Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hey everyone,
I am thinking about starting a small massage chair business. I was wondering if I could get any thoughts about this idea.

Basically what I intend to do is to set up massage chairs in a few popular retail locations around the area that I live.

I am thinking about purchasing chairs from this website:

http://www.thebackmassager.com/Home_Page.html

Now, my local mall already has massage chairs installed. But as far as I know, that's it. I have 4 potential locations I am thinking about: the local WalMart, Fred Meyers, Target, and the Airport. Of course there are many other possible locations too.

I was wondering if you guys think this would be a smart investment and business idea?

According to the website, the cost for each chair is $1495

The question is, how much can I realistically expect each chair locatation to make a month? According to the website, if I can get just 10 customers a day, that would mean $300 a month. I think 10 is a realistic minimum amount a day, if i can secure good locations. Even with the economy, i would be willing to bet that most people are willing to get a quick, relaxing massage, even though it is a luxury, people are still always willing to pay for a cheap, instant gratification such as a massage.

I could pretty easily secure a loan on the initial investment, i know a wealthy family friend who i bet would be willing to help me out. So, going by the assumed minimum of 10 customers a day, that would mean each char would be paid off in about 5 months.

I am wondering if you guys have any thoughts basically, if you think i should go ahead with this. I am always leary about advertisements on websites such as the one i'd be buying the chair from, but it really seems like a great opportunity. As someone who dreams of becoming an entrepeneur, but seeing as i have basically no money to start a bussiness right now, this seems like a great low-investment way to start building a passive income stream.

So you'll gross $300/month/chair. OK, what're your costs behind that?

How much will these venues charge you to put a chair there, per month?

What is the maintenance cost on the chairs? How much service do they need over a month of typical use? What if they're damaged, what is the cost there? Do you need to keep an extra chair in reserve so that you never have an empty space you're leasing if you have to take a chair out of service to repair it?

Will the places you put the chairs require you to be a corporation or LLC to do business with you? Will they require you to carry insurance?

How much of your time is required to run the company? Somebody needs to collect money from the chairs, fix them, clean them, etc. Who will that be?

If they charge you $50/month/chair rent, you pay $25/month/chair maintenance costs, and have to cover $75/month in liability insurance, and you buy two chairs, then your $600 monthly gross just dropped to $375. If you keep a third chair in reserve, in case one of the chairs has to be taken out of service for repairs, then you're basically making a $100 payment on each chair, so you'll only pay them off in 15 months instead of 5, plus you're only paying yourself $75/month for all the time you put into it. Do the math on your hourly wage -- does that make sense for you? If it does, then maybe this is a good idea for you.

Projectliftoff has raised some very good points.  It would be to your advantage to do your research and keep your assumptions conservative.  Proper planning will make your business a success.

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Kate

Medifast Coupons

Nutrisystem Coupons

You can't forget the cost of licensing and liabiity insurance in addition to all of the costs that were raised in the earlier posts.

I believe your biggest challenge will be securing the space for your chairs and the cost of negotiating those contracts. Retailers have huge requirements for giving up space in their facilities and your product must provide sufficient revenue to justify using that space.

Teresa

http://www.smarterleap.com
Innovative business ideas for the serious entrepreneur

I think it is a great idea if you're selling it online. It's a high ticket item therefore equals high returns, but if you were to get a retail outlet, the rental and cost of operation might be too high.

You mentioned your local mall already have massage chairs installed. How much do they charge and how many customers do you think they get per day? Work it out that way and make a comprehensive list of all your expenses in the business. Then only proceed to the next step.

Hi Bagelz,

Did you launch your massage chair business?

What is your experience of it today?

I'm thinking to do the same thing here in Europe and I would like to get input from experienced people in that domain.

1) looking for the best chair on the market,

2) looking for some "best practise" advices,

3) looking for some "mistakes not to do" advices too.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Hey that seems to be a great idea and a great thought, I'm quite impressed with it. In this stressful life and work people really need a good massage which relax them physically as well as mentally.

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