Starting A Business

[Saedcantas]

As Tim has just said;

Fish knowledge is one thing, but business sense is a whole different ballgame, do you think you have it?
Will you know who to buy your fish/drygoods/equipment/tanks from, how will you build a good relationship with them, how much will you need in outlay just to get started?

Do you know which brands you would sell, will you know how to use the probably very small space you will have and merchandise both live and dry products?
How much of everything does an LFS need? How much does a new LFS need?

Do you know which aquarium systems you would use, how much they cost, how they work and how many you would need?

And the list goes on and on and on.
All of these questions are of equal importance to your baseline fish knowledge if you hope to run a business

Lotte*

 

[Ian H]

Yeah obviously its not just a case of thinking i like fish so im going to have a fish shop!

I think i have quite a good business head to be honest! i've had a couple of sites ect when i was younger nothing amazing but still bringing in around £200 a month so better than nothing!

as for merchandising im a sales manager at work so have pretty good knowledge of how to make things look good, legal requirments ect and pushing sales.

As for the rest, no i dont know but like i said a business isnt going to pop up over night - and thats the reason why! You should always research everything 100% especially taking a plunge such as a business!!

sorry metal cherry i've gotten carried away!! I would go for it if you think you can! i know i'm giving it some serious though!

 

[Saedcantas]

Sorry Ian, my post was mainly intended for the original poster, not as a challenge but as food for thought anyway

Lotte*

 

[Ian H]

Sorry didnt mean to come across as if i found it a challenge! like i said i get a bit carried away ha ha

 

[aaronnorth]

I dont like the idea of posting fish, i have posted snails though.

A fish shop closed down near me because of a new owner to the garden centre and he gave all his tanks away for free to get rid! I think there were 50 tanks, a man took them and is going to sell them on ebay, dont know if he has yet.

 

[metalcherry]

I am beginning to look at different shops, what they sell, product wise etc, just for a basic idea. Because i know someone who runs a very successful aquarium business in far glasgow who im sure after some nudging would be able to give me some advise lol but at the moment is mostly research and whats new im looking at. product, information, etc.

Posting fish, i could never think about doing that - ie. running a business through posting, hense why i could never buy off ebay - the mysteries of Royal mail scare me, If an avon book could not arrive to me safely without them ripping and bashing it, i couldnt think about what would happen to fish lol. Eggs and snails on the otherhands i might consider lol.

 

[piranha_tim]

Another thing to note ... When you have a product such as a fish where disease can kill your profit ... you can't just be decent with fish you have to be able to handle these issues.

Profit is slim ... losing your fish is a loss

 

[TigerLotus]

Ever thought of buying a shop from some one selling? I would think that would help cut cost considerably. Most things that one would need such as tanks and equipment. As well as a starter amount of supplies to sell would already be there. I know a place that is selling there shop. They are letting it go for 50,000 which sounds like a fair price. I would think it would be a good way to start out as well.

 

[wackystarfish]

Shipping is nothing to be worried about You send by Royal Mail courier, which means that some one personally delivers the fish. If you ship in a sturdy poly box, double bagged with insulation, on next day delivery, the fish should be fine!

 

[aaronnorth]

Shipping is nothing to be worried about You send by Royal Mail courier, which means that some one personally delivers the fish. If you ship in a sturdy poly box, double bagged with insulation, on next day delivery, the fish should be fine!

I know i will be probobaly be ok, but i am just scared that i might mess it up