We recently connected with Roger <a and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Roger, thanks for joining us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?
Happiness is very subjective and as business owners, we tend to miss out on a lot of life’s aspects when we compare ourselves to those working a regular job. We have a lot more burden to carry as we take on a lot more risk with our capital being invested into something we believe in but at the end, it may not work out as planned due to different factors. And our fellow peers may have the time to take their regular lunch breaks, have weekends off and take time off to enjoy some vacations and what not. As an entrepreneur and business owner, we don’t get those “normal perks” as we are constantly on the grind and the “hustle mode” button is always switched on, even if we happen to be on an actual vacation.
As a normal employee, you don’t get that burden because once one is off the clock, duties aren’t there. As an entrepreneur or business owner, you are always on call and even during after-hours, some folks in your team will still reach out with some issues they may have relating to work. But at the end of the day, we have a lot of stakeholders and for the health of the company, going above and beyond for your business and team goes a long way.
I have no regrets and would find it very boring and unfulfilling to have the normal 40 hour workweek and the typical annual vacation with weekends off. There’s no shortcuts to your dreams and despite some of the ‘inconveniences’ some may see as being a business owner, the reason why you became a business owner in the first place will keep you going, giving you that burning desire and drive to success in reaching your end goal. No matter what the world is telling you or what your fellow family and friends are telling you with their pessimisms (it’s inevitable you will have doubts from those around you), the reason why you got into business in the first place is the fuel that’ll keep you going!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I’ve been an aquarist for most of my life and have always had an aquarium in one shape or form. Even when I moved abroad, I still managed to get my hands onto a fish tank and would visit local fish stores anytime I would travel to a new city. Before getting into this industry, we’d frequently visit a local fish store close by to us and got to know the owner pretty well. Fast forward a few years later and we ended up taking over their store! This is how Pet Zone Tropical Fish got started.
We got introduced to the world of Flowerhorn fish & Arowanas not long after acquisition of the store and went through some journeys and experiences with the upkeep and maintenance of these magnificent fish on a commercial scale (lots of blood and sweat came from this learning curve). It became our main niche and as a result of becoming the local experts with these particular fish, we started getting referrals left and right from online and locally (big thank you to those who have supported us since day one).
Fast forward another nine years and we got into our second location and this is when we really started getting into our second niche, which is aquascaping. We were blessed to bring onboard some really passionate hobbyists with strong knowledge on aquatic plants and as a team, we all learned from one another and became known for our community building as we started doing aquascape demos and classes on a regular basis.
Another four years went by and we finally got to alleviate the itch we had in opening up our dream aquascape gallery from the inspiration we’ve got from our travels to other aquascape stores in Asia and Europe. After scouting around for potential spaces around San Diego, Hakkai came to fruition after an entire month of weekly visits and talks with commercial space landlords (big thanks to our teammate and friend Patrick on tagging along with me).
Despite the pandemic still ongoing more than two years now, we’ve adapted and continue to offer our in-person classes and demos on a monthly basis. And new people are continuously joining this hobby and we’re honored to continue serving the San Diego community and growing the hobby while we do what we love. I am tremendously proud of my team as Pet Zone Tropical Fish and Hakkai wouldn’t be where we are today without them!
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Our team is full of passionate aquarists and they will always go above and beyond when it comes to helping out newcomers in the hobby! We always ensure everyone leaves with the right equipment and that the fish they are looking at purchasing are compatible with each other. Honesty and giving out the right information goes a long way in keeping long-term customers. Many stores make the mistake of simply trying to make a sale without giving any thought to whether the customer’s tank is suitable and this is something we train our team on early on. We also quarantine sensitive fish prior to placing them into our stocking tanks to ensure they are all stable and healthy before they are purchased and placed into their forever home aquariums. Many of our customers will also share their tank progress with us as the weeks go by and we help them along the way with additional plants and/or livestock if needed or if adjustments need to be done to optimize tank and livestock health. This goes a long way for us and helps us build on our community here.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Building an audience on social media can get a bit tricky. As a business, many folks think that simply doing posts that are just “sell sell sell” will make an impact but the followers wants to see content that they can find value in. We like to show step-by-step posts of things we put together, such as a new aquascape build or if we have a hot new item on hand, we will do an unboxing and show the process from A to Z and even a milestone progress when we hit say week 1, first month, etc, etc.
Keeping our audience engaged is also very important. We bring in guest speakers frequently and will livestream our talks via social media in addition to having them in-person. This is something our followers really appreciate and it helps spice things up from the everyday postings people tend to see.
As a retailer in a niche hobby and industry, people like to see new things coming in so we will do weekly postings on seasonal arrivals. This is how we keep everyone in the loop with what is new at Pet Zone Tropical Fish!
Contact Info:
- Website: petzonesd.com & hakkai.com
- Instagram: @petzone @hakkaisd
- Facebook: facebook.com/petzonesd & facebook.com/hakkaisd
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/2734551 & https://www.linkedin.com/company/71371090
- Twitter: @petzonesandiego @hakkaisd
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/petzone
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/hakkai-aquascape-design-gallery-san-diego & https://www.yelp.com/biz/pet-zone-tropical-fish-san-diego-2 & https://www.yelp.com/biz/pet-zone-tropical-fish-san-diego
Image Credits
Filbert Banh