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At some point during their skateboarding passion, every skateboarder dreams of owning their own skateboard shop. Unfortunately, it is also a sad but true statistic that nine out of every ten new businesses fail in their first year. Don't be one of them. Do your research right, and follow your passion to its successful conclusion.

Once you become fairly good at skateboarding, you may think you know skateboarding. Think again! A business requires an intimate knowledge, not only of its inventory, but especially of factors which may influence future trends. How many electronics retailers were caught short when BluRay gave way to HD? How many still are trying to get rid of old videotapes? You don't want this to be you.

Research the skateboarding industry long before you invest a single dime into property or inventory. Talk to industry experts. Go to trade shows. Go to other skateboarding shops outside your territory and talk to their owners. Learn about the new trends, but be wary of jumping on them lest you be left hanging with inventory you can only unload at a heavy loss. Devote at least a third of your future inventory to the staples of the skateboarding industry, such as replacement wheels and grip tape. These are what will tide you over and even out the low periods.

Next comes the logistical research of the business plan: how much upfront money should I spend, how much will I need for advertising, what cash flow can I expect, how much seed money do I need to make a safe cushion for that critical first year? This last especially is where many new businesses fall short, when the first year of cash flow fails to meet overly-optimistic expectations, or sometimes just because word did not get around as quickly as hoped. For this and the following steps, many communities have a small business mentoring programme which matches the new business owner with someone established. If your community has such a program, take advantage of it!

Location, location, location. Ideally you will have a small streetfront store near a skateboarding park or on a public transit route leading to one. Walking distance from the skateboarding park is ideal. Remember, most of your base clientele won't have their driving licenses yet. Cheap rent is good, but if you are too far off the beaten path, you will just be throwing your money away. Consider hiring an artist to paint an appropriate mural on your streetside wall. You will also want to be looking into furnishings at the same time.

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