Thinking of starting own LFS!

C

cichlid_guy

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Nov 27, 2002
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Hi, I'm thinking of starting my own fish store. I wanted to come here and get advice from the people how know the most about fish stores, YOU the hobbiest!

I would like to know "from everyone" what you "like" or "dislike" about your local fish store. If there is anything that you think/or wish for in a fish store.

One day i was thinking "Why am i running all over tring to get what i need, and most of the time not liking the places i went to."
So I started to think about opening my own store!

I would have all the things i wanted or liked from "the small" LFS around here.
Selection!! being the first on my mind!
There is a LFS about a hour away that i like to go to from time to time. Its becouse they have a "NICE" selection of fish.
about 20 - 25 cichlid tanks, and about the same in the smaller community fish. the only think wrong with the place is its "trashy"
unorginized store - tanks on floor anywhere, nothing put neatly where it should be, and the building was very run down, "barn like".
I heard my friends telling me the same thing.
BUT they went for the fish selection!

Also I was tired of seeing mislabeled tanks, workers ether not knowing or giving wrong information, and prices sky high!
Going here for crickets, there for feeders, and another place for frozen food, just becouse one guy was cheap on this, then the other on that.

I have some good ideas also I hope to run by everyone and see what you think.

"Feeder Cups"
basicly a plastic cup/tub with logo on it. When you buy the cup, and bring it in the next time, you get a discount on the feeders. Crickets $1 dozen, w/cup .75 cent a dozen!
same as feeder guppies, rosies, goldfish, etc...

"Discount Cards"
kind of like you get from "martins" or other stores.
a plastic card that you swipe and get a discount. A member card.
i'm thinking like 10% of store, and gets you "Special" member only sales. kind of like petsmart.
(a doller a gallon tanks. ie 75gal = $75)

"drawings for tank set-ups"
I'm thinking like having on the end of the receite a spot that you can fill out and drop off in a box, then like every six months or year, pull a name!

I'm not a buisness person, but I know the more people you get in the store, the more likly you are to get people to buy!
(if only 1 out of 10 people buy, then 100 people a week is better then 10 a week!)
So I'm thinking of having a nice "show tank" something for people to come see, then "maybe" buy some fish food, or something.

There is all this stuff running in my head! :)
would like to know what you think! Advice!

Thanks!
Scottie
Cichlid_guy
 
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lots of tanks, no tanks with ich, big "personal" tanks, good selection, good advice and knowledgable fish staff.

by the way where do u live?
 
Your ideas sound pretty good already, and I totaly agree about misleading or false labeling.

What about rather than just the displaying name of a particular fish, you include information on the fishes requirments with regards to PH, Carbonate Hardness, Temp range, where in the tank it swims, and diet. obvouslythis information would have to be short and to the point but I recon it wouldnt take up too much space. And once you have a label made up laminate and keep it for future use.

You could also colour code these information labels say
Blue - community
Yellow community with care
Red - Solitary

And you could have an * or something to indicate its suitable for a beginer

Also, you should keep a good selection of odd ball fish to keep the hardened enthusiast happy.

Finally, when you go global, I can run your UK outlets if you want!
 
I think you're idea is great and can work out really well! Here's the problems with my LFS.

Well, every fish I have bought from there has died except my Otto. They keep their water quality so perfect, that when I bring mine home, with even just a slight adjustment, they die (I'm guessing) that's why I ALWAYS go to PetSmart and I've NEVER lost a fish! So I don't know what you can do about that one.

It's maintenence is slowly fading. Everytime I go the tanks look less attractive. And even the tanks are only for fish who will be gone in the day three days, they should at least be appealing for buyers. Try to get all dead fish out of the tanks immediately! One thing I do not like about PetSmart is that when they see the dead fish in the tank they say "Oh, we'll get him tonight at cleanup" and it's just not attractive. Gives bad image.

Here are some good ideas and examples to follow:

The charts about the fish's status sounds great! It will really help the buyers learn what fish will do wel in their tank! But a full chart on every tank might be a problem since you will be getting different fish in everytime. You may want to pull biographies off the internet (and maybe even off AC) and print them up, to make binders so buyers can look through and decide which fish would best suit their tank! You should probably have more than one though, because I can already tell you will be having lots of customers!

Second, showtanks are a must! Even though they may be a lot of maintenece and expensive- who cares it's your fish store! Literally you can do anything, what you want to do is impress your buyers. You want them to look at the tank and say "Wow, I want mine to be like that!" So then they buy all your fish and plants! Have it high on CO2 and lots of plants, and make sure to include some of the nicest/most beautisul fish you have to reall amaze the buyers. A saltwater tank can be nice as well, even though you might not be familiar with saltwater yet, they are a must if you will be selling salt water (which I recommend). My LFS has 4 showtanks and one Nano Reef.

Have a good selection of plants that are not fading, melting, or dying! LOL! Sounds terrible, but my LFS can't keep plants more than a couple days without signs of unhealthiness, whereas PetSmart keeps beautiful, growing plants.

Keep a selection of fish books as well, decorations, keep anything and everything you have ever needed in setting up any of your tanks! Hey, you may even sell yeast and sugar for DIY CO2! Be user friendly, try to work with the customers. One thing I liked about my LFS was how the guy would talk to me, recommending me this fish for this reason, or telling me about this plant. He had other workers to help other customers anyway.

Also, you can work trades with your customers, and they can bring in fish and you can buy them, ect...

All your ideas are really good! I would choose your LFS over mine anyday! Good luck! If I remember more suggestions I'll reply again!
 
Great idea!! The more lfs out there run by true hobbyists, the better.

Suggestion: do a mini-market survey before you go ahead. If you're planning on getting a start-up business loan from a local bank, they'll require that info anyway in your business plan. What's your competition like in that area? If all you've got is corporate stuff like Petco and PetSmart, the area is probably hungry for your new lfs!

Also be aware that starting up a business means you'll have to deal with both stuff you enjoy and stuff you don't. When I started my business, for example, I hated doing the bookkeeping and marketing for it. The fun duties go right along with the un-fun.

Check your local Small Business Administration office--they'll help you tons with all the stuff you need to get started.

Having said all that, I can say ... go for it!! Working for myself in my own business was one of the best things I ever did, for lots and lots of reasons. Doing it in an endeavor where you've already got a passion can be heaven on earth, although you'll work your **** off :D. Keep us posted!

-- Pat
 
I want to start out by saying my statement will be a little off topic and is more of a statement of advice/ suggestion and I mean no disrespect by it.

I agree with everything that has been said here by everyone else. They have pretty much summed up everything I have problems with in the LFS. I do have one suggestion, and that would have to do with the business side (and you may have already done this). Try to get into a tech school or a local college and take two classes, a basic business class, and business law. These two classes may help you quite a bit. Once again no disrespect intended.

-shannon
 
Make sure you have a wide variety of everything, like all kinds of filters in all sizes, tons of plants, tons of fish in many tanks. Don't pile the fish in the tanks. Also, as already said, once a fish dies, take is out immediatly and maybe check the water because when I see a dead fish at my LFS, I don't get a fish from that tank.

Also as stated, you must have excellent customer service people who know what they are talking about.

Don't put big fish in little tanks. It makes me so mad to see like 10 iridescent sharks in like a 10g tank.
 
If you are really serious about this I would like to talk to you. I could give you some good info. I have a lfs and have been in the fish business since 1986 so I must be doing something right! I have 1400 tanks running right now!

Pete
 
Make sure you have enough help. I hate going to my LFS and having to wait an hour just to get a couple of fish or plants. They usually have only one person working at a time. The tanks get messy, the small animals need fed and cleaned. They took their showtanks out and took them home with them. So now no one knows what a beautiful tank looks like. They also have a very slim selection on meds and what they do have is very pricey. They only keep a few bags of each color of gravel, anything more and they order it for you (which I guess is cheaper for them). I have been waiting for two weeks for a couple of bags of flourite, now I wish I had ordered them online, I wouldv'e already had them.

So to sum it up, I guess service is number one, selection is number two.

Good luck.
 
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