Starting my own fish store?

[Islander84]

Ambition is the first key to success! I have been in business for 8 yrs and if i could go back and start over i would do it in a heartbeat. Start off slow unless you have ALOT of money that you can throw away!Most of us dont......If you are in it to make money you will have to stock other products as well....in the sales business its not so much about the quality items that are being sold its the quanity...very rare are you going to get someone in that wants to drop alot of money on one item you are going to get guys who are cheap! Selling other animals...reptiles....birds....will help alot. Having a plan and a backup plan is the best thing you can do! IMO I think going to college is kind of a waste unless its not costing you alot and in the process you can save money to help get started. Now taking a few accounting classes would be great and Definitely work in the field you want to be in!! I would work at a couple of different places to see how others operate as well. Never go in blindfolded! I never stepped a foot in a college and have been successful without any help getting started, however im in a totally different market. business is business....

 

[MHG]

Well since the internet is killing the LFS business, I would suggest the following:

Emgrace the internet...

Get some capital to start an internet business in your home... Find something that is lacking that can be bought in bulk and or put together at home and sell it. Expand on that until you run out of space...


if you can breed fish in your home, you can do that online as well but will need to sell at a loss until you get good reviews... (dont forget to oxygenate the bags before you ship...) Fraging too...

Do this while working at a LFS...

Then get a store front and run the internet business out of the back. If you cant buy in bulk and be competative with the internet then you are wasting your time.


I would only jump into a store front if there are no LFS's near you... but that is a huge capital investment and that fosrt months rent, and insurance, and electrical bill comes fast...





Having a business degree is nice but most small business owners do not have them.

 

[frankpayne32]

Having a business degree is nice but most small business owners do not have them.

And most small business's fail in their first year... Maybe as a teacher I am biased but I just can't believe how many people are encouraging the OP to actually pursue such a risky venture without the proper education. Most people wouldn't recommend scuba diving without taking scuba lessons. :debi:

 

[Chris27]

And most small business's fail in their first year... Maybe as a teacher I am biased but I just can't believe how many people are encouraging the OP to actually pursue such a risky venture without the proper education. Most people wouldn't recommend scuba diving without taking scuba lessons. :debi:

Well said.

 

[DownwardDawg]

Well since the internet is killing the LFS business, I would suggest the following:

Emgrace the internet...

Get some capital to start an internet business in your home... Find something that is lacking that can be bought in bulk and or put together at home and sell it. Expand on that until you run out of space...


if you can breed fish in your home, you can do that online as well but will need to sell at a loss until you get good reviews... (dont forget to oxygenate the bags before you ship...) Fraging too...

Do this while working at a LFS...

Then get a store front and run the internet business out of the back. If you cant buy in bulk and be competative with the internet then you are wasting your time.


I would only jump into a store front if there are no LFS's near you... but that is a huge capital investment and that fosrt months rent, and insurance, and electrical bill comes fast...





Having a business degree is nice but most small business owners do not have them.

This is the key. I think the majority of us order everything online.

 

[Dr. Reef]

And most small business's fail in their first year... Maybe as a teacher I am biased but I just can't believe how many people are encouraging the OP to actually pursue such a risky venture without the proper education. Most people wouldn't recommend scuba diving without taking scuba lessons. :debi:

+1,
i am a business owner myself and masters in business administration, i worked in my field for over 10+ yrs before i ventured on to buying it. also i needed a lot of capital. my only advise to u is if u dont have atleast a year worth of capital for backup dont bother getting in.

 

[Chris27]

"This is the key. I think the majority of us order everything online."

Not even remotely true....there are a good bit of us who have developed a good relationship with a local store, and never order anything online.

A good LFS is worth it's weight in gold. Ordering on line may save you a few bucks, but that "online" fish store will never provide you with the same support that a LFS will.

They won't stop by your house when you're on vacation, lend you fish traps, shoot the poo with you when you need a break from your house, and get you whatever you may need.

They will however take you credit card information and sell you whatever it is you want without knowing anything about your system....

To the young reefer who started this thread, get yourself an education and save your money. When you're ready, open that store and treat everyone that walks through the door as if they we're your mother. You'll come across some mean disrespectful people that will surely tell you how much cheaper then can get stuff on the internet, but you'll also make some good friends and repeat customers provided you're honest and respectful.

 

[spieszak]

Kind of off topic, but another thing to remember is that the internet is "forever" Mind your manners on facebook, and twitter and so forth. Asking for a business loan or looking for a job, banks/employers won't have a problem "googling" you... You only have one reputation.

 

[frankpayne32]

"This is the key. I think the majority of us order everything online."

Not even remotely true....there are a good bit of us who have developed a good relationship with a local store, and never order anything online.

A good LFS is worth it's weight in gold. Ordering on line may save you a few bucks, but that "online" fish store will never provide you with the same support that a LFS will.

They won't stop by your house when you're on vacation, lend you fish traps, shoot the poo with you when you need a break from your house, and get you whatever you may need.

They will however take you credit card information and sell you whatever it is you want without knowing anything about your system....

To the young reefer who started this thread, get yourself an education and save your money. When you're ready, open that store and treat everyone that walks through the door as if they we're your mother. You'll come across some mean disrespectful people that will surely tell you how much cheaper then can get stuff on the internet, but you'll also make some good friends and repeat customers provided you're honest and respectful.

Absolutely. Over the past year or so I have formed a very solid working relationship with my LFS. He gives me good deals and I NEVER buy anything anywhere else. He has earned and gets 100% of my aquarium money.

 

[iwishtofish]

I have absolutely no experience with this, but I somehow have this hunch that the demographics of the location are key to a walk-in stores success these days, and that it certainly couldn't hurt to do internet business from the store, as well.

If I were opening a walk-in aquarium store, I would do it in the business section of a densely-populated area that is surrounded by residences of well-to-do people. This has nothing to do with saying only wealthy people have aquariums, as I definitely know better than to believe that - I would just want a LOT of people with the means to get into the hobby to walk by my storefront every day and see the beautiful reef aquariums in the window.

Cultivating long-term customers might be another key to success; I went to a home and garden show in VA recently, and was surprised to see the proprietor of a local aquarium store in a booth with a couple aquariums set up. He was attracting a fair amount of curiosity.

I would also make sure I have the education and experience to be marketable in another field, should the business fold, before attempting such a risky venture.

 

[b0bab0ey]

+1,000,000 to what everyone said about pursuing a business degree and working in a LFS to learn the ropes...

I've never owned one myself, but I've managed a LFS and done aquarium maintenance full-time. IME, there's better money in maintenance than owning a LFS. Like others have already pointed out, online ordering seems to be slowly killing the LFS business anyway. IMO, owning a LFS is one of the most difficult businesses to be in. Your only hope is to build a loyal customer base through aggressive pricing, quality livestock and outstanding customer service. That combination is almost unheard of these days in the LFS business.

 

[snorvich]

I've never owned one myself, but I've managed a LFS and done aquarium maintenance full-time. IME, there's better money in maintenance than owning a LFS.

Having acted as a consultant to a couple LFS, I can tell you that their business model ONLY works if there is a sizable maintenance business. An LFS business model in a brick and mortar store simply cannot break even.

 

[snorvich]

The last two posts are completely false.

And you know this how?

 

[snorvich]

This is the key. I think the majority of us order everything online.

Yes, absolutely. But this is no longer a LOCAL fish store. And the business model is radically different. It depends on a large volume of business and is fairly labor intensive.

 

[keving]

Most suggest at least two years of operating capital to truly survive and be able to adequately stock the store with good inventory of both live and hard goods. Once you compromise your inventory, you keep your revenues up and it becomes a vicious cycle

Maintenance accounts are key to year round cash flow

Developing relationships with your suppliers is key, especially livestock wholesalers; don't be fooled by cheap prices; don't transship

Working in a store for at least a year is a necessity for preparation

Location is always important, so you'll have to balance this with your budget

 

[b0bab0ey]

Having acted as a consultant to a couple LFS, I can tell you that their business model ONLY works if there is a sizable maintenance business. An LFS business model in a brick and mortar store simply cannot break even.

I agree completely. Problem is doing maintenance is usually more hassle than running/owning a LFS. A lot of first-time LFS owners get into maintenance as well and then quickly realize maintenance is not what they want to be doing. Most small business owners want to start small and expand as needed to minimize the risk. If you start a LFS that also does maintenance, you either have to hire some help or have a business partner. Having employees right off the bat is a HUGE expense and major gamble. I've seen LFS owners try to do both simultaneously, run a LFS and do maintenance. They usually burn out quick.

 

[snorvich]

I agree completely. Problem is doing maintenance is usually more hassle than running/owning a LFS. Most first-time business owners want to start small and expand as needed to minimize the risk. If you start a LFS that also does maintenance, you either have to hire some help or have a business partner. Having employees right off the bat is a HUGE expense and major gamble. I've seen LFS owners try to do both simultaneously, run a LFS and do maintenance. They usually burn out quick.

I have been following an unnamed store in my general area for about eight years. Being a party to that store's financial statements, gives one pause. If you isolate the maintenance side (extremely profitable) from the LFS side (never profitable), you would quickly see that selling the store and keeping the maintenance side is a winner. The way the LFS initially did this was restricted hours (3 days per week in the evening) with the remainder for maintenance. That was a struggle, but they survived.

 

[snorvich]

For your entertainment and edification. The very first thing you do with your business model is compute your break even point as a measure of feasibility. So, let us assume we are going to open an LFS. It has 1700 square feet of space in industrial quality space (a good foot traffic retail space would cost about 60% more minimum). You have one employee (you) who you must pay a salary to (otherwise why not work for someone who will pay you a salary; it is a function of opportunity cost). You have electricity (remember all of those lights to make your tanks look nice and keep your corals alive) costs of about $1200 to $1700 per month, salt for changing water on those 1500 gallons of tanks, water and RO/DI filters, shrinkage from deaths, telephone service, yellow page advertisement, etc. Before paying for inventory, your costs are running conservatively about $7,000 per month. So how much must you sell per month at 50% margin to break even?

 

[orcus]

Here's my advice: keep your options open.

College is a great time to investigate all kinds of different possible careers. You may find something that appeals to you even more than running a store. The nice thing about business training is that it can be applied to all sorts of things.

If you're thinking of a career related to the hobby, I wonder if you'd enjoy marine biology.

I started as a business major, but found the coursework dull. I switched to computer science and maths, and loved it.

 

[DownwardDawg]

"This is the key. I think the majority of us order everything online."

Not even remotely true....there are a good bit of us who have developed a good relationship with a local store, and never order anything online.

A good LFS is worth it's weight in gold. Ordering on line may save you a few bucks, but that "online" fish store will never provide you with the same support that a LFS will.

They won't stop by your house when you're on vacation, lend you fish traps, shoot the poo with you when you need a break from your house, and get you whatever you may need.

They will however take you credit card information and sell you whatever it is you want without knowing anything about your system....

To the young reefer who started this thread, get yourself an education and save your money. When you're ready, open that store and treat everyone that walks through the door as if they we're your mother. You'll come across some mean disrespectful people that will surely tell you how much cheaper then can get stuff on the internet, but you'll also make some good friends and repeat customers provided you're honest and respectful.

It's more than remotely true. I guess it depends on what part of the country you live in. I have a great relationship with the LFS owner. Very cool guy that I love to shoot the @#$& with. However, he's horrible at reef tanks. He only sells what his distributor carries, which is almost none of the products I decide to use after extensive amounts of research on these forums. Also, there are tons of people on this forum that order stuff from Live Aquaria, Blue Zoo, Vivid, etc...