Well, I'm not an expert on opening a business, but since you said you wanted to open a shop in North Liberty/Coralville and I'm from Iowa City I thought I'd add my 2 cents.

I'm not especially familiar with North Liberty, but I know there are quite a few independent pet shops in Iowa City/Coralville. To name a few off the top of my head, there's Pet Central Station (Downtown Iowa City & one in the Coralridge mall) Waggin Tails, which is a dog bakery, and Gen X pets & the Houndstooth in Coralville. Plus, there are a few more,but I can't think of their names right now, and there's a dog day care in both Iowa City in Coralville.

My point is, make sure you've got a good selling point- something that is different or better than your competitors. I've frequented all of those stores, and they all have different good points, so make sure you have a better selection/price on something since they are all pretty close to each other and the area is not that large.

Good luck!! If you do open up a shop, I'll be sure to stop in the next time I'm in town visiting my family!