What would you like to see at the grow store..?
- Thread starter Dondell
- Start date
H.A.F.
a.k.a. Rusty Nails
Offer classes. Get someone with whatever credentials are required for that state and do a weekly class on growing, harvesting, extraction, whatever. Use a line or lines of products you trust and show people how to use them.
Like said above, make sure there's a price range available. All high end means you're a car salesman.
Like said above, make sure there's a price range available. All high end means you're a car salesman.
sandman83
Super Active Member
I like mine too but it is hard to compete with online prices and no lease overhead. I try to buy there as much as I can
D
Deleted member 60
Guest
Set up a nice grow with the $$$$ and forget the "Hydro store" bullshit.
I had a store 15 years ago....right after "Med" hit here in CO. There wasn't a store within 125 miles of my store at the time. I opened it because I'd been on the edge/growing BIG in my house for 15 years and thought I'd take the $$$ I made...invest it...legitimize it...and get my biz going off of the easy $$$ that comes from selling units. I alsp thought that guys like me would be super tired of that 4 hour+ round trip to denver for supplies....
Worked my ass off. Leased a space...did all the improvements/built walls/displays/etc. Took 2 months to get it ready. Ordered 35K of shit right off the bat to fill the shelves. Kinda knew what sold/etc....but soon learned that you couldn't stock >everything<.....there's just too fuckin many (of the same) products...all with their own hype and revolving popularity. Got everything set up....and opened the doors.
It went "OK". I made enough to pay everyone but myself. Lease-supplies-utilities-advertising....etc. would eat up any and all $$$ I brought in. I was open 7 days a week at first...then nixxed sunday cus..fuckin A....70 hours a week and no paycheck comin in got damn old. Like all businesses...you have to give it time to gel....or to fail... so I kept at it....ordering new shit......and trying to build the biz. I made 5 gallon bucket cloners...in house.... and had package deals I set up with stuff like a Bigfoot 2 x 4 tray....the pumps...tubing....light...fan...etc... or buy a ballast and a hood and get a free lamp....etc. It all ate into the #$$$$ I was barely makin...but like some of you are saying...I tried to offer a decent deal.......AND I was saving folks a minimum 4 HOUR DRIVE to Denver for supplies.... so i thought it was ALL a no-brainer and I'd eventually make some $$$.
Can't say how it is now that it's Legal......but back then....I found out over time.....that most folks were really, REALLY set in their ways in this hobby. The long time growers in the area....friends of friends.....never came in.... even after I made specific contacts with our common acquaintances and told them I'd do >whatever< was needed to get their biz. I even offered to meet them after hours/in the middle of the night////off site..etc... but nope...everyone was doing what they did successfully...and very few folks fucked with the mix if it was working for them. A few played....and I met a few folks over time who were rockin pretty good who dropped decent cash in the shop every few months....but overall..it was a waiting game....daily...to see who would walk in and what the take would be at the end of the day. Time and time again it was "just enough< to pay the bills....but never enough to really see a profit.
It's gonna be hard to stand out......cus kinda like the seed game...everyone is sourcing product through similar/the same suppliers....and the products are all pretty much the same, popular products that are out there.....that you MUST carry or you'll lose customers when they >finally< get the balls to change it up and stop in your store. And...as has been mentioned.....you have to compete with Amazon and the other online sellers of these same products WHO DON'T HAVE A BRICK AND MORTAR entity. Folks would print off the deals they saw on the net and come in and want you to beat those prices. Many times it was mere dollars above my cost.....and I had to ship it...stock it...and pay rent to store it...which meant by the time it was all said and done....I made basically nada off fuckin with it all. I had to tell em//"Sorry...can't do that".....and definitely saw folks walk out the door...pissed.... but hey.....am i here to make a buck...or to make your grow life...where yer payin from huge stack of Bens.....easy and more profitable than it already is? I played that game to know....so it would always piss me off to see cats whining for cheap with a fat wad of 100's in their hand.
AND these BIG stores......well...they get to buy at VOLUME discounts. There were 3 tiers of pricing when I was in the game. If you could swing buying a PALLET of ballasts....you'd save like %15-20 percent over ordering say...10. This is huge when you realize that the markups are less than 40% on these goods. The GH "Micro" series has one of the best markups....but yeah....you're selling $45 of shit....so even if you make decent $$$ it isn't a lot of cash/a huge purchase.
I shudder to think how bad biz would have been had I not set up/rented the space DIRECTLY NEXT DOOR to the local head shop. That brought in a lot of traffic...but not all of it was good traffic (shoplifters and looky-loos were common) I learned early on to put old, spent lamps in the Hortilux boxes , for sure. Even with em behind the counter on a shelf I had instances where lamps went missing while I was helping someone else/etc.
Not saying a guy can't make it.....but it's A HUGE INVESTMENT to see your $$$$ come back in so very. very slowly....and I can only imagine the competition out there now that they've done away with the 25 mile clause that many of these guys had when I was in the mix. If you set up shop..at the time...they wouldn't sell to anyone else in your area. I was drawing from a GOOD 150 mile radius....no competition at all...yet... it was a fucker to make any $$$. NOW.....fuck me...I can buy GH/Foxfarm and more...and trays...small lights...etc...at ACE Hardware......and I see Casa De Pot now has trays, LEDS and some stuff creeping in as well. I hear in Cali (anyone care to comment?) you can buy a lot of this stuff in Case De Pot (Home Depot) right now. Without any "no compete" clause.....it has to be nearly impossible to make it now. I'd rather step in dogshit myself than be in this biz now....
The owner of the local shop here was my customer 15 years ago.....125 miles away..LOL. They moved here as well...and he noticed me when I walked in his shop...I didn't notice him in the mix of the sea of folks who did come in. As a result....I get 20% off anything in the store all day...everyday......so i shop there and take em rosin and shit here/there to show my appreciation.....cus i know on some stuff I snag they ain't makin shit off it.
Take or leave the above......but contrary to what growers (many) say when they bag on the hydro guy for "MAKING A KILLING"....it isn't so in most cases.....and my peek into all of this was when the Net was in it's infancy on sales/etc. Most folks then....when it was far more scrutinized than it is today.... didn't wanna have a box dropped on the porch that said "1000 watt Sodium ballast from HYDROFARM" on the side....but now.....who gives a fuck here where it's legal? Very few, that's who. Get that deal....that's the focus now. Nobody cares here anymore what ya do like they did THEN. (Ok..unless you are still in an illegal state)
I did learn a lot in my 4 years....that was the payoff....so if there;s anything specific you wanna know...I'll do what I can to give ya an answer....
best of luck!
I had a store 15 years ago....right after "Med" hit here in CO. There wasn't a store within 125 miles of my store at the time. I opened it because I'd been on the edge/growing BIG in my house for 15 years and thought I'd take the $$$ I made...invest it...legitimize it...and get my biz going off of the easy $$$ that comes from selling units. I alsp thought that guys like me would be super tired of that 4 hour+ round trip to denver for supplies....
Worked my ass off. Leased a space...did all the improvements/built walls/displays/etc. Took 2 months to get it ready. Ordered 35K of shit right off the bat to fill the shelves. Kinda knew what sold/etc....but soon learned that you couldn't stock >everything<.....there's just too fuckin many (of the same) products...all with their own hype and revolving popularity. Got everything set up....and opened the doors.
It went "OK". I made enough to pay everyone but myself. Lease-supplies-utilities-advertising....etc. would eat up any and all $$$ I brought in. I was open 7 days a week at first...then nixxed sunday cus..fuckin A....70 hours a week and no paycheck comin in got damn old. Like all businesses...you have to give it time to gel....or to fail... so I kept at it....ordering new shit......and trying to build the biz. I made 5 gallon bucket cloners...in house.... and had package deals I set up with stuff like a Bigfoot 2 x 4 tray....the pumps...tubing....light...fan...etc... or buy a ballast and a hood and get a free lamp....etc. It all ate into the #$$$$ I was barely makin...but like some of you are saying...I tried to offer a decent deal.......AND I was saving folks a minimum 4 HOUR DRIVE to Denver for supplies.... so i thought it was ALL a no-brainer and I'd eventually make some $$$.
Can't say how it is now that it's Legal......but back then....I found out over time.....that most folks were really, REALLY set in their ways in this hobby. The long time growers in the area....friends of friends.....never came in.... even after I made specific contacts with our common acquaintances and told them I'd do >whatever< was needed to get their biz. I even offered to meet them after hours/in the middle of the night////off site..etc... but nope...everyone was doing what they did successfully...and very few folks fucked with the mix if it was working for them. A few played....and I met a few folks over time who were rockin pretty good who dropped decent cash in the shop every few months....but overall..it was a waiting game....daily...to see who would walk in and what the take would be at the end of the day. Time and time again it was "just enough< to pay the bills....but never enough to really see a profit.
It's gonna be hard to stand out......cus kinda like the seed game...everyone is sourcing product through similar/the same suppliers....and the products are all pretty much the same, popular products that are out there.....that you MUST carry or you'll lose customers when they >finally< get the balls to change it up and stop in your store. And...as has been mentioned.....you have to compete with Amazon and the other online sellers of these same products WHO DON'T HAVE A BRICK AND MORTAR entity. Folks would print off the deals they saw on the net and come in and want you to beat those prices. Many times it was mere dollars above my cost.....and I had to ship it...stock it...and pay rent to store it...which meant by the time it was all said and done....I made basically nada off fuckin with it all. I had to tell em//"Sorry...can't do that".....and definitely saw folks walk out the door...pissed.... but hey.....am i here to make a buck...or to make your grow life...where yer payin from huge stack of Bens.....easy and more profitable than it already is? I played that game to know....so it would always piss me off to see cats whining for cheap with a fat wad of 100's in their hand.
AND these BIG stores......well...they get to buy at VOLUME discounts. There were 3 tiers of pricing when I was in the game. If you could swing buying a PALLET of ballasts....you'd save like %15-20 percent over ordering say...10. This is huge when you realize that the markups are less than 40% on these goods. The GH "Micro" series has one of the best markups....but yeah....you're selling $45 of shit....so even if you make decent $$$ it isn't a lot of cash/a huge purchase.
I shudder to think how bad biz would have been had I not set up/rented the space DIRECTLY NEXT DOOR to the local head shop. That brought in a lot of traffic...but not all of it was good traffic (shoplifters and looky-loos were common) I learned early on to put old, spent lamps in the Hortilux boxes , for sure. Even with em behind the counter on a shelf I had instances where lamps went missing while I was helping someone else/etc.
Not saying a guy can't make it.....but it's A HUGE INVESTMENT to see your $$$$ come back in so very. very slowly....and I can only imagine the competition out there now that they've done away with the 25 mile clause that many of these guys had when I was in the mix. If you set up shop..at the time...they wouldn't sell to anyone else in your area. I was drawing from a GOOD 150 mile radius....no competition at all...yet... it was a fucker to make any $$$. NOW.....fuck me...I can buy GH/Foxfarm and more...and trays...small lights...etc...at ACE Hardware......and I see Casa De Pot now has trays, LEDS and some stuff creeping in as well. I hear in Cali (anyone care to comment?) you can buy a lot of this stuff in Case De Pot (Home Depot) right now. Without any "no compete" clause.....it has to be nearly impossible to make it now. I'd rather step in dogshit myself than be in this biz now....
The owner of the local shop here was my customer 15 years ago.....125 miles away..LOL. They moved here as well...and he noticed me when I walked in his shop...I didn't notice him in the mix of the sea of folks who did come in. As a result....I get 20% off anything in the store all day...everyday......so i shop there and take em rosin and shit here/there to show my appreciation.....cus i know on some stuff I snag they ain't makin shit off it.
Take or leave the above......but contrary to what growers (many) say when they bag on the hydro guy for "MAKING A KILLING"....it isn't so in most cases.....and my peek into all of this was when the Net was in it's infancy on sales/etc. Most folks then....when it was far more scrutinized than it is today.... didn't wanna have a box dropped on the porch that said "1000 watt Sodium ballast from HYDROFARM" on the side....but now.....who gives a fuck here where it's legal? Very few, that's who. Get that deal....that's the focus now. Nobody cares here anymore what ya do like they did THEN. (Ok..unless you are still in an illegal state)
I did learn a lot in my 4 years....that was the payoff....so if there;s anything specific you wanna know...I'll do what I can to give ya an answer....
best of luck!
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Any cheap empty factory type buildings in your area? Could rent space for growers to grow. And have expert advise and security. I think in legal states you can assign your plants to someone else to grow depending on laws. But u could have your shop there so you had other ways to make the money and anyone needing products for their grow could walk right over and buy then give to their plants etc. kinda like renting storage units. Or could even do in house set ups and stop by every so often to grow it for them sorta speak idk what laws would allow though
Now1more
Super Active Member
Two shops in my area. One is a caregiver/grow supply and the supply shop is always dead. The other one is a part time side business that just breaks even. He does it out of passion. Tough competition out there. But what I like to see is organics. RAW, Down to Earth, and Espoma for cheap alternative.
D
Deleted member 60
Guest
Don;t know about the other legal states...but here in CO it's an individual right unless you are in the Med/caregiver realm. That's the only scenario present here where someone else can grow your plants.....and without a STATE license (med or commercial) ...many jurisdictions here restrict how many plants can be on one property or outright BAN commercial entities relating to cannabis altogether.
I shudder to think how many hours someone would have to be onsite to deal with/accomodate a building full of growers...each with their own space. And think of MITES...oh...my...... one joker with a fucked grow could take everyone down.
And then there's the WHY of it all...at least here.....regarding the lack of a market. Yes..it's legal.....and really...unless yer (STILL) trying to play 90's drug dealer and have traffic/move weight./are flamboyant as Hell with your sales...which isn't happening for most cus you can buy it at 3 locations in my small town alone... the cops aren't coming. There's no real REASON here to go big anymore unless you just love to grow and wanna grow as much as you legally can...for the fuck of it. (that's my gig). There's just no real $$$ in it here unless you wanna ship it elsewhere and take the risks...which is idiotic as fuck IMO. I made too much $$$ when there was REAL $$$$ to make to play now. Fuck that.
And @Now1more .....I set up with an EXTENSIVE organic section....and I advertised locally that we were THE spot in town to get organics...from plant food...to lawn food. I had corn gluten fertilizers...clove oil pesticides...and a wide variety of other organics. I heard a lot of folks SAY they were coming in......but more than once I'd be shopping myself for hardware/etc and see someone i knew who was >supposedly< into organics and shit with a bag of Weed and Feed in their cart.....
I had a med card then.....and now....looking back...i realize what i SHOULD have done...due to the infancy of it all and the protections i now understand better than I did then....was to ramp up and sell CLONES to the med folks. I think it would have brought more heat in than i already saw. Funny story....I had local cops and DEA in my store more than once asking me stupid shit.....and I had to go out once and tell the sheriff to FUCKING MOVE out of the parking lot....cus I wasn't selling ANYTHING that was illegal...and my TAXES paid were paying his salary. I told him it wasn't HIS or MY business to deal with what my customers did with their LEGALLY PURCHASED GOODS.....and that his presence TOTALLY killed my biz. Never saw em parked there again.....
super fun shit, for sure!
I shudder to think how many hours someone would have to be onsite to deal with/accomodate a building full of growers...each with their own space. And think of MITES...oh...my...... one joker with a fucked grow could take everyone down.
And then there's the WHY of it all...at least here.....regarding the lack of a market. Yes..it's legal.....and really...unless yer (STILL) trying to play 90's drug dealer and have traffic/move weight./are flamboyant as Hell with your sales...which isn't happening for most cus you can buy it at 3 locations in my small town alone... the cops aren't coming. There's no real REASON here to go big anymore unless you just love to grow and wanna grow as much as you legally can...for the fuck of it. (that's my gig). There's just no real $$$ in it here unless you wanna ship it elsewhere and take the risks...which is idiotic as fuck IMO. I made too much $$$ when there was REAL $$$$ to make to play now. Fuck that.
And @Now1more .....I set up with an EXTENSIVE organic section....and I advertised locally that we were THE spot in town to get organics...from plant food...to lawn food. I had corn gluten fertilizers...clove oil pesticides...and a wide variety of other organics. I heard a lot of folks SAY they were coming in......but more than once I'd be shopping myself for hardware/etc and see someone i knew who was >supposedly< into organics and shit with a bag of Weed and Feed in their cart.....
I had a med card then.....and now....looking back...i realize what i SHOULD have done...due to the infancy of it all and the protections i now understand better than I did then....was to ramp up and sell CLONES to the med folks. I think it would have brought more heat in than i already saw. Funny story....I had local cops and DEA in my store more than once asking me stupid shit.....and I had to go out once and tell the sheriff to FUCKING MOVE out of the parking lot....cus I wasn't selling ANYTHING that was illegal...and my TAXES paid were paying his salary. I told him it wasn't HIS or MY business to deal with what my customers did with their LEGALLY PURCHASED GOODS.....and that his presence TOTALLY killed my biz. Never saw em parked there again.....
super fun shit, for sure!
Seeds, get with greenpointeeds and he gives stupid deals on wholesale orders. We sent out quite a few orders to other shops as wholesale and they just sell the packs for retail. Cannabis seeds and CBd flower would be hot items in your spot
D
Deleted member 60
Guest
Awesome idea.......but sadly.....that's another gig that will depend on the LAW in your state. LEGAL doesn't mean anything goes anywhere...it means a buncha rules and permit fees and cash for the state...oh...and that you are OUT of the mix. Ooops.
Here in CO the hydro shops can peddle CBD tinctures/seeds/salves....but if it has THC in it....it's reserved/only legal for the dispensaries to sell seeds.....and clones......but many DON'T.....can you guess why?
Hopefully it's more open wherever you are than it is here.....and if so...seeds might be a money-maker IF you can get the word out that you have seeds.....but again....when you can buy packs for $30 on the net. (just above wholesale).....for seeds that are STILL priced @ $150 at the online seed banks......without owning a biz...... I dunno if there's truly THAT much money to be made. Like the equipment itself...if you don;t do volume sales...you'll spin yer wheels hard trying to keep ahead.....and both markets are completely saturated at present with easy-to-obtain wares.
Will be interesting to see what you/your buddy think/do/if you proceed/etc. Not saying it can't be done..... but i'd really tone my thoughts down of it bein a serious money maker and realize it may float...but there likely won't be a sail/much wind out there to depend on.
Here in CO the hydro shops can peddle CBD tinctures/seeds/salves....but if it has THC in it....it's reserved/only legal for the dispensaries to sell seeds.....and clones......but many DON'T.....can you guess why?
Hopefully it's more open wherever you are than it is here.....and if so...seeds might be a money-maker IF you can get the word out that you have seeds.....but again....when you can buy packs for $30 on the net. (just above wholesale).....for seeds that are STILL priced @ $150 at the online seed banks......without owning a biz...... I dunno if there's truly THAT much money to be made. Like the equipment itself...if you don;t do volume sales...you'll spin yer wheels hard trying to keep ahead.....and both markets are completely saturated at present with easy-to-obtain wares.
Will be interesting to see what you/your buddy think/do/if you proceed/etc. Not saying it can't be done..... but i'd really tone my thoughts down of it bein a serious money maker and realize it may float...but there likely won't be a sail/much wind out there to depend on.
my newly legal state has the seed to sale thing, how do you get around that with out of state beans? Right now everything is referred to as immaculate conception until the clubs open. But I see a big market here, already been on stoned ninja and some others come expo and cannacon time in the state this coming year.
Dondell
Member
This is definitely part of the plan....Currently, there is no certification...we intend on become the certifiers...
H.A.F.
a.k.a. Rusty Nails
I would look at it more as a consultancy/class endeavor that sells grow stuff (justifies a limited selection) rather than a grow store that gives classes.
Sell seeds, show how to grow them, and sell the go-withs.
ChronicWonders
BTM
Good point. Shop has a frequent buyer program where every $500 spent gets you $50. Makes it worth any of the up charges on products compared to online vendors. Plus it’s nice to buy/support local and be able to see the products beforehand.
F series
Insanely Active Member
How abour a list of things we don't want to see?
Snoop Dogg nutes for sure
Maybe make your own misting cloning boxes so you can charge less and still profit immensely, or sell kits, save labor? Profit more?
Maybe premix bug sprays or dunks?
Say someone needs spinosads but doesn't wanna buy a whole bottle? Mix.up like a 1oz batch, or w/e they need. Just examples
Snoop Dogg nutes for sure
Maybe make your own misting cloning boxes so you can charge less and still profit immensely, or sell kits, save labor? Profit more?
Maybe premix bug sprays or dunks?
Say someone needs spinosads but doesn't wanna buy a whole bottle? Mix.up like a 1oz batch, or w/e they need. Just examples
Dondell
Member
this is exactly the plan...
D
Deleted member 60
Guest
Everything changes. What didn't work for me then might work for a guy now. I mean...folks really need to take a class to grow weed now? Gotta say I haven't seen that go over (successfully) here in CO...but yup...read the first 2 sentences above again.. Never say never.....
If ya investigate it further.....I'd be interested to know if the major suppliers..hydrofarm/sunlight/etc. will now sell to anyone with a Fed Tax ID/without a formal retail storefront ........what their minimum order $$ are currently (was 5K) ....and if their policies...on paper at least...have changed regarding "pot". Fuckers were making a killing even when I was in it....and Hydrofarm and sunlight both required you to sign a legal document saying you wouldn't sell their product to pot growers! LOL. Yeah....sure thing.....no problem .......I'll just turn away 95% of the business comin in.....ya hypocrites.
If those guys say NO...Nickel city used to be far more cool/open about things with their suppliers. Might be worth looking into. i know i bought some stuff from em..just too long ago to remember what. I just remember they had a different vibe all around.
Anywa.y.....I hope it works out for ya...whatever yer plans are/whatever you come up with.
If ya investigate it further.....I'd be interested to know if the major suppliers..hydrofarm/sunlight/etc. will now sell to anyone with a Fed Tax ID/without a formal retail storefront ........what their minimum order $$ are currently (was 5K) ....and if their policies...on paper at least...have changed regarding "pot". Fuckers were making a killing even when I was in it....and Hydrofarm and sunlight both required you to sign a legal document saying you wouldn't sell their product to pot growers! LOL. Yeah....sure thing.....no problem .......I'll just turn away 95% of the business comin in.....ya hypocrites.
If those guys say NO...Nickel city used to be far more cool/open about things with their suppliers. Might be worth looking into. i know i bought some stuff from em..just too long ago to remember what. I just remember they had a different vibe all around.
Anywa.y.....I hope it works out for ya...whatever yer plans are/whatever you come up with.