Jonathan's Sporting Goods

How do I start my own Sporting Goods Store?

How do I start my own Sporting Goods Store?

I am a certified equipment manager, and have a vast knowledge in sporting goods.

Do you have any experience in managing a sporting goods store?

Before you go any further, I STRONGLY recommend you contact the Small Business Development Center (at your local community college) and talk to them; the counseling is free.

Then sign up for the NxLevel Entrepreneurial program... it's a 12 session course that walks you through the ins and outs of starting or growing your business, and as part of that you will write a business plan. At the end of the class your plan will be reviewed by a lending professional, and will be critiqued, telling you the strong points of your plan AND the weak points.

Then you can work on the weak points and hopefully get it into shape to actually present to a lender and get the loan you need. There is a cost for the NxLevel program but it’s a lot cheaper than losing your investment.

Even if you hire a professional to write your plan, you should still take the NxLevel course. It saved me from going into a business that would have failed within a year or so, taking my investment with it. I realized by the third week of the class that I could not afford the business I was looking at and changed directions in the middle of the class.

Business plans may be a pain in the butt to prepare, but without one, your business is doomed to failure. To start with, you won't know what your startup costs are going to be, what kind of income to expect, what your ongoing expenses are, who your competition is, what equipment and fixtures you need in the store, and even whether or not you can make a profit. Without a GOOD business plan, you will not be able to get a business loan to get your business off the ground.