Where to start!

suraheg

I've been considering setting up an online Pet Boutique, selling mainly Dog and Cat Collars, Beds, Harnesses, Doggy Clothes etc., and then all going well, opening a small pet boutique selling dog and cat products, with a groomers in the rear of the shop. I just have no idea how I would go about setting a business like this up. I have been trying to source unique (to me) products online but haven't had any luck. Who would I contact to find out the beginnings of setting a business up? Do people usually get a start up bank loan for these kind of things (not that i'd have much luck getting one of those in the current climate), or would I need to fund this move myself?

If anyone has any advice at all it would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks

John368

Suraheg

Perhaps starting in a very small way first might be your best option - even smaller than you are thinking about at the minute.

Try buying job lots of dog collars and leads etc on ebay and selling them at car boot sales. Go to ebay and search in the category Wholesale and Job Lots. I should think for less than a £100 or 100Euro you can get a good variety of stock to sell. It will get you introduced to the business and you will be able to find out what sells well and at what price. I go to car boot sales quite often and there are usually several stalls with people selling stuff which they have obviously bought as job lots on ebay. I have never seen pet products being sold, so there might be a gap in the market there. You have given me an idea for myself!

The sector you are interested in 10 years ago was very small, but today it is quite big with mobile dog grooming vans, dog walking and dog sitting services. A few years ago I got a dog sitting service for my dog when I went away for the weekend. It was much better than kennels as it was less stressful for my dog. They just called in twice a day to feed him and give him a walk. It was his normal routine anyway and he seemed quite happy with it. If I remember the service was run by two people who offered a variety of doggy related services and they seemed to be making a good buiness out.

John

suraheg

Hi,

Yeah I've been thinking about this for a while, and I think I definitly want to start off as a website. I'm a vet nurse, so have a little bit of an insight into what sells, and how much etc. Good idea about the car boot sales tho, No idea where I'd even find one! I've been trying to find reputable sellers online for ages but can't seem to come up with any.

Does anyone know what/where I would register the business name or even my name?

Thanks for your help!

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

Hi Suraheg,

I have a lot of experience in this area as I own the top online pet shop in Ireland.

I have been trying to source unique (to me) products online but haven't had any luck.

Its really important to get samples and test them for safety, as i'm sure you know lead content is poisonous and i've seen rabbit fur used to make dog clothes - not good.

Who would I contact to find out the beginnings of setting a business up?

County enterprise board would be a good start, would be worth getting a mentor and taking taking a start up business course.

Do people usually get a start up bank loan for these kind of things (not that i'd have much luck getting one of those in the current climate), or would I need to fund this move myself?

You'd have to fund it yourself, banks aren't lending at the moment. CEB's have some grants for 50% of web design (up to 3k), but again they are kinda broke - still worth asking though.

If you like I can set you up for a meeting with our Managing Director in Mollys to give you some insights. PM me if you like.

John368

Suraheg

The biggest decision you will have to make is whether you should tell your boss about this. As it is in a related business to his/hers, they should be told and it is likely when they are they will not be too pleased.

If it is not prohibited in your written terms of employment to do what you are planning to do, it will be prohibitted from a professional or business ethics point of view and you might be burning your bridges in your career as a vet nurse.

Sometimes people who start businesses are very bullish about going about it and will boast how they did this thing or that thing, but as far as I am concerned you need friends in any business and the more you have the better.

If you are really keen on starting an online business then try one totally unrelated to your day job. That will not cause problems with your boss or shouldn't anyway - you might even get him/her and your colleagues to be your customers.

The alternative, if you have sufficient funds, is to make a clean break and leave the vets and start up a shop or grooming service. Then you will be able to use all your contacts that you made as a vets nurse to the advantage of the business without fear.

John

suraheg

Thanks for the advice John, My employee doesn't actually stock any of the items I would be interested in selling! And I've already approached them about my ideas, and they seem okay on the idea. They're pretty much two seperate businesses and hopefully I can work alongside my current job!

John368

suraheg wrote: »

Thanks for the advice John, My employee doesn't actually stock any of the items I would be interested in selling! And I've already approached them about my ideas, and they seem okay on the idea. They're pretty much two seperate businesses and hopefully I can work alongside my current job!

Good that you keep your boss informed. It will work out the best way in the end. I suppose I am always a pessimist. I worked once for a firm where somebody started a business related to the firm's business without telling the boss about it and when the boss found out about it he hit the roof. The guy had to leave after a few months because his promotion chances were about zero after that incident.

The business that you are thinking of starting intrigues me as I am a dog-lover. I even made a door bell for my dog so that when he pressed a flap on the back door it rang a bell inside the house. it saved a lot of time when a soggy miserable dog was left out in the rain. I sometimes have thought of making these door bells and selling them.

Maybe you should go for the niche, high-value market, like dog clothing (not a fan of it but it takes all kinds) or dog gadgets like safety harnesses for dogs in cars. I was willing to get quite an expensive dog harness/seat belt for my dog when I bought mine several years ago - it was certainly got something I would consider buying at a budget store even if they did sell them.

It seems to me that the dog collars and leads and things like poo bags can be bought for only a few pence or cents in the budget shops these days that most people buy those things there. The traditional large pet shops seem to be way to expensive for the basic stuff. These budget shops (Poundstretcher, BM Bragains etc. - there seems to be dozens of them these days) seem to sell all the same stock so they probably buy just from a few massive wholesalers importing them from China. Those wholesalers probably only want to deal with the people who can buy on a grand scale. Might be difficult to get into that market for that reason.

Best wishes

john

nellyshark

John I have to lol at the idea of my dog using a doorbell, maybe I could even give him his own keys I would deffo buy a doorbell for him

Suraheg, my advise here would be like other mentioned to have high quality product (s) and test the market via car boot sales, markets, animal shows, ebay and even shopify.com for a 30 days trial of whether you be able to sell online.

I could not reiterate how important it is to have a quality product and a predictable supplier.

Best wishes in your venture

Andy_Black

Hi,
Can I point you to a post I made before:
http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?threadid=2055721635
I hope it helps.
Andy