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I'm thinking of maybe starting my own LFS possibly in the next few years after i have learned a bit more about it. I was wondering if there is any advice/warnings anyone could put forward? all feedback would be appreciated!

SW Pics: http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/dave_slade@btinternet.com/
Saltwater tank 125G-30G sump with caulerpa refugium.
yellow tang, atlantic anemone, 11 turbo snails, 4 nassarius snails, 12 various hermits, 3 cleaner shrimp, 2 occelaris clown, yellow

Have a LOT of knowlage before you start. A bad reputation will get around fast, and is very hard to loose.



Dan

Find the very best, most reputable wholesalers you can to buy your stock from. It sort of goes on the same lines, but bad stock = bad reputation. Also, learn as much as you can about reef and SW tanks. The small, locally owned lfs here ended up having to go full SW because there was no money being made in the FW department. The real money is in the expensive fish/items, and those are SW (generally speaking). Another thing that seems to be something that will get you a gathering of customers is to offer something other stores don't. Get in stock that is not just neons and oscars. Try to find local breeders... generally they have better stock, the fish don't have the stress of shipping, and you wont pay for shipping. Another thing my lfs does that makes it more impressive to me and others, is to make the tanks look like finished tanks, and not just holding tanks. It gives people a better idea of what they can do, and what it will look like in their tank.

Go to school for business Most small businesses fail int eh first 5 years, and don't expect to make a profit before that either... buy if you can and don't rent, get loads of insurance and know your stuff!

Don't assume your town has room for a fish store - find the best location, even if it's across the country, in terms of affordable space, a very large potential base of customers, a customer base with money to spend, etc.

Start with as much money as you possibly can; setting up a fish store requires astonishing per-square-foot costs.

-Molly
Visit shelldwellers.com!

I have found that here in Australia there is a mark up from 100% to 200% from wholesale price. I think that is pretty good. Not too sure what it is over there but just have to remain competitive or offer something that the others don't. And advertise.

Also remember that you will be working long long hours as well. Keeping everything clean and in order.

Good luck if you do decide.

daveuk
A short list but right to the point.

Plenty of money.

A buisness brain.

Excellent trade contacts.

Patience

Be able to communicate will all at many diferent levels.

Knowledge of all of your Aquarium fish & products.

Long hrs possibly 7 days a week

Selecting reliable staff.

In an area that can support your buisness.

Best of luck if you choose to continue.


Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

It would be good if you could stock the usual and then the rare so people come in and think wow! look at these fish! we must have some of these or something similar. Also my LFS has one huge tank at the front of the store with 2 Arrowanas and various other large Catfish, if you could have a large tank with some huge fish people are immediatley caught (especially children) and they enter the store and the children usually get there own way and they end up starting a fish tank

Most fish stores DONT make money on fish, they make money on tanks, food, ect.

Also, i wouldnt decorate all of the tanks to make them look finished, when you need to get fish out of there, you have to rip apart the tank to catch the fish.

My LFS mainly has gravel and some plants in their tanks.

I would have to say bigger is better in the long run, and you have to put fourth ALOT of money

Dave,

Interesting answers and viewpoints from the posters. I do business consulting to small businesses. Generally, people go into business because they know how to do something like plumbing. To succeed, they must change from being a plumber to becoming a businessman.

Oftentimes people elect to open a business because they like their hobby. Petstores are a great example. These people must make the transition from being a hobbyist to being a businessman. This transition may be more difficult because, as hobbyists, we create attachments to our pets.

My first suggestion is to get a job at a pet store. Do as many of the jobs as possible. Take notes on how the owner or manager performs his job, managing stock, pricing, handling customers, dealing with employees and planning. Keep asking yourself what you would do if you were placed in his position.

Realize that retail businesses should have a target of a 100% markup from their wholesale costs. If you are larger, you can negotiate a better wholesale price. Live items with short shelf lives or high potential mortality like fish will have a substantially higher markup, say 300 to 400%, to recover mortality costs.

E-mail me if you would like more direction.

__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

Don't forget to write out a business plan, (or have a consultant do that for you), meet a commercial banker and befriend him/her and get a good insurance agent. The U.S. Small Business Administration is an excellent source for guidance. They may also be able to refer you to someone who could write your business plan prior to presenting it to a banker. Best of luck to you

OOOPS!!! SOrry!! My bad! No U.S. Small Business Administration for you, I didn't notice at first that you are in U.K. Perhaps an equivalent nearby? Good luck!

Call me nuts on this one, but don't put a pile of the same fish in one tank. Keeping one kind of fish in a tank can make it look over-stocked or sparse, also keep some ornaments but make them easy to move. I figure making a tank look more like it does at home would help you find a good customer base. Also, don't be afraid to lose sales by telling people the honest truth about the fish they buy- make sure your employee's know that too. I can't count the number of times i've refused to return to a pet store based on the bad advice i watch its employees give customers. Make sure you have the preference of your return customers, personaly i'm willing to pay a bit more for other products at another store if it takes good care of its fish. Also remmember, like victimizati0n said, most fish stores don't make most of their income on fish- losing a few sales on them won't hurt you so bad, especialy if its in return for customer loyalty.

Last edited by veteric at 30-Jan-2005 02:34

After many, many discussions with my LSF owner, it's true, the money is not made on the FW fish or even the plants, it's on the supplies. HOWEVER, they run up against a huge problem with being unable to compete with the local Petcos and Petsmart stores who can sell the same equipment for far less. Now a lot of the dedicated customers buy these items from their LFS because they understand this and do so to support the stores. But the average customer is looking for to pay the least they can on the essentials without understanding.

Anyway, one thing my LFS offers and I'm told was their nitch, was not only hiring knowledgable employees but offering other services like tank set ups. They learned most people new to the hobby wanted to buy everything, set it up and have fish in a few hours. Consequently, they put together packages, if you will, of your complete set up in various sizes of tanks. It included them kind of disassembling a cycled tank, coming to your house and setting it up. Then the customers could add decroations and fish almost immediately instead of waiting weeks.

They still do this but not to the same degree because luckily they have established themselves as the fish store in Austin!

Rae

email Monty Ray, the owner of Tri-Mar Aquaria in Cornwall.

www.trimar.co.uk

You should find his email address on there somewhere

thanks everyone for your VERY helpful replies! i was thinking of setting it up in about 3 yrs time, but after reading everything it now looks more like 4-5 yrs before i can get the capital and the contacts needed! Oh well just have to enjoy the hobby for now!

SW Pics: http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/dave_slade@btinternet.com/
Saltwater tank 125G-30G sump with caulerpa refugium.
yellow tang, atlantic anemone, 11 turbo snails, 4 nassarius snails, 12 various hermits, 3 cleaner shrimp, 2 occelaris clown, yellow