directly from the LFS here .. be ready to loose money .. all of them are for sale around here if you would want to buy one .. most are ready to close the doors when there lease is up.. if you want to have it as a hobby store that you dont plan on making any money then go for it .. if you want it for primary income then your going to be swimming up river to a lake that does not exist
~....Need Advice About Opening a Fish Store....~
- Thread starter troybernard
- Start date
Yup, I agree that it's a difficult business. A large capital is required, and unlike most businesses that benefit from being the only one around, LFS here in my country appear to thrive when they're in clusters! The ones that are detached in the community see a small number of customers. While those by the clusters in Cartimar (like a pet capital in the Philippines, especially for fish!) see a regular amount of visitors, local hobbyists and sometimes foreigners. The reason perhaps is the fact that Cartimar is so famous for pets. Bottom line, get a good place, good fund, and a good fallback.
In Michigan southeastern most stores are struggiling 1 in particulair is doing good but he has a lot of oddballs. I have seen a lot close down though.
also, try working at a LFS and see if you even enjoy the environment from the other side of the counter. look at how things are going for them too. I'm not saying steal the customer base..... but take notes and see what you may want to change and if you even want to follow through with the idea
I don't personally have any experience, but I know most of the overhead with an LFS is the same overhead of any retail shop, rent, utilities, staff, stock etc. If your really interested in doing it I say invest the money you would have spent opening a retail location and wholesale fish instead. Build a big fish room, breed rare stuff, open a website and sell. There seems to be a lot of successful online breeders. Some of the vendors on here have been in business for a good long time.
Wet web media has lots of good information here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/AqBizSubWebIndex/Biz%20Index/Biz%20index.htm
Imo The best way to get and keep costomers, is to have a very clean store, great upkeep, clean tank's and great costumer service. The stores I go to most frequently are like this. The ones I know arent worth going out of my way for really smell with people running the store that don't really know that much about what they are selling.
Might want to stay away from ferret's, rabbit's, guinie pigs etc., unless you will dedicate the proper cleaning scedule for them. They can really stink up a store if not cared for properly.
G/L In whatever you decide.
Might want to stay away from ferret's, rabbit's, guinie pigs etc., unless you will dedicate the proper cleaning scedule for them. They can really stink up a store if not cared for properly.
G/L In whatever you decide.
swede;3509289; said:
+1 best to see what works and what does not first .. then cut out the bad and add to the good ... going in blind is never a safe way to go ..
i also think that having a breeding project with something like leos or other fish that sell in the high$$ range would be a good way to supplement what you may lack in normal stock movement .. also the online and shipping options are a good way to keep things going well .. i think that being as fluid as possible is the key to business today
Thanks for all the feed back. I did work at an lfs years back. Have a lot of ideas from it. There is no pet store with in 30 miles of where I am located. We have about 15000 people here is all, with another 10000 or so that come to our town to go to walmart. I own an automotive shop already and was thinking of starting out with selling fish in the lobby. We have two of our bays dedicated to quick lube stuff, so we often have people who are in there for ten minutes or more with nothing to do, but look at what is in the lobby. Only have room on one wall for about 9 to 12 tanks depending on what size I use. I have a physical therapist who would like a tank in his office, but I am not sure how to price the mainitenance. I am also going to set up a fish room and start to breed some fish. I am not too internet savy so I would need to pay someone to set up a website.
Good Ideas, Keep em comming.
Good Ideas, Keep em comming.
Ha, set up a miniature fish store in your lobby. =) Line the walls with fish tanks and offer them up for sale. Plus, since you'll be the only fish store for 30 miles, you could bump up the prices a little bit and at the same time attract customers.
