need some help

[hammerhead]

right 1st of all im now trying to get my self a unit to rent to open a rc shop ive recieved emails form several distributers saying that they will give me the go ahead to stock theyre equipment once i have a building up and running and a sign is up to show that im all ready to go
the place im looking at is 1000 sq ft and im thinking of sticking a indoor track for electric racing there are a few questions i could do with being answerd first tho so was wondering if any of you lads could help.
1. whats the anual fee to use the track
2. is insurance covered in the anual fee
3. equipment i will need to cator for race meets
any help would be great thanks

[wacattack]

Dont want to put a downer on it but these seems like a venture destined to fail. Model shops at the moment are going under left right and centre, and this is with much smaller premises than you are proposing.

To stick a track in a shop just seems like financial suicide

[sosidge]

Originally Posted by hammerhead

right 1st of all im now trying to get my self a unit to rent to open a rc shop ive recieved emails form several distributers saying that they will give me the go ahead to stock theyre equipment once i have a building up and running and a sign is up to show that im all ready to go
the place im looking at is 1000 sq ft and im thinking of sticking a indoor track for electric racing there are a few questions i could do with being answerd first tho so was wondering if any of you lads could help.
1. whats the anual fee to use the track
2. is insurance covered in the anual fee
3. equipment i will need to cator for race meets
any help would be great thanks

I don't really understand your three questions - surely you are the one that will set the fees and arrange any insurances - but I can tell you straight away that 1000sqft is no way near big enough to fit a track in, unless you plan to get one of the small Mini-Z tracks.

1,000sq METRES would be a very impressive space.

[sosidge]

Originally Posted by wacattack

Dont want to put a downer on it but these seems like a venture destined to fail. Model shops at the moment are going under left right and centre, and this is with much smaller premises than you are proposing.

To stick a track in a shop just seems like financial suicide

That's the spirit. Who said entrepreneurialism was dead?

[jcb]

I think you should give the BRCA website, www.brca.org a good looking through, as that covers all your insurance and club questions. There are videos and guides on setting up clubs and also a list of clubs by area and what classes they cater for, along with shops to.

From my experiences clubs charge anything between £10 and £100 a year for membership, then there's a charge to use the track on race or practice days, varying between £2 to £10 for a meeting or days practice.

With regards to timing equipment the main one seems to be BBK / AMB while there is also an infra red system that MORErc use with great success and it's only a few hundred pounds compared to thousands. Probably best to pm Benh about the infra red system.

If your running a club within a shop it would be worth while checking out what an insurance company can cover you for.

As sosidge says, you should be the ones working out what people should pay, afterall you'll be the one paying the bills and income has to be over and above expenditure.

In terms of business sense I'd do a load of research in the area you plan to set up your shop. Visit clubs and toy shops and ask how they are doing, how many members they have and how often they race. See what shops sell similar things to you in your chosen area and whether you could supply items by mail order over the phone or via the internet. At the present time any shop that sells stuff relating to expendable income is going through a roungh patch as people generally have less cash to spend on hobbies.

If it were me i'd be looking at the markup on spares and cars and then work out how many you need to sell to make a living, then is there a big enough market and catchment area near you to be able to sell that amount of stock. On tires, which i would guess are one of the most popular purchases from a shop you'd make a couple of quid a pair, so you'd need to shift 10,000 pairs of tires to make £20k and then you've got to take all your bills out of that.

My advice,
1) Find an accountant that will do a free consultation and talk to them about it.
2) Look at the clubs in your area and speak to the people that will be buying the items you want to sell.
3) Look at the competition, and if a model shop is listed as a limited company get a set of accounts off of companies house for £1 and see how they are doing.
4) Work out what you can offer that other shops can't
5) What are the trade account details, can you buy stock on a sale or return basis.
6) Have a back up plan, will a bank back you for a year or two with interest and charge free accounts, or do you have money to invest.


All the best in your chosen venture.

[hammerhead]

Originally Posted by sosidge

I don't really understand your three questions - surely you are the one that will set the fees and arrange any insurances - but I can tell you straight away that 1000sqft is no way near big enough to fit a track in, unless you plan to get one of the small Mini-Z tracks.

1,000sq METRES would be a very impressive space.

hi thanks for the reply only reason i ask what the prices are for usual tracks is ive never raced or actualy been to any of the clubs so i dont really know what they chargeor weather the insurance is involved with theyre fees. it would be a small track to start off with then once/if buisness takes off i will expand it.
the nearest track is quite a distance from me and i was hoping to get a shop/track set up in the town where i am as the nearest hobby shop is around 20-25 mile away and would be nice to get some of the local young lads/lasses into the hobby without having to go miles

[wacattack]

Originally Posted by sosidge

That's the spirit. Who said entrepreneurialism was dead?

I just dont want to see this guy throw his money away

[fidspeed]

Superb reply from JCB eloquently written and unbiased well done that man

good luck hammerhead lots of research will give you the information you require, as posted previously everyone is struggling in this present economy and i dont see a quick reversal yet.
If you have a house and family dont put them at risk for it , use finances you can afford "to lose"

I wish you luck where will you be based we may even visit if your not to far away

dave

[hammerhead]

im in norfolk in dereham to be exact as i said the nearest tracks/hobbyshops are roughly 20 od mile away from here i have rang a few of them to see what kind of stock they keep and i was very surprised they dont stock the likes of hobao or hpi some dont even have losi or shumacher either. when i first got into the hobby i had a real pain in the arse my savage was well knackerd lol and i needed a few parts for it and both shops that are near to me wouldnt even touch it because they dont stock the parts and to say the least they wasnt exactly customer friendly either witch put me off using them again.
i have been in contact with all of the above suplliers and they have given me the go ahead to stock theyre brands on a no sale return basis so i dont have any massive overheads on the stock department my main out lay is the premisis itself and insurance and bills etc.
there are a few people that use RC cars around here but like i said erlier they dont have anywhere to use them once/if the buisness has taken off i will be looking into renting a plot of land off a good friend of the fam to build a outdoor track also wich will then cator for the larger scale models i.e 1/10 1/8 1/5 both nitro and electric.
hopefully can get this up and running and get more people localy into the hobby

[mikerobinson83]

i dont have any experience in running a shop but from what you have said about suppliers if it was me i would get some parts, start a website and grow from there.
if you have space to store parts at home you will have minimal overheads meaning you can start banking your profit giving you the funds to expand when business builds up, and if the worst were to happen you will make minimal losses.
this is only the way i would do it but as i said i am not an expert in these matters.

Mike

[Mike Parker]

If you want to start a business selling rc gear, I would recommend setting up shop trackside. Whether it be at your local club or clubs, if you compete at regionals at the descresion of the regional reps you could get a gig there, that way you would get a regular custom base. This is how me and my old man started up back in the late 80's early 90's before we went the shop route.

When you start looking at retailing, you have to consider rent, rates, insurances etc + the costs fitting out a premises, cost of your intitial stock and any other initial set up costs. If you take out a business loan to start up that would need to be paid back.

Look at the figures in respects to the outgoings and what you would potentially have coming back in. I imagine you will have a home and family to support so if this was to be your main source of income you have to make sure it's viable.

Mike P.

[hammerhead]

Originally Posted by mikerobinson83

i dont have any experience in running a shop but from what you have said about suppliers if it was me i would get some parts, start a website and grow from there.
if you have space to store parts at home you will have minimal overheads meaning you can start banking your profit giving you the funds to expand when business builds up, and if the worst were to happen you will make minimal losses.
this is only the way i would do it but as i said i am not an expert in these matters.

Mike

hi mike
thanks for the reply if i could run a buisness from my home i would but for 1 its illegal to have a buisness to operate from a residential premises i know i can store it but not trade i think its only posible if we own the property but we are tennants and its against our tennancy the suppliers will only do a sales or return policy with me if i have a shop up and running so unless i buy the stock at silly prices and then sell them on i wont make enough profit if any to then forward into the buisness

[hammerhead]

here are the ones that are nearest but still are a fair distance between each other and a lot of the youngsters around here that are into rc wont have transport of theyre own to get to them
http://www.centralbooking.org/cbs/in...ubs&Itemid=151
KRCCC1 Kellers R/C Car Club NorfolkTrowseKLMCC
Kings Lynn Model Car Club Norfolk Kings Lynn
and theres snetterton as well but im unsure on how that stands for general race meetings etc if theres any more that people know of plese do let me know thanks

[Bob Burr]

First of all you need to go back to the supliers as im 100% sure they will NOT supply on a sale or return basis (1000s would set up model shops if they did , oh and i run a model shop) even after many years trading all the main supliers will not let me have sale or return except when putting the shop on for a major national, your first orders will be on a pro forma basis eg you pay then you get the goods, why would they let a perfect stranger take lots of goodies for free ???
A accountant will be of absolutly no use in setting up a business, they mearly deal with bookwork and will have no idea of weather your business will fail or succeed.
You are also talking about setting up what is basically a race orientated shop yet you have absolutly no idea of racing !! sorry but racers want to deal with people who have first hand experience of racing, you need to be fully up to speed on all the latest gear, the latest rules that govern the sport eg a customer wont be happy if you sell them something for racing that is ilegal to use, and have experience or knowedge of both all the on road and off road classes (how can you tell me what i need to race a 1/10th tourer if you have never done it ?)
As for the racing, well a AMB system will set you back about £3000 to £4000, add on a lap top, software, PA system, speakers, printer plus a few sundries and you will be somewhere near 5 to 6 grand without the track, a cheep carpet track not to big will be about £700 to £1000.

Sorry if all the above sounds like a downer but think very very hard about what you are about to do, 2 of the bigest model shops in the country have just gone bust, where does that put you as a newcomer ??

[wacattack]

Originally Posted by Bob Burr

First of all you need to go back to the supliers as im 100% sure they will NOT supply on a sale or return basis (1000s would set up model shops if they did , oh and i run a model shop) even after many years trading all the main supliers will not let me have sale or return except when putting the shop on for a major national, your first orders will be on a pro forma basis eg you pay then you get the goods, why would they let a perfect stranger take lots of goodies for free ???
A accountant will be of absolutly no use in setting up a business, they mearly deal with bookwork and will have no idea of weather your business will fail or succeed.
You are also talking about setting up what is basically a race orientated shop yet you have absolutly no idea of racing !! sorry but racers want to deal with people who have first hand experience of racing, you need to be fully up to speed on all the latest gear, the latest rules that govern the sport eg a customer wont be happy if you sell them something for racing that is ilegal to use, and have experience or knowedge of both all the on road and off road classes (how can you tell me what i need to race a 1/10th tourer if you have never done it ?)
As for the racing, well a AMB system will set you back about £3000 to £4000, add on a lap top, software, PA system, speakers, printer plus a few sundries and you will be somewhere near 5 to 6 grand without the track, a cheep carpet track not to big will be about £700 to £1000.

Sorry if all the above sounds like a downer but think very very hard about what you are about to do, 2 of the bigest model shops in the country have just gone bust, where does that put you as a newcomer ??

Well said, couldn't agree more

[hammerhead]

Originally Posted by Bob Burr

First of all you need to go back to the supliers as im 100% sure they will NOT supply on a sale or return basis (1000s would set up model shops if they did , oh and i run a model shop) even after many years trading all the main supliers will not let me have sale or return except when putting the shop on for a major national, your first orders will be on a pro forma basis eg you pay then you get the goods, why would they let a perfect stranger take lots of goodies for free ???
A accountant will be of absolutly no use in setting up a business, they mearly deal with bookwork and will have no idea of weather your business will fail or succeed.
You are also talking about setting up what is basically a race orientated shop yet you have absolutly no idea of racing !! sorry but racers want to deal with people who have first hand experience of racing, you need to be fully up to speed on all the latest gear, the latest rules that govern the sport eg a customer wont be happy if you sell them something for racing that is ilegal to use, and have experience or knowedge of both all the on road and off road classes (how can you tell me what i need to race a 1/10th tourer if you have never done it ?)
As for the racing, well a AMB system will set you back about £3000 to £4000, add on a lap top, software, PA system, speakers, printer plus a few sundries and you will be somewhere near 5 to 6 grand without the track, a cheep carpet track not to big will be about £700 to £1000.

Sorry if all the above sounds like a downer but think very very hard about what you are about to do, 2 of the bigest model shops in the country have just gone bust, where does that put you as a newcomer ??

good post and fair points i have my own pa system so that ones a miss
as for all the whats brca legal and not this is where my research has to come in. when i was on the phone to horizon they told me as well as hpi that they do a sales or return i will ring them again later just to be 100% ihave all my pc/printer and ill look into the software and ill have a look into the infa red sustem that was mentioned in a earlier post

[dale]

A non-racer trying to set up a shop and track is like someone who doesn't eat Italian food trying to set up an Italian restaurant.

If you're going to be successful at anything in these hard times, you need to be the expert at it, and be the best. Otherwise, how will you beat the competition?

So if you want to be successful at this, you need to start racing. After you've been racing for maybe 5 years and raced each major class (TC, 1/10 off road and RallyX) for a couple of years, you'll have a reasonable idea of what racing involves and what racers want. Along the way you should get involved in a club and help out running meetings, then you'll make a lot more contacts and understand how to organise race meetings.

Until then, invest your money somewhere safer.

[daz]

What a buch of kiljoys Why dont you give the guy a chance and support him, alright it might not workout but with alot of shops closing down we need to give people like this a chance, or in a few years time we will have no shops in the UK, and we will all be moaning about getting stumped for import tax when buying abroad.

Good luck fella, you have at least my support

[jcb]

Originally Posted by fidspeed

Superb reply from JCB eloquently written and unbiased well done that man

Cheers mate, joys of being in my line of work I guess.

Originally Posted by hammerhead

im in norfolk in dereham

Really, now this could be interesting as so am I. I have raced 1/10 off road for the past 12 years and can tell you that the number of racers in all classes in the region have fluctuated massively.

As for clubs there are definately more than you mention.
Within what is classed as the East of England for 1/10 off road you have the following clubs, which cater for pretty much everything from Mardaves to 1/8 Rallycross.

Kings Lynn Model Car Club
Kellers Model Car Club
Norfolk Buggy Club
Mid Essex Remote Car Club
A.R.C Raceway
Coastal Model Car Club
Colchester Model Car Club
North Norfolk Model Racing Club
Beccles and Lowestoft Radio Control Car Club
Snetterton Park Model Car Club
2 in Bury St Edmunds

On the border to this region you also have

Holbeach Model Car Club
Eastrax
Stotfold Model Car Club


There's also an equal number of model shops in and around the region.



Fair enough most are more than 20 miles away but I know of 10 racers in the region that regularly travel upwards of 100 miles each way to race model cars at club meetings. Ok so your new racer won't be doing that, but thats potentially ten racers on your door step.

You also have to keep in mind that although transport could be an issue you still need to be able to get all your gear to the race track which would have to involve the parents. The other side is if the parents then leave the kids at the track who's going to look after them, help them out when their car breaks and also run the race meeting. Having been heavily involved with the running of the 1/10 off road regional scene for a number of years and helping out at various clubs it's never as straight forward as you think it should be.

You'd need to consider what class of car you were going to race at your club. If it's indoors you can't race nitro at the best of time and especailly not in 1000sq ft. Theres no point in trying to sell one thing and race others at your club people don't have lots of money to spend on hobbies and especially at the moment. Look into one class series' such as touring car, 1/10 off road, or micro's and stock the spares needed. Run to control rules on motors and the like to keep costs down. But restriciting what you can run may put current racers off if they don't have that bit of kit.

Not being silly there are two high schools and half a dozen other schools in ther Dereham which must equate to almost 4000 - 5000 kids so your catchment is pretty good, but getting them to change their mind from what sounds like fun to actually doing it is another matter.

Do your research and turn up to some club meetings. You have Norfolk Buggy Club, Kellers, Kings Lynn and Eastrax on your door step so turn up to a few race meetings and see how it all works.

[shanks]

Don't agree mate

Is stellios a pilot? (easyjet) etc etc

No need to be in something directly to run a business

The question here is how much is the unit you intend to rent??

Originally Posted by dale

A non-racer trying to set up a shop and track is like someone who doesn't eat Italian food trying to set up an Italian restaurant.

If you're going to be successful at anything in these hard times, you need to be the expert at it, and be the best. Otherwise, how will you beat the competition?

So if you want to be successful at this, you need to start racing. After you've been racing for maybe 5 years and raced each major class (TC, 1/10 off road and RallyX) for a couple of years, you'll have a reasonable idea of what racing involves and what racers want. Along the way you should get involved in a club and help out running meetings, then you'll make a lot more contacts and understand how to organise race meetings.

Until then, invest your money somewhere safer.