Need some advice

[tinker9696]

My store ( BirdBrain Parrots) after 18 months is breaking even at the end of each month. We carry food & supplies for all animals but my main focus is parrots. I have always felt that this is my expertise and the profit margin is better on the bird supplies. We sell parrots, reptiles and small animals. No dogs or cats but I do have a puppy broker when someone wants a dog.
My husband feels that we need to concentrate more on the puppy/dog end. The profit margin is awful for a small business that is 100 sq feet( not a big enough order to get good prices) and since I only carry premium food the sell by date is a lot shorter then the really popular brands. Plus dog stuff takes up a lot of real estate space. The issue is that dogs are the most popular pet owned. I have signs on the window saying we carry dog, cat etc as well as bird stuff. People don't seem to like to read anymore though.
The question is the name of our business needing to be changed? I have decided to compromise and have hired someone to do some graphics for the window that has dog and cat as well as bird images. The other issue is that I consider us a specialty store and I don't want to sell crap yet its the crap that people buy because they don't know any better. They don't realize that by products can make your pet ill and that lots of the popular brands have recalls often ( often voluntary for the merchant) but the brands I sell have them very infrequently.
So the matter at hand is....I am torn...I opened the store with the intentions of being a voice and educating people as to how to care for their pet properly. I am a business and need to make money but I never wanted to be you typical pet store that sells stuff just because we can. I need to put this all into perspective so I can make a decision. I have read lots of posts here that always lean toward..sell what sells but in this case we are talking about live animals that become family members.
I would appreciate any of your feed back on this subject.

[Freelancier]

What's your traffic situation? Is it enough to focus on birds to the exclusion of everything else? Do you offer bird-oriented services (like nail trimming) or something that will keep people coming back every few months for something other than to get more food, which could be gotten in bulk on the internet for less?

The problem is the 100 sq ft. That really is too small to carry bulk dog food or dog supplies along with bird stuff. And since you're getting known for bird products, it's possible that you're just diluting your brand by trying to incorporate dogs just because they're "popular". If the traffic supports bird products, then keep that as your focus; if not, then you need a bigger space to expand your inventory and a new brand ("BirdBrain and DogBreath"!).

[tinker9696]

OOOOPs 1000 sq ft not 100. LOL @ DogBreath.
I don't think we have enough foot traffic yet for birds exclusively. That was my hopes. The bulk of my bird business is repeat customers for supplies from the home based business we had for 6 years before we opened the store. yes I do bird & small animal nails and I do boarding for birds as well. As I had mentioned in another post..we had a web site issue last year and I did not sell the amount of parrots I typically sell. The web site is fixed and this Spring will really tell us if this business will at least generate the same or more sale of parrots as I was previously doing. That's the only reason we opened a store because we out grew the home business..and I wanted more exposure. Best laid plans of mice and men I guess. : (

[Freelancier]

20x50' isn't bad for space, and you could limit your dog food exposure to a niche that is harder to find -- like organic or something. Look at the potential clientele in the area and figure out what you can sell them for a bigger profit than regular dog food provides.

But, you're right, your branding would need help if you want to emphasize more than birds. The name is really too bird-centric. Doesn't mean you can't use it, but you would need to find a way to dilute the strength of your brand, which I hesitate to recommend.

[justin-coreassistance]

As one data point, we have two cats, and we want to feed them the best food we reasonably can. After a lot of research and trials of different foods we found one we like and the cats like. Unfortunately this food isn't available anywhere locally, so we end up buying it in bulk from Amazon.

If your store were near us and carried the high-quality food we want to buy, we would buy it from you. Focusing your inventory on high-quality items for pets that aren't available in the chain stores sounds like a good plan, at least to me. The main problem would be discovering that you carried it: I would immediately dismiss a place called "BirdBrain Parrots" as not having anything at all related to cats (or any other pets, for that matter, not even other birds).

I also think it's wise to expand beyond just birds/parrots. Diversification is usually the right move. It sounds like you're already part of the way toward being known as "the pet store that cares", which I think is a laudable goal.

[tinker9696]

@justin..out of curiosity..what is the cat food brand that you use?

[justin-coreassistance]

The company is called Wellness, and the specific food is the Healthy Indulgence wet pouches. We buy them in cases of 24 pouches each and rotate though seven flavors throughout the week.

[huggytree]

I think your company name is great if all you want is Bird Business.......its a small niche market.....sounds like its a flop

if your going to become a 'normal' style pet store I DO think a name change is step #1....why would someone consider you for Dog food when your a Bird store?

I recommend searching for the best profit products and go that direction...its all about the $$.....in my business(plumbing), some jobs pay more than others....I go after the $$ every time....ive fine tuned it over and over........I consider some jobs as filler to fill the day up.

what is your highest profit product line?
what is your filler?


my son has a crested Gecko....we regularly go to a pet store for products...sometimes when were in the area we stop in just to look at the animals...they don't have any dogs...they do carry some cats on consignment...they have a fish room, a lizard room , a bird room and a small animal room(ferrets.gerbels,etc)..they are busy

i think its a good idea to create a pet store that people visit just to see whats new or to see the animals....my kids love it

18 months w/o profit = you've failed........your working for free........change something, see what happens

[tinker9696]

Wellness is a great product..glad you are using it. We carry it too.

[tinker9696]

18 months without a profit= you've failed

I'm not sure I agree or at least I hope you are wrong. I do agree that we may need to make some changes but I think failed would be if we quit.
I think it takes time to iron out some of the problems. Unfortunately most of the higher profit items ( food & toys) are crap. If I wont give it to my pet I am certainly not going to give it to yours. Maybe it is all about the $$$$$ but if I have to compromise my integrity and principles then I will have to close my doors. I'm not selling sneakers..these are living beings and the sole purpose for opening the store was to provide the education and info to the consumer as to what is best for their pet.
I don't see why I can't have it both ways...sell a good product and make money.

[huggytree]

Ok, ok you havent failed.....your failing......thats a better choice of words....you havent failed until you give up or lose everything you have

are you paying yourself a wage? or does -no profit- mean your working for free?

what is the expected profit from a store like this?

I went 1 month w/o profit......I cant imagine going 18 months....yes out businesses have nothing in common, but 18 months with nothing is too long

you don't need to compromise your principles.....you need to find a way to make money with your principles.....if it isn't possible then you need to try a new business....

I struggled for my first 6 months to some degree....I tried several things during that time.......you need to be trying new things every month....

change your name? raise your prices? change your products? change your advertising? change your store layout? do something and see what happens

how much a month do you need to increase in sales to make the profit you want? $5k? $10k?.....figure out exactly how much more product you need to move to make that happen....

[tinker9696]

thinking of a new name for the business that lets people know we are not just birds...BirdBrain Parrots & Paws? BirdBrain Parrots & Critters? any ideas?

[huggytree]

you need to decide what you are

is having the name BIRD important in your name? will focusing on BIRDS ever bring you profit?

id change the name to PET something....or pick another niche market if birds aren't working

[Toby Milroy]

I believe there is something more "fundamental" required here.

Business is about 2 things....and 2 things only (to be facetious...).

#1 - Attracting Customers.
#2 - Persuading them that they should buy your stuff.

I have clients that are VERY successful selling ONLY "bird" stuff...(in fact one client that sells AMAZING cages and enclosures, MANY units costing $2,000 and up...we've even begun selling a $10,000 unit that's plated in white gold, and we're looking at Rhodium, Platinum and some other more "exotic" options).

I also work with lots of clients in the "traditional" pet niche.

My only point here is this.....
I'd be looking at this as a "marketing" problem BEFORE I'd be looking at it as a "product mix" problem.

How do you currently attract customers?
What is your current customer list? (ie. How many active buyers?)
What is your "relationahip" with the list?? (ie. How much "contact" do you have with them?)

[justin-coreassistance]

When I read "BirdBrain Parrots & Critters" the name "Feathers & Fur" immediately popped into my head, but a quick Google search shows that many other people have had that idea as well. Still, I wanted to mention it just in case it sparks further ideas.

I think Toby makes some excellent points. If you want to focus on high-quality products for a select group of pets your only option is going to be the high-end, high-margin part of the market. Those are the customers that are going to sustain you as a business. If all you really want to do is sell great birds and bird products you're going to have to come to terms with the tradeoffs that entails, and adjust your marketing accordingly.

[michaelstark61]

For any business, profit the main thing to have. Try any business, Bird foods or other stuff to should earn more and more profit. That is the main cause or reason for setting up the business.