Tips on opening a shop

Hey guys - I'm looking for any info I can find on opening a shop. My GF has been an artist for several years and she's amazingly talented. She worked for a shop locally but there was WAY too much drama there so she left and is now going to open a place or her own. A lot of people that wanna open a shop never get around to it, it's kind of a "pipe dream". Well this is gonna happen. We have just about everything we need in terms of equipment (minus dental chairs and autoclave), but we are still looking for a good location. She has a strong business sense and a financial backing to run a successful business. We've dug up all the applicable city, county, and state laws and licensing procedures for a shop, which will all be followed. What I'm looking for is any advice that shop owners can give. If you need any more info on her or her work then ask and I'll provide. I know there are a lot of little details that are gonna trip us up though, and I want as few surprises as possible. Any advice or feedback from you guys would be greatly appreciated...

Need to see some pics...T

No pics online right now but I can try to scan some in the next couple of days...

No pics online right now but I can try to scan some in the next couple of days...

No pics online right now but I can try to scan some in the next couple of days...

No pics online right now but I can try to scan some in the next couple of days...

No pics online right now but I can try to scan some in the next couple of days...

WTF...I only hit the button once...

Likely it will be difficult to open a shop with only one artist no matter how good. (Really had to make a profit that way). As an owner of any business, money and getting started = less than half the problems. Anytime money is involved there will be drama. Don't think being an owner will stop that. I'm sure Taz could back that up. Things to think about in no particular order: 1.Start-up capital: What ever you figure it will take. Double it! 2.Employees: Talent is only half. If they don't show for work or have other issues(drugs, bad chairside manner, etc...). All the talent in the world won't help. 3.Regulations:Don't try to meet them. Exceed them! 1 problem = 10 headaches and lost profits. 4.Location: A bad location will literally kill a business. 5.Competition: This is an extremely competitive market. Your shop must be cleaner, cheap, and put out higher quality work than any other nearby shops. If the drama was the only reason.... Then I hoped your prepared for the new drama.

Thanks KeAz. She has another artist that is really good and very dependable that will be working with her at the shop. Thanks again for the tips...

Ok KeAZ has some good points BUT.... Sayin you should be cheaper than your competition may work in retail but it can be the kiss of death in the tattoo business...Why?...I think its a psycological thing....and if you get the reputation of being a cheap tattoo shop those chains will be damn hard maybe even impossible to break later...do GOOD tattoos at a FAIR market price...do not try to undersell your competition....you will only end up in a price war and everyone loses...just one instance where the tattoo business has quirks that no other business in the world has...Example;...I have owned my shop here since 1989...on 3 different occaisions there has been a build up of tattoo shops here and it got to the point that they were all so desperate for business that they started undercutting everyones elses prices...putting out flyers that said "we will do any tattoo 20 % cheaper than anyone else in town"...they would go so far as to park pick up trucks close to their competitors shops with huge signs in the back saying "we do it cheaper than anyone" I refused to sell my art short and kept my prices fair but definately NOT cheap...Guess who is still in business?...Yep ...ME!!...And then there are the people who put out ads like "two for one tattoos" or "free piercing with any tattoo" and other such cheap gimmicks....You are not selling used cars here and using the aforementioned tactics no one is going to take you seriously. Before you even think about opening your own shop you need to be prepared to do all the work when your employed artists don't show up one day because they are working at the shop down the street...if you are not an artist yourself then you , my friend, are FUCKED!! About tattoo artists...I would rather have one decent artist who is rooted in the community that I know will show up every day on time and ready to work and has the personality to deal with the difficult clients every business has to deal with than to have 3 artists who do world class kickass work but have a prima donna complex and a rockstar attitude...I assure you that in the long run the rock star will LOSE you money while the dependable and decent artist will be there sluggin away every day helping to build your shops rep and making you happy you made such a good choice. LOCATION....yep... this is a BIGGIE!!...Starting out if you have a choice between a shop in an ok location that costs say $1,000 a month or the same quality shop in a great location thats $2,000 a month go for the great location every time hands down!...What comprises a great location?...1...high visibility...if they can't see ya they can't get to ya!...2...Traffic...lots of foot traffic and/or auto traffic preferably both...3...parking...self explanatory...4..available signage...I once had a buddy sign a 2 year lease on a shop that was in a great location..nice place good traffic but when he tried to put up a sign on the front of the building he found that the city codes forbid any sign over 24 inches long!!! because he didn't do his homework he was FUCKED!...5...proximity to your target clientelle...tattoo studios always do better when located in close proximity to a college, hangouts for younger people and/or military bases....a lot of people think its better to be close to a bar but OH NO!!!...then you have to cull drunks all night long...NOT worth it!...I opened shop in a VERY busy location famous for its night life...clubs etc etc...Worst place ever!..I had to hire 3 bouncers to handle the drunk college kids every night and weekends were hell!! Advertising...I don't care HOW good the location is, for that first year you gotta sink a LOT of dough into advertising...good advertising is NOT cheap...plan on spending at least the same amount monthly as your rent and even better DOUBLE that!!!Passin out flyers just does not work...you need internet (talk to Gabe...TattooNOW is the best for that aspect!)( do I get a cookie now Gabe?)...You need cable spots (exPENsive!) radio spots...not as expensive as cable but NOT cheap...Print ads in local papers that target your client base...etc etc etc... I have been in this biz for 35 years ...I have owned an assload of shops and I have made every damn mistake there is to be made...and I have lost my ass several times but I have LEARNED Now I have some questions...If your girlfriend has been tattooing how did she get by without an autoclave? Does she have shop experience?..Can you e-mail me some of her work? I wish you the best of luck and hope I have been a little bit of help...feel free to e-mail me anytime my friend...there are a lot of very good, very experienced artists/ shop owners on here that have a wealth of info about this biz and contrary to what ya read from the idiots o here they are usually more than happy to help if you approach them with respect and honesty..AND ya don't expect them to give you "how to tattoo" lessons!See YA!!...TAz

All well thought out and good input.(Go TAZ) I'll be back when I open a shop(and saving a copy till then), besides you expanded on everything I said. I thought cheap prices would be a good way to attract initial business, but as you said it's not retail (I've never owned a shop but had experience trying to start one) and if the artists are that good and local they'll have a client base. Anyway I'm personally assuming the shop/shops his wife and friend worked for provided the autoclave and chairs as both are fairly expensive(Been there bought both, spent ~$1k and ~$500 repectively). I would also like to see some of her art if possible.

TAZ just noticed something.... I would rather have one decent artist who is rooted in the community that I know will show up every day on time and ready to work and has the personality to deal with the difficult clients every business has to deal with than to have 3 artists who do world class kickass work but have a prima donna complex and a rockstar attitude... Damn, you just described my wife and threw out 80% of artists I know.

while i'm certainly NOT looking to open a shop (maybe in twenty years? I can dream...)..... this is helpful. Seriously, just to know there are people out there that appreciate hard workers and take the business seriously.... and are committed to quality artwork and running a business well... gives me a bit of hope for what I'll run if I get into this.., because sometimes it seems that's almost all there is in the industry.

Thanks for the tips guys. Yeah, her old shop provided the autoclave and chairs. I'll get some of her pics up...