HELP!! I need advice on starting a small town business (Preston: sales, lease)

[snowcrazychic]

I am looking for advice on starting a business in a small town (I really would like suggestions from as many people as possible-so please send your idea through!!) The town I would like to start a new business in Preston, Idaho. Preston has a population just less than 4700 people. Most people make the 30 minute drive to Logan Utah to do the main part of their shopping. I currently drive 45 minutes to work and have 7 years business management experience. I am ready to make something my own.
I have done quite a bit of research and I just seem to keep coming up empty handed. For the last few years I have been keeping my eyes and ears open to peoples needs and the biggest thing that Preston is lacking are restaurants and grocery stores. We have had quite a few restaurants open and close within a few years, we even had a McDonalds come and go. The thing with franchises is that it just seems like a huge investment to be unsure if things will prosper. The thing it seems like you have to have is great product and great customer service to keep your doors open.
The other option I have been thinking about is a cell phone company. It seems that the ones we have now are completely unknowledgeable and unhelpful.

Well I have babbled enough. Just please send through your suggestions!
THANKS IN ADVANCE!!
SNOWCRAZYCHIC

[twinprism]

snowcrazychic,

I like your handle..

It will be hard to compete with the Costco's and Walmart's of the world but as you said, if you get good products and great service you can develop a loyal following. The restaurant business is tough without a lot of drive and vision or meeting a niche, so if you are inclined, perhaps a grocery store would be a safer bet depending on the competition. I seem to recall you already have a western Family affiliate grocery in Preston.

There is room to greatly improve the cell phone business, because I think the how business model is not very customer friendly but people are not willing to give up their cell, even if the economy is down so if you find the lesser of the evil companies products to sell and act as a customer advocate I think you can find sucess there. It will take some research and captial to keep your doors open while word of mouth gets you started.

Many cell companies don't give their affiliates much latitude to do right by their customers. Just find ways to extract more money from them so I think choosing the right company(ies) to do business with is critical

Just my 2 cents, hopefully it gets some dicussion started becuase we need more local entrepeneurs like you.

[8 SNAKE]

Originally Posted by snowcrazychic

For the last few years I have been keeping my eyes and ears open to peoples needs and the biggest thing that Preston is lacking are restaurants and grocery stores. We have had quite a few restaurants open and close within a few years, we even had a McDonalds come and go. The thing with franchises is that it just seems like a huge investment to be unsure if things will prosper. The thing it seems like you have to have is great product and great customer service to keep your doors open.
The other option I have been thinking about is a cell phone company. It seems that the ones we have now are completely unknowledgeable and unhelpful.

I admire your approach! Too often, people try to open a business that they like, rather than focusing on the needs of the consumers that they hope to serve. You are taking the better angle, by looking at what people need and then filling that void. Bravo!

With regard to the specific businesses that you mentioned, they are all very cash-intensive. If the financial aspect is not an obstacle, then you've cleared a big hurdle with all three. I will play devil's advocate and mention some of the drawbacks that I see. I don't mean to disuade you, and just want to spur some discussion that may help you with your goals.

Restaurants are pretty tough, and you really have to be there 24/7 to keep one running well. Restaurants also have a very high failure rate (as you've seen), and lenders can be very reluctant to loan money for a new place. You didn't mention if you had experience running a restaurant? If not, I would honestly be shocked if you found financing (assuming you would even need it).

Grocery stores can be tough because most consumers ultimately shop by price. You might do well for a while, but you'd constantly have to live in fear of a chain store setting up shop near you. There's simply no way that you can match the buying power of large chains. You can compete with service, but I'm not certain that it would be enough to keep your doors open if one of the major players came to town.

I don't know much about the cell phone business, but I would speculate that you'd have a tough time gaining access to towers so that you could compete with the companies who own said towers. I'd also wonder about profit margins if you had to lease towers from someone else and then compete with them on price. Perhaps you would be better served by becoming an agent for one of the carriers in your region. If the primary problem is customer service, you could tackle that as an agent without worrying about the infrasturcture behind the cell phone biz.

[GhostInTheShell]

One of my closest friends started a business in a small town of less than three thousand people about eight years ago using a $50 loan from his parents. It started out as a web-based business, but has shifted somewhat over the years. Although Internet sales are still an important part of his business, he now markets many of his products to distributors in other regions of the U.S. It was fascinating watching his business grow from a kitchen table enterprise to one with at least a seven figure turnaround. He now has a good income; employees more than a dozen people locally; pays them above-average wages for the area; and has a very professional, warehouse-sized location in a small industrial park. I think it's pretty cool that he realized early on that he could eventually create jobs locally and earn a nice income by marketing to people outside of his town. One of the insights he had along the way was that--metaphorically speaking--once the business began to grow, it was as though it was organic and had a life of its own. That is, he felt like he had little control over what happened as long as he kept doing his part.

So anyway, marketing to people outside of town is always an idea.

[snowcrazychic]

Just wanted to say thanx to those who sent through their thoughts!

[MtnFlyer]

This is a great subject for a forum like this. Snowcrazychic I too love your handle. Based on your name alone, I'm pretty confident I'd like you.

To echo another comment that has been made as well, I applaud your approach and willingness to focus on what the numbers will support and not what you want. I've been a true entrepreneur my whole life, starting, running, and even buying and selling companies. In fact one of my companies is a company that sells businesses, and one of the biggest mistakes I see people make is going into a particular business because it's their hobby or what they want to do. The reality though is that what you enjoy doing isn't necessarily what will make you the money.

A while back I'd had enough of the metropolitan areas and decded it was time to start looking at "better places" to live. At that time I started focusing all my new business ventures on things that could be done from anywhere that weren't geographically constraining. The internet is one tool that gives you some options. If you're making your living online, you can live or move most anywhere and your income stream never slows. In fact, if you move someplace so remote that the cost of living is lower, you get a raise.

If you're really set on running a business in town just keep in mind that people will pay more for a pain killer than they will a vitamin. If you select an occupation such as a maid service or something like that, those conveniences will be the first to be cut from their budget when times get hard.

Best of luck, and please keep us posted.

[michmoldman]

Cement statues.
Very low startup, very low cost to make, very high profit. Can also be sold wholesale to flourists and other retailers. Also can be sold at farmers markets, craft shows......anywhere!
And because I sell molds, you would also be helping me LOL!