Establishing a bricks-and-mortar store can be one of the costliest forms of starting a business. And yet it’s also possible to save a lot on expenses and to leverage minimal resources into big results -- if you know what you’re doing.

As in many other things, real-life examples can be the most instructive. So to help get a handle on the costs of starting a bricks-and-mortar retail business, we’re bringing you the story of Rob and Tina Doin, who opened Adirondack Wine Merchants, in Queensbury, N.Y., in 2004.

The Doins, parents of two small children, had held corporate positions and operated other kinds of businesses before they decided to open a retail store together. Being wine buffs and avid entertainers, Tina says, a wine and spirits shop seemed a natural choice. Some research into the area’s demographics confirmed that it was likely to be a profitable new business as well.

But there was much work to be done -- and a wad of cash to pony up. Beginning with the biggest chunk of change, the retail space itself, let’s look at how much it cost Rob and Tina Doin to become wine merchants.

Retail space                        

Rob and Tina investigated retail space in the area, a thriving region between Saratoga Springs and Lake George, and settled on a storefront in a plaza anchored by a home improvement warehouse. Just before signing the lease, however, they learned that an existing discount wine and liquor business had become available.

Entrepreneurship calls for flexibility, and the Doins quickly shifted gears. Attracted by the prospect of owning the space, and of acquiring at least a limited customer base, they arranged to purchase the building for about $720,000. Rob and Tina leveraged real estate and other personal assets for 20% to 30% of the tab and took out loans from several lenders for the balance.

Then they spent an additional $40,000 on an interior overhaul of the former Murray’s Discount Wine and Liquors, including stripping wallpaper, applying fresh paint, upgrading lighting and ceiling panels, erecting a faux stone wall, constructing a new tasting bar, and putting up new wood shelves where they arranged wines by country, varietal and producer. An outlay of about $3,000 for new exterior signage was also part of this total.