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The first shop here in my hometown had it good. No, great. They (a Mom & Pop) were the single supplier of hobby goods in the entire valley. They also loved it and it showed. There weren't any big stores or heavy mail-ordering and of course, no internet. They eventually retired quite well off. Since then, however, everyone has failed. I don't know what their business skills were like, but I'm sure the sudden influx of 5 Wal Mart-sized stores in the last decade didn't factor into their plans. The latest guy to attempt a hobby shop here knew all this history coming in. And he had a plan. He attacks the big stores at their weakest points. He carries a variety (not a surplus) of items. He greets me by name and knows what I'm looking for before I do ('Hey, I just got that new GP9 in CP from Atlas, wanna take a look?') and he has some track set up to run it on. If I have a problem he can't handle he has LISTS of other hobbyists who have already agreed to be his back up plan. He sponsors lots of modeling contests so there's always award-winning models in the shop window to attract any walk-bys and of course, people in the contests naturally feel obligated to purchase supplies there. He seems to know everything about every hobby in spite of the fact (at least I think it's a fact) that he's NOT a hobbyist. Go figure. His specialty is actually electric shavers, which he sells and repairs right there in the store. He's managed to sell me a couple of those too. If I may sum this up, I think being a business-savvy person is first and foremost. If you don't have a plan, you can't research it. And if you don't do your research, you might as well buy a lottery ticket. I own a taxi business, one of the most competitive businesses out there. Having flexible, achievable, realistic and disaster resistant short-term goals is vital in succeeding in your long-term plans. And a little luck never hurts. Good Luck.
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