There are a lot of options for stocking a fish room. There are things you really have to have, would do well to have and things that will set you apart. Then there's all the stuff that doesn’t sell…but let's sort out how to manage it all.
A knowledgeable fish room person knows about fish that are not commonly available to the public. They probably have seen enough guppies and neon tetras to last a lifetime, and are looking to see something new and different. Keeping your fish room from filling up with expensive, brown fish can be a challenge. Here are some suggestions that will allow you manage your inventory and fish room employee:
- Whatever you feel will improve sales; make sure to get buy-in from your fish room manager. Explain the realities of selling guppies and neon tetras to the bottom line. Hours are paid by sales, not by being present while the store is open.
- Listen to what your fish room manager is saying about the fish they like and allow for a certain amount of inventory dollars to be tied up in those fish. A happy fish room manager is more likely a profitable fish room.
- Eighty percent "bread-and-butter" species and 20 percent "rare or uncommon" fish seems to be the model for greatest success on average, but your store may be different. Let the numbers tell you where you should go — 50 percent rare may be your sweet spot.
- Manage losses carefully. Regular inventories on 10 percent of the fish in the shop will tell you a lot about both your manager's skills and your bottom line.
- Date the tags of when the fish got in the tank. Track the tanks weekly to get a feel for how things are moving. Ask questions and take an interest in the fish room. These short walks will allow you more opportunities to teach your fish room manager to see things the way you see them.
- Look at the invoices, ask questions about quantities — you may have a super fish room manager that makes you a lot of money. I'll bet you dollars to donuts that they will leave one day and you will need to train the new person. You need to know what they do right and pass it on.
- Give regular, weekly feedback to the fish room manager about sales, costs and profit. Nothing motivates a good employee like knowing they're succeeding and knowing when they are not making any money.
- You may have access to two or three vendors who sell fish. If you are paying 95 cents for a neon tetra and another vendor offers them for 55 cents for the same size, ask. Be involved.
- Shipping may be costing you more than you know. Look at the cost of the boxes, heat packs, ice packs, "miscellaneous charges" and time to and from the airport. You may be paying hundreds of dollars to "save" you a nickel on a platy. Do the math and see what you find.
- Thank your employee. At the end of the week, if they made you money, you will get more return on a "thank you" than anything else you could do or say. It isn’t rocket science, but the resulting sales may take the same upward trajectory.
