anyone who has written a business plan?

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Originally Posted by joyful girl

I'm going to have as many different types of reptiles/amphibians as I can properly manage.
I'll have feeder fish, mice, rats, meal worms, crickets, ect.
I'll have a whole section of the store dedicated to supplies as well.

I've already planned all the basics and I know how I want things run.
What I'm looking for is advice with the actual business plan. Which needs to be written in order to get any outside financial support.

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Friends and relatives can be one of your best ways for financial help when starting this. A lot of people don't like to borrow from friends though. Get out to a bank and talk to the investment and loan people and see what they have to offer. Talk with your credit card companies and see what type of loans they have to offer as well. I don't know where you are from, but you may even have lending institutions in your area. Sorry I can't be more help than that though.

Have a *lot* of operating capital saved up...3-5 years worth & be prepared to use it. Overestimate all of your expenses going into it...even then you'll probably find out you underestimated. Don't expect to make a dime for quite awhile, and be careful that you don't get in over your head. Pet stores, even specialty stores, have a lot of "unexpected" expenses. :)

We did a business plan when we built our new place...drop me a line if you want.

K~

I don't know how you feel about tarantulas, pedes, and scorpions, but it's another option you may want to look into. If you do, try and either get a good invert person in the store and/or give your employees some invert training.

It may not be a big seller, but you may find some repeat customer based on that, and what you may be able to order for them.

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Originally Posted by Schlyne

I don't know how you feel about tarantulas, pedes, and scorpions, but it's another option you may want to look into. If you do, try and either get a good invert person in the store and/or give your employees some invert training.

It may not be a big seller, but you may find some repeat customer based on that, and what you may be able to order for them.

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I'm deathly phobic of pedes.. there is no way I could even have one in the same room as me.

other inverts would be a possiblily though.. probably something we'd add in later

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Originally Posted by KLG

Have a *lot* of operating capital saved up...3-5 years worth & be prepared to use it. Overestimate all of your expenses going into it...even then you'll probably find out you underestimated. Don't expect to make a dime for quite awhile, and be careful that you don't get in over your head. Pet stores, even specialty stores, have a lot of "unexpected" expenses. :)

We did a business plan when we built our new place...drop me a line if you want.

K~

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thanks for the info

I'm trying to stay realistic and I don't expect to actually make money for a couple of years. We don't have a lot of our own personal money to put into it so we'll be paying back loans for a long time I'm sure.

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Originally Posted by joyful girl

thanks for the info

I'm trying to stay realistic and I don't expect to actually make money for a couple of years. We don't have a lot of our own personal money to put into it so we'll be paying back loans for a long time I'm sure.

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You might want to consider waiting until you have more capital to work off of...being in debt before you have a realistic idea of what your actual operating expenses will be is a very scary thing, both for you & to the bank potentially loaning you money. Expecting to make money after a couple of years is very optimistic...you may want to think in terms of 3-5 years.

Keep in mind with loans - depending on the loan you get, you're just paying off interest for the first couple of years anyway, before you actually start making a real dent in what you owe. If you don't already have some sort of business with an established clientele, it can be very difficult to get a bank to consider a loan, much less give you a decent rate.

Good luck!

K~

I wish I had rich relatives =/

Haha... get a high paying job and a cheap living arrangement and start saving your pennies...

well we have some saved just not all that we need

I took an entrepreneurship class last semester...the 'average' small business requires a minimum of $80k, according to the SBA.

Its just takes a lot of planning, luck, and a whole lot of capital.