When I was getting ready to retire I looked into the possibilities of purchasing an established shop and at opening a new shop. In both cases I decided not to become involved as an owner of a fly shop. There were several reasons. 1) There would be very little time off to fish, 2) Fly shops have a very high failure rate, 3) Expenses keep going up, rent, electricity, etc. 4) The shops that do make a reasonable profit tend to be in "destination" areas rather than just a town near a trout fishery.

Someone once said, "The way to make a million dollars with a fly shop is to start with 2 million." My experience and observations tend to support the statement.