Owning a LFS

[Noah Hemingway]

Does anyone have any experience owning/running a LFS. It is my life long dream to have my own LFS. Does anyone have any insight into profitability etc. Please no messages being Mr Negative - I get enough of that already from people outside this community. Any help would be very much appreciated.

 

[HD_Reefer]

I don't have any experience owning one, but I have been to every one in my area many, many times! I enjoy talking to people, so I've had a lot of conversations on the topic with owners and sales people. As with most all local retailers these days, foot traffic is way down and the internet competition is way up!

I'm all for supporting my LFS, and I always try to limit my livestock and chemical purchases to the local guys. Unfortunately, just about everything else can be acquired so much cheaper and most times even faster online.

I was talking to my favorite LFS owner just the other day and he is like most that I would guess stay in business....its not about the $, it's about the love for the hobby. He is more than just a retailer, he sources, grows, cultivates and cares for everything he has just like it was his own. His store is his life and you can definitely tell.

To me, it sounds like an amazing opportunity if you have the ability and dedication to it. I don't think it will be an easy road, but hey, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it!

 

[Noah Hemingway]

I don't have any experience owning one, but I have been to every one in my area many, many times! I enjoy talking to people, so I've had a lot of conversations on the topic with owners and sales people. As with most all local retailers these days, foot traffic is way down and the internet competition is way up!

I'm all for supporting my LFS, and I always try to limit my livestock and chemical purchases to the local guys. Unfortunately, just about everything else can be acquired so much cheaper and most times even faster online.

I was talking to my favorite LFS owner just the other day and he is like most that I would guess stay in business....its not about the $, it's about the love for the hobby. He is more than just a retailer, he sources, grows, cultivates and cares for everything he has just like it was his own. His store is his life and you can definitely tell.

To me, it sounds like an amazing opportunity if you have the ability and dedication to it. I don't think it will be an easy road, but hey, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it!

It’s about the love of the hobby for me too, not the money. Obviously I need to be able to get by but apart from that it’s my whole life! I live for this hobby!

 

[rwreef]

I would suggest working at a LFS for awhile first. Really understand the business side of things. Then once you have a good grasp on the business side of things you would be better suited to start your own LFS.

 

[bsr2430]

Does anyone have any experience owning/running a LFS. It is my life long dream to have my own LFS. Does anyone have any insight into profitability etc. Please no messages being Mr Negative - I get enough of that already from people outside this community. Any help would be very much appreciated.

I feel this is everyone’s dream here!!! Man would I love to wake up everyday knowing I own a LFS and a place to go in! I love my job now but I would love this one way more!

Where I’m at, the LFS is about puppies.... that’s where the money is. They’ve got dogs for over $4k and probably paid $100.....?
The coral and fish are usually never looked at and usually plagued and disappointing. The Puppy Section is outstanding!

I hope you can make this happen one day! I’ll support you!

 

[rwreef]

I feel this is everyone’s dream here!!! Man would I love to wake up everyday knowing I own a LFS and a place to go in! I love my job now but I would love this one way more!

Where I’m at, the LFS is about puppies.... that’s where the money is. They’ve got dogs for over $4k and probably paid $100.....?
The coral and fish are usually never looked at and usually plagued and disappointing. The Puppy Section is outstanding!

I hope you can make this happen one day! I’ll support you!

Great input here. The one LFS in my area that has been around many years does everything Freshwater , saltwater, dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, ferrets, dry goods, equipment, maintenance. Longevity has to be based on covering a broad spectrum of hobbyist to survive long term imo. All SW only stores in my area last about 3 to 5 yrs and the next guy opens up...wash/repeat

 

[Jase4224]

Definitely have your products for sale on a store website. Click and collect would be good too. Just to increase your traffic both online and in store.

Also being legitimately helpful to noobs is a good start. My mate just started in the hobby and has been travelling around to find the best service more so than the best prices..

 

[WirelessMike]

I don’t own an LFS but I have a few around that I frequent and talk to the owners as well. I have seen where the nicer ones offer Value added services like maintenance and custom builds for businesses and such. It would be really cool to do what you love for a living. If you follow your passion and take the plunge let us all know and offer shipping! I’m sure we would all like to help you out a bit.

 

[joseserrano]

Do you want a aquarium store or a pet store. 2 different animals.

 

[Spare time]

I work at one part time (just me, the manager, and the boss) and can probably give you some tips if you have specific questions. I can't speak on the profitability part as much as I do not handle that aspect, but I can definitely help with things. PM me if you have questions.

 

[Rmckoy]

If you love what you do , it will never feel like you’re going to work

 

[Fish_Sticks]

Owning an LFS is like owning a restaurant. I'd advise you watch the first three seasons of kitchen nightmares so you're at least prepared to work 60-70 hours a week running an entire business - an extremely risky business.

Do you... have any experience selling corals locally?

Fish stores are moving away from brick and mortar, and slowly moving to home propagation and resale.

Give growing your own corals, buying online and reselling, and selling stuff locally via Facebook groups and clubs a try first before you dive into a swimming pool and find out it's a 50 foot drop with 6 inches of water.

 

[Wolf89]

Keep you instock livestock list on your website updated as soon as possible. The fish stores I go to are aroune 2 hours away and if I knew that they had what I wantd I would definitely go more often, so I didn't have to waste an entire day only for them to not have what I want.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I ran a full line pet store for nearly 12 years and I closed down temporarily while going through divorce and after divorce, was a quick decision not to reopen. It was then I realized the endless hours I spent at the store and many days help did not show up, the cost for advertising (yellow pages, local), utilities, Theft (although I had cameras), People trying negotiate down on prices and the those who ran poor husbandry with their pets and wanted a credit or refund after they killed the pet due to Not following care instructions (trying to do things cheaply)

On the otherhand, Met many nice people, loved attending pet trade shows and conventions, finding cool and rare stuff on stock lists, Being featured in 2 magazines and several times in newspapers and helping many dissatisfied customers with issues from other stores.

The rent for my last store was 2300.00/mo
$2300 - rent
$286.00 utilities
$185.00 CAM (common area maintenance)
$ 94.00 Telephone
$ 536 payroll
$ 68 Workmans comp
$ 70 Livestock loss or other incidentals
$ 55 Training (monthly for 1 hr for employees)
________________________________________________________

$ 3494 - This was what my expenses were and this based on YEAR 2005 numbers BEFORE I ordered livestock
I HAD TO SELL THIS AMOUNT TO BREAK EVEN BEFOR I SAW A PROFIT

just giving you the real picture. Todays' number would likely be over $5500

 

[bsr2430]

I will say on top of my first post, if you start one, we’re all here to help you. Many can help with everything! You’ll have our support! Many will support you!

As @Jase4224 said too. Must be honest and helpful to new people! Some stores will trick people into buying corals or fish where they knew they’d die or have some sort of issue with them.

I promise you if you treat your business right and the shoppers, you’ll do great!
Would love to see a local LFS have a website where it’s freaking maintained!

A store close to me posts when shipments come in on Facebook by simply taking photos. Nice way to get people in!

 

[Reef man 89]

Man thing is there has to be a demand in your local area for one. Can’t set up shop if only a hand full of people are into the hobby in your general area. I would see if there is a local club in your area to gage the interest of your local community

 

[bsr2430]

I ran a full line pet store for nearly 12 years and I closed down temporarily while going through divorce and after divorce, was a quick decision not to reopen. It was then I realized the endless hours I spent at the store and many days help did not show up, the cost for advertising (yellow pages, local), utilities, Theft (although I had cameras), People trying to jew you down on prices and the those who ran poor husbandry with their pets and wanted a credit or refund after they killed the pet due to Not following care instructions (trying to do things cheaply)

On the otherhand, Met many nice people, loved attending pet trade shows and conventions, finding cool and rare stuff on stock lists, Being featured in 2 magazines and several times in newspapers and helping many dissatisfied customers with issues from other stores.

The rent for my last store was 2300.00/mo
$2300 - rent
$286.00 utilities
$185.00 CAM (common area maintenance)
$ 94.00 Telephone
$ 536 payroll
$ 68 Workmans comp
$ 70 Livestock loss or other incidentals
$ 55 Training (monthly for 1 hr for employees)
________________________________________________________

$ 3494 - This was what my expenses were and this based on YEAR 2005 numbers BEFORE I ordered livestock
I HAD TO SELL THIS AMOUNT TO BREAK EVEN BEFOR I SAW A PROFIT

just giving you the real picture. Todays' number would likely be over $5500

Now you spend all those hours here

Never knew you owned a story! That’s pretty awesome to have the chance to do this! Sorry about the divorce too.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Now you spend all those hours here

Never knew you owned a story! That’s pretty awesome to have the chance to do this! Sorry about the divorce too.

Sorry? Im so happy to be away from her which was back in 2005. It was a win win. When I ran the store, I also worked at a company, so 96 hours a week minimum between both was not unusual.
I also got full custody of my daughter and it was time to free up my time making it an easy decision.

 

[Tired]

If you carry bettas, put them in holding tanks larger than cups (some places have a custom rack setup where each betta has a gallon or so of space, that's good), and don't sell any bowls anywhere near them. Encourage people to buy something 5 gallons or larger to keep the betta in, with, at minimum, a heater and lid. Goes in with the whole "don't sell people a fish that's going to outgrow their tank or a coral that's just going to die" thing.

 

[HuduVudu]

I have owned an aquarium store. I started my store on 9/1/2001.

I failed ... miserably.

Please no messages being Mr Negative

If this is the way that you look at this then I highly recommend that you avoid taking up this idea.

I thought the way that many here think about this and it cost me $100k, bankruptcy and years of deprivation dealing with the aftermath of what I had done.

Business isn't something to be messed with. Asking people on a message board about something so difficult and personal is a sure sign that you aren't ready and you don't get what will need to be done.

Sorry if you see this as negative, but it is the truth. Maybe you will not do what I did and save yourself the pain and the suffering of being ill prepared for what is necessary.

Be happy with your path and follow it to your ability.