Every once in a while when I complain about my job my girlfriend asks me "Well, what do you really want to do?" I always reply, "Play professional Baseball." Then we have a good chuckle and she asks again. "I want to own a bike shop." I mean, it's not as rediculous an idea as playing professional baseball is it?

My educational background is in Computer Science, but I consider myself to have good business sense and I've take some marketing classes as well. I do think I am capable of someday running a business and running it well. My bike skills, however, are currently limited to a few turns of the wrench here and there. The interest is certainly there and I love to consume bicycle knowledge, but I wouldn't be able to be a head mechanic or even provide professional fittings.

Well, an oppurtunity has up and bit me in the face. There's a bike shop along a major bikeway for sale due to family illness. I've ridden by this shop many times, but never stopped in. It always looked to me like they could do so much more to attract business. I'm not sure if this is the perception other cyclists share, but I plan to do a little research around this.

So the question is - if I hire the right people... smart people... customer oriented people, and trust them to do their jobs, what's to stop me from jumping at this oppurtunity? What are the pitfalls? Should I forget this stupid idea and find something else to do? Am I crazy? What am I likely overlooking (beyond the need to develop a business plan and get financing)?