Don Conti Hand Made Cigars

Owning and operating your own business can be one of the most rewarding and fulfilling accomplishments anyone can experience. However, it takes a lot of hard work and dedication, not to mention sweating and bleeding. For this article, we’re going to explore what you need to know when starting your own cigar business. Unlike others, a cigar business is a particular and peculiar beast and starting your own cigar business will need unique guidance.

We’ll begin with things you should know when starting any sort of business. The first thing is money or capital: yes need it, dummy. You need money in your pocket. And not just enough to get started, I mean you need a surplus of it. If at all possible, you should fish for investors to join your project; if you’re unable to find many, at least find a singular partner who shares your interest and passion in starting your own cigar business.

Another thing any new business owner needs to have is knowledge of their product – and I mean knowing it from back to front and all sides imaginable. A lot of people are going to come to you with questions and they expect a small business owner to be more of an expert than the larger and impersonal “big box” stores. That is in fact your specialty – although you can’t fill a stadium sized warehouse with billions of products, you can offer expertise and a friendly face. You need to know every single item in your store, you need to know where it comes from and how you got it, and you need to know the best way of using it. You want to be starting your own cigar business? Well, it would help if you’re a cigar smoker too (true story: I used to frequent a pub whose bartender and owner never, ever touched a drop of alcohol for personal reasons – it made me uncomfortable to sit at the bar and drink in front of him).

Another important thing to keep in mind is your location and your desired clientele. To exaggerate the concept, a cigar salesman may not do especially well between a maternity dress shop and a health clinic. Not only will you attract the wrong window shoppers and foot traffic, your business neighbors will also not approve of you and you will not have friendly relations. It would be best to be on everyone’s good side for awhile, capice? Good. So choose a location that suits your desired clients and not your own. For a small specialty store, a traditional downtown location is always a good choice. But so can malls or commercial districts and, hell, right next to the barbershop or the football stadium. If it was me, I’d be starting my own cigar business down the street from Governor Schwarzenegger’s office. You’d be set up for life for sure.

Finally, and this is the most important general tip of all, you absolutely must have a brilliant understanding of finances and economics. It’s not enough to be a cigar expert if you don’t know how to stay out of the red. You need to know the right time to invest in upgrading or up keeping your storefront, you need to know how much product to order for to meet your sales quota (and not go over) and you need to work a cash register.