I’m a little late on commenting but bring something different to the table: like a listening bar-folks can stop in for drinks, bar food and get hooked on HiFi.
Starting my showroom again
Hello, audiophiles. I would like to get your honest feedback. Back in 2022, I had to close my business in Nashville owing to a series of unexpected occurrences (several deaths in the family, a rapid move to assist my mother-in-law, and a brain operation); all of this necessitated that I close the store in a matter of weeks. It was now a two-hour trek to Nashville. I worked as a glorified gate operator at a chemical company because that is all was available in our small town. I received an opportunity to become national sales director for an audio company, which would provide some income—not much, but enough to go back into the hifi business at the bottom level.
So now you know the incredibly brief version of the story. Here's the question: there is a little town about 30 minutes away that is booming and gaining more expensive retailers like Ulta and StarBucks. So here's the question.
Do you believe a small town like that might support an up-and-coming hifi business that sells receivers, speakers like PS Audio, KEF, and other manufacturers at a lower price point until the store can handle more expensive items? The closest "electronics store," Electronics Express, is nearly an hour and a half away. I have had an audio shop since 2003, beginning in Florida. Thoughts?
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The online dealer thing isnt going to offer any opportunity for you (IMHO). I think that ship has sailed and the major web stores are already doing a lot of business for the major manufacturers. A new webstore is not different. Remember, more stores is not better- to a manufacturer it just means more work-especially since without differentiation you are splitting up the business they already have. That isnt helpful. Manufacturers want people who can ADD to the party, who bring something new and unique, bring their own customers, reach people they cannot reach any other way than through you. Sell them on your unique ideas- your ideas are what make you and your new store special. Sell them on how you will bring something new to the table no one else is offering PLUS you have the wherewithall to endure, stick around, not go away in a year like most do. If you can sell them on these things then you have a decent chance you will get some attention from manufacturers. There are multiple brands that have no representation in Nashville so what manufacturers never get presented there? That's easy thing to figure out. If a factory isnt well represented in a market, they will usually listen if you have an idea that seems unique and looks like you know what you are doing (plus can afford to buy some inventory). Go to AXPONA and meet the people that run these brands in the USA. Make your case! Then the only little detial after that is can you put together a compelling story/product mix/new idea to get a customer to drive 30 minutes south to come see you. Good luck. Brad
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While I don’t disagree, what we do see is some level of consolidation which means someone is buying and keeping a few alive. ie.. Bose buying McIntosh, who thought. Wow. We had 35 audio stores and combining a few manufacturers around my metro area in the late 70s early 80s. For a local example, now there are 3 shops since the pandemic, and a brand new one started last year into a 3rd upgraded location, dealing in all-vintage audio gear, doing okay. Solid local interest. The owner just told me last night he’s now picked up Pass Labs. We all grew up around it here in my area in NorCal though - that is my disclaimer. I looked at a PA craigslist/ele section last week, all kinds of interesting gear. Not dead yet. Headphones are great, but not the entire solution for everyone if that’s what you follow more. Headphones will continue to be its own following and culture too - no doubt.. Now back to listening to monoblock tube amps and large speakers today. Happy Holidays to all.
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@decooney Just look at the current market and how companies are closing, being sold and consolidation. This market (high end) is deteriorating whether it is published stories in a headphone rag or not. 11% CAGR thru 2029 is projected being driven in Smart Speakers, Sound Bars and Personal Audio not High End. I do hope they are wrong but the trends are negative for Hi-End/Audiophile EQ. |
Where I live we have three high end dealers. One works out of his home, the other two have brick and mortar stores. The B&M store owners have been in business for either over 30 years..or just over 5. The one who has been in business just over 5 is simply trying to acquire a long term visa into the US...and once acquired will probably close up shop. The other, well he is sitting on an old lease, has a great relationship with his landlord and is paying way below market rent . The one fellow who works out of his home, his business plan is knowing a couple of very big hitters who swap gear multiple times a year. These two guys keep him in business, so long as he plays nice with them. They go away, he goes away.
B& M stores are failing all around my location ( S.Calif)..mainly due to the fact that the vendors/owners fail to comprehend the total cost of remaining in business through time. They underestimate the impact of rent and rent increases, general over-head, tax impacts, potential legal expenses, the impact of competition; and they over-estimate the demand for their goods and services and the potential volume of sales. Make one mistake in any of these areas and you will pay the price...since all of them have to be under control before a true profit through time is accrued. B&M is a VERY tough business these days. |
Hi, I recall when you had to go out of business. I purchase a Cardas power cable and a Rel T9x from you.. James633 is pretty accurate about how new home builders are installing wall and ceiling units. Point is, that is something you could do by hiring out contractors in the area or just hire a crew that would work for you. That could turn out to be fruitful. Another suggestion was to do this with used components, THAT is a great idea and the way of the future. There is TM audio room, Echo Audio who post newly purchased items daily. Hawthorne is another one out there and Skylabs featuring high end vintage. That is what I would do, buy and sale used audio and most of the sales would be online anyway. Don’t forget the little guy when you make it big!
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I would take a page from Jay's audio playbook and become a dealer from your basement. Create a YouTube channel and offer advice and expertise something that Jay really doesn't do and cultivate a following. The future of the audio industry is Drop shipments from the manufacturers and the storefront presence is a dying art.
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Here is my one-and-a-half cent The hifi business is similar to the fashion business in many ways. Online Chinese own most of it. Prestige brands make fortunes overseas while their traditional former customers while their days in assisted-living facilities. The once-dominant middle market of department stores and specialty shops is as good as dead. The only segment that's still thriving, besides LVMH, is vintage and resale. I could see an opportunity for a small business that repairs / refurbs "parts & repair" gear bought for pennies on the dollar, sells it online, and figures out the challenge of packaging and shipping at a reasonable cost. Partnering with a good tech would be the differentiator and value add. Techs are thin on the gound to begin with and more often than not they're incompetent - hence the somewhat abundant supply of gear deemed unfixable. Run the business from your respective garages. No overhead is key.
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This post sounds so familiar. My education and back ground is a sound engineer and electronic technician. Even back as far as high school, my dreams were to have a "stereo store". When I graduated from college I went to work (in the service department as a tech), for a regional stereo store with 7 locations. I left there to become the store manager and service tech of a stereo store in my home town. After some differences with the owner, I left and started my own repair shop. I was very successful with that so I figured it was time to take the plunge and open up a "stereo store". This would have been in 1980. The lines I had were Harman Kardon, Denon, Tandberg, CM Labs, B & W, Rodgers, Polk, among others. By the mid 90's I was close to having to file bankruptcy. I closed down the retail part of my shop and went back to strictly servicing. In the early 2000's it became evident that the repair business was going south as well. Equipment had basically become throw away. The ratio of out of warranty repairs to in warranty had completely flipped. As a result, it was time to change career paths and I started a new business. The business was very successful. With success I had developed an exit plan (as I was 10-15 years out from reaching retirement age). About the time the exit plan was to go into effect in the early 20 teens, the buyer decided it was too much work, left and changed career paths for another job. Now I had to find another buyer, and COVID hit. Business fell to 17% or what it was. Luckily, I eventually found a buyer, was able to sell at a reduced price, but I am officially retired. In regards to your situation, a couple of points to be made. Everything you knew about business from you previous experience, it is not totally irrelevant, but mostly. The Pandemic changed everything, and it will NEVER go back t how it was. Web presence or not, you will not compete against the Amazons of the world. The Pandemic allowed Amazon to become the "go to" shopping place, and that is ingrained shoppers habits, and habits are hard to break. Others have mentioned cash reserves. Very valid. Unless thing have changed, vendor have "opening order" requirements, and there is a $$ amount buy in, and then you have to do so much each year to keep the dealership, and most want the line fully represented (no cherry picking). It is fun and very fulfilling to educate people about audio, but that portion doesn't pay squat. Most people will go for the best price, even a few dollars. No business is rock solid any more. Who would have thunk Sears would be where they are. You can work you ass off (as I did with 70-80hr weeks), and in the long run, while it keeps you afloat, it doesn't seem put anything in your bank account.Believe me, I'm talking from experience. The long and short of it is, you are going to do what you want, but if you want to save yourself the stress of wondering how you are going to pay the bill, buy or collect audio equipment for your own enjoyment, or go t work for someone else, because the stress gets in the way of the joy and fun. |
I lurk around in Reddit and see lots of young folks just starting to get into "better audio". They inherit stuff from grandpa, or are scouring thrift shops and end up not happy or not knowing how to improve their sound. Some of these people thing they have scored a big find with the black plastic department store systems - they need some gentle exposure to real gear. There are also a bunch of new vinyl fans who only have a bluetooth turntable and powered speakers who wonder how much better an integrated amp (or some old overpriced "silver face" receiver) will make their system sound. I guess this would lead me to think a store that has reconditioned, or can recondition used equipment, merged with some streamers and quality entry level components could find a niche. I'm not sure about on line stealing your sales, but if you stick to MAP products would that help? I'm thinking that the majority of us boomers are happy with our systems, or having to downsize and give away our extra stuff to family - not spending a ton cash So maybe cater to the younger demo who spend a lot of time at home gaming, watching movies, and listening to music at their work from home desks. |
I would be hesitant as I started with a home business in a 50 K city about 70 miles from Minneapolis and ended up moving to a store front and also another store front in a 100 K city with closest larger city 3 hours away. Sold Kef, Quads, spendor, Rogers , Qln and Boston Acoustics, , Vandersteen, Apature Micro Seiki and Kyocera and Walker TT, Kyocera electronics, Denon, Conrad Johnson, Hafler, Precision Fidelity Ended up selling cheaper products like JVC, Sherwood, Fisher. Market could no afford the products. Customers wanted a complete system with equipment rack for $1000. Lost $500,000 in 2 years . I was not making much at home even when I was drop shipping. Forced to go to brick and mortar. Had to buy 1 to show and 1 to go and all COD. It was a hobby turned into a business ( not a good idea ) Good luck if you do start. A lot of competition now with internet sales. A lot of home based stores as competitors.
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@nashvillehifi ...The comment by @tunehead reminded me that there’s a local start-up in a b&m building that’s trying something different that you might find more fun, yet keep on the pulse of audiophilia.... ( Aims to offer music oriented entertainment touting ’vintage Klipsch speakers’ and a turntable in house with plans to hold BYOLPs’ nights, serving wines, local brews, non-alcohol drinkage, snacks and nibbles.... ) There’s a plethora of mini-venues here in AVL in bars mostly frequented by the young and hip types who either tolerate or amused by the gray aged sorts that dare their doors....;) A few small studios about, and even a LP. pressing plant downtown-ish attending to a lively music scene of genres’ and blends you’d never considered an audience for..... Perhaps a treated space with tables, chairs, couches....dimmable lighting...house gear @ hand (yours), but visible, sporting some ’reasonable $ SOTA’ (SS and tube) to intro those unfamiliar with the latter.... A second space for your call on some new stuff, but offering to do some consignment sales...obviously showing that which you think has legs to leave eventually without filling the dumpster.... Offer consultation on the various methods and means to take Your Sound home with them after your in-house system intros the newbies as to what that new LP of theirs can really play like....and How. ’Philes are cultivated. Breeding results are spotty at best,,, Grow your own batch of clients... Good luck 👍🤞😎 J (Have an LP cleaning device under the counter if the disc looks like it's been bathed in beer before brought....) |
I would suggest calling/visiting "similar" stores in the area to talk with the owners. Talk with Reps, Marketing people, including internet marketers. I'd talk with small business owners and bankers in the area. Try calling out-of-state dealers, I bet a lot would be glad to talk to you. Try Steve Huff, he seems to live in a rural area. Do lots of research and then write a business plan (lots of templates on the internet). Definitely take up grizlybutter's offer. Be unique, special, you don't want to compete on price. Good luck. |
I live in Nashville and I believe I bought my Parasound Hint amp from you back in the day (and you gave me a great deal). I was disappointed to find out your shop had closed cause I wanted to support what you do. I think you would get some business doing room treatments with Dirac or other software because it's something that, to be done right, requires an experienced hand. Also, placing subwoofers, adding acoustic panels, etc. These are things that the average Joe messes up as often as not. Good luck!
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The internet audio equipment market is wide open to any participant, and equipment made in low cost labor markets offers incredible value to someone who is fiscally conservative. Anecdotally, I have recently spoken with two brick-and-mortar store owners. They both said, in essence "don't give up your day job". But rather than attempt to answer your question myself, I would suggest that you talk with other brick-and-mortar store owners in distant markets to your own. They *might* not see you as a potential competitor, and could offer an informed viewpoint. |
To @luvtubes69 - while I don’t disagree and the points are valid, there are plenty of houses where I live at least, and someone will own or inherit them eventually. None of us would expect nothing less than these types of comments from a headphone happy website. Their world and place - totally get it, good for them. No doubt we all see a lot more people with iPhones and earbuds all around us. Kids ride bicycles a lot less around here, many on some form of electronic and mechanically driven skateboards and scooters. All compact, ease-of-use, low effort, easy access practices. Lots of it related to quick-access social media, music other. Clearly the next generation has made the case for this direction. Not all though. For the lucky few that still thrive and drive the audiophile passion, not dead yet - its still around us if you dig a little deeper. They come in to local shops nearby. Some of the same kids and next-generation around my neck of the woods - those who’ve graduated from earbuds to headphones, then buying headphone tube amps, and incredibly creating a demand for 2nd hand vinyl and turntables and tube phono preamps all over again. 1/4 of the shop spaces dedicated at two home audio stores nearby to affordable headphone amps, turntables, cartridges, vinyl, and more. These small audio stores learn how to adapt to accommodate them too, and it works okay. We have vinyl stores offering selections of vintage gear too, that is not dead, going fairly well, interestingly or at least some small city areas too with apartment living. I see it in city, small county areas around where i live at least. Next questions comes from them, LOL,
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I think most people are afraid to go into a "stereo store" just because of the pressure to buy once in the door. Open a Audiophile/coffee bar with coffee etc. and seating lounge area up front visible from the street. Make it a destination to counter $tarbucks. Have a rotating feature system in said coffee bar area you can listen and experience REAL GOOD sound. This could argument income needed to get established. Real audio store in the back visible from coffee area. No pressure to buy audio until client has a eureka moment "this SOUNDS great". "I want this sound in My living room".
Just an idea. |
@nashvillehifi I will add my 2cents even though I know little about the inside of this industry. I am a successful entrepreneur and have experience in venture capital, though. I encourage you to follow your passion, but with some hard-stop caveats. Do NOT expect to draw a salary or take dividends for, say, three years. So, either have a pot of money at hand now to support yourself and your family for three years, or have a day job, or rely on your wife's income for that period (there is nothing wrong with this assuming she is supportive). Remember, you will need health insurance. Second, the business will need working capital. Depending on the type of business you decide on the working capital needed could be substantial. Bricks and mortar (i.e., a lease), outfitting a showroom, inventory, etc. all take cash. Do NOT borrow from your IRA or pension fund. In fact, depending on your age, I would advise against starting the business at all if your retirement financing is not adequate and already secure. View this endeavor as a labor of love (or fun). That pot of money I mentioned above? - You may never get it back. You will not be able to compete against Music Direct, Crutchfield's or Sweetwater, much less Amazon. Do not expect your small town to support your proposed business - your only realistic option is to target the Nashville market. That is where the money is. @meadowman and @lonemountain have given you some very good advice on easing back into the business. Start as a consultant or a sales representative and learn, learn, learn. Don’t bet the farm yet. Here is something I have seen in multiple start-ups and experienced myself: what ends up being successful five or ten years down the road will not be what expect or plan for now. Let me put it this way, the only way to figure out what will work in your niche is to try it, but you need to be able to survive while you discover what exactly works and what doesn't. Learn and adjust; reinvent your business as needed. I don't mean to be negative, just realistic. You might actually be able to make it work. Sincerely, best of luck. |
@decooney I would not bet on a dying segment. IMHO. |
@audiokinesis yeah mostly Audionote, Soundlab, Eminent Technology, and others to name a few. Less often I see Zengali there, and they dont sit long. He sort of special orders those i guess. I mainly check in to see what gets traded in, and admire amps and speakers there that i’ll never have room for. I was eyeballing some nice Soundlab 545s there now recently. Very nice. Someone was picking up those 106" tall x 40" wide 945s. Good grief they are massive. There are always 3-4 guys, and sometimes wives, sitting there listening, usually vinyl playing, enjoying the music, or spending retirement savings - lol. People go there for the experience and enjoyment to decide what to purchase -vs- blind ordering online and crossing their fingers. @luvtubes69 I would agree, high end audio is more challenged in some areas. However a few still survive and thrive keeping it alive - thankfully so. |
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@decooney , very interesting that your local guy carries both SoundLab and Zingali. I’m a SoundLab dealer and also the guy who mentioned Zingali... so, yeah! Nice combination! If I hadn’t started making my own speakers, I would have become a Zingali dealer. |
@nashvillehifi back to the "uniqueness" question. Offering and selling unique dealer-only items people can’t easily buy anywhere online. My local guy might fully retire out. Along the same lines last year I offered to take over his place when I semi-retire. He’s not ready, still having way too much fun there now, lol. He loves showing/selling all the unique exotic stuff he’s come up with over decades. Several great replies here. I see and listen to unique items at this local audio dealer every time I go in there. Someone here mentioned Zengali speakers, my local has these too, along with Soundlab and more for speakers too. Great trade-ins too. IF you are inclined to stock and offer unique items, I bet folks here could help to come up with a unique list if you are ready to bankroll it and roll the dice. I do think its a gamble for sure, but could be fun if you figure it out and step up to the plate. Easier said than done, right. Following along on your rediscovery journey. Enjoy.
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Seems like it would be extremely difficult to compete with online sales. Free shipping, free returns, often overnight delivery. Relax in your home and voila' the units arrive at your doorstep the next day. Somehow you would have to offer more. + Used equipment sales and trades? + Is there a local audio club you can host in your showroom for demos and tests? + Could you host other kinds of meetings? Technical presentations related to audio? + Live music events? _Something_ has to be on offer that the online sellers cannot...
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@lonemountain wrote: "Finding something unique to sell is the game." I agree. I started out twenty-five years ago as a dealer for SoundLab speakers and Atma-Sphere amps & preamps. In the five years I was a dealer in New Orleans I only made ONE local sale of SoundLab speakers, but I made many sales to customers who flew in for an audition. I paid for their stay in a bed & breakfast, and re-imbursed their airfare if they made a SoundLab purchase. There were other lines I picked up over the years but those two have remained my core. When I added my own line of speakers about eighteen years ago (after my brick-and-mortar burned down before opening), compatibility with Atma-Sphere’s OTL amps was a priority. I still had to diversify when the economy tanked in 2008-2009 because people largely stopped buying "expensive toys". So I started making bass guitar cabs, figuring they were a "tool of the trade" and would fall into a different category. Again I was lucky, as enough bass players liked what I was doing that they were willing to pay the "boutique" prices I have to charge. I’ve also done a few custom studio monitors, in collaboration with a professional acoustician. My point being, offering sufficiently unique products has worked for me. Not that I’m making the big bucks, but I have been able to do something I love and still pay the bills. |
@nashvillehifi, I live in a metro area of 200K+ with a solid economic base and two universities. It supports a quality symphony orchestra plus an annual international piano competition, so there is interest in music. Yet there is only one stereo store carrying respected brands. Opening a new store anyplace these days would requirer very careful business planning and analysis. I consider it doubtful. |
I am active in the business right now (in hi fi and in pro via high end recording gear) . The business has completely changed from when you were running a store. One of the issues is that most of the lower end brands (90%+ made in China) will make deal with a customer (a store) who can buy more-making small operations vulnerable to your competitor buying the same thing for much less than you. It is not uncommon that quantity discounts kill small retailers all the time in almost every business. Finding something unique to sell is the game. Small town means you have to "pull from Nashville" because that's where the people with money are. With the recent Nashville aversion to bad traffic, why would someone invest 60 minutes x 2 to come see you? You need to answer the question first.
Becoming a distributor does not work either as you need relationships that are long and deep all over the country to survive against behemoths fueled by almost unlimited money that own major brands most people don't even know are really Chinese companies now. Due to their unique conditions, they can almost sell at manufacturing cost just to keep a factory operating. Recording gear is just a specialized as high end hi fi, plus there are 3 or 4 long term participants in Nashville ; Vintage King has a strong presence there as does GC Pro. Sweetwater is one day to ship in and talk about buying in quantity- you cannot compete head to head with them. So I don't believe you can make that work either due to the intense competition. My suggestion is go to work for one of those other stores or manufacturers seeking a sales rep and learn where the industry is at. Learn what is and isn't working before you spend your own money. Brad |
Yes to that. Maybe not a profitable or practical concept, but a good way the get the non-audiophile interested. Offer a show room where people could walk by, walk in, and listen. It would be a "bullet proof" entrance foyer with components visible but not accessible. No asking to audition. No salesman pushing something or trying to make a sale. Maybe a switch box so they can try a few things or dealer changes out components every week or so. I experienced such a shop at a strip mall out west. It was unique and memorable. This addresses one of my biggest problems with hi-end audio. Being able to hear this stuff. And the higher up you go, the more this problem increases. You have to travel further and there are fewer dealers. Then you get just one shot at listening to this stuff and it is in an unfamiliar room with unfamiliar associated components. Then you will be expected to buy because they just spent an afternoon on you. You walk in, listen for an hour, and expected to pay 10K, 50K? That is no unreasonable on the seller's side. It's just not a good business plan for both sides IMHO.
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Take @grislybutter up on his offer......... Btw I could analyze the demographics, age, education, income, etc. if you told us what town it is, that's part of my day job Regards, barts |
So you want to stick with 2 channel hi-fi? Not car audio? Not HT? Can your local population support products like those sold by this savvy brick and mortar startup? Note these brands are not sold by your local competition nor online. He emphasizes his expertise in set up and combining the right components. Something you won’t get online or at big-box stores. 2nd other suggestions here to do headphones and such. Maybe not the profit of home stereo but that stuff is maybe the most popular product out there right now (think Bose earbuds). Also those folks may appreciate some nice desktop speakers and maybe even a streamer DAC down the road. |
Nashville, Hello. Having done exactly what you are contemplating back in 2008 ( What a fun year to start a business! ), I can only offer my own experience. I run Wolfsong Audio LLC from my home in Dawsonville, Ga. about 30 miles out of Atlanta. Not in my home but in the garage apartment we built out for that purpose. 2 room showroom and office. We carry about a dozen brands and show what I feel to be the "best price to performance ratio" models. Speakers, Turntables, SS power and pre, tube power , preamps integrated amps. Some internet available kit like streamers, Dacs, Roon. Time is split about 60/40 in the showroom and doing in person service calls for auditions, room tune and turntable calibration. It turns out people really like it when they can demo gear in their own rooms with their own systems and their own music. Nearly zero overhead. Not going to retire with giga dollars but I get to do what I love and that is helping people listen to music longer and enjoy it more. Spending time in a customer's home allows me to hear their rig and learn what they like, what performance parameters are most important to them and how they listen. Hours can be long, travel time can be long ( I have customers all over the South and East Coast). But when a guy calls and asks about a $300 Streamer to add to his teenage grandkids TV room so they can stream music, I get a new generation of clients. Market research is great. Exclusivity is nearly impossible. Only sell what you like. Full Stop. Offer a real audition. Read those 4 sentences again.
Best of Luck.
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@immatthewj just when I was starting to plan my next 20 years, you remind me of reality |
I have to agree with the previous folks who posted. It's a gamble and only you can decide if it's doable and worth the risk. FWIW, I was a dealer for a few years, between 2011 and 2017. Before that I restored vintage turntables and tube gear, until broken trash gear became worth $$$. I crunched the numbers and realized that I couldn't make the numbers work if I had to pay retail rent so I did only in-home demos. I was located in the greater L.A. area and looked for great gear to sell that wasn't carried of over represented in the area. I did reasonably well but I gave up every weekend and some evenings and at the end of the day I did better than break even but what I made didn't really compensate me for my time. I enjoyed what I was doing and loved (most) of my clients, but it's a hard way to make a living these days. I can't speak for the Nashville area but in L.A. most of the successful dealers have either (1) been in business a long time and sell gear that everyone wants (which means you shouldn't try to compete), or (2) have outside sources of income like a trust fund or rich wives. That wasn't me nor you either, I'm guessing. |
I’m in Nashville a lot and would love to see another high-end store in that area. With that said, it’s obviously a big risk and you better have substantial financial reserves to get through the startup cost and the first year or two. I don’t think a store would make it selling low or mid stuff. Too much competition from the Internet, Best Buy, etc. As others have said, there is considerable competition at the high end in Nashville. |
@nashvillehifi I was certainly acquainted with your business. You definitely have many years of experience. The key is clientele. So many folks opening up an audio store for the first time have no client base, and they believe they will just show up (Field of Dreams scenario). This is not your first rodeo by any stretch! The question I would ask is, can you recapture your clientele and have a sustaining client base? My best wishes for you, whatever decision you make. |
@ghasley you didn't say it, I did. 97% of the world doesn't have 2.34 million or whatever the number is for a "secure" My #1 priority is to take care of my sick mother, support my kids and not to put money away for retirement - it's a binary choice - I can't do both. That's the old model that worked for 2000+ years. I know it's not the model of the last 50 in the US but call me stupid, I know I am not "normal". Sorry for the tangent @nashvillehifi my offer still stands to run the stats on the hifi buying potential of the area. |
@grislybutter I said nothing about boring, corporate or cubicles. Its a choice to be responsible, to save, to ensure a secure future. To do otherwise is flat out financially irresponsible and dangerous.
Dreaming and hoping for a secure future? Knock yourself out. I have 300 co-workers and it isnt very hard to figure out who is setting aside for tomorrow and who isnt. |
not everyone should get a boring corporate job with possibly little to nothing to contribute to society. I know I am naive and a dreamer but when you retire, what would you rather have behind you, 20 years in an "office space" cubicle or 1000s of happy clients and lasting friendships that often come with this passion? |
+1 @ghasley |
Several serious questions for you. 1) How are your finances and specifically your retirement assets? 2) A small shop like you are describing is what I call buying a job and, in this case, buying a marginal job at that. 3) Can you really open a shop and sell $10k-$15k of gear per week, at a minimum? From that, if you do it right, you might net $1k-$1.5k per week as your pre-tax income. That’s a solid business and yet, a lousy income.
You should search for a local, well paying job with 401k matching, health insurance, paid time off, and an income that will build up appropriate credits for your future social security benefits.
No offense intended but its ok to love hifi, you just cant let it blind you. You have around 20 years to prepare yourself financially for your retirement and you wont get it done, zero chance, from the business model described. The very fact that you had to scramble in your recent past should have been a wake up call that your chosen vocation was ill-advised financially. Think about it for a moment: you have been in the industry for 20 years and when a moment where the economy burped and life happened, your business was too fragile to be viable. And here you are again, thinking this time will be different? Seek out a new career, enjoy hifi as a user and set your self up up for financial success.
The only thing that scares me for you more than your stated proposition would be to read your post from the year 2045 when your financial future is 100% reliant on Social Security when youve paid in very little because your income record is meager. Small business owners quite often do everything in their power to drive their income as low as possible to mitigate income taxes, only to discover later that they didnt/couldnt save enough to set themselves up for a financially secure future.
Just because you like hifi doesnt mean it owes you a living. If making a solid income from the hifi industry is hard today, what on earth makes you believe it will be easier going forward? Think about it for a second, you were in the business for over two decades (and while it might not have been your fault given health, death, etc) you had the worst timing in the history of hifi to shut down your business for the several years where the hifi retail business was at its apex during the pandemic.
You’re going to do what you are going to do but if you don’t already have seven figures put away for your old age, you are behind and you need to be responsible and get a job so you can build a career. |
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"so how do I hook up a pair of speakers to my headphone tube amp?"...Yep, some going right back in this direction too. There will always be NaySayers, yet its just not that depressed in some areas and the next-gen of audiophiles may be small but not dead yet like some want to suggest. Those who serve both streams of old and new business types will likely survive better than others. Mail order is nice, but people still like to go try things out in person, particularly so when its expensive. I believe at least a small % of audio storefronts will survive.