I've recently come to the conclusion that what I do for a living and what I went to college for no longer interests me, and I'm looking to make a major career change.

I'm interested to know what it would be like and what it would take to start up my own online shop selling kites and kiteboard-related equipment. Around how much capital would I need to get started? Business experience? Web design? etc...

My wife is currently employed, but we don't want to take a HUGE drop in income. At least not in the long term. I remember there being an Austin.craigslist ad about just such a shop for sale for $14k including inventory and training. Unfortunately, I never looked into it, and the ad hasn't been up in several months now. Kinda wish I had inquired about it...

Just was thinking about the exact same thing yesterday. Is it a good business to be in, or is it a struggle to make a profit?

Don't quit your day job

The only way to make a little money in the kiting business is to start with a lot of money. ;-)

I admire those who support our habit but lets face it, no one gets rich selling kites (or spinners, flags, wind toys, and whatever else they can stock to raise funds). IMO most kite store owners are enthusiasts first and they do this because they love the sport. They aren't in it for the money and if they are honest, they will share countless stories about people who call up, pick their brain, try to negotiate a deal and then buy from someone else. Pump the store owner for knowledge and then search the web for who can give you the better deal will be the frustration of the kite store owner. I'd love to own a kite shop but I don't have enough reserve funds to do that and make my mortgage, car payments, put kids through school, pay medical bills, etc.

How many kites do you think are really sold each month? How many fliers who buy one kite, do you think return to buy 2 or 3 or... Of that volume of kiters how many do you think you can direct towards your store? How many of your ideal customers who buy a full quiver, can you actually get to upgrade each year to keep you in business? Its a tough business. Hats off to those who persist in it and feed this great sport for a little while. Major kudos to those who have been in business for 5+ years

What the Brick and Morter shops around here have to do is combine Kiting with something else.

One sells windsurf stuff as well and has reduced hours / closes over the winter. Another is a Ski and Board shop covering many sports. Another small town one in Squamish is a coffe shop with kites in the back.

Dakitez took off in a way that Dino didn't expect ( online ) . Good service wins ! None of the people I know selling just kite gear , even just online can afford to give up their day jobs. Not even Dakitez.

I DO think it is important to enjoy your work no matter what you do. Life is too short to be unhappy 8 hours a day !

normal rule of thumb is that a business will sell for 5x annual profit, with inventory / property extra... so do the math for the craigslist posting and wince...

don't quit your day job, but as a weekend game? :wee:

you're not the only one to have thought about this...

:dunno:

Its alot of work. Alot of money. If I had in kites the amount of money I put into this, I'd have every kite I ever wanted...which I don't have now. Time is a killer too. Tons of time, demo-ing kites, teaching people how to fly, going to shows and the like...None of which pay.
I'm hoping to be in the black by year 3. No salary. This without the burden of rent and electricity.

Shoot me an email if you want more info.

I have been trying my own business (not kite related) for 2 years and still barely break even. If you want it bad enough though, there is always a way. What others have said about a combo business (small hobby shop with kites maybe) might be another way to go. The way I look at it is if can make enough to offset at least some of the cost of my hobby, then it is worth the effort. One big killer for me was and is being the nice guy too much. What I produce costs what it costs, and that's the way it is. The worst mistake is never even trying to find out if you could pull it off. Good luck!!!

THERE IS NO MONEY IN KITES. Just the enjoyment, and the smiles you put on ours.

I see kiteshops / kite brands fail all the time, because they arent willing to put money into the sport, advertising, r&d, service, etc etc etc.

In the past x years i've run a distribution and partnered up to run a shop (brick / online). I've failed twice, and lost more than i've made. Now after x years, im just starting to break even at the end of the year.

Honestly through its hard work, and its more of passion than profit. I work my regular job at 8+ hours, than work another 8+ hours boxing kites, talking to customers (email / u2u / phone / skype) 4+ hours riding on the weekend (me time). Hence my addition to REDBULL & Coffee.

I love every minute of it, with all the great people I get to meet, the freebies I hand out. Helping to grow the sport, getting sponsored, enjoyment, speed, skirt wearing ... etc etc. The last thing that comes to mind is the profit.

"NOTE: Until further notice, all Ozone products are on permanent, perpetual back-order. Wait times for delivery might be from a week or two to a month or more. We apologize for the inconvenience but this is due to US supply-chain issues with the Ozone brand and is out of our control. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding. "

Quoted from indigo_wolf, who quoted from Coastal Wind Sports, I never can get the quote thingy to work.

Still want to run a kite shop?

Yeah good luck with this if you do try. - And you will need A LOT of capital to get going.

Me and a friend tried to get an outdoor sports shop going about 7 years ago. We put about 30,000 UK pounds (around $50,000 at the time) into stocking it and we still had no way near enough diversity to attract decent volumes of customers. Stock costs so much! have you ever thought how much it costs to hold a range of walking boots? All those different sizes!!

We had really good plans to diversify and start stocking kayaking gear/kites/boards/surfing stuff/yachting stuff. We were going to invite small local dealers (mostly guides and instructors who also sold a limited range of gear) to rent shop space from us and also to deal with their bookings etc and provide advertising (for a fee)

We just didn't have the money though - or the turnover to borrow it! The business (like most start-ups, failed in a year.

On the flipside it was the best job I ever had, spending all day surrounded by climbing and camping gear and chatting to all the outdoor enthusiasts.

I had hardly any money but that was made up for by access to cheap gear - which is what i spend all my money on anyway! + a constant stream of people to go and do stuff with (and get rides off cos i couldn't afford to run a car!)

Its my perfect job and I have a lot more business experience now. All that tells me is how hard it would be though!

I'm late to this thread but I will not try to quote any one post above because they are all spot on.

There are some that think that on-line shops have some un-fair advantage over B&M stores because we do not pay rent. An on-line shop, if done properly, has ALL other the expenses. Insurance, accounting, taxes, inventory, office supplies,...it goes on. While an on-line shop has no rent, it does not benefit from foot traffic and the spontaneous purchases that result in a well placed B&M. Sure there is something like it maybe when someone gets excited by a YouTube and then goes to a kite site to get involved, but I do not think it is the same as feeling the ripstop in your hands in a shop with a good salesperson to answer questions in real time and feed the excitement. At least that's what happened to me years ago in a kite shop in East Germany (and they guy could barely speak English).

If I were to go B&M, it would be...
1) When the economy turned around
2) Where I could locate it in a shop exposed to our local coastal tourist traffic
3) Where power kites would be a back seat to profitable stuff like beachwear, air toys, general family kite gear, surf and sand gear and other general beach related sport gear.
4) When I could afford right off the bat to hire a properly compensated #2 to take enough responsibility that I am not behind the counter all the time.
5) When I win the lottery or when my other business is profitable enough to plow enough cash into the shop without hurting the home life.

...so it will be a little while. Right now I hope only to build a book of business such that after I retire from my day job I can click off a little extra income for a few years until I decide to sell it to the right person as a modest asset.

Modest asset? Dang Angus, you mean us SoFKA boys haven't been paying your rent?

Thank you everyone for your candid response. I must say I'm slightly disappointed, but not surprised.
And the career search goes on...

Quote:

Originally posted by mgatc Modest asset? Dang Angus, you mean us SoFKA boys haven't been paying your rent?

Ooooh, you all have paid. You have paid. And I thank you all!!

Quote:

Originally posted by acampbell Ooooh, you all have paid. You have paid. And I thank you all!!

Yes. Via pay-pal - and billed when the product ordered isn't even in country, let alone in [your] inventory.

You do realize you're not supposed to bill until you ship, right?

I'm being patient. I emailed and asked for your price on an alternate product you suggested.

Per email receipt, you read (or at leasted opened) my email at 0500 this am - and then I see you spent all day messaging here on PKF - but didn't bother to respond to a paying customer.

That's not going to "build a book of business", is it?

:megan: on the online manners above.

we have a B&M kiteboarding shop in my town and i marvel at how they manage to stay in business--i went to look at some snowboards there last week knowing that i could get anything in their store alot cheaper on the internet......to tell the truth,id pay a little more for something if the sellers were friendly and i could get some good advice along with my purchase, but these folks only seemed interested in making a sale--tough luck for them, i guess--my $$$ are going somewhere else.......

Quote:

Originally posted by bobalooie57 "NOTE: Until further notice, all Ozone products are on permanent, perpetual back-order. "

Bummer.

Is this Ozone "backorder" situation industry wide - or just unique to the referenced web retailer?

Quote:

Originally posted by furbowski :megan: on the online manners above.

I've been transacting online for years. Financing a phantom inventory by billing customer's creditcards prior to shipment is piss poor business manners.

Internet commerce is a sword that has two edges.

Future "Kite shop" owners take note. It's just bidness, so RUN IT LIKE ONE.

Quote:

Originally posted by Insect0man Internet commerce is a sword that has two edges.

agreed.

the tolerance and patience of those I have transacted with here has been nothing short of phenomenal. (bigkid?)

Quote:

Originally posted by furbowski the tolerance and patience of those I have transacted with here has been nothing short of phenomenal. (bigkid?)

I was billed for both the item and express shipping. Pay Pal may be a little different, but billing against a credit card upon order receipt - instead of upon shipping - is not only piss poor business manners but also, IIRC, illegal.

It really chaps my arse to find my credit card has been dinged for the full amount when the product isn't even in country.

I'm tolerant. I'm patient. But I expect to at least receive a "I'm checking into it" reply; especially when the retailer in question has time to be spent yacking here on PKF.

The online reviews go with the "book of business".

I'm confident Angus will sort you out.

It's just that imho the time to name and shame is when things have been settled one way or another, which is why the :megan: above.

Quote:

Originally posted by Insect0man Quote: Originally posted by acampbell Ooooh, you all have paid. You have paid. And I thank you all!! Yes. Via pay-pal - and billed when the product ordered isn't even in country, let alone in [your] inventory. You do realize you're not supposed to bill until you ship, right? I'm being patient. I emailed and asked for your price on an alternate product you suggested. Per email receipt, you read (or at leasted opened) my email at 0500 this am - and then I see you spent all day messaging here on PKF - but didn't bother to respond to a paying customer. That's not going to "build a book of business", is it?

He made 6 posts between 6 and 8 pm EST. What else are you exaggerating about? Angus is pretty popular in the kite industry. You are the first person I've ever heard say a cross word about him. You might not understand what could trigger your "read receipt". Before trying to crush his business on the internet, maybe give him at least a portion of a business day to respond.

I find this hard to believe. Angus is as good as they come.

Does anyone know Insectoman?

Insectoman wouldn't be short for jonesbad would it ???

Lol
@Insectoman-Have you ever considered the fact that maybe your email was not the only one in Angus's mailbox this morning? I commonly read emails and then respond to them later because I don't have time at that moment. I can understand your frustration but you're being a bit harsh. Talk to maven454- he had to wait a few months for his kites just to get into the country, and then a couple more weeks until he got them. As to your question about ozone, it is industry wide, not the fault of a particular retailer.

Quote:

Originally posted by DAKITEZ Insectoman wouldn't be short for jonesbad would it ???

He seems to be the real deal, a snow kiter, legit email in his profile, just a bit quick off the mark with the :flaming:

Jonesbad isn't smart enough to establish a cover identity like this, methinks...

Quote:

Originally posted by BeamerBob Angus is pretty popular in the kite industry.

I don't care how popular someone I do business with is. Premature billing of customer credit card accounts is piss poor business manners.

Furthermore, I'm not interested in playing games and financing the cash-flow of someone's hobby business while they work out their import issues. Some of Mr. Campbell's neighbors on Jekyll/Jupiter Island did essentially that, on a much larger scale, and put the global economic engine in the toilet in the process. It's not acceptable.

My credit card company policy requires shipment before transfer of funds. Apparently "Pay-pal" enables an end-run around that policy by transferring funds immediately.

So noted; and that's the last time I ever transact with a merchant who requires pay-pal.

Burn me once shame on you - burn me twice, shame on me.

I'm sure Angus will clear this up... but it's well after midnight on a Saturday over there, I wouldn't expect a miracle.

furbs, out.

Quote:

Originally posted by power I don't have time at that moment.

That argument is negated by the fact the retailer in question had time to post on PKF numerous times today - after the email was opened at 0500.

How long do bricks and mortar retailers, who blow off customers in their store, stay in business?