How to Start an Aquarium Maintenance Company

Sunday, July 7, 2013

How to Start an Aquarium Maintenance Company

If you're a fish hobbyist with experience in maintaining and starting new tanks, the aquarium maintenance business may be for you. This business is easy to start on your own or with a partner, can be run from home and requires few supplies. Many aquarium maintenance services offer to set up tanks for clients and then maintain them. The aquarium maintenance business requires expertise, so successfully running your own aquarium before going into business is a necessity. Before you start visiting clients, make sure you have the proper registration, insurance and supplies.

Step 1

Write a business plan for your aquarium maintenance company. Decide what your business will focus on: maintaining existing aquariums, installing and maintaining new aquariums, and saltwater or freshwater aquariums. Determine your target market, whether it is businesses, homeowners or a broad market of fish enthusiasts. Research existing aquarium maintenance companies and evaluate how well they’re meeting the needs of your target market. Define ways that you can set yourself apart from the competition by offering lower rates, specialized services such as creating artful tanks, knowledge of rare fish, guarantees, or by showcasing your expertise. Choose a business name that will attract your target market and differentiate you from competitors. Make a list of supplies you’ll need and ways in which you’ll market yourself. Set your prices by researching what other competitors charge.

Step 2

Register your aquarium maintenance business. Go to your city hall to secure registration materials and applications. Fill out and submit the applications, and then wait to receive confirmation of your registration before you start doing business.

Step 3

Gather supplies. Purchase fish food in bulk from online wholesalers. Acquire cleaning supplies such as algae scrubbers, aquarium-safe cleansers and aquarium siphons for water changes from local or online aquarium supply stores. Make sure to get a water test kit. Search online auction websites for good deals on gently used aquariums and stands if your business installs aquariums as well. Buy these as well as filters, gravel, heaters, lighting equipment and other decorations on an as-needed basis. Visit local wholesale conventions to purchase interesting fish as necessary; make sure to bring your business license with you, as it will be required to make purchases.

Step 4

Write a business contract for clients. State which services you are responsible for and how often you will perform specific duties. Include a statement that you are not responsible for the death of fish unless you have done something specific to cause their deaths.

Step 5

Apply for liability insurance to protect you from damages. Expect an expensive premium as aquarium maintenance companies often have issues with damages due to flooding.

Step 6

Market your aquarium maintenance business. Create fliers with a list of your services. Describe how you clean aquariums and what you do to ensure fish health. Design professional-looking fliers that distinguish you from competitors. If you are an expert in tropical fish, say so; if you create artful tanks, mention it. Include contact information such as phone numbers, email address and website address, if you have one. Post fliers on local bulletin boards, place ads in online and print versions of local newspapers and start a fan page on a social networking site to get the word out locally. Visit local businesses, such as doctors’ offices and restaurants, in person to offer your services, particularly if you’re in the business of setting up tanks. Drop off a flier or business card at each place you visit.

References (4)

Resources (1)

Aquarium Pros: Aquarium Stores vs. Aquarium Maintenance Companies

About the Author

Megan Martin has more than 10 years of experience writing for trade publications and corporate newsletters as well as literary journals. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Iowa and a Master of Fine Arts in writing from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

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Easy Tips and Ideas to Start Business

Although anyone can start a business, many people fail because of a bad product or improper research. If you want to start your own business, you can improve your chances for success before you even begin. In order to make your business successful, start strong and make sure that your idea will hold out for the long haul.

Have a Good Product

Ensure that you plan to sell something useful. Although you may think that your product is important or special, that doesn't mean the general public will agree. Ask friends, family and strangers what they think of your product. If they don't seem that interested, ask them why. With their suggestions, you can either improve the product or scrap the idea completely. According to Brad Sugars of Entrepreneur magazine, most small businesses fail because they sold a product that didn't have an adequate market. This also applies to small businesses that provide a service. A lawn-care business might be useful for part of the year in a northern state, but it is in-demand year-round in the south. Consider whether people will actually want to use your service and get constructive advice from those not afraid to give their opinion.

Research Local Businesses

Research local companies before starting up your own business. This will not only give you an idea of the amount of competition you will have, but it will also help you price your product or service. If you're looking to start a wedding photography business, you may find during your research that the market is over-saturated in your area. If not over-saturated, you should contact each business and ask them for a price list. Alter your prices so you can stay competitive with the competition in town. Researching similar local businesses will also help you decide where to locate your business location. Try not to start up a store or office close to another business of your type. If your small business is located away from similar business types, this will cause locals to choose you over businesses that are farther away from where they live.

Get Professional Advice

You may know someone who has started their own successful business. Ask him for advice and listen to his stories of how he started his company. You may gain useful advice on the good and bad ways to start a business. Local entrepreneurs can also introduce you to local product providers or advertisers that you may not have met without their help. Accept any advice with open arms, especially if the advice is coming from someone successful in the area.

How to Calculate Business Start Up Costs

Starting a business in no easy endeavor. It takes a great deal of research, perseverance and hard work. While sweat equity will make your small business more successful, you will most likely need real capital to get the business started. Before you start raising capital and/or investing your own funds, the first thing you need to do is determine the total start-up costs.

Step 1

Determine your costs of sales. For most small businesses this means inventory, the cost of raw materials, manufacturing equipment, shipping, packaging, and warehousing. However, not all businesses sell products. In this case, the cost of sales is primarily the direct labor involved in making the sale. For example, to open a small shoe business entails purchasing enough inventory ($10,000) to stock the store.

Step 2

Determine professional fees. Planning your business structure, i.e., limited liability corporation or general partnership, means hiring an attorney. There may also be the need to pay an attorney for help with establishing trademarks, copyrights, and patents. In this scenario, that puts total professional fees at an estimated $20,000.

Step 3

Determine technology costs. Technology can greatly reduce the cost of labor for small business if used effectively. Most small businesses require computers, printers, cell phones, website development, Internet access, software applications, information security, data storage, and outsourced information technology (IT) consulting. If the cost of technology is $10,000 to start, add an additional $5,000 a year for maintenance (hint: maintenance is not included in start-up costs).

Step 4

Determine administrative costs. This varies with business types and may include items such as business insurance, office supplies, product packaging, parking, rent, express shipping, desks, chairs, fax machines, phones, or anything else necessary to operate the business daily. A good estimate for start-up administrative costs would be $5,000 for the first six months.

Step 5

Determine initial sales and marketing costs. Now that you have your product, you need to let folks know about it. Sales and marketing costs generally include marketing materials for presentations, printing stationery, business cards, advertising, trade show events, and public relations. These initial sales and marketing costs can add up to $3,000.

Step 6

Determine the wages and benefits needed to secure a staff. This includes employee salaries, benefits, workers compensation, and payroll taxes. Let's put the cost of wages and benefits estimated at $20,000 for the first three months of business.

Step 7

Add all costs associated with starting the business for a total. Be sure to only include business start-up costs that will be incurred in the first three to six months of operations. For this example, the calculation is: $10,000 + $20,000 + $10,000 + $5,000 + $3,000 + $20,000 = $68,000.

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Sunday, July 7, 2013