Considering a hat store . . .

[Becky]

Need opinions on opening a hat store/whatever else might go within. Any suggestions as to what you folks would personally like to see in a good hat store are appreciated. Also, give me an approximate size of any hat stores that may be in your area, if possible. Thanks !

 

[mingoslim]

OK . . . I'm Game

First, when you do open your place, let me know when the Grand Opening will be. I am in Southern Ohio, and will make a special trip to attend.

As for what I would like to see . . .

1) a mixture of vintage and new hats . . .
2) high quality fur felts and straws . . . the name brand doesn't matter as much as the quality that went into the hat.
3) different colors and styles . . . tired of seeing nothing but Raider knock-offs in brown.
4) hat pins, ribbons, and other accessories . . . new and vintage . . .

and most important . . . GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE . . . Friendly, knowledgable folks, who will keep me coming back . . .

 

[Becky]

Thanks for the input mingoslim ! Hey, I've got friends in Xenia.

 

[Tango Yankee]

Take a trip to Cincinnati

You might want to visit Batsakes Hat Shop in downtown Cinci. Here's a link to my thread about a recent visit: http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=16252 There's a link in the first post to the thread where I found out about it and that post has a link to a story about the shop and it's owner, Gus Miller. It's a great shop.

I'm also in southern Ohio and would make a trip down as well!

Cheers,
Tom

 

[Orgetorix]

Hat repair!

In addition to what mingoslim said, you should consider offering hat cleaning and repair. Even if you don't have the time or inclination to learn how to do it and acquire the necessary equipment, it might be well worth your while to make an arrangement with someone who does. Those services, while not impossible, are difficult to find for those who don't live near a good hatter.

And hey, I'm anticipating living in Louisville for the next three or four years, so I'll stop by your store if you do open one.

 

[Mike in Seattle]

Be sure you've done all your research and know how much cash you're going to need up front before going into this. Talk to attorneys and accountants, and be ready to have them give you bad news and take it to heart. I've had a few clients plunge into starting a business without taking a lot of things into account or refusing to listen to the advice they were paying to get, and they fold in under a year and had huge debts that took years to pay off or had to file bankruptcy and lose everything to get out from under.

Take your worst-case scenario and plan on it being even worse. You'll need to know to the penny what inventory, all the shop fixtures, shop equipment are going to cost. What mark-up are you going to need to cover overhead like rent, utilities and the like? Figure what the profit is on an average hat, and then figure how many of said hat you're going to have to sell at that profit to cover the monthly expenses, and then figure you have to sell that many every month just to break even. You'll also need to know how much cash are you going to have to post as deposits or bond with taxing authorities for things like sales tax, payroll tax, insurance, rent, etc. Be ready to not be able to pull any money out of the business as your cut for at least a few years.

The best advice is try working for a similar business for a year or two so you know all the ins and outs, the pitfalls, and what it takes to operate a business of this type, day in and day out. In that situation, you'll also have the extreme luxury of only having to be there 40 hours a week. If you're an owner, it's an around the clock position. You may work all day, come home and then have to pay bills, place orders with vendors, and so forth at night. And banks are usually hesitant to loan money to people who have little or no experience in the type of business they propose to operate. All the above research goes into the business plan that they're going to want to see first thing. Are you willing to collateralize loans with your personal assets (house, car, etc.)?

Starting a business isn't as easy as most think, and once started, continuing to successfully operate said business is even more work. It's not "I think I'll open a shop and everyone will love what I have to sell and I'll be rolling in dough so fast, it'll make your head spin." Deciding on inventory is WAY down the "to do" list for setting up a business. There's a lot of homework and number-crunching to be done before you get to that point.

 

[Aaron Hats]

Mike is absolutely correct. The first thing you should do is write a business plan which should include best and worse case financial scenarios. It should also include as detailed a description as possible of who your customer is. This will guide you in which direction to take for buying your inventory. After you've written a BP you'll want to start looking for a location. Remember that it's location, location, location. You may find a nice "less than prime" location at a nice price but will it cost you double or triple the advertising than if you were in a prime location. Check out http://www.small-business-forum.com/. It's a great small business forum with some really knowledgeable folks.

I could go on for hours about small business but hopefully this gets you headed in the right direction.

Wishing you much success.

Aaron

 

[tonyb]

While I would certainly patronize a hat store that carried nothing but high quality goods and a wide variety of it, I fear that such an establishment would have a hard time surviving these days. It has been a couple of generations since "proper" hats (as opposed to ball caps and the like) were a part of most men's everyday attire. Nowadays the average consumer doesn't know what to look for in a hat. The qualities that separate a decent lid from a lesser one are largely wasted on him.
But he can read a price tag, and I'm guessing he would much sooner walk away from a $200 hat than a $50 one, especially if he's thinking that he might just "try out" a fedora. Better to ring up a $50 sale than no sale at all.
Some (many, maybe) of those lower-end lids look fine when they're brand spankin' new. And who knows, maybe our hypothetical new-to-hat-wearing man will decide that lids are for him and he'll come back for something a little better.

 

[Becky]

continued thanks . . .

More info, what great help you all have been. I must include some details, though. I wouldn't be pursuing this alone. My sister and I have been wringing our brains over a good business venture, but one we agree on and both like. Also, I have had many kinds of jobs and through much soul-searching and examination I conclude that I desire to be in business for myself, aka, be my own boss. Food for though.

 

[K.D. Lightner]

Ditto, I agree with mingoslim et al.

Depending on where you have the store, you would want, in this day and age, to offer your good stuff online. That could bring in more business if sales are a bit weak in your part of the country.

Get some practical hats in, too, something for someone who wants to putter around in the garden or take a hike in the woods. Variety.

I used to live in San Diego. There are two Village Hat Shops there. They have everything from Borsalino fur felts to those goofy hats people wear in parades and cheapie party hats. I guess they felt they had to sell that novelty stuff to bring in more customers. It sort of cheapens the store, I feel.

Boy, there is nothing here in Des Moines: Two Capz shops, a couple of western wear stores, a theatrical costume shop and one bonafide hat shop, called Classic Hats for Men, which is open during the week by appointment only and open to the public a few hours on Saturday. I have yet to go see it, feel they might throw me out the door.

I don't suggest you operate a store in that manner unless you have an exclusive clientele or are a front for some other operation.

karol

 

[SHARPETOYS]

A tip.

Please make sure you talk to Aaron of Aaron's hat so he can give you a heads up on who to watch out for in the hat business...

 

[RBH]

Everyone is giving you such great advice, all I can add is GOOD LUCK!

 

[besdor]

I think Sharptoys is talking about a certain particular person who everyone wishes would just go away to a far disserted island in the north pole!!





Steven
www.bencrafthats.com