advise on opening a pet store

[nwdyr]

Less then 1yr expenses??? not in any retail biz don't matter the size or type, 75% of ALL small business's fail in the 1st yr. Under funding is the reason in more then 90% of all those that failed. these are facts from wall street , the Internet is a great tool just google search it , don't listen to me ask a accountant they see it all. Look at these mega stores , who wants Mom and Pop....not enough people. The big chains pushed me out and they will eat this kid up. Pet smart is selling things lower then my friend (who owns a small pet shop) can buy them at cost. He has been in the pet shop biz for over 20yrs and he says the same thing , the MOM and Pop stores are closing everyday. His delivery drivers are telling him they are looking for new jobs because their routes are getting too small b/c of the little store closing. Please don't talk this kid into loosing that money

 

[stdreb27]

LOL so negative, come on open one up. Obama will bail you out if you don't make any money!

No but seriously, there are all sorts of government programs that will give you money if you are opening up a business.

 

[vinnyraptor]

Thanks Guys! Still Dont Know What Were Gonna Do But Will Kepp You Posted....

 

[darthtang aw]

Originally Posted by nwdyr
http:///forum/post/2915515
Less then 1yr expenses??? not in any retail biz don't matter the size or type, 75% of ALL small business's fail in the 1st yr. Under funding is the reason in more then 90% of all those that failed. these are facts from wall street , the Internet is a great tool just google search it , don't listen to me ask a accountant they see it all. Look at these mega stores , who wants Mom and Pop....not enough people. The big chains pushed me out and they will eat this kid up. Pet smart is selling things lower then my friend (who owns a small pet shop) can buy them at cost. He has been in the pet shop biz for over 20yrs and he says the same thing , the MOM and Pop stores are closing everyday. His delivery drivers are telling him they are looking for new jobs because their routes are getting too small b/c of the little store closing. Please don't talk this kid into loosing that money
I told them in the first place not to do it. However if you do your research and carry "niche" items your potential to do good increases. Also if you know your stuff that increases your potential as well. The money shortcomings can be overcame if other avenues are explored and utilized. I know, I compete with petsmart, *****, and many other mom and pop groomers. We didn't get voted best in the city in 2007 because we had 100K invested at start up. We got best in the city because we watched trends and stayed ahead of the curves on many things. Plus we provide things many grooming shops in the area (including ***** and petsmart) do not.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Vinny, Here's food for thought:
Rent: $1000/month for 1,000sq ft. ($1 per sq. ft.)
Water: $80
Electricity: $750 (which is cheap IMHO)
Advertising: $750+
Internet/phone: $140
Payroll: 4 people at $6.85/hr 160hrs a week = $4,384 per month (by the way, that is minimum wage) (I consistantly worked over 120hrs a week on average when I owned a store AND had 3 employees)
RETURNS and UNCOLLECTABLES: $500
STOLEN GOODS: $100
Debit/Credit card machine charges: $30+2.8%
CAR GAS: $200
Aquarium Maintenance Costs: $300
Fish food: $100
Live Goods: $3000
Dry Goods: $1200
You've already spent $12,534 your first month in business. That's not including security deposits for getting your electricity, water and gas started. That's also not including all of your live goods, dry goods, aquariums, lights, filters, skimmers, pos system, countertops, racks for dry goods, peg board, pegs, exterminators, plumbing parts, extra lighting for merchandising effects, planning materials to keep maintenance accounts in order, business cell phones
Also You have to think of something else too - you and your partners may want to buy a house if you haven't already - Mortgages range from $800 to $1500 a month. (that's an extra $3000 a month that your business has to make. Don't forget groceries and restaurant money. I was eating Rom'n'noodles at least once a day because I couldn't really afford anything else. Toilet paper, cleaning supplies, chemicals for your tanks, fish food - oh yes, fish food - ugh!
So, lets just say that all of that is true... your up to $18,534 in MONTHLY expenses. that's how much PROFIT your business has to make each month. To make any money, you will have to sell at least double the amount of profit that you want to make. IE 18,534 x 2 = $37,068 per month of live goods and dry goods that you will have to cover.
In my first month of sales, I only sold about $600 which means I only made $300 - couldn't even cover rent.
Lets just say that you need to absolutely cover all of your expenses for an entire year: you would need: $444,816 a year in sales to cover your monthly expenses. Are you sure you really want to do this?
I had 1000sq ft of selling space too, so I know what my expenses are.
There's probably a few more expenses in there that I haven't thought of that are monthly charges.

 

[jackri]

My advice if you do... start small and don't borrow money to do it. The last thing you want to do is extend yourself on credit on something that's not paying you back.
Also if you can find a niche market your odds go up a lot!
I made fishing tackle for a few years as a hobby and I could make a jig that the stores charged a 1.00 for for .05 instead. Well I got pretty good at it and found no one made large saltwater jigs and was busy as just as side work. You'll be amazed at the extra expenses you didn't think about as I was always buying more equipment. I took in 50k on the side one year and probably spent just as much expanding the business and paying for supplies.
I did ALL OF MY SALES through the internet and shipped to all 50 states and about 12 countries with a lot of repeat business. Start small, grow slow as that REALLY REALLY cuts down on mistakes that cost you money. Doing it on credit amplifies it and makes you NEED to make a sale. Not needing a sale was huge for me (also had a full time job) so I could turn down the production work.
I would have offers to make 10,000 small jigs each month for like pennies... and if you missed a month's quota they would drop you. So you worked your rear off for a little but steady work.. but having that niche market I would do less deals but a lot more profitable on my terms.
I still have my lure making as a hobby -- but I was doing military training for a year and had a daughter so now I'm selling extra inventory and equipment and making a 3 foot by 4 foot frag tank as a hobby to grow out extra corals and maybe a couple of times a year have a sale on them. More of a hobby than a business but something I'll try to involve my daughter with and do it with her and just let her have the money as she gets older to know what it's like to run her own little business (with alot of daddy help).
My advice, go small and slow... don't necessarily go right for the store front cuz the money won't be there for awhile.

 

[stdreb27]

Originally Posted by jackri
http:///forum/post/2915788
My advice if you do... start small and don't borrow money to do it. The last thing you want to do is extend yourself on credit on something that's not paying you back.
Also if you can find a niche market your odds go up a lot!
I made fishing tackle for a few years as a hobby and I could make a jig that the stores charged a 1.00 for for .05 instead. Well I got pretty good at it and found no one made large saltwater jigs and was busy as just as side work. You'll be amazed at the extra expenses you didn't think about as I was always buying more equipment. I took in 50k on the side one year and probably spent just as much expanding the business and paying for supplies.
I did ALL OF MY SALES through the internet and shipped to all 50 states and about 12 countries with a lot of repeat business. Start small, grow slow as that REALLY REALLY cuts down on mistakes that cost you money. Doing it on credit amplifies it and makes you NEED to make a sale. Not needing a sale was huge for me (also had a full time job) so I could turn down the production work.
I would have offers to make 10,000 small jigs each month for like pennies... and if you missed a month's quota they would drop you. So you worked your rear off for a little but steady work.. but having that niche market I would do less deals but a lot more profitable on my terms.
I still have my lure making as a hobby -- but I was doing military training for a year and had a daughter so now I'm selling extra inventory and equipment and making a 3 foot by 4 foot frag tank as a hobby to grow out extra corals and maybe a couple of times a year have a sale on them. More of a hobby than a business but something I'll try to involve my daughter with and do it with her and just let her have the money as she gets older to know what it's like to run her own little business (with alot of daddy help).
My advice, go small and slow... don't necessarily go right for the store front cuz the money won't be there for awhile.
That is friggen cool!

 

[snakeblitz33]

Nice, Jack.
Yeah, I started doing aquarium maintenance services and cleaning pet cages and such way way way before I started a store. I was already making the money to pay some of my monthly expenses by service accounts.
I suggest getting your services business started first - just for a couple of years, before you start with a storefront.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Oh, also, don't limit yourself to just aquariums. Clean sw and freshwater tanks at competitive prices, clean turtle and tortoise tanks, turantula, scorpion, frog, toad, pools, dog cages, ponds, watergardens.
At one point, I was so desperate for money - I was offering to clean out garages and pressure wash houses on the weekends and my days off. I also worked another part time job for my dad.
Right now is not the right time to start any business.

 

[nwdyr]

"ninch" is a cute word....CASH is a better one! If anybody feels they can open the door to ANY retail store for 12k please e-mail me your business plan , I will franchise it and make Millions!!! because its never been done. Snake that was a great breakdown! for 12k you can start a small at home business , I considered starting a frag business from my home , with NO rent and some added utilities it would have cost me about 10k and that was without advertising , let me tell you from over 20yrs of owning business's you cant, NOT advertise. "word of mouth" worked in 1942

 

[snakeblitz33]

just think about it ... in this economy businesses like pet stores and such are the first things to go. And our current economy is only going to get worse - I predict a depression - not a "great" one but a depression none the less. This year will probably result in a 10% decrease in real GDP. Sucks!!!!
Word of mouth exists, but it is probably going to account for only 10% of your total sales.
The best thing to do with that money right now is to invest it in stocks. As bad as that may sound, stock value is down right now. So, that means that you can buy more shares of stock. When stock price increases - you will have made a really nice profit!
your welcome nwdyr, do what I can!

 

[nwdyr]

Snake...YOU THE MAN!!! that is the BEST advice yet! everyone I know who is investing money is buying long term stock and just plans on sitting on it till they come back.

 

[blacktop pete]

does not seem like the economy is bad here in nyc. had the best year in business this year. the malls,restaurants,theaters are packed.

 

[snakeblitz33]

lol, thank you, thank you.
It's just that I know what it is like now having to close down a pet store - and, while I don't regret ever opening one up and getting to meet a lot of fantastic people and getting to work on a lot of really awesome tanks - I hate that I had to close because there was no cash flow.
When the economy is good, everyone is happy and when the economy is bad, everyone is very unhappy. Right now is definately not the best time to open a store. If you are planning to open - open in a few years after some more saving and after a few maintenance accounts to "test the waters"

 

[spiderwoman]

The only way you can start a business for $12K or under is if you sell your brain work and therefore have $0 inventory, can work from home etc. That field would be graphics designers, any other type of designer, programmers etc. Still their expenses are top notch computer(s), programs, internet connection/phones, office supplies, marketing unti your established etc.

 

[blacktop pete]

snake has the right idea save some more money,shop around few a good location. do your homework before u jump in head first

 

[snakeblitz33]

location isn't even that big of a deal either - I was on the main street in my city with a really nice big sign and the works and I didn't get much foot traffic!! Also, if you are trying to find a good location, get a place with a lot of parking. I only had four spots people could park in - people would not park and shop at my store if there was no where to park.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Also, do your research on the store - find out what the majority of the professions are in your city, find out the average age and the average household income of certain parts of town. If there aren't any other pet stores in your town, you need to figure out WHY there aren't any or many pet stores in your town. It may mean that other (smarter) people have either went into business and not made it or have done their research and didn't find it a very lucrative business.
Please PM me and I will let you know some of the things I did to make it.

 

[blacktop pete]

snake i talk to the owner of the one and only one sw lfs here on staten island and even he is having a hard time making a go of it. the rent alone is$12,000 a month,electric $3,000 a month.

 

[snakeblitz33]

I was making 2,600 a month in profit at one time to live on, but sales dropped, my maintenance accounts couldn't afford regular maintenance anymore and I just didn't want to deal with it anymore.
If the store can't cover it's own overhead - it's not worth keeping. The real money is in services. You keep a storefront as a point of sale for getting new maintenance services.
If anything, get a small "shack" or office that is zones for retail businesses - pay a couple hundred for rent, have a couple display tanks and enough room to fit your maintenance equipment in and have a go at it. Only do maintenance services through your town and you should make a pretty good living.