What's it take to start a store for flashing/selling phones?

[ownmart]

this is what I'm guessing:
-Business license
-Lease
-Gas/Electric
-Sign prices
-Internet

For franchising cricket (to do esn changes and get percentage from bill pays and esn changes)
Anyone know the amount required for this?

I'm just seeing the ballpark range to see if I should invest more into business than school..
I've already got my aa and like 80 more units than needed haha

[whitey10tc]

this is what I'm guessing:
-Business license
-Lease
-Gas/Electric
-Sign prices
-Internet

For franchising cricket (to do esn changes and get percentage from bill pays and esn changes)
Anyone know the amount required for this?

I'm just seeing the ballpark range to see if I should invest more into business than school..
I've already got my aa and like 80 more units than needed haha

To get a definative answer you would need to contact cricket. I can tell you that I have the dealers contract that is about 100 pages long. Alot of rules regulations disclaimers non disclosure agreements etc.
For the first 5 items you have listed it is going to depend on location, location. There are some stores in my valley that would run $1000/mo and others that are the same size that run $5000/mo.
As for franchising... There is none, there are cricket corp stores and cricket dealers. There are on the other hand different levels of dealers. For the amount required you will need to contact cricket as it could be different from market to market and most of us who either are dealers or are working towards it have most likely signed non Disclosure agreements preventing us to disclose those figures.
For the location I would like when it becomes available in Nov. 2010 it will run me in the ballpark of $6000.00/mo for what you listed above plus insurance, alarm monitoring, 1 employee and my self.

[Mr._Pseudonym]

:^/ Another approach might be to start out small. Acquire the appropriate hardware and software to flash a selected range of phones, and then freelance out to existing shops. If your equipment is portable enough, you could even travel to a shop, flash the phones that they've set aside for you, then continue on to the next shop on your list.

Invest whatever profits you get into expanding your capabilities. While you're making the rounds of the town, you'll also get a feel for which neighborhoods get the most business, etc. Take notes as you go so you'll be well prepared when you're ready to make the leap into your own storefront.

[whitey10tc]

Well said Mr._Pseudonym

I flash phones out of my home office (my fulltime job is a freight broker) for 5 dealers and a pawn shop here in my valley. I have a 24-48 hr turn around. I don't make alot but neither do they, each one charges different and pays me different. They just get the perks of the ESN changes, activations and that $1 on bill payments.

[ownmart]

thanks for all the info, so far ive flashed some phones for a cricket authorized store and they send me phones they cant do, but I do need to test other models I have not done so that I can stop turning people away saying "oh I cant flash that model"

[whitey10tc]

thanks for all the info, so far ive flashed some phones for a cricket authorized store and they send me phones they cant do, but I do need to test other models I have not done so that I can stop turning people away saying "oh I cant flash that model"

I have found that ebay, craigs list and some local auctions are the best for test phones. Some colleges and universities will auction the lost and found after a certain amount of time.