Someone to chat to about opening a reptile shop

[sweetvicky]

Originally Posted by winter iguana

hi hope everyone gets on ok and gets there shops i was taking to my wife about opening a shop today but she thinks getting into importing first would be best or buying and selling from home for abit but need to look in to it any ideas on it or advise

You would still need to set up a business, so you can be taxed on the income appropriatly

In theroy it would be easier to start a shop from having been a home business first, you would already know the costs involved with the animals and worked out some good suppliers for foods and other supplies. It also gives you time to wait for the perfect premesis and an income whilst setting up shop.
Thats the biggest hurdle I'm facing, As soon as we start the business we have to be fast paced because there will be no income to speak of untill the shop starts profiting (what we pay ourselves will go straight back into the business for a while)

If you do take that route, I recommend going to some of the shows abroad, have you been to any? If not, go to one (both of you go on a coach trip or something, I recommend Hamm, it was awsome ) to see the price difference and how it all works, make contacts and note the breeders there, then if you decide to go ahead look at the kind of licence you need to import reptiles for resale.

Best of luck to you, if you like I could keep you updated on the kinds of things you need to know as I go along? I'm so far fileing all the info i'm getting to help with my business plan.

[damadwan]

hey good luck to you all adam and i mean it we need more rep shops who actually care and know what there doing all the best

[madaboutreptiles]

Originally Posted by sweetvicky

How long does it take to be granted a licence from applying for one? Do you need the licence to keep the animals in the shop, or for selling them?
i.e. could you have Vivs fitted and keep your own breeding stock in them without a licence?

Congrats on finding premesis Paulibabes!! shouldn't be too much longer for you now then. Are you doing it as a sole trader, partnership or LTD company? I've been told LTD is better if there are more than one of you doing it.

I know its a bit of a cheeky question, do people start with big savings or with a bank loan/family help etc? I'm using a bit of each, and making sure I personaly have no debts before I start. I was wandering because I want to start sooner rather than later (which means less savings) but have been told that for some types of business, starting with mostly a bank loan means less success.

I've been doing business and book keeping short courses and have some very good spreadsheets for book keeping and info on starting a business I could email/post to people if they want anything?

I have been saving for a while and hopefully wont have to borrow anything......hopefully?

I am looking to go into a shop with a partner.....

I am in no rush to get it started I would rather do it properly the first time, there are far too many "half Arsed" Reptile shops around...dirty smelly unattractive places (you know what I mean)

I think I have found a premises today, its a bit grotty now but I can see with a bit of work it could be nice

still need to do a bit of thinking and planning yet though.......its a big step....

[alfie99]

I was opening a shop a few months ago and had spoken with the licence dept and everything seemed to be going ok, landlord was happy with it being a pet shop and i was signing the lease on the thursday when the other half just said in passing should we have to contact the planning dept, well long story short we did and they said sorry but no pet shop there,the unit we where looking at was classed as industrial even though they where all retail, so i suppose the moral of the story is try and cover every base with the councile, we where a day away from signing

[paulibabes]

Originally Posted by Palmanda

I have been saving for a while and hopefully wont have to borrow anything......hopefully?

I am looking to go into a shop with a partner.....

I am in no rush to get it started I would rather do it properly the first time, there are far too many "half Arsed" Reptile shops around...dirty smelly unattractive places (you know what I mean)

I think I have found a premises today, its a bit grotty now but I can see with a bit of work it could be nice

still need to do a bit of thinking and planning yet though.......its a big step....

i've been doing my figures and even though i've found somewhere cheap with cheapish rates aswell i'll still be looking at spending under a grand a month... you can never save too much!

[Athravan]

Welcome to the world of reptile shops.. don't expect to have any money, time or sleep ever again

There are lots of shops in South Wales, I could list at least 20 within a one hour radius of my own shop, so just choose your location wisely. As one hour isn't actually a lot for reptile keepers to travel to buy a new reptile, although for food, people tend to just go to the closest / most convenient. A lot of the garden centers and aquatic places in south wales are expanding to reptile sections too, so that figure could well double in the next year and you need to factor in competition into your business plan.

I personally got a lump sum loan & used savings. I am keeping on top of the repayments and if I'd had to save i'd have been here for the next 10 years before I opened.

You don't have to have a license to hold breeding stock, or animals that are not for sale. as long as the vivs are labelled "not for sale" or you tell customers the animals are not for sale, you can have them in there. You can't charge an entry or advertise yourself as a public collection to get people to come and view though or you need a zoo license. But you can sell dry goods / foods, and have the animals there whilst waiting for your license to come through, you just can't actually sell any of those animals until the license is approved.

How long that takes and who you deal with depends on your council, I'm in Cardiff County, if you're in this county I can help you with my own timings etc. but I know Cardiff is stricter than some of the smaller counties in South Wales.. although Newport and Barry are pretty tough too. You'll probably deal with the same vet inspector as he does a lot of south wales, if so, he is really nice, and genuine.. not there to shut you down, but there to try and help you (and ultimately.. the animals).

I spent a month writing my business plan and doing my market research, the most important thing is to budget enough. Get hold of the wholesaler price lists and get a quote for stocking the entire shop, then you've got to add, rent, rates , electric, water, phone line, internet (if you're having it), insurance, licensing - and bear in mind these are all more expensive for business use than personal use, so you need to get business quotes. Even electric it's more per the unit if you are a business than personal.. phone / internet is 2-3x more expensive, etc. Also some people make the mistake of only looking at reptile products, remember if not renting a shop already set up for retail you'll have to sort out shelving for dry goods, a counter, display cabinets, till, fire and safety equipment (signs, extinguisher). If not already secure you'll want to budget for cctv, alarm system, good quality locks and so forth. So if you find a premises set up for retail with good security it might be worth paying a bit more on the rent than an empty box, as you'd have to set it up yourself then

Good luck! Don't know if there's anything else I can specifically help you with but feel free to give me a PM and you only seem to be about 15-20 mins from me so feel free to drop into our shop or I'm sure i'll come and see you when open.

[madaboutreptiles]

On the subject of wholesalers, it makes a big difference to your profit if you can buy larger quantities from the wholesalers.

The more you spend on a regular basis, the more discount you can get and the more competitive you can be.

I am also looking to go in with another shop for buying purposes

[Athravan]

Originally Posted by Palmanda

On the subject of wholesalers, it makes a big difference to your profit if you can buy larger quantities from the wholesalers.

The more you spend on a regular basis, the more discount you can get and the more competitive you can be.

I am also looking to go in with another shop for buying purposes

Yes.. almost all wholesalers I believe have "bands" for discounts. £1000 a month, £2000 a month, £5000 a month.. etc. gets you anywhere between a 5% and a 20% sort of discount off advertised prices, but if it's just a one off and you don't commit to them being your main wholesaler, and buy a little here, a little there, something from person a, something from person b, you're not going to get your buying power discount. Wholesalers always have haggle room on prices of dry goods, livefoods & frozen, you just have to give them a reason to offer you incentives to stay with them. They're like anyone - they want your business, and they know they have competition, they have to offer the best in prices, services & customer support to keep you.

But also remember price isn't the only important thing, if everything comes in late, dead, poor quality, broken, etc. then your customers will be unhappy, even if it's not your fault. It's a fine balance to find a high quality supplier that's also competitive on price, with good customer support in case something goes wrong. Your business hinges on the supply really... if your shipment comes in 2 days late, and people want food, they will go elsewhere. If your animals come in poor health, your reputation will suffer.