OK guys, just a shameless plug. I spent the morning talking to real estate agents with a guy who I am going to partner up with in a new small business venture. We are going to open up a few small stores (public area will be about 500 square feet in size) and will be selling cigarettes, smoking supplies, premium cigars, etc. Its not politically correct. I'm not even a smoker, have never been, and don't let people smoke in my house. But the business plan seems solid.
We are currently negotiating on 3 properties. One is about a 99% sure thing. The other two are 50%-50% as to if we get them. Ultimately the plan is for 12 stores. But the short term goal is 2 stores before July 1, and 3 stores if possible by that date. We have a couple alternate locations already identified if don't get any of our first 3 choices.
I got Indiana D.O.T. traffic counts for all the major roads in the area, mapped out the existing similar stores and looked at their traffic counts, road access, ingress/egress, etc. Location #1 has a traffic count of over 70,000 cars per day and is located at a corner with a stoplight. Location #2 has over 30,000 cars per day located next to a very busy local restaurant. Location #3 has over 25,000 cars per day passing, it also is located adjacent to a stop light. To put this into perspective, the average "busy" road in the county has about 12,000 cars per day for a traffic count; that said, we believe we have identified some premier locations.
The stores will only sell the premium cigarettes and tobaccos. Nothing generic or value prices. The common brands will be things like Winston, Marlboro, Newport and Kool. But we will also have higher grade brands like Nat Shermans, Dunhills, and American Spirit. Cigars will range from Dutch Master on the low end to Partagas, Macanudo and a few other hand rolled premiums. We are going with sort of a NASCAR theme to the logo and designs. Tile floors will be black & white ceramic tile surrounding the perimeter of the showroom. Probably put in a couple flat panel monitors with the SPEED channel playing on them. There will also be a small coffee and cappuccino bar, and we are considering popcorn. None of our initial locations will have Drive-Thru windows, but we are searching for locations that will allow that option and consider it very desirable.
Below is the final logo that we had designed . . . this is well past my graphic abilities.
We are currently negotiating on 3 properties. One is about a 99% sure thing. The other two are 50%-50% as to if we get them. Ultimately the plan is for 12 stores. But the short term goal is 2 stores before July 1, and 3 stores if possible by that date. We have a couple alternate locations already identified if don't get any of our first 3 choices.
I got Indiana D.O.T. traffic counts for all the major roads in the area, mapped out the existing similar stores and looked at their traffic counts, road access, ingress/egress, etc. Location #1 has a traffic count of over 70,000 cars per day and is located at a corner with a stoplight. Location #2 has over 30,000 cars per day located next to a very busy local restaurant. Location #3 has over 25,000 cars per day passing, it also is located adjacent to a stop light. To put this into perspective, the average "busy" road in the county has about 12,000 cars per day for a traffic count; that said, we believe we have identified some premier locations.
The stores will only sell the premium cigarettes and tobaccos. Nothing generic or value prices. The common brands will be things like Winston, Marlboro, Newport and Kool. But we will also have higher grade brands like Nat Shermans, Dunhills, and American Spirit. Cigars will range from Dutch Master on the low end to Partagas, Macanudo and a few other hand rolled premiums. We are going with sort of a NASCAR theme to the logo and designs. Tile floors will be black & white ceramic tile surrounding the perimeter of the showroom. Probably put in a couple flat panel monitors with the SPEED channel playing on them. There will also be a small coffee and cappuccino bar, and we are considering popcorn. None of our initial locations will have Drive-Thru windows, but we are searching for locations that will allow that option and consider it very desirable.
Below is the final logo that we had designed . . . this is well past my graphic abilities.