Great Tank Sitter!

[farrah]

I posted here a while back looking for a tank sitting service, and Wendy, a mast member here, offered to help me out. I just wanted to let everyone know how pleased I was with her service. She did an excellent job caring for my two nano's while I was away. Everything looked great when I returned, and she even left a day-by-day log of everything she did while I was gone!

She mentioned that she was interested in starting a small business to do this for MAAST members. For any of you who do not know her, she is a very sweet person, has a tank (and lots of other critters) that she cares for at home, and seems great with animals. I highly recommend her if you are in need of a sitter!

[Sherri]

I would support her! I worry when I leave on vacations.... :D

[falcam7]

I just wanted to let everyone know how pleased I was with her service. She did an excellent job caring for my two nano's while I was away. Everything looked great when I returned, and she even left a day-by-day log of everything she did while I was gone!



I would have to agree with Farrah.

For a week in December I was out camping with the Boy Scouts.

During that period, Wendy took care of my 135-gallon tank and she did a great job.

I will be gone again for two weeks this summer in another camping trip.

I definitely am going to ask Wendy again to take care of my tank while I am away.

I highly recommend her if you are in need of a sitter! ;)


Thanks

[Tim Marvin]

What screen name does she go by and how big of a system is she willing to take care of? What are her fee's for this service?

[Tim Marvin]

I know Wendy, but these questions will be asked. Also she is in Austin, does she want to drive to S.A.? For a price, maybe?

[MikeDeL]

Now I wish I had her tank care of my tank while I was out of town, instead of my brother. Next time I will get ahold of her.

[Tim Marvin]

She really does care and is very knowledgeable.

[CD]

Awww...You guys are so sweet! Thank you!! ;)

Yep, it's official...I'm going to try and start my own pet/tank sitting service. Since I don't have a lot of start up capitol for this venture, I'll be starting out small at first (everybody's gotta start somewhere) by offering my services to the Austin area folks. I'm going to print up some fliers and put them in all the LFSs (that will let me)...maybe some business cards too. If there is enought interest, then I'll go apply for my small business licence! I'm still doing research on business start up procedures, but this is very exciting for me, as it will be doing something I love. I'm aquainted with the care of all types of critters...fish (fresh & salt) - any size system is fine, reptiles, birds, horses, cats & dogs...although I probably won't be sitting dogs just yet, as I would need to set up housing for them here at my home rather than taking care of them at the pet owner's abode. Heh...I'll also water your plants. Who knows? This could really take off, and then I could extend my services to cover other areas like San Antonio. SO, if anybody in the Austin area is in need of a dependable person to care for their tank(s)/critters LMK. :D

Also, if anybody has any suggestions or comments for starting up this venture, I'm all ears!

Oh...I know some of you will be curious about fees and such. This will vary depending on the distance I have to drive (to cover gas and time) and what all will need to be done for your tanks (large water changes, component cleaning, etc). When I sat Farrah's tanks, we met up at my house, Chris and I followed her over to her place so she could show me what needed to be done & special care needs, then we agreed on a price that she felt would be fair. Each instance will probably be different, as we all will have different needs, but I can guarantee it will be fair.

Thanks again Farrah & Carlos for the thumbs up...it was my pleasure! ;)

Wendy

[Tim Marvin]

Let me know if you need any help.

[CD]

She really does care and is very knowledgeable.


Thank you VERY much for the compliment, Tim!!! Yes, I do love all critters...if this venture takes off, it would be my dream job. I'm really excited!! I would love to also take care of the S.Antonio folks, but initially (until I can afford to get my own car back on the road), I will need to use Chris's car once he gets home from work. S. Ant. isn't out of the question, but just not yet...soon I hope.

Wendy

[DeAngelove]

Yeah... I know I will be needing at least a tank sitter later this year when I go on vacation. :) I will definitely be calling once I get all the details finalized. Anyone who's ever had someone tank sit (think friend or family member), and had an unpleasant experience (like a tank crash) happen knows especially how important it is to have someone who has some kind of clue about the care of system truely is! :)

DAB :D

[JimD]

You need a name for your business,... hhmmm, something catchy....

[CD]

definitely be calling once I get all the details finalized


Thanks, Denise!!! Just LMK. :D



hhmmm, something catchy....


Heheh....be nice ;)
Yes! I need to come up with a good business name. Any suggestions?

Wendy

[Chip]

All you need to do to make your business official is to get a DBA from the county clerk for $10 I belive and that's it. Then you just have to get a business account with a bank. Compass has a free small business account, but I go to Wells Fargo for my business and it costs $5 a month.

[CD]

Thanks for the info, Chip!
What about taxes for the IRS? Anything special I need to do, or would that just be a different form to file at the end of the year?

Wendy

[brianK]

You can go on IRS's website to fill out form SS-4 (EIN) Employer ID Number for your business entity. Do this once you have setup the DBA (Doing Business As) with the county (to have the business name). All money you make off of doing this business would be listed under that EIN number and for tax purposes would be filled under this number also (so you could take some business tax deductions) - Consult your tax consultant for what you could deduct for doing the business....

Brian

[Chip]

I do mine under my social security number and let my CPA do the paper work. He only charges me $40 dollars to do my taxes also!

[scuba_steveo]

I need to set up a business so that I can claim deductions

[JimD]

You'll also need to be insured/bonded for yor protection as well as that of the client.

[Chip]

You wouldn't want anything to happen to you like on Deuce Bigalow!!!!

[CD]

Heheh...that's no lie!!
Is the bonding something a regular insurance company would provide, or? I thought about that, but when I tried a Google search for information...well, let's just say there is a lot of info out there that doesn't pertain to my needs. :?

Wendy

[Chip]

Talk to the guys at Aqua Tek who have a tank maintenance service and see who they have their insurance through.

[GaryP]

I need to set up a business so that I can claim deductions

Hmmm, Livestock buyer? You are good at that.

Gary

[JimD]

ummm, bondING, not bondAGE! lol, sheesh

[Ram_Puppy]

Wendy, how about "Critter Sitters" ? :)

[Chip]

That's funny!

[AlexKilpatrick]

Wendy,

Over the past couple of years I have been a sole proprietor (what you are now) and have started my own corporation with me as the sole employee. One of the biggest issues I see with your kind of business is your liability. Here are two worst case scenarios for you: (1) Something you do accidentaly nukes someone's tank. They may end up suing you for thousands of dollars worth of livestock or (2) Something you do accidentally ends up burining someone's house down. Now, the insurance company is coming after you for $150,000. They can wipe you out and take everything you own.

There are two ways you can protect yourself. First, you should be able to get get insurance. Do a search for business insurance, and call a few and describe what you do. They will be able to give you a ballpark number for insurance. The second thing is to set yourself up as a corporation. This is a fair bit of work, and will set you back a few hundred dollars in fees. Your corporation will get the money from your clients, and the corporation will issue you a paycheck. The corporation will provide a very critical component of liability protection for you. If someone sues your corporation, then the worst they can do is wipe out your corporation, which probably won't have too much in assets. They won't be able to touch your personal finances. There are some gotchas here, so you want to do a little bit of reading up on it. You have to do the corporation the right way, or you don't get the protection.

You may have people suggest that you have your clients sign a waiver of liability. Don't bother with this. It won't provide you any real protection.

I urge you to consider the liability issue seriously. In our sue-happy society, it is not something we can ignore.

I have a bunch of books about setting up corporations. You are welcome to borrow them; just let me know.

Alex

[astrong]

There is already a "critter sitters," and "critter care" too I think.

Getting an LLC or incorperating isn't very cheap. Most lawyers charge a couple grand. The nice thing about incorperating is they can only take your business assets. So a couple buckets, siphons and test kits.

I would focus on insurance, not bonding. I think bonding pertains more to injury not property damage.

I'm not positive who we have our insurance through but if you are interested call me at the store, 450-0182, and I will double check. I would hate to send you in the wrong direction.

Aaron
AquaTek Tropical

[AlexKilpatrick]

You don't need a lawyer to set up a simple corporation. You can do it for as little as ~$200. There are services that will do it for you for around $600. I used incorporate.com and they were great.

It isn't that complicated.

[CD]

Thank you Aaron...are you going to be working this Saturday? I'd like to come by and talk to you if the store is not insanely busy when we come.

Alex- I appreciate the information, and I know you mean well...but you're scaring the crap out of me about starting this venture. All I wanted to do was to help people out - provide an inexpensive service to help them look after their tanks/pets while they were on vacation, or taking a weekend roadtrip...plus, of course make a little money to help pay the bills around the house and be doing something I love. I know you are right, though. I mean, I doubt seriously I personally would ever make the mistake of crashing someone's tank as I am the epitome of careful...but what if they had faulty equipment, and blamed me for the problem? I know there are a lot of nutcases out there - what comes to mind immediately was when that stupid git of a woman sued McDonalds when she dropped the hot coffee in her lap...sued them because the coffee was too hot...and won. This is SO totally wrong, and a good portion of why the world is going down the tubes. How in the heck are people like myself supposed to be able to start small businesses? If I could afford thousands of dollars to start something like this, then...well, I wouldn't need to!! :(

Wendy

[AlexKilpatrick]

Wendy,

I am with you 100% There is just something wrong with our society today. But you have to protect yourself. And I hate how this hits small entrpreneurs like you. The kind of thing you want to do is part of the foundation of our country. And i think there is a huge need for what you do too. I hope you get it going, because I would definitely hire you for the peace of mind. I just want to make sure you are aware of the risks. And you are right -- it has nothing to do with your skill level. We all know people who want to blame their reef failures on salt, or stray currents, or all manner of weird things. If you happen to be caring for someone's tank when something weird happens, they could easily turn to you as the responsible party. I don't think it will be thousands of dollars for you. I would guess your insurance would only be maybe $500 a year. That's a real rough guess, though.

Now, as a counter-example you can look at someone like Tim and 360 Reef Farms. There is much less risk to him because of the retail aspect of his business. He is not making himself responsible for someone's tank, or someone's home. Similarly with the folks here who build skimmers and sumps. Of course, anyone can get sued for anything, but for those business activities there is less risk. Your issue is that you are essentially responsible for an entire house.

I hate to be the doomsayer here, but I want to caution some of the folks here who are doing side business things for reef stuff. Most people's homeowner policies will cover them if they get sued. However, those are intended to provide *personal* liabiity. So, for example if you are getting something off the shelf at Home Depot, and it falls on a guy and kills him, then your homeowner's policy will cover you. However, if you are building stuff and selling it, then you are doing that as a business, whether you are a declared business, or not, or whether you only accept cash and just stick it in your pocket. If something happens as a result of something you sell, then your homeowner's liability coverage will not help you. As an aside, your homeoner's policy would cover you if you were watching someone's tank, but not as a business.

I am frustrated by this too. I am a semi-professional electronics designer. I have been toying around with designs for things like wavemakers, top-off systems, data loggers, etc. But I don't know if I could ever sell something because of product liability. Water and electricity are a dangerous mix -- if someone misused one of my gadgets, they could conceivably be electrocuted. That's a pretty high risk to swallow for a small biz guy.

[Tim Marvin]

People usually sue if you have something to sue for. A lawyer will generallly not take the case for the fun of it. Insurance is a good thing to have though.

[CD]

People usually sue if you have something to sue for


Heh...well that pretty much rules me out, but I sure would hate to lose our house over trying to help someone by taking care of their tank/critters. You are right about the insurance though...this is going to be a *must*. Thanks ;)



make sure you are aware of the risks


Alex- maybe we could get together sometime soon and discuss this further? You obviously know what you are talking about, and I agree. I frequently have a tendency to look at only the bright side of things, and not the bad things that could happen. Thank you. :)

Wendy

[AlexKilpatrick]

Wendy,

I would be glad to talk to you about this. Maybe we can get together for lunch or something. And anyone else who is interested in the topic should send me a PM. Maybe we can make a little meeting out of it.

I am not a lawyer, but I have been working in small business for the past five years. I also have some close friends who leased an airplane to a skydiving center. The plane crashed (pilot error) and killed five people. The lawyers came sniffing around, but once they realized the plane was leased by a corporation that had the plane as its only asset, they went away. That gave me a great appreciation for the liability issue.

Alex

[Jenn]

Wendy, I am not a lawyer either, but I did sleep at a Holiday In Express Inn last night! :-D J/K!

I don't know why I haven't seen this post sooner, but I WISH YOU THE BEST!!!!!! Sounds like you will do great and I'm glad to know who to call when I need someone to come check on my tank.

[CD]

I WISH YOU THE BEST!!!!!!


Thank you Jenn!
I truly hope I can do this too, as it would be a dream come true. I love animals so much, I almost went to school to become a vet. After some serious thought though, I didn't think I could see animals in pain/hurt/mangled on a day to day basis. I would've had nightmares every night! I still have the occasional nightmare from when my 14 year old cocker spaniel had to be put to sleep due to a brain tumor...she started having grand maw seisures...I couldn't be consoled for weeks afterwards. Excuse me...I think I'm gonna go hug my doggies... ;)

Wendy

[SaltyJim]

Don't forget that with the Comptrollers new laws, many "services" that can be provided are suceptable to sales tax collection. You will need to check with the Comptroller directly to see if this is one of those services. You will have to go to them anyway to get a tax id so you can get tax exemptions for products you buy for business use (ie salt for customer's water changes). Really only about a 1 page from to fill out, no fee, and a little peace-of-mind knowing that you are compliant with Texas' Sales tax collection codes.

[Jenn]

That's too funny. I took about a year of pre-vet and thought it would be a good idea to start a p/t job at a clinic. Little did I know they were the drop-off for county strays and I had to euthanize most of them. I just lost it. Totally switched majors.
We gotta meet someday! :grin:

[CD]

Jim - thanks for the tax info...I'm taking notes on all these wonderful suggestions ;)

Jenn- Yep - that's the kind of thing I'm talking about. Most people think it's not that horrifying to put an animal to sleep...that they just slip away. My baby Ishtar (the cocker)...poor thing. The last coherent thing she did was to look into my eyes and lick my hand. Once she passed, all this nasty goo started coming out of her nose, etc... Ok TMI, but it's just horrid. Never again. :(
I hope we get to meet soon too.

Wendy

[AlexKilpatrick]

A few years ago my mother-in-law worked for a company that did aquarium "maintenance" in Waco. For saltwater tanks, their maintentance procedure involved taking the rocks out of the aquarium, soaking them in bleach, scrubbing all the algae off, rinsing and then putting them back in the tank. They also did water changes. I'm sure companies like that still exist, and service fish-only tanks at doctor's offices and stuff like that. Can you imagine what someone like that would do to a reef aquarium?

That is why I would only hire a person who kept reefs to watch over my tanks. If they weren't a reefkeeper, there is no way they could really understand what needs to be done to maintain a reef.

Your empathy with animals will also be a huge factor in your success. My guess is that most of the existing services are strictly doing it as a money-making opportunity.

[CD]

I would only hire a person who kept reefs to watch over my tanks


Wow...that's a scary story!! I agree totally...someone who's never kept a reef tank has no business looking after someone elses! YIKES - bleach? :o



Your empathy with animals will also be a huge factor in your success. My guess is that most of the existing services are strictly doing it as a money-making opportunity


Thanks Alex! Yeah, I suspect you are right about that. Not that I wouldn't like to make a *little* money for doing it, but I'm not out to get rich...just to help Chris pay the bills and have some grocery money. At least our critters are well taken care of though. Our tank, doggies, and parrots needs always come first with us ;)

Wendy

[astrong]

Thats common practice for fish tank maintenance. Plus a lot of companies charge you for 2 sets of decorations so there will always be a clean one ready to put in the tank!
I have been to too many accounts where the nitrates were off the scale high and all the fish had hole in the head. You would be surprised how many people out there still think nitrates aren't toxic, and if the water is clear, it must be fine, right?

[GaryP]

Aaron,

There is a big issue with nitrites and human health. Where there are nitrates there are have to be nitrites. A lot of the dairy industry was chased out of California because of nitrite contamination of the groundwater. Nitrites were implicated in the death of a few infants in California. They inhibit the action of hemoglobin, similar to the way that cyanide and carbon monoxide do.

As a side note, guess where a lot of those Cailfornia dairymen ended up? You guessed it, Texas, especially up in the Stephenville area.

Gary

[astrong]

The stars at night are big and bright...