How to Start an Aquarium Maintenance Business

Start an aquarium maintenance business by following these 10 steps:

1. Plan your Aquarium Maintenance Business
2. Form your Aquarium Maintenance Business into a Legal Entity
3. Register your Aquarium Maintenance Business for Taxes
4. Open a Business Bank Account & Credit Card
5. Set up Accounting for your Aquarium Maintenance Business
6. Get the Necessary Permits & Licenses for your Aquarium Maintenance Business
7. Get Aquarium Maintenance Business Insurance
8. Define your Aquarium Maintenance Business Brand
9. Create your Aquarium Maintenance Business Website
10. Set up your Business Phone System

We have put together this simple guide to starting your aquarium maintenance business. These steps will ensure that your new business is well planned out, registered properly and legally compliant.

Exploring your options? Check out other small business ideas.

STEP 1: Plan your business

A clear plan is essential for success as an entrepreneur. It will help you map out the specifics of your business and discover some unknowns. A few important topics to consider are:

• What will you name your business?
• What are the startup and ongoing costs?
• Who is your target market?
• How much can you charge customers?

Luckily we have done a lot of this research for you.

What will you name your business?

Choosing the right name is important and challenging. If you don’t already have a name in mind, visit our How to Name a Business guide or get help brainstorming a name with our Aquarium Maintenance Business Name Generator

If you operate a sole proprietorship, you might want to operate under a business name other than your own name. Visit our DBA guide to learn more.

When registering a business name, we recommend researching your business name by checking:

• Your state's business records
• Federal and state trademark records
• Social media platforms
• Web domain availability.

It's very important to secure your domain name before someone else does.

What are the costs involved in opening an aquarium maintenance business?

The startup costs for an aquarium maintenance business are minimal.

The largest expenses are a vehicle for getting to clients’ sites and an office/storage space, but many business owners keep these costs low by using a room in their home and their personal vehicle. A business owner can invest in an outfitted vehicle and office space after their business is established, but in the beginning these things likely won’t be necessary.

Other startup expenses include insurance premiums, advertising fees, and equipment and supplies. Advanced Aquarium Concepts has an in-depth list of supplies that business owners may want. The list includes, among other things:

• 5-gallon buckets
• towels (of various sizes)
• algae pads (with and without handles)
• razors and an X-acto knife
• specimen containers
• water changers
• other supplies

 

What are the ongoing expenses for an aquarium maintenance business?

The ongoing expenses for an aquarium business are relatively low. They include vehicle maintenance costs, fuel, insurance premiums, advertising fees and supply costs. Supply costs are minimal in the industry, as just a small amount of a supply can usually treat a lot of water.

Who is the target market?

An aquarium maintenance business’ ideal client is a pet store that sells fish. Pet stores not only have multiple aquariums that need to be cleaned, but they’re also where people go to purchase fish and fish tanks. These stores can be a source of both ongoing work and other potential clients.

How does an aquarium maintenance business make money?

An aquarium business makes money by charging clients for aquarium maintenance and cleaning services. While fees are usually based on the service provided, they may be calculated from a desired hourly rate. For instance, a business owner that wants to earn $60 per hour might charge $45 for a service that they expect will take 45 minutes to do.

How much can you charge customers?

Many aquarium maintenance businesses charge about $1 per gallon for service calls. Some businesses, however, charge significantly less, but choose to only service larger aquariums. For example, Clear Aquarium charges as little as $0.55 per gallon, but they won’t service aquariums under 100 gallons.
In addition to regular service charges, most businesses also charge for emergency calls. These calls are usually priced by the hour. Clear Aquarium assess a $50 per hour fee for emergency calls during business hours and $75 per hour during off hours.

How much profit can an aquarium maintenance business make?

With a full list of clients, an aquarium maintenance business can make a significant revenue. A business owner who charged $50 per hour would earn around $1,000 - $1,500 per week working full-time hours, not counting travel and transition time. Even after expenses are subtracted, this is still a respectable income.

How can you make your business more profitable?

An aquarium maintenance business can increase its revenue by also offering tank installations, and selling fish and other supplies.

STEP 2: Form a legal entity

The most common business structure types are the sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company (LLC), and corporation.

Establishing a legal business entity such as an LLC or corporation protects you from being held personally liable if your aquarium maintenance business is sued.

You can form an LLC yourself and pay only the minimal state LLC costs or hire one of the Best LLC Services for a small, additional fee.

STEP 3: Register for taxes

You will need to register for a variety of state and federal taxes before you can open for business.

In order to register for taxes you will need to apply for an EIN. It's really easy and free!

There are specific state taxes that might apply to your business. Learn more about state sales tax and franchise taxes in our state sales tax guides.

STEP 4: Open a business bank account & credit card

Using dedicated business banking and credit accounts is essential for personal asset protection.

When your personal and business accounts are mixed, your personal assets (your home, car, and other valuables) are at risk in the event your business is sued. In business law, this is referred to as piercing your corporate veil.

Open a business bank account

Besides being a requirement when applying for business loans, opening a business bank account:

• Separates your personal assets from your company's assets, which is necessary for personal asset protection.
• Makes accounting and tax filing easier.

Get a business credit card

Getting a business credit card helps you:

• Separate personal and business expenses by putting your business' expenses all in one place.
• Build your company's credit history, which can be useful to raise money later on.

STEP 5: Set up business accounting

Recording your various expenses and sources of income is critical to understanding the financial performance of your business. Keeping accurate and detailed accounts also greatly simplifies your annual tax filing.

Make LLC accounting easy with our LLC Expenses Cheat Sheet.

STEP 6: Obtain necessary permits and licenses

Failure to acquire necessary permits and licenses can result in hefty fines, or even cause your business to be shut down.

State & Local Business Licensing Requirements

Certain state permits and licenses may be needed to operate an aquarium maintenance business. Learn more about licensing requirements in your state by visiting SBA’s reference to state licenses and permits.

Services Contract

In businesses where services are provided on an extended basis, a services contract is often put in place outlining terms and conditions of service.

Aquarium maintenance businesses should require clients to sign a services agreement before engaging in a long-term cleaning project. This agreement should clarify client expectations and minimize risk of legal disputes by setting out payment terms and conditions and service level expectations. Here is an example of one such services agreement.

STEP 7: Get business insurance

Just as with licenses and permits, your business needs insurance in order to operate safely and lawfully. Business Insurance protects your company’s financial wellbeing in the event of a covered loss.

There are several types of insurance policies created for different types of businesses with different risks. If you’re unsure of the types of risks that your business may face, begin with General Liability Insurance. This is the most common coverage that small businesses need, so it’s a great place to start for your business.

Another notable insurance policy that many businesses need is Workers’ Compensation Insurance. If your business will have employees, it’s a good chance that your state will require you to carry Workers' Compensation Coverage.

Is this Business Right For You?

Anyone who is passionate about fish and aquatic life may be well-suited for running an aquarium maintenance business. It’s helpful to be both self-motivated and a people person, as business owners often work alone but frequently interact with clients.

This is a type of business that can be started part-time, while working another job full-time. Until a business is established, a business owner can schedule their service calls for evenings and weekends—or whenever they aren’t working elsewhere.

What happens during a typical day at an aquarium maintenance business?

An aquarium maintenance business owner spends much of their day driving to clients’ sites and cleaning their aquariums. Cleaning an aquarium can involve:

• testing water for proper chemical balances
• checking and changing filters
• wiping algae off of the aquarium glass
• assessing the health of fish
• addressing any other issues that arise
• other tasks related to keeping the aquarium clean and healthy

At the end of a service, business owners typically review what was done with the aquarium owner and make any recommendations that are appropriate.

When not actively servicing aquariums, business owners spend time cleaning their equipment, maintaining their own stock of fish and plants, ordering supplies, billing clients and seeking new clients.

What are some skills and experiences that will help you build a successful aquarium maintenance business?

An aquarium business owner should be extremely familiar with freshwater and saltwater aquariums, and the fish, plants and other creatures that inhabit them. If business owners don’t have an in-depth knowledge, clients may assume they’re paying a lot of money for someone who has a few buckets and brushes.

Businesses owners who don’t already possess this knowledge have a variety of resources available to them. The Ornamental Aquatic Trade Association offers a certificate and an advanced diploma, and ACS Distance Education has a 100-hour Aquarium Management program. Just a few of the many books written on aquarium maintenance include Freshwater Aquariums for Dummies, Saltwater Aquariums for Dummies, the Aquariums series (which covers freshwater, saltwater and reef aquariums), Aquarium Plants and Aquarium Corals.

In addition to taking a course and reading about aquariums, it’s also a good idea for new business owners to get some hands-on experience. Working for another aquarium maintenance business gives business owners a chance to learn about aquariums and the industry.

What is the growth potential for an aquarium maintenance business?

Most aquarium maintenance businesses service a single region. They’re generally located in cities, where there are more businesses and people who may want aquariums. Fish Geeks and Aquarium Design and Maintenance are two examples of businesses that service a single area.