Not only did I do tax returns for one store I actually tried to buy another store.
At the time she was the only quilt store for several miles. She worked another job and paid two part time employees to work in the shop. Her *profit* for the year I tried to buy the shop was a little over 6 thousand. Yeah, about 500 bucks a month. But that was over 10 years ago when costs weren't as high. Plus she sold machines and needlework supplies.
I have looked into starting a store from scratch too. Inventory is expensive. Not to mention store fixtures.
Plus, keep in mind you'll have the entire internet as competition now not to mention JoAnn's and Walmart. Walmart and JoAnn's might be able to sell fabric for less than wholesale but a single proprieter store can't.
Just reading this board gives you a real good idea of how many people hold some kind of grudge against the LQS selling fabric at a price that keeps them in business. Everybody's looking for cheap fabric, the cheaper the better. Very few people seem to think 9 to 10 bucks a yard is a fair price for LQS fabric.