How Much Do Liquor Store Owners Make [IT'S WORTH IT]

Liquor store owners make between $30,000 and $300,000. This depends on how many employees you have helping you run your business.
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check out Pike's Wine & Liquor - pikesliquors.com
or on Instagram - @pikesliquors

[@db4695]

Glad to see a young guy like myself out here being successful. Big ups to you brodie

[@Bautista19]

I'd love to see a video on going from zero to opening a liquor store. Like what you look for in a location, estimates on the capital required to start up and build up an inventory.

[@AlexFlasinski]

That'd be fun for me too. If I find a great deal on a liquor store somewhere maybe I'll go for it and open up a second store. And make videos about it

[@claytonsimmons2386]

I'm currently doing this as we speak. Great Location, low overhead, expensive liquor wholesalers!!!

[@AlexFlasinski]

@@claytonsimmons2386 make some videos ;)

[@housemachine509]

Wanting to start from scratch especially since it’s essential these days

[@TylerDalton]

@@claytonsimmons2386 how did it turn out Clayton? I’m in the process of opening one up and would love to connect

[@priscillaguirre8266]

Thanks, man, this really gave me a great perspective! Really helpful.

[@xtoefield]

This was very helpful. I'm looking to buy a liquor store. I've added a few of your videos to get more knowledge.

[@SergioB-MakingMillionaires]

I liked the video bro. Similar business plan compared to my convenience store

[@pahouaxiong2420]

Love the intro thank you for the video !

[@marauder1011]

Thank you for the info, very informative

[@davidschick7269]

Your are a legend so easy to follow

[@Daniel-vd9yb]

Thank you for the great info

[@Barak144]

Totally worth it if you manage it correctly

[@jagsingh9119]

Like the content keep it up

[@javarrisjohnson57]

Great video subscribed💯

[@bobnewhart4318]

Great video very informative..keep it up

[@anonymjin3278]

can you do a video about taxes bro ? very good videos, keep it up !

[@AlexFlasinski]

Thanks dude. What about taxes exactly?

[@names_churles1263]

Paying a few employees above expected pay will make them more reliable and believe it or not they will appreciate you and now your business and you won't need to hire alot of employees anymore either.

[@hubrishero2914]

The liquor store I work at has me working everything from stocking, to running the register and cleaning the place up at the end of everyday and I’m only getting paid $10 an hour.

[@AlexFlasinski]

Ask the boss what they want you to do to make more money if you want more

[@Theivclips]

Do you know where to buy chips in bulk like the medium size not from Sam's club or costco?

[@kc8767]

6:16. To find someone to take $10 an hour to do some of the hardest work in the store.

[@AlexFlasinski]

Definitely not 10$ anymore - More like 15$ and up in NY

[@molove5064]

@@AlexFlasinski sadly it’s $10 here in SC , under the table and they penny pinch

[@caleblear3671]

Hi Alex, looking to buy my first liquor store in Oklahoma and have found your videos so helpful. Really appreciate you putting these videos out. I have a tax question -- is your estimate of a 20% margin before or after tax? Would you expect margin to be 20% x gross revenue, or 20% x (gross revenue - sales tax)? Thanks!

[@AlexFlasinski]

After tax. Don't forget that you can change your margin to whatever you want with different strategies.

[@Lifeviewers]

Thank you for sharing. I think taxes would be interesting too

[@mitulpatel9905]

Alex , did you forgot about the Credit card Fees? about 70% of sales happens with credit or debit card ... so you are looking (@2% fees minimum) 20K minimum for credit card fees ... overall a great information ... thanks

[@AlexFlasinski]

Yes I did forget to mention credit card fees good attention :)

[@aspenspa]

@J O I don't know where you are located but liquor laws in the USA are often so strick (as they are in the state I live in) that if you get caught doing this it is not just a huge fine but likely jail time and often will not be able to ever get a license to operate a business of any kind let alone a liquor business again.

[@dlopdx]

@@aspenspa get caught doing what

[@pengwyn2191]

Hey! Great video. I’m in Oklahoma and a third generation liquor store owner.

[@AlexFlasinski]

Awesome. I would be happy to connect over the phone to throw some ideas around if you'd like to

[@sanleonster]

you forgot license , insurance, matching withholding taxes on employees credit card fees cleaning supplies, vacuum cleaners ice machine repairs, cooler expenses computer upgrades, printers and more ... liquor store owners make a lot less, my store only does 800,000 in our small town and we probably only make minimum wage after all the bills are paid... Glad you are doing so good.. keep up the good work my friend and do not hurt your back on those cases of liters in glass, they are heavy

[@Sainte-adresse]

Hi, serious question. If you only make minimum wage why keep it going? What is your personal reason for owning this business? I have personally worked with a small business (food industry) and they loved what they did but it was so busy and physically taxing. They often missed out on special events and celebrations with their friends and family. Seeing the smile on customers faces was fun but when they would get pissed about waiting for food or left bad reviews I could tell it was stressful. Almost makes you feel like its a thankless job. All that work and they say they can't even afford to own a home

[@juniorpedraza4805]

Man what. Minimum? Why would you keep going?

[@seanmcaloon131]

Awesome informative video. A couple of people have asked about taxes. Do your monthly revenue numbers include sales tax and if not how much does that reduce revenue by? Thanks!

[@AlexFlasinski]

Sales tax in NY is 8.625%. these numbers are just made up numbers so you can assume it's with the sales tax or without.

[@iamchauhan5022]

I worked in liquor stores for almost 15 years as a cashier .I start from 7 dollars per hour under the table and last year I was getting 12 dollar per hour .I have to stock too after the stock guy is finished .My cheap Indian Punjabi boss Owens like 20 liquor store and he would never pay overtime but he would give me 80 to 100 hours weekly that's why I never complaint .

[@AlexFlasinski]

Damn man. You should tell him you want 15$/hour or you're leaving in 2 weeks.

[@aspenspa]

If you are in the USA and you can prove that you worked 80 - 100 hrs a week and were never paid overtime you can take it to the state employment division and they will make them pay you all of those lost wages. So if this was every week over a 15 year period you can walk away with somewhere in the neighborhood of 250K after your lawyers take.

[@preetbhele7924]

@@aspenspaunder the table?

[@sandeshshrestha11]

You are right ,, it's an easy

[@NOTORIOUSPATEL]

Hey Alex, I operate a liquor store in New Jersey and would love to collaborate with you. I will shoot you an email. I believe retailers need to take different avenues to sustain their liquor businesses in this changing industry. I saw some of your videos and really enjoyed them, seems like you have a very similar vision as mine!

[@attractionp.1185]

Thank you 🙏!!!!!$

[@brendanleenders61]

I should establish myself in USA. $1.87m in Australia is highly successful store. But. That’s usd. Now is $2.8m Aud. Now take in effect your spirits are like $15 a bottle and our Smirnoff is $50 same as beer. That would mean you are doing and equivalent of our $9m 😮😮

[@michealbirhane447]

I was the stock guy, cashier, order guy, inventory guy, price update guy. I run a whole liquor store solo for a whole year. Burn out!!!

[@AlexFlasinski]

Lol yes burn out is real

[@menlifecoach1804]

How did you start? How much money do you need upfront?

[@bchristian79]

Good video.

[@luckyyu2004]

This is accountant is too familiar with that formula haha

[@Martin-gd6ri]

Hey Alex, my wife and I own a liquor store in Illinois. I'd love to get with you to talk strategy against chains and..stuff.

[@urbexandbrokenthings4806]

what about license fees and insurance? banking fees? routine losses? etc

[@georgevandean8660]

What about the price of the inventory? Didn’t see that mentioned

[@EarthPatel448King]

Thanks

[@Tency777]

My only concern with owning a liquor store from a 20 year old in Ca is thief’s and the danger for the cashiers

[@AlexFlasinski]

You can have a liquor store where everything is behind bulletproof glass as well.

[@rictusgrin4191]

All depends on which state.

[@AlexFlasinski]

That's right - So many different liquor store business models across the 50 states.

[@geertzijlstra8311]

nice video

[@boenkie1918]

Awesome content. I subbed. I have 1 question in particular, how can a new brand contact a liquor store to make them sell their bottles?

[@AlexFlasinski]

Thanks. I'm pretty sure you have to go through a distributor to sell to liquor stores. But to contact just call them or walk in lol

[@FlavorFlavz]

@@AlexFlasinski what's a good distributor?

[@rioharobeb4683]

Thanks do some more videos

[@AlexFlasinski]

Any video suggestions?

[@frankmastromauro5630]

Good video

[@names_churles1263]

Be a millionaire in about 4 to 5 years and sooner in a high traffic area and I'm not talking major highways.

[@jimsam270]

WHAT ABOUT SALES TAX , EVERY MONTH

[@AlexFlasinski]

Sales tax is collected with every purchase and then paid to the government. It's not an expense lol

[@staticfeed376]

location, drive thru window, and speedy cutomer service is key to keepin up with corporate competition because you will be undercut on 90% of products. A county without a large city would be ideal.

[@AlexFlasinski]

More importantly your store should be doing delivery

[@josemaldonado9904]

Great info but I cannot pay my employees 10hr for hard labor and expect for him to stay that’s why if it don’t work for him and me I’ll just rather not do the business cuz some business depend of taking advantage of some employees and I’m just not that kind of person

[@0580749]

Hi how are you thank you for your video what’s the best cash register to you use

[@AlexFlasinski]

Standard register from amazon. If you mean POS then Onsight by POSmatic

[@0580749]

Thanks

[@supremeteam9187]

Love the video very helpful information my question is roughly how much does it take to open one?

[@AlexFlasinski]

I think the cheapest possible price is $100,000 and it can go all the way up to millions.

[@lonewolf6842]

@@AlexFlasinski this might be very late of a reply but is there any around that price, is there any way of doing an amortization on that?

[@dlopdx]

@@lonewolf6842 inventory alone would be 100k

[@emilioestevez3469]

I want to open a liquor wholesale distribution business in NJ. But they seem to be strict on license requirements. They want you to already have a location and paperwork as far whom to sell and buy from and source of funding or sketch of business plan etc. also I have a criminal background from ages ago not sure if that’ll disqualified me from obtaining a license smh. Then let’s say I do get a location that’s a commercial zone. What happens if they deny my request to get licensed. They expect me to get stuck with the one year lease of the business location?

[@1kennylo]

That’s the same for just about any commercial real estate. If everything checks off their list you should be good

[@georgevandean8660]

You’d need millions to compete

[@brandonstafford6666]

I’m considering purchasing a liquor store. This is very helpful but I do believe there will be hidden costs for me as this purchase will have unique circumstances. I guess my question is, are you happy doing this? Did you leave a career to start this? And how long did it take for you to see your first profit?

[@AlexFlasinski]

Yes it's fun. Very hard work to make more than 100,000 per year take home though. Assuming you're starting with a small store and small inventory.

[@user-ct4wz3pl1l]

Can the manager function as the cashier as well? And then the owner is the cashier and manager the other half of the time? And 1 stock guy? That seems reasonable for a small store.

[@AlexFlasinski]

Yes manager should be doing everything basically in a small store.

[@rentisme]

the 20% markup should be 1/6 of your sales btw

[@maskkk0002]

Where is your store located?

[@RunArunRun]

Are you the only owner or did you partner up?

[@originalkingx7424]

Questions what city you working at because in LA in cali ain't no way this setup work

[@lh6353]

He's in ny

[@CarlosHernandez-ho7si]

Hello Can you get a loan from a bank to purchase a liquor store? Assuming you have credit and enough down payment. Any ideas or suggestions?

[@AlexFlasinski]

I'm sure you could. Only one way to find out though.... call a bank and ask lol

[@CarlosHernandez-ho7si]

Thanks

[@HarrySingh456]

SBA loan!

[@jaysonmalong1228]

Any idea where to inquire wholesale retailers for those liquors to sell?ty

[@AlexFlasinski]

Beverage media.

[@kcakash]

I did not see credit card fees there.

[@DarleneSousa-oy9hd]

Dr. here. It's after midnight and I'm typing reports as I listen. We are also here all day and all night, except we have $300,000 in student loan debt and are wondering what else could we be doing for a living instead?

[@AlexFlasinski]

So the grass isn't any greener on the other side huh?

[@jillianmcallister1012]

Where are you located? I know you’re local to me so I’d like to check it out

[@AlexFlasinski]

We're at Pike's Wine & Liquor in Elmont, NY.

[@mieszko1985]

You wanna open one in Poland? You gonna move there? Hows the status on Poland!

[@AlexFlasinski]

Actually I did think about it cause I lived there for a bit. But no, not in the near future

[@josemaldonado9904]

I’m not gonna tell you how to run your business but you said that you didn’t know why the stock work don’t seem to stay, very easy not enough pay not enough hrs. Have you ever worked as an employee any where else? As a business owner I learn to take care of my employees and if a contract that I make is not enough to pay my employees right and for me I won’t take it. I just can’t seem to make business by taking advantage of my employees

[@nonabiness8329]

I have many questions other than expenses. I would like to speak to you on the phone if possible.

[@mattnewhouse1781]

Is crack more profitable a drug to sell than alcohol?

[@AlexFlasinski]

Depends on what kind of alcohol you're selling. A lot of it is more profitable than crack

[@Ford_F250]

What was your up front Money to open the first store ?

[@AlexFlasinski]

I had to put in 150,000 for part of the business in the beginning

[@menlifecoach1804]

@@AlexFlasinskihow did you get the loan for that?

[@BladeBarn]

where is your store located?

[@AlexFlasinski]

Elmont, NY

[@1kennylo]

Oh nah I don’t wanna be there 😅

[@HardikPatel-oj4qi]

common man, How many liquor stores have a business of $100,000 every month? Those kinds of store liquor are very few. Most liquor stores have revenue of around $500,000 per year.

[@AlexFlasinski]

In NY? I don't think it's possible to pay your bills if you only do 500k per year honestly.

[@HardikPatel-oj4qi]

@@AlexFlasinski This is fact that many liquor stores have revenue around $500,000. However, they might pay less rent then $6,000, and that's how they survive.That's why liquor store too much risky business.

[@jyo5764]

How is this worth it? You can get a job 9-5 with 60-80k salary without all the hassles and risk that you have to deal with owning a store

[@menlifecoach1804]

It’s your own business though. You are your own boss. That will always better then working for someone

[@jeremiasnicolas5027]

Is possible to buy a liquor store with a bank loan ?

[@AlexFlasinski]

I think so.

[@amirkazemi2517]

how much is a liquor store that has $2M annual gross sales?

[@AlexFlasinski]

Is this a trick question?

[@brandon-kh9vr]

6k for rent a month for a liquor store???? thats wildd

[@AlexFlasinski]

Definitely not wild in NY

[@aspenspa]

depends on where it is located. In the area where I am the average non-restaurant building lease is about $3000 per month and I live in a city of less than 200,000.

[@kushgupta3111]

I feel like these numbers aren’t right, again could be wrong but hundreds of liquor stores are owned in the family

[@AlexFlasinski]

Lol, could be wrong? Do you operate a liquor store?

[@kushgupta3111]

Alex Flasinski yeah only about 37 of them 😂

[@AlexFlasinski]

So which numbers here are wrong?

[@kushgupta3111]

Alex Flasinski to be honest I’d say all of them, I’ve never had any of our liquor stores income 100 grand in a month, but I’m not sure where your from and I could be completely wrong I’m not 100 percent sure, I’m just saying from my view and experience this is what I’ve been through

[@AlexFlasinski]

These numbers cannot be wrong. They're just bigger than your stores apparently. Currently pikes is at 500,000 per month and our competition is at 800,000 per month.

[@sammio8080]

Informative video Alex. Which POS do you use for your store?

[@AlexFlasinski]

Sup. I use Onsight by POSmatic but I'm looking to switch because they're not nice to work with

[@HarrySingh456]

Do you anyone selling a Liqour store??

[@AlexFlasinski]

Check bizbuysell.com

[@runapparel6928]

Do liquors buy thier own Liqour or does the wholesale supplier. Give them front the Liqour ?

[@AlexFlasinski]

Liquor stores have to buy the alcohol and pay for it within 30 days from the distributor.

[@randolphcraig7246]

If only you could find a go getter to break their back For minimum wage

[@guitarprophetyt7164]

Yes No shit, thanks.

[@hippityhoppity3800]

15.00 per hour equals out to 600 per week......2400 per month. my question? how does your stock guy make less than your cashier?

[@AlexFlasinski]

He works less hours than the cashier. Idk what I'm doing so I pay everyone the same when they start and give them a raise every year :)

[@andrewsonSsdd]

Alex Flasinski LoL @ the “idk what I’m doing.” Humble

[@thoman99]

how hands on is this business with a manager involved

[@AlexFlasinski]

Depends. Do you think that one manager can work all day every day? More than one manager? How big is the store? Does the manager have experience running a liquor store?

[@rochesterjohnny7555]

15 bucks an hour mothertruckers come at me

[@louisa6943]

A dude at $10.00 an hour no one is going to work for you

[@ahmllc27]

Now i dont want 1. Thanks

[@JP-ic6fi]

Why is the stock guy only getting $400 a week and the cashier gets $650 a week? The stock guy is doing a lot more work. They deserve the higher wage.

[@AlexFlasinski]

Lol. What about amount of hours worked?

[@smokeykidd9568]

Why pay the cashier more than the stocker? the cashier sits on their ass all day or just fuckin stands there like come on bro

[@AlexFlasinski]

Because they work more hours. I think most employees should be paid individually at individual rates

[@iBluff]

@ Smokey Kidd would you pay a dishwasher more than a chef?

[@sheldonhighsmith3333]

Lies..... Because this isnt the only way they make money.

[@lusifermorningstar8064]

Lie

Absolute crap.

[@AlexFlasinski]

Thank you

@@AlexFlasinski Your welcome.

[@AlexFlasinski]

@ It's you're here rod.

[@Saidoromo2024]

Wtf.. This is just some random bs not informative at all.