Business owners!! How did you get started

I know nothing about business. Nothing. That being premised, I do know someone who has recently gotton out of the business because he would have had to move a second time. He was leasing his space. They would not renew his lease. It was the straw that broke the camel's back. Something to keep in mind.

 

First you have to go to a bank and get a small business loan or line of credit for I'd say at least 250,000. Shop banks to get the best intrest rate, If you dont have good or better credit rating dont even bother. You will also have to have assests to put up aginst the loan, house,cars, stock,bonds,cds, ect. If you dont have, say at least 100,000 in assests dont bother you'll just be wasting your time cause they wont approve you for the loan. If you have the money to buy property that is the best way, but any property you buy, there going to want as least 20% down as well as your assests to put up aginst the loan, in case you fail to pay the bank there coming after your assests. If you get through that process your now going to have to buy your inventory. For a fish store that will eat up a huge chunk of your loan to get stocked up with tanks,fish, dry goods,ect. You'll also have to start a relationship with distributors whom most likely not give you very good pricing untill you spend lots of money with them usually takes years to become competitive, to make it even harder you 'll have to compete with cheap internet sales. You'll have to advertise (which is very expensive) and get a customer base started. You'll have to register your business with the city, IRS and state taxes and find out what licenes you need for your state. I'm sure I forgot some things but thats a good start for now. I don't mean to scare you with all this, It'll take lots of hard work and help to accmoplish this goal of yours which can be done. Good luck in your new adventure.

 

I know here in ohio, for me and anyone ive talked to that go to my lfs its been customer service and an owner and their employees that take the time to help u. It hasnt been about location so much, i just had to know they were there. I make a 45 minute drive (in good weather) every weekend to buy from my lfs cause i know the entire staff & they dont try to rip me off.

 

The heart of a Business is accounting.

I would never borrow money. Especially from relatives and friends.

A major thing you need is clients. Once you have steady clientele that will trust you, you will do great.

If i were in your position i would start something at home, like doing setups and maintaining fish tanks for people. You can advertize your service at the local fish store. If there are other people doing the same thing. You can simply outbid them.

For example i started doing computer service in my area. I sent out mailers to the people in my area and i have a nice list of clients now. The word spreads like wildfire if what you are offering is something truly special. I made sure no one can beat my price or even come close. My clients absolutely love me and tell everyone in their family. I met a lot of important people localy, like CEO's, Bank Managers, Surgeons you name it.

I don't do it for the money, although its nice. I do it because i love to work with computer hardware.

But your business is different, not everyone has or needs a fish tank and people will get rid of marine or reef tanks in tough economic times. Plus its a enormous amount of hardwork and dedication to clean and maintain marine life.

I wouldnt open a fish store unless i was a marine biologist or something like that. Thats just me though.

 

First off, no store has everything, just as you think you do they want , it's something else! If you tried to have everything, really look to borrow millions not thousands.Dealing with livestock (fish), there is no day off... they have to be fed and cleaned. Invetiry.... Was there a coral beauty in tis tank yesterday? sold-eaten-? Are you doing fish and salt. I had about 75% die off in fresh in the beginning and about 45% salt. Track losses, mileage, store use- salt, bags. rubber bands,Electricity! Not to bum you out , just beware...... 2 years into it myself! Customer service above all!!!

 

And just to add on to what has been said already, most LFS make their money on the dry goods like, foods, pumps, tanks, etc...etc. Luna

 

It is not as much fun as one might think. Lets see;

One time a plane from LAX had some mechanical issues. They landed in Las Vegas, moved all of the people to a new plane, and sent them on their merry way. However, they left all of the cargo on the prior plane which was sitting on the hot tarmac of Las Vegas for hours. Because it was originally going to be a direct flight first thing in the morning, there were no cool packs. The first problem was neither my supplier nor the airline could tell us where our shipment was. We didn't find out until around 6 pm and I didn't get it until 1 am the next morning. The sun was back up when I finally left to go home, take a shower, and then turn right back around and go open the store for the next day.

I had a customer who would come in on his lunch hour 3 or 4 times per week for a couple of months and drill me with questions. I didn't see him for a couple weeks and when he finally did come back in, I jokingly asked, "When are you finally going to pull the trigger and set up a tank?" He responded, "Oh, I finally did. However, I bought all of my equipment online and saved like $400".:

I'm a very honest person. I pride myself on that. However, I had two money partners (I was the brains). One of my partners had absolutely no problem looking someone in the eye and lieing right to their face. The other partner didn't have saltwater experience. Rather than telling a customer he didn't know, let's ask Curt, he would merely take a guess. YOUR PARTNERS REFLECT ON YOU.....REMEMBER THAT. That obviously caused tension between us. Further tension was caused when customers would tell them that they would rather just wait for me than be helped by them.

If you got your diploma so that you wouldn't have to push a mop, consider it useless and get your mopping muscles in shape. I've mopped up more than my fair share of puddles but one time, after a power outage, it was much worse. Sometimes Mag-drives will start up in the wrong direction after a power outage. It happened this time on the 850 gallon tank and was sucking water from the tank instead of returning water from the sump. I had told my partners that this tank was setup wrong, you shouldn't have returns at the bottom of the tank...they should be at the top, and we also need to replumb to include a check valve. Lets just say the neighboring businesses weren't pleased as well.

I literally could go on, and on, and on. I did it for the love of the hobby. I don't want to crush anyones dreams, but I also want you to go into it with your eyes open.

 

Very well said and with great points. Multiple partners seldom end on a positive note, money is usually the dividing factor. Luna

 

I had a partner in my first business. I'll tell you never again will I have a partner NEVER.

 

LOL

I have known very many people in this industry for many years. My stature actually went down as a result of my association with my partners. A good many of them actually said, "Why are associating yourself with these clowns?"

That was hard to hear because I like both of them a lot. With that said, when they do stupid things, it no longer reflects on me. I'm not sad to be out.