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Starting a Hot Tub Business


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I'm interested in obtaining information from others in the business. I'm thinking of opening a hot tub store. Would appreciate any and all advice from those in the know, such as:

Rent: What are costs for a busy roadway per sq.ft.?

Utility Costs: What are you paying per month and what is your electricity rate per KWH? How many square feet of store?

What type of lighting do you utilize?

How do you pay for the hot tub you have in inventory, are they floor-planned and, if so, how does that work and who provides the floor-planning?

How many hot tubs do you sell per year? What is the percentage breakdown of sales between low price, mid-range and premium hot tubs? What are the busiest months for sales and also the slowest months?

How many square feet is your showroom and how many hot tubs do you have on display?

How many square feet for workshop?

Do you have a dedicated technical service employee? Does he/she double as sales/delivery when there are no service calls?

How many square feet for inventory storage? How many tubs do you keep in inventory, aside from the floor models?

How do you handle deliveries? Do you have a trailer that holds multiple units and have specific delivery days? Do you have hired employees that just handle the deliveries? Do you have multiple delivery trucks?

How many days a week are you open for business? What are your hours? What are the busy times? How many employees do you have working in the store?

Do you have a hot tub set-up for wet testing? One, two? Do you set-up a model for testing if a customer is interested in that particular tub?

Do you have arrangements with a concrete contractor/s to provide customers with pads for their tub? If you're doing a volume business, do you have several concrete contractors that you do business with? Do you ask them for a percentage or flat fee for business that you provide them with?

The same question above, only for electrical contractors?

What distances do you maintain from overhead power lines when placing a hot tub?

Other than chemicals, do you sell accessories, e.g. Umbrellas, spa pillows, vacs, etc? Are they good sellers?

Thank you in advance for your responses!

 

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Almost everything on there is dependent upon where you're located. Real estate costs, bills, etc. are all going to vary so much from area to area. Likewise good sales months will vary but figure spring and fall as your key quarters.

A lot of the other stuff is based on your competition. The amount of inventory you need is dependent upon how much direct competition you have. If you're the only game in town, stock floor models only and order the rest to keep your overhead low. If there are plenty of places to choose from you may want to stock some extra tubs to please the gotta have it now crowd. Flooring split depends on inventory Likewise with hours, you have to keep up with the Jones'. 10-6 are good hours in most places. Your busy times are when your customers aren't working (noon, after 5:00 and weekends).

Get what you can afford with at least 2000 sqft. Split will depend on if you're doing retail/service/repair and how much you intend to stock. If you do anythg

4-6 tubs minimum on the floor with one wet model, preferably an non lounger because it's important to sit in a lounger unit to check size. Which is difficult when a unit has 350 gallons of water in it.

Buy tubs outright if you can, finance them via your vendor or your bank if you can't.

Have your own tech, it's important to service what you sell. It's beneficial that they're not a dumpster fire on the sales floor but that's secondary to technical knowledge and ability.

Get a spa dolly trailer for moves and deliveries. Most tubs require 2 guys if you have the right equipment. Hire a crew if you can afford it, otherwise do it yourself with your tech. It's a good look to be doing grunt work as an owner, makes people think you're willing to do anything to make them happy. 

You can recommend contractors for electrical and concrete but maintain that you are in no way responsible for their work. You're not a GC so don't subcontract, you don't want their screw up to fall on your head and you have no control over when they decide to get flaky. Don't ask for compensation from contractors, it makes you look like a schmuck. Instead treat them right and let them refer sales to you in kind. It's a contractor's responsibility to know your areas codes for distances from utilities, don't get involved and don't answer that question if you don't know.

As far as accessories go, if you don't show it, you won't sell it. Stock whatever you intend on selling. Chems, lifts and steps are a must, everything else is optional. Don't sell anything you don't intend to work on when it breaks. 

Good luck.

 

 

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