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What's the demand for high street planted aquarium shops?

Re: What's the demand for high street planted aquarium shops

saintly said:
ghostsword said:
Is it not? :D

Hard is to die and come back again.. :), everything else is easy.

i cant knock that way of thinking :thumbup:

It has guided me through life.. :)

Will send an invite to the shop grand opening in East London.. hahahah
 
Re: What's the demand for high street planted aquarium shops

Someone once told me plants are the ideal business opportunity as once you have your stock and you look after them,cuttings seeds etc they self propagate? Simple
I wouldnt go for a high street set up if you specialise and advertise with a decent range people will travel to you. Industrial units are cheaper to rent and run than shops
i have a business and have 3 phase heavy industrial machines running all day and the electricty and gas bills are cheaper than my home bills so dont worry about running costs
you soon find that once established suppliers will find you and become a hindrance
If i new now what it takes to run a business i would never have started, your job becomes 24/7 7 days a week
you can never switch off
 
Re: What's the demand for high street planted aquarium shops

ghostsword said:
Get substrates sent from China.. They must be cheap.. :) Hell, get the whole aquarium kit sent from China, that will make your shop more accessible.

Keeping plants on a tank is expensive, if you want the best... :)
They are cheap, yes, but you need to buy at least one 40ft shipping containers worth to make it financially worthwhile. Lets not forget import tax, paying for the container, dock fees, 6 months of waiting, no guarantee for damages, and much, much more. As part of the deal, you can however brand the substrate anything you want, even use a cheesy photo of yourself on the packing! :thumbup:
 
Re: What's the demand for high street planted aquarium shops

stevec said:
Someone once told me plants are the ideal business opportunity as once you have your stock and you look after them,cuttings seeds etc they self propagate? Simple

If you can do this and provide sufficient quantities with the same quality as Tropica or Aquafleur for the same money or less, I will buy from you all day long. Keeping plants is one thing, farming them is another. The space required for multiple species is unreal.
 
Re: What's the demand for high street planted aquarium shops

stevec said:
If i new now what it takes to run a business i would never have started, your job becomes 24/7 7 days a week
you can never switch off

I 2nd that! Owning your own business has some rewards like self determination, potential financial reward for hard work and the freedom to say "I'll take next week off". However the reality is it's 24/7, you wake up and go to sleep thinking about work stuff that will not leave your head, you worry about money, your staff think you are loaded but actually you get paid last and never enough to warrant the hard work you put in. The government finds a way to increase your paperwork and take more from you each year :thumbdown: You want to take a week off but your staff are 'sick' so you have to cover the phones. You're exhausted because you open over the weekends and even if you wanted to sell you can't because you have to work off the debt for at least 5 years before you come out without losing your investment.

I don't even have a tank set up yet and when I looked at TGM franchise I thought it looked interesting, so much less stressful than my job. I'd rather do something I enjoy and that is creative. Part of me really wants to do it!

The biggest pitfall I see is turning your hobby and your escape into your daily grind! I want to make a living planting tanks or taking photographs of the landscape (Takashi Amano comes to mind suddenly o_O ) but the reality is that I'll make a living working harder than most and finding something else to do to relax that does not involve tanks or cameras.

Boy! It's been a long week. sorry.
 
Re: What's the demand for high street planted aquarium shops

Never mentioned TGM myself, can't deny it has piqued my interest though. I then get curious on whether I'd rather have something 100% my own or have the backup of an established brand to get the best start.

Obviously started a fairly good topic though, keep it going :)
 
Re: What's the demand for high street planted aquarium shops

JamesM said:
stevec said:
Someone once told me plants are the ideal business opportunity as once you have your stock and you look after them,cuttings seeds etc they self propagate? Simple

If you can do this and provide sufficient quantities with the same quality as Tropica or Aquafleur for the same money or less, I will buy from you all day long. Keeping plants is one thing, farming them is another. The space required for multiple species is unreal.


no business would ever start if it thinks it has to compete with the big boys, you just need to offer the quality and service or stock a different/better range than most lfs

we would have no corner shops if they all thought whats the point i cant compete with the supermarket down the street

you dont have to be cheaper people pay for service and quality I am often told by my customers that we quoted dearer but we got the job because of our quicker turnaround
 
Re: What's the demand for high street planted aquarium shops

Well said stevec.. If you offer a good service, are passionate about what you are doing and know your stuff, you will find people to buy your kit.

James is right, keeping a handfull of plants is easy, but farming them in a large scale is other story.. but why farm them in a large scale? Could you just not speciallise in a certain type of plant? For example Rotala's, Amazon's, Java Ferns and Crypts? It will be hard work, but nothing worthwhile is easy, right?

You will work for yourself, and do it 24/7, no time off, no holidays for sure, but what you put in you will get back, right?

The main issue I think will be to do accounts, and sorting out the taxman, that will be an issue for sure.

Regarding buying from China.. Joking, joking, joking.. I would like my customers to come back to buy more kit, not to return faulty items in less than a year.. Obviously non mechanical materials are other story, a rock is a rock, you buy it in Japan or buy it in China, or pick it up at the Penines.. :)
 
Re: What's the demand for high street planted aquarium shops

My partner and I are into homebrew. A couple have done something similar with their hobby.

They have an industrial unit in Colchester, and sell a great range of kit, and its great to go and look at it all. Their opening hours fit round their kids schooling, and customers like ourselves are prepared to go the distance to go and visit. http://www.colchesterhomebrew.co.uk/

Ely aquatics is also run from an industrial unit, and works out well.

My dad imports containers from china every month or so, and i'll ask him for a basic figure of costs etc. After seeing whats for sale for cheap in HK, they must be getting it from mainland china and making ££ on it.
 
Re: What's the demand for high street planted aquarium shops

JamesM said:
They are cheap, yes, but you need to buy at least one 40ft shipping containers worth to make it financially worthwhile. Lets not forget import tax, paying for the container, dock fees, 6 months of waiting, no guarantee for damages, and much, much more. As part of the deal, you can however brand the substrate anything you want, even use a cheesy photo of yourself on the packing! :thumbup:

I got it now.. :)
naturesoil_brown.jpg
 
Re: What's the demand for high street planted aquarium shops

There has to be good substrate for sale in china... Maybe some clayballs, under 5mm diameter.. :) Then repackage and put my fancy pic on it.. LOL...

Obviously I do not have the same clout as Oliver, but how bad can it be?
 
Re: What's the demand for high street planted aquarium shops

ghostsword said:
Obviously I do not have the same clout as Oliver, but how bad can it be?

Just do the double thumbs-up and you can sell anything ;)

...I bought it :lol:
 
Re: What's the demand for high street planted aquarium shops

You also have to bare in mind that to buy and sell livestock, you need to have the right licenses, but in order to get those licenses you have to be inspected by the RSPCA, selling the live stock. How can you buy the livestock in the first place without the license?!

Essentially you need someone with the relevant paperwork buy in the stock for you so you can be inspected and obtain your own licenses.

I think running a fish store would be an amazing job, but I don't think I'd be able to hack the business side of things to be honest.
 
Re: What's the demand for high street planted aquarium shops

ahhahaha.. see, how hard can it be actually to setup a good shop, if two thumbs up sells a bag of earth? :D

If people see a good planted tank on a shop front they will want to know more, and get more and more into the hobby.

I may start to sell aquatic plants at the Upton Park Queens market, take some tanks already setup and let people see how amazing a water garden can be.

Do a Dell Boy, sell plants and substrate from my suitcase. LOL.
 
Re: What's the demand for high street planted aquarium shops

SteveUK said:
You also have to bare in mind that to buy and sell livestock, you need to have the right licenses, but in order to get those licenses you have to be inspected by the RSPCA, selling the live stock. How can you buy the livestock in the first place without the license?!

Essentially you need someone with the relevant paperwork buy in the stock for you so you can be inspected and obtain your own licenses.

I think running a fish store would be an amazing job, but I don't think I'd be able to hack the business side of things to be honest.

Are plants deemed as livestock? Who cares about fish anyway? :)

Sell plants, substrates, wood and rocks..
 
Re: What's the demand for high street planted aquarium shops

ghostsword said:
With the so many bad shops you have seen in London you are telling me that you would not do a better job than them?
If I had no worries about job security and stuff I would jump at the idea of setting up something down in London.
I am sure if done in the right manner there would be a nice following down here, there would need to be a lot of dedication though, running a fish store is not as simple as you make it sound, and you would need at least two people that knew it inside out to ensure when one was away the other took over.
 
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