Retail tire business?

If you're aiming for enthusiasts and club folks, I would say figure out how you can take Toyo bucks and have the ability to shave tires. Toyo sponsors tons of amateur racing.

I ordered tires for my 944 from a small, independent store out of state because they knew what DOT-R tires were, would take my Toyo bucks, get the right tires, shave them, and ship them out to me.

Find out what tire companies sponsor amateur racing series in your area, give out scrip as awards, and what it takes for you to be able to accept it and get reimbursed by the manufacturer.

Spam deleted.  Zombie thread from 2011, nearly 11 years ago.  Proceed with caution. 

The GTA tire shop situation hasn't changed though, a few months ago my usual tire shop was basically just too busy for me to get to without taking a day off work, they'd previously swapped tires on the car with balancing and installing metal valves I'd provided (but no TPMS) for $100. So I took the wheels and tires alone to another nearby shop to have the tires swapped and they charged $120! And they didn't even have to deal with the car! And this isn't downtown Toronto, this is a place on the GTA outskirts which, back when this thread was new, still might've been the butt of hillbilly jokes from people in Toronto. It was at that point I gave the GRM articles about buying your own tire machine to save money another read.

Random thing that will make you feel old: I was in elementary school when this thread was created, I'm a sophomore in high school now

So....did you fail?  Or can I get a picture of you on your yacht bought with tire money in the middle of a (likely frozen) lake?

I agree with others that say tire margins are thin. Really thin. I would guess most tire shops make their money on service, ie, labor. Someone comes in for tires and gets an alignment, possibly brakes, etc. 

Working just by yourself you make X per hour minus overhead. If you have 5 guys working for you, you make money every hour you can bill them. That's how you cover your costs and make a decent living. Selling a low margin product is a tough way to make a living.

My family, starting with grandpa, was in the tire business from 1919 to 1995.   Grandpa's slogan for the business was "If its kin to a wheel it related to us since 1919".  Automotive, truck, and farm tires.  He gave me a chunk of raw rubber from his re-capping business to chew on when I was teething (grandma strenuously objected). 

What ultimately sunk the family tire business was Walmart was selling tires to the public cheaper than we could buy them.    Tires are sold by the pound with seriously deep discounts. If you can't swing big inventory you can't compete at that level.   

Going specialty like you are considering will require a lot of personal attention, ability to listen to customers who may know more, or less, than you.  Generally you need to be personable and technically adept.  You will be selling a quality service, not tires and suspension parts.  Selling those is a benefit of having excellent service.

You will need either an inventory of specialty tires in the sizes people want or a very good supplier.   These tires, as we all know, are VERY expensive so carrying inventory adds up quickly.   

Good luck.