thinking about buying a herp/fish store

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dzb912

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Jul 16, 2007
2,463
0
66
illinois
hey guys
there is this store, ok lets call it a shack
it never does well
it has gone thru 3 owners in the past 5 years
the guy gets 6 coustomers a week
its baisically hidden on the side of an intersection
my dad and i (with no permission from mom) have been pondering upond the idea to buy it
i would get rid of all the crap he has like guppies and such
along with dozens of kingsnakes that dont sell
and just doing cresteds beardeds turts and big tropical fish, the kind mfk stands for. my plan was to sell everything when i first get in for half of fishwise and 25% off for herps
that will herlp bring in coutomers i hope
especially if i get an add in the paper and such.
but my question is what would atract you guys to a shop
what is it you look for when you find a new shop
and what you would want in a shop
i was also going to have all big fish such as aros, rtc, hybrids, midas,rays anything monster you can think of.
what would you guys want to see fish wise?
 
cichlids and various types of catfish and plecos too
 
sell really good quality foods, carry hikari. and advertise that kind of stuff right off the bat. show that you know what your talking about and this isnt just a mom and pop store. also, keep everything IMACULATE there is nothing more alluring that a beautiful fish store.
 
yeah and dont sell wc herps or ill getcha! srlsy
 
wow. big commitment on little shack. hopefully all goes well and smooth. If I were you I would keep some easy-to-keep fish for beginner hobbyists and not only concentrate on the monsters(shoot me- i know) just to have steady sales. Because of it's hidden location, you will need to find someway to attract your customers- maybe make use of it's small stature. if it's exterior looks like a shack, make use of it as a gimmick. have several show tanks that portray ideal biotopes for each specific fish-community or not. always keep your fish in high quality conditions-always-or else we'll talk shht about you.
If you do go forth with this project, understand what your getting into, the location/demand keeping in mind the other pet's stores in the area.
Again, good luck, b/c you're gonna need it. I mean that in the most supportive way. I think a handful of mfkers can only dream about your intentions.
 
how far from st.louis is this shack? if its close and u make it dank i might scheck it out
 
Also, dont lose sight that this is a buisness you are starting, stock and advertising unfortunitly have to be the last thing to worry about right now...
 
You have to think about alot of things when taking over.
1. location vs measures of advertisement taken in order to achieve what you have set forth as realistic profit to debt ratio..... how much you spend vs how you make off your supplies and livestock.

2. Vendor relationships, associate yourself with vendors ie. suppliers that carry quality animals at attractive prices. You dont want to spend a ton at your wholeseller because then you have to jack up the prices on the retail side. This will drive away clientele. Same goes with the products you sell, food, tanks, etc etc

3. Promotional events, have fish swaps, hand out fliers, advertise in the newspaper put car magnets on your car. This along with supplies and livestock will be your biggest costs, if rent and utilities arent that bad in your area. (remember you want word of mouth to be the best tool for adverstising, its cliche but it works!)

4. GET A GOOD ACCOUNTANT, or a good accounting program so you have all your debts to income separated. This will give you a good indicator on how much you make vs losses, liabilities.

5. Fill your brain with as much knowledge of products and live stock as much as you can. If you dont have an answer keep books around to get the answer.

Good luck!
 
alright thanks guys
i also think my age will atract lots of attention
im 15 and by the time i do this i might be 17
that should help out alot
my last name is bush so i think the store name will be around the bush or somthin with bush in it lol
but i know you guys might not think i can pull this off with me being 15 (and a half) but i am so serious about this
this is what i want to do as my proffesion and it would help to start early
 
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