I want to start a petstore...BUT

I personally would like to have my own exotic shop one day. By I know that it requires a lot of upfront money to start and you have to offer things that chain store don't. And with all pet store, supplies and food are your money makes not the animals. That's why my local Petland has my business. They are the only store in town that sells live mice and rats and feeders and not pets.

I wouldn't mind opening up a pet shop. I would have a DIY section, dry goods section, a reptile section, fish section (for my sister), and a large feeder section where I will have tons of rats and mice raising up for feeders!

I probably wouldn't want to carry animals with advanced husbandry (anything beyond a heat pad / heat lights / simple care)... I love monitors and big snakes, but I would keep them only for display. I might keep a pair of the advanced reptiles to raise up and possibly breed. I would sell the animals I bred myself, but I would require an application to be filled out if someone wanted to buy one. I would probably sell really cheap too, if I knew it was going to a good home :gj:.

I don't know much about the care on monitors or big snakes lol, but when the time comes (hopefully in the future!), I'm sure there will be a lot of great information on the care for those animals, and I would be able to do some good research :gj:.

Location - wealthier city with more loose money for hobbies

that is my biggest suggestion

I happen to work at a shop right beside a petsmart and petco your consumers will go there first of course but then when they have their animals die on them they will come to you. Location is everything even if the rent is triple next to a popular store or place it def makes a difference in the traffic you have in the store. It takes a lot of money to start but its def worth it in the end.

The sections I was thinking of having were Salt water fish, Fresh water fish (the basic fish and Larger sized Oscars etc) hermit crabs, small fur creatures (ferrets, guinea pigs etc) Aquatic turtles and tortises, the basic snakes(normal BPs, cornsnakes etc) then have a seperate section for the more exotic snakes. and of course, feeders.

I would probably make a questionaire befoe selling the exotics because those would be the pride of my store. I wouldnt want to just hand over a 500 dollar snake to some kid who has a tank with no heat like my roommate. (drives me nuts when I grab his BP and shes freezing cold) The questions would basically be about how they plan to house it how often they plan to feed it, do they got their own vet etc etc. my bf actually still has one from his old job at the petstore he managed. And I will probably use that as a guide.

Salt water here is very slim. You have petco (which I will never buy from there, who drops a fish and still sells it to you?!) and the small petstore in the mall and they mainly have sea urchines and nemo fish. (and the ocassional sick seahorse.) And my boyfriend has been ranting the last year or so that he wants a saltwater fish tank but I wont let him have one cause that would mean getting rid of my oscar (george) or getting rid of my R.E.S turtles. So this could be his way of getting a saltwater tank.

I think if I ever got a pieballed BP I would probably have in on display. I want one so bad but just cant afford it right now :(

I know I will learn alot more when I start to take these classes. It might be a little while cause I want to enjoy summer with my 18 month old ha. But I really do hope that I can do this. My son loves Animals just as much as I do. And Id really love it if he grew up around a petstore.

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Originally Posted by Zoos.at.my.pad

The sections I was thinking of having were Salt water fish, Fresh water fish (the basic fish and Larger sized Oscars etc) hermit crabs, small fur creatures (ferrets, guinea pigs etc) Aquatic turtles and tortises, the basic snakes(normal BPs, cornsnakes etc) then have a seperate section for the more exotic snakes. and of course, feeders.

I would probably make a questionaire befoe selling the exotics because those would be the pride of my store. I wouldnt want to just hand over a 500 dollar snake to some kid who has a tank with no heat like my roommate. (drives me nuts when I grab his BP and shes freezing cold) The questions would basically be about how they plan to house it how often they plan to feed it, do they got their own vet etc etc. my bf actually still has one from his old job at the petstore he managed. And I will probably use that as a guide.

Salt water here is very slim. You have petco (which I will never buy from there, who drops a fish and still sells it to you?!) and the small petstore in the mall and they mainly have sea urchines and nemo fish. (and the ocassional sick seahorse.) And my boyfriend has been ranting the last year or so that he wants a saltwater fish tank but I wont let him have one cause that would mean getting rid of my oscar (george) or getting rid of my R.E.S turtles. So this could be his way of getting a saltwater tank.

I think if I ever got a pieballed BP I would probably have in on display. I want one so bad but just cant afford it right now :(

I know I will learn alot more when I start to take these classes. It might be a little while cause I want to enjoy summer with my 18 month old ha. But I really do hope that I can do this. My son loves Animals just as much as I do. And Id really love it if he grew up around a petstore.

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Unfortunately, as a business owner that's something you'll have to learn to deal with. Like previously stated, you can't watch your bills walk out the door. Best thing you can do and hope for is to educate the buyer in proper care to the best of your ability.

Running a pet store honestly seems like a terrible job for an animal lover IMO. You'd really need to learn to disassociate your feelings with business.

It would be a lot of fun to start a pet store. My fiance and I have also talked about it and would love to do it. I'm just afraid of how much money it would take to start and how it may not work out. Around here there are pretty much only chain pet store, and the "mom and pop" pet stores are dirty and slowly close down.

I personally wouldnt be able to do it. Im planning on breeding my bps next fall and i am already thinking about how hard its gunna be selling them to people i really dont know. I know ill have to because i wont have room to keep all of them, but its something ive already considered. I cant imagine running a whole petstore...
Not for me, but best of luck to you!

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Originally Posted by dart

Unfortunately, as a business owner that's something you'll have to learn to deal with. Like previously stated, you can't watch your bills walk out the door. Best thing you can do and hope for is to educate the buyer in proper care to the best of your ability.

Running a pet store honestly seems like a terrible job for an animal lover IMO. You'd really need to learn to disassociate your feelings with business.

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To some extent, I agree with this, however, I've also seen the opposite work. When I first got into snakes, I went to a small, local pet store looking for a snow corn. The reason that I, and everyone else in town almost, went to that store again and again was because they cared. They bred their own snakes and geckos but would refuse sales to people they didn't feel right about. Granted, it's a fine line. They also got business because they would stop what they were doing and chat with you about any questions you had regarding animals. Because of that, people felt comfortable coming to them with questions even after buying the animal which generally turned into 'oh, I need feeders while I'm here.' If your accounting is good, you run a quality shop, and are a people person, it can work even if you turn away the occasional crazy guy who wants the snake so he can look 'macho'. The rapport you create with your clientele is the most important thing in the world to a small business. That's what will make them come to you instead of the big box store. I would also recommend looking into the local chamber of commerce and any herp clubs in the area. It's good advertising and only takes some time.

It is a bad idea to start a pet store if your a hobbyist. It will burn you out and you wont enjoy it. I got myself in a similar situation 5 years ago. Im a bow bunting freak. I mean i seriouslly eat and sleep it. About 5 years ago i took over my cousins outfitting buisness in maine. Although i kept the staff i also was adament about being very much involved even though i live in virginia. So the plan was set. Come bear season i would spend the month there and run things hands on and when moose and deer season comes in ill be back and fourth. Pretty killer gig for a big hunting enthusiast right? Wrong. I was so busy working for my clients and taking care of buisness i only got to hunt myself 3 times. Every year since then i handle things from a far. We are now revamping to include waterfowl and other things so we are taking this season off. Moral of the story. Dont do your hobby as a full time job. It wont be as fun as ya thought it would be.