Anyone own a pet store?

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madaboutrags

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Yes yes yes... see that what I was thinking... and if I did start to sell my own animals, starting with the ones I know the best. Like fish... working with the local shelter. I would love to board all types of animals for them. That would be a way to not contribute to the homeless population. Not that it never happens but I think they can go further with the screening process than I can. I also know that here in Maine the Humane Society keeps a list of people who have had complaints filed against them. So they won't adopt to anyone on that list. They probably do that everywhere, but I don't know for sure...
I love the idea of a place for fellow animal lovers to gather and drink coffee and chill out... a place where you can look at the books without getting dirty looks from the people trying to sell them...lol Maybe have like my own private library there that people can hang out and read. Have some of the favorites for sale...
Kluchetta I wish you could go to that fish store with me...lol I know you would love it... it's exactly as you described... The woman is so mellow and friendly... and her tanks are beautiful. You can go there pretty much anytime.. she loves the company. I want that atmosphere... I want people to not worry about when time it is. If they get home from work and everything else is closed and they forgot to pick up cat food on their way by, I want them come over because they know I'll be there. If I found out I couldn't do it at my home, I would probably consider moving to a place where I could.
 

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Just a reminder. Some of the posts within this thread are becoming personal in nature. Please settle disputes via PM, and not on the boards.
 

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Come to think of it, there is a pet store down the block from me called The Pet Supermarket, and I think they're part of a chain. Anyway, they DO have a tall, 6ft cage of 3 levels that always have two or three cats in them from a shelter or a rescue that they try to find homes for. They also have low-cost vaccination days a few times per year where you just bring in your dog or cat and a vet is there to vaccinate them.
Aside from the 2 or 3 cats up for adoption, they also sell hamster, rabbits, birds.

I think that one of the earlier posts had a GREAT suggestion of just selling food and supplies, PLUS having a little area where people can maybe read and maybe you can serve coffee? Something like that? People can come in and talk about their animals...and you know how we LOVE to talk about our animals...
 

white cat lover

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One thought....is there any way you can talk to another small pet store owner? Maybe get ideas from them..... Or take Business classes at a local college? I am almost done with my Business Administration & Management degree, specializing in Small Business Management....and some of the classes I took on managing finances were very helpful!
 

kluchetta

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With the pet boarding thing, there are some really cool boarding places these days. Swimming pools, grass to play on, cat condos, and whole rooms for the cats to live in...
 
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madaboutrags

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So there is a chance then that our local shelters would let me boared some of their animals verses just allowing them to "visit" for a day. The place I'd like to buy comes with a couple acres of land. Not a whole lot, but plenty for what I want to do... I would be able to build access to the outdoors off the side of the building for dogs/puppies. Or even for shelter cats that have always been outside. It would definately be completely caged in and cats that had never been out would have to be seperate because I wouldn't want to introduce them to the outside.
I have talked to the woman who owns the saltwater fish place (I don't like to say store because she could care less about selling anything). She and I have spent hours on the couch in front of her biggest tank talking about this. There's another one I favor about an hour and a half from me. He and I have spent a lot of time talking about his business and my ideas for mine. I'm fortunate that they are both far enough away from me that I wouldn't be competition for them. I think that's why they have been so willing to talk to me. The man has mostly fish. He does have a back room with some other things in it... I peaked around the corner one day and saw a snake. I didn't care to look any further so I'm not sure all of what's there... He has a parrot who lives there and a dog that travels back and forth with him. He promotes a couple breeders whom he knows well and keeps it at that with the kittens and puppies. He doesn't breed himself. Once in a while you can go in there and he'll have a baby from the litter who's ready to go there for the day. I've asked him about that and he says he does it for two reasons. One being that he likes to expose people to the different breeds. Usually if he brings a cat or kitten it's because he expects to see someone in the store that day that has never seen the breed but seemed to be interested when they saw the pictures around the store. He's very knowledgeable and really seems to take a lot of pride in educating the public on different breeds/species of animals. He has pictures of his friends show cats all over the place... He also said that on very rare occasions he has brought a kitten in that the breeder was having a hard time to sell. He said he doesn't like to do that. Sometimes people ask him to and he usually says no. At other times if he thinks the kitten is getting big enough that it's going to be that much harder to find it a home and he thinks the breeder may keep it and breed it he'll do it because he'd liked to see most animals spayed and this way he can require it to be before it ever comes to his store.
So many different points to consider... It's great to have a forum full of knowledgeable people to bounce ideas off
I have all these thoughts and ideas and visions swirling around in my head...LOL
Anyway... thanks everyone... keep the great ideas coming
 

lioness

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I was going to suggest a pet supply store and maybe possibly a really nice boarding facility!

I went to a place a couple of years ago that was a new boarding place/day care for animals and it was great!!!

All the rooms had twin size beds in it and even TVs!!!


They had coffee and cookies also and a place where you could sit. Also had a ragdoll that was walking around there sometimes. A beautiful seal bi-color.


It was great!!

Hope everything works out well for you with your business!
 

lnbandcats

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Originally Posted by kluchetta

I would second you going with a really high quality food store. There is so little to choose from; I'm lucky that about 5 blocks away is an awesome pet food store. But even Petco and Petsmart have crappy food. It's very frustrating.

You could also have books, comfy chairs, coffee, just a cute eclectic store. I can just see it!!!
I love this idea! My dream store would offer pet supplies - high quality - and also a place for owners to stop in and have a cup of coffee, with their well behaved pets in tow! I would like to offer local artisans who make pet gifts, photograph, etc a place to exhibit and sell their products. Hopefully folks who have the screened in "buggies" would come in with their cats, too! I would sell homemade pet treats and also work with the shelters.
I would also sell "birding supplies", since birding is now the #1 hobby in the U.S. And make pet gift baskets and sell pet balloons! After all, we treat our four legged kids just like to two legged variety!
Does anyone remember the short lived TV show, Providence? Remember the younger sister opened a cafe/dog bakery! I think she called it the Barkery!
Keep us posted and good luck making your dream come true!
 

kluchetta

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Originally Posted by lnbandcats

I love this idea! My dream store would offer pet supplies - high quality - and also a place for owners to stop in and have a cup of coffee, with their well behaved pets in tow! I would like to offer local artisans who make pet gifts, photograph, etc a place to exhibit and sell their products. Hopefully folks who have the screened in "buggies" would come in with their cats, too! I would sell homemade pet treats and also work with the shelters.
I would also sell "birding supplies", since birding is now the #1 hobby in the U.S. And make pet gift baskets and sell pet balloons! After all, we treat our four legged kids just like to two legged variety!
Does anyone remember the short lived TV show, Providence? Remember the younger sister opened a cafe/dog bakery! I think she called it the Barkery!
Keep us posted and good luck making your dream come true!
I remember that show! And the dad was a vet. And the sister was always baking doggie biscuits!
 

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There is a pet store here tht has been in business for years. They started out small, (they still are not huge) just selling food, supplies, etc. Then as customers began to request different things, he began to consider them. He is now in a larger bulding, sells high quality food, toys, and other supplies for cats, dogs, reptiles, and fish.
He now sells fish and reptiles, and employs a fish and reptile expert.
He sells birds, and has a person that knows all about them.
He has a few dogs from reputable breeders in the store, but they buyers must deal directly with the breeders. They can only look in the store.
He takes in litter of kittens that would otherwise go to the high-kill shelters, gives them their first shots, worms them, and has a vet that he works with on spay and neuter. He sells them for a small fee, with a kitten care kit. Surprisingly, most of them go to good homes, and almost none come back, unless the owners have been deployed, then he does what he can to help them. The ones tht he just cannot do anything else with get desexed and go to his farm. None of them are killed or are contributing to the over population problem.
I think he is a good model for a small business involving animals.
The only thing missing is the coffee and conversation area, which is a lovely idea. It would be so nice around their big inside koi pond.
 

lnbandcats

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Originally Posted by krazy kat2

There is a pet store here tht has been in business for years. They started out small, (they still are not huge) just selling food, supplies, etc. Then as customers began to request different things, he began to consider them. He is now in a larger bulding, sells high quality food, toys, and other supplies for cats, dogs, reptiles, and fish.
He now sells fish and reptiles, and employs a fish and reptile expert.
He sells birds, and has a person that knows all about them.
He has a few dogs from reputable breeders in the store, but they buyers must deal directly with the breeders. They can only look in the store.
He takes in litter of kittens that would otherwise go to the high-kill shelters, gives them their first shots, worms them, and has a vet that he works with on spay and neuter. He sells them for a small fee, with a kitten care kit. Surprisingly, most of them go to good homes, and almost none come back, unless the owners have been deployed, then he does what he can to help them. The ones tht he just cannot do anything else with get desexed and go to his farm. None of them are killed or are contributing to the over population problem.
I think he is a good model for a small business involving animals.
The only thing missing is the coffee and conversation area, which is a lovely idea. It would be so nice around their big inside koi pond.
Oh yes, sipping tea around a koi pond! This thread has energized my creativity! What a great venture to start and to donate the profits to local shelters!
 

capt_jordi

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Oo for the pet boarding idea here ya go
www.campruffnmore.com
thats the one I work at and I LOVE it. We dont focus so much on spoiling the dogs while they are there, but just making sure they have lots of fun. We have day care and boarding and are averaging around 15 dogs a night which isnt bad since we just hit our 1 year anniversary in June! We have had at least 20 dogs every weekend for the entire summer! Its a great business if you can get it going! Keep an eye on Womens Entertainment Network for a show called Adventures in Doggy Daycare. There company website is here http://www.downtowndoglounge.com/
 

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I worked in a specialty store (not pet store, it was a dive shop) and I can tell you the best thing you can do is get all the wholesale books you can (probably can get them after you have a business license, if that's required) and learn EVERYTHING available. Offer to do special orders. Especially since it doesn't sound you have a lot available to you where you live, if you know what they need, you can special order it for them. That keeps your overhead way down, and gives you the extra time and money to concentrate on basic everyday supplies. Also, contact everyone in your area that has anything to do with pets so you can give referrals for grooming, boarding, vet care, even transportation if needed. Be the pet store people go to for answers! Where they can go to get anything, even if they have to wait for it to be delivered. I know people can go online and get things, but if they can go to a store and drink a cup of coffee and chat with like minded people, and have them order it for them, that is what a lot of people still want.

The idea of having rescue animals in, either boarding them, or having an "adoption" day each week is great! And, if someone comes in with a litter of kittens their cat had by mistake, it would be a great way to make sure they go to good homes as well as educating the owner on spaying their pet.

I think the whole this is a great idea!!
 
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madaboutrags

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Great ideas everyone
I've been researching the zoning... trying to see what I can find out without actually meeting with the zoning comittee... From what I'm learning I should be able to have what I want at that home I'd like to buy in the spring... if not a couple people have suggested a little house on the outside of town. I'd have to build the whole "shop" but it has the land to do it... the neighbours are a furniture place and a restraunt so noise from barking dogs at night shouldn't be a problem... yet another option to look into
 
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madaboutrags

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I don't know why I didn't mention this before...lol Craziness... But I'm a certified pet groomer and like the only person I have EVER come across around here who will groom cats. That's not saying they aren't out there... but they aren't around here. I did talk to one lady who would groom one specific cat and only with a "chill" pill... So anyway, pet grooming will be going on at the shop too... Maybe work something out with the shelters to groom their animals free. It's not like it really cost anything to do it. Minimal... But also discounts to seniors. We also have a place for handicap people here. Got me thinking about offering discounts for service animals? Even if they just need a bath and their nails clipped. Every dog deserves a bath right and it can't be easy for some of the people with those types of issues to do those things or get the animal where it can be done
The same woman who grooms the one specific cat also does housecalls for elderly/disabled clients. She's retired now, but was my teacher. I think I need to give her a call and see what she thinks about that aspect of all of this.
 

kluchetta

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Originally Posted by MadAboutRags

I don't know why I didn't mention this before...lol Craziness... But I'm a certified pet groomer and like the only person I have EVER come across around here who will groom cats. That's not saying they aren't out there... but they aren't around here. I did talk to one lady who would groom one specific cat and only with a "chill" pill... So anyway, pet grooming will be going on at the shop too... Maybe work something out with the shelters to groom their animals free. It's not like it really cost anything to do it. Minimal... But also discounts to seniors. We also have a place for handicap people here. Got me thinking about offering discounts for service animals? Even if they just need a bath and their nails clipped. Every dog deserves a bath right and it can't be easy for some of the people with those types of issues to do those things or get the animal where it can be done
The same woman who grooms the one specific cat also does housecalls for elderly/disabled clients. She's retired now, but was my teacher. I think I need to give her a call and see what she thinks about that aspect of all of this.
I like the grooming idea! Especially for service animals. Our store here has 3 bays where you can "wash your own" dog! Separate price for that, or they will wash your dog. Skunked dogs are extra, LOL!
 
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madaboutrags

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I'm getting really excited!!! I'm going to end up having to force myself to wait a year to do this
It's for the best though that I give myself ample time to research and gather facts... Anyone know how to go about doing a community survey to see if people in our community feel a need for such a store?
Off topic... kind of... would it be wrong to allow breast cancer fundraising in the store? It's completely unrelated but I have organized a group called "Got Boobs". We raise money for breast cancer patients here in Maine. I wouldn't like ask people to donate, I hate it when people do that to me... but for example right now we are getting ready to do a scratch ticket campaign. I could just make a poster and any one who saw it on their own and wanted to donate could do so there....
Bails and Isis are getting shots today... I think I'm going to mention this plan to our vet and see if he would consider being a part of it. I already refer anyone I talk to to him... but maybe he'd be willing to participate in the low cost shot/health screening clinics?
Yeah... I like the idea of grooming the service animals too. I can't believe I hadn't thought of that before. I called one of the homes this morning and told them I would do that for them. For now I'll do it out of my house when needed or at their homes if they can't get here
I haven't been a "working" groomer in years... well... except for doing family and friends animals
 

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IMO you should sit down and write out all your ideas and then look at what you have. You do have some very good ones, but you don't want to spread yourself too thin.

Concentrate on a few things and gradually increase to other areas. Otherwise you will be like a chicken with their head cut off and running in 50 million different directions
 
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