Wanting to open the very first gasbike shop in Hawaii

[Bottomfeeder]

Aloha Everyone!
I am interested in starting a business and opening Honolulu's first gasbike shop. The information I have gained from this forum has been extremely helpful to me in overcoming the challenges I've encountered in maintaining my MB. I first, want to thank all of you for sharing your knowledge and experience to this forum.
I am reaching retirement age and I want to spend the rest of my working years doing something I really enjoy and possibly help others get started motorbiking too. Opening a small repair shop, with or without a business partner, and marketing the tremendous benefits of living a healthy Hawaiian outdoor lifestyle would make me very happy at this point in my life.
But I am going to need the help of all my fellow members to get started. I need information and advice from those of you who already have established businesses in this area. Any advice you can give me is greatly appreciated. My email address is [email protected]
Mahalo, Bottomfeeder

 

[crassius]

be sure to check your state's EPA, DMV, and liability laws and regs

working as a hobbyist is one thing, but having a shop without at least one qualified mechanic on at least a part-time basis is another

 

[Bottomfeeder]

Yes, employing a f/t mechanic is in the plan.

 

[crassius]

in that case, it is just a matter of determining if there is enough trade to support the shop - a mix of local sales & repairs along with online sales can sometimes work

 

[Bottomfeeder]

Yes, that is the deciding factor. I"d like to hear from those members who have businesses in this arena. I'm concerned about establishing a sound business relationship with a reputable vendor. I expect shipping costs to be a challenge, but I will account for that in a fair an responsible manner. My focus will be on growing the interests in MB.

 

[crassius]

not sure what customs enforcement is like in your area, but I pay extra for kits and parts that have cleared customs - much cheaper if you want to do your own shipping from china

 

[MotorBicycleRacing]

Aloha Everyone!I am interested in starting a business and opening Honolulu's first gasbike shop.

Ask @5-7HEAVEN cause he actually lives there and has been riding motorized bikes for a long time.
https://motorbicycling.com/members/5-7heaven.1472/

 

[5-7HEAVEN]

Aloha bottomfeeder.

JMO, you'll go broke in a month if you work mainly on motorized bicycles.
Anyone who lives in Hawaii knows that mopeds reign here.
There must be 20,000 running mopeds in Hawaii and less than 200 gasoline mb's on the road in the state.
There are a handful of shops selling or renting e-bikes.
Your best bet might be to open a moped shop and do side jobs on mb's, e-bikes and pedal bikes.

It's tough running a business in Hawaii. Ya mifht as well operate it from your garage.

Just saying.....

 

[Bottomfeeder]

A local ebike shop owner offered to let me set up shop in his store. He said it would be good for biking as a whole for people to see other options. I feel confident that I will be able to keep overhead and labor down by starting off with a few builds at a time. Where do you suppose that I will run into trouble financially so soon?

 

[5-7HEAVEN]

There are not enough mb's running on the road to generate ongoing business.
You might want to brush up on Hawaii laws governing mb operating on the roads.

You'll be needing to spend time and $$ promoting mb's in Hawaii.

 

[Nehmo]

I live in Kansas City, Kansas (KCK), which is part of the metro that includes the larger Kansas City, Missouri (KCMO). The laws depend on the jurisdiction, but a common practice in the whole metro is for the police to ignore licensing on motorized bikes, both electric or internal combustion. There are hardly any m-bikes in KCK, and there are (I'm sure) fewer than a hundred in KCMO. But every rider I've spoken to is someone who has lost their driver's license. Thus, those people would be the target market here.
In Hawaii, things may be different, but I would research to see if people without licenses were potential customers.

 

[Bottomfeeder]

There are not enough mb's running on the road to generate ongoing business.
You might want to brush up on Hawaii laws governing mb operating on the roads.

You'll be needing to spend time and $$ promoting mb's in Hawaii.

You'll be surprised by the amount of interests, and I'm well versed on he laws governing the roads of Hawaii nei.
As a mentioned in my OP, I'll be retiring soon and I'll have sufficient time to devote to my hobby. My time will be given to help others become enamored with mb. It's not so much about the money. In fact, if it wasn't for the liability, I'd probably avoid the business side of it altogether.

 

[5-7HEAVEN]

Ok den.

Good luck.

I'll be sure to drop in to talk story and buy stuff.