Anyone own a pet store?

Originally Posted by MadAboutRags

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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Does your town have any celebrations with parades, booths, etc? You could attend and ask people, or maybe put out questionnaires at the vet, shelter, etc.

I dont personally own a petstore but Im Assistant Manager of a very small town petstore. The nearest one other then this one is a Petco almost 2 hours away and a tiny feed store about 1 hour away but they just have crappy stuff.

We dont sale animals. We always have one or two dogs that the owners pull from the local AC and about 6 kittens that we get the same way or that are dumped. We also get our birds and such the same way. They are all up for adoption. Every rabbit, dog, cat and ferret is spayed/neutered, microchipped, UTD on shots and house trained. Plus they obviously must get along with other animals. They kittens are kept in a large 6x10 pen area with tons of toys and scratching post. The dogs are allowed to roam and are taken home by an employee each night. We each get our "doggie week" were the dogs come home with us. They have a fenced in area in the rear of the store to go potty in and everything.

They pretty much have the same rules as the rescue I foster for does. I love working there. I can bring my bottle foster babies to work and dont have to worry.

[MadAboutRags] 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?
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Yes, marketing research is very important. You need to have a marketing plan if you get the proper zoning and permits and this might be possible in your given location. You need to know your target markets, demographics; the probability is success in your market, and how to be market to that market, budget for advertising, what types of advertising you want to do, and things such as that.
If you can't do this detailed plan yourself, a cheap way would be to go to a local college and have a marketing student do this project for one of their projects for a grade or there are plenty of companies that make marketing plans for their clients.
I think Goldenkitty's idea of sitting down and writing out all your ideas is very important as well, that ties in with your marketing plan.

Krissy, I just thought of something - as cococat and GK suggested, you should write everything down. Create chapters, etc of everything that you can think of. Also, don't forget to contact the Small Business Admin. for help. Also, I am pretty sure that Maine has a group of retired business owners who volunteer to work with new businesses. I think they are known as SCORE. And don't forget the SBA also has special funding for women!

Originally Posted by lnbandcats

Krissy, I just thought of something - as cococat and GK suggested, you should write everything down. Create chapters, etc of everything that you can think of. Also, don't forget to contact the Small Business Admin. for help. Also, I am pretty sure that Maine has a group of retired business owners who volunteer to work with new businesses. I think they are known as SCORE. And don't forget the SBA also has special funding for women!

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Ooh! Awesome ideas!

You are all very right I need to get organized... So many great ideas here from everyone!!! It all seems so "doable". I'll dig out my notebook tonight and go through all the post... put all of the suggestions in order and go from there. Yes... definately have to start slow. I often get ahead of myself in my thoughts and ideas I remember when I started working with computers. At first it was just doing a little code. Then I started doing some really nice websites. Eventually that grew and I landed contracts with companies all over the US for website maint. Then came search engine submissions and computer repair and tech support and oh the list goes on. But it took several years to get where I am now, a pet SUPPLY store would be just as much of a process as Internet Solutions (my company) was. The difference is it didn't cost anything to go into the computer stuff, and didn't involve ANY research, grants or liscences. I just started doing it in my spare time and it grew to the point where now I don't have to work anywhere else. The store would be the same way. So anyway... So anyway... I'm on a mission...lol Thanks everyone!!! I really really apreciate ALL of your input and am taking notes and will put all of your time and thoughts to good use If you think of anything else I wanna hear it!

Krissy, maybe you should or could try to start your business via the www.! Also, if you groom pets (and cats) what about offering a service where you will go the your client's house to groom? You could do that part time, most cat lovers would be thrilled NOT to stress out their cat with a car trip and it is probably a service that few groomers are offering?

I'm glad you mentioned building a website! I've been thinking about that. I messed around a little the other day seaching for wholesale pet supplies to sell online. I thought maybe if I could get some money coming in from that I could use it to build the shop. Then I wouldn't be borrowing from Peter to pay Paul so to speak. The money I have to start with is from my computer business. Not that I couldn't do that if it turned out I needed to, but it sure would be a whole lot easier to keep the two companies seperate if I don't use funds from one to fund the other.
Here's what I have on paper for now... I haven't even made a dent in the list yet...lol If any suggestions aren't on the list, it's just because I haven't gotten that far yet... Just thought I'd see what you guys think about what I have so far. It's basically just products/services I'd like to provide as well as some moral guidlines I think are important to follow...
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*Regarding animals on premises...
-Work with the Humane Society in anyway they will let me to help find homes for their fur babies
-The ONLY animals that can be purchased at the store are fish. Even they can only be purchased when I start to have over population problems in the tank/tanks I'll have set up there for viewing. It won't be something I advertise but may mention to CERTAIN HIGHLY RESPECTED customers.
-Affilliate with HIGH QUALITY breeders. Direct customers who request purebred pets to only these breeders. Maybe even create an application process for any breeder who would like to be included on this list?

*Services/Resources Provided
-Grooming/Bathing (free to shelters and service animals)
-Boarding/Sitting
-"Pet Reputables List"... Complete listing of reputable breeders, vets, behavioral specialist, trainers, show enthuisist, etc. Each listing will include a brief description stating the persons specialties, animal interest, degrees, where they're from and years they have been in practice.
-Resource List... List of only the most informative pet places on the web... Places like TheCatSite will be here
-My own private library full of educational materials regarding all types of animals. Specifically for those who can't afford to buy the books... Money should never get in the way of education
-In home grooming/bathing
-Low cost Shot/Health Check Clinic

*Supplies for...
Cats/Kittens
Dogs/Puppies
Wild/Pet Birds
Small animals/Rodents
Snakes/Lizards
Salt/FW/Brackish Fish
Wild Animals (Deer, Rabbits, Turkeys, etc)
Humane Alternatives to Pest Control (This is a big one for me... Country girl here )
Carry ONLY TOP QUALITY SUPPLIES as well as go above and beyond to carry the things other stores don't carry around here.
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So now that I have some of the basic services/products I'd like to supply on paper I'm thinking it's time to take some of those survey suggestions in and make use of them Maybe see what the community thinks of my ideas before I go through the time it takes to create the business plan. Or is that something I should be doing at the same time? Is it too early to contact the SBA and SCORE? I'd love to just talk to them and get some information about their services?
Thanks again everyone for your suggestions... you can't imagine how much help you are all being

Wow, it's really exciting watching the process here! I'm gonna come to your store when we go to Maine to visit Leslye! (someday, LOL)

OH I can't wait!!! It will be really neat to meet someone who has given me so much GOOD advice And and and...lol I'm only about 45 minutes to an hour from Leslye

Originally Posted by MadAboutRags

OH I can't wait!!! It will be really neat to meet someone who has given me so much GOOD advice

And and and...lol I'm only about 45 minutes to an hour from Leslye

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Aw heck, 45 minutes is nothing, LOL. That's how far it is to get to downtown in traffic!

Originally Posted by kluchetta

Aw heck, 45 minutes is nothing, LOL. That's how far it is to get to downtown in traffic!

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You can fly into Manchester, NH and I'll pick you up and we can go on a road trip!!!

We would have SOOO much fun!!!

Actually, I think that there should be a New England meet up - I was wondering about meeting in Portsmouth, NH or possibly the north shore of Mass. might be a good place to connect and have lunch? Anyone interested?

Oh that would be AWESOME!!! I would definately be interested! I couldn't do it right off... I'm still not going too far from my doctors but will be able to travel very soon

Small, high-quality shop, eclectic pet offerings, stuff that can't be found everywhere.

Cute little place, really nice owner. I discussed with him why he started up shop and how it is going. His responses included:

Glad I own the building, because we haven't yet turned a profit and we've been here two years.

Fortunately my wife is a very successful real estate agent, so I don't have to work for a living - this is my hobby, and I love it.

I walked away from that thinking, wow, how nice for him. He did tell me that if his life circumstances were different, and if he was running the business and had to actually live off it, he'd never have made it through the first year.

I hope this helps. It's indirect feedback, but came from the mouth of a boutique pet supply place in my area - the ONLY one that sells Nature's Variety and other high quality foods that you can't find in pet stores.

It is called The Barking Cat.

Originally Posted by lnbandcats

Actually, I think that there should be a New England meet up - I was wondering about meeting in Portsmouth, NH or possibly the north shore of Mass. might be a good place to connect and have lunch? Anyone interested?

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I would be.

One thing I would recommend is to prioritize what you want to do. Determine your core business, what is nice to have and what is essential. My sister tried to open an indoor soccer place, but they burnt through their money on things that could have waited for.

Originally Posted by GingersMom

Small, high-quality shop, eclectic pet offerings, stuff that can't be found everywhere.

Cute little place, really nice owner. I discussed with him why he started up shop and how it is going. His responses included:

Glad I own the building, because we haven't yet turned a profit and we've been here two years.

Fortunately my wife is a very successful real estate agent, so I don't have to work for a living - this is my hobby, and I love it.

I walked away from that thinking, wow, how nice for him. He did tell me that if his life circumstances were different, and if he was running the business and had to actually live off it, he'd never have made it through the first year.

I hope this helps. It's indirect feedback, but came from the mouth of a boutique pet supply place in my area - the ONLY one that sells Nature's Variety and other high quality foods that you can't find in pet stores.

It is called The Barking Cat.

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Yeah that's one of the things I'm concerned about. I've seen a lot of pet stores come and go over the years. My shop will be on my own land so I'll still have a mortgage... but only one... which I would have anyway. I also own an internet company which keeps me pretty busy. It is the kind of thing I can do while working in the store and for the most part at my own pace though. One of the benefits of being self employed. My BF is a very well known carpenter here and is out of his mind busy all year round. It's like he said... I love animals and even if it just turns into more of a hobby pets and their owners will still benefit as will I I don't expect to get rich on this venture but maybe find a niche where I feel like I'm doing something positive...
Does that petstore have a website?If you can find someone you trust and who knows the search engine submission process and can work keywords... a website can make all the difference. A couple years ago my bf and I were in a military supply store here in town. The guy was a friend of Dougs. They got talking and he told us he was going to file bankruptcy. Doug convinced him to hold on just for a few more months and see what the internet could do for him. Let's just say he never filed bankruptcy and not only still has that store but has since opened 2 more. The internet is a tricky thing but if a person knows the ins and outs it can be their biggest asset

I think perhaps the resteraunt idea is better, or start volunteering at a shelter. I have seen petshops that don't have enough room, animals that end up with injuries and are not looked after. It's not to say yours will end up like that, but you will need the time and resources to make sure it is a really clean, safe environment for the animals and customer. But i think as you mentioned, if you start having litters for the purpose of selling, other animals at shelters will have less of a chance when they have been on this earth for much longer and deserve to have good homes.