There’s a business I’ve been eyeing for a while that is for sale. It’s a cafe and nail salon with its own small parking lot (can fit about 3-4 cars). The cafe and the salon are separate, small buildings on the same lot. Both have AC and are in good condition, each can accommodate at the most 10 people inside at a time. Near it is a government building, and several residential buildings. There’s condos, restaurants, and a few houses nearby. There are four schools about a 15-20 minute drive away.
I’m considering buying it and pivoting it into a different business. I already own a business in STEM education (B2B, we work directly with schools). We don’t have our own physical location so I’ve been thinking of turning this location into our first STEM school. The problem there is that foot traffic is low, and there’s not much directly around the place that attracts families. Maybe a different kind of business would be more profitable, like a laundromat.
How would you pivot this kind of business if you owned it?
Edit: posted this in /smallbusiness but didn’t get feedback, so posting it here.
How would you pivot this small business?
byu/Classic-Macaroon6083 inEntrepreneur
Posted by Classic-Macaroon6083
3 Comments
Your only customers will be parents driving 20 minutes, so it has to be a premium service. Second, a safer pivot for that location is to serve the government and residential folks. A high-end grab-and-go cafe or a laundromat like you said is a much more obvious, less risky play.
So honestly, I wouldnt pivot the cafe portion, coffee is sort of a no brainer. They’re easy to set up and they make good money and solid profit when you operate it right. Nail salon is actually not a bad business but this part you can totally pivot. I would do a barber shop, same set up and you can bring in barbers who would pay you rent for a chair. I wouldn’t call it an easy business so to speak but they do well if you attract the right people. I’d need more info to really come up with better ideas but I also love u/CommitteeNo9744’s laundermat idea!
I’d think about steady local demand first. A STEM school could work given your experience, but low foot traffic might make it a slow start. Maybe keep one building generating consistent revenue and test your pivot in the other. That way you’re not all-in before seeing traction