setup and maintenance business

my dad and i have been in the hobby for years and are looking into starting up an aquarium setup and maintenance business and i was just wondering what tips you 3reefers had for me? i have my first client, which is a doctor, and im setting up three aquariums in his office. i have already set up a 125 in their conference room which is cycling right now, and will be setting up 2 90g tanks in his waiting rooms.
im on the right track, just wondering what i really need to do on the business side of this. so maybe some of you are doing the same thing and you could help me out.. thanks!

 

nobody has any tips or helpful ideas? i know there has to be other people out there that think like me and have thought about or are doing the same thing.. let me know what you think!

 

On the phone right now so I have to be brief. (If you use the search engine, this question has definitely been asked before). You definitely want limited liability. Whether you do that with a C-Corporation, S-Corporation, LLC, LLP is going to depend on your personal finances, the state you live in, etc.

Trust me, if a tank you installed breaks through no fault of your own and causes damage, you WILL be sued. I know what you're saying....I know XYZ....they won't sue. That is true. It will be their insurance company that sues you.

Have a WRITTEN contract.
Keep a log of what you did, what consumables you replaced, what equipment was changed. Give them a carbon copy of that at each visit.

 

What state do you live in?

 

question,
will you be setting up just fish only saltwater tank or what ever the customer wants?
how long do you normally let the tank cycle ?

 

+1 inwall

If you don't have a business plan you need to make one right now, that's how you will get business loans from lenders and it's not a bad idea to see where you want ur business to go.

You may or may not want to register for a tax free I'd number

You will need a business name

You also need to see if you must have any licenses or permits, I don't see y you would but just to be safe

 

i live in new york. we are going to be setting up whatever it is the customer wants. i usually let my tanks cycle for about a month depending where my levels are and i pre mix the saltwater so its dissolved and to temp when i put it in. i also like to use nitrifying bacteria ive found that it helps alot with the ammonia-nitrite cycle, sometimes has tanks stable within a week. i also have all the information and paper work for a dba (doing business as) license but not to sure what i should be looking into weather its that or llc or others that inwall stated. i have been keeping a log of everything i have done for him but with not having any insurance for it right now wasnt sure what i should do about the contract. what exactly should i put into it?? just stating that im not liable for any damages caused by any leaks and/or problems caused by the fishtanks?

 

I have an LLC. If you plan on doing a DBA name, register that right from the get go. Its hell doing it later (at least it is in Cali). Every state has their own set of rules. Cali has enough for 10 states. Become familiar with bookkeeping if you won't be hiring anyone.

Document . Document. Document.

 

do you know whats the difference between the dba and the llc?

 

You most likely wanna go with an llc. It's a limited liability company and basically what this is is it will protect you if you get sued. Also an llc let's you chose how to tax your company, and the best part is if your company gets sued your personal assets cannot be seized and you are not reliable for it, just the company.