Starting up my fish store dreams... Any thoughts?

[Jeffcb]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!!!

 

[SPR1968]

Good luck with the new venture and welcome!

 

[Manny’s Reef]

Hello and welcome to R2R. Glad to have you.

 

[Kiwi reefer]

Welcome to R2R

 

[Just John]

Glad you're here!

 

[Fish Think Pink]

I always wanted to open a pet store, but my love is fish so I'm beginning with a fish store. I'm prepping small, but will eventually need larger funds for opening a location in order to get wholesale accounts with suppliers. Any other feedback would be welcome. I'm starting in my garage keeping live bearer fish, and building my stock of plants in prep to sell, or even sell online. What are the first steps you would begin with?
Thx - Dan St. Louis MO

Welcome! There is GREAT info already on this thread. Agree priorities are setting up LLC or incorporating, then having bookkeeping methods to assure IRS compliance. as you go forward. Create a business plan and have financials included.

Regarding the real estate comments, I was just in the boonies within the boonies to visit Pacific East Aquaculture. They are located there because they found commercial land CHEAP but starting out years ago, it let them get a start and its outside their Maryland Eastern Shore (boonies) city so they have minimal commute to/from home. They still have lots more land should they expand again though they instead are thinking retirement in a couple years. Their strategy might help mitigate some of the real estate prices concerns raised by others here, though that location must increase other logistical factors.

Around here, its maintenance/service that seems to be bread and butter $$ for LFSs with fish and/or fish and coral. Trucks/vans with water holding/pumping tanks going out visiting homes and offices taking care of people's tank setups.

There are a lot of ways to go and a lot of ways to define success. As they say in this hobby, the sure way to have a small fortune is start with a big fortune... this seems like costly endeavor though I don't want to discourage you as I wish there were more LFSs on the south side of the DFW TX metroplex (PetSmart and Petco are *everywhere* so likely killing profits for small LFSs)

'Start where you are, do what you can, use what you have.' - Arthur Ashe, tennis player

 

[kiran]

@waterlifepets

Good luck bro.

If you ever decide to sell and ship fish around the country update us! I'd happily support a fellow R2R member.