I want to open my own LFS!!!

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Well Excedrin that's a big part of the reason I am pushing to make this happen!

Hey Warren! You can come visit the store when its up and running and you just make sure to let me know if you don't see a smile! I'll make sure they are promptly replaced. I love fish! I love taking care of the tanks I have, I love talking to people about it and helping new people get started in the hobby. I have been able to convince quite a few people to take up the hobby and all but one still loves the tank and set up I recommended. Just hope I can do that on a larger basis!

Hey Fook! PM me if you want to chat about the business plan you have. I would love some insite from someone who has the most of the puzzle put together already. Hope to hear from ya!

Big Red! I won't be too far from you. You could always drop in if you want a better LFS!!!

Hey Honda! The import license stuff is easy if you don't mind a bit of paper work and some red tape. I was in the military and its always paper work and red tape so I don't mind it. If you know what you're importing, how much of it, your local laws, and the correct way to get them to you it's pretty simple to get the rare fish to your door. PM me and maybe we can talk more.

I plan to do this for the long haul. I hope to steal business from Petsmart and Petco and deffinately Wal-mart to provide the proper knowledge and info they need to have a happy aquarium. I hope to keep people from buying MONSTERS because they were given little if no info about the species they were buying. I know of the shops where their customer service is "hurry up and buy or leave." I will have no problem talking to an inquisitive customer for an hour or longer who is just trying to make an educated purchase/decision. My main focus will be the fish and their care, the customer next, and the bottom line last.
 
I worked for a Petsmart for the summer to see their side of it, (it was mainly bottom dollar for them) I have also worked in the mom and pop type shop and loved it. I know its a tough business, but if you can get your foot in the door, make your customers happy, and provide a quality product and service, 9 out of 10 people come back. There is a LFS an hour from where I live now and they have customers from all over the state that return for the simple fact that the staff there is very personable and doesn't mind taking the extra minute to talk to you and answer any questions, not to mention they stock some of the coolest stuff I have ever seen.
 
PLEASE DO THIS. I HATE the lfs's in central IN I would make the extra drive for this I'll work for you if you need it just please open up a good lfs here.
 
One of my first jobs as a teenager was at a LFS and it was a lot of fun. However, I'm not going to lie. It is a very tough risky business. LFS come and go all the time around me. Just look how many fish keepers come and go on this site. I wish you luck. It's hard to find a good LFS out there these days.


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Red_Man said:
For the last couple years I have tinkered with the idea of opening my own pet store that will be mainly focused on aquariums and the like. Just recently however I have taken a serious incline into actually doing it. I love this hobby and am tired of all the crappy service and advice new comers and even the guys who have been in this for a while. I am looking to open the store somewhere in the Carmel, IN area (still doing research to exactly where it will be) as that is where most of my family lives. I wanted to post this to see what kind of feedback I can get and if I can find anyone who runs/has run a LFS at one point. I'd love to pick your brains and see what info I can scrounge up! Thanks for reading this and look forward to all the posts to come!
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You need to carefully study and carefully think through your decision. Unless you are independently wealthy, and are planning to open a LFS more as a very expensive hobby that you keep dumping money into rather than a business to support youself and your family, you'd better be very very careful. In our area, not one LFS has ever succeeded. Every one of them has opened and closed. Fish keeping is supported by discretionary income. In a downwards economy, fish keeping is one of the first things people are going to give up.

Do your math carefully, if you intend to open a LFS and support yourself on it. What are your initial set up costs going to be? How many months can you go without an income, while throwing more of your money into your business? How much are the monthy expenses going to be? How much money will you need each month to live on? How many fish and how many tanks will you have to sell each month to meet your overhead and meet your living expenses?

Is there such a thing as customer loyalty? I know that I want to get the most for my dollar, i.e., I would rather buy a freshwater master test kit online than buy it from the LFS at twice the cost. Would I ever buy a tank from a LFS? Nope. Why should I order a tank through a LFS, when I can purchase it directly from the manufacturer? Will I come in and look at your fish? Yep Will I buy a fish from you? Nope. Who is going to buy fish from you? the newbie? the MFKer who lost a fish or who is setting up another big tank?

It seems to me that you would have to sell a whole lot of fish every month just to survive. I can see how things could deteriorate to the point that a person could get desperate and sell any fish to anyone because the bills have to be paid. And really, selling fish to an ignorant newbie who is going to kill the fish only means that the newbie will be back sooner for more fish. If you are independently wealthy, and love fishkeeping so much that you want to encourage and support and promote fishkeeping, you could open an LFS as a hobby. You could even hire people to work for you, so that you could go on vacations whenever you felt like it. In fact, it would probably make a great tax write off.

If all the LFS in my area had been profitable, there is no way they would have all closed. Of course, I live in a rural area. The demographics in your area could be substantially different and perhaps could support a "good" LFS. Unless you have money to burn and throw away, starting a LFS is risky business.
 
MonsterMinis said:
if you've never worked in a lfs do so... haveing been on that side of the hobby for the past 12 yrs will change how you view things. if you have then good luck to you! its a hard business to succeed in.
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This is true. Specially when you are competing against some of the vendors here. In my opinion, some vendors here are killing the fishstore business. They will sell fishes for way less than the fishstore. It's good for us but for the fishstore owner that sucks coz nobody will buy fish from them. And the fishstore owner can't compete with the prices of some of the vendors who don't have a store because they still have to pay for the rent, utilities, employees. Time will come that there will be no more LFS coz the vendors kill it.
 
If you want money you should sell more than fish. You should sell equipment for other animals like Cats, dogs, birds and reptiles. You will make a lot more money if you have a broader audience. I am not saying that you should sell live Cats, dogs, birds and reptiles. I am saying that you should carry food and equipment for other animals. Ever wonder why pet smart is doing so good? They do good because they have a broader range or products.
 
Pacu Mom - I'm not independently wealthy nor do I have money just to throw at a LFS. I don't think anyone who opens a pet store does. I have thought about opening a LFS for a while and done a some research into the are where I plan to open it. There is a big hole in the market where I live. There is only one LFS near me and they cater almost specifically to salt water. I plan to offer fresh and saltwater as well as reptiles. I have been combing the forums looking for advice and what people in my area are looking for. I don't plan on offering just the usual fish either. I plan to bring in some of the rarer fish on the market today. I also plan to offer tank maintenance, delivery and set-up, custom tanks built in house that are glass or acrylic, and custom stands and canopies. I am doing research in to finding a wider selection of products to offer as well. I don't expect this venture to make me rich, but I do hope it will be able to carry itself and put some jingle in my pocket. I plan to find staff that is somewhat knowledgeable and willing to learn. I'm positive I will have the 21st century LFS! Top to bottom, front to back, it will be a totally new experience for hobbyists new and old! And as for competing with
 
the vendors on here i'm not really. I know a lot of hobbyists who much rather pay couple extra bucks to SEE what they are buying up close instead of buying on the internet and hope what shows up is what they want! I myself am that way. I don't buy any of my fish off the internet. I have purchased every fish I have ever owned from a LFS or regulars at my LFS.
 
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