# To open a shop in halifax west yorks or not thats is the question



## hildred (Apr 11, 2011)

Hi there people im thinking of opening my own reptile shop in halifax west yorks and i am just wondering if they would be any point i have some strong conections whear im based not naming people but there trust worthy breeders and could help me with my livestock etc, after a few years of not keeping any reptiles i am just wondering if therse still a market out there for them and also i understand a lot of people reading this will be thinking im in it for the money whell yes i am in a way but no im not in the other-way i am basiclay whonting to breed desinger morphs and still keep my basics such as geckos beardeys and so on.It has come to my knolage over the past few years that reptiles are 20% more likley to be in a home in the uk than dogs are i know it sound stupuied but this was statued on the perigrin livefoods cattaloge. so there for i am whonting your personol appinions thanks hildred  or and p.s keeps smilling :2thumb:


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## KarlW (Oct 6, 2009)

hildred said:


> Hi there people im thinking of opening my own reptile shop in halifax west yorks and i am just wondering if they would be any point i have some strong conections whear im based not naming people but there trust worthy breeders and could help me with my livestock etc, after a few years of not keeping any reptiles i am just wondering if therse still a market out there for them and also i understand a lot of people reading this will be thinking im in it for the money whell yes i am in a way but no im not in the other-way i am basiclay whonting to breed desinger morphs and still keep my basics such as geckos beardeys and so on.It has come to my knolage over the past few years that reptiles are 20% more likley to be in a home in the uk than dogs are i know it sound stupuied but this was statued on the perigrin livefoods cattaloge. so there for i am whonting your personol appinions thanks hildred  or and p.s keeps smilling :2thumb:


 
This probably should be in the Off topic part, not here, as this isnt really a question about the forum itself.

Do you have any experience in business at all?
How old are you, what are you currently doing for work?
Are there alot of shops already in your area?
Do you have any cash forecasts?
Will you be requiring a cash injection/loan? If so, where will you get this?
Are your "contacts" only really interested in making money themselves?


At bare minimum you will need someone to do all of your paperwork, or a good spellchecker.


Karl


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## hildred (Apr 11, 2011)

i have all the planing set out and spellings not my best subject im 19 years old and have picked up knollage of reps since i was 14 and still read up on them nearley evrey day and the cash floas not a problam and also they are 3 shops in my eria but they are 2 of them withc are pets at home and also jolly pets and halifax reptials


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## Shellsfeathers&fur (Jan 18, 2009)

There is a thread in Other Pets regarding a user's wish to open a petshop.

There are a lot of useful tips and advice so its well worth you taking a look.

Basically, you will need a bottomless pit of money amongst other things.

A spellchecker would be a good idea because if you are taking documents to a backer for finance I think this might well deter them from giving you a loan.


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## andy2086 (Dec 26, 2008)

Best of look if you're serious about opening a shop in Halifax, it's about time we had a decent one :2thumb:. I go to Leeds for my supplies.

I've seen a few come & go and, as already said, you'll need* VERY* deep pockets to keep it going.


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

KarlW said:


> Do you have any experience in business at all?
> How old are you, what are you currently doing for work?
> Are there alot of shops already in your area?
> Do you have any cash forecasts?
> ...


I will second these questions.

1. How much work have you done in retail shops? Do you have any experience in working or managing a retail shop of any description? If you don't... please GET that experience (ideally a small shop like a corner shop) before you invest in a reptile shop.
2. I have seen more than one dedicated reptile shop in the Halifax area shut down. Wasn't but a couple of weeks ago that I was walking past the building with Halifax Reptiles signage... and posters in the window saying the building has been repossessed. If Halifax Reptiles has moved, I'd be interested in knowing where to!
3. Deep pockets is a must - although you might be able to open a dry-goods-only shop for less than £10K if you're lucky, if you intend to stock reptiles, plan on three to four times that much.
4. Got a good accountant? If your mathematics skill is as good as your skill with English, you'll NEED one.

This isn't really a good time to be opening a specialist "luxury goods" shop, given the current status of the economy.... not saying it can't work, but it'll be very hard WORK.


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## Exotic Mad (Jul 11, 2009)

Ssthisto said:


> I will second these questions.
> 
> 1. How much work have you done in retail shops? Do you have any experience in working or managing a retail shop of any description? If you don't... please GET that experience (ideally a small shop like a corner shop) before you invest in a reptile shop.
> 2. *I have seen more than one dedicated reptile shop in the Halifax area shut down. Wasn't but a couple of weeks ago that I was walking past the building with Halifax Reptiles signage... and posters in the window saying the building has been repossessed. If Halifax Reptiles has moved, I'd be interested in knowing where to!*
> ...


halifax reptiles has unfortunatley not moved. the recession plus bad flooding during the bad weather resulted in it closing down in december


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

Exotic Mad said:


> halifax reptiles has unfortunatley not moved. the recession plus bad flooding during the bad weather resulted in it closing down in december


A shame to hear that - not nice to know that it just didn't work out for such unforeseeable reasons.


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## Exotic Mad (Jul 11, 2009)

Ssthisto said:


> A shame to hear that - not nice to know that it just didn't work out for such unforeseeable reasons.


i know. i worked their for most of the time it was open and if it wasn't for both factors it would have done so well. we had loads of lovely customers coming back each week plus quite a lot of new ones. i never knew there were quite so many reptiley people in the area :lol2:


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## hildred (Apr 11, 2011)

after a few mouths of siting bk and thinking im going to do it so hopes fax will have a new shop in a few mouths having speaking to a few friends and a few old ones at that i think that this could benefit Halifax in the industry of reptile also i will be doing my DWA licence but there will not just be venomous in the shop as-well as crocks but i lil critter i love my self meerkats :2thumb:
i also was just wonted to see and know who and haw my marketing would go in Halifax there would not just be basic snake there will be morphed ones aswell so please feal free to tell me what you would think and what would be some key pointer thanks very much Anthony : victory:


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## tenebrae (Feb 6, 2012)

I strongly suggest you don't open a store. You say you have five years experience with reptiles and you want to work with DWA?? :lol2: I don't mean to be rude but after 30 years of working with reptiles and exotics in a professional capacity I still try avoid DWA where I can. 

Starting a business is incredibly hard work as many people here have mentioned, it takes a lot of money to get started let alone stay in the black and would you really think there is any market in Halifax for designer morph's...bear in mind this seems to be a current trend among the reptile trade which may not last. 

In all I would say spend a few years at college studying business/economics, a bank would be very unlikely to offer money at the moment and you will need to produce a sound business plan which I feel you may struggle with at the moment. At the end of the day you don't want to risk your house or it's contents by rushing into anything.


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## andy2086 (Dec 26, 2008)

Halifax isn't that big a place and (unfortunately) I am seeing shops closing down more often. 

A new reptile shop opening here would have to quickly gain local regular customers (like me!) as well as bringing people from out of town. I know nothing about businesses but I know that would entail LOTS of money, LOTS of time and hard work, LOTS of knowledge (business & animal wise) and a regular supply of top quality livestock to keep customers coming from near and far : victory:


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## blood and guts (May 30, 2007)

hildred said:


> Hi there people im thinking of opening my own reptile shop in halifax west yorks and i am just wondering if they would be any point i have some strong conections whear im based not naming people but there trust worthy breeders and could help me with my livestock etc, after a few years of not keeping any reptiles i am just wondering if therse still a market out there for them and also i understand a lot of people reading this will be thinking im in it for the money whell yes i am in a way but no im not in the other-way i am basiclay whonting to breed desinger morphs and still keep my basics such as geckos beardeys and so on.It has come to my knolage over the past few years that reptiles are 20% more likley to be in a home in the uk than dogs are i know it sound stupuied but this was statued on the perigrin livefoods cattaloge. so there for i am whonting your personol appinions thanks hildred  or and p.s keeps smilling :2thumb:


First off id like to say sorry as im going to be pretty blunt! you are both young and had a few years out from keeping. Do you really have the experience to run a shop? Im often one of the first to jump in and defend people with bad spelling and grammer being dislexic myself but your spelling and grammer will deffently need looking at with business plans and promotion of the business to be taken serius.
Also the fact shops have come and gone in your area and the desire to jump in with dwa rings alarm bells for a few reasons. The first should speak for itself the second is why would you want to clog up sales space with stuff that is not going to sell well if at all? seen a few shops get caimens as a centre piece that had to give them up due to space of simple inabitlity to handle.
The current climate is not good for opening a business in any area and even though the reptile market has grown well over all many shops are struggling and closing including those run by well known and respected people. The net is killing retail to, places like surry pets are hard to compete against for dry goods..
Theres more costs then many often think to and it could be five years befor you even draw a wage from the place.
Good luck what ever you decide.


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## Dan Trafford (Mar 10, 2011)

I wouldn't open one. I think we need a shop here but I just feel worried that it wouldn't be someone with mega experience with both reps and business ownership. Persnonally I think it would end in disaster, which is a shame don't get me wrong, as I do think we need one.


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## charlottedavenport (Jan 10, 2012)

I'd love to see a decent one again, think if you did one like the one that was by the train station would be the best plan cos they used to have it kind of like a zoo where you could pay to go look around and 'pet' them was great for families on a low income to go see exotic pets


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## Dan Trafford (Mar 10, 2011)

charlottedavenport said:


> I'd love to see a decent one again, think if you did one like the one that was by the train station would be the best plan cos they used to have it kind of like a zoo where you could pay to go look around and 'pet' them was great for families on a low income to go see exotic pets


But that place was a dive and clearly wasn't successful as it wouldn't have shut down. It's not just about what a few of us want, this lad would be spending tens of thousands at least, setting up a business, we do not want it to fail for him.


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