5 Keys to Success with Smoke Shop Business:
If you are thinking about opening a smoke shop you should ask yourself what are the steps to open a smoke shop successfully. Below, we will give you some steps that we have collected from our clients (more than 100 smoke shops) who have been successful and now own more than one smoke shop.
First you should know that the costs of opening a smoke shop are relatively low, it is not necessary that it be an expensive infrastructure and the products to supply your store are at affordable prices.
Step 1:
Define the initial capital, this can be yours or through financing, for the capital you should take into account:
- Monthly rental of the premises plus the deposit, which depending on the area can cost between $1000 to $4000. When choosing the premises you should make sure that the area where your store is located does not have much competition around and that it is a favorable public, that is, potential customers in the area.
- Inventory, for inventory the budget can be between $15,000 to $25,000, it all depends on the amount of product you buy to fill your space and usually on glass you can spend between $8,000 to $15,000, then on tobacco and random consumer products it can be between $5,000 to $15,000.
- Remodeling, remodeling the place can cost between $1,000 to $10,000, it all depends on the space you are going to rent and the layout you want for it.
Step 2:
Permits and legal requirements, for planning the products you are going to sell you must take into account what are the permits you need to sell those products.
- Obtain your licenses to sell as a smoke shop
- Obtain your license to sell tobacco
- Find out about the accounting requirements for you and your employees.
- Tax, commercial, state, and federal licenses.
- Make sure the name of your smoke shop is unique and special.
Step 3:
Conduct market research. This sounds complex, but it is easier than you might imagine.
- Visit some smoke shops where you plan to open your store and see what products they have in the store and if you have the opportunity ask which is the best selling product.
- Observe the public around the area where you will open your store. Their habits, behavior, use of products, etc.
Step 4:
Execute
- Start the process of opening your store, make sure to use dark colors like black and lots of lights, so that the glass and products in your store look striking, due to the colors and brightness. Make sure that everything looks tidy and visually attractive.
- If you plan to include the sale of CIGARS you must build a special room for cigars.
Includes products of:
Glass: bongs (large, medium, and small), recyclers, straight pipes, oil burner (water pipe, bends, water dog, different sizes of heavy or standard, hand pipes, bowls, bangers, bubblers, hammers, etc.
Tobacco
Vapes
Regular or electronic cigarettes
Lighters
Grinders
Cannabis accessories
Wooden cannabis accessories
Metal cannabis accessories
Soda, juices, energy drinks, chips, gum, candy.
Step 5:
Make a marketing plan to attract customers
- Make sure you have large signs with lights that attract attention to your store.
- Create social networks for your business and upload photos to keep your customers updated.
- Make sure you have your business registered on Google, so when your customers search for a smoke shop in your area Google can show them your store as a suggestion.
- Collect reviews from your customers to get stars and ratings for your service and ensure you provide excellent service to your customers.