by Brett D. Battle

Created on: May 29, 2009   Last Updated: June 01, 2009

I've read articles on how to open your own skate shop and I will admit I came across a lot of good information, but what I didn't come across were the facts that needed to be stated. You can't walk away from reading any article on how to open a skate shop and be fully prepared. You can only walk away with an idea. As for this article you will walk away with an idea, but even more you have come across a guide. Learning from your mistakes is one of the most essential learning experiences and business experiences. At the age of fourteen I set out to open my own skate shop. By the age of fifteen I gained a store front, but never got the chance to open my doors to the public. Skateboarding is my passion and skateboarding is my love, but these factors weren't enough. I can tell you anything and everything about skateboarding, but at that time I could tell you nothing about business. Learn from my mistakes, learn what you truly need to know!

Opening your own skate shop is like opening any other business. It's true that the nature of the business is different from others, but it's also true that all laws and regulations for opening a business still apply. I say this because most skate shop owners began their journey with skateboarding as their hobby. While a hobby gives you knowledge in what you do, it doesn't educate you for the business world. In order to open up your own skate shop you must know more than what a skateboard is and how much you love it. Loving skateboarding is helpful, but what you will love even more is keeping the doors of your skate shop open longer than a month. In order to do this you must know how a business is run, operated, and how a business survives!

First and foremost, before you take on the project of opening your own skate shop, question yourself. You will need to ask yourself multiple questions, but the most important question is, "Do I have what it takes?" Do you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? This is a very important question, because becoming an entrepreneur changes a person's lifestyle. Starting a business transforms an average worker into an entrepreneur. Are you ready to handle all the work, tasks, and problems that will be thrown at you?

At this point most people would say, "write a business plan". Writing a business plan is one of the main tasks you complete first, but there's a couple of other smaller tasks you decide on first. As you may already know you must configure the idea/theme behind your business. Secondly

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