Is Starting A Lfs A Pipe Dream...?

After being in the hobby for several years and after working for an LFS for about 2 years, I would like to start my own LFS. I know what the competition in the area does and how they perform, the products and services they carry, what they excel at vs what they fail at, etc. I operated one of their locations solo for around a year so I know how to deal with distributors and wholesalers, keep track of inventory, store management and maintenance, etc.

I want to carry a wide selection of live plants, all natural hardscape, and quarantine my livestock. The competition in the area fails miserably at both of these things, or does not provide these goods at all. I believe that if people had the option to purchase healthy live plants and high quality goods locally and could be convinced of the merits of said goods, they would be more apt to purchase from my store. I also want to have a wide selection of ornamental shrimp and products for shrimp-keeping. These are growing increasingly more popular in the hobby and product lines such as Dennerle are difficult to procure.

I also want to carry a selection of premium products from UNS, such as rimless tanks, as well as products from Chihiros and Jardli. While these products are more for the more advanced hobbyist, they are difficult to obtain from local sources, and many hobbyists are not aware of their availability.

As far as livestock, I want to carry fish that are accessible and easy for anyone to keep, with a focus on smaller tanks.

This isn't to say that I don't want to exclude beginners, I want to help everyone, from the complete newbie to the seasoned hobbyist.

So, having this knowledge and experience, just how difficult and expensive is it to get one off the ground and have it become a profitable business?

PS - I know all about needing certificate of occupancy, fish and frog licence, etc

 

I don't think it's too far out there, the only barrier I see is the cost of all the tanks and equipment, plus the cost of buying/renting a space. I feel like that could easily be overcome by simply starting out with things you know are super popular in the area and know you won't have problems selling. Then expand from there

 

Great idea but a tough sell. Yes you know the area and what people want but you have to beat the internet on prices. Unfortunately everything can be bought off the internet for cheaper than even the large stores sell for. What you would need to do is be an all pet supply store to make money. Again unforunatly there are not many fish keepers. 1 in 1000 at best. On Long Island in a 10 mile area where I live there is not one lfs. All chain stores. Use to be about 10 maybe 20 years ago but there all gone. Even pet land discounts has went out of business.
Next you have to get people to leave where they go and come to you. Again not to easy.

 

I don't think it's too far out there, the only barrier I see is the cost of all the tanks and equipment, plus the cost of buying/renting a space. I feel like that could easily be overcome by simply starting out with things you know are super popular in the area and know you won't have problems selling. Then expand from there

And I understand that completely. I know not everyone wants a rimless tank with injected CO2 and Twinstar lighting! Most hobbyists want what is easiest and most accessible, and based on my experience I know what sells in my area. However, I also know what people request the most often that the other stores in the area don't carry, most notably nano fish and ornamental shrimp.

I also want to do a small nano saltwater selection. Clownfish and colorful soft corals are always popular, and I have enough saltwater experience to know how to keep them running.

 

The way I see it is, if you can get the word out and people will come to your store, and you'll be able to get over the hurdle that is the start up cost; you should be set. Then it's just simple supply and demand

 

Great idea but a tough sell. Yes you know the area and what people want but you have to beat the internet on prices. Unfortunately everything can be bought off the internet for cheaper than even the large stores sell for. What you would need to do is be an all pet supply store to make money. Again unforunatly there are not many fish keepers. 1 in 1000 at best. On Long Island in a 10 mile area where I live there is not one lfs. All chain stores. Use to be about 10 maybe 20 years ago but there all gone. Even pet land discounts has went out of business.
Next you have to get people to leave where they go and come to you. Again not to easy.

I've considered the internet options people have, and the best I can come up with is the convenience of having it right then and there vs waiting for the item to be shipped. If you build a solid reputation for quality and service, you can get a loyal customer base who don't mind giving you their hard-earned cash at the expense of paying a slight mark-up vs shopping online. I saw it all the time when I worked with a local pet store.

The store I worked at was mainly a pet supply store. The item that sold the most was dog food, but we also sold a lot of freshwater fish on a daily basis. The problem I saw with the store was that to be a "jack of all trades" they would carry only a limited selection of each type of product. Due to this, many customers were often hard-pressed for choice and would either leave empty-handed or compromise with a product out of necessity. We had a "needs list" where we would attempt to custom order specific fish and products, but it was a gamble over whether our distributors carried those products or not. The system was not well organized and sometimes customer requests fell through the cracks.

As for live plants, they were put into a system that used straight RO water, 10 hours of light per day and no fertilizers. You can imagine how those systems looked...

I have also considered being an online-only business but with so many reputable sellers and myself having no brand recognition it'd be a tough sell.

 

My lfs is a sort of chain. I think there are under 10 of them. Most used to be your standard local fish store that just couldn’t compete anymore. This place bought them and kept everything the same except the sign outside. They started as fish and small animal stores and are now fish and pet food sellers.
I’ve been going there for years now and just last year started buying my dog food there. Most of his business is in the food but he’s got a great selection of fresh and salt water stuff. Much better than the chain stores. Allways people there now. But when I was first going there it was a dive. Took them a good 10 years to get where they are now.
This place also has an online business.

 

My lfs is a sort of chain. I think there are under 10 of them. Most used to be your standard local fish store that just couldn’t compete anymore. This place bought them and kept everything the same except the sign outside. They started as fish and small animal stores and are now fish and pet food sellers.
I’ve been going there for years now and just last year started buying my dog food there. Most of his business is in the food but he’s got a great selection of fresh and salt water stuff. Much better than the chain stores. Allways people there now. But when I was first going there it was a dive. Took them a good 10 years to get where they are now.
This place also has an online business.

What are sellers like Cory and Dustin doing differently that makes them successful? Why are businesses like Green Aqua thriving (I know the European aquarium hobby is different)?

 

The internet! I’ve never watched them so they don’t know what they’re selling. I thought Cory was just an internet blogger.
Problem is this isn’t a big hobby. Funny where I live I never see half the fish that are talked about here. Cpd,chillI rasborias, red Severums most of the nano fish and rarely a pleco other than bushy nose. I see them all on the internet but no stores carry them. I live 20miles from New York City. So not a lot of interest in fish.

 

I've watched some of Cory's livestreams, and some stuff that Jeremy posts on his YouTube channel. Hes talked about how he could have gone out of business a couple times because it's not easy to boot, especially when life throws a major curveball that you can't afford. Hes pretty open about his business in some of his content, I don't know anything about starting and maintaining a business so I've no idea what pointers I could even provide you from what hes talked about lol. I'm sure you could go on YT channel and be able to pick out certain videos to hear what he has to say based on the title. The only thing is that he rambles a lot lol. The only things I remember that he said in one video is properly utilizing your entire space, only carrying products that you use yourself and not stuff that you're just carrying because other people might want it, and being a specialty shop, like dedicated to only freshwater tank hobby, not having saltwater or having dog stuff too.

I think part of their success is because they're hobbyist themselves so they know what they'd have wanted when they first started. Part of it is pricing and quality. Making the hobby affordable and providing good or even great quality. That's what some importers in my area strive for, and being super supportive for beginners to be successful.

I'm not quite sure about Dustin, but I think hes pretty open too. He talks about his greenhouse 2.0 so you maybe able to get some pointers from those videos.