My boyfriend and I just spent the last 5 days in Northern California and recharged. It was fantastic, spent some time in the Russian River Valley (wine tasting!), enjoyed the sun, spent a day in San Francisco, and drove along the coast and through the majestic Redwood Forest on the way back home (my favorite part).
While we were there, we checked out two local yarn shops and talked with the owners for a few minutes. I would love to give a shout out to Trudy, the owner of Yarnitudes in Sebastopol (near Santa Rosa) and to Rosanne of Purls of Joy in Healdsburg, about 30 minutes north. They greeted us right when we stepped through their doors and immediately made us feel like part of the family. When I explained that I was planning on opening my own store in Washington, they were so very supportive- and almost overwhelmed me with lessons learned and hints! The wealth of knowledge between the two - to include the stitchers at Purls of Joy who were there working on their projects - was so vast, and everyone was so much fun to talk to. I will take their comments to heart and keep in touch.
I am rejuvenated. I had to make it a point NOT to think about what I want to do with my shop while on vacation and just enjoy the moment. (It was so very difficult to keep my mind quiet!) As we were getting closer to home, however, I could feel my mind start to crank up again.
I will definitely be incorporating Trudy's and Rosanne's ideas in my shop. Some of the ideas I already had tossed around as possibilities. One thing that I did completely change my mind on was the color of the shelving. Remember in my earlier blog that I wanted dark shelving? Well, after walking into Purls of Joy and being blinded by the brightness - which was a GOOD thing, I was convinced that WHITE shelving is the way to go. How much better to see the yarn colors!
Keep stitching!
Teva
Showing posts with label venture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label venture. Show all posts
Friday, April 18, 2014
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
The search is on
Well I checked out two potential leases today. One was for 5,000 square feet and the other was 1200.
The 5,000 sf place was EXACTLY WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR. Except that I don't think my yarn shop is going to make $2000 a month right off the bat. So that one is on my "will move into someday" list.
The 1200sf place is also a good place for a start-up, but it was a salon&spa before and it has too many small rooms that would have to be demo'd. I don't want to demo. Also, it has a drop ceiling that I would want to demo, because the REAL ceiling, maybe 6 feet higher, HAS THE ORIGINAL TIN CEILING SQUARES!!! Oh, that would be so awesome to see every day. Owner only wants $500 a month for it, but it is on a side street and not quite on the main "antique mall" strip.
There is one more shop available that I am pretty sure is the one for me right now. It is probably 3,000 sf and it the storefront is RIGHT ON THE STREET that I want. The owner wants $600 a month. However, I know the person who owns the belly dancing studio right next door, and with her help there's a chance I could get him to drop the rent 50-100 bucks. Worth a shot!
So now I am trying to get off of my duff and get the financial projections together. It's a pain in the ass and the leg work....ugh. I need to decide how much, what type, and what colors of yarn to get initially ordered. Notions, too. What sizes of knitting needles? How many of each size? Same with crochet needles too.
There is a local glassworks guy and I might be able to get an order of glass stitch markers made....
I think I am going to shoot for a September or October Grand Opening. Which means I will be stocking for fall and Christmas initially. Now I just need to find wholesalers in the local area. :)
A safe for the cash. A file cabinet. A scale so when I buy roving in 50lb bulk I can break it down and sell it by the oz. (roving is fiber for spinners to make yarn out of).
This blog is a great place for me to get my thoughts together.
Peg board and hooks. Where do I get that from? hmm, more research to do!
Yarn that I know I am going to have initially: Malabrigo wool. Alpaca. Sock weight. Sport weight.
I am also going to look at knitting patterns and have those available with the yarn it calls for too. Does anyone have any ideas? Feel free to post them in the comments!
Ok, enough procrastinating, back to finances I go.....
The 5,000 sf place was EXACTLY WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR. Except that I don't think my yarn shop is going to make $2000 a month right off the bat. So that one is on my "will move into someday" list.
The 1200sf place is also a good place for a start-up, but it was a salon&spa before and it has too many small rooms that would have to be demo'd. I don't want to demo. Also, it has a drop ceiling that I would want to demo, because the REAL ceiling, maybe 6 feet higher, HAS THE ORIGINAL TIN CEILING SQUARES!!! Oh, that would be so awesome to see every day. Owner only wants $500 a month for it, but it is on a side street and not quite on the main "antique mall" strip.
There is one more shop available that I am pretty sure is the one for me right now. It is probably 3,000 sf and it the storefront is RIGHT ON THE STREET that I want. The owner wants $600 a month. However, I know the person who owns the belly dancing studio right next door, and with her help there's a chance I could get him to drop the rent 50-100 bucks. Worth a shot!
So now I am trying to get off of my duff and get the financial projections together. It's a pain in the ass and the leg work....ugh. I need to decide how much, what type, and what colors of yarn to get initially ordered. Notions, too. What sizes of knitting needles? How many of each size? Same with crochet needles too.
There is a local glassworks guy and I might be able to get an order of glass stitch markers made....
I think I am going to shoot for a September or October Grand Opening. Which means I will be stocking for fall and Christmas initially. Now I just need to find wholesalers in the local area. :)
A safe for the cash. A file cabinet. A scale so when I buy roving in 50lb bulk I can break it down and sell it by the oz. (roving is fiber for spinners to make yarn out of).
This blog is a great place for me to get my thoughts together.
Peg board and hooks. Where do I get that from? hmm, more research to do!
Yarn that I know I am going to have initially: Malabrigo wool. Alpaca. Sock weight. Sport weight.
I am also going to look at knitting patterns and have those available with the yarn it calls for too. Does anyone have any ideas? Feel free to post them in the comments!
Ok, enough procrastinating, back to finances I go.....
Friday, March 21, 2014
Plot Twist!
Oh no! I went to the yarn shop to ask the owner for copies of her financial records, and she told me that there is another person interested in the place, too. Competition!
You know what? That's ok. Because when I do all of this hard work putting my business portfolio together with a business plan and financials in place, it will be a piece of cake to take it and start my own business with it here in my town. (This shop for sale is in the neighboring town, but not far). THEN who's the competition? #alwaysabrighterside!
When I showed up at the shop today, I expected it to be quiet and just be her there, like it was two days ago. Surprise! The place was full of knitters and spinners! It was great! So I hung around for a while and got to know everybody and had a ball learning about spinning. I even got invited to one lady's house to learn how to weave! They meet at her place the first Wednesday of every month. How cool is that?
This is exactly what I am looking for. I hope I am able to take it over!
You know what? That's ok. Because when I do all of this hard work putting my business portfolio together with a business plan and financials in place, it will be a piece of cake to take it and start my own business with it here in my town. (This shop for sale is in the neighboring town, but not far). THEN who's the competition? #alwaysabrighterside!
When I showed up at the shop today, I expected it to be quiet and just be her there, like it was two days ago. Surprise! The place was full of knitters and spinners! It was great! So I hung around for a while and got to know everybody and had a ball learning about spinning. I even got invited to one lady's house to learn how to weave! They meet at her place the first Wednesday of every month. How cool is that?
This is exactly what I am looking for. I hope I am able to take it over!
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Should I or Shouldn't I?
Since I live in a rural-ish area (20 miles from the State Capital), I did a Google map search of local yarn shops in the area. I wanted to scope out the competition! I found only one in my area. My boyfriend and I checked it out just yesterday.
It is in an old historical building, which I like. The store front does not open to the sidewalk, however. One must go into the building down a hallway to enter the shop. I'm not sure if I care for that aspect or not. But I do love the building. Original wooden floors in the shop! Very nice. It is a bit on the small side, and I noticed that the variety of yarn left much to be desired.
After talking to the owner, I found out that she has run the shop for 14 years and is ready to retire. Unfortunately, nobody has shown any interest in buying the shop from her.
***DING DING DING DING***
Oh, really? Is this the "Divine" calling that everyone talks about? What are the odds? Should I be interested? Should I buy this place instead of start from scratch? Wait - how much does she want for it?
75K. Seems reasonable actually. Rent in the old building is $525. Oh, how I wish I knew what the hell I was doing!
On the way home, my boyfriend and I discussed the possibilities. He is all for supporting me, which is something I am not used to! He is ready to help me with whatever I need. How awesome is that? <3
I know the VA is there to help veterans. I know the SBA is a great resource as well. I know I have an advantage being female also. So, I came home and immediately went on the internet to look things up. I found that the national 2011 average earnings for a local yarn shop owner was $59K. So I would be looking at probably three years to pay off a business loan. Since I have no idea if that is any good or not, I am assuming that it is.
Do I want to be tied down to a shop and not be available to just get up and go? Well, considering I am currently relying on a fixed retirement income, my "get up and go" is severely limited already. So that answers that.
What are my other obstacles? Well, I need to create a business plan. Do I want to keep the original business name, or do I want to change it? I need a mission statement. I need a marketing plan. I need to know the current financials. ugh. My next step is to contact SCORE and take advantage of their free counseling for those who wish to become new business owners.
So, with a little bit more research, I will find out whether this is a feasible venture or not. I hope it is, because the more I think about it, the more excited I become.
It is in an old historical building, which I like. The store front does not open to the sidewalk, however. One must go into the building down a hallway to enter the shop. I'm not sure if I care for that aspect or not. But I do love the building. Original wooden floors in the shop! Very nice. It is a bit on the small side, and I noticed that the variety of yarn left much to be desired.
After talking to the owner, I found out that she has run the shop for 14 years and is ready to retire. Unfortunately, nobody has shown any interest in buying the shop from her.
***DING DING DING DING***
Oh, really? Is this the "Divine" calling that everyone talks about? What are the odds? Should I be interested? Should I buy this place instead of start from scratch? Wait - how much does she want for it?
75K. Seems reasonable actually. Rent in the old building is $525. Oh, how I wish I knew what the hell I was doing!
On the way home, my boyfriend and I discussed the possibilities. He is all for supporting me, which is something I am not used to! He is ready to help me with whatever I need. How awesome is that? <3
I know the VA is there to help veterans. I know the SBA is a great resource as well. I know I have an advantage being female also. So, I came home and immediately went on the internet to look things up. I found that the national 2011 average earnings for a local yarn shop owner was $59K. So I would be looking at probably three years to pay off a business loan. Since I have no idea if that is any good or not, I am assuming that it is.
Do I want to be tied down to a shop and not be available to just get up and go? Well, considering I am currently relying on a fixed retirement income, my "get up and go" is severely limited already. So that answers that.
What are my other obstacles? Well, I need to create a business plan. Do I want to keep the original business name, or do I want to change it? I need a mission statement. I need a marketing plan. I need to know the current financials. ugh. My next step is to contact SCORE and take advantage of their free counseling for those who wish to become new business owners.
So, with a little bit more research, I will find out whether this is a feasible venture or not. I hope it is, because the more I think about it, the more excited I become.
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