Someone areas I wished someone would start a business.
1.Reel repair shop.This is one you could run out of your home,
much of the knowledge could be acquired on line and it can
fit into spare time.Less and less competition.
2.Rod repair and custom rod shop.Once again in home,supplies
easily available.
3.Jig manufactuer.There a popular jig/bucktail maker in SW Fl.
who supplies his product to 8 unit ACE Hardware and BassPro.
His business is huge,but I've seen better workmanship in our
local fishing club.
4.Fly manufactuer.Similar to making a bucktail jig but better margins.
A bucktail of similar design to a fly can have half the profit.
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against the stuff coming out SE Asia?Bobber in the first
reply gave a clue on how to compete.
If your starting off ask yourself what is my market?What
are my advantages over a supplier overseas?Captain Lemay
has some of the answers.He makes a product that he has
tested and works.Advantage 1.He's at most 50 miles from
his market,SE Asia 7000 miles.Advantage 2.Captain uses
and tests what he selling on snook and reds.Who does
that little sweet Vietnamese women test her lures on?
Catfish????Advantage 3.
So,if you go after serious fisher people you may suceed,
go after the WalMart's you may fail.
You may sell top of the line quality product at premium price but the size of that market may be too small for a viable business or there may already be business in that market so it would make it even more difficult.
I once hear or read and I'm not sure if it's true but that Walmart sells over $1.5 billion in sports fishing products annually in USA.
The problem with it is that you just can't make a go of it, full time. There's a reason that most gear is built overseas these days and it's a rare outfit still building (or repairing stuff) here. Yes, there's a few individuals doing it - but I'd be surprised it they're doing much more than supplementing their income... Me, I build and repair rods, repair reels, and all of the above but it's more a hobby gone berserk than a business model.
Long, long ago I guy I really respect told me that we could make a small fortune in the tackle business... first we'll start with a large fortune.... One thing you can be sure of though, if you do get a tackle business up, running, and profitable... You won't be doing any fishing... All of the knowledge in our sport resides in the small shops around the country and in truth they were my starting point all those years ago. I can't remember all the folks that made a point of passing on a bit of wisdom here or there... As the small shops disappear - in no small part from our own buying habits - we're losing that knowledge and those skills. While all of that is happening we're going to the sales at big box stores or hitting the 'net for a better price...
And so it goes....
Bob LeMay
(954) 435-5666
I think he said he made around $10K last year. he credits that money with saving his house from foreclosure.
Another friend puts together quick strike rigs for sucker fishing for muskies. Imagine a wire 2-treble hook harness for large mullet for fishing any toothy critters. He's already dropped his bucktail jig line because the money wasn't worth the time. For the sucker rigs he's began paying his mother and brother to assemble them because he doesn't have time.
I make bucktail jigs for walleyes. I tie streamers. I pour and paint my own leadhead jigs. I don't do it to save money. I don't make them for sale. I do it to get a superior product for myself and my occasional "pro bono guiding"....Manufacturers have discovered that not enough people are willing to pay for "the good stuff" so it's just not readily available - even online. For profit,quantity beats quality hands down.
The friend who ties streamers sells to stores. I talked to the store owner about guys like my buddy - people who make stuff in their basements that she buys. They all seem to have a few things in common: They'll talk forever. They drive crappy vehicles. They have some health problems. They're older... And they're single.
Fla.as to what we are discussing.One,our fishing is year
around,whereas Wisc.is mostly summer.Yes,I am aware
of ice fishing but never saw a bucktail jig used ice fishing.
Second and only a observation,Fla.fishermen seem to
pay more for their gear than in the Midwest.You don't
have fish like snook,tarpon,permit or sharks in the Midwest.
And I speak from experience having fished up there for
40 years and love to fish smallies and salmon.Third,salt
water will quickly ruin cheap reels down here,Wisc.is only
fresh water.
So if you paid $350-400 for rod/reel combo,why buy
something if a quarter less?
My nephew out west repairs and restores old split bamboo flyrod and price on some of those rods are ridicules.
Lemay's "the way to make a small fortune is to start with a large one..."...I've heard the same exact comment on our locally made stuff. I'd guess the same applies pretty much everywhere.
Maybe I'm wrong but I sensed a defensive tone to you're post....I have the same observation regarding the topic as what others posted others but in my case it's illegitimate? OK. I'll try to remember to keep my comments to myself on this site.
one easily get into and out of as relating to fishing.But if
you look at the problems before you look at the opportunties
it probably it is not for you.
I WILL say that I'd forgotten about a rod/lure building supply place in Milwaukee. Most his business is now via internet sales but he still has a brick and mortar store. He's made a ton of money - way more than most folks suspect - but he's ready to retire and nobody is seriously interested in buying the business. It has taken up 6 days per week (7 during busy seasons) for 40 years.
Tight Lines ,
Captain Jim
the problems,your not going to rent retail space in Naples
and stay in business.Start in your home,garage or the
commercial part of Naples.If you start in your home
and business does not work out.Your not tied down
with leases and other issues.
I'm not knocking the idea but I really think this would need to be something a retiree or something that someone looking for a little extra income on the side could do if they were able to run it out of their home as I think renting a space wouldn't work financially.