Here's some random hints and advice to get other things in place.
When it comes down to stocking inventory, be sure to stock what moves, not necessarily what you like best. It may take some time to figure this out because each area is different. Depending on size, I probably wouldn't stock more than 2 bow mfg lines starting out, to include at least one big name line: Hoyt, Mathews, PSE, Bowtech or Elite as they seem to be on the podiums at tournaments the most. I think I can honestly say Mathews and PSE are the safe ones on the list when it comes to moving product due to popularity (Mathews) and a vast, multi-budget friendly catalog (PSE). I'm not a Mathews dealer, but I get a ton of customers that ask... we've tried in the past and we would like to pick them up, but there's already two near-by dealers and honestly I need about 2 less bow mfg's on our wall as it is. PSE is by far our hot seller... I may be a little biased here, but the numbers don't lie. Same goes with sights, rests, releases, and arrows... try to stick to at least one well known big name. There are customers that know jack about archery and come in and want to know what YOU like, but it's not as many as customers who are brand loyal, at least that's how it rolls according to my experience.
While dealing directly with mfgs on products is usually cheaper, you will want a distributor account too. Look into Kinsey's (kinseysinc.com) and/or Lancaster. Lancaster has a better selection, but sometimes Kinsey's is cheaper on the same product, or has abilities to order different quantities... for example I have a guy who is fletching his own arrows and specifically wants 36pk Bohning Heat vanes, I had to order them from Kinsey's because they are U/A from Lancaster, and while I am a Bohning dealer and could have went directly to them and even saved a little cost, they usually take a little longer on their deliveries. Distributors give you options on ordering product.
With or without a range, you may want to look into having a monthly or annual membership for your store. Obviously having a place to shoot is a huge incentive for this. Our members just check in and we hand them a target and they go shoot, as they pay monthly rates. Our monthly membership fee is slightly cheaper than if a person came in to shoot twice a month... looking back, I would actually make it a little more (closer to 3 times a month), but this was already established prior to me becoming the department manager, and if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Our members also receive discounts on products as well as invitations to members-only events (usually we shut down the store, cater food for the members, and offer Black Friday-level prices and heavy discounts on products for them ...my store has close to 1000 members both firearms and archery, so this probably isn't ideal for your size initially).
Advertise/market your store as it being beneficial to buying products from you rather than buying them online and bringing them in to be setup. Be sure to have labor charges setup appropriately between the two. In my shop, if you buy it from us, we set it up for no additional charge (setup bows, install sights, rests, cut arrows, etc.) and we definitely make sure to charge labor for stuff people buy online and bring in, regardless if they are regulars or have a membership. But you also want to be fair in pricing as to not drive customers to go order online and to learn how to work on their own equipment... while I do encourage it on here, it does kill opportunities to get butts in the door.
Speaking of setting up equipment, if you have more than one employee, you may want to set a standard on how you do the little things: everyone ties a d-loop the same, a peep the same, a drop away rest cord the same, etc. You may want to research pros and cons of different methods. Put together a training guide if necessary (I'm working on this myself soon). Example: we actually have two methods of tying in a peep: one is more permanent, the other is for kids/teenagers that are growing and will need adjustments later, so we tie the knots to where they can be slid/moved. Of course, the new no-tie peeps from Fletcher (tube peep) and Sawtooth/Bohning have been helpful for the kids/teenagers, so that's something to look into as well.
Have something that is unique to your shop. Have a 300 spot target wall of fame so your customers have something to strive for, even if it's just bragging rights, maybe they get their photo on Facebook and they get a small prize. Do custom wrist slings out of paracord. Offer shooter jerseys for your loyal customers that want to rep your shop when they go shoot competitively or semi-competitively. Maybe setup a "staff shooter" program where they get a little deeper discount than the members, but they are under contract to rep your store at so many events. Just throwing some ideas at you. And if you don't do social media, get ready to... it helps!
The JOAD/NFAA thing can be a little tricky to get into. If you have an indoor range that's at least 20 yards long and I'd say about 8 lanes wide, you can look into the Texas Field Archery Association (
https://texasfieldarchery.org/) and see about becoming a location for the Shoot Your Way Across Texas tournaments. Of course all that stuff is on hold at the moment due to COVID. Also on your range setup, have a "comfy" zone where people can observe and watch the shooters. Many times you will have families and spouses come in and not all of them shoot bows, but they want to watch. A snack or drink machine wouldn't be a bad idea on a smaller scale range (we have a full cafe, but again, larger operation).
Classes, classes, classes! Classes get butts in the door, and are high profit margin items. Do classes for beginners, intermediate, advanced, whatever levels you can provide. Consider contracting an experienced, certified instructor if you are unavailable to do these. Do group or individual, gotta suit it to your instructor capacity. Don't forget to offer members discounts in this area too.
I've slowly started to scale inventory down in the past few months by dropping a few product lines and mfgs that are just stale, not moving, or are even difficult to deal with from a customer service perspective. If you have any specific questions on pros and cons, especially on brand lineups and what works and what doesn't, just send me a private message, because you really don't want dealer discussions out in the open on here.
