Editing The Pen Addict 310/transcript (section)

== Retail Business Models ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, so a lot of these topics that we're going to cover, I get lots of emails about these types of things. And, you know, it's hard to answer, you know, should I start a business? And, you know, what's the right thing to do? And one of those areas, I've actually gotten more emails about traditional retail, like your brick and mortar stores. I've gotten more people interested in opening that type of store than necessarily being an online retailer. And that's an extremely tough market.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah, I think that's like, it's a bad idea. Like to go from nothing to physical store seems like, that just seems like a bad idea. Like, yes, Caroline Weaver did it, but she's like the, you know, the exception that makes the rule.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. And that's the tough part as I do think there is a place for more traditional retail. Yeah, yeah.

'''Myke Hurley:''' But I think it needs to be an extension of a business you already own. So like, you're able to actually establish yourself first. I think that's the important part.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. You know, I look at someone like Wonderpins in Toronto, who I mentioned when I wrote it up, that, you know, they started small, you know, lived above the shop, you know, just poured everything they had into it and made it and made it successful just by sheer will and talent. And I think that can be done in other places if it's managed correctly. I don't see any, no one's going to go and drop, you know, a Vaness Pens in, I don't know, Atlanta, Georgia, you know, a shop that big and have that scale and be successful right out of the gate. I can see growing from something small and really focusing on the community around, you know, the new shop opening because that's what makes these shops successful, you know, like Drumgools in Vaness and Anderson Pens is, you know, they, Anderson's in their online reputation and Penshow World reputation and then Vaness and Drumgools in their just familial reputation in the communities. That's how they've grown up from where they were, you know, 20, 30, 50 years ago into what they are now. So I, but like the burdens of traditional retail are so high before you even sell your first pin, right? There's rent and lease and utilities and insurance and employees. You haven't, you haven't even sold a Lamy Safari yet and you're that much into it already. That's the hard part overcoming that.

'''Myke Hurley:''' And as well, like you can't do that while still, you can't do that as a side business. That isn't a side business, right? Like you can't set up a physical store as your side thing. Like that has to be your thing thing. Full time. And, but the benefit of an online store is you can kind of make it your side thing, especially if you're starting out. Like that is a thing that you can do. Like that, you know, you, you can manage that, right?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Right. I think we're going to see a little bit of activity in the traditional market in the next five or 10 years from us in a small scale, local community kind of way. Shifting. It was shifting. Yeah. Like I know there's a shop in Seattle that's going to open soon. You know, I can see smaller, you know, just kind of, you know, less than a thousand square feet, like local shops opening up, which is like how Wonderpen started. So it's not going to be a huge growth area because just the overheads are so, it's tough to overcome then you're competing against online retail too. But if you can make,

'''Myke Hurley:''' like if you're starting a physical store, you're going to need an online store anyway. Like, yes, so, you know, it's like at that point, I mean, that's what makes it difficult because like at that point, why do you have the store? And there are lots of reasons why you might want to do it, right? We speak about them and you've been talking about the community aspect, but it makes the decision to start your business that way a lot harder, I think.