4 ms·
In truth, retail is a pretty awful business. People love the romanticism of it and the "simplicity", but really it's a shit way to make money the vast majority
by WarmWash 9mo ago
In truth, retail is a pretty awful business. People love the romanticism of it and the "simplicity", but really it's a shit way to make money the vast majority of the time.
$100k of money sitting on shelves depreciating. Narrow hours when most of your business comes, but need to hang around all those other hours for the trickle of other customers. Dealing with theft. Dealing with bottom tier workers. Dealing with the general public
It's really best when you are already retired and just want something to do for fun.
- steveBK123 9mo agoVanity shops/restaurant projects by rich spouses are very much a thing in some rich towns as well. People who are doing it for fun since they have nothing else to do with their time and this also hurt competing businesses that actually need to make money. That said it would probably be fun way to engage with the community in whatever retirement hobbies you have. Like a daytime cafe / nighttime lounge / listening bar / art gallery thing haha. You do need some staff you can trust to deal with all the not fun parts. Anyone who has worked retail as a teen knows what that’s like.
- bombcar 9mo agoIf you own the building and rent to your spouse it often makes sense to charge as high as you can because of depreciation. Of course, you have to be careful to avoid self dealing.
- sokoloff 9mo agoI’d much rather punch myself in the face every morning than open a retail operation in retirement.
- bombcar 9mo agoThe only people I've ever met who dreamed of retiring to run a retail operation were those who have never worked retail a day in their life - they imagine it to be like a sitcom or something.