becoming a importer?i have a list of indonesian contacts&amp

[JennM]

Glenn I think we're wasting our time. Eddie can have the last word.

I wouldn't sink any 401K money into a new and risky business, but hey, that's just me.


Jenn <--I really need to unsub from this thread but it's entertaining me.

 

[eddie]

thank you for the flame

 

[eddie]

just thought I'd add a man 1 mile from me has a 16x20 barn "fish store" in his yard and sells a few corals and fish

has one of those signs with a arrow that lights up pointing at it

he is a preacher and used to own a pet shop localy

 

[Anonymous]

Jenn, you are definitely right. But, my curiousity is getting the better of me. Eddie, just what makes you think that if you keep a wild coral for a year it becomes a captive raised one? I know there has been a lot of debate as to what constitutes a captive raised coral, but I don't think I ever saw anyone say it was simply a matter of how long it was kept.

Also tell your state you don't plan on paying sales and use tax because you aren't going to collect any and tell me what they say. It should be amusing. :lol:

Seriously though eddie, what is it? Why are you refusing to listen but asking for help? I'm really wondering if you're just trying to get everyone all stirred up. Why not go ask the preacher with the barn and neon sign what he did? I bet he'll want to be a partner with you.

 

[eddie]

to clarify what I'm saying is it could take atleast 2 1/2 years mabey more as I do have a system established to start collecting while the rest matures(before I sell anything to collect tax on)

I'm just working with what I got and adding along the way

 

[flameangel1]

Jenn,
The horse is DEAD-DEAD-DEAD :x
This has to be a troll :roll:
Only way to explain it :!: :!:

 

[eddie]

troll LOL...what nice people over here

 

[eddie]

btw I changed my mind all together on even trying to import because of some helpful advice in this thread so .....I truly dont see your point.

since that is what I was asking about to start


also I wish that you'd tell all the nursery & hydroponic tomato farmers around me that use treated lumber for their greenhouses that it will emit toxic fumes and they cant use it no more (since they have been doing it for years & years)

 

[JennM]

Eddie, we've been MORE than patient answering your questions -- AND answering your ANSWERS. I really don't know why you asked in the first place since you behave like all our advice "does not apply" to you. What makes you a business maven, more than those of us who are already IN the business?

I generally don't say anything if I can't say something nice, but a big part of what I do for a living, is HELP people with their reef systems. In that spirit of helpfulness I offered up some of what I've learned as a business owner, (as did everyone else who contributed) and all you did was dismiss and minimize. *I* consider that a flame of sorts, but I kept on trying, hoping you'd understand what I was trying to tell you. Excuse me for being a bit frustrated with you, and you still don't get it. BTW the business world can be a harsh one too, so if you can't take a little heat, do you really want to jump into the kitchen? This is nothing, sir.

Eddie: For your own good, your unborn child's good, and the good of the hobby and the living animals concerned, PLEASE keep it a hobby. Don't try to make it a business. Save your 401K money. I'm not being inflammatory and I'm not trying to be mean. I'm trying to be REALISTIC. The very fact that you're still comparing corals to tomato plants scares the bejeebers out of me, and I can assure you that MY store wouldn't be buying frags from somebody like that. Call it a flame, call it whatever you want to, but your lack of willingness to learn from others, and your lack of maturity will be your biggest obstacles. You are your own worst enemy. How long have you been in this hobby? Give it a few more years, settle in with your new child and enjoy him or her and THEN decide if this hobby will become a business for you. Perhaps in that time, you'll listen and learn a bit more, perhaps you'll find that it's not your passion after all. I have been a hobbyist for 16 years, and I worked for someone else in the business before I took that plunge myself, but for 16 years I thought it would be neat to own my own store "someday".

You're ONLY 27. Trust me, that's not that old. And before you go thinking that I'm some old fart, I'm ONLY 35. I'm ONLY 35 but I've been out on my own in this world longer than most are nowadays, and I've made my own way in this world, and I have the maturity and resourcefullness to keep landing on my feet. I've had a bit of help along the way too, I won't deny that but I have people who trust in me and I don't want to let them down.

I'll get off the soap box now (and I really need to get off this thread....it's making my blood pressure rise), because, Eddie, it seems you've already decided that you're going to do whatever you want to do, however you want to do it, so I really don't know why you keep pounding away at this thread either.

Just don't be coming on here crying the blues when this or that doesn't work out, or you're drowning in the sea of paperwork which is business administration, or when you have a major RTN outbreak, or a flood, or you can't keep up with the water changing and cleaning, or when you can't afford to hire help even though you're putting in 80-90 hours a week and not drawing a paycheck, because that is the REALITY of running a business. Because I will be there to say, "I told you so, and you wouldn't listen." Too many people in this business in particular (and the pet industry as a whole) think the pet business is a walk in the park (don't step in the doggie doo-doo) and all the failed businesses that leave a trail of bad debt and dissatisfied suppliers and customers and landlords, make it difficult for some of the good ones.

OK I'm done (again! *g*)

Jenn

 

[flameangel1]

or you're drowning in the sea of paperwork which is business administration, or when you have a major RTN outbreak, or a flood, or you can't keep up with the water changing and cleaning, or when you can't afford to hire help even though you're putting in 80-90 hours a week and not drawing a paycheck, because that is the REALITY of running a business.

Eddie, if you heard nothing else in Jenn's post above- she is ABSOLUTELY RIGHT above !!!!!
I am 60 years old, been self-employed for 30 of those years and owning your own business is actually "THE BUSINESS OWNS YOU ".
It is NOT the piece of cake hobbyists think it is.
One has to be very self-disciplined and dedicated and KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH.

As yet, you do not.
In the last two weeks , you have changed your "plan" tooooo many times to even count and you are not listening at all.
We tried to help, but if someone does not listen, it is a waste of time.

My last word in this thread.
I am sure it is not yours though !! :x

 

[SPC]

Posted by Eddie:

also I wish that you'd tell all the nursery & hydroponic tomato farmers around me that use treated lumber for their greenhouses that it will emit toxic fumes and they cant use it no more (since they have been doing it for years & years)

-Eddie, we are talking about reef animals here, do you really think you can compare a tomato to a coral? You also might want to check on the current status of pressure treated lumber. You see Eddie, pressure treated lumber contains arsenic and there is a movement under way as we speak to ban it. For 3 or 4 years now you have not been able to have it cut at your local building supply, OSHA would not permit the employees of these businesses to be exposed to the chemicals that are present when it is cut.
You have been given some excellent information here by people who have been in the pet industry for many years. IMO, the most important aspect in being successful (at anything) is the ability to listen to others and learn from their experiences.
BTW, I have noticed that on RC as well as this board that you will have 3, 4 or even 5 posts in a row. I was just wondering why you feel the need to do this?
Steve

 

[flameangel1]

Steve,
Thanks !!

I had long since forgotten exactly why pressure treated lumber was toxic.
Knew it was illegal to burn, use inside a building etc, but forgot the exact reason.
This "old fart" (loved that one , Jenn )
must be getting senile.
:lol:

 

[eddie]

jeez...thanks for all the help

I did'nt keep asking questions though

my newborn girl is 1 month old btw and healthy

I've been in the hobby since I was 12 so about 15 years

It has been my passion since

I'll keep it a major hobby still with all I listed above and see what happens from there thats my final decision

thanks for all the advice but my mind is set
and Im not giving up on my passion to farm coral just cause some think its out of my reach

I'll just do the best I can and if I fail you can say I TOLD YOU SO then

thanks for all the help and hope there is no hard feelings

 

[eddie]

btw I know whats in treated lumber and will still use it for the wall posts

I guess scuba dude needs to tear apart his stands and such and replace the plywood on them with oak or teak in his greenhouse since it will emit toxic fumes and all

thanks for all the advice still
I'm probably the only reefer you know with a 1000watt 20k on a hydroponic light mover

I am unconventional to say the least and continue to learn every day and have learned also from this thread
FWIW
heck I thought that the book of coral propagation was to inspire people to do what I'm saying
of course with my ideas incorperated

 

[eddie]

btw it would be cheaper and easyer to build a hoop house stlye made of 3/4" pvc hoops & a treated 2x6 bottom band

but I can get a 12ft high peak with treated posts &/or even non treated rafters painted white

the height is the key to a efficant greenhouse

another plan

at the peak there will be pop up vents for hot days


this will be a attached off the back of the house style and only 16x24 to start big enough for alot of propagated corals

steve
sorry about the 3 posts in a row I'll work on thinking it all out & typing it at one post it is a very poor way of typing but rember I am really just a hobbiest with big goals & really suck with my typing skills but will work on it

 

[Anonymous]

I don't really have anything to say.

I just thought I'd say that! :roll:

 

[dizzy]

eddie

Congratulations on the baby girl. I hope you realize the lfs owners are trying to give you good advice. My advice is to go for it if that is what you really want to do. That's what I did over 17-years ago. I think your success or failure will depend on your determination and your work ethic.

I just want to tell you I was visiting Morgan Lidster at Inland Aquatics in Terre Haute Indiana recently and he was having to replace all the wooden beams in the green house part of his operation. It was very costly.

Good luck

 

[eddie]

thanks & I do appreciate the time they are taking but feel they are trying to convince me not to set up

2 -300 rubbermaids in a 16x24 greenhouse behind my house with room for several more

1-135gal & 1 180gal which I have along with most lighting mentioned

2 - 4x8x12" frag vats

and what other small prop systems I have & call it a small business

see the funny thing about money made in a hobby is that you still have to pay tax on it and also I'm talking 2 1/2 years before theres much to sell

and will do it for a hobby not a living(though that would be nice)

btw the greenhouse frame will be screwed together and temporary.
Years though probably.

I would love a aluminum a glass attached greenhouse but can't afford to do that any time soon

 

[JennM]

If you read the beginnings of this thread that won't end, we all started offering constructive and sound advice on the DOs and DON'Ts of starting a business.

That apparently went on deaf ears so we started repeating ourselves. Clearly when it became obvious that Eddie is bound and determined to do what he wants to do, however he wants to do it, and to he** with those of us who offered the help he asked for in the first place, those of us who took the time and trouble to offer assistance, got a bit testy.

Perhaps Eddie wasn't asking more questions, but we kept offering up our knowledge and experience in an effort to either help this gentleman broaden his horizons, and enlighten him on the committment it takes to make such an undertaking a success. Each suggestion and comment got shot down or excused.

Eddie: Paying TAX on the money made also entitles you to tax concessions (write-offs) on equipment, utilities, and all that. That's what makes it a business. Surely you weren't figuring you'd have to pay tax on your sales revenue and not get the benefit of offsetting that income with EXPENSES? In the first years of a business, the expenses more often than not, outweigh the INCOME so if you did things properly, you wouldn't have much if any tax burdon in the first few years, but this is when most businesses that are going to fail, do fail because the pockets aren't deep enough to keep coughing up money until times get better. That's why I suggested not risking the 401K -- once it's gone it's gone unless the business thrives, and that's a gamble, no matter WHO you are.

Again -- this thread for me has become an exercise in talking to the non-posting lurker, because I'd bet that he/she is learning more from the thread than the one who initiated it.

Jenn

 

[eddie]

if you want to help

please tell me about your coral farm and how it operates

btw thanks for all the other advice also