Off-Topic

[nick_s_h]

Hey guys, (Mods is it alright to put this post here? i wanted the feedback of the local guys, i understand if i do start a business i will have to register as a business on the forum)

Ive really been looking into setting up a small home based business (my parents have done that before - but not aquarium related) at my house on the Sunshine Coast and am looking to hear what you guys think? Ive been looking into setting it up, equipment, energy efficiency, different suppliers etc, and think it might be worth it, but want some "market research" or feedback.

Would you drive up here for decent stock at decent prices? (As low as possible with a small profit).

What sort of livestock would you mostly be interested in? EG: Fish - Butterflies, Angels, Tangs, Red sea stock, Hawaiian stock, Locally caught stock, Corals, Liverock, Algae, Clams, Inverts etc. Theres allready so many dry goods suppliers online and LFS it would be silly to compete with them, but i think i might have a decent chance in live-stock sales?

Would you be interested in shipping? What is the most you would be willing to pay for shipping? - overnight, same day deliver, airport to airport etc.
Kordon breathing bags or just standard plastic aquarium bags? Heatpacks/coldpacks or just plain insulated box?

How would you prefer products/stock to be advertised? Facebook? Forum? A Website? Etc.

If theres enough interest hopefully i can organise some funding etc and make this a reality, i would start off small before expanding to suit the market. Any comments are appreciated.
This would be a side/hobby business to help offset the costs of my display tank etc, not my main income. Would also be great to get some industry experience, and if i start to profit i would look into breeding some fish species to allow us to avoid using wildcaught species.
Nick :)

 

[Dynamic]

Yo dude. I am guessing you can probably sell some of your stuff on this site as it already has members who are willing to buy. I'd take a look at what the others are doing such as Matt Green and do a similar thing. It is worth a shot.

 

[Tang]

It is not going to be worth your time.

I would look into offering a tank maintenance business instead, cleaning tanks, doing maintenance etc.

Lower up front set up costs and not much in the way of ongoing maintenance costs.

 

[Donski]

Would you drive up here for decent stock at decent prices? (As low as possible with a small profit).

if the prices and quality are good people will come

What sort of livestock would you mostly be interested in? EG: Fish - Butterflies, Angels, Tangs, Red sea stock, Hawaiian stock, Locally caught stock, Corals, Liverock, Algae, Clams, Inverts etc. Theres allready so many dry goods suppliers online and LFS it would be silly to compete with them, but i think i might have a decent chance in live-stock sales?

with live stock you will restricted to what you can get of other suppliers and you will not be able to import yourself and will need to make sure they offer you a arrive alive guarantee as these fish can still come with some fairly high prices from suppliers

Would you be interested in shipping? What is the most you would be willing to pay for shipping? - overnight, same day deliver, airport to airport etc.
Kordon breathing bags or just standard plastic aquarium bags? Heatpacks/coldpacks or just plain insulated box?

Standard plastic bags filled with oxygen in an insulated box with heatpacks works good

If theres enough interest hopefully i can organise some funding etc and make this a reality, i would start off small before expanding to suit the market. Any comments are appreciated.
This would be a side/hobby business to help offset the costs of my display tank etc, not my main income. Would also be great to get some industry experience, and if i start to profit i would look into breeding some fish species to allow us to avoid using wildcaught species.

If you do go ahead with this just start by cheacking how much your upfront cost will be along with the wholesale prices of marine fish and how many you would need to sell per week/month to cover cost to see how long it may take to start recieving profit because without profit it wont last.