Looking for connections and advice

[Kaleidoscope]

Hello. I have a decent bit of fish knowledge, but I am planning on opening up a specialty fish and reptile store in the near future and thought it would be a good idea to join on here to get some advice and maybe make some good connections. I plan on starting with just freshwater and then expanding to salt water when business is moving. I am always open to learning new things. I would absolutely love if anyone has any advice particularly on starting up this kind of store. I don't know how much people would be willing to share, but even things down to reputable suppliers would be something very helpful. I plan on having the regular fish you normally see, but my real interest is having things you won't just find in the typical big box stores. I hope to be able to learns lots here.
Look forward to talking with everyone!

 

[coriesinhawaii]

Welcome to the forum! There are a number of members on this site that would be able to provide good advice on this topic. If you don't get the response you're looking for maybe specify in the thread's title advice for starting up fish and reptile store in the title of the thread so it's sure to catch their eye

 

[itiwhetu]

I have been involved in retail, wholesale, importing and breeding fish. The first question I would like to ask is what is your experience with fish. The second is what do you plan to get out of this venture is it for life style or a solid income. The third is how many tanks do you have planned for the start up of this shop. That will do for now, this information will give me some idea if I can help you.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

It sounds interesting and I don't want to be negative but I would say there is a good reason why almost of fish stores have the same stock.

If your in it to make money you are more likely to sell 1000 tetras before you sell a single, expensive oddball that needs specific conditions to be kept in.

I would say if you are looking to go for unique then maybe mail order might work out better, much less overheads then a brick and morter store and if you have reliable suppliers you don't necessarily have to keep all livestock to hand either which cuts costs,increases what you can offer and reduces how much work your going to have to do.

Edit: One other thing to mention have you worked in a fish store before? If not I would strongly recommend trying to get a job in one of them for at least a few months. A lot of us could probably setup and maintain some good quality fish tanks but dealing with 30+ different tanks with hundreds of fish while also dealing with the general public and all the dry goods, etc is an entirely different thing.

The problem with turning a hobby into a business is that the majority of the time it rapidly removes it from your life as a hobby and it just turns into work.

 

[Spyro]

Hello. I have a decent bit of fish knowledge, but I am planning on opening up a specialty fish and reptile store in the near future and thought it would be a good idea to join on here to get some advice and maybe make some good connections. I plan on starting with just freshwater and then expanding to salt water when business is moving. I am always open to learning new things. I would absolutely love if anyone has any advice particularly on starting up this kind of store. I don't know how much people would be willing to share, but even things down to reputable suppliers would be something very helpful. I plan on having the regular fish you normally see, but my real interest is having things you won't just find in the typical big box stores. I hope to be able to learns lots here.
Look forward to talking with everyone!

From couple of fish store owners I spoke with, where I am (Australia):

Livebearers, Tetra, gold fish, Betta make up 95% of sales
Snails, shrimp, BN pleco are 4% of sales
Common Cichlids 1% of sales

The rest: they keep in shop so people would wonder around looking at all the exotic looking fish before buying some guppy, tetras and/or gold fish.
Occasionally someone buys more expensive/exotic fish.

Salt water shop: most of their business is servicing rich people's salt water aquariums. Shop is pretty much just the place they keep corals and fish for display they can show to customers.

GL

 

[Myraan]

Don't read what people on here say about LFS owners and staff.... will make you depressed.

 

[itiwhetu]

Don't read what people on here say about LFS owners and staff.... will make you depressed.

It seems to me sometimes that half the people here are no different to LFS owners and their staff.

 

[FishHobby99]

From couple of fish store owners I spoke with, where I am (Australia):

Livebearers, Tetra, gold fish, Betta make up 95% of sales
Snails, shrimp, BN pleco are 4% of sales
Common Cichlids 1% of sales

The rest: they keep in shop so people would wonder around looking at all the exotic looking fish before buying some guppy, tetras and/or gold fish.
Occasionally someone buys more expensive/exotic fish.

Salt water shop: most of their business is servicing rich people's salt water aquariums. Shop is pretty much just the place they keep corals and fish for display they can show to customers.

GL

My local SW shop does indeed service lots of tanks, but I think most are at businesses. Same thing, I guess. We asked how much they charged when we broke a pipe connector while moving a tank that has a sump below. It’s $55 an hour. Fortunately the husband fixed it with the part they had at a very reasonable prIce.

 

[Kaleidoscope]

I have been involved in retail, wholesale, importing and breeding fish. The first question I would like to ask is what is your experience with fish. The second is what do you plan to get out of this venture is it for life style or a solid income. The third is how many tanks do you have planned for the start up of this shop. That will do for now, this information will give me some idea if I can help you.

Thanks for your reply. I've owned tanks for a good majority of my life and have worked with both fish and reptiles for at least 10 years. I'm most familiar with freshwater fish, but plan to educate myself more on salt water and expand down the line. I'd like to make an income I can live off of, but at the same time I want to do it because my love and interest. I've been self employed for many years now, and going back to working for someone else just doesn't work for me. My parents had started up their own business years back, and I gained the entrepreneurship quality from them I guess. As for how many tanks I plan to have, that's still in the planning stages. I have a blueprint of how I'd like to have my store when I'm hopefully able to start up a bigger business that would hold at least 60 tanks for freshwater. My guess is that I'm going to have to find a place to lease for the time being to get things up and running. I'd probably start off with maybe 25 tanks or so, depending on the space I'm able to find. I do plan on still working my current job part time until things would pick up enough so I'd still have a guaranteed income coming in.

 

[Kaleidoscope]

It sounds interesting and I don't want to be negative but I would say there is a good reason why almost of fish stores have the same stock.

If your in it to make money you are more likely to sell 1000 tetras before you sell a single, expensive oddball that needs specific conditions to be kept in.

I would say if you are looking to go for unique then maybe mail order might work out better, much less overheads then a brick and morter store and if you have reliable suppliers you don't necessarily have to keep all livestock to hand either which cuts costs,increases what you can offer and reduces how much work your going to have to do.

Edit: One other thing to mention have you worked in a fish store before? If not I would strongly recommend trying to get a job in one of them for at least a few months. A lot of us could probably setup and maintain some good quality fish tanks but dealing with 30+ different tanks with hundreds of fish while also dealing with the general public and all the dry goods, etc is an entirely different thing.

The problem with turning a hobby into a business is that the majority of the time it rapidly removes it from your life as a hobby and it just turns into work.

Yes, I have worked in fish stores for many years, and (aside from mostly dealing with managers and the such) I loved it. I plan to have a bit of the regular stock, then when I'm able to grab some oddballs here and there, that would be perfect. I know of auctions and such which might be good to look into when I get to that point.

 

[FishHobby99]

Guess a big factor must be where you live & the competition. There’s 3 big box pet shops here, and two smaller shops, one mostly freshwater and another that‘s mostly SW. The latter two were established like 45 years ago. I think it’d be very difficult for a new shop here. People trust & know the smaller shops. I have gone to both, but buy much from Amazon. Buying a 40 G tank and big sack of sand sand tomorrow at petco. Tank at excellent price & they give me reward points for using their credit card. So it’d be really a tough go here.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Yes, I have worked in fish stores for many years, and (aside from mostly dealing with managers and the such) I loved it. I plan to have a bit of the regular stock, then when I'm able to grab some oddballs here and there, that would be perfect. I know of auctions and such which might be good to look into when I get to that point.

Brilliant. I just wanted to check because I have seen a lot of people try and turn a hobby they are good at into a job and without having the experience in the industry it can be absolute hell.

It sounds like you have a pretty decent plan. If it was me I would maybe look to get a small non-retail space and set up mail order to begin with. This gives you chance to sort out suppliers, figure things out and even keep it part time without having rent and rates for a retail shop to worry about. Also wont have to worry about nice looking tanks and equipment, any big water holding containers will work and you will save a lot of the initial startup cost. Mail order with livestock though is understandably a bit of a pain to think about setting up. There is a local guy near me that works from out of his property selling fish. He is licensed and if people want to go look its by appointment only. He works mostly via local fish groups/for sale sites. I think he is doing pretty well for himself and honestly I will probably get my fish from him in the future as they look extremely well cared for

If you haven't already I would speak to a small business or financial advisor. They will be able to help you figure out what is and isn't viable and stop you falling into too many traps.

 

[Kaleidoscope]

Guess a big factor must be where you live & the competition. There’s 3 big box pet shops here, and two smaller shops, one mostly freshwater and another that‘s mostly SW. The latter two were established like 45 years ago. I think it’d be very difficult for a new shop here. People trust & know the smaller shops. I have gone to both, but buy much from Amazon. Buying a 40 G tank and big sack of sand sand tomorrow at petco. Tank at excellent price & they give me reward points for using their credit card. So it’d be really a tough go here.

Competition is always going to be a difficult. I have been scouting out the local area. There is a Petsmart and Petco about 20 minutes from here, but I still haven't even decided on the actual location of the store. I honestly don't even consider them much competition. The two of them aren't run very well and at the moment don't even commonly have fish. The petco actually just went through a full employee change and had to stop carrying animals because they weren't properly taking care of them. I do know there are two independent stores within 30 minutes of my location that both specialize in fish. One is aimed more towards salt water, with a little fresh water, and one has both but is farther away. There aren't any reptile specialties stores near me which is good so I can take that for the area. I live right by a lake.... so that means... people with money. I probably won't have too many dry goods, just because I know that the big box stores will be able to offer them at a lower price, but I'll have a few essentials and just play it by ear on what sells the most.

 

[Kaleidoscope]

Brilliant. I just wanted to check because I have seen a lot of people try and turn a hobby they are good at into a job and without having the experience in the industry it can be absolute hell.

It sounds like you have a pretty decent plan. If it was me I would maybe look to get a small non-retail space and set up mail order to begin with. This gives you chance to sort out suppliers, figure things out and even keep it part time without having rent and rates for a retail shop to worry about. Also wont have to worry about nice looking tanks and equipment, any big water holding containers will work and you will save a lot of the initial startup cost. Mail order with livestock though is understandably a bit of a pain to think about setting up. There is a local guy near me that works from out of his property selling fish. He is licensed and if people want to go look its by appointment only. He works mostly via local fish groups/for sale sites. I think he is doing pretty well for himself and honestly I will probably get my fish from him in the future as they look extremely well cared for

If you haven't already I would speak to a small business or financial advisor. They will be able to help you figure out what is and isn't viable and stop you falling into too many traps.

I think it's a great idea to talk with a small business/financial advisor. I know it's the first 3 years of a business that are the testing one and sadly most don't make it to that point. I'm determined to get past that mark. I've been successful with my current business (self employed dog groomer) and I'm booked out almost 2 months because I care about details and I like to consider myself pretty good with customer service. It has helped me understand a bit of self employment taxes and all of that as well so I don't just screw myself over by not keeping track of everything and putting money aside. I do have an accountant that I'm going to be working with, which helps out a lot as well.

 

[FishHobby99]

Competition is always going to be a difficult. I have been scouting out the local area. There is a Petsmart and Petco about 20 minutes from here, but I still haven't even decided on the actual location of the store. I honestly don't even consider them much competition. The two of them aren't run very well and at the moment don't even commonly have fish. The petco actually just went through a full employee change and had to stop carrying animals because they weren't properly taking care of them. I do know there are two independent stores within 30 minutes of my location that both specialize in fish. One is aimed more towards salt water, with a little fresh water, and one has both but is farther away. There aren't any reptile specialties stores near me which is good so I can take that for the area. I live right by a lake.... so that means... people with money. I probably won't have too many dry goods, just because I know that the big box stores will be able to offer them at a lower price, but I'll have a few essentials and just play it by ear on what sells the most.

Sounds like you have a plan! The best of luck.