Who was it that was going to open a Yarn Store? Pros & Cons

General Knitting
1

I’m trying to remember who was thinking of opening a yarn store… in Connecticut I think. Just wondered if (you) she did?

I am still hell-bent on having a yarn store up here in the Catskills in this little town that’s just growing and growing with new galleries and stuff. Two years ago I really wanted a vintage clothing store but couldn’t afford it (like I can’t afford a yarn store at the moment). So this summer this girl opens this gorgeous little vintage clothing store AND it’s crowded all the time. Of course.

This is Delaware County. I’m thinking of looking into loans and what not but my dh says you have to match the loan.
It’s really difficult to figure out how to buy all the inventory and all that… but… I’m going to start doing some serious learning. It’s just the perfect little town for it and wow, I really would like to do this.

2

Do you have a local college that offers small business development classes? Sometimes these classes are free or very low cost. That’s where I would start. There are also loans available for women entrepenuers and business owners. Many of them don’t require an equal investment. Sometimes you can use the equity of your home to assist with securing a loan. Not always the best way to go. But definitely open your business as an LLC if at all possible!

This is my dream as well, so I’m interested to read what others have to say.

3

Funny you should say that because just this morning I went to the local coffee shop and in the paper was a class coming up. It’s sponsored by … oops, I forgot who, but it’s for Delaware County people and is free. It meets twice a week at night Oct 1 to Nov 8. Only 16 people. They cover everything from loans to taxes, marketing etc. I don’t know if I can be up here straight for 5 weeks (we also live in Manhattan) but I’m going to request the info and see if I can do it.

4

Some of the yarn companies give help with business suggestions too…one I heard was 50k for inventory to start.

5

Where are you in the catskills? I have family in Montgomery. small world. I’m originally from Brooklyn and most of my family lives there and in Manhattan. I think the a LYS would do pretty well there. In the village of Montgomery all the little shops there are really cute, kinda vintage like and are always packed but there are no yarn shops. at least none the last time i visited.

6

Hi!

I was the person who was going to open a yarn store.

My dh was looking for a space to move his office and he ended up getting a wonderful place within walking distance of another yarn store.

It’s my LYS and I didn’t think it would be a good idea to try and open one so close to the already established store.

We ended up opening a photo gallery instead (both of us are photographers and it’s always been a dream of my dh’s to have his own gallery.

I would have loved to open a yarn store and still would love to one day. But now I need to focus on the gallery and making that work for us.

I hope that your dreams of a yarn store come true.

Best,
Susan

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Thanks Kemp! I never thought of that, that’s a good thing to look into…

Hi Scout, I don’t know where Montgomery is… hmmm, in the Catskills? Funny I never heard of it. I’m in Bovina Center which is between Margaretville and Delhi. I want to open a store in Andes which has just taken off phenomenally phenomenally I think that’s right spelling! Over the past 5 years it’s just grown and grown and has become the place to go visit on Sats and Suns. Lots of the new places are only open then or Thurs - Sun. But real estate is crazy of course.

Hi Susan! Thanks for answering! Well good luck on your gallery, that sounds super. I love photography. You were smart not to compete I think, that would’ve been hard.
It’s a challenge alright, any new business.

all for now…

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Kemp, on rereading that… 50 K? You mean like $50,000 worth of yarn??? That sounds impossible.

(btw, congrats on all your hard work in that physical thing you’re doing, I watched your video ! wow! what a lot of work! looks fun though)

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Yes 50K is 50,000. You may be able to start with less, but not a lot less. Check out the SBA - small business administration - for loans to start your first business.

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thanks suzieq! :waving:

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I have family in that area (Roscoe, NY) and they have a great seasonal town. Lots of people vacationing from the city and they bring a ton of money with them. I think it’s a great area to open up a yarn shop. If I were to open one up myself that’s exactly where I would do it.

My suggestion would be to combine it with a coffee shop or something like that similiar to the design of the Adirondack Yarns in Lake Placid. They had a ton of locals that would come in for the coffee and then tourists that would come in for yarn and coffee. It was nice for my husband to sit down and enjoy a cup o’joe while I had plenty of time to browse the yarn and patterns.

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There’s a thread for existing and potential yarn shop owners on the knittersreview.com forums. The consensus seems to be that it takes about two years, optimistically, for a yarn store to start showing a profit.

And during that time you’ll be paying the shop’s rent, utilities, business taxes and license fees, advertising/marketing costs, employee salaries – as well as inventory.

Contributors to the thread also agree that the new owner of a small yarn shop has very little time to do her own knitting.

TNNA, a trade organization, has a book called “Starting Out Right” that costs $25. The site is tnna.org

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Thanks suzie and Knitasha! I checked out the Lake Placid site… I love that town although I’ve only been once.

Yes, I would definitely do coffee and stuff… and classes of course.

Thanks for tipping me off for the link Knitasha, I didn’t know about it.

oops, I can’t find it… did a couple of searches. maybe it’s gone?

14

If you open up a shop in Andes I’ll be your customer at least a couple times a year when I come down to visit my SIL and her family!

15

Still no LYS in Montgomery. In fact Orange County only has one shop in Cornwall. I live in Middletown.
There is a LYS that is supposed to be in PA about 20 minutes from me but I haven’t been there.

Denise

16

Ok Suzie!!! :cheering: