I looked into this too a few years back.
1st word of advice is that you have to be a businessman and not a hobbiest to succeed.
A knowledge and passion for the hobby helps, but it is more important to know how to balance the books, get good deals from suppliers and come up with interesting and perhaps innovative sales ideas.
If you're looking for a 'foothold', think seriously about buying out an old established shop that's owner is perhaps retiring or one that is just going bust (find out why first).
Perhaps buy a toy shop and convert to hobbies.
What you need is a good location, display space, storage space and security.
Just note this. Margins are coming down, rents are going up. Calculate how much you have to sell just to pay the rent. Figure out how many people will walk by and hopefully walk in.
Another option is to have a cheap, low rent shop and a large profitable mail order business run from the back office. That's what the owner of my local hobby shop is now doing after he had to close his last shop in town.
1st word of advice is that you have to be a businessman and not a hobbiest to succeed.
A knowledge and passion for the hobby helps, but it is more important to know how to balance the books, get good deals from suppliers and come up with interesting and perhaps innovative sales ideas.
If you're looking for a 'foothold', think seriously about buying out an old established shop that's owner is perhaps retiring or one that is just going bust (find out why first).
Perhaps buy a toy shop and convert to hobbies.
What you need is a good location, display space, storage space and security.
Just note this. Margins are coming down, rents are going up. Calculate how much you have to sell just to pay the rent. Figure out how many people will walk by and hopefully walk in.
Another option is to have a cheap, low rent shop and a large profitable mail order business run from the back office. That's what the owner of my local hobby shop is now doing after he had to close his last shop in town.