in London where I would actually want to buy stuff would be World of Music due to their Peavey amps, Rose Morris due to their ESPs, Organics, Oranges and Engls - Although their prices are horrendous, Rockers due to their ESPs, Mesa, Ibanez' and the Wembley Guitar center, due to their Engls and Mesa.

Back to the Coffee shop idea - If you had it open at nights for evening shows and a bar maybe, you could have local guitarists playing in the evening, or new bands etc - Would be a really cool place to hang out!

[HTH AMPS]

The coffee shop/guitar hangout sounds the best to me - make it really bo-ho with pix of classic artists and the coolest FREE jukebox known to man.

You could stock selected products that you really believe in - maybe if there were certain pedals, strings, capo's etc... that you like, then stock 'em.  

I think a really great idea would be to have an in-shop amp tech so people could get their amp biased/serviced while they wait.  Good amp techs are like gold-dust, you could get LOTS of repeat trade with the amp tech service and since biasing is a quick job, people could have their amp ready to go once they've finished their coffee.

Oh, and finally - Bog Off!!!    :lol:

:twisted:

[_tom_]

Set it in a town or city near a Secondary school and you'll get loads of lunchtime metalheads buying your coffee and trying out new gear - I know I would!!!

I didnt think of that, great idea, I know I'd always be down there at lunch/free periods if there was one near me! Also the thing about parents going in with their kids is a good point, I know my dad hated waiting in shops when I was trying out stuff. Also, another complaint I have about a couple of the shops around here is that they're very opinionated and close minded, one in particular are total fender snobs and look down on anyone who play Gibsons with Marshall amps etc :x

I also think the amp tech would be a good idea, none of the shops round here seem to do work on amps.

[FELINEGUITARS]

Tread carefully
Ebay has ripped the arse out of the secondhand guitar shop market

I have a friend who had to lose that side of his business because everybody started selling on ebay and cutting out the retail shop

A big amp shop that allowed all the makes to be compared side by side would be interesting with some nice guitars to try through them.

The coffee shop sounds cool but would need to be worked carefully to avoid light-fingered activity.
Also it would become a hangout where the space might not be earning very well per sq metre - with property prices the way they are , always a concern.

[Twinfan]

Hmm.  So far we've got:

* Coffee shop for parents
* Focus on amps, possible in-house amp tech (train myself?)
* Non-mainstream brands (ESP, Tokai, Orange, Engl)

Sounds like my kind of place so far  ;)

[Crazy_Joe]

I don't know much about business but tbh i can't see secondhand shop being too profitable, coffee shop combined perhaps it might work but i just think those are weird things to put together.
Whatever you do i would definatley go with the guitar/amp tech guy idea, everyone needs guitar maintenance once in a while and people are always wanting pickups fitted and stuff so that could be a good little earner.
Maybe if you have the coffee shop and put a little stage up or have a corner for bands to play once in a while too, that could work. I don't know really, i think it's either going to work very well or fail.

[Crazy_Joe]

Maybe a basement or underground are where you can try out amps a loud as you want, though i think that already exists in some places.

Maybe have real life guitar auctions where people bid in the shop for a guitar and whoever goes the highest wins, though it all depends how many people go in there in the first place for that idea to work.

[Crazy_Joe]

MAYBE record dvds of you demoing stuff in the shop like those on youtube and you can sell that in there too or on an internet site, someone might like to see that, though i'm guessing if they wanted to do that they would try it out themselves.

[plastercaster]

Not really a business on its own, but how about a vending machine built into a wall full of strings, leads, odd spare parts (perhaps reeds, drumsticks, valve oil too?) etc. so people could pick up useful bits of kit at any time of the day? I often need bits of kit, but the local shop only opens 9-5.
I had a similar idea about a rock n' roll hangout, I think band Fridays would be a great idea if you can find the space and licenses. If you could integrate a jukebox and a rotating selection of obscure new and old CDs/vinyl so people would go for your shop to hear new (and order in) leftfield bits of music. you can't compete on price, but you can on variety, if you can attract a young crowd willing to be different.
Definitely get a tech, or learn yourself, because I have to travel 10 miles by bus to the far side of oxford for a set up - It's an earner and brings people in.
bear in mind that while you may well dislike big names (and with good reason) they are the brands that sell, so keep some in, but get a reputation for having the very best gibsons/fenders/etc. if possible (no idea if the supply line will allow this) and remember that beginners will ALWAYS outnumber experienced guitarists; if you develop the friendly reputation crucial for small buisinesses, hopefully noobs will come to you over the local sound control or whatever, so have something in for them.

[Oli]

Coffeeshop/guitar bar sounds like a good idea to me, but Jonathon has valid points there.

The 2nd hand 'bang for your buck' shop wouldn't really work from a business point of view, because you wouldn't make much money from it.

The guitar accessories vending machine sounds like a really good (and cool!) idea :)