Opening Car Audio Shop in Orlando

[TC2k15x2 10+ year member]

So I already have the location, with a good sized shop but I am lost on some certain things. I will be selling products and doing installs. I will be hiring people that are highly experienced for most of this since im not the best with fiberglass enclosures and some other things. I understand that I need my tax ID number so I can purchase products wholesale. What I need help with is-

1. How do you go about getting vendors and if you were opening a shop what would you want to run? I was really hoping to run RDaudio and some other stuff.

2. What equipment will I need for everything, including building enclosures?

3. How much stock should I keep?

4. How do I get display walls for stuff such as HU's, subs and speakers?

Any other positive input and tips are really appreciated thanks.

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[djarmy2004 10+ year member]

Well fisrt off GL with getting it going. On the vendors thing most of the main ones have a place on there site but some have a buy in ammount and what not. Others you may be able to call and see. On the Equipment part i would say lots of shelves, a good install bay with area to work and install. On the stock that depends on if you have a buy in or not and what your comfortable with keeping at the location. As for display wall i think most places build theres. Im not 100% sure about all of this so get other suggestions.

 

[Toone 10+ year member]

display walls are usually built but you can find used ones sometimes on ebay and i seen a few on here a while back

 

[Enellz 10+ year member]

The best advice I would say is trail and error man. Also as far as shelve just pay a few with the intention if saling out don't won't too much product that just sits there. Also just email the manufactures and go from there, I believe they have a thing where only shops certain miles apart can carry their product. Also my advice would be do some ads somewhere.

 

[M.A.G. Sales]

What's up TC, I am the Rep for Rockford and a few other lines in Florida. Would love to chat with you and help you get setup. I will send you a PM with all my information.

 

[anj46907 10+ year member]

well a few things

you may want to carry all the best of best products but you have to also understand the customer needs in your area. not everyone can afford RD/AQ/DD or whatever else. pick up alot of decent brands like jensen, jvc blaupunkt, powerbass.. some people may consider these brands shitty but alot of people out there are looking for budget equipment.

dont stock alot of product. almost everyone you are a dealer for does overnight shipping free or extremely cheap. if you dont stock alot of product it cuts back your losses if something happens like a theft or fire. sometimes you have to eat your losses to avoid paying higher insurance. stocking less product makes it much better then losing 25k of product because you like to show off alot of product. if you want to show off product buy dummy equipment for show boards, and give the customer catalogs.

watch for dealers that require a minimum product quota per week/month. if i remember correctly JL Audio requires $xxx.xx amount of money monthly in product.

 

[sexiewasd 10+ year member]

My advise is to keep a good stock of budget equipment, a little bit less of middle quality goods and a few good things. It's nice to be able to install great equipment and really be proud of a build, but the low end is where the money is made, well that and car alarms, remote starters, backup cameras, cruise control, lighting, power inverters, ect.

 

[cj407]

tc...hit me up sometime about this...i got some ideas to bounce off your head before you actually go into leasing a store front...

 

[mobeious 10+ year member]

all i can say is u better have deep pockets for rockford.. 4500ish a quarter

to get a shop going good out of the box

ur going to need a good 40k if ur starting from scratch...

 

[WrenchGuy 10+ year member]

Where do I apply!

A tent on the beach is plenty for me to stay down there....lol

 

[kodak314 10+ year member]

So I already have the location, with a good sized shop but I am lost on some certain things. I will be selling products and doing installs. I will be hiring people that are highly experienced for most of this since im not the best with fiberglass enclosures and some other things. I understand that I need my tax ID number so I can purchase products wholesale. What I need help with is-
1. How do you go about getting vendors and if you were opening a shop what would you want to run? I was really hoping to run RDaudio and some other stuff.

2. What equipment will I need for everything, including building enclosures?

3. How much stock should I keep?

4. How do I get display walls for stuff such as HU's, subs and speakers?

Any other positive input and tips are really appreciated thanks.

1. look on their websites, or u can try to go to other local shops and ask them how they get their equipment ( dont think theyll be to open about it though). also, i would have a range of subs and amps ( not only brands but sizes). stuff like memphis, massive, rf, etc. and throw a few online companies in there. give your customers options. probably 95% of your customers wont know what rd is.

2. thats alot to think of at the moment //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif

3. you wanna start small like a couple of brands. see how sells go first then u can base it off of that.

4. like others said u can check out ebay, or build your own

good luck

where at in orlando??

 

[cj407]

funny thing is i can get him a spot in a flea market till the name becomes more known and then move from there...but with the economy the way it is i wouldnt open a store front without more of the general population knowing your name...or your company's name...hence why i'm waiting till i have more custom work under my belt including alot more paint jobs and collision repair.

 

[t1990le 10+ year member]

Where do I apply!
A tent on the beach is plenty for me to stay down there....lol

^^^ this ^^^ lol and im closer

 

[TC2k15x2 10+ year member]

I already have the location there is no lease, the building is paid for. The shop will be part of probably one of the largest convenience stores in Orlando off of Haiwassee rd. there is a 3 bay garage that all of the installs will be done in. The traffic there is insane so it should do some good business, but I also know a ton of people so ill be handing out business cards and putting ads in the paper. I was just thinking of random names and I came along SPLfreaks which sounded pretty cool but im unsure if thats already taken.

So from yalls input I understand I need to hold a variety of lower end to high end products. Im going to hire someone to build my display wall and will buy a bunch of shelves not so much for subs and speakers but for accessories. Does anyone know of machinery I should get to build enclosures. My idea is to build a bunch of premade tuned nice enclosures so im not throwing junk boxs in peoples car but will help cut install time down because I wont have to build the a box unless they ask for something custom.

 

[anj46907 10+ year member]

TC..... one of the best things you can do is contact Mike Hadden of Central Florida SPL and have a grand opening show.. Mike has a very good rep and alot of us attend his shows to support them when hes the judge. i guess you could call us his followers.. its also a really good way to get the business name out there.