what do you think

[ginamoore]

Im not an expert, or even an advanced fish keeper i have a 55 gl tank now and getting a 125 tomorow(saltwater tanks) . Well i've been thinking of opening a fish store where i live. there is none in the area i have to travel 45 min to the closest pet store to purchace anthing fish related. But the thing is I LOVE FISH
and think a store in the area would do good. I was thinking of asking the man that owns the lfs where i do all my shoping if he would want to go partners on another store. I know him well. or just doing it alone. do you think it is a good idea or finantial suiside ?

 

[knutty]

i have been witness to many small business openings. financial suicide? maybe not. fast track to wealth? probably not. One of the hardest part of owning a fish store is all of the overhead costs. Filtration, stock, heating, chemicals...everything that you have at home magnified by a thousand. Not to mention all of the tanks and setups. Then you have to get in with a lot of different manufacturers to carry their products. You could shop at a distributor to get your shelf items, but this cuts into profit. The key to owning a high overhead retail location is to have many that make small profit. Maybe 5-6 locations. Again, this is all just my honest opinion. Where are you at?

 

[ginamoore]

i live in west virginia. not looking to make a killing just want to do something that i have some interest in. It would be nice to look forward to going to work every day. an thinking of going to work in my lfs for a while to get some inside info. altho it is 45 min away it will be an enjoyable experience i think

 

[Gunnie]

This might help shed some light on what you want to do.

 

[knutty]

if you are very serious about it, you can easily make enought to be happy. best of luck to you. check the state web sites regarding licensing and check on retail cost per sqaure foot lease rates ( averages) in your area. then you will want to check on costs versus retail pricing for an idea on what kind of profit you can expect on dry goods ( shelf items). working for the competition is a great way to learn the business and turn their fautls into opportunities. feel free to email me at adamjknudsen@hotmail if you have any more questions about starting a small business or anything at all really. best of luck to you.