the spouse joked that i should start a movie rental store and folks
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@ajroach42 also i panicked when i saw “our twin wasn’t big enough to support us full time” but according to 2020 census we were 10 times the size of your city and were growing big time so i might be okay
@hex our town has a population of 3k, and is incredibly poor.
With the addition of books and records, we can support multiple full time employees. When we had a location that was just doing movie rentals and sales, we were only doing a few hundred dollars a week out of that location, but I didn't ever take the time to market it correctly.
I still sell 500 - 1000 dollars of mostly used VHS and DVD every month, in spite of the fact that we're no longer doing rental.
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Alright, this is a very loose collection of thoughts of things that you'll need to think about if you're opening a retail business for the first time *and* a bit of information about doing a video business in particular.
We had to bail on doing video rental stuff because we were spread to thin. I still sell tapes and DVDs, but we don't do rentals anymore. I'm interested in picking it back up eventually but our town is not big enough to support it full time.
1) Don't rent your originals. Format shifting and backups are legal. Get yourself an ecotank style printer that has a disk printing tray and make backups of your originals, rent the backups.
It's unlikely that anyone is going to *tell you* that this is what every remaining video store in the country is doing, but I guarantee you that nearly every remaining video store in the country is doing this.
2) make sure you've got a ton of retail product to go with your rentals. Candy, snacks, branded t-shirts, tote bags, etc. Have a product that people who just stumble on can buy.
Keep at least a few used movies on hand that people can buy. Consider setting up with Alliance or AMS and carrying newly produced titles as well, but margins here aren't great and and you shouldn't feel bad if you skip it.
(1/? I'll just keep going till I run out of stuff to say.)
3) Customers come to physical media stores because they want expert opinions, or because they're looking for something outside of their area of expertise.
Always assume that every customer who walks through the door is incredibly knowledgeable about everything that you sell, and also that they don't know anything about anything.
This is a difficult thing to do, and sounds like nonsense, but it has been vital to our success selling records and books. Enter into every conversation ready to both learn and teach, It makes all the difference!
Nearly everyone is super knowledgeable about some very deep and narrow part of your library, and in that space they're going to be able to run circles around you (probably) or they'll be able to keep up with you in breadth (so you'll have to depend on depth.)
What this means for us in practice: Reviews, staff picks, zines, etc. We're constantly doing more and more things to highlight specific pieces of lesser known media (But Also we're working under the assumption that, no matter how well known a piece of media is, it's unknown to someone. So every time we do some reviews, we include one or two Big titles along with some of the more obscure ones.)
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3) Customers come to physical media stores because they want expert opinions, or because they're looking for something outside of their area of expertise.
Always assume that every customer who walks through the door is incredibly knowledgeable about everything that you sell, and also that they don't know anything about anything.
This is a difficult thing to do, and sounds like nonsense, but it has been vital to our success selling records and books. Enter into every conversation ready to both learn and teach, It makes all the difference!
Nearly everyone is super knowledgeable about some very deep and narrow part of your library, and in that space they're going to be able to run circles around you (probably) or they'll be able to keep up with you in breadth (so you'll have to depend on depth.)
What this means for us in practice: Reviews, staff picks, zines, etc. We're constantly doing more and more things to highlight specific pieces of lesser known media (But Also we're working under the assumption that, no matter how well known a piece of media is, it's unknown to someone. So every time we do some reviews, we include one or two Big titles along with some of the more obscure ones.)
@hex
The other thing this means for us is that we're constantly taking notes, consuming new stuff, learning new things. We've learned a lot from some of our regulars.We've also learned not to trust some of our customers.
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@hex
The other thing this means for us is that we're constantly taking notes, consuming new stuff, learning new things. We've learned a lot from some of our regulars.We've also learned not to trust some of our customers.
@ajroach42 LMAO to that last point
this is all good and i love learning and sharing my film knowledge so this fits with what i was hoping to have as a relationship with customers.
and the way i tactfully work around that is “ah it seems our taste in film do not align. here’s something you might like though”
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@hex
The other thing this means for us is that we're constantly taking notes, consuming new stuff, learning new things. We've learned a lot from some of our regulars.We've also learned not to trust some of our customers.
4) The primary job of running a media store is filing. You're going to be filing constantly. Some folks find this meditative. Other folks find it Infuriating. It's hard to know which it will be before you until you've done it.
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4) The primary job of running a media store is filing. You're going to be filing constantly. Some folks find this meditative. Other folks find it Infuriating. It's hard to know which it will be before you until you've done it.
@ajroach42 i can dig it. one of my favorite parts of getting new laserdiscs in the mail is filing it into the collection
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4) The primary job of running a media store is filing. You're going to be filing constantly. Some folks find this meditative. Other folks find it Infuriating. It's hard to know which it will be before you until you've done it.
@hex
5) Staff!If you've never had staff before, even if you've manged people, it's a real weird experience.
Under almost all circumstances you're going to want at least one or two people working with you, beyond yourself and your family. There are *lots* of reasons for that, not the least of which is that households tend to get sick as a unit. You don't want to have to close because your whole household is sick.
Couples/families can absolutely make it work as the primary shop staff, I've known several shops that did it, but I advise against making it the long term plan.
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@hex
5) Staff!If you've never had staff before, even if you've manged people, it's a real weird experience.
Under almost all circumstances you're going to want at least one or two people working with you, beyond yourself and your family. There are *lots* of reasons for that, not the least of which is that households tend to get sick as a unit. You don't want to have to close because your whole household is sick.
Couples/families can absolutely make it work as the primary shop staff, I've known several shops that did it, but I advise against making it the long term plan.
@ajroach42 oof yeah this one is one i’m gonna have to take to heart. helps that my spouse will be supportive of this idea but will (rightfully) refuse to spend any time behind the counter
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@ajroach42 oof yeah this one is one i’m gonna have to take to heart. helps that my spouse will be supportive of this idea but will (rightfully) refuse to spend any time behind the counter
@hex I ran a record store for years with one other dude.
We learned really quickly that it made way more sense for us to both be there at the same time than to trade off.
I worked 7 days a week for 2 years, it was some of the hardest work I've ever done.
If we had one more person, it would have been way more comfortable.
I didn't say that part yet, but I do recommend having two people in the building as often as possible, both for metal health and for personal safety.
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@hex
5) Staff!If you've never had staff before, even if you've manged people, it's a real weird experience.
Under almost all circumstances you're going to want at least one or two people working with you, beyond yourself and your family. There are *lots* of reasons for that, not the least of which is that households tend to get sick as a unit. You don't want to have to close because your whole household is sick.
Couples/families can absolutely make it work as the primary shop staff, I've known several shops that did it, but I advise against making it the long term plan.
6) Hours:
It's hard to keep a media based business open 9 - 5.
Evenings and weekends are where the people are.
You kind of have to be open during the day, even though that's not when the bulk of your sales are going to happen, because that's when your biggest sales are going to happen, and that's when your deliveries will happen, and that's when promotional work can happen, etc.
Our first record store was originally *only* open evenings and weekends, and I didn't realize how much of a difference it would be to extend the hours out.
That being said: knowing that you will do more volume on the evenings and weekends than you will during the day during the week, you can plan strategies to maximize your revenue and customer retention for the folks who can come in during the day. Figure out how to get the folks who can be in in daylight in multiple days a week. Figure out how to get them to give you some money every time they walk through the door. (I have more thoughts on this, but I have to go get the pizza.)
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6) Hours:
It's hard to keep a media based business open 9 - 5.
Evenings and weekends are where the people are.
You kind of have to be open during the day, even though that's not when the bulk of your sales are going to happen, because that's when your biggest sales are going to happen, and that's when your deliveries will happen, and that's when promotional work can happen, etc.
Our first record store was originally *only* open evenings and weekends, and I didn't realize how much of a difference it would be to extend the hours out.
That being said: knowing that you will do more volume on the evenings and weekends than you will during the day during the week, you can plan strategies to maximize your revenue and customer retention for the folks who can come in during the day. Figure out how to get the folks who can be in in daylight in multiple days a week. Figure out how to get them to give you some money every time they walk through the door. (I have more thoughts on this, but I have to go get the pizza.)
@hex I'll be back shortly.
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@hex I ran a record store for years with one other dude.
We learned really quickly that it made way more sense for us to both be there at the same time than to trade off.
I worked 7 days a week for 2 years, it was some of the hardest work I've ever done.
If we had one more person, it would have been way more comfortable.
I didn't say that part yet, but I do recommend having two people in the building as often as possible, both for metal health and for personal safety.
@hex I have lots of other staff thoughts, but that's probably a conversation for later.
Staff comes with headaches you might not be anticipating (payroll processors, workers comp, PTO, UPTO, ETC) but if you can make the numbers work to hire 1-2 people to supplement yourself, it makes the process of running a business so much less miserable.
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@hex I have lots of other staff thoughts, but that's probably a conversation for later.
Staff comes with headaches you might not be anticipating (payroll processors, workers comp, PTO, UPTO, ETC) but if you can make the numbers work to hire 1-2 people to supplement yourself, it makes the process of running a business so much less miserable.
@ajroach42 i have experience working with volunteers but not a legit staff. it’d be a learning experience for sure
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6) Hours:
It's hard to keep a media based business open 9 - 5.
Evenings and weekends are where the people are.
You kind of have to be open during the day, even though that's not when the bulk of your sales are going to happen, because that's when your biggest sales are going to happen, and that's when your deliveries will happen, and that's when promotional work can happen, etc.
Our first record store was originally *only* open evenings and weekends, and I didn't realize how much of a difference it would be to extend the hours out.
That being said: knowing that you will do more volume on the evenings and weekends than you will during the day during the week, you can plan strategies to maximize your revenue and customer retention for the folks who can come in during the day. Figure out how to get the folks who can be in in daylight in multiple days a week. Figure out how to get them to give you some money every time they walk through the door. (I have more thoughts on this, but I have to go get the pizza.)
@hex Okay, I have the pizza now.
Where were we?
Ah, 6 continued)
I'm mostly talking about this from the perspective of sales, because even when we offered rental, the vast majority of our income was sales.
It might be different for you. I've heard it is different for other video stores.
Regardless of if your primary business is sales or rental, you'll have to figure out how to turn foot traffic into dollars. It'll take six months or so before you can effectively identify when you'll actually be busy, and then how to turn busy into money.
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@hex Okay, I have the pizza now.
Where were we?
Ah, 6 continued)
I'm mostly talking about this from the perspective of sales, because even when we offered rental, the vast majority of our income was sales.
It might be different for you. I've heard it is different for other video stores.
Regardless of if your primary business is sales or rental, you'll have to figure out how to turn foot traffic into dollars. It'll take six months or so before you can effectively identify when you'll actually be busy, and then how to turn busy into money.
@hex 1 (revisited))
If you're already making DVD-Rs and BD-Rs on site, you can get away with ...
Well, I guess the best way to say it is that the video rental store in Atlanta has a Turkish Knockoff section, and a bunch of fan-subbed bollywood films.
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@hex 1 (revisited))
If you're already making DVD-Rs and BD-Rs on site, you can get away with ...
Well, I guess the best way to say it is that the video rental store in Atlanta has a Turkish Knockoff section, and a bunch of fan-subbed bollywood films.
7) Expenses.
It's really hard to estimate business expenses until your at it, but you're looking at, probably:
- rent
- power
- water
- gas (maybe?)
- renters insurance
- payment processor fees
- payroll processor fees
- payroll
- payroll taxes
- possibly ad valorem taxes depending on your jurisdiction (we have a 2% inventory and equipment ad valorem at the city level.)And then I would highly recommend an accountant, unless you're very good at paperwork and willing to get deep into local laws.
To open, you're also going to need inventory and fixtures, and I highly recommend budgeting extensively for marketing when you first open up.
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7) Expenses.
It's really hard to estimate business expenses until your at it, but you're looking at, probably:
- rent
- power
- water
- gas (maybe?)
- renters insurance
- payment processor fees
- payroll processor fees
- payroll
- payroll taxes
- possibly ad valorem taxes depending on your jurisdiction (we have a 2% inventory and equipment ad valorem at the city level.)And then I would highly recommend an accountant, unless you're very good at paperwork and willing to get deep into local laws.
To open, you're also going to need inventory and fixtures, and I highly recommend budgeting extensively for marketing when you first open up.
@hex Join the local chamber of commerce. Go to some meetings. Meet some people. Make them do a ribbon cutting, if that's something they do in your area.
IF there's another city within three in any direction that has a more active Chamber of Commerce, consider joining theirs as well if you can benefit from their marketing.
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@hex Join the local chamber of commerce. Go to some meetings. Meet some people. Make them do a ribbon cutting, if that's something they do in your area.
IF there's another city within three in any direction that has a more active Chamber of Commerce, consider joining theirs as well if you can benefit from their marketing.
@hex I'm running out of steam now that I have pizza in me.
I'm going to toss out a few more disconnected thoughts, and then offer myself up for questions.
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@hex I'm running out of steam now that I have pizza in me.
I'm going to toss out a few more disconnected thoughts, and then offer myself up for questions.
@ajroach42 thanks!! i really appreciate all this. i’m gonna review more and send questions as they come my way. i’m also going to take some time to percolate on all this
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@hex I'm running out of steam now that I have pizza in me.
I'm going to toss out a few more disconnected thoughts, and then offer myself up for questions.
@hex Instagram is a super valuable marketing avenue.
I hate that this is true, but it is. You need to get hooked up with your local retro influencers. I guarantee you have some VHS/DVD folks in your area who would provide a bunch of free advertising in exchange for very little (shoutouts, a tag, some swag, etc.)
Figure out who they are, and where they hang out and make sure they know about your shop.
Our local (atlanta) retro community does regular meetups, toy swaps, sidewalk sales, etc. It is absolutely worth attending those and getting to know the people there.
Go pick (buy stuff), but also pay attention to what people are buying and what people are selling. Shake hands, pass out cards. If you have the space in your new shop, offer to host.
