tips on starting a lfs business

R

reef_angels

New member
I have been wanting to open (start) a lfs here locally for a long while now. The closest lfs is over 75 miles away, other than walmart :eek2: and a low end franchized pet store that only carries a small poor section of freshwater fish. I want to sell saltwater, freshwater and pond fish and supplies. I have been truly obsessed for years! I usally travel the 75 miles at least 2-3 times a month just to spend a day going thru lfs for new arrivals and products and have learned quite a bit thru the employees and my own experiances. But I'm thinking the money I spend on the travel and fish, I could put towards my store. I'm not looking to get rich, but rather have a "job" I'm passionate about. I have the bookkeeping knowledge to do my own books. (I'm a office controller) and actually plan on staying with my full time job and just opening the store in the evenings and weekends to start. Any suggestions on how I can put my plan in motion and if you could share any personal experiences with your own store?? Thanks!
 
1. get a business plan together
2. find out if there is a real desire for the business you are looking to get into in your area
3. find friends or family that are willing to help you get started by working for free ish at least in the beginning
4. if you can fill the first 3 then look for retail space
5. get up a bunch of start up funds as your over head is going to be really high (considering you will have to purchase tanks, equipment lighting, and keep enough livestock to fill those tanks)
5. get a business license and tax id # find solid sources locally to get corals and fish or find a mass distributer that will be able to get you everything you need with a really low mortality rate

i am sure there i more but that is just a small list
 
definantly find some good coral/fish wholesalers. I always new fish and corals were cheap but I really had no idea how stupidly cheap livestock is untill I started working at an lfs. when you find out what your lfs really pays for stuff you'll be SOOOO ****ed lol you'll be like f'in thiefs:D
but thats just business.

also have enough money or be prepared to pay all you expenses for a year untill you can build a real customer base.
 
Start out of your basement, advertise to your local reef club (alot of salty people in one spot). You will be the guy charging those prices once you see the bills.
 
Thanks tank o tang.. I'm just not sure how to investigate and decide on best wholesalers.. I've tried to talk to some of them, but without a business set up yet, they wont give me the time of day.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15292743#post15292743 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tank o tang
You will be the guy charging those prices once you see the bills.
Click to expand...

He'll find that out when he gets his first four-figure power bill, and then discovers that guess who has to pay for all the fish and corals that die long before they sell. :)

Good luck reef_angels, I don't have any advice other than that I honestly hope your business is a successful one. There wouldn't be a reef hobby without people like yourself.
 
If your looking at running it as more than just a side business/after hours hobby, you'll need a good location. Location can really make or a break a retail store. Good locations are highly visible, have other (non competition) business has neighbors that will help draw customers, and good, plentiful, safe parking. Such a location will also cost more than you can likely support with nights and weekends, so you really need to sit down and plan what your ultimate goals are and how to get there. Your also going to need liabilty insurance, as well as a pretty good investment in tank set ups and dry goods.
 
I've been looking for locations, and have realized the "good" places are higher.. I already have a bought a 33 tank wall system from a breeder that was throwing in the towel. I have it in storage. Plus I have several different sized extra tanks. I would love to start out in a nice store with all the money to stock it up. But I want to be smart and start small then (hopefully) will grow into my dream stop :) Thank you for sugguesting liablity insurance, I didn't think about that.
 
Have you thought of first starting out as an online business? That way you can be open to the public locally and ship to different states also.
 
the starting in the basement post got me thinking a little. I'd say once you find a good wholesaler become friends with him. maybe pay him a visit in person every once in a while(depending on where he is located) every once in a while my boss takes the 7hr drive to have lunch and personaly pick up a shipment. and this wholesaler has been 1000x better to use than any others(he will actually delay an order if he thinks the corals arent up to par wether it be color or size) sorry for the rambling but anyways become friends and he maybe will cut you in on deals and throw in freebies for the heck of it:D anyways I would suggest setting up a large coral/ fish holding systems in your home/basement using 50 gal rubbermaid water trough's as tanks and 150 gal troughs as sumps. that way you have a large capacity for orders and dont have to have everything on display and can do large orders on once a month or every other month rather than every week. you will also be able to grow your own colonies for fragging as well yet not take up any retail space.
 
I have actually thought of online selling, just wondering how the shipping cost would eat me up. Or if I shipping is too much cost to customer, they wont buy from me.. but I do think its definatly an option :) thanks! I dont have a basement, but do have a spare bedroom I could start with. I llike the idea crsaz mentioned on using 50 gal rubbermaid trough's for tanks, would keep cost down. I'm wondering though, is there any laws or licenses I would need to obtain to sell online?
 
Im sure there are. I would suggest maybe renting a space like 500-900sqft in an industrial park and put your tanks there because most wholesalers require you to have a non residential business location well atleast the good ones do anyways:D
 
After you have put your business plan together, set up an appointment with some advisors at SCORE (www.score.org) if they have a location near you. This is a non-profit organization of retired business folks that give free business advice to start-ups and small business. (Hope that is ok to post since it is non-profit)
 
All great advice. One other piece, don't forget its a business and run it as such. Too many locally owned LFS run it as a hobby. For instance, I just traveled over 100 miles to a LFS I know in Tulsa, about 110 miles away from me. I sat outside for 30 minutes after the advertised open time and finally left disgusted. I'll never visit them again.

Life happens, but you'll never see a real retail store run like this.
 
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