Hoping to open a reptile shop....

[wozza_t]

I am hoping to open a reptile shop in my local area, as the closest to me is s**t.

What i am looking for is anyones knowledge into this, buisness plans, staff training etc.....

One thing that is baffleing me is roughly how much it would cost to kit out a shop, as in the vivs, racks etc.

I have enough mates who breed copious amounts of snakes and lizards to stock the shop, so it would just be the 'holding tanks'.

One thing that i am set on is a seperate quarentine area, for ALL new stock comming into the shop, and this would have to be done in quite a substantial manner.

Any ideas or actual facts would be much appreciated!

[Ssthisto]

From having spoken to people who have set up shops and looking into it ourselves (we pondered buying a small local shop when it was up for sale, and considered what it would mean for us to do it) for what it sounds like you want to do, unless you've got £20,000 to £50,000 to throw around - and enough to keep yourself afloat while you build up a customer base.... this isn't a great time to start one.

For less than £10,000 you'd probably be able to run a broom closet full of livefood and equipment, but probably wouldn't be able to set up many vivariums. Dry goods can be expensive to get - most wholesalers have minimum orders (for example, some wholesalers we're aware of won't take less than £1000 PRE-VAT orders - they're not there for small orders). Your money would be coming mostly from the "consumables" and equipment rather than from livestock sales.

In general, livestock (and especially lizards!) will eat a fair amount of your profit just to keep them alive in the shop; they pull in your customers but they won't make up the bulk of your sales by any means unless you've got VERY high end stuff that people want to buy. But high-end stuff, finding "the buyer" who wants it is the trick. Back in November I was oogling a Butter Motley cornsnake (one of three) at Tyrannosaurus Pets... and said "If she's still here for my birthday at end of February...." She was - as were the other two... and my partner got her for me for Valentines' Day. £115 is a bit too much for a "casual shopper" to drop on a pet snake - and there's a lot more "casual shoppers" than there are "enthusiasts" in any given area. And yeah, that means that those animals have been in the shop being fed for four months with only one sale from the lot.

Will your friends be able to supply you stock on sale-and-return and at wholesale prices - i.e. if you find that the market in your area isn't interested in what they breed, will they take the animals back? What about availability - most reptiles have breeding seasons, so unless your friends have the ability to stagger their clutches such that you've got half a dozen corns in at ALL times you'll probably have to approach wholesalers. Minimum orders might be in effect there too... which can be VERY pricey to meet.

And that doesn't really touch on the setup costs, lease of shop space, liability insurance, pet shop licencing or wages.

Just as a for-example, we just spent £1,400 on JUST the vivariums for our own house - as much as a small shop fit (eight 36X18X18, 4 18X11X18 vivs, 2 30X15X15 vivs plus five racks) which doubles our vivarium/racking capacity. That doesn't count the heating equipment, guards, UVB lighting, starters, thermostats (don't forget the thermostats!) let alone RUBs for the racks, washable bowls, substrates and so on - that'd bump it up easily to around £3K. We already had the animals ... we didn't need to pay rent on shop space because it's in our house; we don't have public liability insurance (although we would have to have it if we were going to apply for a DWAL) and we don't need to register for VAT either.

Our full-time jobs pay our wages and our bills; do you have someone who can pay the bills while you're building your customer base so you can afford to pay yourself a wage without killing the business?

If you're serious about it, start saving now - when the economy starts going up in a year or two, THEN is the time to seriously think about starting the business.

[Aunty_Lizard]

Go for it Warren... At least we know we could rely on you to employ staff that know what they are doing and show them how to give the right advice.. Would offer to work for you but lol cant drive, cant stand for any length of time.

Liz

[Victoria_O]

Originally Posted by Ssthisto

From having spoken to people who have set up shops and looking into it ourselves (we pondered buying a small local shop when it was up for sale, and considered what it would mean for us to do it) for what it sounds like you want to do, unless you've got £20,000 to £50,000 to throw around - and enough to keep yourself afloat while you build up a customer base.... this isn't a great time to start one.

For less than £10,000 you'd probably be able to run a broom closet full of livefood and equipment, but probably wouldn't be able to set up many vivariums. Dry goods can be expensive to get - most wholesalers have minimum orders (for example, some wholesalers we're aware of won't take less than £1000 PRE-VAT orders - they're not there for small orders). Your money would be coming mostly from the "consumables" and equipment rather than from livestock sales.

In general, livestock (and especially lizards!) will eat a fair amount of your profit just to keep them alive in the shop; they pull in your customers but they won't make up the bulk of your sales by any means unless you've got VERY high end stuff that people want to buy. But high-end stuff, finding "the buyer" who wants it is the trick. Back in November I was oogling a Butter Motley cornsnake (one of three) at Tyrannosaurus Pets... and said "If she's still here for my birthday at end of February...." She was - as were the other two... and my partner got her for me for Valentines' Day. £115 is a bit too much for a "casual shopper" to drop on a pet snake - and there's a lot more "casual shoppers" than there are "enthusiasts" in any given area. And yeah, that means that those animals have been in the shop being fed for four months with only one sale from the lot.

Will your friends be able to supply you stock on sale-and-return and at wholesale prices - i.e. if you find that the market in your area isn't interested in what they breed, will they take the animals back? What about availability - most reptiles have breeding seasons, so unless your friends have the ability to stagger their clutches such that you've got half a dozen corns in at ALL times you'll probably have to approach wholesalers. Minimum orders might be in effect there too... which can be VERY pricey to meet.

And that doesn't really touch on the setup costs, lease of shop space, liability insurance, pet shop licencing or wages.

Just as a for-example, we just spent £1,400 on JUST the vivariums for our own house - as much as a small shop fit (eight 36X18X18, 4 18X11X18 vivs, 2 30X15X15 vivs plus five racks) which doubles our vivarium/racking capacity. That doesn't count the heating equipment, guards, UVB lighting, starters, thermostats (don't forget the thermostats!) let alone RUBs for the racks, washable bowls, substrates and so on - that'd bump it up easily to around £3K. We already had the animals ... we didn't need to pay rent on shop space because it's in our house; we don't have public liability insurance (although we would have to have it if we were going to apply for a DWAL) and we don't need to register for VAT either.

Our full-time jobs pay our wages and our bills; do you have someone who can pay the bills while you're building your customer base so you can afford to pay yourself a wage without killing the business?

If you're serious about it, start saving now - when the economy starts going up in a year or two, THEN is the time to seriously think about starting the business.

Some truly excellent points made there!

Although it is difficult and you probably wont make money for the first 12/24 months if you plan it right, execute it better and look after the pennies even in this climate it is still possible to make a go of it and a good one at that.

Vicki

[brian]

You have a long pm.......

[wozza_t]

Originally Posted by brian

You have a long pm.......

Much appreciated!!

[wozza_t]

Originally Posted by Victoria_O

Although it is difficult and you probably wont make money for the first 12/24 months if you plan it right, execute it better and look after the pennies even in this climate it is still possible to make a go of it and a good one at that.

Vicki

I would be looking at opening the shop around my currant job for the first year at least, which i work in the evening, so would still have a decent income coming from that.

[Jinja]

I own 3 companies and all I can say is - if you don't try and are scared of failure then you'll never know how truly rewarding (& stressful...lol) it is working for yourself...

Go for it mate BUT take your time and be sure to put as much effort, if not more, in to your business plan (next 5 years) and most importantly research, as you will in to the herps. What ever any one says, at the end of the day it's all about the money and satisfaction.

If you do it right from the outset you can pretty much plan for any thing in retail as long as you've thought about it first

Oh and GOOD LUCK

[leejay]

hope you go for it
good luck

[wozza_t]

Originally Posted by Jinja

I own 3 companies and all I can say is - if you don't try and are scared of failure then you'll never know how truly rewarding (& stressful...lol) it is working for yourself...

Go for it mate BUT take your time and be sure to put as much effort, if not more, in to your business plan (next 5 years) and most importantly research, as you will in to the herps. What ever any one says, at the end of the day it's all about the money and satisfaction.

If you do it right from the outset you can pretty much plan for any thing in retail as long as you've thought about it first

Oh and GOOD LUCK

I have been thinking about it for about 4 years now, and i think i am ready! Thanks.

Originally Posted by leejay

hope you go for it
good luck

You will be one of the first to know buddy! Thanks.