Looking for a vintage store business plan? You're in the right place.
A vintage shop has no catalog to order from. Every piece is bought one at a time, so the questions come before the doors open. How much stock does the first day need? What can the shop afford to pay a seller, and what does it have to charge to make that work? How fast must the racks turn over, and how much of the business can move online?
In this article we'll walk through a complete sample plan for a vintage store in Eugene, Oregon, section by section, so you can see how buying, pricing, payroll and rent fit together before you write your own. We'll cover the executive summary, the SWOT analysis and, in particular, all of the financials.
Here's what's inside:
- The executive summary: see how to fit a shop, its stock and its funding onto one page, so a lender reads the ask in the first minute
- The sourcing plan: learn how one buyer fills the racks from estate sales, private sellers and a buying counter, and what each route does to the margin
- The stock budget: find out how much of the money raised goes onto the shelves, and how to size a cash reserve for the slow months
- The seasonal calendar: see how a festival in July and a fall term with Halloween can carry nearly a quarter of a year's revenue
- The turns and margin table: learn to read inventory turns, gross profit per dollar of stock and sales per square foot, the numbers a retail lender checks
- The five-year profit, cash flow and balance sheet: understand how pay, rent and stock decisions show up in the numbers
- The weak-year case: have an answer ready for "what if sales are 20% short?", with the steps the owner takes in response
If you're opening a resale or vintage shop, read this before you write your own. The shop is fictional, so take what fits your trade and change the rest.
In this plan
To turn this example into your own vintage store business plan, use the vintage store business plan template.
The Case in Brief
Mill Brook is a vintage store that opens in January 2027 in a 1,600-square-foot unit near downtown Eugene, Oregon. It sells vintage clothing, shoes and boots, bags, belts, jewelry and records, in the shop and through its own online store, and takes a booth at weekend markets and vintage fairs. Founder Nora Castellano owns 80% of the company. A local investor owns the other 20%.
The company raises $163,000: $73,000 of Nora's savings, $35,000 from the investor and a $55,000 credit-union term loan. Opening stock takes $45,000 of it. The build-out, racks and equipment cost $48,500, a reserve holds $45,800, and $23,700 goes on legal work, permits, rent before opening, training and the launch.
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $401,050 | $508,718 | $588,880 |
| Net income after start-up costs | ($29,428) | $14,447 | $11,214 |
| Closing cash | $31,719 | $43,269 | $51,587 |
The first year loses $5,728 before start-up costs and $29,428 after them. Winter is slow, with EBITDA negative from January to May, and the shop turns positive in June. Net income dips slightly in Year 3 because the full-time associate's first full year and the accumulating pay raises arrive together, stays near $12,551 in Year 4 when a second part-time hire joins, and reaches $33,784 in Year 5.
A weak year gets its own table. With sales 20% under plan, later hires, a smaller opening buy, less marketing, a pay cut for Nora and no distributions, the shop loses money in three of five years but still closes every year with cash in the bank.
The pitch is a narrow one. The plan's reading of Eugene is that resale choices are mostly donation-fed thrift racks and online resale apps; it rests on no survey. Mill Brook sells a smaller, edited range, priced piece by piece and sorted by era and size, and buys from the public at a counter so the racks change every week.
What Mill Brook Is
Legal name: Mill Brook, LLC, an Oregon company taxed as a corporation. Owners: Nora Castellano, 80%; one local investor, 20%. Premises: 1,600 square feet near downtown Eugene, about 1,200 of it selling floor. Opening: January 2027. The lease is in draft and two estate-sale companies have agreed to give Nora first look at their sales.
Why the shop exists
The shop sits near the University of Oregon, which the plan treats as a source of student shoppers; it quotes no enrollment figure. Nora worked eight years in vintage and consignment retail, the last four as buyer and manager of an independent vintage shop in Portland, and has sold at weekend markets since 2019. Her reasoning is that a shop sorted and priced by hand beats a rack of mixed donations for a buyer who wants one good jacket in her size.
Where the shop should stand by 2028
- Revenue of $508,718 in the second year, with a profit after tax.
- Inventory turning 3.0 times on year-end stock, up from 2.6 in the first year.
- A full-time hire on the floor by October 2028.
- The credit union's loan paid on schedule, with interest-only payments ending in July 2027.
What the shop sells
| Line | How it earns | Year 1 share of revenue |
|---|---|---|
| Vintage clothing | About 2,650 sales at an average of $66 | 44% |
| Online shop | About 1,750 orders at $54 | 24% |
| Bags, belts, jewelry and accessories | About 1,550 sales at $35 | 14% |
| Vintage shoes and boots | About 480 sales at $80 | 10% |
| Records and small goods | About 1,050 sales at $20 | 5% |
| Pop-up and market booths | 12 events at an average of $1,500 | 4% |
Rules the shop runs under
Oregon has no general sales tax, so the shop charges none; the accountant confirms that each year with the Department of Revenue. The shop registers the business with the state and the city and carries workers' compensation for its employees. Buying from the public can bring local secondhand-dealer rules into play, especially for jewelry and other precious metals, and the shop confirms them with the City of Eugene before it opens the buying counter. It keeps a record of every purchase from the public: the seller's identification, the items and the price paid.
Secondhand Style in Eugene
A shopping year with two peaks
The plan expects July to be a strong month because festival-goers heading to the Oregon Country Fair buy costume and festival clothing, and it expects October to be the strongest because fall term has started and Halloween costume buying peaks. Those are the plan's own expectations, not measured figures. July is 10.5% of Year 1 revenue and October 12.6%, against 3.6% in January. The shop buys its stock around that calendar.
Margin against the trade
Owners of resale and vintage shops often describe a gross margin well above that of new-apparel retail, because pieces are bought below wholesale, and the plan treats that as a rough idea and not a sourced figure. Mill Brook's blended gross margin is 61.2%, measured on the prices the shop actually receives after markdowns. After write-offs, shrinkage and card and platform fees, about 55.6 cents of each sales dollar remains for payroll and rent. Rent and utilities are 8.9% of Year 1 revenue and 6.5% by Year 3.
Pay in the trade
In May 2025 the Bureau of Labor Statistics put the median wage of retail salespersons at $17.03 an hour. Oregon's standard-region minimum wage, which covers Lane County, is $15.55 an hour from July 1, 2026, and the state adjusts it every July. Hourly staff at Mill Brook start within a few percent of the BLS median, which leaves room above the minimum.
Who the shop competes with
| Alternative | What it offers | Why a customer might choose it | How Mill Brook differs by design |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donation-based thrift stores | Very low prices, huge volume | A bargain, and the chance of a find | Edited racks sorted by era and size, and pieces already cleaned and mended |
| Other vintage and consignment shops | Curated stock, local owners | Established following | A buying counter that pays sellers in cash or credit, and a larger online shop |
| Online resale apps and marketplaces | Enormous range, shop from home | Choice and price comparison | Try-on, local pickup and pieces a buyer can check before paying |
| Fast-fashion and mall chains | Cheap, constant new stock | Price and convenience | One-off pieces and longer-lasting fabrics |
| Weekend markets and vintage fairs | One-day stalls | Atmosphere and a short list of sellers | Open every day, and Mill Brook takes a booth at several |
This is a description of seller types and not a ranking. Individual competitors go unnamed because the plan holds no sourced facts about them.
SWOT
Strengths
- A founder who has bought for an independent shop and sold at markets
- Pieces are bought at about a third of shelf price, so margin is high even after markdowns
- Two sales channels (shop and online) built on the same stock
Weaknesses
- One location and one local economy
- Every piece is different, so there is no reordering when a size sells out
- Stock is the largest asset, and unsold stock is worth little to a lender
Opportunities
- Festival and fall-term seasons that concentrate demand
- Repeat buyers who return for new arrivals in their size
- A growing online shop that does not need more floor space
Threats
- A spell of weak consumer spending that hits discretionary buying
- Estate-sale competition that raises the price of good stock
- Online resale apps that cut prices on comparable pieces
Who Buys Vintage in Eugene
The student and the early-career buyer
University of Oregon students and young workers who want clothes with a look and a lower price than new. They come in groups, browse for an hour and buy one or two pieces. Fall term and Halloween are their peak.
The collector and the regular
An adult buyer of 1960s to 1990s clothing, denim, band tees, leather or records, who knows what she wants and checks the shop each week for new arrivals. This buyer is the core of repeat sales.
The festival and costume buyer
A shopper who needs an outfit for one event, from the Oregon Country Fair to a themed party or a stage production. One visit often means two or three pieces and an accessory.
The seller
A person clearing a closet, a house or a box of records who prefers a local buyer to a donation bin or a listing they have to photograph. A seller paid in store credit is also a future customer.
How many customers
The plan counts about 4,400 customers in Year 1: 3,200 who buy in the shop at an average of 1.8 sales each, and 1,200 who buy only online. The count grows to about 5,500 in Year 2 and 6,400 in Year 3, with about 40% of the prior year's customers coming back. Revenue per customer is about $91 in Year 1 and $92 in Year 3.
How a Piece Gets Priced and Sold
Every piece comes through the processing room: it is checked for damage, cleaned or mended, measured, photographed and priced by Nora. Pricing runs from a few dollars for a scarf or a record to well over $100 for a good leather jacket, with an average clothing sale of $64.
Markdown ladder. A piece stays at its first price for 45 days. It drops 20% at 45 days and 40% at 90 days, moves to a $5 and $10 bin at 135 days and leaves the shop at 180 days, donated or sold in a bulk lot. The ladder is why cost of goods is 38.8% of revenue, though the shop pays about a third of shelf price. The model also charges $8,021 of write-offs and donations in Year 1, which is 2.0% of sales, for pieces that leave unsold.
Buying counter. Sellers bring items on set days. The shop offers 30% of the planned shelf price in cash or 50% in store credit, and declines pieces it cannot sell. Counter buying is about a quarter of purchases.
Sourcing mix. Roughly 45% of purchases come from estate sales and private sellers, 25% from the buying counter, 20% from dealer lots and 10% from picking trips outside Eugene. The mix sets the blended cost of goods, and buying trips, storage and mileage add $9,500 in Year 1.
Online listing. A piece that has been on the floor for 14 days without selling and photographs well goes online as well, at the same price. The online specialist lists about 12 pieces a day, and each online order ships within two working days.
Loyalty and new arrivals. Customers sign up for text and email alerts at checkout. The shop announces a new-arrivals drop each Thursday and sends credit-expiry reminders to sellers.
Spending to Be Found in Eugene
The Year 1 budget is $26,000 in two parts: $11,000 to launch, paid out of the raise, and $15,000 to run. Spread over about 4,400 customers that is roughly $5.90 each, or 6.5% of revenue. The running part alone is 3.7% of Year 1 revenue, falling to 2.7% in Year 3. In Year 2 about 3,740 of 5,500 customers are new, and $15,500 divided by that is $4.14 per new customer.
| Channel | Year 1 spend | What it is expected to do |
|---|---|---|
| Website and photography (launch) | $5,000 | A store site with a live stock list, a map and product photos |
| Opening weekend and first booth (launch) | $6,000 | A launch event and a market stall; about 400 customers |
| Instagram and TikTok content, with small paid boosts | $4,000 | New-arrival posts and styling clips; about 1,000 customers |
| Booth fees at markets and vintage fairs | $3,600 | Twelve events at about $300 each; about 500 customers |
| Campus outreach | $2,800 | Orientation-week handouts and student-paper ads; about 700 customers |
| Local collaborations | $2,100 | Theatre costume swaps and maker events; about 500 customers |
| Google Business Profile and local search | $1,500 | Searches such as "vintage store Eugene"; about 600 customers |
| Email and text | $1,000 | Reminders for existing customers; none counted as new |
Walk-ins and referrals account for the other 700 of the 4,400.
Marketing milestones
- January 2027: shop open, site and social accounts live.
- July 2027: the festival month, staffed with the seasonal associate and a full rack.
- September 2027: orientation-week outreach and the start of fall buying.
- December 2027: year-one customer count of about 4,400.
Sourcing, Stock and the Shop Floor
The unit
1,600 square feet near downtown Eugene at about $19.40 a square foot all in ($31,000 in Year 1), on a five-year lease, renewable for five more, with Nora's personal guarantee behind it. About 1,200 square feet is selling floor, with clothing racks sorted by decade, a shoe wall, record bins and two fitting rooms. The other 400 hold the buying counter, processing room, photo corner and stock storage.
Stock control
Stock is tagged on arrival with a date, a cost and a source, so the point-of-sale system shows what each piece cost and how long it has been on the floor. Year-end stock is planned at $60,542 in Year 1 and $67,821 in Year 3, and turns rise from 2.6 to 3.4 as the shop sells through faster than it buys. Purchases run at about $14,250 a month in Year 1, about 10,000 pieces over the year, and a count of the floor each quarter finds missing or mispriced pieces.
Tools and software
A point-of-sale system that tracks each piece by cost and source, an online store connected to it, a photo corner with fixed lighting, and bookkeeping software. Software runs $5,000 in Year 1 and $6,200 by Year 5. The $6,500 of professional fees pays for a bookkeeper a few hours a week and an accountant who goes over the cash forecast each month during Year 1.
Who does the work
Three people open the shop: Nora, a part-time floor associate and a weekend associate. The shop is open seven days, 49 hours a week, and about 10,000 pieces a year need checking, mending, photographing and pricing, which takes roughly 25 hours a week outside floor time. Year 1 is stretched for that reason. An online shop specialist joins in month 7. A seasonal associate returns each July and each October to December. A full-time associate, who also helps with buying, joins in month 22, and a part-time processing and shipping associate joins in month 40 as online orders grow from 1,750 in Year 1 to 3,467 in Year 5.
Licenses and safeguards
- City and state business registrations, and any secondhand-dealer registration the city requires.
- Liability, property and lost-income insurance, $4,200 in Year 1.
- Workers' compensation for every employee.
- A written buying-counter policy: identification, a purchase record and a seller receipt for every item bought.
- Garment storage with moth and moisture control for delicate pieces.
Suppliers and advisers
Two estate-sale companies, a handful of private sellers and dealers who supply lots, a dry cleaner and a seamstress for repairs, a part-time bookkeeper and an accountant. A retired shop owner, who is also the investor, reviews the buying budget every quarter.
The Buyer Behind Mill Brook
Nora Castellano, founder and head buyer
Nora has eight years in vintage and consignment retail. She spent the last four as buyer and manager of an independent vintage shop in Portland, where she priced and bought for the floor and supervised three part-time staff. She has sold at weekend markets since 2019. Her $68,000 is six years of savings.
Where the team is thin
Nora has bought stock for someone else's shop. She has not held a lease, a loan and the cash risk herself, and she has not run payroll as an owner. Three things cover the gap: a bookkeeper, an accountant who goes over the cash forecast monthly in Year 1, and a quarterly buying review with the investor.
If Nora is out
The full-time associate can run the floor for short absences from Year 2, and the online specialist can run the shop's listings. Buying follows a written budget so another person can follow it.
Ownership, tax and the lender
Nora owns 80% of Mill Brook, LLC and stands behind the loan with a personal guarantee. The investor owns 20% and has no day-to-day role. Because the LLC is taxed as a corporation, the model uses the 21% federal rate and Oregon's corporate excise rate. The loan is secured on the fixtures and stock, and requires quarterly accounts and a monthly stock report. The investor's 20% carries no guaranteed return, and the plan sets no exit date.
Financial Plan: Stock Turns, Margin and Cash
The tables run in order: how the $163,000 is raised and spent, the store and stock figures behind each revenue line, then sales by channel, payroll, profit and loss, cash, the balance sheet, stock turns and a weak-year case. Year 1 is monthly. Years 2 to 5 are annual.
Opening stock, build-out and who funds it
| Use of funds | Amount |
|---|---|
| Opening stock: clothing bought from estate sales, private sellers and dealers | $30,000 |
| Opening stock: shoes, bags, belts and jewelry | $9,000 |
| Opening stock: record collections | $6,000 |
| Light build-out: paint, lighting, flooring repair, two fitting rooms, counter | $26,000 |
| Racks, shelving, record bins, mirrors and display furniture, mostly secondhand | $14,000 |
| Point of sale, photo corner, steamers, mannequins, label printer | $8,500 |
| City and state registrations and permits | $1,200 |
| Legal: entity, lease review, buying-counter terms | $4,000 |
| Pre-opening rent and training | $7,500 |
| Launch: website, photography, opening weekend, first pop-up booth | $11,000 |
| Cash reserve for the first slow winter and the summer stock build | $45,800 |
| Total uses | $163,000 |
| Source of funds | Amount |
|---|---|
| Nora Castellano's savings | $73,000 |
| One local investor, a retired shop owner (20% stake) | $35,000 |
| Credit-union term loan | $55,000 |
| Total sources | $163,000 |
Nora Castellano puts in $73,000 of savings, 45% of the total. A local investor, a retired shop owner, adds $35,000 for 20% of the company, and a credit union lends $55,000 over six years at 10.75%, interest-only for the first six months. The loan carries her personal guarantee and a lien on the fixtures and stock, which a lender would value at a fraction of cost. The rate is a planning figure and not a quote. Equity makes up 66% of the money raised and the loan 34%. Opening stock takes $45,000, 28% of the total, and the build-out, racks and equipment take $48,500. The $45,800 reserve covers the slow winter and the first summer buying run, when stock goes out faster than sales come in. The pre-opening line includes a one-month lease deposit.
Store, stock and payroll figures
- Clothing anchors the shop. Year 1 brings 2,650 sales averaging $66, or $174,900 and about 7 sales a day. The average ticket is about 1.6 pieces, since a single vintage dress or jacket sells in the $50 to $120 range and tees, scarves and knitwear sell for much less. Accessories add 1,550 sales at $35, shoes and boots 480 sales at $80, and records and small goods 1,050 sales at $20. Prices rise 3% a year from Year 2 on every line.
- The online shop takes 1,750 orders in Year 1 at an average of $54, which is $94,500 and 24% of revenue. Each order is a single listed piece or a small bundle, photographed and described one at a time. Shipping is charged to the buyer, and the model carries the part the shop absorbs, $3.60 an order. Orders reach 3,467 in Year 5, when online is 29% of revenue. The online store is new and the shop has no marketplace following to start from, so the Year 1 online figure is the line the plan is least sure of.
- Pop-up booths at weekend markets and vintage fairs are 12 events in Year 1 at an average of $1,500, which is $18,000, rising to 16 events by Year 5. Booth fees of about $300 an event sit inside the marketing budget. Booth sales are about 15 to 20 transactions an event, and the stall also sends customers to the shop.
- Cost of goods is 38.8% of revenue in every year, a gross margin of 61.2%, and it is measured against the price the shop actually receives after markdowns. By line it is 38% for clothing, 33% for accessories, 45% for shoes, 48% for records, 39% for online orders and 38% for booths. The shop pays about a third of planned shelf price on estate-sale and private-seller buys and more for dealer lots, and it gives sellers at the buying counter either 30% of the planned shelf price in cash or 50% in store credit. Store credit issued is spent against stock at cost, so the model carries it inside cost of goods and not as a separate liability. Below gross profit the model charges write-offs and donated stock at 2.0% of sales, shrinkage at 0.7% and card and platform fees at 2.9%, which leaves about 55.6 cents of each sales dollar before payroll and rent.
- The balance sheet holds stock at cost. It starts at $45,000 and reaches $60,542 at the close of Year 1 and $73,140 by Year 5. Buying in Year 1 comes to about $171,000 ($155,419 of cost of goods sold plus $15,542 of growth in stock), which is about $14,250 a month and, at an average cost of about $17 a piece, about 10,000 pieces. Sellers and suppliers are paid within about 10 days, so $4,258 is owing at the close of Year 1. Counter and online sales are paid at once, so receivables are two days of sales.
- Premises are 1,600 square feet in a former retail unit near downtown Eugene, of which about 1,200 is selling floor and 400 holds the processing room, photo corner and stock storage. Year 1 rent is $31,000, which works out near $19.40 a square foot with service charges, and it climbs about 3% a year. It is a planning figure; asking rents differ block by block, and the lease is signed before the loan closes. Utilities cost $4,800. Insurance at $4,200 covers liability, property and lost income during a closure. The build-out is written off over five years, the length of the lease.
- On-costs of 27% sit on top of base pay and cover payroll taxes, workers' compensation and benefits; part-timers carry 15%. Oregon's standard-region minimum wage, which covers Lane County, is $15.55 an hour from July 1, 2026 and is adjusted every July. Retail salespersons earned a median of $17.03 an hour in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The floor associate's $25,000 over about 28 hours a week is $17.17 an hour, the weekend associate's $14,000 over about 16 hours is $16.83 and the full-time associate's $35,000 is $16.83, so all three land close to that median. The wages in the personnel table are starting rates, and a separate cost line adds a 3% raise each year from Year 2.
- Marketing totals $26,000 in Year 1: $11,000 of launch spend paid from the raise and $15,000 of running spend. The shop expects about 4,400 customers, 3,200 of them in the store and 1,200 who only buy online, which makes about $5.90 a customer and 6.5% of revenue. Running spend alone is 3.7% of Year 1 revenue and 2.7% of Year 3. Each customer is worth about $91 in Year 1.
- Tax uses the federal corporate rate of 21% plus Oregon's corporate excise rate of 6.6%, the rate the Department of Revenue publishes for the first $1 million of taxable income. Start-up costs are not deducted in the tax calculation, which overstates tax slightly. Oregon has no general sales tax, so the shop collects none. Oregon also has a separate gross-receipts tax with its own threshold, and the accountant confirms each year that the shop stays under it. These rates and thresholds can change.
- Payouts to the owners are small, $5,000 in Year 4 and $8,000 in Year 5, and come only out of surplus cash. The loan runs to term with no early payoff, which keeps the cushion in the business.
Revenue by channel
| Revenue stream | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In-store vintage clothing | $174,900 | $214,613 | $242,757 | $264,969 | $293,643 |
| Bags, belts, jewelry and accessories | $54,250 | $67,161 | $76,862 | $85,096 | $94,582 |
| Vintage shoes and boots | $38,400 | $46,886 | $52,706 | $57,958 | $64,289 |
| Records and small goods | $21,000 | $25,997 | $29,642 | $32,345 | $35,881 |
| Online shop orders | $94,500 | $132,431 | $163,043 | $183,218 | $210,716 |
| Pop-up and market booths | $18,000 | $21,630 | $23,870 | $24,586 | $27,012 |
| Total revenue | $401,050 | $508,718 | $588,880 | $648,172 | $726,123 |
| Growth on prior year | – | 27% | 16% | 10% | 12% |
Clothing is 44% of Year 1 revenue and holds near 40% to Year 5. The online shop grows fastest, from 24% to 29%, because one specialist can list and ship more pieces without more floor space. Records and booths are small lines kept for traffic and for the buyers they bring. Booths depend on weather and on event calendars outside the shop's control. Year 2 grows 27% because Year 1 includes a slow opening; later growth is 10% to 16%.
The first twelve months, with the July and October peaks
| Month | In-store vintage clothing | Bags, belts, jewelry and accessories | Vintage shoes and boots | Records and small goods | Online shop orders | Pop-up and market booths | Total revenue | EBITDA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2027 | $5,940 | $1,680 | $1,440 | $900 | $4,428 | $0 | $14,388 | ($10,907) |
| Feb 2027 | $7,062 | $2,170 | $1,680 | $860 | $4,536 | $0 | $16,308 | ($9,731) |
| Mar 2027 | $10,626 | $3,045 | $2,480 | $1,200 | $5,832 | $1,500 | $24,683 | ($4,602) |
| Apr 2027 | $12,606 | $3,640 | $2,960 | $1,320 | $6,480 | $1,500 | $28,506 | ($2,260) |
| May 2027 | $13,398 | $4,130 | $2,960 | $1,400 | $7,290 | $3,000 | $32,178 | ($11) |
| Jun 2027 | $13,266 | $4,375 | $2,960 | $1,700 | $7,236 | $3,000 | $32,537 | $209 |
| Jul 2027 | $19,602 | $5,775 | $3,280 | $1,680 | $8,694 | $3,000 | $42,031 | $6,024 |
| Aug 2027 | $13,794 | $4,235 | $3,280 | $1,780 | $8,586 | $1,500 | $33,175 | $600 |
| Sep 2027 | $18,678 | $5,145 | $4,320 | $2,120 | $8,586 | $1,500 | $40,349 | $4,993 |
| Oct 2027 | $24,552 | $6,965 | $4,800 | $2,120 | $10,746 | $1,500 | $50,683 | $11,323 |
| Nov 2027 | $16,698 | $5,775 | $4,320 | $2,360 | $10,746 | $1,500 | $41,399 | $5,636 |
| Dec 2027 | $18,678 | $7,315 | $3,920 | $3,560 | $11,340 | $0 | $44,813 | $7,727 |
Revenue opens at $14,388 in January, builds through spring, lifts to $42,031 in July on festival buying and rises to $50,683 in October on fall-term shopping and Halloween costumes. The two peak months bring 23% of the year's revenue between them. EBITDA is negative from January to May and positive from June on. The lowest month-end cash balance is Jun, at about $13,000. The model does not time stock buying month by month, so the true trough, reached while the shop stocks up for summer, would be deeper. The reserve allows for that. Years 2 to 5 are annual, so the second winter's losses are not shown; the Year 2 closing cash of $43,269 is the cushion against them.
Who works the floor
| Role | Annual wage | Starts | Year 1 end | Year 2 end | Year 3 end | Year 4 end | Year 5 end |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Founder, head buyer and store manager | $44,000 | Month 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Floor associate (part time, about 28 hours a week) | $25,000 | Month 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Weekend associate (part time, about 16 hours a week) | $14,000 | Month 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Online shop specialist (part time: listing, photos, shipping) | $21,000 | Month 7 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Festival and holiday associate (seasonal, part time: July and October to December) | $14,000 | Month 7 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Full-time floor associate and buyer's assistant | $35,000 | Month 22 | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Processing and shipping associate (part time, about 20 hours a week) | $19,000 | Month 40 | – | – | – | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Total payroll incl. on-costs | $118,172 | $141,359 | $174,697 | $191,084 | $196,547 |
Nora, a part-time floor associate and a weekend associate open the shop. The shop is open seven days, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., 49 hours a week. Nora works about 45 hours, the floor associate 28 and the weekend associate 16, which covers the floor with one or two people and leaves roughly 25 hours a week for pricing, mending and the buying counter. Year 1 is stretched. An online shop specialist starts in month 7, as listings pass what Nora can photograph and post herself, and a seasonal associate joins for July and again from October to December each year. A full-time associate who also helps with buying joins in month 22, when in-store sales average about 19 a day. A part-time processing and shipping associate joins in month 40, as online orders pass 2,800 a year. Part-timers appear at full-year equivalent pay. Nora's $44,000 salary sits inside the cost lines, so every profit figure is after her pay.
Profit and loss
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $401,050 | $508,718 | $588,880 | $648,172 | $726,123 |
| Cost of goods sold (what the store paid for the pieces it sold) | ($155,419) | ($197,144) | ($228,210) | ($251,187) | ($281,396) |
| Gross profit | $245,631 | $311,574 | $360,670 | $396,985 | $444,727 |
| Payroll incl. on-costs | ($118,172) | ($141,359) | ($174,697) | ($191,084) | ($196,547) |
| Rent | ($31,000) | ($32,000) | ($33,000) | ($34,000) | ($35,000) |
| Utilities | ($4,800) | ($4,950) | ($5,100) | ($5,250) | ($5,400) |
| Marketing | ($15,000) | ($15,500) | ($16,000) | ($16,500) | ($17,000) |
| Insurance | ($4,200) | ($4,500) | ($4,800) | ($5,100) | ($5,400) |
| Professional fees | ($6,500) | ($6,800) | ($7,100) | ($7,400) | ($7,700) |
| Software subscriptions | ($5,000) | ($5,300) | ($5,600) | ($5,900) | ($6,200) |
| Card and platform fees (2.9% of sales) | ($11,630) | ($14,753) | ($17,078) | ($18,797) | ($21,058) |
| Unsold stock written off or donated (2.0% of sales) | ($8,021) | ($10,174) | ($11,778) | ($12,963) | ($14,522) |
| Shrinkage (0.7% of sales) | ($2,807) | ($3,561) | ($4,122) | ($4,537) | ($5,083) |
| Postage and mailers net of shipping charged | ($6,300) | ($8,829) | ($10,870) | ($12,215) | ($14,048) |
| Cleaning, mending and photo supplies for stock | ($7,000) | ($8,200) | ($9,200) | ($9,900) | ($10,300) |
| Buying trips, storage unit and mileage | ($9,500) | ($10,500) | ($11,500) | ($12,200) | ($12,800) |
| Tags, hangers, bags and store supplies | ($3,200) | ($3,600) | ($3,900) | ($4,100) | ($4,300) |
| Repairs and cleaning of the shop | ($2,600) | ($2,800) | ($3,000) | ($3,200) | ($3,400) |
| Licenses and permits | ($900) | ($950) | ($1,000) | ($1,050) | ($1,100) |
| Fixture and equipment replacement | $0 | ($2,000) | ($3,000) | ($6,000) | ($3,500) |
| Annual pay raises (3% a year) | $0 | ($4,241) | ($10,639) | ($17,719) | ($24,668) |
| EBITDA | $9,001 | $31,557 | $28,287 | $29,070 | $56,702 |
| Depreciation | ($8,900) | ($8,900) | ($8,900) | ($8,900) | ($8,900) |
| Interest | ($5,829) | ($5,112) | ($4,188) | ($3,160) | ($2,016) |
| Income tax | $0 | ($3,098) | ($3,984) | ($4,459) | ($12,002) |
| Net income before start-up costs | ($5,728) | $14,447 | $11,214 | $12,551 | $33,784 |
| Start-up costs expensed at opening (legal, permits, pre-opening rent and training, launch marketing) | ($23,700) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Net income after start-up costs | ($29,428) | $14,447 | $11,214 | $12,551 | $33,784 |
The first year ends $5,728 in the red before start-up costs and $29,428 after them. Net income is $14,447 in Year 2, $11,214 in Year 3 and $12,551 in Year 4, then $33,784 in Year 5. It dips in Year 3 because the full-time associate's first full year lands then and pay raises add $10,639, and it stays flat in Year 4 because the processing associate joins and raises reach $17,719. Year 5 improves because payroll barely moves while revenue rises 12%. Start-up costs are not deducted for tax in the model, so the tax lines are slightly cautious.
Where the cash goes
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash from operations | ($79,009) | $19,728 | $17,420 | $19,458 | $40,063 |
| Build-out and fixtures | ($48,500) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Funding received | $163,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Loan principal repaid | ($3,772) | ($8,177) | ($9,101) | ($10,129) | ($11,273) |
| Owner distributions | $0 | $0 | $0 | ($5,000) | ($8,000) |
| Net change in cash | $31,719 | $11,550 | $8,319 | $4,328 | $20,790 |
| Closing cash | $31,719 | $43,269 | $51,587 | $55,916 | $76,706 |
Operations use $79,009 of cash in Year 1. Of that, $60,542 is stock on the shelves at year end (the $45,000 opening buy included) and $23,700 is start-up cost; the trading loss is $5,728. The balance ends Year 1 at $31,719 and grows each year, reaching $76,706 in Year 5. The credit-union balance drops to $12,547 by Year 5, and owner payouts start in Year 4.
Balance sheet: stock, loan and equity
| At year end | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | $31,719 | $43,269 | $51,587 | $55,916 | $76,706 |
| Accounts receivable | $2,198 | $2,788 | $3,227 | $3,552 | $3,979 |
| Inventory at cost | $60,542 | $64,714 | $67,821 | $70,119 | $73,140 |
| Build-out and fixtures (net) | $39,600 | $30,700 | $21,800 | $12,900 | $4,000 |
| Total assets | $134,058 | $141,471 | $144,435 | $142,486 | $157,824 |
| Owed to sellers and suppliers | $4,258 | $5,401 | $6,252 | $6,882 | $7,709 |
| Credit-union loan | $51,228 | $43,051 | $33,949 | $23,820 | $12,547 |
| Paid-in capital | $108,000 | $108,000 | $108,000 | $108,000 | $108,000 |
| Retained earnings | ($29,428) | ($14,981) | ($3,767) | $3,784 | $29,568 |
| Total liabilities and equity | $134,058 | $141,471 | $144,435 | $142,486 | $157,824 |
Stock turns and the break-even line
| Measure | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EBITDA margin | 2.2% | 6.2% | 4.8% | 4.5% | 7.8% |
| Net margin (before start-up costs) | -1.4% | 2.8% | 1.9% | 1.9% | 4.7% |
| Payroll incl. pay raises as share of revenue | 29% | 29% | 31% | 32% | 30% |
| Revenue per full-time equivalent at year end | $133,683 | $127,180 | $147,220 | $144,038 | $161,361 |
| Average monthly revenue | $33,421 | $42,393 | $49,073 | $54,014 | $60,510 |
| Monthly revenue needed to cover operating costs | $32,196 | $38,100 | $45,225 | $50,059 | $52,795 |
| Debt service cover (EBITDA / interest + principal) | 0.9x | 2.4x | 2.1x | 2.2x | 4.3x |
In Year 1 the shop takes in $33,421 a month on average and needs $32,196 to cover running costs, yet it still loses money after interest because the first quarter runs well below average. Year 2 brings $42,393 against $38,100 needed, and Year 3 $49,073 against $45,225. Turns (cost of goods sold divided by year-end stock) are 2.6 in Year 1, 3.4 in Year 3 and 3.9 in Year 5, which puts the average piece on the shelf for about 142 days in Year 1 and 109 in Year 3. Gross profit per dollar of year-end stock is $4.06 in Year 1 and $5.32 in Year 3. Store sales per square foot of the 1,600 (the four in-store lines, without online or booths) are $180, $251 and $305 in Years 1, 3 and 5. Debt cover, EBITDA over interest and principal, is 0.9x in Year 1 and 2.1x or better after that.
A soft year: sales 20% under plan
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $320,840 | $406,974 | $471,104 | $518,538 | $580,898 |
| Net income before start-up costs | ($22,469) | $6,071 | ($2,541) | ($1,788) | $8,921 |
| Net income after start-up costs | ($46,169) | $6,071 | ($2,541) | ($1,788) | $8,921 |
| Closing cash | $26,674 | $30,572 | $25,674 | $21,062 | $25,513 |
Here every revenue line runs 20% lower in all five years. Management responds as follows: the full-time associate starts six months late, in month 28, and the processing associate in month 46; part-timers' hours drop 20%; the opening stock purchase shrinks 20% and the saving goes to the reserve; the fixture refresh is dropped; marketing falls 20%; Nora takes a 20% pay cut, card fees, write-offs, shrinkage and postage move with sales, and no distributions are paid. Under that response year-end cash holds at or above $21,062, with the low in Year 4, and the shop loses $46,169 in Year 1 after start-up costs, earns $6,071 in Year 2, loses $2,541 in Year 3 and $1,788 in Year 4, and earns $8,921 in Year 5. Equity ends Year 1 at $61,831. With three loss years, a second bad stretch would leave no room, and the shop would ask the credit union for an interest-only period before cutting hours again. This is a survival case, and the plan does not present it as a profitable one.
Sources
- Oregon Department of Revenue, Revenue streams: the corporate excise tax rate used in the model, 6.6% on the first $1 million of taxable income and 7.6% above it. The page supports the corporate rate only. The plan's points on sales tax and the gross-receipts tax have no source here and are marked for the accountant to confirm.
- Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, Minimum wage: $15.55 an hour for the standard region, which includes Lane County, from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027. The agency adjusts rates every July.
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Retail sales workers, Occupational Outlook Handbook: median of $17.03 an hour for retail salespersons in May 2025.
- Oregon Country Fair, oregoncountryfair.org: not opened for this plan, so no dates or attendance are quoted. The July lift is the plan's own expectation, and the fair's dates may differ.
- Rent, secondhand-dealer rules and wholesale buying costs are planning figures; no local source was opened for them.
Create a plan as complete as this one
Pick the amount of help you want.
Do it yourself
$197 Toolkit, 12 months
Build your plan with the AI Wizard and every tool you need, at your own pace.
Start my plan →Done with you
$497 Toolkit Plus, 12 months
Our AI builds the plan with you, section by section, from your answers.
Want a person too? Upgrade to a consultation with an MBA graduate.
See Toolkit Plus →Done for you
From $1,997 written for you
We research and write the whole plan, and you review the finished draft.
See the writing service →Still searching for a vintage store business plan template? Build yours here.