Survival Store/Training in Nashville - Could it work?

[Peace]

Soliciting opinions, rants, suggestions, what you would like to see, etc.

 

Do you think there is a value for our middle TN community for a dedicated storefront that specializes in prep (from mild to major), and provides a place for training (how to use what you buy, HAM classes, preparedness assessments, etc).

 

-I would hope that the "everyday dad/mom" who would never consider themselves a "prepper", could feel at home in the store and wind up being glad they visited.  Heck, we might even be able to raise awareness and help Nashville become the most disaster prepared city in the nation.  ??

 

I would also think an online storefront would hit at the same time - hopefully being able to move enough merchandise that prices in the local storefront can be enjoyable.

 

 

I'm considering, and I'm all ears...

[dunndw]

I know there were a couple that did very well during the run up to Y2K...not so well after that. I could see myself shopping there

[Guest Razz]

I would certainly utilize a store like this.

My only suggestion would be a very patient staff that can deal with silly questions and ideas. If my experience was anything like a visit to the average LGS, with little patience for noob questions, I would not return a second time.

[UncleJak]

There's a market for this. The key to any successful business is a solid customer service team and policy.

sent barefoot from the hills of Tennessee

[Trekbike]

Don't take comments as negative because it's not intended that way. I would visit the store but would I, and others, buy enough to keep you in business? I'm not sure. Is it possible to research how many stores of this type make it and how many don't? How many stores are already out there? If it was a lucrative type of business wouldn't there be more?

Be sure to do your research to find out what would make your store unique. I think the training aspect would be an important part to keep the traffic up.

Good luck!

[Peace]

Great responses. There is much research to do, so consider yourselves the first focus group!!!

There are no guaranties in any retail setting, and if you are selling any "common" goods, you are competing against amazon, eBay, Walmart, etc.... fighting the same war that huge entities like Best Buy are struggling to stay in (much less win!).

But. I am more of a fan of being the best in the world at one thing. If we did this, it would be grounded in making customers feel like dear family, and truly understanding each customer's situation and unique needs/wants would be every employee's mission.

I am also a fan of creating the market (Apple, love them or hate them have been the best at this in the history of retail). That means great grass roots marketing presence, overwhelmingly good experiences for every customer, and selling the idea of being prepared to the average James and Jennifer (being an Eagle Scout, it's an addiction that is hard to break).

What else!?

[vontar]

if I lived in Nashville, I would be prepared for a flood.  In case Wolf Dam in KY gives.  I believe it was on a show called The Crumbling of America or similar.

 

The year before Katrina I know I watched a show that talked about how New Orleans had not been hit by a hurricane in like 100 years and a what if it happened.

It talked about the levy failures and how so many areas are below sea level.  Then the next year Bam.  I bet I will never see that show again.  Wish I could remember what it was.

[Refleks]

Products I can buy online for cheaper (almost always), and it may be difficult to make enough to stay in business based on sales.  That being said I'd certainly shop there to help out that kind of place so long as it wasn't terribly more expensive.  I really do enjoy browsing through all the neat stuff at places like bass pro and other sporting goods stores, something about being able to see the stuff in person lol.

 

That being said, what's really missing around here is a forum for knowledge and practical hands on training.  A community, if you will.  An environment where you can go if you're interested in preparing across the entire spectrum: from your teenage daughter who just wants to learn self defense, to your mid range hunters and hikers who want to learn the basics of short term survival,  all the way up to long term preppers.  You have the opportunity to involve a great deal of outside organizations, from boy scouts and girl scouts, concealed carry classes, hunter safety and education courses, self defense classes for the public, HAM radio classes, wilderness first responder courses (I'd really love to attend something like that) and even more.  Classes, both hands on and theory.  A forum for those of like mindset (whatever that may be) to exchange ideas and meet up.  Networking....

 

What sets the smart phone craze apart from the personal digital assistants that already existed before them? The community.  The support from not just the company (like apple and google) but the developers.  It's not just Apps, because you could install programs on the PDA's of yore.  There just weren't many, and instead of feeding itself in a reinforcing loop (more developers make more apps, more apps create more demand, more demand creates more developers, etc) it atrophied and died.

Here's an example.  Mom and dad drops off a scout for a meeting. If they decide to wait and stick around, maybe they see a demo where another group is trying out bow drill firemaking and they roll up their sleeves and suddenly they're interested.

 

Maybe a bunch of hikers just finished up a class on short term survival and noticed a group of long term preppers having a meeting and a few check it out and end up liking it.

Flight attendants at the nearby Nashville international airport have to take self defense classes as part of their training, and maybe the airlines subcontract through you after seeing your instructors teaching a class for the local university.

Med students from the university might take a wilderness first responder course (I'd love to, hard to find around here).

 

Many kids love bow and arrow now that the Hunger Games has been in theatre.  Maybe a place to learn and practice, and a convenient storefront where they can buy their supplies.  Not just amateur bushcraft, but pottery and small scale metal and woodworking classes.  Knifemaking courses even.

Your zombie fans have a place to meet up and have fun.  You can have personal fitness classes and do charity 5k runs (after all, being fit helps, plus it brings the place into the community spotlight)

 

I don't hunt recreationally, but would love to take a class where I get hands on and learn to skin and prepare game.  Instead of simply hunter safety, maybe actual "here's how..." for those who didn't have dads to teach them. To identify useful local plants in person with someone showing me, not just a book with pictures.  To go out and maybe test out my skills on a weekend not just in a safe environment but where those with a great deal more knowledge than I might look over my techniques and offer suggestions.

 

On the one hand, I can see a lot of possibilities and love the idea.  Plus you have the recent survivor craze with all these cable TV shows that have gotten the people interested in it.  On the other hand, it may not be enough. I'm not a businessman and the whole thing could just as easily fizzle.  There may not be enough demand, enough organization, or enough involvement.

 

Still, would be nice!

Edited August 9, 2013 by Refleks

[Rightdefender]

I'd like to see that , Who would run the storefront? Who would give the seminars? I can imagine a sympethic  doctor giving one on emergency medicen, also a dentist.

What about a canning class by someone who really knows canning?

The network alone would be valuable.

We as a comunity don't have  a good venue to meet and communicate.

[Peace]

Fantastic thoughts. fyi: I would run the organization; experts would teach the classes/skills.

If it is something I qualify as an expert in, I may teach the skill,.... may.

It's interesting that you all are envisioning exactly what I have been seeing.

CHP classes is an interesting thought. I'm not sure I want to leech from other LGS; in fact, I would like their support in cross-marketing. If the other indoor range(s) in the area are full and there is still demand, then it could be a possibility.

[tnguy]

I have been looking for survival stores. The two I managed to find around Nashville were not in business anymore when I tried to get more details.

 

I'd love to see one but you need to be careful with your business plan, I suspect. Maybe don't pick somewhere with high overhead. People will be willing to travel to you (within reason) and make sure to have a mail-order/web-store going on as well.

[Hershmeister]

The big question to answer is :

Where will you generate profits?

I think there is a business opportunity in the "Prepper" space, but I also don't see it as a long term business, as it is more if a trend from a general public perapective IMHO.

Retailing is one option, but requires a physical storefront, staffing, and inventory. All of these are fixed costs in the short run

Consulting/Services require leas overhead (only need a location) and could be profit centers, but require marketing to bring in paying clients.

So do you offer the services for free to build the retail base, or do you skip the retailing altogether and become the "go to" guy in local Media and guide folks on how to get their house "prepared"

You could charge like an interior designer - they don't stock inventory, or if so, very little. You could build plans for backup water, power, food and safety. And by not retailing you simply ask -- what's your budget - and then build a plan and profit margin off that.

[Guest Razz]

People will be willing to travel to you (within reason) and make sure to have a mail-order/web-store going on as well.

I think this is one of the most important things that has been said.

A location with foot traffic is an unnecessary cost. Get a warehouse close to a highway. Rent should be cheaper and the extra space will help you store items that get volume discounts. It also gives you space to stage and package online orders, as well as classroom space for instruction.

Website sales are a big deal. Don't skimp on this. A crappy site speaks volumes about a retailer.

[JAB]

I would certainly utilize a store like this.

My only suggestion would be a very patient staff that can deal with silly questions and ideas. If my experience was anything like a visit to the average LGS, with little patience for noob questions, I would not return a second time.

 

The staff would also need to be patient and not 'freaked out' when dealing with some of the more moonbat extreme members of the 'prepping' community.

 

One suggestion might be to present the store as a camping/hiking type store with a heavy emphasis on things like long shelf-life foods which could be useful for backpacking, hiking and camping as well as long-term SHTF prep.  I would think there would actually be quite a bit of cross-over between such things - especially with things like back-country hiking and camping - so you probably wouldn't have to stock a lot of 'extraneous' items, just present them in a slightly different manner.  You wouldn't, necessarily, have to stock 'casual camping' stuff like gas grills, huge tents and so on but remain more focused on back-country type stuff.  A benefit of a presenting the store in such a manner would be that:

 

A. your customer base could include recreational hikers and campers as well as those who wish to be prepared for 'trouble'

 

B. even though prepping has become a little more 'mainstream', having the hiking/camping element to the store's image might make people who may not feel comfortable about coming into a 'prepping' store feel more at ease about coming into your store.

 

That would also expand the types of training/classes/seminars you could offer.  Along with 'Prepping 101', it would be reasonable to have classes like "Wild Edibles: Living Off the Land in Tennessee" which could appeal to both groups.  Heck, as someone who considers himself to be 'high interest/low knowledge' in such things, I'd love to see a store here in East Tennessee offering such classes, supplies and help with making decisions on how best to prepare for my situation, etc.  Right now, I have blanked on the name of those classes/groups (I think they are government - maybe FEMA - sponsored) which are intended to help the average citizen be prepared for disaster but getting such a group to meet at your store could be a good thing.

 

I would think that, if the advertising and customer service were handled well and if you made sure that your store was represented at the right meetings and so on that word about your store being 'prepper friendly' would get out to interested individuals. 

Edited August 9, 2013 by JAB

[Hershmeister]

You just described REI

[JAB]

You just described REI

 

Really?  Never heard of REI but I'll do a 'Net search.

 

EDIT:  Looked them up.  Seems they have been around a long time.  I'd say that I must have been living under a rock to not have heard of them but I bet people who live under rocks would know all about such a business.  I didn't see a whole lot of 'prepping' type stuff on their website, though (maybe just don't know where to look.)  They also look to be a bit more weighted toward the 'camping' end of things than I was talking about, above.

Edited August 9, 2013 by JAB

[tnguy]

You know what might do well for a prepper store? Allow people to buy one of those "Pods" type containers fully stocked with food, water, batteries, flashlights, tablet loaded with survival information in a EMP-proof container and other supplies for however many months and have it dropped off at a discreet time of night. Many people like the idea of prepping but truthfully, it's a bit of a chore

 

Might make you a bit of a target, perhaps have camo as an optional extra.

 

 

REI is an interesting store but it's not really geared towards prepping. There is some degree of crossover but it's actually fairly slim.

Edited August 9, 2013 by tnguy

[Rightdefender]

Preppers are only a small part of it as I see it. There is a big lack of "community" in this neck of the woods. It's understandable since all the new mandates (not constitutional laws) set up by Home land Security. (My post just got flagged because I said Homeland security) I propose face to face meetings with like minded people who are concerned with their loss of freedoms. That's where the storefront comes in. A face to face gathering of cautious citizens. We need to know that we're not alone. I also propose a means of communicating other than cell phones or the internet. if there was a member within say ten miles of another  simple 30 mile range walki talkies with a scramble feature always set on the groups channel could be a way of spreading the word throughout the community. I'll bet that in a group of 30  , twenty live that close and the others could be informed face to face by their nearest fellow member. I'm not being paranoid I'm trying to get people who can depend on each other together.

I'm a woodworker trained in the old hand tool methods.(and own them) I know post and beam construction. I might be useful for designing or building a new shelter if it becomes necessary to go underground. What do you do? Am I nuts?

[UncleJak]

I am gonna agree with everyone so far. A BIG agree to websites.
If you need any assistance in any areas, I would be happy to help. I may actually be smarter than I let on. :)

sent barefoot from the hills of Tennessee

[Dane]

I hate to bust any bubbles, but I've been a retail manager for around 15 years now. I've had my own retail companies. As you may have seen with the lack of support for even a LGS, if you aren't the very cheapest you don't stand a chance. As many people on here openly admit they will come to a store just to touch the item then order it online for $0.01 cheaper. Unfortunately, loyalty to a store is out the window. Walmart was nice enough to kill the expectation of customer service and one on one attention.

Bottom line is to succeed skip the store front and build a killer web site with the cheapest prices people can find. Focus on being able to get it to their door super fast and super cheap. Look into drop shipping from distribution companies in various parts of the country.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[whitewolf001]

Preppers are only a small part of it as I see it. There is a big lack of "community" in this neck of the woods. It's understandable since all the new mandates (not constitutional laws) set up by Home land Security. (My post just got flagged because I said Homeland security) I propose face to face meetings with like minded people who are concerned with their loss of freedoms. That's where the storefront comes in. A face to face gathering of cautious citizens. We need to know that we're not alone. I also propose a means of communicating other than cell phones or the internet. if there was a member within say ten miles of another  simple 30 mile range walki talkies with a scramble feature always set on the groups channel could be a way of spreading the word throughout the community. I'll bet that in a group of 30  , twenty live that close and the others could be informed face to face by their nearest fellow member. I'm not being paranoid I'm trying to get people who can depend on each other together.

I'm a woodworker trained in the old hand tool methods.(and own them) I know post and beam construction. I might be useful for designing or building a new shelter if it becomes necessary to go underground. What do you do? Am I nuts?

 

Hey Unclejak, didn't we do something like this already? lol

 

Excellent idea though, I'm up for another meet and greet and could stand to learn s'more knowledge, WOoooo! :up:

[whitewolf001]

I hate to bust any bubbles, but I've been a retail manager for around 15 years now. I've had my own retail companies. As you may have seen with the lack of support for even a LGS, if you aren't the very cheapest you don't stand a chance. As many people on here openly admit they will come to a store just to touch the item then order it online for $0.01 cheaper. Unfortunately, loyalty to a store is out the window. Walmart was nice enough to kill the expectation of customer service and one on one attention.

Bottom line is to succeed skip the store front and build a killer web site with the cheapest prices people can find. Focus on being able to get it to their door super fast and super cheap. Look into drop shipping from distribution companies in various parts of the country.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

Why not offer the same products in a store front that people will want to flock to. I drove to Murfreesboro just to go to Outpost Armory just because I had HEARD it was a gigantic shop, which it was, and I bought a Magpul handguard and left.

[Dane]

Why not offer the same products in a store front that people will want to flock to. I drove to Murfreesboro just to go to Outpost Armory just because I had HEARD it was a gigantic shop, which it was, and I bought a Magpul handguard and left.

Because store fronts cost lots of money. They can be $10-20 per square foot or more. It is not unheard of to see 1500 sqft costing $4000 or more. As opposed to a small warehouse space costing pennies per ft.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Peace]

No bubbles burst here. If it could succeed, it would have to be innovative in creating/finding/retaining margins and profit... Period.

... And I know that takes a good bit of smarts and just a dang lot of hard work.... And still no guaranties.

Great advice and dreaming guys. Keep it coming if you've got more, and I'll be stewing on this.

[Danger Rane]

I agree with the idea of the small warehouse space vs. an expensive store front.  More room for classroom and hands-on training.  Additionally this type of venture is most likely going to receive most of it's business through word of mouth among like minded individuals, not the chance passers-buy that see a bunch of last forever food and pvc pipe in a storefront window and get curious.  I think this business is a great idea and I would definitely make the drive to check it out.  I'm sure I'm not the only one on here that can appreciate the anonymity afforded by buying ones prepping supplies (and bulk ammo!!!!) at a local business instead of over the internet. 

 

As for supporting LGS and businesses of this nature, I have never had a problem driving a little further or paying a little more.  I do it as a matter of principal and appreciation for those still willing to go through the hassle of running a small business (especially a small gun business) in this modern environment of Wal-Mart, Dick's, etc.....not to mention the headache of the govt factor. That being said I've been noticing the last year or so that the attitudes of the staff in my LGSs have been changing, and not for the better.  Some are acting cocky as hell, almost like they have so much business and know so much about guns that it's beneath them to walk down the counter and answer a few questions for a lowly customer.....and another place makes me want to take antidepressants every time I walk out as the people behind the counter always look like someone just shot their dog.  It's weird, haven't figured it out.