24 months is wholly realistic.
The Bikerowave gets the bulk of its revenue from the sale of parts (new tires, tubes, bar wrap, chains, etc., and a variety of used components), with stand time being the next biggest revenue generator. We don't have access to a regular supply of used bikes, so that's a fairly minimal source of revenue.
We're lucky enough to have a storefront on a main road with a bike lane, and we're in L.A., which has a large social cycling / DIY co-op community, which has made things easier.
Winter is obviously the slow season for cycling, especially in the NE, so unless you can convince your future landlord to give you free rent for the winter, I'd target opening in the spring.
Start planning now, and talking to the bike part distributors (QBP is the big one, but also SBS, J&B, Sinclair, etc.) to see what you need to do to get things sorted out.
There are a variety of business models (501(c)(3) non-profit, not for profit, for profit, etc.).
One of the key factors in determining the viability of your co-op is the number of hours you're able to keep the shop open and staffed, as unless you've got people donating money through paypal or the mail, it's fairly hard to generate revenue when the shop is closed. This means you've got to get a reasonably decent number of volunteers. (At the Bikerowave, we ask volunteers to commit to one 3-3.5hr shift a week, and we try to have at least 2-3 volunteer wrenches on a given shift. Our volunteer body seems to be about 30 odd people at any given time, and that allows us to keep the shop open 23 hours a week.)
It can be fairly easy to get overwhelmed, so if you can start putting together a team of people now, that will make it a lot easier.
On Tue, Nov 20, 2012 at 1:10 PM, Matthew VanSlyke < vanslyke.matthew@gmail.com> wrote:
I have been exploring the feasibility of opening a community bike shop in my small-ish Northeast city. It looks like there's some opportunity here. As I search for start-up funding I want to be able to confidently tell funders that we'll become self-sustaining in a reasonable amount of time. My most promising lead likes to let go of the leash in 24 months. I'm anticipating most revenue to come from the sale of repurposed bikes out of the storefront, with some other special events, fundraisers, donations and memberships.
What can you tell me about your experience? Is this realistic?
Thanks, Matt
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