Topic: Opening General Store - own property, prop tax net neutral, low labor, etc (Read 1490 times)

Here are a couple pictures with the siding finished. The top will still be done with same style wood for that old west feeling.







Thank for looking.

Original Post also updated with more details. Again, interested parties ask away.

Oversaw counter construction Saturday - will be paneled with nice cypress for a welcoming look. Here's a sneak peak and will update more posts later.

Also, second outside source for funding has been found to the tune of another 5,000 USD and I will update the post to reflect this. That leaves 5,000 left for my "goal" and 10,000 remaining to open comfortably with every product and service I intend to offer day one (20,000 total).

Will update later with finished photos of the counters and any other new information as it comes. STore should be open before Christmas.









These are all unfinished, there will be cypress topping for a quaint look as well as some polishing. The front will not be ply but will be old cypress. I have the full pictures but my phone is being wonky and will update tomorrow.


Coca Cola is scheduled for the coming days and I will post updates on cooler installation as well as with other companies and goods. Please, once again, contact me if you think we can help one another. If you sell physical products I would be glad to offer them to my community and do business in BTC, as I will accept BTC for any item in the store barring legality.

Updating the OP with photos of properties. More to come as progress is made (IE counters should be installed this weekend, I will post information regarding that.)
Edit, the photos may have to wait. I sent from my phone what I had available and I may have clogged my Gmail, will post when they arrive.

For now this is a Google Street view address for my second rental property that houses the auto mechanic and my storage unit.

2757 Coastal Hwy 32327

Turn the camera to the left and the buildings and LAMAR advertising billboards can clearly be seen.

Secondary update purpose: one investor found (outside of this venue) for the amount of 5,000 USD. Will update the post to reflect this.

UPDATE:


So there's a short glimpse of where I'm at with more to come. I have some things to attend to but would love to come back and update this thread tonight. Added quite a bit more to the primary post and will be including more information.

Trying through the banks, but would much rather BTCers

12/5/2012 Finance update - Secured 5,000 USD investment from outside this venue, 33% of what I need to open, 25% of what I need to comfortably open. Have talked to several others and will update for any developments. BTC or USD is acceptable (as the BTC must be converted to USD for me to utilize it for the purpose), however repayment in USD or BTC is acceptable.


12/8/2012 Fiance Update - Secured an additional 5,000 USD investment from the same outside venue. I am now at the 10,000 mark and can open the store, period. I won't have as much as I could potentially stock with just a bit more, but for all intents and purposes - all systems go.  Much more updates to come.

Coca Cola is scheduled for the coming days and I will post updates on cooler installation as well as with other companies and goods. Please, once again, contact me if you think we can help one another. If you sell physical products I would be glad to offer them to my community and do business in BTC, as I will accept BTC for any item in the store barring legality.

---- Original Content Continues ----

3215 hwy 319 south 32327

maps.google.com that address and my store is on the left. It is an old photo, but the store is in great shape and I shall open it whether or not I receive the help I seek here, but every bit that can help here can help reduce my capacity for relying on banks directly, which charge high interest rates (at least what I've been quoted so far for the unsecured loans - my vehicles are "too old" to blue book value them for effective loaning of more than around 6 thousand dollars).

I grew up there in the 90s and ran it with my father in the 2000s. We sold the property in 2006 and now I have it free and clear of debt for the time being, so overhead will be nill.

I have contracts with LAMAR billboards guaranteed until 2015 that amount to 7000 between my two commercial properties (the other of which consists of a mechanic shop which has been in business on my land for 4 years - a contract obligating him to pay rent monthly until December 2013 is available for those who seek serious interest in this investment on any substantial level) and a storage unit which I manage myself that brings in some hundreds monthly on average. I plan to post photos shortly of the Coastal Storage facility and Gibson Auto shop on one of our commercial parcels south of the main town in the county. The contracts with LAMAR make my property taxes and insurance between BOTH commercial properties net neutral, so my overhead literally will be zero, aside from obvious things like electricity or internet and phone within the business. I plan to pay my self little to no labor in payroll unless required by my accountant whom can also be contacted upon request to me. Additional sources of labor for the long hours will be supplied by my significant other, sister (whom is also familiar with the business of a station as well as I), and my mother (who also worked in my father's station for over a decade), none of which are required to be directly paid unless the business begins to do phenomenally well, but even at that point I still expect that I would do at least 60-75% of labor hours in any given week. It is my baby. I have every intention of being in that building around 15-18 hours a day for at least the first three months. I know and understand entirely the requirements for operating a store - things must be done and the early stages are the most important for customer relations and making sure all transactions are lubricated well enough.

I am familiar with this business and have been in it since the age of 5, I'm looking to cater many and offer a type of store none have seen for quite some time. I expect many legacy customers as they have verbally harassed me to open my store (a bit harsh, not quite harass . I will sell products that were popular at our old store (same property and location - 2.5 acres C2 .25 miles south of the court house in Crawfordville, in a county with a population of about 30k-38k. I can easily supply public records to anyone that asks that indicates that I am the owner of these properties and the president of the management company that oversees the two commercial properties. I may update them to the post, since they are quite public at any rate.)


For now this is a Google Street view address for my second rental property that houses the auto mechanic and my storage unit.

2757 Coastal Hwy 32327

Turn the camera to the left and the buildings and LAMAR advertising billboards can clearly be seen.


If the investment is substantial, I would consider a potential share in the business (but not an awful lot to be frank). I would much rather offer a reasonable interest rate and payment schedule for investors.


I have a variety of equipment from our previous operation before sale, such as freezers, multi door coolers, racks, etc. However the majority of the hardware will be supplied by given companies, IE Coca Cola/Pepsi Cola will do much of their own advertising be it inside, window, or on the roadway as well as providing machinery for coolers. Community Coffee will provide ice coffee machines as well as basic coffee grinder and dispensers. I also plan to offer custom lattes, but that requires little more than a few additional goods. My point being is that much of the heavy lifting is done by suppliers, I must simply manage the other hardware such as register, POS, etc if we have it not available from previous operation. Please ask with any questions.

I will also update and finish this list as it goes so you can have some idea of how far along I am:

Occupational License to do business (this allows me to legally open today technically, to sell almost anything but tobacco and alcohol).
County Inspection of building - Done
Existing S-Corp for business purposes.
Occupational License certification (additional fee for tax collector to verify and place into records)
Register with the State of Florida to collect sales tax at a retail location.
Install/Construct Counters (pending for second weekend in December - that would be the 8th or so)
Move Coca Cola coolers inside (pending one week as of 12/3)
Turn on electricity to facility.
Decide on payment processor/merchant account.
Contact Pepsi Cola
Acquire Alcohol/Tobacco License
Apply for Lottery license
Order interior grocery from HACKNEY

Image time:

The logo on the side of the storage facility. The mobile number needs to be changed as my father passed, but the local number is for the mechanic on site as he handles any walk in business for the center (I do adverts or actively seek tenants for the storage units).



Here are the units from the side. The back has 4 small units not visible and the side opposite of the visible small units has two more small units, so six more not visible here. I actually have *most* of the metal material for another building of this exact size, doors and all, just sitting but no capital extra to erect it. It's not massively profitable, but it is renewable income for years from a one time investment.



Here's a photo of the front of the store location that I hope to open. This is our old BP - you can still see the paint (which I plan to keep unless way too much money falls out of the sky) for at least the first operating six months or so until I can do something more fitting to the general theme. There also sits the old BP Sign, but I am in talks with designers to make a new cover/wrap therefore we can utilize the old inner lighting system to have a light up sign without a lot of the cost associated with constructing a new one. You can also see what light landscaping we have left.



And because I adore Sentry plants, here's a closer up photo of the frontal landscaping that lines the major highway (319- for this area) in front of the storefront. I will also be selling plants as noted, these are some of the type that I will be selling in addition to flowers, vegetables, saplings, and herbs. Cacti are surprisingly popular in Florida to the right clients, though most of the botanical business will indeed go to hanging baskets, flowers, veggies, and regional favorites like the Sago palm or banana tree, as has been my experience in the past.