Starting a bike shop

[KnottedYet]

Free Range Cycles is owned and run by a woman. Is that the shop you were thinking of, Mimi? Or is there another?
http://www.freerangecycles.com/index.shtml

[Trek420]

Left Coast Cycles is run by women, no coffee but there is a Peets next door

www.leftcoastcyclery.com

[Triskeliongirl]

You may want to contact Cindi Snell at Bikeworld in San Antonio TX. She co-owns Bikeworld with her husband. She has always been great at stocking lots of womens clothes, and wsd bikes. Also has run some womens clinics. They now have 3 shops in town, and a thriving internet business.

[indysteel]

Great idea. My dream, female-oriented shop would employ a trained bike fitter. It would be even better if that fitter didn't charge and arm and a leg for his/her services! Thankfully, we have just such a shop here in Indianapolis called Nebo Ridge that has a great fitter. They also have an expresso bar and carry my favorite brand--Shebeest.

Whether a shop is run by women or men, I think the trick is to create an atmosphere where all types of riders and both genders are made to feel welcome. At Nebo Ridge, the coffee bar is right in front of the maintenance/service area and they really encourage the bike geeks among us to shoot the breeze with the staff. They have never talked down to me and have encouraged my obsessive curiosity with all things bike-related. I wish I could say that about some of the other shops in town.

I think it also helps to create a sense of community from the shop by, for example, offering weekly rides. Obviously, that creates some business traffic too so it's a win/win.

[mimitabby]

Free range is the one I was thinking of.