Still in school -credits/courses to take?

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Hello, i'm in 12th grade, and hoping to have my own pet store when i'm older (quite a bit... hoping to do a small on-line business until while working at other places until i can get on my feet) and am just wondering what sort of classes/courses i should have before even thinking about it. i am going to a business highschool as it is, so business courses are easy... but what specific courses should i take--even if it is just a good course to start/run a business.

all the help in the world would be awsome!!

thank you in advance:)

[ylrebmik]

Hmmm I'm not sure. Business will be your main thing to focus on but maybe enviromental things and learning more about animals. What college are you going to? Do they have any courses that would help? Take a lot of math classes too- especially if you plan on doing all the money handling. Are you planning to have animals in it or not? Start doing A LOT of research so if someone comes in and wants to know what they should get for a specific type of animal..you can tell them.

Are you planning on general, dog and cat, aquatics, what?

[hidden]

well, i'm currently attending a Business school, so i would like to get a lot of business courses out of the way while i'm in highschool - even if that means taking an extra semester or a victory lap.

where to after that, i'm not sure- i would like to know the best courses so i can check that out sooner and get into the better one.

I'm planning on small pet, fresh water fish, small birds, and general (good!) pet-related items. maybe reptiles in the far fututre if there is a good want of them... but not until i get comfortable with them.

I've also been researching my hardest about the various animals that are around - obvisouly i haven't researched them all, but i'm doing a lot!

also, thanks for replying...hopefully more people will be able to help me.

and please, i've read all the pet store posts before i posted, i know about the puppy mill/ backyard breeder issues (and i'm not doing puppys or kittens) and i know about breeding costs and whatnot... i'm not into those issues quite yet, just on the knowledge aspects, waht i need to use for the future! heh, so please, no duisscusions on that... thanks :)

[ylrebmik]

Thats cool. One thing that would be awesum is if a pet store actually cared about the pets they were selling and KNEW something about them. All they really care about is getting the money. I went into Petco... and since i am a huge turtle freak.. i went over there. There was two turtles..both looked like little RES's.. so i asked them and THEY DIDNT KNOW. if you do decide to have pets... make sure the person knows A LOT about them. Maybe you could make the pets cost a little more but have a book included...so they have to have a book.

[hidden]

yeah, i agree with you 100%!!

i hate that as well, that's one of the reasons i want to get into the pet business... so that people will actually be EDUCATED PROPERLY before they get a pet! i plan on making small care-sheets that go along with each pet - or if you would just like it- even if you already have the pet... it makes me angry how often people who already have pets dont know how to care for them properly.

plus, whenever i get an animal in i'd research everything i could possibly find on it. i would want the best possible pet store ever!

[ylrebmik]

I went into Petco today and under each pet was a sign that hung "consider adoption first" It's like... well why don't you just have those pets come from humane societies?! Then if you want to have a pet...they will just give it to you.. they don't care if you get it from a humane society. Their cages are WAY to small for all the pets...they have 8 or 9 RES turtles in what seems to be a 125 gallon... thats way too small. Then they have like room for the ferrets just to turn around in.... make sure you have PLENTY of room for each pet.

I've put a lot of thought into effective pet stores since i was thinking of opening one when I'm older. I started putting together a notebook..including things i would sell and such. It was fun researching all that stuff. But my dad discouraged me saying that pet stores aren't "reliable" businesses so I'm not sure if i want to anymore.

[tvrodents]

I have taken a course in Animal Managment which has business modules included. Its a reasonably big course and if you want a distinction have have to work bloody hard and its 72% course work based if not more but if you can find a collage or Uni that runs it that might be right up your street

Kat