Many smokers are slowly switching from traditional cigarettes to using vape mods because it’s a healthier alternative. Due to this, the vaping industry has expanded rapidly, creating a lucrative opportunity if you’re an entrepreneur. And this growth isn’t expected to slow down any time soon as it’s expected to continue even in the near future. Because of this, many entrepreneurs have jumped into this industry in a bid to establish themselves.
If this business does sound appealing to you, don’t just jump right ahead without thinking things through clearly. Discussed in this guide are helpful things you must consider before you start a vape mods business.
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Pick A Suitable Location
Like with any other brick-and-mortar business, you need to think carefully about your vape mods business location. After all, you want your vape shop to be in an area that’s easily reachable by your potential clients. This should be a place with high foot or vehicle traffic where your customers can quickly enter and buy a vape mod. Having a vape shop in a high-traffic location will also boost your business’s public awareness of your target market.
It would help if you did exhaustive market research before choosing the ideal location for your vape shop. This is vital as it enables you to know whether that area of town has potential clients. With your vape shop located strategically, you’ll easily be reachable to your prospective customers who, other than making a purchase, might need help, such as knowing how to set up a vape pen.
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Know All The Relevant Regulations
Because you’ll be selling vape mods and e-cigarettes in your vape shop, you must familiarize yourself with the local and state regulations before starting your business. This is a requirement you shouldn’t ignore as e-cigarettes and vape mods are highly regulated like other tobacco products. These regulations usually differ from one state or locality to another. Therefore, you need to take your time and go through the laws. Always keep yourself updated with any regulation changes. Doing this saves yourself time and money that would be otherwise directed to legal battles due to noncompliance with the set regulations.
An example of a regulation that should be observed includes how close your vape shop should be located to a church or school. You also need to know the permits and licenses required to operate your vape shop legally. How much you’ll be charged for these licenses and permits differs from one area to another. So, get an attorney with whom you’ll confirm this. This information is usually available at the county clerk’s office.
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Know The Initial Opening Costs
How much money you’ll spend opening a vape store depends on factors such as insurance, inventory, rent, licenses, payroll, taxes, as well as labor and training costs. It would be best if you had a firm grasp of all such expenses when starting your vape shop to ensure the smooth running of your business. When you add up all these costs, you should expect to spend between USD$25,000 to USD$50,000. But this can be much less if you opt to go the franchising route as you’ll typically need only USD$10,000 to USD$20,000.
It’s a good idea to try and reduce the initial cost of starting your business by buying inventory from a wholesale supplier. This way, you may end up saving more than half the money that would have otherwise been spent to purchase merchandise. With that said, be careful not to overlook the quality just so there can be more inventory in stock to start your business.
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Get Business Insurance
In addition to permits and licenses, you’re also required to have insurance to ensure your business is running legally and safely. This is especially necessary because owning a vape shop involves selling a lot of items that are perceived to lead to many health issues. There’s a chance of a lawsuit later in the future. However, this doesn’t necessarily link the ownership to inferior quality but rather to a standard in the vaping industry, and many insurance companies acknowledge this fact.
Insurance policies are designed differently to suit the various kinds of businesses according to their respective risks. Therefore, it may not be obvious to know which policy to choose. When in such a position, you need to get General Liability Insurance as this is created to cover many business needs. Over time, as you become more familiar with your company’s operations, you can search for a more specialized cover for your vape shop. In addition, you should be ready to pay for insurance policies for vape shops, unlike with other retail businesses. The precise cost is determined by factoring in various things such as:
- Your property’s value
- The expected revenue
- Type, amount, and value of items in stock
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Create A Website
Although you might not be planning to sell your vape mods online, having a website and social media handle is essential. This is a must-have in today’s digital age, where most of your target audience use the internet to search for almost everything they want. Therefore, it’s wise to have a site where they can come and check out all the information they need about your business.
Building a website can be fairly technical, so hiring a skilled designer is best, even though this might be costly. This site should include product warnings as stated by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) guidelines, and an age verification pop-up. With the website in place, you should be mindful of search engine optimization (SEO) techniques to boost the online presence of your brick-and-mortar vape shop.
You should also embrace social media platforms when doing your product marketing campaigns. This will help boost your brand’s awareness to the public and increase the chances of outdoing your rivals.
Takeaway
While the vape mods business is undoubtedly profitable, there are a couple of crucial factors you need to consider before venturing into this industry. This article has highlighted the essential factors that you must always consider when starting your vape mods business. By putting in place these tips, you’ll be able to succeed even in this industry which is becoming very competitive with each passing day.
