Goal: I am going to open a brick and mortar retail Soccer shop (online store as well).  The question is how I should do it.  The answer to this question will determine the amount of funding I need to shoot for initially as well as help me round out the business plan.  Since, I am finishing up the business plan and starting to look at money options (boot strap, loan, equity partners, etc.); I need to answer this question sooner than later.

Situation & Background: I live in a booming town that is 30 miles from a major metropolitan city.  I have 58,000+ families of three or more with an average household income around $60K.  The city is the county seat of one of the 75 fastest growing counties in America and the third fastest growing county in the state.  The majority of the growth is young families with children and more than 65% of those children play soccer.  The city (last fall) just finished a $13 million dollar soccer complex with over 15 fields and a contract to host the state school soccer tournaments for the next five years.  All that and the closest soccer store is 30 miles away.  I have a brand new strip mall unit picked out 2 miles from the soccer complex and 90% of the traffic to the complex would have to pass that location.  (My county population spent over $230 million dollars on sporting goods and sport footwear in 2002 alone.)  We also have a large university.

I played soccer for 22 straight years including scholarship ball in college.  I have an intimate knowledge of the sport, the fans and the players not to mention my own passion for the sport.  I am a web developer by trade and have experience with marketing (online and offline) and some retail experience from store jobs when I was in school.

All of that is to inform you for the poll above and head off the question that many will make of “Why not start the website first?”  Obviously, I will start a website simultaneously and can build it myself unless time is an issue, in which case, I will outsource it.  The point is the brick and mortar solution will take full advantage of the local market and “first to market” benefits and get the fastest results locally.

The poll questions:  The poll questions are the main options I am considering.  There are others I am sure and would appreciate your posting them.

The shop would not need to open until mid-afternoon during the week and all day Saturday.

·  I could work it myself (quitting my job) and add my “salary” into the total startup money needed.  I could also do small web development jobs on the side to supplement possibly reducing the amount needed for my salary.  ($150K-$175K for the first 9-12 months)

·  I could keep my job and hire a part-timer to open the store in the afternoon; thus keeping my salary for our household and requiring the business to only take care of itself initially.  I would come by the store after work and close it or just check in. ($75K-$100K for the first 9-12 months)

·  I could keep my job and hire an experienced full-time retail manager to run the store; thus keeping my salary for our household, requiring the business to only take care of itself initially, requiring less of my time, and provide expertise I might lack.  ($175K-$200K for the first 9-12 months)

Thanks in advance for the input.

PS: If you live in my town, you can`t open a Soccer shop until after I have the majority of market share.

Hi Jamye -

Sounds like a great idea and a great plan.  I voted in the poll for keeping your job and hiring part time, but I would say leave your job if you have other resources (savings, investments, etc) that can carry you through the start-up period.

We are also a soccer family - my two teenage sons have played since they were in kindergarten, I have managed teams, coached, etc - so I am fairly familiar with the "soccer scene".  You may have already thought of these, but a couple of ideas that come to mind:

- are there any opportunities for sponsorwhip at the new soccer complex?  signage, banner etc.

- I assume with that many players, there is a local club or league specific to your area?  If so, can you get set up as the team uniform supplier?  Even though our area is much bigger (Oakland, CA), almost all the teams in the league get their uniforms and equipment from one store, the Soccer Post.

- this leads to me next thought - would it be worth considering a franchise?  I know Soccer Post is expanding, and just based on my experience with our local store, seems like a very well run company.  I wonder if Soccer Post gets all the team uniform business because they can offer better prices as a franchise.

Anyway, just a few thoughts.  Best of luck with your venture - Soccer Rocks!

Lisa

I am checking on the sponsorship/signage.  I would like to have a booth with some basic commodities at the park every Saturday when the league play.  I also want to sponsor some tournaments and camps.

As for the local teams, we have a large local state university in town and several up the road in the larger city.  I happen to have played soccer with the coach of the local university way back when in an entirely different state (talk about small world).  I also have several other old teamates that now coach at major colleges and schools.  So I am definitely thinking about the large order customers.

I have thought about franchises and was not aware of the franchise you mentioned.  I will look into that.  However, I have some specific business processes and marketing ideas that may or may not match up to the franchise, and I want to be free to take the business in the direction I choose.

For example:
The majority of players are too young to actually be the customer so I must cater to the parents.  One plan in particular is to let repeat customers trade their used cleats in, and I will give them a discount on new cleats in return. (Preferrably if they have bought the cleats from me before; encouraging repeat business.)  This gives a price break to the parents of the three boys who seem to outgrow their cleats every season and builds customer loyalty. It gives the boys new cleats to encourage their play, furthuring the sport. Finally, I would donate the used cleats to a benevolent organization and write them off (as much as possible).  WIN-WIN-WIN.

Thanks so much for the reply and encouragement...

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Hi Jamye -

sounds like you are well on your way.  if you are interested, you can check out soccer post at www.soccerpost.com.  I actually never knew that the local store was part of anything larger until I looked at their website recently and saw the franchise link.  the store here has a very local feel.

best of luck.

Lisa

Frisco, TX is booming Jamye!!!  I used to live there but live in Sherman, TX now.  Good luck my friend!!

Jamie