Starting Your Own Vape Shop in 2021 | Step-by-Step Guide

Vapes are becoming increasingly common day by day, especially among smokers and adults. Thus, with the demands of vapes skyrocketing, starting your own venture of vape is a good idea.

This article is going to be your ultimate step to step guide for starting your own vape shop in the vaping wholesale US business in 2021:

Draft a business plan

No venture can be possible without a plan. With a proper business plan, you will know what challenges and opportunities you’ll face in the near future.

A business plan is a very important and strategic tool for any entrepreneur. Not only does an effective business plan help business owners focus on the specific steps necessary to make their business ideas succeed, but also helps them achieve short-term and long-term objectives.

Thus, the primary step to initiate your vape shop business is to draft a business plan, which is going to help you figure out how you’ll be funding this business, where it will be heading in the future, as well as attract possible partners or investors into your business. 

Take this business plan as a tool you’ll use to persuade and attract possible investors or other people to work with you.

Research

After drafting a business plan, research. 

Research is incredibly important, especially if you’re going to start a business related to changing trends and more innovative technologies coming out. 

Thus, as you’ll be opening your own vape shop, you must research the changing trends, most popular vapes, best vape brands, as well as their accessories and parts. With proper research, you will have a considerable amount of knowledge about the types of vapes and vaporizers, such as POD systems, vape pens, dischargeable vapes, atomizers, e-juices, and a lot more. 

Without proper research, you will not be knowing the changing trends and what types of vapes and brands are becoming increasingly popular. 

You must stock those items that will sell. Moreover, research should also be done about the possible competitors in your area, as well as the products they are selling.

Funds

Opening a store isn’t cheap, neither is running it, considering the number of costs that are going to turn up. Unlike other startups, you can open a vape shop with a small amount of capital. Therefore, you must figure out how you are going to fund your expenses. 

This includes the stock you’re going to be selling, rent of your vape shop, rent of the warehouse where you will be storing your vape-related stocks, as well as other costs, such as insurance cost, licensing cost, electricity costs, and so on. 

It is also important to know that the ongoing costs are going to cost much more, and you should plan accordingly for the future as well. 

Such ongoing costs include leasing, marketing, payroll and taxes, miscellaneous tax, and more. 

Thus, you must decide if you’re going to take a short-term loan from a bank, a personal loan, or even pay from your savings. Whichever method you go for, you must plan accordingly.

Know your target audience

Knowing your target audience is extremely crucial. It is important to know to who you are willing to sell your stock. In most cases, the top targets of a vape shop fall into 3 categories:

Tobacco cigarette smokers

One of the largest target audiences you can sell vapes to is heavy tobacco cigarette smokers. 

Because vapes and vaporizers are an ideal way to switch from smoking harmful tobacco cigarettes to less harmful vapes, numerous smokers go for vapes. 

Your vape shop will be successfully running if your target audience includes these individuals. 

You can easily market how smokers can lead a healthier lifestyle by switching to your vapes. Moreover, not only will you be benefiting from sales and profit this way, but you will also be helping numerous people switch to a healthier lifestyle!

Current vape users

The second-largest target segment includes those individuals who are already avid vapers. Therefore, in order to cater to these vapers, you must keep a huge inventory of stock to cater to the needs of these individuals. Also make sure to stock up a wide range of vaping products, that too at a great price.

Vacationers

The third segment includes vacationers. This niche is often overlooked. However, this is a great way of making sure you have customers coming into your vape shop!

Pricing

You must price your products according to the prices in the market, and what your competitors are offering. 

This step is critical. You should not charge above-market prices as this will lead customers to choose your competitors over you. 

Similarly, you can’t price your products too low considering you have your own needs to meet. Therefore, you must set competitive prices for your products. Vapes can go as high as $300, and accessories can cost as low as $3.

Therefore, by planning out prices accordingly, you can forecast your monthly sales, and also calculate the forecasted profits you’ll be making by selling your vapes.

Location

Choosing an appropriate location for your new vape shop cannot be strained much upon. 

You must choose a location that would help you sell your vape products easily. 

For instance, opening a vape store next to a hospital or an old home would be less appropriate, and opening it in a high populated area where numerous people will be walking by would be more profitable. 

Therefore, by having numerous people walking past your vape store, you can attract potential customers as they would be keen and interested in what your store has to offer.

Inventory

You must keep your vape products fully stocked in your warehouse. Because you really don’t want to run out of stock and be unable to cater to the demands of your customers, do you?

Track all your products information, as well as audit your inventory to ensure you have adequate amounts of stock. 

Make sure to connect with reliable suppliers who would make instant deliveries of the supplies as soon as possible, in case they run out.