How to start a store?

[lereg15]

Hey people! I live in Tn., and was wondering how to start up a fish store. I will be breeding wc's and f1's, probably peacocks or firemouths, with a few mbunas. I just dont know how to go about starting the business itself, the legal process. I will be getting a govt grant for it, so I'll need to be legit.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Also, advice on tank setups., ie. filter systems, overflows, etc.

Thanx in advance,
Greg

[lereg15]

I'm thinking on starting a fish store. But need help in the ends and outs of getting it started. Since I will be getting a grant, I need to be legit.

I plan on breeding peacocks and other various mbunas, along with firemouths, Wc's and f1's. I'd be selling to lfs's and on the internet, but need help on filtration systems.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[aharris]

Well most large fishroom operations work on a large filtration system that essentially hooks all the tanks together. It has the advantage of giving you an enormous water volume to work with, but it has the disadvantage of linking all your tanks together so that if one tank gets sick, you can count on all your stock being exposed.

[Over_Stocked]

honestly... if you dont know how to start up the legal process, how do you KNOW you are getting a grant?


Starting a legit, legal, taxed business is a drawn out process. If you are truly serious, contacting a local business lawyer is where you need to start. You will need atleast part of the start up funds yourself. You will need a lot of things. I've started non-profits but never businesses, it can't be much easier to do it all the right way with a for profit entity.

[MidNightCowBoy]

make sure you have plenty of money to keep your business afloat when you first start it up. It could be a while before you see any profits. Typical business startup stuff.

[Seedy]

Honestly...On the business, legal and tax issues, Take a class or two from your local community college on entrepreneurship and owning a small business. Talk to a CPA and Lawyer as well, they can steer you in the right direction on things like taxes and how to protect yourself from your business's liabilities.

As for the fishkeeping-If you are serious about breeding for profit, forget tanks and use large tubs and pools. Don't forget that heating water is EXPENSIVE...be sure to figure it in to your business model. Economical filtration can be had by using a large blower to run multiple sponge filters.

I would seriously consider designing and installing an automatic water change system as well....If nothing else, you will need a LARGE reservoir/tank for easy water changes....

...and if you are not 18 years old-Forget about it unless you have a parent willing to co-sign for the whole deal....


ALso, are you planning on a retail establishment (brick and mortar store) or a mail order company or a breeding for the wholesale market?

[lereg15]

Should I go with individual filters then? I plan on having about 25-30 tanks with a few of them used for the babies.

[Seedy]

Threads merged. Please do not post multiple threads about the same topic.

[lereg15]

I plan on internet sales and local fish stores to buy some fish. Beings that it will be out of my basement and I live on a golf course, I wouldn't be able to sell to individuals right out of the house. I am way over 18, so that wont be a problem.

[Seedy]

Ok, so you are looking to set yourself up as an online shipper/seller and a supplier for your LFS...

Do you know how to ship fish? If not start reading up, things like medical grade Oxygen, bag buddies, heat packs and air cargo shipping...Shipping is the biggest expense to the consumer when mail ordering fish...

...FYI-The BIG BOX pet stores like Petco and Petsmart have corporate policies about not buying fish from local hobiests. They have exclusive deals with large fish farms.

Have you made connections with the "mom and pop" stores to see what they are willing to pay per fish and what species are their "bread and butter"? If you are not already a veteran of the ornamental fish trade you are going to be in for some shocks...Profit margins are razor thin...and it really takes an efficient large scale operation to break even. Read up about the Florida and Taiwanese/Asian fish farms to see how the "big dogs" do it....

The other option is to find a "niche" like what Stuart Grant, Jeff Rapps and few others have done...

[lereg15]

This is just a thought so far. I know there's alot of research to be done before I actually start the business. I just want to make sure that I will have everything in order before I actually invest anything into it. I've been doing research, but I wanted extra advice in case I may have forgotten something.

As for the 'mom and pop' stores I already have a couple to get started dealing with. I've already sold a few firemouths to one of them, and am waiting for my red zebras to get large enough to sell them as well.

[Over_Stocked]

but have you discussed this with them? they obviously already have suppliers of some sort, how do you expect to compete with tthem? are the lfs even interested?

[lereg15]

I've talked to one of them and they said that as long as they're colorful, they'll buy them from me. See, up here, they dont have that big of a supply of cichlids, but they were interested in getting some. Obviously it's just one store, but it's a start.

I realize that it's gonna take awhile for cycling and for the breeding to begin, and that there's alot of work and research to be done. Like I said before, it's just something that I am interested in doing and would like to know the best way of getting started.

Tomorrow I am going to a few more stores to see about about possibly selling some to them. We dont have any big chain stores around here, so hopefully they will like some.

[ATG204]

Originally posted by Seedy
The other option is to find a "niche" like what Stuart Grant, Jeff Rapps and few others have done...

Agreed, by sticking to breeding cichlid's from one demographic you will probably increase your chances of success in the beginning. Husbandry techniques can vary between the continents, especially if you're trying to raise very healthy hardy fish you'll want to optimize water and nutrition quality. It will be that much extra work to make all of your fish happy if you're raising say...red zebra's and firemouths.

And look for a good web designer! A lot of these online shippers have pretty crumby looking sites that don't even work properly in all os'/browsers which can be a shame since this is the only impression you will be making on many customers.

Would you buy fish from a broken down looking fish store with stinky water spilled all over the floors and some tanks not even fully functional? Or a store across the street thats clean, healthy, and professional looking?

Go with an HTML site, not as fancy as say a website built with flash it will be easy for you to update frequently, and make sure you keep it up to date! There's nothing worse than looking for deals in June and seeing stuff posted from January. Effective design may not be cheap but is worth every penny in the end!

Also look around for local fish clubs, chances are if there are several Lfs' in the area there are a lot of enthusiasts and it would be a great place to meet people. Not only to sell fish but find out what people are looking for and maybe even pick up used equipment. Quite often I'll see racks of tanks for sale on the local forum from people who have just bred for fun.