Need Some Input From The Folks Of Vapor Talk

[hdryder]

Has anyone ever heard of a vapor lounge ? Me and a friend of mine are thinking of opening a vapor coffee shop catering to the people who vape . What do you think ? Has anyone come up with a vapor hookah yet ? We would like to get some Input from you guys ... do you think it would fly? Would love to be my own boss .

[Brian]

Love the idea, but you'd have to research the area to see if there's a large enough community to support the business. That would be the tricky part. I'd love to own a book store/vapor friendly coffee shop.

[jmhester]

Totally Wicked just opened one in Bradenton, FL but I think it's mostly to support their products. Supposedly you can sample the juice, etc. If there was one near me, I would go there regularly. As for hookahs, you could setup a bunch of passthroughs with wall warts. You could also sell juice, carts, atty, etc. I think the controversy would probably give you all the advertising you need to start. I think you would get lots of people who are just curious. The key would be friendly, knowledable staff. Good luck with the idea!

[nana]

I would worry about the number of vapers in the area - like Brian mentioned, you would need to have a large enough community to support the business. But if that's there, I would think it would go over very well. Other than my kids, I don't know anyone else (not counting the good folk here) who vapes. Good idea though.

@Brian - I love your idea, too. I'd love to go to that. It would be a very loooooooooooonnnnnnnggg drive for me though. LOL

[Jeffb]

Hi hdryder, I think its a great idea!! I do agree with nana in that I don't know if the vaping community is large enough yet. So you would probably have to provide another service also to get people into your biz.

[stubear62]

It should work.. If its going to be a vaping coffee shop, a lot of smokers drink coffee and that would fly. Just need to have people that work in there be vapors and sell products for vaping. It might be a bit tricky to get a variance to sell the supplies though. Due to laws comming out against the e-cig and all.

But, in my HO, I could see it working out very well and just to think that the smokers that do stop in, could be converted over to vaping..

[GDub]

In my opinion this is the wrong place to do that kind of market research. If it was my money, hell no, opening a store front creates a business with much higher overhead than I think you'll be able to handle. If you really want to be your own boss and make a living from e-cigs just jump in with yet another supplier website. You can do it from home until you have enough revenue to consider opening a store front of some kind. I'm not trying to be a downer but even as an enthusiastic user of the products I would never invest in a vaping lounge, too much risk and not enough potential reward. Just my 2 cents.

[ddavelarsen]

I'm really pleased with all the positive replies to this idea. GDub, you make me smile, seem to be on a devil's advocate kick today. (That's friendly, man!) GDub does offer a valuable moderating influence however. If your community already has a number of coffee shops that appeal to the vaping demographic, they may take your idea and make it work for them, leaving you with a pile of debt and crashed dreams. On the other hand, and this is my preferred hand, if your area could support another coffee shop then vaping might be a very good way to promote its unique draw. And as others have said, selling e cig supplies would be a very good additional line. Do you have experience in the coffee boutique business? It's pretty expensive to get into if you're going to roast your own beans and stuff. Not like a brewery, but still. Not for the faint of heart. If you do decide to take the leap, I would like to drive up for your grand opening. Keep us posted. I bet a bunch of vapers would come from far and wide to support you. Count me in.

Brian! How well I don't know you? You're a reader? I'm taking this offline. Huh. World of wonders.

[Christopher]

The short answer to this... If you can find a market with enough vapers, this would do very very well.

[FTJoe]

The short answer to this... If you can find a market with enough vapers, this would do very very well.

Second that. And I have to think that market (dense pop) has a bazillion Starbucks. Also, you set up sales of anything besides coffee, could be trouble. I'm with gdub on this, ddave is the crazy one!!! ;-)

[GDub]

Look, I'm not knocking the idea, but what I am saying is for a first time business owner with little capital any business with a store front has significant overhead, so much so that most will not be able to survive the amount of time it will take them to build up a solid client base. I think the idea has potential, but only for someone with the capital to launch it correctly and survive the initial break-in period. Unless you have deep pockets and don't mind taking a significant financial risk start small and grow as your business does.

[ddavelarsen]

...I'm with gdub on this, ddave is the crazy one!!! ;-)

Not for the first time! Well, you guys are being sensible, but what great innovation came from being ... sensible? It's sure true about the 'deep pockets' part -- such a thing would surely have many months of red operating until the word got around and you started to create your own demographic by introducing new vapers. I think it's a great idea, but would require enormous commitment.

Edit: Considering the Starbucks issue; one thing they (or other franchise) have going against them is corporate inertia. They'd dither around for months worrying about whether vaping might be harmful or illegal before ever being in a position to copy this idea. I don't think they're much of a factor in the short term, which should provide some loyalty-building time. Particularly if your coffee was good!

Drive through vaping? Maybe selling charged up disposables at the window?

Edited March 14, 2010 by ddavelarsen

[FTJoe]

Edit: Considering the Starbucks issue; one thing they (or other franchise) have going against them is corporate inertia. They'd dither around for months worrying about whether vaping might be harmful or illegal before ever being in a position to copy this idea. I don't think they're much of a factor in the short term, which should provide some loyalty-building time. Particularly if your coffee was good!

Good point.

I'd still worry about some busy body know-it-all telling the town council that it violates some non-smoking ordinance or law, they're doing drugs in there, its a gateway activity to drugs, it promotes the activity to kids, etc. So if something like that happens, the coffee better be damn good with everyone having to go outside to vape...but then again, I'm a worrier

[ddavelarsen]

You're a worrier! Say it isn't so! Man I never had that perspective on you. Grumpy, sure; persnickety? Damn right. But a worrier? Naw. You just see the dark side in civic matters, that's all it seems to me. And a dark side in civic matters is about 88% as far as I've ever been able to tell. I'd just say you're a realist with an edge, FTJ! You go man, take em out.

[hdryder]

Her is the funny part...Where I live in N.E. Ohio IN Cortland which is north of Youngtown and east of Cleveland we have hookah bars where you can go and smoke and drink coffee and energy drinks. the clientale are mostly the 18 + crowd but so far I have gotten 4 or 5 of my friends to buy e cigs.. Ithink if I can get it out there I could make a go of it..One of my friends happens to be one HELL of a pastry chef and another is a great cook soooooooo who knows we'll have to sit down and see if we can get the capital to start something small and see how it goes.. Thanks for all your input

Dave

[mcquinn]

I think if you could find a place cheap enough it could work ,a lot of people are looking for a place to socialise and you could have local musicians play for tips .We have some colleges in our town and college kids like coffe shops to hang out in and drink coffeee and eat biscotti.

[nana]

Her is the funny part...Where I live in N.E. Ohio IN Cortland which is north of Youngtown and east of Cleveland we have hookah bars where you can go and smoke and drink coffee and energy drinks. the clientale are mostly the 18 + crowd but so far I have gotten 4 or 5 of my friends to buy e cigs.. Ithink if I can get it out there I could make a go of it..One of my friends happens to be one HELL of a pastry chef and another is a great cook soooooooo who knows we'll have to sit down and see if we can get the capital to start something small and see how it goes.. Thanks for all your input

Dave

Good luck and keep us updated on how it's going.