2 Years of SHRN - What's it actually like to run a skate shop?
One of the most common questions we've been hearing lately is: what's it actually like to run a skate shop?
First of all, we always answer with: "Rad!" But of course that's a gut answer, because it's simply fun and we're constantly driven on by good feedback. Still, we wanted to go a bit deeper here and ask ourselves.
Because when you go deeper, open questions come up too, and the odd problem. First and foremost we're skateboarders. That means we basically subordinate everything to skateboarding. We don't schedule our order appointments in the morning just because opening hours don't allow otherwise; we do it to keep ourselves free in case we might want to go skate in the afternoon. So it's sometimes tricky when everyone heads out to skate and one of us has to stay at the shop and hold the fort. Because despite everything we also have to do business. We have to sell things, because without sales nothing moves forward. The business aspect is the hardest of all anyway. We were never trained to be salespeople; we don't feel like business types either. Luckily we sell things that are close to our hearts. Every brand we have in the shop has a personal reason too. Either because the stuff is rad or the people behind it.
But when you deal with invoices, cash flow and accounting day in, day out, you keep having to ask yourself whether this is really what you want to do. Because one thing is clear: that part is no fun! You have to keep the overview, buy the right things and take care of many other things you didn't have in mind when opening the shop. You have to work independently and organize yourself. Can a skateboarder even do that? You have to! That's the only answer. Otherwise you have to close up and do something else.
That all sounds pretty negative. But on the other hand, so infinitely much good comes back! For one, we're incredibly blown away by how many people notice what we do and help us in countless different ways. We'd hardly be able to pull off so much if a lot of people weren't helping us. It's about graphics, photos, videos and so much more that it'd simply never be possible to sum it all up in a post like this. Of course we also want to thank all these people! The support is unbelievable.
On top of that it's incredible how many skateboarders our team is slowly growing to include and the circles it's slowly drawing. We try to say thanks at least a little through sponsor-hunting, support in the form of hardware and words of wisdom, but even that's completely impossible. How do you thank a skateboarder who risks their health doing this for a shop video clip? You can't. Everyone has to decide for themselves whether they feel like being part of a big project that pushes our sport forward. But the reward is always just the skateboard family you're in. Here too, an infinitely huge thank you to our team riders!
But a lot of support comes our way from the business side too! Thanks to all the distributors, brands and marketing folks who know a shop like this exists in Munich and who all try in their own way to support us and take us further.
Above all, though, at the end there's of course our customer. The customer is king, you are the customer! But you also buy where there's a reason for it. There are surely thousands of reasons to buy at XYZ, but also the one reason you buy at SHRN. Which of the many is your personal one may stay your secret forever. Whether it's stuff you can't get anywhere else, the friendly service from our people at the counter, knowing we run this as a labor of love, or we simply happen to have a sale on... Whatever. The reactions from many, many people show us that we make people happy every day and sold them exactly the right setup or the right clothing.
Anyway... We're not perfect. Sometimes we just prefer to go skate rather than do accounting, push the event properly or finish every single product description on the site. Some things fall short because other things have priority right now. But we're extremely glad that skateboarding is developing so well around us. We try our best to be the pivot of a scene that's close to our hearts. Of course we're also happy to sell something to people who aren't necessarily rolling, because now and then we can use every penny to get our plans off the ground and settle all the bills at the end of the day.
Sometimes it also hurts to see that there are customers who, faced with an offer from a business-driven corporation with no heart, go for the cheapest and just can't support our philosophy 100%. But we're realistic enough there too and know that when we were young and living hand to mouth, we didn't give a damn where the stuff came from either — stuff that breaks way too fast anyway. That's skateboarding and that's how it should be.
Anyway. Skateboarding is beautiful and always will be. It's also always what you make of it yourself, and we do our best to handle everything so that as many people as possible really enjoy it. We're happy with what we do and glad we don't have to bend ourselves and do things we don't want to do. We've done events where hundreds of people came, but just as well events that maybe nobody gave a damn about. That's our lesson.
A big topic is also sales! We hope not to spam you with offers and whatever. But sometimes we have to manage to clear out our stock. Of course we hate having to flog off rad stuff we ordered. But sometimes it makes people happy too. Getting a lot for little money? Normally all quality has its price. We don't set the prices; in most cases the circumstances do. We try to get everything at the best price, but we too don't want everything at any price. Because it's important to inform yourself where the stuff comes from and how it's made. Especially with hardware, everyone should be clear that it's sometimes not even possible to make money on it at all.
Making money isn't the point of why we do all this anyway. We just want to have a project going where everyone is paid for their work and can happily do their thing. We're not out for revenue growth to serve new targets from shareholders, bosses or investors. We are us. Skateboarders who saw the need for a new kind of skate shop. In this world where skateboarding is on its way to the Olympics, where corporate-sized companies are moving in because the market is big, the small stuff around us matters to us. Skateboarding is a love for all of us and we all probably do our bit so this love doesn't grow cold. We're glad not to be the tiniest link in a chain, but somehow just a skate shop.
A skate shop the way it should be. A skate shop with a couch, a TV, a hangout spot, a place to go and a home. We do what we feel like and are just as free as we always are when we step on the skateboard. Nothing else matters. Skateboarding is forever!
What can you do? Just drop by, drink a Paulaner Spezi with us and hang out and let the street gossip live. If you need something, you're welcome to buy something too, with the good slogan: support your local skateshop!
Peace.
Small addendum: We're of course not the only skate shop in the world... Support YOUR local skate shop if it's rad! :) Knuckles out to all skate shops in the world!