Guest artikgato Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 A while ago I realized that I am eighteen, in college, and I have no idea what I want to do with my life. I talked to a friend of mine about this, and she jokingly suggested I open an anime store. So... What do you guys think? I've talked to other people and they say "location is everything". Well...I live in South Carolina, and as much as I hate this state and want to leave it, I think my duty is to bring a little culture to this sorry little state... er, sorry if I offended anyone by dissing on South Carolina, but this state IS kind of pathetic. Anyway, does anybody have some suggestions? Do you guys think I can do it? Will I have to live off of ramen for the rest of my life to make it work? Also, any ideas for what to sell in my store, what kind of events I could have at my store, etc, would be very appreciated!! ~ArtikGato~ ::Glomper of many bishies, ruler of nothing but the chaos in my brain...:: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panda Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 There are many thing to consider when opening your own business. You need to get and pay for your UBI number not to mention your local business license fees and permits. There are all the state and federal taxes you have to pay for quarterly and/or yearly. You have to have secure vendors to purchase your stock- if they are international you have import fees to add in. Employees and all the wonderful taxes and stuff that goes along with that such as benefits and health care. We can't forget all the odds and ends like phones, computers, utilities. Also, are you are going to have a brick-and-mortar store, one based off the internet or both? Don't forget to consider things like shrinkage and insurance! No matter where you are you need to make sure there is a demand for your product. There is no way in the world I would open up an anime store in my hometown. It is a farming community that has about 16,000 people. Country music and monster trucks are what's popular here. There is no way this community could support such a specialized store. Rule of thumb is that with any business you will be loosing money for at least the first 2 years. If you start turning a profit after that you have a chance. Now I am not trying to rain on your parade but you really need to think about all the actual business involved. If you are willing to take the risk and open up a business you need to make sure to have what is popular and things are "exclusive". The exclusive things would be the items that you can't just pick up at the local video store or comic book store. Events that would be cool would be gaming events, card tournaments and guest visits from those in the industry. Make your customers feel special and they will support your business. FYI: I have my own business license and ran my own business while in college. It was fun but a lot of work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morpheus Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 Online is the way to go. Yo can get a domain, web designing software, and 1 year of hosting for only $75 at [URL=www.olm.com/g4techtv]OLM[/URL]. It's very flexible. Or you could go the easy way first and use [URL=geocities.yahoo.com]Geocities[/URL] or [URL=www.tripod.com]Tripod[/URL] for free. You don't get much space(only 50mb) and no advertising money, but if you are just starting out, it is the way to go. A Traditional business of your type costs about $500,000 to start, and, as Panda said, You won't make money for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juke Box Hero Posted February 9, 2005 Share Posted February 9, 2005 You need five thousand dollars (estimate) and good credit. Start as a kiosk/cart shop at your local mall. Carry a moderate line of the hottest DVD's (I suggest inventorying up from eBay) and like the other dude said, TCG's. I would also reccomend a web portal, offer every DVD/Manga that you can get your hands on easily. Example- At Amazon, you can buy XX manga for 20$$. At Artigato's Amazing Anime Outlet, you can buy it for 25$$, but you get a cute sticker. The consumer is two things: Stupid And the absolute arbiter of success. You gotta play them for all their worth, and maybe, just maybe, you'll survive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morpheus Posted February 9, 2005 Share Posted February 9, 2005 [quote name='Raid3r']You need five thousand dollars (estimate) and good credit. Start as a kiosk/cart shop at your local mall.[/quote] Not to flame, but there are a few holes in this: 1. Eighteen year old's credit reports are near useless. 2. Malls charge rent to everyone. 3. As a minimal business, all of the stock must be paid for in advance. 4. As one person running a business, I don't see him/her running a store and site at the same time. It's simply not plausible. Consider a partnership. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box Hoy Posted February 9, 2005 Share Posted February 9, 2005 I'm going to go with Cowtipper. You're business should not be limited to just anime. Here's what you should sell (if you can afford): Anime DVD/VHS (You want to reach out to those of us who have only one of the two) Manga and other comics (You want to spread it out like I said. Comics like DC, Marvel, and Archie would help business) Magazines (Definetly stuff that has updates in the world that your business revolves around) Cards (Don't be a dick like most card dealers and say you only sell and sometimes trade. You should buy also. You may lose money but you control what the buying price is) Some other notes: -Think about the interior of the place. Start small and then slowly get bigger. Also have anime on a tv during business hours. It get's a customers attention and makes you like rich. Maybe have something stand out in the store like some weird floor design. -I would have a website but I would start small like the shop. Maybe provide an Invision Free message board and some fan art section or something. That's all I got. Hope it helps you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuincyArcher Posted February 9, 2005 Share Posted February 9, 2005 my suggestion would be to start small. Start with an ebay store or a website. if that goes well move up. My best friend is 19 years old and he started a business selling LEDs through ebay. he did so well with that, that he moved up and created a website and started selling them there. The website that he made is Lsdiodes.com he even turned it into a completely legitimate business and pays income taxes and everything. And though i wont say how much he makes a year, i'll tell you that its more than me and my parents make combined. hes supporting his family with it [I]and[/I] putting himself through college! at the age of 19!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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