Starting a Fish Service business need some advice?

;D Thank you Bje!! I started this service/ business because the guy my dad uses to clean the tanks NEVER comes so i decided to make my own cleaning service for tanks since i know a lot about fish tanks

 

It's a good idea, but there could be some issues. I imagine you're just doing this as a fun way to make money, but most service business carry some sort of insurance. For example, what if your hired and the tank cracks, or a rock falls and cracks the tank, electrical failure, pump runs drys and burns out or even a fire, as KCBrad unfortunately found out. Who is responsible? You should at least have some sort of service agreement that lays out things like this. If this is something you actually want to do, you should file with your state as some sort of business, corporation, sole proprietorship etc., but that's getting into a whole other can of worms. I wish you luck, but you need to be aware of these things, especially when entering another person's home and performing work there.

 

For like home check in services when i go to the house and clean and maintain the tank when the owners are gone i might have a contract they have to sign that i am not liable for any problems, fires, electrical failures and other small problems etc...

 

Trust me my dad owns a company that cleans shopping centers and they always complain about the small things or random stuff so i am ready and kinda used to it.

 

I am really not wanting to sound derogatory or condescending, but even so, you would still need to ensure you don't act negligently. You may need to ensure proper drip loops, GFI outlets, the rock is properly secured etc. Even with a contract that releases you of liability, you can still be held liable under certain situations. I wouldn't have though that this was too big of a deal, the biggest risk would be losing the tank, but Kcbrad talked about the fire that could have been much worse, and that would really cause me to be concerned. Normally, such an event would probably fall under homeowners insurance, I'm not exactly sure, it probably depends on your policy, but if you hire somebody to come in and take care of the tank, that could be a different story.

One of my friends owns a lawn cutting business. He started it when he was in about 7-8 grade. It started out small, but turned into a business where he had 120 customers. He came and talked with my dad about running a business and he wanted to be incorporated. My dad owns his own business BTW. A big concern was liability insurance. If he was cutting a person's lawn and kicked up a rock and that rock damaged some property or worse hit a person, there could be a huge lawsuit, and he would be directly stuck with it. Luckily nothing happened and he incorported and got insurance, but the same thing applies to you. It's something you should look into. Again, i do with you the best of luck.

 

Your right Thank You so much i never thought about that!

 

easy way to sperate yourself from liability is an LLC (Limited Liability Corperation) That way if someone gets pissy at you because they lost livestock or had a fire they don't sue YOU they sue the company. Pay a laywer though either way to help you out. Sure i can be pricy but this is a hobby that is very expensive, or at least has the ability to become so easily.

 

Yes very true i forgot about that! Thankss!!!!

 

What should i do for a logo?

 

not to kill your dreams but i know what you are getting into and it doesnt always work out. i have gotten sued because i set up a new tank for the people and one of their kids was playing around by the tank and pulled on a hose and about 100 gallons of water spilled out on their hardwood floor and messed it up big time. i had them sign a contract that said that i wasnt liable for anything but they still sued me. the judge ruled in my favor tho because i wasnt their when the hose got pulled out but still it was a big pain and really freaky that i was getting sued at 17 years old. make sure that you know what you are doing and that you get INSURANCe that is the most important thing or you can do what i did and get a job at a lfs and set it up through them and then they provide you with insurance. not to drag on but on of the people i work with that does cleanings and installs got sued because the person didnt want to pay to have power outlets in so he just ran 7 or so extension cords over to the tank and pluged everything in and burnt hos house down. he sued him and my coworker even told him that if their isnt any power outlets installed that he was going to quit and that he would need to finds some one new to do the job. people are going to think that they are right no matter what. good luck though. if you have any questions i can help you