Im thinking about opening a pet store in the distant future, need your help

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
to the op, the main keys will be 1.is there a demand in the area 2.your ability to run a business and 3. you're going to have to have a ton of money for start-up

as stated i would probably specialize in a few things first and then grow. fish and reptiles would probably the least costly and easiest to maintain. (small mammals smell terrible if not cleaned properly near every other day, if you go to a store that smells 75% of the time this is why).
birds are nice, if you know what your doing. they are also noisy and can be an annoyance (especially conures). keep in mind also the turnover on the bigger birds is not high, so you may have a $2000 bird sitting in store for years.

puppies are an attention grabber, bring people in, and make money...but you have to do it right (ya can't just throw a few puppies in a play pen in the middle of the store it looks terrible) and you have to have people on that specifically take care of the dogs (you think someone gets mad over a sick fish, wait until you sell someone a sick dog). and if you aren't known to have a good selection of dogs (same as fish) people aren't coming in to get them.

* a few other tidbits to keep in mind, there aren't days off in the pet business (animals still need fed, watered, cleaned regardless of holidays, etc)
* with the attitude of hey they can go to petsmart to get their junk supplies, guess what they will because it's cheaper so you can't think that way or you won't last
* you must think in terms of the general public and not mfk or other forums, yes we here go the extra mile for our fish/animals, well not everyone does so in fact the people here are the minority
** keep in mind it is a business, and one that carries a lot of responsibility (you mess with people's pets they get pissed). you must know how to be a salesman just as much as being an animal caretaker. because it's wonderful to have all kinds of cool animals that are healthy and such, but unless you can send them home with customers it's just entertainment and your loss.
 
If you have big chain pet stores in your area it might be in your best interest to specialize in one thing: fish, birds, reptiles. ect

If you have a little of each the big chain stores will mop the floor with you and you wont get many customers. Visit the chain stores often and see what fish,birds, reptiles they have and don't have, which ones sell and don't sell and for how much. Make notes and in time you'll have a better idea of what might make good stocking options. I'm no business person but I think the key to doing well would be to specialize in one type of pet and stock what the big chain stores don't have.

Best of luck.
 
I worked in a very successful petstore for nine years, and I've noticed something about petstores in my area that could be used as advice for you. A good location is KEY. I think one of the first and most important things you should take inito consideration is not only the town you want to open the store in, but where in the town. The store I worked in was in a very busy strip mall and over 50% of the customers that ended up spending money there were people who noticed the store while they were walking around in the mall. Being located in a high traffic area can exponentially affect the amount of business you will recieve.
 
i work at 2 different petshops both had some problems. make sure you make good friends with your major and govenor. laugh at me go ahead someother pet shops want one i worked at closed and would report us for nothing. we had cob webs, we got fined, we threw out our fish got fines told to barriy them. we barryed them got find and were told to burn them. we burn them got find and was told we had to frezze for 24 hours and then send them out in hazmat. its alot of mony to start on. your gonna need alot of money my employer told me he spent 250k just to get it started then once the inspector problems he spent another 750; to 755k getting it right. this last time when they were harassing him he called the govener and the local radio and newpaper stations and got it worked out.i would suggest start slow just with fw. then slowly work your way up. for first couple years you most likly wont be able to afford other employees. as for expenses reaserch your heart out i own a small buisness out of my home selling rc supplies. i could get this product for 4 dollars from everyone catalog bulk supplyer i could find. i serched over season using the inter net i got the same exact product same name brand but only for 29c. fish food will be the same. good luck i home u succeed this is a dream of mine that i gave up years ago.
 
WOW, almost no positive advise. If you want this idea to work, do not ask people who have no idea about the business, go to those on here who have actually had success and failures in this field and you get first hand knowledge. Ask them would they mind talking to you in person or over the phone , take notes then do your own research. Go to school, make friends with the same interest. I know people just try to help but hearing only negativity will discourage you. If I listened to peoples "advise" I wouldn't be in the position Im in.
 
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