Little background, I have a full time job that pays me well and I like well enough. This is not about quitting and following a dream, it is about a little side business for some extra cash. Not looking to get rich or get rich quick. Wanting an little side biz that can go on auto pilot.On the other side of my town there used to be this little walk up pony keg/ beer store. Sounds weird but it was actually a little stage the guy stood on - the bottles of available beers were displayed and there was a walk in cooler behind the display. Super low budget but he always had a great selection and it was very convenient to walk up to or pull up to.Now, where I live I think the demographics would work just as well, but you tell me. In a little uptown business district that see a lot of commuter traffic. The neighborhood is right next to campus, so loads of students walking about. The neighborhood is eclectic, liberal and expensive full time resident wise - so lots of people who walk to the grocery store, restaurants and coffee shops.Now the competition. The grocery store does have a very respectable selection. There is a wine store, but they sell very little beer and what they do sell is super beer collector limited run pint bottles and such. There is two gas stations kinda close - mostly cheap beer but a few regional breweries as well.My thought would be to sell mostly beer - perhaps 90%. Both great beer and beer pong beer. Maybe a few bottles of chard and rose' for the moms. And a small assortment of soda - mostly brand name but some specialty stuff because it is fun and the kids like it. No chips or snacks at all, probably no smokes or blunts, no lottery tickets, probably no candy either. Perhaps some ice-cream bars because I'll already have the cooler space and again the kids like it. Think - "oh what a cool little beer shop" not "oh that shady quickie mart with so much crap in the window you can't see in".I don't mind running it myself at first just to understand the flow and iron out the kinks. Very quickly however I would want to hire an employee. I'm thinking a very small footprint, 900sf or so, composed mostly of the cooler - no customer interior at all.Questions:What are issues that are not obvious if you have never owned a pony keg?What are pitfalls with beer distributors?Is this kind of thing profitable at all? I'm not trying to make a living off it so if $20-$30k net net is reasonable I would be happy with that.What are common margins on beer sales? I know it probably varies city to city.Does it need marketing or would word of mouth/ location be enough potentially?I know it could vary widely but what is a reasonable startup cost range? $20k for the cooler, $20k for inventory, $5k for inventory management and checkout? Then another $10k for "oh shit I didn't think about that."Is there any way at all to project how well this might work? Or any way to make reasonable assumptions on sales or foot traffic? Or is this the kind of thing where you need to just jump in and start super lean so if it blows up you can cut losses quickly and easily?Thanks all see hubwealthy.com/wealthy
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