entertaining the idea of owning a comic shop.

[Alvarez]

Something that several of you have brought up is that I'm new to comics in general. Well, my question is, how can anyone really know a lot about comics?

You read and then you keep reading... and you don't stop reading.
Also interacting with the comic book community helps.

[king mob]

You won't make a living from selling comics with a population of 10k or so. You need to think about ensuring if you want to open up a shop that you diversify from superhero comics, so look at tacking either something else onto the business that will get people to spend money, so a coffee shop/comic shop would possibly work.

You do however need to do market research in your area. get some costings and then do some more market research to ensure you're not getting false positives.

[king mob]

Comic books and comic book stores are not generally big money makers. Even with the latest explosion of comic book movies, that hasn't really seemed to translate very much from movie popularity to comic book popularity.

A good retailer is making hay while the sun shines. Not just by selling superhero comics but taking advantage of the fact comics are part of popular culture by catering good comics to a mainstream audience who aren't the small number of comics fans a lot of shops are happy to mine over and over again. Page 45 in Nottingham is a great example of this and they've been going for 20 years.

[AdorkableMe]

I say if this is something you want to do, then go for it... Just (as others have mentioned) realize it will take a lot of work. It won't happen over night -- and it could take years before you actually see a decent profit. That's just the truth and the risk of opening any business.

As someone coming out of high school, if you want to be a business owner then take business and entrepreneurship classes in college. You don't necessarily need to get an MBA to open your own shop, but if you have no experience, this is a good place to start. You'll need to learn how to write up a business plan, bookkeeping/accounting, payroll, basics of marketing, HR... Because as a small business owner, you'll be doing all of that yourself. Not to mention, have you ever managed a staff before?

I'm not -- and I'm sure this goes for others replying to you -- trying to stomp all over your dream. Just be prepared to put in the time and do the hard work. Get some experience at school and/or in a job... Maybe after working your way up at the other comic book store you can talk to them about franchising and opening up a second location.

Best of luck in whatever you choose to do.

[ABH]

I "entertained" the idea of owning and operating a comicshop truck. I got the idea when my fiance was watching some foodtruck thing on Food Network, but of course, it's not a completely original idea:

http://robot6.comicbookresources.com...-comics-truck/



It would obviously still require all the time and effort that's been posted here, but the idea of being completely mobile, and able to set-up shop (within reason) almost anywhere -- you can take the shop to the people, instead of hoping that they'll find you.

[FLEX HECTIC]

In today's global environment what you don't know is what kills you but somewhere down the line one must gain experience through trial and error!


I encourage the concept of entrepreneurship because practically anything beats working for someone else!


Since you are at a comic book based forum and took the time to post the question must mean that this weighs on your mind as a real financial possibility!


As someone who works in direct sales (I am a personal trainer) and relies heavily upon the key word called "demographics" I have had the pleasure of learning to convince people to train with me over other trainers by first building relationships and then retention!


I have found that passion for what you are doing is everything but sometimes that is not always enough if another trainer undercuts me for pricing!


The social environment within a comic shop rules all day every day if you turn your place into THE place to be as unique location for gathering... World of Warcraft tournaments are a good start!


If you do this make sure to add video game sales, super hero cartoons on DVD and lots of inexpensive toys but not those pricey statues that most kids cannot afford nor will they be able to convince soccer moms to shell out $150 dollars for!


Your small town advantage is that you would stand alone as a one of kind deal but if the money starts to roll in expect competition to notice and try to muscle in your business!


The Shark Tank... Watch this show often and see why it is that certain things sound good on paper but no real investor would be convinced it is the right thing to put money behind before you finalize your decision!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0ubnDcyYGw



GOOD LUCK!!!

[John Keyt]

Well I think I would start out small and work towards a larger shop . Keep the over head down . One would need to feel the area out and see what other retailers are around when in a short distance . Like we have a local store here with in our community of 50000 people and a city 15 minutes away with a million people . And they have 7 stores and 2 local markets that have vendors selling comic . They local store is more a pawn shop with comics to . Not a lot of back issues and only orders enough stock for clients . So I stopped go there cause never had a clue what new product was availalble or if wanted something would have to wait 2 months and if did not show up had to scramble to find it in city . So now I just have my pull list in city .

[The MunchKING]

I "entertained" the idea of owning and operating a comicshop truck. I got the idea when my fiance was watching some foodtruck thing on Food Network, but of course, it's not a completely original idea:

It would obviously still require all the time and effort that's been posted here, but the idea of being completely mobile, and able to set-up shop (within reason) almost anywhere -- you can take the shop to the people, instead of hoping that they'll find you.

Sounds like the kind of thing that could have licensing issues.


To the Original Poster:

The MunchKING's advice would be, if you're going to start a business, make sure you know the applicable laws. You really don't want to spend $20,000 getting set up only to get shut down by the feds for violating some law you didn't even know about.

[SuperCooper]

Perhaps even talking to the local bookstore, and seeing if they'll supply comic books, manga, and the like, could help feel out how well a comic shop would do in your area. Ideally, depending on the flexibility of the bookstore owner, you could rent out some shelves from him and stock what you want, gauging what the market is like. That would require some money in the bank already and a serious marketing campaign, and I agree with the others who say that some educational business programs would be helpful, but it can be done.

[sonofspam1972]

If you really want to do it i wouldn't want to be the one to crush your dreams but you should be smart about it.

[md62]

I worked in a comic store in college. So many of them have gone out of business. I hate to discourage you but I doubt you will have enough business in a town of your size to support a store...

[Exphio]

Some of you seemed curious as to my final decision. So, I figured, now that I'm pretty sure I know the answer to that, I'd tell those who cared enough to answer me in the first place.

Well, first off I'll state that I come from a christian family. After talking with my parent's, some leaders within my church, and friends about my career choice, I've decided to go for the, i believe, god given idea. I've been reading some books on business and such to get a rough idea of what I'm going to be leaping headfirst into. (Oh, this is gonna be a great experience. XD :P)

I've now enrolled into my local college and I'm starting basics. I'll be finishing with a bachelor's degree in business.

As for the shop itself. Well, I've got about four years to get a concrete idea of what I want and exactly where I want it. But, my rough draft as of right now would be to have it near the town's walmart, since it's a really active spot. I'd like to sell comics, board games(both party games and rpgs), and ccg's like mtg/pokemon/yu-gi-oh.
I'd like to have a room for people to play their ccgs. As well as, possibly, selling sodas and snacks. (Though that's questionable..because I'd worry about them spilling it everywhere. XD)

A lot of this is gonna be trial and error for me. As well as learning about the market and items both while in college and when I finally open the doors.

[Don C]

I've now enrolled into my local college and I'm starting basics. I'll be finishing with a bachelor's degree in business.