that's exactly what I was going to say. lol..

you forgot to mention that you need a job. by the way, do you need a job? I had no idea...

 

The only problem I have with most of these bike shops out here is customer service. Especially if the customer does not know much about the product, the employees are not too pleasant. I am not the only one with this problem, I feel like the employees should be there to educate us as well as show us what we need.

 

man, i've been saying the same thing for as long as i can remember. i cannot tell you how annoying it is (as a motorcycle mechanic) to go into a parts dept and have them look at me like i'm speaking greek when i ask for a particular part. alot of the smaller shops that i've worked for got thier oem parts from local dealers. probably 50% or more of the parts that were ordered were the wrong parts, mainly because the parts guys/gals don't have a clue what i'm talking about. that in turn, makes me look bad when i tell a customer that his/her bike will be done at such and such a time, only to have the wrong parts delivered, and have to push back the "done date" on the customers b/c of it. it got to the point where i would go to the dealers personally on my way home from work, and physically point out exactly what i needed on thier computer screens to make sure i got what i needed. i've said it for years, the people that work in the parts dept should have a minimum two years experience as a mechanic. makes everyone's lives easier. think about it this way. when a customer walks into a dealer or independent shop, and they have a problem, they don't talk to the mechanic, they talk to the parts people. if the parts people are clueless about the inner workings of a motorcycle, how can they possibly help the customer with his/her problem? hell, most of my day working at some shops was spent talking to customers to help them get exactly what they wanted/needed. that sucks for guys like me, who get paid on a bike by bike basis. if i'm not turning wrenches, i'm not getting paid. but... you have to keep the customers happy, or they won't come back, so i had to do what i had to do. my paychecks suffered because of it. there's a bright side though, as i got to know alot of my customers, and they have continually followed me from shop to shop over the years. i have my own clientel now, people that don't want anyone but me working on thier bikes, and that's a good feeling.

ok, i'm done rambling... i could go on a while.....

 

RU serious his design are on point, Have you ever seen the super sport bike links site it has everything you need or could ever want for a sportbike rider. a shit ton of people over on cf have skiv designed avatar..and I think it is just a hobby pretty good for some one with a real job and prob a couple kids. just my thought I have mine and you have your just like for some reason you bought a kawi and loved it and I have rode a few and hate them . to each his own..

 

Good idea & concept.

Like everyone has posted.. Location..Pricing..& great customer service.

 

what are the franchise fees? Those can be a killer

I think location would be a plus when compared to other local shops. Some of the good shops are out in the boonies yet still manage to do business like Redline and even the Harley dealer which are both out in Yorktown. Most of the other local shops are in shitty neighborhoods or ghettos or you have to go through a crap area to get to them

Before I'd open anything I'd make sure I had a background/experience/education in business management or management in general before I threw all my $ at it. I've known way too many people to come into $ or open up businesses and have them fold because they weren't prepared for all the costs and didn't have the experience. Only a couple ways to set yourself apart from the half-dozen other shops is to have excellent customer service, better prices, and more stuff in stock.


Having just a physical store would be hard to make it but if you also sold online then it would be that much easier as well as having a small repair/mod shop out back. You're going to need a ton of start-up capital to get it going and to get a lot of stuff in stock for even a store on the smaller side. I don't know how people are even suggesting a huge shop like the size of a k-mart. That would take millions to get going. Also zoning, permits and regulations would prohibit a lot of things being incorporated into the store because VA is a commonwealth and overregulated when compared to many other states. So no bar/tattoo parlor/go-go dancing all in the same building. Probably going to need a hefty amount of savings until it starts operating at a profit which could be months or a year away depending on season. Winter will be absolutely dead and little money will be made so spring and summer will be absolutely essential since this is a 6 month riding season for many (unlike florida and cali where the majority of successful MC related businesses are which benefit from a nearly year round riding climate).

Probably a weekly bike night at the shop would be a good way to get exposure. A not-so popular suggestion would be to do all makes of bikes and try and get a small section of the Harley crowd who makes up a large percentage of the riding public. They're where the $ is and work or parts for a few dozen HD's would help a lot.

 

Yea I got all the franchise info from the owner the startup fee is minimal--and they have an online shop www.haibikeshop.com

And your right zoning won't allow repair work in a strip-mall shopping center.