David, You could have the next Curves here. I think your stores should sell life-size cardboard cutouts of you so everyone can have a ³Locklear sighting² on every road trip.
Ed From: David Locklear <[email protected]> Reply-To: David Locklear <[email protected]> List-Post: [email protected] Date: Thu, 30 Jun 2005 20:18:08 -0500 To: <[email protected]> Subject: CaveTex: Off-topic - a business idea Resent-From: <[email protected]> Resent-Date: Thu, 30 Jun 2005 20:07:18 -0500 Does anybody out there want to start their own business? I have an idea for a start-up company that is sort of caving related. The store will be called "Road-trip.com." The store will specialize in the SMALL things people like to buy just before their road trips. Items like small canned goods that have the pop up lid, in a variety larger than any grocery store. Also, a huge variety of snacks - much larger than what you would see at a Walmart or a Target or the grocery store. The store would only sell top of the line gadgets. None of the junk you see in dollar stores. However, it would not sell high-end specialty stuff. There would be a great selection of LED lights. This would be a one-stop shop were you would get all your vacation stuff. It would only sell travel-size products, but with a variety unseen in today's stores. It would also sell the things people accidentally forget on their trips, like tent-stakes or a ground cloth. I picture the store about the size of a CVS pharmacy. It would not be located in the mall, but in high traffic areas or around college campuses. It would have an internet cafe, and only sell magazines for adventure related stuff like Rock & Ice that you wouldn't find in the grocery stores. It would have a public lounge with a bulletin board and a humonguous map of North America and Mexico. People could sit around and socialize and tell stories. There would even be a imitation camp-fire in the center of the room along with huge nature photos on the wall. Or maybe even a nature setting like the Rainforest Cafe. The store would not compete with Academy but it would sell some of the items found there in the camping section but on a higher quality level, with items from Kelty and Marmot, etc. There are probably some other things the business could do, but that should be enough for starting it up. It would not sell the things that are super easy to find at Walgreen's, but focus on the things that you often have to go to 3 or 4 stores in order to find - like really good beef jerky, or your favorite flavor of chips, etc. There would be nothing at this store that is sold in bulk like at Sam's Club or Costco. It would not compete with REI or WEPC, but sell some of the same small items they do, like camelback water pouches or socks. Does anybody want to give it a try? David Locklear
