Originally Posted by slick
ophiura, the closest big name chain pet store is about 40-45 min from here, and none of them around here carry sw stuff. If they do it's nothing special.
I'm not sure on the reef club thing, I'll have to check around. Where would I find that kind of info?
ctgretzky9, you make a lot of good points there. I was planning on trying to "dig" some info out of the guy here in town. I do know that the only sw place thats near here is busy almost everytime I go there. I also wanted to thank you for offering your help on marketing. I checked out your profile and see thats what you do for a living. My sis is also into marketing & addvertising so that would be great.
So now I guess I need to figure out if there are any reef clubs near here. What if thier aren't? I already know there are a lot of people that buy that stuff based on the other stores business. Any other ideas on what some of my other first steps should be?
Thanks
Palumbo made an excellent point...your state will give you a guide for this. 15k is a decent start up especially if you are just renting space. I also suggest going to a bank to sit down about a small business loan. They will help you with credit lines...but be wary! The more you can start with cash only, the better and faster returns on investment you will get. Dont go crazy with a credit line, ive seen many businesses extend the profitability margins because credit does cost money.
I will assume, like any othe rbusiness, that you will get net 30 or so on your purchases from your vendors. This is when the bank will mean the most since it gives you more credibility. Your mission in that 30 days after you stock up and open is to sell at slightly smaller margins and advertise the most, so that you can pay that net 30 quickly and establish even better credit with your vendors. The first couple of months is the hardest, but if you do it right, and pre-sell the store even before it opens, you wil be fine.
I actually own my company and employ 12 people, so I know quite a bit about this subject ;-) I am also in 2 chamber of commerces and a regional business council. So I speak to entrepreneurs all day opening every kind of retail, commercial and service oriented businesses all of the time, as well as ways to bring new companies into an area and keep them there.
SIt down, and figure out your expenses before hand too. Electric for a couple of months, wages for employees (this will obviously depend on when and if you need them...), taxes, rent, and always a "screw up" amout of extra $ for the things you never even considered.
Good luck...feel free to email me or post for more help.
