I am interested in this as well

FYI: Our EAB program that Matthew likes is VERY expensive to run. We currently have some funding for very low income people for this (and that is tenuous). I am curious about people charging for EAB. If you don't charge- is it volunteer run or staff run? If staff run, what are your staffing costs (yearly)? If you do charge, how do you get people to pay? I have heard from others who get low income funded that people don't always tell the truth about the low income and Portland had to move to taking clients from social services only because qualifying people for low income was way too labor intensive for staff

On Mon, Mar 11, 2013 at 7:38 AM, Matthew VanSlyke <matt@nybc.net> wrote:

Hi All,

I'm working up a budget for a new shop in New York State and I'm looking for a bit of info. I've put together a decently detailed business plan. I want to get a feel for how good (or bad) my numbers might be. So, a few questions: 

Which, if any, of your programs/courses/trainings do you charge people for? I anticipate running Earn-A-Bike, mechanics classes and a summer program - either on my own or in partnership with existing day camps for kids. I see NBW (Philly) does it as a revenue generator (http://neighborhoodbikeworks.org/programs/summer-cycling-day-camp/). If you run similar programs, do they generate revenue?

What kind of sales volume do you have? - I'm talking about repurposed bikes, parts and merchandise. Of course I anticipate the answer to this question to contain a lot of qualifiers like the size of your operation, your hours, number of staff, volume of inventory, geographic location, etc, etc, etc. I understand that but some ballpark numbers would help. Maybe an estimation of how many bikes you sell per month and approximately how much revenue is generated from the sale of parts. 

How often do you offer mechanics classes? Again I know this is very much dependent on staff and volunteer availability. I have estimated that with my 8 workstations I could offer a 10-12 week course (adults) for as many as 16 students (working in two-person teams) - provided I have at least 4 volunteer mechanics to assist.

How often do you offer Earn-A-Bike classes? Once again, I know this is very much dependent on staff and volunteer availability. I like the curriculum you follow at Community Cycles (http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Community_Cycles_Youth_Earn-A-Bike_Curriculum) and this is very similar to what I have in mind. So to you folks specifically and to others who also run EAB programs, is there any revenue generation here or is this strictly on the expenditure side of the equation for you?

How do you charge for service/repair work? I anticipate using a sliding fee schedule and/or a list of suggested donations for the most common repairs. Can you ballpark the amount you receive for the most common repairs you perform? 

How much revenue do you generate from open shop hours? I know this is very much dependent on shop hours and available work space. But again, rough numbers will help me.

I'm digging through the archives and obviously I'm finding a lot of really useful info. Thanks to all of you who have spent the time to post to the Wiki. It has been immensely helpful to me during this start up time. If you know of links that would help me get my own answers to these questions please pass them along. And if you can answer more specifically that would be excellent.

Thanks so much,

Matt

--
Matt VanSlyke
Development Director
New York Bicycling Coalition
www.nybc.net
315-525-9554


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--
Sue Prant
Advocacy, Development and Walk & Bike Month Director
Community Cycles
3172 29th Street
Boulder, CO 80301
Phone: 303-564-9681
e-mail: sue@communitycycles.org
www.CommunityCycles.org

 

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