Mini Fish Business...

[fatheadminnow]

So this random idea just popped into my head this morning...

The idea was to make a little fish business type thing that I would go to peoples houses to check out their aquarium if they are having troubles, and just charge a little cheap fee.

Just enough for a little in my pocket and to pay for supplies, nothing big.

I already have a full-time job, so I am not making this fish business to get rich or anything, just more-or-less to help people out.

Ideas of simple advertisement would be to make fliers with tear-offs for my number, and just hang the fliers up around town at random business.

My town is not that big, so I should not be "swamped" with calls.

On the fliers I would say something about "Are you starting up a new aquarium and your fish keep dieing and you want to know why?" "Call Trent at _______________"

I don't know, I will think about it a little more and see what I can say.

Anxious to hear back from you guys!

Thanks!

-FHM

 

[Ludwig Venter]

Yes... It'll work... I think one of the members do this for a living..... (Aces Helter???) also getting contracts on doing regular water changes and general maintenance for those folks..... But, you must know your story inside out.... one (accidental) fatal, & the whole town will know about it.......

 

[karigupi]

I think its a great idea & something which could be easily done, only problem might be that you work & couldnt do it in the day times, we have a few people do it locally here, tank setups, maintenance, treatments etc, but alot of the work is in offices where they have a tank in waiting rooms or reception, so you would need to be available in the daytime.

Insurance might be a bit of a sticky problem, you'd have to look into it, if something happened to their fish after you had been there, even if it wasnt your fault, they may blame you & try to claim damages.

You might also need to have a police check done, my mind has gone blank, is it called a criminal records check? I used to office manage a domestic cleaning company & all the cleaners had to have the checks done before they were allowed into peoples homes.

It could be a really fun, rewarding job, but I think it would need a bit of research first.

 

[youngfisher]

Sounds a good idea.

But ovbiously you would need to look into it further like the other have stated.

 

[fatheadminnow]

You guys are right, there are a lot of shady areas yet tp be reviled, but I think it would be fun!

I don't know about all the maintenance stuff though.

I think I would just stick to helping people getting started, you know, with cycling and all.

I bet the majority of the problems, like 90% would be cycling issues that the fish keeper has a lack of knowledge in.

By the way Ludwig Venter, congrats on becoming a mod!

-FHM

 

[helterskelter]

Hi FHM

Yes Ludwig is right that i do it for a living.
Best thing is to get in with a shop (or several), so any jobs they send your way, your get a discount on all products or something simular.

In the UK their is quite a bit of call and i have many contracts with shops and private houses and some celeb's.
And in a month I clean about 80-100 tanks as well as my own!!!!

I only stick to simple thing's as the hassel of looking after large planted aquaria is a nightmare, so simple mabuna, goldfish and amazon tanks is but I'll do anything if i have too.

Also remember if you do something like overdose treatment or break the tank your be held responsable so look into getting some sort of insurance if you get plenty of work.

Still i travel 1000 miles a week to fine enough work to be full time so it's worth trying.

 

[mark1979]

i thought about this aswell

think of all the schools,hospitals,doctors surgerys that have tropical/marine tanks in them

you could do tank check and water changes for them and make a tidy bit of profit!!

and the amount of lazy people i no that would pay to get there water changed,than doing it themselves!!

 

[helterskelter]

The thing is not many people are willing to pay to lurn from their mistakes.

Their as they think it's the shops problem (which may be true) but most peep's just kool on the net and or back to the shop to by medication and not lisson to most of the advise.

Some times you find some willing to pay but their not in the norm.

Still it's work trying and if you enjoy it thats great.

 

[youngfisher]

It sounds so simple to do!

I would love a job like this, but first of all I would need to learn a lot more about fish keeping and ovbiously get a car.

FHM keep us updated

 

[fatheadminnow]

Thanks for all of the advise so far guys, much appreciated!

Like I said, I would just keep it simple.

All I would do is help people get started pretty much, and if any other problems that people have arise, like sick fish, I would look at the situation first before getting my hands wet.

Like I said before, I bet 90%+ of peoples problems are going to be cycling issues, which would be really darn easy for me to help fix!

I will keep you all updated!

Right now I am making the fliers!

Thanks again guys for your advise and support!

-FHM

 

[youngfisher]

Post a picture of your flyer when its done mate

 

[fatheadminnow]

Post a picture of your flyer when its done mate

Will do

It will probably need to be tweaked a little, so best have you guys give me some advise on what is should look like when I post it!

-FHM

 

[Bungy]

My wife has suggested this to me. I run a fish-house with mainly Malawi's - I advertise and folk come to pick up fish and are amazed at my setup - they constantly ask for advice and many I have converted from Community fish keepers to Malawi keepers and as such I supply them with the fish I breed - the point being is im constantly helping people with their tanks either over the phone or visiting to sort problems etc - so there is a market out there however having said that - most people will listen to your advise, take it onboard and never call again because they have learned how to do it correctly. A friend of mine at Portsmouth Aquarist Society runs a business where he maintains Koi ponds, medicates the fish, gives advice, cleans the ponds - some very big indeed etc etc. I would however suggest you looked into insurance as has been mentioned, you may then be liable for tax on any earnings etc and have to keep accounts, pay and auditor to check your accounts, do your annual tax returns etc etc etc. Or if you go down the "cash in hand" route you could end up liable for a hefty bill if something does go wrong....

Good luck

 

[youngfisher]

Minnow I got a bit bored, hope you dont mind.

 

[dave_oddballs]

i have thought about this over and over for a few years, i came to the conclusion that unless as someone stated you can get in with all the lfs and or secure a number of contracts it just isn't worth doing, as much as you think you would enjoy doing a job you need to put more thought into it then most people would imagine.
just like me, early this year i started work on a large fish house on land at the back of my house, thinking yeah this is a good idea, apply for a pet shop license, import fish, sell them to pay for my rare oddball breeding programs, then when i got the letter saying i will not be getting planning permission to sell anything or run a business from my property, it felt like id been having a really big p**s in the wind for the last 5 months.
just take your time and think, could you really do everything that may be asked of you?
do you really have the experience to be telling someone every single thing they need to know about;
-their fish
-their water
-their tank
-their equipment
i know a lot about what i do, but still not enough! as much as i would love making a bit of cash on the side, seeing all the peoples lovely aquariums and fish, i would not like the responsibility of someone else's pride and joy, nor on my conscience if anything was to go wrong!

a couple of things to think about ey!

good luck
David