Sustainable Seafood - The Fish Counter

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Arman Hosseinpour, head manager of The Fish Counter, located in West Vancouver Southeast, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Our business is about sustainability and high quality seafood. We have been serving the Main St community for 9 years now. Originally we started as a retail fish store with hot food (Fish n Chips) to be served on the side or something to eat on the car ride home. Now our fish and chips are our main seller and have definitely helped the store's success over the years. Our customers have been tremendously supportive throughout the years and trust that we will always provide the best quality seafood we can get and answer any questions they have.

Tell us about yourself

Before I went into business I was a semi pro athlete, playing some of the highest level hockey I could at my age. I decided to go into business to help my parents when COVID-19 first hit. They had a small salad bar in an office area, so as you can imagine it got hit hard. My motivation is the bigger picture, I make lots of sacrifices now so my kids and family don't have to. "Everybody dies, the goal isn't to live forever, but to build something that does."

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

So far my biggest accomplishment would have to be making high goals and achieving those goals. Not letting anyone talk me out of it or put me down was very important, as well as believing in myself and the business.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

1. Mental state; The mental state is by far the hardest thing I think a business owner has to endure. If one month your sales are down 25,000 and the next 40,0000 you get really scared of what's happening. Making sure you have enough staff to run your business and run it well is also a big headache. When one key staff leaves you might not be able to find a replacement for some months.

2. Workload; When I first went into business I was working about 12 hours a day. It was really hard to find any staff and for that one year, I had to work like a dog to make sure the business keeps going.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

1. Starting a business is extremely hard, especially if you want to turn it into a business that can produce 6 figure income for you. If you have the capital I would buy a business instead of in the field you are interested in. You can see the history of sales and success and also expect a certain amount of cash flow. Once you have cash flow then start another business.

2. Learn about taxes, another reason I went into business was for tax reasons. You have a lot of write offs you can use to minimize the amount of tax you pay.

3. Make connections, this will allow you to see opportunities that others wouldn't have. To make connections you have to sacrifice. If I offer you $100 and you're in front of a stage of people and I say you have to split this 100 with someone or nobody gets the $100 if you offer the person 10 or 20 bucks they'll probably say no. If you go 50/50 they will say yes but if you say I'll give you 60-70 then everybody on stage will want to deal with you. So you sacrifice that money but you build connections with all those people that WANT to deal with you.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.thefishcounter.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thefishcounter/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefishcounteronmain/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thefishcounter
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arman-hosseinpour-36b40920b/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.