Anyone ever start a fish store

[captainandy]

Anyone out there ever start a tropical fish retail business? After over 20 years as a very busy surgeon I decided to get an MBA and switch careers. My wife and kids think that I should start a tropical fish store and forget the MBA. Told me that I may as well enjoy what I do.what do ya think.

[henryD]

Andy,

When you stop by and visit, I will take you to 4 of the local fish store that have been sucessful. You will notice very quickly why they are that way. I been into fish all of my life so know most of the places within a 200 mile radius. There really is a common theme to the ones that survive for 10 years or more. Unfortunately those are not the ones selling discus. In fact only 1 out of 4 have a discus selection at all. To say the very least I think you should expect to work long long hours and not expect to get a big reward financially. Now that is not to say it can't be done. But don't expect to have more free time than a surgeon's life.

Henry

[captainandy]

Well, what are some of the things we look for in a fish store? To me, I look at the cleanliness of the tanks, the health of the fish, good service and knowledge. Once I walk into a store and see unkempt tanks or more than a few dead fish, I rarely go back in.

[FischAutoTechGarten]

Take a look at a related thread I started:

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=9;action=display;threadid=15407

Very quickly I decided against the fish store. I also withdrew my offer for the B & B as the process had stalled for too long. In the end, I pursued an Aquascaping and Landscaping business. Here's that thread:

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=9;action=display;threadid=17736

[DarkDiscus]

One of the most successful and impressive LFS I have seen in the basement of the residence of its owner. It's clean, professional and specializes in all of the high volume community tank fish with the occasional cool oddball. They also set up and maintain tanks for residential and commercial customers.

They are open Mon-Sunday 1P-8P weekdays and 10A-8P weekends. They are closed every other Tuesday for inventory and stocking.

They have been there for over 20 years.

John

[captainandy]

Interesting. But could there be problems with zoning laws. At what point does a store become "commercal?" Certainly would cut down on overhead.

[RAWesolowski]

Andy,

There was a very good series on fish store ownership in one of the trade magazines. It wasn't TFH but it was either FAMA or the other one. Well written with good information for start-up.

Before you take the step, accept a job with the LFS for 3 months. Think of the time as an internship and note how they address their business.