What brick & mortar store is the most profitable?

hey

this is sort of a general question but i am curious

What brick & mortar store do you think is the most profitable?

thanks!

 

drive thru coffee/espresso stores have a good profit margin. there's no exact answer here though, since there are a ton of variables involved. but for a low startup cost...small drive thru shacks in good locations can turn a healthy profit compared to their expenses

 

build a coffee hut outside a car wash, auto shop, car lot, or somewhere else that has a lot of people waiting. I bet outside a hotel would be an awesome spot too.

 

street massage. Cheap labour earns you $10 for 10 minutes. Total inventory needed = 1 chair.

Or palm reading - $10 for 5 minutes

 

"Street Massage" I can see it now ... jk. Be creative there is lots you can do some with greater start up costs.

 

those coffee sheds sound like a good idea? anyone know where i can find more info?

thanks!!!

 

whatever you do... dont open a restaurant

 

please enlighten me.. why not?

is it too much work?

 

liquor sells pretty consistently world wide.

 

restaurants have an incredibly high failure rate. in almost every region it's a pretty saturated market. banks dont give restaurants favorable financing unless the owner is a millionaire with 20 years of business experience. the biggest factor id say is that almost everyone thinks they know how to run a successful restaurant... statistics would say that the vast majority of them are wrong

 

Bars/clubs tend to be pretty good, especially in bigger cities -- and ESPECIALLY if you get known for throwing some WILD ass parties!

 

Cigarette & Tobacco products sell very well in my area. (I live in Ohio, on the border with Kentucky) Kentucky has favorable tobacco prices as opposed to Ohio, so people drive across the border to Kentucky to buy cigarettes. Most of the businesses are small little buildings with only 1 or 2 employees and they only sell cigarettes. $40 for a carton of Marlboro in Ohio... Kentucky has the same case for about $10 or $15 less.

 

Yeah, but how profitable are they really? What are their margins like.

Those kinds of differences in prices from one state to the next on items like tobacco and alcohol are mostly taxes. It's not extra money the business is making it's extra tax the state government is charging on vices. "If you want to smoke in this state it going to cost you!"

These types of small mom and pop operations don't make anyone millionaires. And there is little to no room for growth.

Yes, its too much work. and like BCRed say's its risky and most restaurants fail.

Most bars and clubs are like restaurants. It's very risky, highly competitive, and prone to failure.

Now coffee shops can be very profitable and so can pizza joints.

Automotive aftermarket stuff can be very profitable. Customizing cars, tinting windows, etc.

 

Baked potato deli's are rolling in it. Everyone likes baked potatoes and it costs them probably 3 cent each. 5 cents for the topping. sell it for $3.00 and you're rolling in it.

 

A check cashing business could make you some money...Western Union office...etc etc etc...think about what you want to do---and have the skills or bankroll for.

 

I personally would never sell food or drinks. Aside from the continual health concerns (i.e. bacteria in your water supply, etc), you also need special licensing from several government branches, which needs to be renewed annually, which requires annual inspections. Liquor license costs increase every year I've been told.

There is alot of potential, especially if you market it properly. Example: sports bars do extremely well in large cities, but not so well in small suburbs. There's one in Vancouver where I live called the Shark Club, customers stand in line for 2+ hours on major game nights because they have 10+ big screen tv's, hot waitresses, specials for game nights, etc.

I've heard that fetish clubs do quite well, and most major cities only have 1-3 so it's not super competitive to get in, but it's hard to draw the right customers in.

Family restaurants do well in the suburbs if you serve the right food and get setup properly. But it's pretty risky.


Services do fairly well (i.e. hair salons), but they can drive you to bankruptcy very quickly if you aren't careful.

If I personally were going to open a physical store, I'd do something like a video rental store (Rogers/Blockbusters are franchised), or a really niche store (i.e. pet store, craft store, or home decor). They have higher margins and usually a steady flow of customers year round.