I am now an entrepreneur!

Melonbob

Melonbob

Reef enthusiast
Well, I got a copy of my Masters business Licence in the mail today, so I am officially a small business owner. I had started selling coral out of my frag tank, and because there is only one LFS up here, word spread fast. I started doing a very brisk business, until I got a visit from the bylaw officer! A complaint had bee put in (I'm guessing who), so I had to take a break and get everything in order. Now I'm up again, but it looks like I'll have to expand a bit. I'm thinking 4 - 48" tanks and from there I could use a little input as to how you guys would set this up strictly for selling coral and fish! I'm so jazzed
 
i would tie them all into one large sump, only if your only selling coral, if your selling fish and coral it would be best to tie them into two different sumps. that way you can run copper on the fish and not kill the corals. get the best skimmer you can afford for the coral tank. and be willing to drop some MAJOR cash so the wholesalers will respect you and actually give you a crack at there good stuff
 
you were reading my mind, I was definately thinking of setting up as two different systems. I can get a hold of 4' and 3' tanks at a ridiculous price, and going from there. The shops I've been to that really impressed me had tanks at about stomach level, where you could look into the top with glass viewing boxes. I am already doing very well with my old 46, but it doesn't hold enough when I have to travel 4 hrs to coral shop, I'd like to stock up more
 
looking down is diffently a good idea because i do that at my LFS to their coral tanks but you have to be careful with that because if you have a ton of flow at the top rippiling the surface then it could be hard to see the corals and if the tanks are at stomach level then people arent going to bend down
 
I wish you luck Melonbob.
But I wouldnt run all the fish tanks off of one sump.All it takes is one fish thats got something contagious to wipe your stock out.The store I help at runs 2 emperor 400s on each of their 40 gallon breeder fish tanks.That way each tank is treated as a seperate QT.
 
I was also thinking of just running the 46 bowfront as a fish only tank on its own, and then a few 4 footers as coral tanks. I'm not sure how many fish I'm going to keep at any one time
 
Alls fish are good for is fragging corals,, polluting water, and dying unexpectedly in strange places where you cant reach. That why I have 9 of them! It seems here in STL everyone wants SPS corals and Zoos.
 
remember, not all fish can handle copper either....... if you plan on doing fish.... you'll want at mininum a couple different tanks for them...... and a QT tank on top of that!

good luck.... the fish business is tough...... a good friend of mine owns an LFS..... the dieoff on some orders he gets astounds me!
 
If you are running a legal business, have you considered what taxes are going to cost you? Will it be worth it?

Just something to think about.

Good luck.
 
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If he's a business, at least he can write off all his equipment. I am a freelance (soon to be LLC) and I get to write off office equipment/supplies/furniture. Imagine writing off a $500 piece of equipment. Nice!
 
I own an auto repair shop... my tank is a piece of equipment in my office.... and the business pays for any expenses to run the tank.... however "write offs" aren't what they seem..... nothing you buy for your business can be totally "written off"... you'll always end up paying one way or another!
 
Congratulations, and also, good luck with your business venture. I hope you are very successful with whatever set-up(s) you decide to have!
 
I think its really hard to run a business to run! Let me know how it goes because i was thinking of getting into that business! I didnt know you have to get a Masters business Licence to run a business.
 
Heres something else to think about.
Your water and electric bill will probably go through the roof.I know the store I help at has a hugh light bill every month.$1500. at least every month.
Then theres the dead and dieing shipments.Some of the wholesalers wont charge for the DOAs,but if they make it 24 hours,they are your responsibility and I've seen as high as 70 and 80% of shipments die within a week.
 
Business licenses depend on your county/state. For me and my husband, to get an LLC in our county, we just need to fill out the LLC paperwork and pay $100, then for the county, we'll be getting a business zoning thing since we're working from home as well as getting our tax id #, which are free. But again, it's different from place to place. Plus it matters if you're getting an LLC or INC. More paperwork and tax stuff with getting incorporated.
 
I think people missed out how how big this venture is. I am talking about a setup of four, maybe five tanks in my basement. That's it. I was already doing this on a smaller scale till the LFS ratted me out. I had to get the licenses so everything is legit. In Ontario, you need a Masters Business Licence, which is just registering your business name. You need a vendor permit, so the Govt can get their tax money, and I needed a municipal licence to run a business in my home. Total cost was $200. In Canada, I can write off my equipment, computer, website, a % of my utilities, and a % of the square footage of my house, so that definitely helps.
 

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