I Need Help -wanna Start A Soul Shop

[Guest cyrus]

Hey being a new number i am blown away by how much you guys know about soul. I thought i new a fair bit but it is really pathetic compared to what you guys know. Having been born in the late 70's i feel i missed too much - i mainly rely on cd's for my education i slip in vinyl on stuff i cant get + i'm more of an album man than singles. Bit depressed at how much i dont know...anyway...:

I am currently in the process of looking into starting a record shop (main emphasis being soul and funk) has anybody got any ideas on where i should source my stock from and what i should do basically???

Having gone through this forum i feel im lacking musical knowledge.

Cyrus

P.S

This is the best thing on the NET!!

Edited March 27, 2007 by cyrus

[Guest sigher the gutter snype]

hi mate and welcome

im still a young one and learning and this forum will defiantely give you some heads up on the soul

scene from the past and present and you'll gain some unforgetable knowledge

but on the shop front i and i reckon like most people would say "DONT DO IT"

too many people tried it and failed, whilst nearly every household has a computer and the world is the size of

a peanut you got no chance

stick up your own website and go from there

ive had a dream many a time of owning a second hand soul shack along with a bistro soul style.

think id have to sell my records collection just to keep it going

but hey! if its something you want to do then you should....if we dont have ambition or dreams then there really

is no point to it all

good luck and let us know if it ever goes ahead

Edited March 26, 2007 by sigher the gutter snype

[Guest cyrus]

WOW cheers mate..i had the exact same idea...food and soul?

Who knows? Suppose it depends where you market..think your right about the internet though, best place to start..its about sourcing the material though and selling it to at least make a living on. I'm currently a gasman and make a very good living but if i could have my own record shop and be taking home at least 200 a week...i'd be a happy happy man

[Steve G]

WOW cheers mate..i had the exact same idea...food and soul?

Who knows? Suppose it depends where you market..think your right about the internet though, best place to start..its about sourcing the material though and selling it to at least make a living on. I'm currently a gasman and make a very good living but if i could have my own record shop and be taking home at least 200 a week...i'd be a happy happy man

There's no money in running a soul shop. If there was more people would be doing it. Keep being a gasman - sorry. Steve

[Guest]

hello i live in nottingham and in the city center not 500 yards from one of the oldest northern soul based shop i no of is rob smiths record mart its been there 25+ years so it can work so times .But back to the main reason for the reply is in the city center is a pub called soulville stakhouse playing all the background music from a jukebox which plays vinly and must have cost a pack but allways people sat down eating and trying to sing alongto the background music seems kind of hard getting the words out to tony galla in love with a mouth full of stake but seems to work there so good luck

[Guest cyrus]

Cheers man, thanks for the optimism. peace

[Barry]

There's no money in running a soul shop. If there was more people would be doing it. Keep being a gasman - sorry. Steve

I ran Hott Waxx for 19 years, closing around 6 months ago.

Open a shop in todays environment and expect to be broke and owing within 6 months mate. Sorry.

[Guest cyrus]

One minute i'm up next minute i'm down....what if i tried selling a bit of food on the side....there are places by me (birmingham, moseley) that have been open for years and i see like 2 people in these shops? Matter of interest why did you close down? Was the Internet eating into your sales?

[Mike]

gonna move to aats nand add shop to title

think work better there

[Barry]

One minute i'm up next minute i'm down....what if i tried selling a bit of food on the side....there are places by me (birmingham, moseley) that have been open for years and i see like 2 people in these shops? Matter of interest why did you close down? Was the Internet eating into your sales?

Proper mate - I mean I wouldn't expect to make a decent living at it.

With all the best will in the world, I'd think long and hard about it.

[Guest cyrus]

Appreciate the honesty, my job pays well but when you say a decent living, what am i looking at? I used to be on 12k a year if i could make the same and be happy?

I really probably should start on the net, but that looks like its been dont to death.

Cheers again

[Barry]

Appreciate the honesty, my job pays well but when you say a decent living, what am i looking at? I used to be on 12k a year if i could make the same and be happy?

I really probably should start on the net, but that looks like its been dont to death.

Cheers again

It's always the overheads that will kill you mate - keep them down and you may have a shout but otherwise it's a rocky road. these days.

[Jason S]

Not to put dampner on things but the idea of running a record shop for most is (I'd wager) a bit of a fantasy that you can make a living sitting around listening to music all day. If you're running it right you won't have all that much time during the day to enjoy listening to music cos you'll be too busy with the day to day, full-on job of running a business to indulge in (perhaps) the reason why you wanted to run a record shop: out of a love of the music (and maybe the idea of listening to music all day). If you can combine a hobby and treat it as a business then you're doing well. Not only have you got the financial side to keep in order but actually managing large stock levels is a full time job. Seriously, having worked for Soul Brother for 7 years + you see how shrunken the UK market is for soul stores - the internet has undoubtedly played a huge part in this, but also people's listening habits have changed. If you think there's a big enough walk-in market in the area you're looking at setting up in then maybe it'll work but you also have to pitch your stock to accomodate a range of soul styles that reflect not only your taste (and possibly not your taste) but those of potential customers. So that'll include smooth jazz and urban, then I wouldn't envy anyone setting up a specialist bricks 'n Mortar store in this day and age, and even trying to compete on the net as a newcomer has to be daunting, particularly in terms of new product. If you've got a huge and endless supply of rare, collectable and in-demand titles at competitive prices then yeah, maybe a net shop is the thing, but when Tesco or asda can stock a soul comp at 30% less than an indie store, be paid for racking space and have a larger returns privellige you know it's tough! Ebay and Gemm (especially) etc have made everyone a potential record dealer, also. Not sure how you'd tie in food and records...seems like you'd need to employ double the staff and logistically it's a bit of a leap of the imagination to figure out how the two would combine.

Good luck though

Edited March 27, 2007 by J-Brew

[Little-stevie]

Its a big step..If you have food and soul then its got a better chance..Soul record shops?????? its all on-line now mate..I live in Manchester and its got Beating Rhythm,one of the biggest and well know,that place is pretty quite nowadays with some traffic at the weekend,they do so much mail order/internet also...If you have hair then keep it and stick to being a gas man..If you win the lottery then give us a call,i will come into the business with you

[Gert Mark]

My wise old Mum has always told me, you dont regret the things you do, only the things you dont!

GO FOR IT !!!!!!!!!!!

[Barry]

Bottom line is fella, you would be stark, staring mad to do it - especially with no experience.

[Trev Thomas]

dont think the environmental health chappies would be happy with you serving & preparing food next to a pile of grubby old 45's

[Guest MARTIN SNOW]

Having been born in the late 70's i feel i missed too much - i mainly rely on cd's for my education i slip in vinyl on stuff i cant get + i'm more of an album man than singles. Bit depressed at how much i dont know...anyway...:

I am currently in the process of looking into starting a record shop (main emphasis being soul and funk) has anybody got any ideas on where i should source my stock from and what i should do basically???

APPOLOGIES IF I'M WRONG, BUT ONCE AGAIN, I DON'T THINK I AM AND I'LL TELL WHY.

I THINK YOU ARE RARE GEMS OF SOUL UNDER A FRESH IDENTITY. YOU JOINED ON THE 23 MARCH, THE DAY AFTER RARE GEMS KILLED HIMSELF OFF, YOU HAVE A VIRTUALLY BLANK PROFILE, AND WRITE IN THE SAME SORT OF MANNER AS HIM, BULLSHIT ENGLISH BASICALLY. HIGHLY COINCIDENTAL ISN'T IT ?

IN MY OPINION YOUVE STARTED THIS POSTING SIMPLY IN THE HOPE THAT SOMEONE WILL TELL YOU WHERE TO FIND GOOD STOCK AND/OR CONTACTS, AND HAVE NO INTEREST WHATSOEVER IN OWNING A SHOP. SURELY YOU'D BE ON THE HIGH STREET NOW COSTING UP PREMISES AND RUNNING COSTS IF YOU HAD ANY REMOTE INTEREST.

I KNOW WHO YOU ARE, ITS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE I EXPOSE EVERY IDENTITY YOU HAVE ON HERE, AND I KNOW OF AT LEAST 3 OF THEM ALREADY, AND ALMOST CERTAINLY A 4TH. YOU'RE CLEARLY FOOLING SOME PEOPLE, BUT FAR FROM EVERYONE I CAN ASSURE YOU.

[Guest]

Remember to follow your heart and never give up on a dream. Years down the line if you utter 'if only I'd done...' you'll be cross with yourself Everyone wants food so a combined project would be great! Guess the important part is doing your math and speak to your Bank Manager - they have a wealth of experience with new business set-up's

When you've got the soul-sustinence bistro set up, be sure to tell us. I'll come along and gorge myself on your food and soul-food

[Guest cyrus]

WOW...how paranoid are you man? Chill out - end of the day mate believe what you want, but seriously get a grip. Not thats its your business but i was checking out some premises today. Thought this forum was friendly but you seem like a bit of fool.

Cheers for everyone elses advice i appreciate it all.

Still in shock man..what a fool.

[s7oul]

Cyrus

Are you going to admit that you are Rare Gems Of Soul ?

Pat

[Guest]

Now That Twas An Unusual Exchange. Nearly Coughed Up Me Pie And Chips.

[Guest rachel]

Could we ask members that if they have any concerns about multiple accounts etc that they contact the site - we certainly don't tolerate any such misuse of the forum but we also don't want to discourage genuine new members!

[Guest cyrus]

Who is Rare Gems Of Soul? This is crazy!!

Cheers Rachel for your comments.

Laters

[Robin S]

Have to agree with Barry - sorry to hear the shop is no more - but what a long run you had! 5 years was more than enough for me - believe me there is life after retail! It was after our shop closed (1997)that I really found my love for the music again - sounds strange but there is so much energy spent just keeping your head above water.

[Guest cyrus]

So what went wrong with your shop? Guess the internet is a real killer!!!

Oh well, still thinking bout it!!

Keep the advice coming please!!!

[Guest Matt Male]

When i was in New York i checked out a few shops but they were all closed, mid week and in the middle of the day. They were all making more money on their websites and through ebay and didn't even need to be open on a small side street in Greenwich Village where they would probably get maybe a couple of customers all day.

If you're serious about dealing in records you at least need a website and establish yourself on ebay IMO.

[Guest cyrus]

Yes, i think the internet is the best way to go. Then again you look at Soul Brother Records and think how can you compete - thats a tightly run ship.

[Guest MARTIN SNOW]

there are places by me (birmingham, moseley) that have been open for years and i see like 2 people in these shops?

Well let's not worry about the Rare Gems issue for the moment, it was just a feeling I had but he didnt list a location. Now that you have this certainly seems more credible.

Having been a regular visitor to Birmingham over the years, out of cuiosity which record shops are the one's that you are referring to ?

You say you are "a gasman", may I ask do you enjoy your job and are the hours long, for example what hours would you have worked today Tuesday. I say this because with fixed hours running a shop you will be tied to being there all day if you want to make it a success.

May I ask, are you Dinki registered ?

[Guest Spinning Vinyl]

Take note that the biggest second hand record dealer in Birmingham, Reddingtons Rare Records closed to deal online. They had tons of stock, not just soul but everything, if your looking at anytype of music shop you have to look on a broader horizon not just soul and funk, then you have all the other competition out there allready dealing, Mosley is a great place but would you get the trade in??? Think long and hard before taking on this project. But if you have a dream sometimes you have to follow it otherwise you will always be thinking ... What If!

[Guest cyrus]

I've been accused of worse mate

There are a couple of record shops i refer to - mainly Jibbering records in moseley, polar bear in kings Heath. Also SwordFish Records (which deals in all manner of styles). My working hours are flexible as a sub-contract so a typical day can be from 8-2pm. I know what you're saying its just i'd rather be doing something i enjoy than not?

As to the other point - i would like to concentrate on the soul side of things but i would stock all types - the Moseley crowd are very knowledgable when it comes to music, but its gettin em' in to buy!!

i figure a lot of money from the record shops come from sale of other items i.e. tickets, t-shirts etc?

[Guest Roddy]

still pmsl at Dinki registered !

[Guest MARTIN SNOW]

There are a couple of record shops i refer to - mainly Jibbering records in moseley, polar bear in kings Heath. Also SwordFish Records (which deals in all manner of styles). My working hours are flexible as a sub-contract so a typical day can be from 8-2pm. I know what you're saying its just i'd rather be doing something i enjoy than not?

As to the other point - i would like to concentrate on the soul side of things but i would stock all types - the Moseley crowd are very knowledgable when it comes to music, but its gettin em' in to buy!!

i figure a lot of money from the record shops come from sale of other items i.e. tickets, t-shirts etc?

I've never been to any of those 3 shops although I do know of the first two you mentioned. Let's face it they're hardly doing themselves any favours with their choice of names are they, especially Swordfish which is the one I don't know of. None of them are "marketable" names in my opinion.

Anyhow, what exactly is "a gasman" these days, a bit of an old fashioned term now to most people. Do you do basic indoor fitting/servicing, or are you one of those guys that digs large holes in the middle of the road ? What sort of job did you do today for example, Tuesday ?

Thanks

[Crumb]

Have you considered a stall in an indoor market ? They're usually only open 2 or 3 days a week, so you could carry on as a gasman as well until it was established.

[Guest Fatius Bumius]

Hey being a new number i am blown away by

Classic, coming from a gasman

[Guest Spinning Vinyl]

Sword Fish is the only one I do know and it is doing ok, there has been quite a few specialist shop close that were in the city, one specialised in Reggae, another in Garage, One a drum and Bass shop but i think when the owner got caught for radio piracy which messed him up, and another Reggae/Soul shop which also incorporated a Barbour shop closed as well, another long term Reggae dealer closed whom traded outside the city center as well and he was in one of the best areas to sell the style of music! Infact the more I think about it the more shops come to mind that have closed!

There is a little shop near me that is dealing in club music of all gendre, tickets, sound equipment and ganja pipes that seems to be sustaining its self well at the moment! They also started off as a trader in a market, so that suggestion may definitely be worth a thought.

[Guest MARTIN SNOW]

Classic, coming from a gasman

WELL SPOTTED, MISSED THAT ONE !

[Guest Roddy]

I think I will take the royal dogs out for a walk soon

[Guest WPaulVanDyk]

to say this, but to own a record shop nowadays is hard, there are more second hand record shops closing then you can imagine. It is nice when you find them and can go in and browse the stock and maybe buy. But less are around,

The best way if you did want to try opening a shop is best if it was general music so you could have soul sections but also sell the rock, pop, dance, indie, country, easy listning and so on because you just might make more profit out if it having in a location like the town center where record collectors can say look a new record shop opened they go in every so often and browse.

specialist music might not work and with the net and obviously soul source it's gonna be a lot collectors who come on here to find tunes

[Guest]

still pmsl at Dinki registered !

I think he's trying to gas a rat out of a hole

[Baz Atkinson]

ID BE INTERESTED TO KNOW WHAT FINANCIAL PARAMETERES YOU HAVE RE STOCK AS I COULD POINT YOU TO ONE OR 2 PEOPLE WHO COULD HELP,I ALSO MUST HAVE AT LEAST A 1000 US SINGLES I COULD LET GO FOR A RESONABLE PRICE ,PM ME AND LET ME KNOW HOW IT GOES.

BAZ A.

[Guest cyrus]

To answer the question about my job : i am a Corgi registered installer, i used to do installation (central heating) but now i sub-contract and to safety check for housing services (grim but good money).

I think the market stall is a good way to go and i defo would try stock a wide variety of music, aside from a loan from the bank - i have over 20k in savings. I think i would stock vinyl but maybe more for the Dj'ing market but would like to concentrate on CD's (i.e second hand, reissues and deleted items) as well T-Shirt printing (my friend owns a screen printer) and books etc.

It all seems a bit too dauting now

[Mal C]

I've been accused of worse mate

There are a couple of record shops i refer to - mainly Jibbering records in moseley, polar bear in kings Heath. Also SwordFish Records (which deals in all manner of styles). My working hours are flexible as a sub-contract so a typical day can be from 8-2pm. I know what you're saying its just i'd rather be doing something i enjoy than not?

As to the other point - i would like to concentrate on the soul side of things but i would stock all types - the Moseley crowd are very knowledgeable when it comes to music, but its gettin em' in to buy!!

i figure a lot of money from the record shops come from sale of other items i.e. tickets, t-shirts etc?

You have overlooked the Diskery on the Bristol Road??? They have shed loads of original 45's and Lps of all types, Swordfish do a good selection of reissue CD's etc but no one expects to find any originals there... the Shop in Kings Heath I've never been to, I grew up in B'ham and its never come up on my radar...as for Moseley crowd, its a trendy part of town you may get good business there, lots of students there as well...

Perhaps you could align your self with someone like Hard to Find records, they sell House and all that but I'd expect Jason is always looking for interesting proposals, just a thought..

As someone mentioned if Reddingtons have closed, I think its not a good time to open a shop, Cardiff, London(Soho) have lost some of their best known record shops in the last 2-3 months, I think thats a good reflection of the 2nd hand record industry in the Uk... its not good..

I'd stick to gas and all that..

are you the bloke who does the do with Tony Reynolds and Dave?

Mal.C.

Edited March 28, 2007 by Mal.C.

[Guest MARTIN SNOW]

To answer the question about my job : i am a Corgi registered installer, i used to do installation (central heating) but now i sub-contract and to safety check for housing services (grim but good money).

I think the market stall is a good way to go and i defo would try stock a wide variety of music, aside from a loan from the bank - i have over 20k in savings. I think i would stock vinyl but maybe more for the Dj'ing market but would like to concentrate on CD's (i.e second hand, reissues and deleted items) as well T-Shirt printing (my friend owns a screen printer) and books etc.

It all seems a bit too dauting now

This thread is getting more ridiculous every time I come back to it. First it was a soul shop, then it had a dining area, a clothes department, and now it's a book stall as well.

Don't other readers think there's something highly strange about advertising the fact you allegedly have 20k in savings on such a forum, or am I completely paranoid and don't trust any new members in this "post-Rare Gems of Soul era" ?

Given your current job Cyrus, how can you possibly be able to post on here at regular intervals throughout the working day including 10.35 today, and various similar times yesterday. Maybe you have a gas powered laptop tucked away in your tool box ?

Of course with your specialist knowledge you could always add a heating and plumbing department to your shop as well, you must always be versatile in business. You never know when someone might come in to buy a Curtis Mayfield CD and then whilst they're there treat themselves to a 25mm tap washer and a new overflow tank.

As you say, rather like this thread, it all seems a bit too daunting now.

[Simsy]

Don't other readers think there's something highly strange about advertising the fact you allegedly have 20k in savings on such a forum, or am I completely paranoid and don't trust any new members in this "post-Rare Gems of Soul era" ?

[Barry]

[Winnie :-)]

This thread is getting more ridiculous every time I come back to it. First it was a soul shop, then it had a dining area, a clothes department, and now it's a book stall as well.

Don't other readers think there's something highly strange about advertising the fact you allegedly have 20k in savings on such a forum, or am I completely paranoid and don't trust any new members in this "post-Rare Gems of Soul era" ?

Given your current job Cyrus, how can you possibly be able to post on here at regular intervals throughout the working day including 10.35 today, and various similar times yesterday. Maybe you have a gas powered laptop tucked away in your tool box ?

Of course with your specialist knowledge you could always add a heating and plumbing department to your shop as well, you must always be versatile in business. You never know when someone might come in to buy a Curtis Mayfield CD and then whilst they're there treat themselves to a 25mm tap washer and a new overflow tank.

As you say, rather like this thread, it all seems a bit too daunting now.

===========

My mate works for the gasboard, came round today at 11:30 cos he doesn't start til 12. Tomorrow he's back to another shift. Can't see anything particularly fishy in the gasman explanation Cyrus has given. Don't know anything about this guy at all, but shouldn't he be given the benefit of the doubt unless you have some sort of evidence he's bogus?

Winnie:-)

[Baz Atkinson]

This thread is getting more ridiculous every time I come back to it. First it was a soul shop, then it had a dining area, a clothes department, and now it's a book stall as well.

Don't other readers think there's something highly strange about advertising the fact you allegedly have 20k in savings on such a forum, or am I completely paranoid and don't trust any new members in this "post-Rare Gems of Soul era" ?

Given your current job Cyrus, how can you possibly be able to post on here at regular intervals throughout the working day including 10.35 today, and various similar times yesterday. Maybe you have a gas powered laptop tucked away in your tool box ?

Of course with your specialist knowledge you could always add a heating and plumbing department to your shop as well, you must always be versatile in business. You never know when someone might come in to buy a Curtis Mayfield CD and then whilst they're there treat themselves to a 25mm tap washer and a new overflow tank.

As you say, rather like this thread, it all seems a bit too daunting now.

YOU NEVER KNOW HE COULD ALWAYS STORE THE GASLIGHT LABEL

BAZ A

[Guest cyrus]

What a paranoid lot, especially Martin. Anyway not that its any of your business Martin!!! But I'm a sub contractor, who subs out to the council. Council contract run from April to April, at the end of the year i.e. March they let engineers go - i waiting for work. You'll be glad to hear that i've just come back from PH Jones (do you want my CV and references Martin!!!!!) and will be working for Loughborough Council come April 2nd.

Incidentally this thread only got weird once you posted and i fed up of justifying myself to you. Kindly do one and leave me alone

Peace to everyone else

[Guest MARTIN SNOW]

===========

My mate works for the gasboard, came round today at 11:30 cos he doesn't start til 12. Tomorrow he's back to another shift. Can't see anything particularly fishy in the gasman explanation Cyrus has given.

Yesterday he said he works 8 -2 on a typical day and yet he's made numerous postings throughout the course of those hours in the last couple of days, which somewhat surprises me. I must say it's an awfully short day as well isn't it, only 6 hours, so wouldn't committing yourself to an 8 hour day in a shop be rather a shock to the system, afterall if you didnt put those sort of hours in it wouldn't be a success.

Youve also got to remember that if his diner options come to fruition he'll need to open early to serve breakfast. It puts him in the unenvieable position of having to not only cook toast, but to try to find Toast it if he's to serve the modern soul vinyl buying public at the same time.

As he says, a daunting task for sure.