# How much do you think . . .



## stephenie191 (May 29, 2007)

Opening a pet shop would cost?

I'm JUST starting to look into it, but anyone whos got one or has looked into it properly?

I would sell the basics, rabbits, guinea pigs, etc. . .

but also tropical fish and reptiles. Nothing like the HIGH end morphs that fetch thousands . . .

It would be adleast 18 months from now, when i have a business plan and have looked into it all.
i'm saving up and hoping Business link/princes trust would maybe give me a small grant.

Anyhow and help would be fab on a ruff idea, - while i'm searching through shops to let, for a ruff idea on rent etc:whip:


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## exotic reptile housing (Jul 12, 2007)

cant help with the buisness side of things, but i will gladly fit your shop out with enclosures for your reptiles and fish tanks:2thumb::2thumb:


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

stephenie191 said:


> Opening a pet shop would cost?
> 
> I'm JUST starting to look into it, but anyone whos got one or has looked into it properly?
> 
> ...


a small fortune.

you'd need to rent the premesis, pay the business rates, do the signworks and paperwork, get your insurance and pet shop license, get an accountant and then kit the shop out with the vivs and cages and tanks etc etc. Once you've done that you need the money to start buying stock which won't be cheap.
When the shop is all setup you'll need to have enough money in the bank to pay the staff, pay the bills and keep the stock rotation coming in until you start making a profit - which won't be for a long time.

i've no actual idea on total cost but i'm reckoning that you'd need about 75k to 100k before you can start looking or you'll go under pretty fast.


oh yeah... and you're far too young. 
For the amount of time and effort you'll have to put into making it a success for very little reward to start with, you'll get pissed off that you have no life and you're working your life away with nothing to show for it.


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## 15060 (Feb 17, 2008)

It wud cost a small fortune........if ur young enough, why not start breeding at home? Its a way to make more money, give u a better insight into the reptile world and any profits can be put to one side to pave the way to ur shop venture.......??


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## lefty (Jun 2, 2008)

i havnt got a clue about the costs but imo the only reptile shops that seem to do any good are the ones that cater for the high end morphs. if your going to be a petshop id leave the reptiles alone imo


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## Zak (Jan 7, 2008)

lefty said:


> i havnt got a clue about the costs but imo the only reptile shops that seem to do any good are the ones that cater for the high end morphs. if your going to be a petshop id leave the reptiles alone imo


I disagree, theres always going to be a market for shops that sell the basics. The bearded dragons, leopard geckos, corns etc. People new too the hobby arent going to know about classifieds and what to buy so will use such shops. However the profits on such items are not great and therefore the business has to be to pretty tight margins.

I think it all depends what you want. A small shop priding itself on quality over quantity? Larger shop shifting through more stock quickly and then balancing this idea with the shops overheads. 

Whats competition like in the area? Is there a need for another pet shop?


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

Zak said:


> Whats competition like in the area? Is there a need for another pet shop?


yep, that's the main question.

too many people want to start a business doing something because it's their 'passion' but don't take into consideration that they might be battling for sales.
Doesn't matter too much either if all the others are crap and you'll be doing it perfect. there's a chance 80% of the customer base for the shops don't even know they're doing it wrong so you'll just be doing it different and looking bitter when you tell people the others are doing it wrong.


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## oakelm (Jan 14, 2009)

Probably talking less than 100k for rental of really small shop, licensing, fitting everything, legal stuff. Thats not including other bills, stock, wages. But if you have a really good business plan and can put about 10-20k into it banks would normally (not right now due to credit crunch) give you a small business loan if they agreed with your projections. Only becomes super expensive when you want to buy the premises instead of rent but cheaper in the long run to buy. Its more of a case of if you can make enough profit after the inital year or two to keep you going.

I would personally start as a homebased breeder and then make a bit of a name for yourself either breeding or importing then once that is turning over nicely and has become a small part time business for you then move it into a proper shop so you have your customers waiting for you.


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## -matty-b- (Dec 13, 2007)

youve gotta have the animal management degree aswell or atleast someone working in the shop that has so thats another wage on top: victory:


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## Zak (Jan 7, 2008)

-matty-b- said:


> youve gotta have the animal management degree aswell or atleast someone working in the shop that has so thats another wage on top: victory:


Think rules are if you havent got one you need to agree to do one within 2 years of acquiring a pet shop license.


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

oakelm said:


> Probably talking less than 100k for rental of really small shop, licensing, fitting everything, legal stuff. Thats not including other bills, stock, wages. But if you have a really good business plan and can put about 10-20k into it banks would normally (not right now due to credit crunch) give you a small business loan if they agreed with your projections. Only becomes super expensive when you want to buy the premises instead of rent but cheaper in the long run to buy. Its more of a case of if you can make enough profit after the inital year or two to keep you going.
> 
> I would personally start as a homebased breeder and then make a bit of a name for yourself either breeding or importing then once that is turning over nicely and has become a small part time business for you then move it into a proper shop so you have your customers waiting for you.


my 75 / 100k was to ensure there's funds available to pay bills, wages and stock until you start making money


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## Starshine Tara (Jun 22, 2008)

Animal Management degree?

You sure?

Tara xxx


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## Zak (Jan 7, 2008)

Starshine Tara said:


> Animal Management degree?
> 
> You sure?
> 
> Tara xxx


Think its animal management HND or something like that. Pretty sure heard that its required by some local councils but may not be by others.


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## exoticsandtropics (Mar 11, 2007)

the pet care trust run a nationally recognised qualification. the exam is in april or june i believe. cost is around 3-400 pounds and covers everything,. hamsters, guinea craps, reptiles along with management wise thatb is a bit rough like general ideas about laws and bits


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## lukendaniel (Jan 10, 2007)

i cant tell you a price for a general pet shop, but me and luke have just opened a reptile shop for which the first day was yesterday. we have 29 vivs and hatchling racks etc and to full do everything we have spent about 18k.


daniel
L'n'D Exotics


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## stephenie191 (May 29, 2007)

lukendaniel said:


> i cant tell you a price for a general pet shop, but me and luke have just opened a reptile shop for which the first day was yesterday. we have 29 vivs and hatchling racks etc and to full do everything we have spent about 18k.
> 
> 
> daniel
> L'n'D Exotics


Yeah, i thought around 20k was what i was looking at

Thanks that really helped


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## Scales and Fangs (Mar 22, 2007)

sorry to hijack tyhe thread but i just want to welcome lukeand daniel the the reptile TRADE world, opening a shop was the best thing I ever done and have never looked back.

For the O.P - Opening a rep shop is a very dedicated ambition and will take over your life, You could do it for as little as £15K but will struggle to make anything of it and will rely on a lot of luck and good judgement and decisions in your planning stages.

If this is something you are deadly serious about, you are welcome to contact me and we can have a chat. The post about only high end stock making good shops is far from the truth, we stock 98% basic run of the mill stock and only get involved in the odd bit of high end stuff, today we didnt get a single moment when we wasn't serving customers, absolutley rammed out all day. That must tell ya something.

Rob


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## NBLADE (Apr 11, 2007)

i looked into it last yr, well had been researching for a few yrs but really went for it last yr, and in my area i would have needed around 25k to start up with, the only reason i didnt and decided to go more internet based was because of the overheads, it would have been too high for me to realisticly survive on at the moment,


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## Fangio (Jun 2, 2007)

lukendaniel said:


> i cant tell you a price for a general pet shop, but me and luke have just opened a reptile shop for which the first day was yesterday. we have 29 vivs and hatchling racks etc and to full do everything we have spent about 18k.
> 
> 
> daniel
> L'n'D Exotics


Congrats guys! I'll come have a nosey next time I'm in your neck of the woods


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## lefty (Jun 2, 2008)

Scales and Fangs said:


> The post about only high end stock making good shops is far from the truth, we stock 98% basic run of the mill stock and only get involved in the odd bit of high end stuff, today we didnt get a single moment when we wasn't serving customers, absolutley rammed out all day. That must tell ya something.
> 
> Rob


sorry my bad. maybe i was looking at it from the customers side of things:lol2:. it was just my opinion, hope it wasnt misleading in anyway. but i did state imo:whistling2:


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## bosc888 (Jun 3, 2007)

Just wondered why someone who is 20 years old is considered too young to start their own business.
A bit of a laughable statement really:whistling2:


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

it was me who said it so i'll answer.

i didn't say 20 was too young to start your own business but that the business she's wanting to start isn't the best as you don't start to see the benefits of your hard work straight away. With a pet shop you'll need to go in everyday to make sure the animals are fed and watered etc so it's not something you can leave behind at the weekend or ignore the next morning if you want to go out.
Its a lot of hard work for somebody of that age who sees their mates going out enjoying themselves all weekend while you're sat in doing the books and getting ready to go into work the next morning without taking a day off for x weeks.


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## lukendaniel (Jan 10, 2007)

Meko said:


> it was me who said it so i'll answer.
> 
> i didn't say 20 was too young to start your own business but that the business she's wanting to start isn't the best as you don't start to see the benefits of your hard work straight away. With a pet shop you'll need to go in everyday to make sure the animals are fed and watered etc so it's not something you can leave behind at the weekend or ignore the next morning if you want to go out.
> Its a lot of hard work for somebody of that age who sees their mates going out enjoying themselves all weekend while you're sat in doing the books and getting ready to go into work the next morning without taking a day off for x weeks.


 

thats me buggered then im 19 :Na_Na_Na_Na:#

i have lived breathed sleeped reptiles for last few years. thought we would ahev the shop for a rest:whistling2:


daniel


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## oakelm (Jan 14, 2009)

stephenie191 said:


> Yeah, i thought around 20k was what i was looking at
> 
> Thanks that really helped


Wow I must be looking at the most massive and lush shop ever if I rented, lol. Tried comparing it to my brothers start up business but he must have gone to the exteme or brought the lot, cant remember to long ago. Oooo 20k that wouldnt be to bad, just get your client base before you splash out.


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## Esarosa (Jul 13, 2007)

Personally Steph I wouldn't. Purely because theres a cracking reptile shop locally, and you've got to start up then compete against them. They already have a regular client base etc, so in my opinion you would need to offer something a bit extra special, be that morphs or bargains in order to even start out and grab some customers.

That being said if you were to buy out that piece of :censor: in stockton town centre I would definitely shop from you, as something needs to be done for the poor animals!


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## bosc888 (Jun 3, 2007)

Meko said:


> it was me who said it so i'll answer.
> 
> i didn't say 20 was too young to start your own business but that the business she's wanting to start isn't the best as you don't start to see the benefits of your hard work straight away. With a pet shop you'll need to go in everyday to make sure the animals are fed and watered etc so it's not something you can leave behind at the weekend or ignore the next morning if you want to go out.
> Its a lot of hard work for somebody of that age who sees their mates going out enjoying themselves all weekend while you're sat in doing the books and getting ready to go into work the next morning without taking a day off for x weeks.


most new businesses would struggle to make an instant profit & all take a lot of time & effort to start with.
the first year of any new business is always the hardest & a lot of them will fail but that is no reason to discourage someone from having a go as long as their planning is good.
with the amount of empty shops & units around at the moment you should be able to push for a good deal on the lease.


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## Athravan (Dec 28, 2006)

£20k will open you a small reptile shop or general pet shop - But I'm not sure about an aquatics section, from someone I was talking to who has an aquatics shop, setting up the tanks and filtration system for a bank of fish tanks is quite costly - and if going into marine, VERY costly, just to keep the fish alive whilst you're stocking them - plus fish need more quarantine facilities than reptiles, you can keep one reptile per tank - you need to keep 50-100 fish per tank sometimes if it's a small tank, so one fish goes down with a disease you lose the whole tank, so filtration, quarantine and disease control are more factors.

I don't do aquatics though but certainly that's the impression I was given 

I spent less than £20k with starting up but a fair bit more than that once you add on advertising and losses taken in the first few years. You need to have enough money in the bank to cover the running costs for as many years as it takes to break even, before even thinking about a profit... so when you do a business plan just add those costs (electricity, water, replacing bulbs, feeding costs, staff wages, rent, council tax, pet shop license fees etc. etc.) and make sure you've got the money to cover it - I know of a few shops gone down in the first few years because they thought they'd break even immediately and just didn't have that surplus cash in the bank.

The course needed is Pet Store Management run by the Pet Care Trust, it's been a while since I did it but I believe it costed around £200 and you can study from home, and just book into a local college or centre (the open university offices near me did exams), for the two final exams. It has about 5 pages on reptiles and the rest is furries. You do not *have* to get this qualification - you must have a similar qualification or be able to prove experience in the area. Councils are not bound by UK law to ensure you get this qualification - just to ensure that they feel you are qualified to care for the animals you have. This qualification is listed and preferred, and is quite an easy option. But if you already have animal management qualifications then it's pointless going over the same thing twice, the PCT course is far inferior to most accredited animal management courses at the local college. If you have a better qualification put that down and save yourself some money and time.

I would say good luck to anyone starting up a reptile shop, it's a lot of work but most owners you speak to will be positive and say it's worth it at the end of the day and they wouldn't change their decision to open up no matter how much money or work it ultimately took.

Considering at 21 you can graduate from university with a business studies degree - and that the princes trust supports, encourages and gives out loans and grants specifically for 18-25 year olds starting up businesses, thousands of businesses are opened every year by the 18-25 crowd, and I don't see why age is a factor if you have experience. A business studies course would help a LOT in understanding some of the finer points of financing, accounting, business plans, advertising strategies, growth and losses, etc. etc. - so if you're waiting 18 months anyway it might be worth enrolling in some education in that area. Running a pet shop is about the animals but running a successful business will come down to business management at the end of the day.


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## stephenie191 (May 29, 2007)

Thanks Athravan! That really helped! : victory:



Meko said:


> it was me who said it so i'll answer.
> 
> i didn't say 20 was too young to start your own business but that the business she's wanting to start isn't the best as you don't start to see the benefits of your hard work straight away. With a pet shop you'll need to go in everyday to make sure the animals are fed and watered etc so it's not something you can leave behind at the weekend or ignore the next morning if you want to go out.
> Its a lot of hard work for somebody of that age who sees their mates going out enjoying themselves all weekend while you're sat in doing the books and getting ready to go into work the next morning without taking a day off for x weeks.


As for asuming just because i'm 20 i won't be commited, thats abit narrow minded.
All i do now is work, (nearlly 50 hours a week) and i rarely go clubbing anymore, more like once in a blue moon!

Age has nothing to do with it, when your as boring as me! I act like a bluddy 80 year old, tucked up in bed at 9 for work the next day :blush:


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## Love_snakes (Aug 12, 2007)

The only thing i can suggest is that you breed your own stock. This way you know where it comes from and also the profit will be higher. My LRS breed almost all of their animals.


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

stephenie191 said:


> Thanks Athravan! That really helped! : victory:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
it's not being narrow minded at all. when i was twenty i was like most 20 year olds and out every night.. i did work hard to afford to go out but i wouldn't have given up those years for anything.
Seeing as i had my party years when i was your age, i'm doing what you're doing now - 50 hours a week (60 including travelling) and rarely go out.. although i don't go to bed at 9, i'm not that old


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## jack_rep (Sep 11, 2008)

I dont think stockton-on-tees would be a good place to open a shop. Just too much existing competition. In billingham you have billingham aquatics, then the reptile shop next door. Then pet mania selling fish next to that. Neetas in stockton. Coast to Coast exotics in darlington. North east exotics in middlesbrough i think. And there is another in middlesbrough that is upgrading its upstairs to sell reptiles. There has got to be more i cant think of.

Anyway point is that the market is saturated. If i was going to set up a shop, i wouldnt do it in that area.


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## Horny Toad (Sep 9, 2006)

Hi Stephanie

Hope you are well. If you are wanting a helping hand in the decision making process let me know. I think, over the many years I have been in the trade, I can probably give you an insight into the pro's and con's. And of course I wont be biased - even though I could view you as a potential Zoo Logic customer! :whistling2:

Kev


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## tina b (Oct 3, 2007)

Zak said:


> Think rules are if you havent got one you need to agree to do one within 2 years of acquiring a pet shop license.


 

not really my sis has had her shop for 5 years an no degree in anything ...


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## Zak (Jan 7, 2008)

tina b said:


> not really my sis has had her shop for 5 years an no degree in anything ...


And you read the rest of my post i say it can depend on which county you live as depends on local council.


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