Im starting an AQuarium/Fish store....

[Danger_Chicken]

Thank you everyone you all are making this fun. If I do open a LFS my location is not the best but heres what it is theres 7 towns around me all fairly large withing 10 miles of the town i live in the biggest and the middle town and I know alot of people have fish tanks and I live in a mountain place in colorado where everyone is a millioner. For the people up here who need to get fish supplies its a 100 mile drive to the Big city of DENVER and up here people hate the city. I will also start with both FW and SW I will run each tank off it own filter,sump,heater,lalalala. I have 18 tanks in my house ranging from 30 gallons to 500 gallons so a display will be easy....I will display both Large fish and small community fish. rent and utilities will be around 600 a month and I am going in halfs with my best friend who also has been a fish keeper for years. We will be taking out a 200,000 d9ollar loan which should get us making money within a year or 2 we have been planning this for a long time......thanks everyone keep the copmments coming!

It sounds like you guys have been thinking about this for a while but due to your lack of business experience you may not be considering some things. I'm secptical about $600 a month for rent and utilities. Every area is different and maybe that's accurate for your area; but honestly I can't see it. Being a fish store you may have to sign specail consessions with the landlord or county on water useage I know Laundry mats do, but I can't think of the specifics off the top of my head. Electicity will be high with all of those lights and pumps espeically if you're running salt. I'm not even scratching the surface here.

Getting a $200k loan maybe tougher than you think, unless you are getting it from your parents. Most banks wont loan more than 50% of what you need to start a business. They want you to have something to lose. You'll also need a detailed business plan.

If you've never worked in a fish store you need to do that first. DON'T reinvent the wheel see how a shop is run frist hand GET EXPERIENCE!!! I'm sorry but you don't know everything - know one does. The main reason why Chains are successfully is they've deveopled a model that works and then they duplicate it. They don't have to reinvent a process at every store. Develope your model by working in stores and seeing how they do the day to day things; even the simple tasks like changing water and feeding - these places may have effeicent ways of doing these tasks that you haven't thought of - grow from their trial and error.

You haven't mention anything about business, only about fish keeping. Don't forget you are trying to start a business and that is a whole new beast. It doesn't matter how good you are with the fishy's, if you can't run the business side there is a 90% chance of failure. Get the schooling and experience THEN make your dream come ture. Best of luck

 

[chefjamesscott]

ok im gonna drop some thoughts on you

i would have to say with your tanks over filter them by at least 50% and use the rechargeable filter media put out by a variety of companys like seachem purigen etc...

make sure that your shelves are always fronted for example 2 boxes pulled to the front of a shelf that will hold six to seven will look much fuller than 2 boxes in position six an seven with a wide gap in the front due to lack of stock on this note also recess your stock one position on the shelf so as to give depth to your inventory without having the actual stock

have a good database of resource info there for your customers to look at like perhaps a pc workstation with a good selection of fish site icons also see if you can put together a small area where you could say put a small coffee table an two chairs nothing fancy nothing huge and then see if you can have coffee and cold drinks for sale withh snacks ie pre packaged muffins etc like you see in convienience store

i know that on my trips to the lfs when i take my kids i would for sure get them a drink if we was there for a window trip rather than fast purchase

make sure that you have a smoking computer to use to run your business an make sure that you have an organized form of bookkeeping set up right from the get go since that is a nightmare if it ever gets away on you

now from my 11 years of being in business i would offer this advice there are basically 3 failure points with any business

0-12 months failure happens cause the person never really had a good concept plan or product and so the flash in the pan of being new burned out and they fade to darkness

1-3 years the amounting form of debt in the way of creditors who just plain lose their patience that some day will come and they close in for the kill and wipe the business out to that make sure you have a good financial plan and most importantly dont forget that you must replace your inventory from your daily sales as well make sure to set aside a portion of 2.5% of your sales into a holding account so as to make an emergency fund and dont touch it get it up to your preset amount ie 5000.00 or higher and keep it there replenish it if you had to touch it it may seem unrealistic to say this but slowly the day will be one also make sure that you dont go hog wild on deals try to keep a just intime inventory approach to things accordingly to your suppliers ability to restock you and if you consistantly run out or low on an item then bump the inventory on that item and keep track of your inventory

5 years at this point in time many allow familiarity with their customers to breed contempt for the very same people that have made it for you at this point in a venture refresh your business approach whether in a big way or small way keep a 5 year cycle of renewed focus

in terms of advertizing what i try to do is use my product as my form of advertizing ie)for a door prize i often give people the lunch for a year package where one time a week they can come in and get drink soup an sandwich my cost is only my food cost and when the deal is done its a tax write off and usually they will bring a friend an treat them to lunch faster useage of the package

since you are doing a lfs i woudl highly recommend a bulletin board where people can post pet pics notices etc... it will greatly help to build a customer community if you can get to know their first names as that also helps to create loyalty

i would have to say a real money maker for the lfs market would be for you to set up a bulk wall of foods get them in 20lb bags and then sell them out of a bulk food set up much like the bulk food set ups in grocery stores

also find out as many tricks of the trade that people use for keeping the cost down to their fish set ups and stock those items ie) pillow stuffing for filter media , baking powder for buffing , vinegar for glass cleaning etc..... but do this without looking like a junk mart

MOST IMPORTANTLY I WOULD HAVE TO SAY THIS BE READY TO GIVE IT ALL YOU GOT FRIEND AND IF THERE IS NO CHANCE OF FAILURE TO WHAT YOU ARE DOING YOU ARE NOT TAKING ENOUGH RISK

 

[UNKNOWN_MALONE]

1) Be open to suggestions, ask peoples opinion about how you can make your store more customer friendly, or better.
2) Always have a back up plan and or a back up stash, Be prepared for the worst.
3) GIVE CASH BACK AND NOT STORE CREDIT!!!! haha jk... or am I
4) Please have the fish in the right sized tanks....
5) Do things for your customers that no other store does
6) Location, Like everyone else said
7) The apperance of your store should definitely as nice as you can make it, but keep it friendly to all types of people.
8) I like the idea of having Aquarium rumours like a fish will only grow to the size of it's tank...blalblabla
9) Try to keep another type of animal... Maybe Turles?
10) Just have fun with it, don't get all angry and serious... It's your buisiness.
This is all I can think of... Everyone else covered most of it. Good luck man!

 

[orljdmh22]

SELECTION!!!!! the store i work at is 3/4 freshwater now because there are so many saltwater shops in the area that the market is just saturated there. but no one around really has nice freshwater fish - just the normal community stuff. find out whats lacking in the area, and be personable. get your regulars in and keep them happy. the markup is usually better in freshwater than in saltwater as well, so keep that in mind. and stock quality product....not quantity. anything you wouldn't use yourself shouldn't be put in a customers tank. it helps to have conviction in what you are selling. and think practicality, don't overdue the look of the store at the cost of it being impossible to keep maintained. if you have nice fish, they sell themselves. and remember, the 10 gal. family tank is just as important as the 500 gal monster tank. i know that's hard to hear, but that young kid that's just starting out is going to listen to you and come to you for everything in the future, and who knows who else that family might know. and display fish that MOST people will buy into, and that you make more money on.....not fish you want to look at. lol.

 

[chefjamesscott]

a big kudo to orlj advice

never forget the bread an butter

 

[Danger_Chicken]

3) GIVE CASH BACK AND NOT STORE CREDIT!!!! haha jk... or am I

There's two reasons for store credit (I'd like cash too) The first is tax reasons. The second is store credit makes us spend it in their store.

• I trade a fish in for $20 store credit
• You resell fish for $40
• I buy new fish using $20 store credit
• You only paid $10 for the fish I just bought
• You're total profit is now $30
• If you give me the cash it's 50/50 I'll spend it else where, maybe on gas or lunch.
• Also, there is always the chance I'll forget the credit or lose the credit slip - then you've got free fish to resell

Speaking of taxes - get a GOOD CPA. Set it up as a C Corporation or LLC, the CPA will be able to tell you which is best for you and your friend. The first test for the CPA is if they mention either of those on the first visit, if they don't get a different one (you should interview several unless someone you trust can recommend one). Setting the business up correctly can have amazing results in how much money you get to keep and how much your silent partner Uncle Sam gets. Play by the rules and all's cool.

 

[DucatiDragster]

A good way to bring in customers into the store is having cheap feeders for sale.... Of course they're gonna pick up a few more items before leaving the store..

 

[importracer]

I was just looking for some advice on starting up an aqurium store im only 19 and this was always my dream.....are there any store owners or employes with great advice? I want the info I can get. I have had my own aquariums since i was ten and have learned alot in the last 9 years deffintly will make everystore I have been too look foolish. Please help

I have a friend who owns an aquarium store...I work for him from to time....Do what I do...Start an aquarium room in your basement/garage and start selling from there....

 

[skiptomyzoo]

this is great advice...all of it really. Recently I went to Aquarium Adventure in columbus. Funny thing is we have one in cleveland too... However even though a chain, people rave about the one in columbus, hate the one in cleveland. It's simple to see why, sure the store is bigger, but the employees in columbus genuinely talk to you, the people back at home (except for one) suck. Most of them don't know their fish, but think since their in uniform they can talk to you like they would children, pisses me off, so I don't shop there. So long story short, realize without the customer you have no business, so reguardless of if they annoy you or not, they are a potential sale, so treat them with respect. Also, people tend to tell more people about bad expierences then good ones. So sure you might make a quick buck off ripping off someone, but when they figure it out, they will tell 10 more potential customers who now will never set foot in your store...and like someone else said, its more about the business then the actual fish, in terms of being successful or not. Also, carry dog food...and no I am not kidding, it's a big money item, I've talked to store owners before, they say that, cleaning peoples tanks and your cheap fish is where over half their profits are.
Everything else was pretty much said, or I'd go on.
However, if your in a location where people just don't care about money, go saltwater. For example there are quite a few wealthy people up in Erie, recently saw a guy walk into a store and spend 2 grand on corals like it was nothing.

 

[UNKNOWN_MALONE]

There's two reasons for store credit (I'd like cash too) The first is tax reasons. The second is store credit makes us spend it in their store.

• I trade a fish in for $20 store credit
• You resell fish for $40
• I buy new fish using $20 store credit
• You only paid $10 for the fish I just bought
• You're total profit is now $30
• If you give me the cash it's 50/50 I'll spend it else where, maybe on gas or lunch.
• Also, there is always the chance I'll forget the credit or lose the credit slip - then you've got free fish to resell

Speaking of taxes - get a GOOD CPA. Set it up as a C Corporation or LLC, the CPA will be able to tell you which is best for you and your friend. The first test for the CPA is if they mention either of those on the first visit, if they don't get a different one (you should interview several unless someone you trust can recommend one). Setting the business up correctly can have amazing results in how much money you get to keep and how much your silent partner Uncle Sam gets. Play by the rules and all's cool.

I understand why they do it, I just hate it.