BonsaiNut
Premium Member
If you are a member at Reef Central, odds are that you have been in the hobby for a while. If you're like me, you intimately know every LFS in the area, and spend weekends driving from store to store, where you almost know the floorplans by heart and the names of all the employees.
So how come so many passionate hobbyists open stores that are doomed to failure? Why do you see people making the same simple mistakes over and over again? How is it that you can walk into a new store, and in a heart-breaking moment know that that store will not be open in six months?
I thought I would start a thread for people to talk about retailing 101 from the consumer perspective... what makes a great store and what are some reasons you don't return to stores. I am not trying to write a white paper about leasing agreements, insurance, and employee benefits... but rather what we as hobbyists want to see when we open a front door.
Here is MY list of a dream store.
(1) Location is not super critical. If you are an awesome store I will come to you. Do not pay a huge premium to get into an expensive location if it means you can only afford a small space or can't stock it adequately. Reefing is NOT an impulse activity. If you are awesome I will find out about you.
(2) Do not kill yourself by being open 80 hours per week... but BE THERE when you say you are open! There is NOTHING that irritates me more than when I show up at a store that is supposed to be open and no one is there. It means (a) you don't care about the store and (b) you don't care about me.
(3) Cleanliness is key. Aquarium stores require a ton of labor to keep clean. If you aren't CONSTANTLY cleaning it shows. Salt on glass, wet/dirty floors, rust, are all turnoffs. I understand if you are busy that you can get some short-term messiness, but if I am the only person in your store and you are sitting at the front register while your store is dirty... no good.
(4) Messiness. This is associated with (3). Have an organized store layout. Be neat and organized. Your front register area should not be cluttered with bills and receipts and god-knows-what. Your fish/invert packing area should be clean and organized. If you do tank construction or have plumbing parts, have a cleanly delineated area where you do this work. Do not have mops and brooms and buckets lying all over the place.
(5) Health. EVERYTHING ON DISPLAY needs to be 100% healthy. ANYTHING that is sick/injured should be relocated to a hospital area of the store that is not open to the public. Dead stock needs to be removed INSTANTLY. If you don't understand this basic tenet - get out of the business instantly.
(6) Store space. Use your space wisely. If you have display tanks, they need to be pristine examples of the best tank that you can create - or else don't have them. All livestock tanks need to be stocked, or in the process of being cleaned/maintained. No empty tanks. If you have empty floor space in the store, put yellow tape on the floor and put a sign there saying "more cool stuff coming soon." It shows you have a plan and are actively managing the store instead of just too lazy to figure out what to do with the retail space you are paying for every month.
(7) FAQs. If you find people asking the same questions over and over, make signs! This can be something as basic as whether or not you have a bathroom, or can be something like a list of services: "YES we custom build systems. YES we custom order tanks. YES we offer maintenance service. YES we will take care of your tank while you are on vacation." This shows professionalism and will also create an awareness and generate additional interest from consumers.
(8) Service. Be polite but not overly aggressive. Do NOT ask "how big is your tank" or "how long have you been in the hobby". If you are initiating conversation, always relate it to what the consumer is doing at the time. If the consumer is looking at tanks, say "we can custom order tanks if you don't see one that works perfectly for you". Or if the consumer is looking at lighting fixtures, say "I'd be happy to tell you more about that LED fixture if you like." If the person is just looking say "My name is X, I will be over here working give me a call if I can help you."
(9) Inventory. Know what you want to specialize in, and then specialize in it. Don't try to be all things to all people and then fail at them all. If you want to do planted freshwater, make sure you have at least 10 tanks of plants... or don't bother. If you are going to do large saltwater fish... have at least 2 x 180 gallon tanks of large fish... or don't bother.
(10) Competition. Know who your competition is... and don't be them. You are smart. Why is it that in your market there might be 10 stores... but there is 1 store that "rules them all". What is it about that store that sets it apart? Don't be like the other 9 mom and pop / hobbyist stores that are sad carbon copies of each other.
(11) Online. Have a presence. Worst case, have a simple one page web site with your location, contact info, hours of operation, and description of your store and what you offer. People spend WAY TOO MUCH TIME trying to make their web sites pretty and not enough time trying to make them helpful.
(12) Employees. Last but most important - hire great people. Train them. Tell them EXACTLY what is expected of them. Have a dress code - even if it is jeans and a black t-shirt. Never EVER sit when someone is in your store. You should be working, working, working. If there is nothing to be done it just means you haven't looked hard enough. Worst case, clean.
More stuff when I think of it....
So how come so many passionate hobbyists open stores that are doomed to failure? Why do you see people making the same simple mistakes over and over again? How is it that you can walk into a new store, and in a heart-breaking moment know that that store will not be open in six months?
I thought I would start a thread for people to talk about retailing 101 from the consumer perspective... what makes a great store and what are some reasons you don't return to stores. I am not trying to write a white paper about leasing agreements, insurance, and employee benefits... but rather what we as hobbyists want to see when we open a front door.
Here is MY list of a dream store.
(1) Location is not super critical. If you are an awesome store I will come to you. Do not pay a huge premium to get into an expensive location if it means you can only afford a small space or can't stock it adequately. Reefing is NOT an impulse activity. If you are awesome I will find out about you.
(2) Do not kill yourself by being open 80 hours per week... but BE THERE when you say you are open! There is NOTHING that irritates me more than when I show up at a store that is supposed to be open and no one is there. It means (a) you don't care about the store and (b) you don't care about me.
(3) Cleanliness is key. Aquarium stores require a ton of labor to keep clean. If you aren't CONSTANTLY cleaning it shows. Salt on glass, wet/dirty floors, rust, are all turnoffs. I understand if you are busy that you can get some short-term messiness, but if I am the only person in your store and you are sitting at the front register while your store is dirty... no good.
(4) Messiness. This is associated with (3). Have an organized store layout. Be neat and organized. Your front register area should not be cluttered with bills and receipts and god-knows-what. Your fish/invert packing area should be clean and organized. If you do tank construction or have plumbing parts, have a cleanly delineated area where you do this work. Do not have mops and brooms and buckets lying all over the place.
(5) Health. EVERYTHING ON DISPLAY needs to be 100% healthy. ANYTHING that is sick/injured should be relocated to a hospital area of the store that is not open to the public. Dead stock needs to be removed INSTANTLY. If you don't understand this basic tenet - get out of the business instantly.
(6) Store space. Use your space wisely. If you have display tanks, they need to be pristine examples of the best tank that you can create - or else don't have them. All livestock tanks need to be stocked, or in the process of being cleaned/maintained. No empty tanks. If you have empty floor space in the store, put yellow tape on the floor and put a sign there saying "more cool stuff coming soon." It shows you have a plan and are actively managing the store instead of just too lazy to figure out what to do with the retail space you are paying for every month.
(7) FAQs. If you find people asking the same questions over and over, make signs! This can be something as basic as whether or not you have a bathroom, or can be something like a list of services: "YES we custom build systems. YES we custom order tanks. YES we offer maintenance service. YES we will take care of your tank while you are on vacation." This shows professionalism and will also create an awareness and generate additional interest from consumers.
(8) Service. Be polite but not overly aggressive. Do NOT ask "how big is your tank" or "how long have you been in the hobby". If you are initiating conversation, always relate it to what the consumer is doing at the time. If the consumer is looking at tanks, say "we can custom order tanks if you don't see one that works perfectly for you". Or if the consumer is looking at lighting fixtures, say "I'd be happy to tell you more about that LED fixture if you like." If the person is just looking say "My name is X, I will be over here working give me a call if I can help you."
(9) Inventory. Know what you want to specialize in, and then specialize in it. Don't try to be all things to all people and then fail at them all. If you want to do planted freshwater, make sure you have at least 10 tanks of plants... or don't bother. If you are going to do large saltwater fish... have at least 2 x 180 gallon tanks of large fish... or don't bother.
(10) Competition. Know who your competition is... and don't be them. You are smart. Why is it that in your market there might be 10 stores... but there is 1 store that "rules them all". What is it about that store that sets it apart? Don't be like the other 9 mom and pop / hobbyist stores that are sad carbon copies of each other.
(11) Online. Have a presence. Worst case, have a simple one page web site with your location, contact info, hours of operation, and description of your store and what you offer. People spend WAY TOO MUCH TIME trying to make their web sites pretty and not enough time trying to make them helpful.
(12) Employees. Last but most important - hire great people. Train them. Tell them EXACTLY what is expected of them. Have a dress code - even if it is jeans and a black t-shirt. Never EVER sit when someone is in your store. You should be working, working, working. If there is nothing to be done it just means you haven't looked hard enough. Worst case, clean.
More stuff when I think of it....
