BIRD0887 Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Does anybody have a rough estimate on what the overhead would be to open a small, maybe 20 tank fish store?? And what licenses r involved with it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mynameisnobody Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 @BIRD0887 Cory has business videos somewhere on YouTube specifically pertaining to opening a fish store. I’m pretty sure you have to be a member to gain access, but I’m not 100% sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 It might be better to run it from your garage (if you have one) and advertise it. on craigslist or some such thing. Retail locations can be crazy expensive. then all you should need is a standard business license through your secretary of state 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 On 3/22/2024 at 6:36 PM, Tony s said: It might be better to run it from your garage (if you have one) and advertise it. on craigslist or some such thing. Retail locations can be crazy expensive. then all you should need is a standard business license through your secretary of state yup, at only 20 tanks there's not going to be a ton of turnover. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIRD0887 Posted March 23 Author Share Posted March 23 Is there like a wholesaler to buy tanks from? Am i right that 40 breeders would make good show tanks? 20 was jst the number i was thinking...i alrdy have the space, i jst need to show the person who will back me that its a viable thing...ne suggestions on how i can show him? There isnt a fish store within an hr of me, i rly think it could work...does cory actually co op with ppl that have an actual business to co op with lol... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted March 23 Share Posted March 23 If you keep your eyes open, marketplace can have some steals. Usually not, but sometimes. The other way is big box store sales. ok, good for the space, now comes the business plan. And theoretically, you could do tank maintenance on the side. But you’d need insurance for that. Well, you’d need insurance anyway, but you’d need liability insurance for hiring out maintenance. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted March 23 Share Posted March 23 Not quite what you were after, but good info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biotope Biologist Posted March 23 Share Posted March 23 Keep your eye out for ads of seafood markets or fish breeders selling stuff. Granted I live near Seattle so these are both extremely common place but that’s the best way to get display tanks or hundreds of breeders for cheap. There are online retailers who wholesale tanks but they aren’t cheap and they are usually looking to sell whole displays not individual breeders. I’ve seen a few Petsmarts/Petcos selling their old blue acrylics to replace them with more modern fish walls. So depending on where you live that could be an option. And yes Cory partners with local businesses and breeders to earn the title Co-operative. I was around when Cory first started it’s great to see how far the store has come but the success of the coop was a lot of work and some luck and Cory garnered alot of respect with his passion and kindness that was then rather rare in the aquarium hobby imho. I know nothing of business ventures though, im just a lowly marine biologist haha so anything past that I got nothing. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted March 23 Share Posted March 23 there video on youtube from may years ago where Cory explains the co-op name, and they technically are not a co-op. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanked Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 There are too many variables to give you a "rough answer". I also think you should begin selling your excess hobby fish from your garage. Do your research, contact other hobbyists and fish clubs to determine what kind of a customer base you really have. Before you invest in: rent, insurance, inventory, equipment and payroll, you need an accountant, tax advisor, and attorney. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwcarlson Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 (edited) Personally, I'd focus on keeping fish successfully for awhile before I started thinking about setting up a couple dozen 40 gallon tanks and hoping to make a business out of it. You could be the best fishkeeper ever and still fail miserably at running a fish business. A lot of hobbies have this euphoric initial period when you can't get enough of it and you feel like you know everything. Then a year or two down the road you get beaten to oblivion and give away all your stuff swearing it off for the rest of your life. I don't know how to necessarily estimate how much it would cost to start a store as there are a near infinite amount of variables. The number is certainly in the 10s of thousands of dollars at least. And then monthly you're going to have to deal with all of the basic bills/costs associated with the business and fish. Electricity, rent, water, gas, renovations for the space, paying for new stock, filters, air system... The "selling out of your garage" route has a lot less overhead. Most cities are littered with failed fish stores, I live in a city of about 25k people and there's AT LEAST 4-5 LFSs that used to be around at various points over the years, but are now lost to time. Edited March 26 by jwcarlson 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOLANANO Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 Yeah I am going to have to agree with @jwcarlson on this one. Based on your forum activity I'd highly suggest putting this fish store idea on hold while you learn more as a hobbyist. Especially if you are taking someone else's money to do it. Not saying the idea isn't eventually feasible but it seems like a huge leap to make for you right now. Maybe go get a part time job at a LFS to see how a store is run and see if you even enjoy it as a profession. This way you can see what works and maybe even see things you can do better than the LFS. Jumping head first into a business backed by someone else without prior experience is asking for trouble. There is just so much that can go wrong and you most likely don't have the capital to make up for any mistakes caused by the learning curve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 (edited) On 3/26/2024 at 12:05 PM, jwcarlson said: The "selling out of your garage" route has a lot less overhead. There's a guy in Elkhart or Goshen. built a two-story garage. fish on top floor. we were wandering around after going to the south bend zoo. freeked my 8 yr old out. Dad! you can't go into somebodies house! really neat idea. for the tax purposes i think, it's first purpose was for the garage on the house. really nice place. but, yeah, you have to work all the angles Edited March 28 by Tony s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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