TLDR: struggling for years, tired of being poor; I’ve had an idea for the past couple yrs of opening a pet supply shop in my small town (there are none for at least 40mins around.) Barely any competition, possible business building vacancies… What do I need to prepare for and what should I expect in terms of costs, entrepreneurship, etc.? I’ve never done this before.

The long story:

Hi all, I’ve had this idea swimming around my head for a couple of years but things are rough and we need a break. Where I live there’s nothing like this unless you drive 40+ mins to a busy city. I live just a few miles east of a bustling but small town, the outskirts are residential but the heart is full of businesses (lots of run down antique shops, though.)

Well lately it seems to be expanding, albeit slowly, but still. Compared to three years ago when we first moved to the area, it has grown.

I want to provide something new here that doesn’t exist yet, and I know there’s a want for it; and I want to go from the rags we got now to the riches that’ll set my kids up for a life I didn’t have growing up. I’m only 23, I have three kids under 3, my husband is only 25. We’ve struggled ever since COVID first reared its ugly head in 2020 and haven’t been stable since.

I want to, at some point, open a pet shop – starting out I’d like to sell pet supplies, maybe a couple of small cage/tank critters (feeder rodents, feeder bugs and beetles, snakes, hamsters, etc. Things like those.

The nearest competitors I could think of, are Wally world (pet supplies), and TSC (pet supplies and chickens/ducks.)

There’s a couple vacant spots downtown that are in multistory, old, worn down brick buildings (probably 1900s… Maybe earlier.) But based off the local prices, it could be feasible.

For something like this… What do I need to consider when pursuing it? What costs should I expect? What advice would you give to a start up newbie like myself?

Also, bonus points for hearing y’all’s start up stories when you first starts.