Should I start "Fish Store" business?

[Benny503]

I just found a fish store business that is for sale in Grant Pass, check out the link on the bottom. As many of you already know that I do have family members that living in Grant Pass, Or. I do go there often, at least once a month. Should I quit my job here in portland and move to grants pass? I do have a really good job here, all this time I am thinking to become a lifer with the current job.

 

I love fishes... uncook of course, well cook too but depend on how big. I am into freshwater and saltwater fishes. Since I love my fish tanks so much, my gf told me I should work part time job at any LFS (may be open a LFS). I think she had her points, now here is my opportunity.

 

How much difference from a hobby turn into a daily job? Will you get sick and tired of doing same thing over and over everyday?

I do look at my tanks daily, change water weekly. But that's only three fish tanks. Will I get sick of doing it over 20 tanks?

I dont know much about all the water parameter like kalk, calcium... ect. How long does it take me to learn all this stuff? I do not now anything about corals also, I dont want to give bad advises to my customers (if I took over the business). What do I have to do before I can take over a LFS?

 

I do have a lot of questions, but they all the questions are very much the same that I am new to saltwater. Should I even want to quit my job and take all my retirement plan out of 401K and invest in this? This can be my chance to start up a business that I am really be interesting in, just like a kid want to apply for a job as toy test technician ;-) At this point I am between "yes" and "no". I do need lots of input, please feel free to let me know what you think. Your opinion are very much appriciate by me. Thank you all.

 

http://medford.craigslist.org/bfs/747110340.html

[pledosophy]

IMHO/IME turing a lved hobby into a profession really takes the fun out of the hobby. I have done it twice now.

 

Fish stores are a lot of work, and the way the economy is not so profitable in the short term I would imagine. As much as I love this hobby, and for all that I know, working at a LFS was not the coolest Job IME and I would never open up my own place. JMO Not to discourage but if you have a good thing going for you, then just enjoy what you got.

[mister crabs]

I second the opinions above. I have heard multiple LFS owners say that owning a LFS store took the fun out of the hobby for them. most of them say that after working on store tanks and maintenance accts all day they dont want to mess with thiers at home. but there are a few diehards who cant get enough. Its a rough business to get into because, like any hobby, its really a niche business and seems dependent on a good steady economy to make any money unless you have an extremely loyal and established customer base. seems like alot of the profits to be had in the biz are doing tank maintenence for others.

 

I dont want to discourage you either but maybe stop by a couple of your LFS in portland and kick the idea around with them . Maybe they can give you some insight into what kind of efforts they have to put in on a daily basis to keep things profitable.

 

good luck.

[Nyles]

I think you should stick with your plan, work part time there and you will know if its for you or not. Good luck.

[downhill_biker]

I wanted to do this as well, not now, but when i am done with school and move back home. The area I am moving to doesn't have one, and it is a ritzy town, where there is plenty of money to be had. That said, I talked to Aquaserene, and Liquid Sunshine owners, and they are both struggling and not enjoying the hobby anymore. They said it is lots of work, there is lots of losses, electricity is high, and the profit is good, as far as profit margins, but comes in very slow.

 

I would say stick with the hobby, and maybe work there, but dont just jump in.

[andy]

I suggest going ahead and writing up a proper business plan for the idea -- that'll force you to look at the hard realities of the situation. Then you can balance those against the benefits. The last thing you want to do is blow your nest egg on a business that wasn't going to succeed from the start.

 

If the business plan works out, then you can ask yourself if you really want to jump in with both feet.

[Benny503]

Oh I forget to add couple things. If we move to Grants Pass my gf would make a lot more money then here in Portland. Her job pretty much very high demand and pay well. As for me if I leave Intel right now, I can always come back in the future. I am not looking into getting profit in couple years if I took to over LFS(thinking live off my gf and my family for awhile in GP), as long as the all the fishes and stuffs that I am selling can cover all the bills to keep the LFS. I still want to get into LFS because I think I am one of those diehard who cant get enough. May be a business proposal would work, would anyone who like to help me on this?

[dsoz]

Work at one as a part-time employee first for a taste how it is. Talk to Isaac, Joel, Travis, and Patrick to see how they still like their home tanks.

 

Ask the store in GP to show you their balance sheets, find out what the profit margin is, and determine if that will be enough to live on. I know Joel has said that he has not drawn a personal paycheck in several years. That must mean that he puts all the profit back into the business to get it to grow. It can be done if the spouse works a different job, but now that they are expecting babies... Well, none of my business.

 

I would be hesitant to leave a good job with a company that I enjoy working for, just to buy a business that is unknown and don't know a lot about.

 

dsoz

[Jay]

You have to ask yourself what you want. Its a commitment for sure. Expect to live with little money for a while. Are you married with children? If so I say keep the stable job for now. It takes a lot to learn saltwater corals. Anyone can throw up a tank if you follow directions and test the water but you need time to learn to read your tank and what its creatures tell you. I can look at my sea creatures and just know the parameters are correct and this did not come overnight. Still learning after 7 years for sure. And if you get lazy maintaining 20 tanks you could quickly get overwelmed with problems. Not trying to discourage you from your dreams. Please if you want something bad go get it....but deffinetly think this through. Its a life change and will require commitment. Owning your own bussiness is not always what its cracked up to be. You will be working long hours and it can seem not worth it at times. But there is something to be said for not having to awnser to anyone but yourself.

I think that wetwebmedia.com has lots of info about running a retail fish store. Check them out.

 

Good luck.....if you dont try it you will always wonder if you should have

 

Jay

[andy]

Check out the link in my previous message -- it goes to the Business Plan section of the Small Business Administration. Community Colleges often have short classes on small business fundamentals that include creating a business plan.

 

Creating a business plan can be a lot of work, but it is absolutely essential. The process forces you to look at the basics of any business... location, competitors, customers, marketing, growth plan, costs and overhead, how much you need to sell each day/week/month to profit, etc. etc. etc.

 

Many small businesses start and subsequently fail because they didn't create one. Ever see a new business open up in your neighborhood and think to yourself, "What *are* they thinking, they'll never make it because..." and 2 months later they are gone? They didn't have a business plan.

[CCR]

What is the lease in GP, per month,year, how long? Any maintenance accounts?? Overhead is the biggest killer next to not enough business. I have had a 700 gal pr obligation system in the past to make money doing on a serious basis. It didn't. Electricity killer. I do not think you should. Taking your retirement out, NEVER. Not knowing enough is going to kill you. Clients will demand you do. We also have family down there. WHY ARE THEY SELLING? The K is blue sky. Are you familiar with what the costs of good are?? Most of the LSF that I know no longer have personal tanks. Last think they want after a long day. Enjoy the hobby and learn from it. Keep your job

[ThePremiumAquarium]

I agree with what most everyone else is saying. First thing is first. You need to obtain a business portfolio with accounts, balance sheets, overhead, cost of inventory, general profit margins, etc. Then with that information, you need to create a business plan for yourself. This will give you a mock idea of what you will be getting yourself into. With all this information, you may find that to spend $20,000 for a business name and a few displays and accounts might not be worth it. It seems to me that you will likely be spending another 10-20k on finding the realestate for the store as well as either purchasing the stores livestock or buying new livestock yourself. It may turn out to be a better venture simply starting your own store rather than spending the money on a business that may or may not be profitable(depending on what its portfolio looks like and your business plan,etc.).

 

With all that said, I must say that you will likely find yourself really starting to fall out of love with the hobby if all you do for work is fish tank after fish tank. I myself have had this happen to me on a lesser scale and to be honest I still enjoy the hobby it just sometimes seems like the last thing I want to do is mess with my tanks.

 

I definately suggest working at a fish store first! I think it will be the key to making your decision and it will give you the knowledge and skills needed to run your own store. You may just find that Intel is really a much better choice for your. Of course you also may find that you really like Grants Pass and owning your own business in that community! Really, try and work for a fish store first though.

 

 

Best of Luck,

Garrett

[SamatSLS]

There are very few people that work in the industry that actually still enjoy the hobby like they did as pure hobbyists. Most store owners don't have an aquarium at home. Working on tanks all day can get old. Sometimes when you get home, the last thing you want to do is mess around with your own. For me personally, this additude comes and goes. When I worked at Waves Marine, I loved the hobby. When I first started there working under Shaun Monahan, I didn't make any money for months, because I kept buying corals and equipment. It was exciting to get wholesale prices and first picks! As I began to work for Sunlight Supply I really got excited again. I was able to attend all of the big shows like MACNA, see the best stores in California, and people gave me free frags all the time just for stopping by there stores. From a hobbyist standpoint there was a lot of perks. A few years have gone by, and now I really have to look for ways to keep my interest in the hobby. I try new things, I continue to learn. That has been the only way for me to stay sane. It can be very frustrating to say the least when you're not having fun.

 

I think you should work part-time before jumping in with both feet. Get a feel for it. You might fall in love, or you very well might want to stay with Intel.

 

Best of luck!

 

Sam

[biomekanic]

This is from a different hobby, but when I lived in Denver I used to hang out fairly frequently at a hobbyist game store called Attactix. They sold table top RPGS, collectible card games, miniatures, etc. The owner and I were talking and he said that he used to be really into games, especially historical miniatures. After a few years of running the store, he sold all his minis because he was sick of dealing with them all day at work. The job just sucked the fun out of his hobby.

 

That said, I'd definately take the route of getting a part time job and getting a feel for it. If someone's selling a business, there's a reason, and find that reason out.

Would you sell a successful business, at a reduced price to boot?

[reefboy]

if you want the real story on the store please pm and I'll give you my personnel cell number.

[CCR]

if you want the real story on the store please pm and I'll give you my personnel cell number.

 

i was hoping you would chime in to help him, Your neck of the woods:)

[AquaticEngineer]

I worked at a LFS in Eugene for 6 yrs, it was fun to work there but I wouldn't have wanted to be an owner in that place for the life of me. Also, if your gonna be bringing in lots of fresh and saltwater fish, make sure you are up to date on the best preventative treatments for disease and parasites. You can dump a lot of money just trying to get the fish you ordered in healthy enough to sell.

[Benny503]

Thank you all, all your responds are very apprieciate. I am glad that I posted it in here and share it with everyone and I enjoy learning every single post. I believe that comments in here are very correct (not shooting down my dream), it open up my eyes. I was blurry when I saw the CL posted and want to start a business that something I am interesting. I didn't look further into the details. Now I read everyone posts I can see it more clearly. THANK YOU ALL. In order to return my thanks you to you all, I will bring lots of spring rolls to the BBQ end of this month.