Problem-need Ideas...

[WTL0715]

Here's my problem...

I am a part-time police officer in Western NC. The local tactical supply shop closed down recently (not because of lack of demand) and I want to fill that gap. There isn't another shop nearby with similar merchandise, so all of my fellow cops are buying online. I've gotten all of my paperwork in order and found some suppliers. The suppliers that I've found seem to keep low inventory (lots of things out of stock) and their prices aren't as good as those of the larger distributors.

The problem I'm having is that I don't have a brick and mortar store and the good distributers won't talk to you until you do. I am a student and have a full-time job (the police thing is only a couple of days a month) and don't have the means to open a store. I have the time to run a small on the side business as I'm young, single, and can devote any amount of time to this project that it requires.

My plan is to take orders and sell equipment to police, fire, and rescue squads in the area as well as individuals (cops buy police stuff CONSTANTLY). I can beat the heck out of online prices because I don't have much overhead and some of the orders will be quite large. I've been promised a chance to bid on equipment orders for three departments already if I can get my suppliers in line.

Assuming that I simply can't (won't) quit my full time job, can anyone help me think of a way to get around this problem? I'm considering speaking with local sporting-goods stores in the area and asking them to let me use their business to order goods and store items for a cut of my profit. Any other ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Taft

[chesa7]

Taft -- can you clarify -- is it your goal to have an online business or brick and mortar?

[WTL0715]

My goal is to have the ability to order products from a legitimate wholesaler without having a brick and mortar store. I may eventually decide to sell online, but I mainly want to take orders from local officers and hobbyists constantly (maybe make one order per week so that I can order fairly large amounts) and deliver within x number of days. This will allow me to keep little or no inventory and pass tons of savings to my customers while still making a little cash for myself. That way I will match the shipping and handling time of the websites from which my potential customers order and beat their prices.

The other part of my business will be filling quarterly or annual equipment orders for small departments in my area, starting with the ones with whom I have a relationship. I know for a fact that my nearest department orders all of its equipment from an online retailer. Even though the website likely extends a "gov't entity" discount, I am confident that I can beat their prices as I have no overhead. All I need is a true wholesale source, not one of the glorified dealers that sells to businesses but tacks 15% onto true wholesale.
I hope that makes things more clear.

-TL

[Mr Bill]

Taft - You sound very entrepreneurial. You've identified a need and are now looking to fill it. I'd suggest that you get in touch with the person whose business closed. Buy him/her lunch and try to find out why they closed the doors. Most new business owners underestimate the costs, both in time and money, needed to operate their business. They close because there aren't enough revenues to support those costs. Generally, they try to sell the business first closing only when a buyer couldn't be found.

A shortage of revenue can be caused by many things and you may be able to do better than the previous owner. But you might find that those customers you want to serve were buying on line before the store closed contributing to its demise. The large departments may have found it easier to order from the large supplier across the country and pay the freight rather than be limited by the smaller inventory of the local guy. Remember businesses go out of business for many reasons.

Before you spend too much time working the suppliers, develop an inventory list of the items you'd carry, then shop that list to a sample of your potential customers. Get their input.

Keep working your plan until it works. It's far cheaper to fail on paper than it is to fail with real dollars.

Good luck!