OPEN A VITAMIN-SUPLEMENT STORE

[bigheinz]

Hi guys, what do you think about a vitamin suplements store business, i know some of you guys owns stores so i am thinking in open a store with my wife and slow down with the personal training to just 10 clients.

What is the monthly income of this business, i dont have any clue???
I know is a good business bc i salling a lot of MHP products in Florida to the stores and i know the whole sale prices of the other brands, distributors etc...

We just want to own our own business and open and close at the regular hours, personal training demands to many hours and i cant rest, i weak up at 4:30am and i get home at 8 pm, first client at 6 am, running in my car to the other gym, then my own workouts, cardio, other clients, no life bros.

 

[RV63T]

no contribution

 

[kscowboy]

A couple of years ago i owned a retail business myself. I had to compete with the online companies as well and unless you are doing tons of volume with a smal profit margine you will never make it fly. You have to do tons and tons of volume and jus barely make any profit. Its hard to compete with some of the huge online stores.

 

[Steak Helmet]

I have noticed that GNC will now match whatever you find on the internet. but you have to print out the shopping cart so they can see the shipping cost too.

It is tough to compete with the internet, but it can work.

LOCATION is HUGE!!!

 

[LEX]

9 years here. I wouldn't recommend it bro, at best 40 percent margin on some items but more realistically 20%. That isnt a good margin. The internet really shut down the local nutrition store.

 

[bigheinz]

I know what are you saying but if you are located in a good street mall with lots of stores and a supermarket in a full populated area i think the people will get in your store.

I myself buy everything i need in a local store, bc i dont want to pay shipping and they do have very good prices, i like to ride there and look at the products live.

I think also people with money they want to buy different things and organic things, take care of they health, etc. so i can help them with their nutritional plans and make a profit from this, like a nutritional advisor and take the people to the gym to train.

I am just concern about the profit that a regular nutrition store can make.

Thanks for your replyes, i am waiting for more.

 

[cobra333]

dont do it ..

i had two online stores .. supplement s AND VITAMINS ON THE OTHER .. i spent lot of money advertising signs t shirts promOting traffic to sites VIA INTERNET .... signs at every corner .... POPUPS ADS/ POP UNDER ADS.. ETC,,, cards at all the gym s... got maybe 20 orders thats it .. people do not order online supps .. unless in major bulk .. protein in bulk etc..

DONT DO IT .. ALMOST RUINED MY LIFE / AND DEPLETED MY FUNDS ..

 

[JETHRO TULL]

BIG HEINZ, MY FRIEND HAS A STORE LIKE THAT.

HE'S GOT TANNING BEDS IN THE STORE AS WELL AS NUTRITIONAL SUPPLIES, PROTEIN, ETC.

HE MAKES A TON OF MONEY. THE SUN IS ONLY OUT IN THE SUMMER HERE.

 

[Dusty Hanshaw]

Nutrition stores fall into the 90/10 rule. 90% of the money is made by 10% of the stores. Some guys make a grip and others either tread water or go under. It can be done very successfully if you are a good businessman but if not you'll lose it all. Out of curiosity how much money do you think you will need to start the business? How are you going to try to run a business and be a pro BBer and work for MHP? When the store closes the work doesn't end for the owner. I would suggest you talk to other small SUCCESSFUL business owners and ask them how many hours they put into their business. Good luck with your decision.

 

[street]

look in businesses for sale they give you turn over $, stock on hand value, price of business etc so you can get an idea what the make ,what about a franchise or buying an established business .I reckon a chocolate shop is the go ,who doesn't eat chocolate.

 

[mrcat]

Don't really know, but I will say there is a lot of competition. Wal-mart is selling protein and protein bars cheap, vitamins etc. A lot of grocery stores, at least in this area sell protein etc. So you take away the internet sales, now a lot of drop in sales are going to walmart or the grocery store, people are already there. I know a local store use to run a sale on pure protein bars at a $1 each, now walmart has them every day at that price (if you buy 6).

 

[despo]

Nutrition stores fall into the 90/10 rule. 90% of the money is made by 10% of the stores. Some guys make a grip and others either tread water or go under. It can be done very successfully if you are a good businessman but if not you'll lose it all. Out of curiosity how much money do you think you will need to start the business? How are you going to try to run a business and be a pro BBer and work for MHP? When the store closes the work doesn't end for the owner. I would suggest you talk to other small SUCCESSFUL business owners and ask them how many hours they put into their business. Good luck with your decision.

again when it comes to this stuff Dusty is right on .. in our chain of stores there are only a handful of really successful ones.. its 945 pm here and i just got home from my store . even when im not there im there...BUT i wouldnt do anything else!

 

[cornfed]

actually here in the west coast, the big time selling supp stores are def MAX MUSCLE. my former boss owned 4 of them. u just have to get cutting edge prohormones and OTC anabolics to make some good money. he always was looking on the net for new chemicals to sell. teenagers will buy that stuff in a second because they live at home with their parents and dont wanna get busted for illegal stuff. another top level competitor had one around here and did ok, they had a tanning bed which i think wasnt a smart choice since it will take u a while to make a profit from that. i would def have your friends spread the word now if u plan on opening a store. get some buzz. i would say def target the teenagers with prohormones, that will make u really good biz.....well atleast here on the left coast it is. hope that helped.

 

[Uluwatu]

Hi guys, what do you think about a vitamin suplements store business, i know some of you guys owns stores so i am thinking in open a store with my wife and slow down with the personal training to just 10 clients.

What is the monthly income of this business, i dont have any clue???
I know is a good business bc i salling a lot of MHP products in Florida to the stores and i know the whole sale prices of the other brands, distributors etc...

We just want to own our own business and open and close at the regular hours, personal training demands to many hours and i cant rest, i weak up at 4:30am and i get home at 8 pm, first client at 6 am, running in my car to the other gym, then my own workouts, cardio, other clients, no life bros.

Big Heinz....You will probably not cut down on the amount of hours you work by owning a supplement store business. Especially during the first couple of years. The first couple of years is a very critical time in the life of a business. This is usually when you succeed or fail. Remember you are not just going to be sitting in the store waiting for people to come in. You have to have a proactive marketing plan. Successful business is about sales and marketing. Starting a business was probably the most time consuming thing I have ever done. It is one thing after another, and still is 5 years later. I would be willing to bet that if you decide to open up your supplement store, which is not an easy decision, you will probably have to give up training people for the first couple of years. You will have a lot on your plate: New business opening, pro bodybuilding, training people, etc. Take your time with this decision. If you wish to pursue this new business venture, the first step is to write a business and the most important thing in my opinion, a proactive marketing plan.

 

[despo]

actually here in the west coast, the big time selling supp stores are def MAX MUSCLE. my former boss owned 4 of them. u just have to get cutting edge prohormones and OTC anabolics to make some good money. he always was looking on the net for new chemicals to sell. teenagers will buy that stuff in a second because they live at home with their parents and dont wanna get busted for illegal stuff. another top level competitor had one around here and did ok, they had a tanning bed which i think wasnt a smart choice since it will take u a while to make a profit from that. i would def have your friends spread the word now if u plan on opening a store. get some buzz. i would say def target the teenagers with prohormones, that will make u really good biz.....well atleast here on the left coast it is. hope that helped.

sorry targeting teenagers with pro hormones is not good business

 

[LEX]

The only reason people came to our store was me and the other owner. We were very well respected in the town and trained all types of athelets including olympic teams, ultra marathoners and guys that made it to the NFL.
We came up with supp regiments for cardiac patients and had seminars for docs, we worked with the jr. olympic wght. team and and worked with a full time researcher to prove that creatine usage in teens was safe, and that data was published. We sold wholesale to all the gyms and jucie bars in town due to long time relationships. we helped a major supp company formulate lines and served as a training site for their reps. I can confidently say we did everything to dominte our marked. Two stores closed because of us including a GNC.

I walk into another store and its a joke, I can get the same stuff for 10 to 20 % less online ......then I look at the staff and its ALWAYS some idot that is spewing some bullshit to a customer so I leave. there are always holes in the inventory


in our store there was 40 K in inventory just sitting all the time. We never had an empty space and always had proper stock.


I am just telling you it was alot of hours and being trapped in those 4 walls for not alot of profit. IT was great for me at the time and rewarding in alot of ways. We had a customer that we worked with him and his doc that was a 12 year survivor of AIDS. not hiv....he wasnt on a cocktail for 10 of those years just supps. We helped numerous people survive cancer and helped out allota fattys and people change their lives. we had numberous pro and am athelets that benifited from our recomendations and always come in to hang out and visit. we had docs not write scripts for statins rather sent um down to see us first. That is a major acomplishment and took alot of research and testamonies. ANd I had backing for the university and had a bs in biochem to back myslef up with.....

with all that support and love from the town.....it was still a mostly a 20% margin to work with.....thats the problem.

so total up all your costs and add 20% to that...then figure out how much product you have to move a month at 20% margin and see how much is left over......

then take that gross number and figure out how much you have to have on the shelf at all times...roughly that gross number times 3 to be propely stocked.

just some ideas.

 

[LEX]

Big Heinz....You will probably not cut down on the amount of hours you work by owning a supplement store business. Especially during the first couple of years. The first couple of years is a very critical time in the life of a business. This is usually when you succeed or fail. Remember you are not just going to be sitting in the store waiting for people to come in. You have to have a proactive marketing plan. Successful business is about sales and marketing. Starting a business was probably the most time consuming thing I have ever done. It is one thing after another, and still is 5 years later. I would be willing to bet that if you decide to open up your supplement store, which is not an easy decision, you will probably have to give up training people for the first couple of years. You will have a lot on your plate: New business opening, pro bodybuilding, training people, etc. Take your time with this decision. If you wish to pursue this new business venture, the first step is to write a business and the most important thing in my opinion, a proactive marketing plan.

very well said and really you dont want to create a job for yourself you want to create a money machine for your self that generates income while your NOT there.... If people only come into your store for your expertise and recomendations ....guess what they are buyin you , when you leave so will the customers. Plan on living there I literally did. Tv and bed for real.

 

[JETHRO TULL]

LEX, DUSTY AND DESPO ARE CORRECT...TOTALLY!

My friend who has the SUCCESSFUL nutrition and tanning business works his ass off. He's always at that store and is stressed as shit. Yeah, he makes a ton of money and has nice toys....but, he never gets to USE them and is ALWAYS working.

So....Heinz....if you are thinking that you'll be LESS busy being store owner than you are training people. I have to disagree. You'll be even more busy, plus you'll have a ton of book work to do...taxes...etc.

That's what I have seen.

 

[cornfed]

sorry targeting teenagers with pro hormones is not good business

im just taking it from the owner himself bro. if u start with 1 store and increase to 4 within 4 years u must be doing something right. im not saying that business is ethical bro. business is exactly that, business. its like telling the tobacco kings and alcohol companies not to target teenagers. yeah its wrong, but thats how they became a multi billion dollar enterprise. i think what many people dont realize as myself a while back, is that owning your own biz is hard as heck and u hardly have anytime to yourself. if u are a bodybuilder such as BIGHEINZ, then it will be even more impossible to become extremely successful at it unless he made some sacrifices. i know many bodybuilders who i train with who own stores and whatnot, but have family members work and market the place. if BIGHEINZ is going to own his own biz that would be the smartest way to go as it will effect his goals as a bodybuilder because he would have to sacrifice one or the other unless he had help. as far as the teenagers........they are the ones who support these huge supplement companies because of their marketing in mags and places teen shop.

 

[pdogg7]

Have you thought about a smoothie bar? A couple of years ago me and my wife were going to get a franchise and open up one on a military base overseas. This company were fairly reasonable price wise and were willing to work with you. Maybe you could open up a smoothie shop and sale a little supplements on the side. I agree with what everybody said that a business would probably be more work and more time. To me the benefits of a smoothie bar is less inventory and you don't really need knowledgeable people to make smoothies and probably less inventory. If you were to place the store in the right area I think you would have a good chance. This particular company also provided you with a lot of resources and would help you when needed.
Best of luck with what ever you chose and If you want some more Info just let me know.