Mobile Aquarium Cleaning?

[Gurglar]

So me and a mate are thinking of starting a mobile cleaning business as we are only working casually at the moment and are wanting to start open our own fish store someday so am wanting to do something like this to save some money and do something we would enjoy.

So i'm wondering what services people would like done with a mobile service?

Right now the general ones are:

Gravel vac
Water change with additional chemicals needed (including plant fertalizer if needed)
Cleaning of glass and ornaments including algae
Water test
General check of all equipment and tidy up
Replacement filter sponges if needed

Additional services:

Complete pull down clean/scrub and setup of tank (when someone is re starting there tank)
Treating sick fish
Setting up of new tanks and equipment
Relocating tanks and equipment to new address
Tranporting livestock to new address

Maybes that we might do:

Supplying of food, filters, heaters, conditioner, medications etc. on request.
Repairing of leaking tanks


So with all that in mind is there anything else we could do if people wanted that i'm missing? We would also be doing home ponds.

Now keep in mind we would most likely keep our existing jobs and work around them to begin with as people would need to book so would still have a backup if there wasn't much work.

This is all just in our heads we don't even know if this would work around here so opinions on if we should or should not try this out?

Also may have a spot soon that could let us have enough room to setup a breeding spot to help us save for a shop aswell.

 

[Gill]

best person to speak to would be helterskelter, he does that already

 

[Gurglar]

Ok thanks hopefully he finds this thread I might send him the link.

I'd like to add my casual job is in a pet store so I could advertise in store and hand out business cards to potential clients when they are buying tanks or fish, so that helps a fair bit.

 

[VaegaVic]

The only problem I can see with this is insurance.
I toyed with doing this a couple of months ago, but I kept coming back to the same problem.

What if, hypothetically, your actions caused a 500L tank to crack (even only tiny)and then that crack caused said person to lose £1000 worth of fish and £1000 worth of tank.

Insurance for these home businesses isn't cheap either, that's the thing.

Secondly, you'd need to register as self employed and pay tax on whatever you earn rather than it be cash in hand (which is illegal).

Thirdly, start up costs: This would include insurance, all the equipment needed, a company vehicle (or register yours as used for work) and other things like paperwork fees.

All in all, if you want to go for it, go ahead and the best of luck to you; but if it's just going to be a part time job, it might cost you more than you'll actually make.

Of course if you wanted to do a friends tank and then he/she rewards you with some sort of currency as a gift (of course), and then recommends you to another friend, I don't see any problem with that. Just above all other things, don't refer to it as "employment" or a "job", you're just helping out friends.

 

[Pipe Dream]

i wonder how much business you can generate, i think to most people cleaning of the tank is a big part of the fish keeping, you take that away and you lose a very important contact with your fish. i can only think of people who no longer care about their tank but for whatever reason they're too lazy to give it up, as your potential customers.


frankly i wouldn't want a couple of complete strangers walking around my house with buckets full of water for an hour or two. i wouldn't be comfortable. it's one thing to have a cleaning maid, but a fish tank is more personal than a toilet. plus fish keeping is a hobby, not a choir. i like golf, but when i don't feel like it, i don't pay someone to go play instead of me. when i get sick of my tank to the point i don't want to clean it, i'll give it up, instead of paying someone to take over the hobby for me.

so i guess what im trying to say is that you shouldnt be giving up your day jobs just yet. as you said you won't.

just my 2 cents.

 

[helterskelter]

It's very hard work to make a living from.

I work for aquatic Design in London and have 35 regular contracts from Heathrow to Truro in Cornwall.
Contracts are where the money is to be made, as some wanting a tank cleaned is perhaps once a year or something silly.

I was working in Heathrow airport last night and got home at 3am due to the day weather.

The best thing you can do is goto all the shops and offer the service, if they refer you then you buy ur goods from them at a discounted rate.
this may get you started, but ponds are usualy quite good money and sh be thought of as well.

Insurance is again the problem, this keeps creaping up and up. but if you dont have it them one day something may happen.
Say i broke a tank at heathrow airport and it caused to close the shop for a day etc etc then a bill of £10'000's could easily occur there.

 

[AdamM]

and offering treatment of sick fish? if that fish then dies (even if it wasnt your fault) - your getting the blame almost certainly....

 

[Bebobb]

i wonder how much business you can generate, i think to most people cleaning of the tank is a big part of the fish keeping, you take that away and you lose a very important contact with your fish. i can only think of people who no longer care about their tank but for whatever reason they're too lazy to give it up, as your potential customers.


frankly i wouldn't want a couple of complete strangers walking around my house with buckets full of water for an hour or two. i wouldn't be comfortable. it's one thing to have a cleaning maid, but a fish tank is more personal than a toilet. plus fish keeping is a hobby, not a choir. i like golf, but when i don't feel like it, i don't pay someone to go play instead of me. when i get sick of my tank to the point i don't want to clean it, i'll give it up, instead of paying someone to take over the hobby for me.

so i guess what im trying to say is that you shouldnt be giving up your day jobs just yet. as you said you won't.

just my 2 cents.

True. But people often have Salt-water setups, and there are companys that maintain them. But I would assume, that the people/companys that have the salt-water setups, have them more for looks than the hobby.

 

[erk628]

I agree with pipedream on this one! Your average everyday fishkeeper like us on this forum will not be the people you are going to be looking for. Were the money will be like someone else mentioned is getting contracts with businesses. Also going around to different businesses who don't have fish tanks say in there waiting rooms and handing out brochures would be a good idea to get some clients. Another thing that I though of is millionaire's or famous people. These people have so much money that they will go out and buy a enormous fish tank just for show but not have the first clue how to take care of it so they will find someone that does and thats were you would come in. Doing something like this however would take commitment and more then likely would turn into a career.

 

[erk628]

Type this into google "aquarium services" and a lot of companies come up check out there sites and you may get some ideas!