Tip of the Day – 3/25/2013

For just about anyone who has been in the hobby for even a brief amount of time, the thought has no doubt crossed your mind that it would be a great idea to open up your own fish store. You’ve mastered growing frags and you might even generate a few bucks from you reef tank every now and then, which has given you the false sense that you can run your own store. But let us just smash your dreams right there. Running a fish store isn’t just selling a few fish here and there. It’s paying high utility bills because of water changes and high intensity lighting. It’s keeping an inventory of several thousands of dollars worth of dry goods. And how do you think all of those corals get there? It all takes money, and lots of it. Couple that with an ever shrinking profit margin on dry goods, and you’re store is belly up before it’s off the ground. If you’re serious about starting your own store, we want you to take a serious crack at it, but don’t expect to have the best store in town and don’t expect to make any real profits for a few years. Like any business, it takes time to get into the groove of making things work, and you’ll spend a lot of money trying to hit your stride. Just play it safe and think twice before seriously investing in a store.