Fish stores

pinkie · 09/11/2007, 05:09 PM

I'm starting my own business and one of the ideas I'm looking into is opening up a fish store.

However, every fish store owner I've spoken to about it has said don't do it, you can't make money, etc.

I do believe there's a lot more shrinkage than the vast majority of retail companies, yet I have a hard time believing that it's "impossible to make money in this business" or there wouldn't be a market for it.

Are there any fish store owners that can comment on this and offer any other pieces of advice/information?

Some other questions I have are:
What kind of start-up costs did you have?
Is it hard to find a quality wholesale supplier?
What kind of profits can you expect?
Typically what % markup/profit do you see on a per fish basis?
In a well-maintained facility, what kind of death rates do you see?
Are there a lot of ways to create alternate sources of revenue rather than strictly distributing fish (ie, fragging corals, mating some types of fish, creating/selling fish food, servicing/maintaining tanks, etc)?

I would really appreciate any insight!

Thank you very much.

rcypert · 09/11/2007, 05:20 PM

Start up costs of 60 to 100 thousand.
No quality wholesalers are very hard to find but you do have to look.
Slim profits. Unless your in a great location with lots of foot traffic or have an otherwise unique store that draws word of mouth customers.
You usually mark a fish up 100% or more and even at that its tough to make a good profit. Markup to high and you lose customers.
In a small shop 1-5 dead fish a day is not abnormal. The more money you put into your fish the less death but that cuts into profits.
There are a million and one ways to supplement your profit such as frags and services and setup. We would make a killing off of a 10,000.00 dollar set up. But make one mistake and you could lose all that profit.
Its a tough business and you need to have GREAT employees who work for low wages. If you dont love love love this hobby and have a sound business mind stay away. Also dont settle on a poor location it will haunt you.

Kannin · 09/11/2007, 07:24 PM

The problem with this particular type of business is; there is not an infinite supply of customers. If there are 100,000 salt water customers in the greater Chicago area and there are 19 fish stores servicing it... Can you offer something, either better pricing, better location, better selection or a better experience, that will steal 1/20th of the business? Can you live with that number? And How much more of that business will the internet grab in the next 1,5,10 years?

Kannin · 09/11/2007, 08:50 PM

Don't get me wrong... I've thought about too but, it would have to be because I love the hobby... not for the money.

Sarcophyton874 · 09/11/2007, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by rcypert
Its a tough business and you need to have GREAT employees who work for low wages.

This is true. However, you will end up going through numerous employees every year. People don't sit around and work for cheap when they work hard. LFS employees need to be skilled and they should be paid accordingly. There's nothing worse--to a customer--than a beginner LFS employee who has only owned a goldfish tank.

A average wage for a good LFS employee here in southern CA is $8-10/hour STARTING. The minimum wage in CA is $7.50/hour. So I would suggest getting good employees and not dirt cheap labor. Invest Invest Invest!

victor_c3 · 09/12/2007, 12:20 AM

I've given it any real thought, but I've kind of fantasized about starting my own fish business in the near future as I'm getting out of the Army in a few months and I'm looking for a total change in career.

My "fantasy plan" is to get a normal job working for the federal government or corporate America and kind of grow a small business out of a garage or basement. I'd set up a number of coral propagation tanks and start by selling aquacultured coral frags on the internet. If that went well, I'd slowly expand my operation, offering more and more variety of corals.

I might try to bread some fish and expand that venue as I see fit.

Depending on the local marine fish stores in the area, I might dabble with trying to open up a small store front in the evenings after work or even just on saturdays and/or sundays.

My eventual goal would be to have a solid small business built up by the time I'm nearing retirement age so that I could have something to do and to supplement my retirement income with.

My parents owned and operated a small business the whole time I was growing up (they still do, but they are planning on selling it now that they are nearing retirement age). The one thing I learned about small business is that you have to give it your all and work 12-16 hour days if you really want to be successful. You need to have absolute dedication and a great sense of business to succeed.

A while back I read that 3/5ths of all small businesses are out of business by three years.

09/11/2007, 05:09 PM	#1
pinkie Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 376	Fish stores I'm starting my own business and one of the ideas I'm looking into is opening up a fish store. However, every fish store owner I've spoken to about it has said don't do it, you can't make money, etc. I do believe there's a lot more shrinkage than the vast majority of retail companies, yet I have a hard time believing that it's "impossible to make money in this business" or there wouldn't be a market for it. Are there any fish store owners that can comment on this and offer any other pieces of advice/information? Some other questions I have are: What kind of start-up costs did you have? Is it hard to find a quality wholesale supplier? What kind of profits can you expect? Typically what % markup/profit do you see on a per fish basis? In a well-maintained facility, what kind of death rates do you see? Are there a lot of ways to create alternate sources of revenue rather than strictly distributing fish (ie, fragging corals, mating some types of fish, creating/selling fish food, servicing/maintaining tanks, etc)? I would really appreciate any insight! Thank you very much.

09/11/2007, 07:24 PM	#3
Kannin Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Fall City, WA Posts: 1,538	The problem with this particular type of business is; there is not an infinite supply of customers. If there are 100,000 salt water customers in the greater Chicago area and there are 19 fish stores servicing it... Can you offer something, either better pricing, better location, better selection or a better experience, that will steal 1/20th of the business? Can you live with that number? And How much more of that business will the internet grab in the next 1,5,10 years? __________________ I used to target feed mojanos... until I found out that they weren't baby bubble tips.

09/11/2007, 08:50 PM	#4
Kannin Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Fall City, WA Posts: 1,538	Don't get me wrong... I've thought about too but, it would have to be because I love the hobby... not for the money. __________________ I used to target feed mojanos... until I found out that they weren't baby bubble tips.

09/11/2007, 05:20 PM	#2
rcypert Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Miami Posts: 435	Start up costs of 60 to 100 thousand. No quality wholesalers are very hard to find but you do have to look. Slim profits. Unless your in a great location with lots of foot traffic or have an otherwise unique store that draws word of mouth customers. You usually mark a fish up 100% or more and even at that its tough to make a good profit. Markup to high and you lose customers. In a small shop 1-5 dead fish a day is not abnormal. The more money you put into your fish the less death but that cuts into profits. There are a million and one ways to supplement your profit such as frags and services and setup. We would make a killing off of a 10,000.00 dollar set up. But make one mistake and you could lose all that profit. Its a tough business and you need to have GREAT employees who work for low wages. If you dont love love love this hobby and have a sound business mind stay away. Also dont settle on a poor location it will haunt you.

09/12/2007, 12:20 AM	#6
victor_c3 Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: New York Posts: 513	I've given it any real thought, but I've kind of fantasized about starting my own fish business in the near future as I'm getting out of the Army in a few months and I'm looking for a total change in career. My "fantasy plan" is to get a normal job working for the federal government or corporate America and kind of grow a small business out of a garage or basement. I'd set up a number of coral propagation tanks and start by selling aquacultured coral frags on the internet. If that went well, I'd slowly expand my operation, offering more and more variety of corals. I might try to bread some fish and expand that venue as I see fit. Depending on the local marine fish stores in the area, I might dabble with trying to open up a small store front in the evenings after work or even just on saturdays and/or sundays. My eventual goal would be to have a solid small business built up by the time I'm nearing retirement age so that I could have something to do and to supplement my retirement income with. My parents owned and operated a small business the whole time I was growing up (they still do, but they are planning on selling it now that they are nearing retirement age). The one thing I learned about small business is that you have to give it your all and work 12-16 hour days if you really want to be successful. You need to have absolute dedication and a great sense of business to succeed. A while back I read that 3/5ths of all small businesses are out of business by three years.