I understand the artistry behind the good ones. Espeeaggro on eBay is the best I’ve seen, a true mozart of weathering.[bow]
I know what you meant… sex and alcohol always will be a good seller.
Look, I am like you still looking for that Holy Grail that will help me to achiee my dreams so don’t give up just yet. I thnk if you are in a very high income area, creative things is definitely a good idea because for rich people, if they see something unique and they like it, then money is no object and then you will just be selling what it’s worth rather than what you need to sell it at which is the hobby industry situation. Not sure if you heard of these mob but Holland and Holland makes these ridiculous expensive shotguns from 10,000 to 350,000 English pound and caters exclusively to the Royals in Scotland and the British Is’. Now that’s a good business and same as Ferrari. And everyone one of them all start with humble beginnings.
I was considering custom layout built to specs, out of the backroom of the shop to supplement the slow seasons. Doesn’t everyone(rich,big house, keep up with the jones) want a sceniced layout in their basement or office to show off to their clients and guest? That could be my ferrari. All they would have to do is step into the “drivers seat” of a deisel or steam engine, and not have to worry about bulding the thing.
Does anyone know how all the custom layout business do out there in the world? I see plenty of them in the mags and internet.
Ron
Hey Ron, just finished reading these posts…just got back from a precious two days off!
Well I can give you all sorts of advice and opinions about running a train shop.
But I’m in such a unique position (both in negative and positive ways) that I’m not sure anything I say is all that usable to your situation.
I can say that nothing I see on this thread is out of line advice-wise.
Others besides myself still see a place in America for the little shops, the tidal wave toward the internet has shifted back toward us a little.
Good luck and best wishes with whatever you decide to do!
I find it to be an excellent example of the free market system working as it is intended to work. No one forces Wal-Mart to come to a town; no one forces anyone to shop there. But they do.
These posts always make me wonder how many semi-successful business owners out there are thinking, 'Well, if I worked hard, I could make a lot of money and be as successful as Sam Walton. Ah, but that would be bad. I’ll just stay small, make ends meet on a tiny margin, and hope someone with more drive than I have won’t come along and put me out of business."
Well, with all due respect, to achieve scale of economy, it also cost a money to get there in the first place you know. The fact of life is, they got cash and you don’t. Every business is about cashflow. Everyone all think let’s go big but going big needs a bulletproof system and big systems cost huge amounts of money in both hardware and software as well as manpower. With one shop, if your till is out by $20 then you thought may be I’ll just take it out of my pocket but if you have 5 shops, that grows exponentially to about $2000 per month out of ‘shrinkage’. You will be surprised how much is been lost through theft both from employees and customers. It’s like the K-Mart syndrome; ‘They are big, they can afford it if I just take this little thing’.
So yes, I see your sarcasm but it is really just not that easy because I have been there trying to make it happen and I was sort of close and sacrificed practically all my social life and sleep wherever I can but in the business world, there is no place