Page 208 - One Thousand Ways to Make $1000

attractive young girl helps out in the store part time for “pin money.” She is
also available when the daughter and mother wish to spend an evening with
friends. While the store will never make either of them rich, they are both
living well, saving money, free of debt, and are happy in their work and
independence. That’s the big thing in having a business of your own. It
makes you feel that you are somebody after all. So even though you may not
be an apothecary, you can start a drug-less drug store in your town if you
have the will and a little capital to carry you through the first few months.

“Dollar Pups” Make Pet Store Pay

I

T DOESN’T take much money to start a pet shop. It does take a good idea to
bring people inside the pet shop, however, and this, C. Kinowski learned
when he opened his pet shop two years ago in South Chicago. The store
space was so large that when he moved in his stock of pets, cages, and
accessories, the space was far from being filled. So he built a cage along the
wall from the windows far back into the store. This 25-foot-long cage is built
entirely of wooden frames covered with a fine mesh screen and cost only
$36.

“I covered the floor of this cage with linoleum on which I spread a thick layer
of bird gravel,” Kinowski said, “and then turned a number of canaries and
other small birds loose in it. The birds were provided with nests and perches
and the whole display attracted a great deal of attention. People from the
neighborhood stood and watched the birds flying around the big cage. Some
came in to ask questions, and bought canaries and parakeets, generally known
as love birds, on the spot. When I saw how much attention was being given
this big cage I decided to make it more attractive, and placed some tall palms
around the outside to create a woodland appearance, partitioned it into
sections, and told my customers I was using it as a flight breeding cage. I
don’t sell birds from this cage but let them breed. The young birds are
removed and placed in small cages as they mature. The display value of the
big cage with its nests and birds fluttering about, however, is incalculable.