# Starting a Business



## mandyT (Aug 23, 2007)

I have a website that is currently coming together nicely and the website will be selling livestock of corn snakes and leopard geckos. But I wish to take it up the next steps to be able to sell substrates live food etc etc ... 


where do i start and how do i get them to supply me ?


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## bobberbiker (Apr 7, 2010)

for dry goods either get them from a supplier or from china. i know TMC supply dry goods to pretty much anyone but they are the aquatic trade... they might sell some other stuff though. prob cheaper to buy from china to be honest.

btw you should really get a decent website. not many people will trust a website like yours...for example ads everywhere and a cheap/free domain name. it will only cost you a tenner at the most for a .co.uk name and only £3 hosting per month. people will be wary why a business would use a free website


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## corny girl (Aug 30, 2009)

Not very professional looking, lots of spelling mistakes :whistling2:. Care sheets need a lot more work on them (Leo's need ground temp of 32*C or 90*F in order to digest their food & ideally this should be in the form of belly heat). No mention of what to keep corns in or size of viv, what substrate to use, what temps they are to be kept at etc... Sorry for being critical but if you want a professional website then you have to have it looking good all round with the correct infomation on it :2thumb:. As it stands i wouldn't buy from you :whistling2:.


For a supplier have you contacted places like Euro Rep or Perigrine to see about setting up a trade account? You may have to be VAT registered before they will give you an account so be prepared (they may not but some places do need you to be).


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## Si4Geckos (Oct 8, 2008)

I agree with the above about your site not looking very professioal or trustworthy. I could knock one together like mine fairly cheap if you wanted? Let me know


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## nelly1 (Oct 27, 2009)

I do hope to protect yourself you do have all relevant licencing need as you are advertising your self as a business


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## andy007 (May 13, 2008)

nelly1 said:


> I do hope to protect yourself you do have all relevant licencing need as you are advertising your self as a business


Was just thinking the same thing? Especially if you buy in any reptiles to sell, as you will need a Pet Shop License.


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## The Rook (Mar 17, 2010)

Loooooots of spelling mistakes. Lots. Unprofessional.


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## ink&reps (Sep 16, 2010)

As above, speling punktuation an gramma as terible! ( see what i did there) And the ads... date hot russian girls....get rid of things like that. 
pete


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## Freeman (Jul 20, 2009)

How does anyone find your site? To drive any sort of sales volume through a website, you need to have a high quality, SEO driven site with blog entry and a whole host of other tools. That will increase your rankings when people search for your products and services. 

The problem with most sites is they dont attract anyone in, and keep them there. They are clicked on, then clicked off within seconds. So it needs to have something that is instantly attractive. 

There are also many tools with the search engines themselves that allow you to attain first page positions and have adverts for your site on other websites. 

One of my guys is an expert with this stuff. We could sort it out for you. Basically your site needs to be well advertised in order to just get clicked on. Then theres the website itself, which must sell, otherwise its pointless as a business tool unfortunately.


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## Shellsfeathers&fur (Jan 18, 2009)

I'm afraid I have to agree with the above - spelling and grammar both need attention.

Also the "flashing ads", particular the hot Russian girls are a bit distracting!


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## mandyT (Aug 23, 2007)

Okay thanks for the advice given a little harsh but all helps. Im going over the website as the moment making little chances here and there and changing the spelling, i have no excuss for my spelling im just rubbish... I dont need a licence to sell privatly which im currently doing at the moment with our own reptiles. but i know i will if i do decided to go into stocking and selling online. I will be getting a domain name and proper website before long, but just looking into everything before i go jumping into the deep end.


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## Khaos (Jul 9, 2007)

Mandy,

I'd say the replies are blunt and honest, rather than harsh. Harsh suggests unfair, when in fact people are just giving you up-front opinions. And as the forum users are reptile lovers and, in some cases, experts, I'd suggest you lap up as many of their comments as you can. The world at large won't go on your site to offer constructive criticism, they'll go on there and, either leave or be pretty harsh.

If you want people to give you money, i.e. customers, you need to give them reason to trust you.

1) Sort the spellling and grammar. If you're not so hot on it, that's fine, get a friend who's good with words to proof read the entire site.
2) Care sheets: if you're not going to do a bang up job and giving 100% of the information, don't have them. Giving people the wrong info or not all the info is worse than nothing
3) Get rid of the adverts. They cheapen and demean your whole site
4) Make it clear who and what you are. People are already wondering if you hold a PSL. You're a private breeder, fine, this needs to be made clear. Your site looks a bit like a small pet shop's one, so you might want to clarify.
5) Get a proper payment system in place. Having an online business which only accepts Paypal, cash and cheque is a bit counter-intuitive. People may not trust you unless you have an accredited system in place.

If you're serious about developing this as a business, take heed of the good advice the forum will give you, make some changes and you'll have a better chance than most.


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## mandyT (Aug 23, 2007)

i didnt mean they was unfair yes i probs did use the wrong word. i did say i was okay with their comment and happy to know there answers that way i can sort it out and make it better etc...


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## mandyT (Aug 23, 2007)

> 1) Sort the spellling and grammar. If you're not so hot on it, that's fine, get a friend who's good with words to proof read the entire site.
> i now have spell checker on google chrome and this checks as I write, I have gone over my site and all the spell and grammer as been corrected to the best of my mind
> 
> 2) Care sheets: if you're not going to do a bang up job and giving 100% of the information, don't have them. Giving people the wrong info or not all the info is worse than nothing The care sheets have moved from the site to the sites forum. This is will allow them to be able to find them easier i thought, i have said within the site information that they have moved and where to find them. i have the corn snake one to do but the leopard gecko one has been complete, gotta re-check it though. and will be adding more from other reptiles too.
> ...


thanks for the help given


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## Khaos (Jul 9, 2007)

Hi Mandy,

Domain names are just the title in the web browser. They won't affect anything else. What you need to do is either remove your adverts or create a new webpage without them, if removing them isn't an option. charliesreptiles.tk is your domain name. You'll find most .co.uk domain names are £5-20 for the year. 

As for the payment thing, you can set up a debit/credit card payment system. There are a number of online systems you can use on your website. It'll give people more trust and it means you can accept payments in far more ways. 

Sounds like you're already making big improvements - good stuff!


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## chelseanlee (Feb 9, 2009)

hey, just had a quick look on your site, although you may have checked the spelling it still doesn't help if what you've written doesn't make sense in the first place. 

_*All Leopard gecko and corn snakes sold from us, comes complete with their own cricket tub (to travel them home with)..*_

Should be 'come' not comes and no comma is needed after 'us' and 'to travel home in' not with. 

_* Our currently count is 3 lovely Corn.. *_

Should be 'current'.

_*No Leopard gecko will go in till they are 20+ grams in weight and in till I feel.. *_

Should be ' No Leopard Gecko will be sold until they are 20+ grams in weight and until i feel...'



There are tons of mistakes like this where the spelling may be correct but your sentences aren't written properly. 

Please don't think I'm being harsh, my spelling, punctuation and grammar are rubbish, but even i can pick out a lot of faults. 

I think getting someone who's really good with their spelling, punctuation and grammar, to look over it would make a world of difference. 

: victory: Good luck with it though xx


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## mandyT (Aug 23, 2007)

okay thanks, will get someone to skim through it tonight


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## chelseanlee (Feb 9, 2009)

i now have spell checker on google chrome and this checks as I write, I have gone over my site and all the *spell* and grammer *as* been corrected to the best of my mind


Although your spell checker checks words are spelt correctly it doesn't mean it makes sense :lol2:













BTW you spelt grammar wrong :whistling2:


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## mandyT (Aug 23, 2007)

yep as i said im getting someone to skim through it tonight


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## Ballz Deep (Sep 16, 2010)

haha i agree about the girls lol


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## BenjaminBoaz (Jan 6, 2006)

It's often a lot of work for little rewards. You need backing so see if there's a business link or equivalent that can help.


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## pauls_reptiles (Apr 5, 2010)

Hi there i can help on dry goods trade. Just pm if you want to deal with me no problem i like to help i have loads of whole sale accounts and can get anythink you want from a viv waterfall to repti bark to heat mats and vivs, uv bulbs and much much more !!!


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## BenjaminBoaz (Jan 6, 2006)

What you reay need to do is get your business registered and then speak to peregrine/monfields/eurorep etc and give them your business registration number. Proof of business can also be supplied by your accountant. It also depends if your going to be stocking the goods yourself or going to be using one of these companies to send your orders out for you. Or speak to them first and ask what information they want you to supply. Better to ask the horse.


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## Requiem (Mar 22, 2010)

Si4Geckos said:


> I agree with the above about your site not looking very professioal or trustworthy. I could knock one together like mine fairly cheap if you wanted? Let me know


My intention isn't to offend, but your own site is poorly designed and built using a free website builder with adverts, just like the OP's, so I don't think it would be much help.

OP, you can get a .co.uk domain name for around £4 a year. Hosting is a little more expensive and varies greatly.

Your best bet, if you're serious in starting up a business, is to pay a professional designer to create the site for you and deal with the SEO. Find someone who'll do a good price on a CMS (Content Management System) so that you'll be able to update it easily yourself.

Good luck


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## reptilerossy (Aug 29, 2010)

pauls_reptiles said:


> Hi there i can help on dry goods trade. Just pm if you want to deal with me no problem i like to help i have loads of whole sale accounts and can get anythink you want from a viv waterfall to repti bark to heat mats and vivs, uv bulbs and much much more !!!


I work for my dad who has a building company. Do you think I could get accounts with wholesalers if I go through his company? I need lots of vivs but only really want to pay trade price.


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## Jczreptiles (Sep 1, 2009)

TBH I would make getting the petshop licence first thing on your list before even getting the site sorted, this along with getting the business regestered will open up so many doors for you. Getting accounts will often require the business to be registered as already mentioned but also not many will sell you livestock without a pet shop licence. Getting the PSL can also take time and realisticly if your going to make enough to warrent your time you will need it pretty soon as 3 corns and 12 geckos breeding will not make you alot the way the prices are coming down on them and understocking early on can finish a business of just as quick as overstocking when people visit the site and too many animals/products are out of stock.
Not to be picky but refering to them as babys rather than hatchlings to me sounds unprofessional so thats worth changing along with other things that have already been mentioned.
The best of luck to you: victory:


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## Jczreptiles (Sep 1, 2009)

reptilerossy said:


> I work for my dad who has a building company. Do you think I could get accounts with wholesalers if I go through his company? I need lots of vivs but only really want to pay trade price.


 You would be better of buying the materials from his contacts in the building trade and building them your self surely financialy and for quality.


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## cavan (Mar 2, 2009)

also think of a decent home page, it doesn't exactly scream snakes and lizards at you! it's just a pic of a flower


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## BenjaminBoaz (Jan 6, 2006)

You relly need to see a business advisor. What money do you have to put in? It's hard to get a bank loan for a business as they want you to be putting money in yourself, and for this type of business you are going to need capital. It's actually easier to re mortgage a house to fund a business venture (which is what I ended up doing!). Money disappears so quick, housing, electric, office equipment, accountant fees, stock, deaths, food etc...I'm sure your dad will know. 
We aren't trying to dishearten you but ... And I'm jumping to conclusions... 1, Your very young and 2 all your really wanting is to be able to by things cheaper. If your serious talk to people like the business trust, business link, enterprise schemes. You may be able to get a start up grant from your local council but they don't often like animal related businesses. Google 'starting a business'. Do you have a business plan? You need to think about what your going to spend and how your going to make money. Advise here is ok but you nesd to speak a body that can really help. As it's been said breeding your own animals may be a plus but is there much demand and will you have the stock? A number of these type off internet sites buy start by buying through a middle man and thus prices are high. I have a warehouse card however I hardly use it as I can go to the big supper markets like tescos and often get the product I'm looking for cheaper due to them bulk buying. Why not build your own vivs, they may nit be as pretty but in business you often need to save where you can. Have you thought about tax, your not likey to go VAT registered straight away as you have to be making a packet but record keeping is a must. Many people breed on here for fun and if they kept records would find they actually don't make as much as they thought but as it's a hobby its not so much of a problem.


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## mandyT (Aug 23, 2007)

i will be getting a .co.uk name and a hosting person when the money in my bank clears - i will be using pickaweb.

i have alot to change and i know this and it will be done 

i will be speaking to someone somtime when i have the time


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## eeji (Feb 22, 2006)

if you are looking for a web host I can highly recommend Byethost - I have 4 sites hosted with them and the service is excellent.


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