Aquatic consultants...

[Richcymru]

...would any of you use them? eg. for, water quality problems, parasite/disease identification/topical treatment, mucous biopsies, water bacterial counts etc etc. I would imagine, this question is aimed more at pond keepers.

[Richcymru]

maybe not then?

[Aquai]

I know of some people who have consulted koi speciailists on pond builds, but other than that i'm not aware of any, any reason you ask?

[xyra]

yes I would. I have a good friend who runs a business specialising in koi health (up to and including, microscope work, blood sampling, biopsies etc.) and pond issues and they are truely excellent - really know their stuff and very helpful.

I can send you contact details if you need advice on something.

[Richcymru]

The reason I ask, is that there are no such aquatic consultants that I can find in my region, so am considering starting my own business. So, I just want to see what the general consensus is. Any constructive comments/criticism would be valued.

Cheers

[xyra]

Originally Posted by Richcymru

The reason I ask, is that there are no such aquatic consultants that I can find in my region, so am considering starting my own business. So, I just want to see what the general consensus is. Any constructive comments/criticism would be valued.

Cheers

Go for it. Talk to local fish shops, join up with several local fish clubs (tropical & coldwater/koi) get involved then people know who to contact if they are contacted.

Don't go in cheap - don't forget it is specialist knowledge.

[Richcymru]

Originally Posted by xyra

Go for it. Talk to local fish shops, join up with several local fish clubs (tropical & coldwater/koi) get involved then people know who to contact if they are contacted.

Don't go in cheap - don't forget it is specialist knowledge.

Well, I used to do it a long time ago when I ran an aquatics department. But since then I have a degree in marine biology and more experience. so, the plan is to hopefully get a business up and going sometime this year. What would you consider good charges...so i dont go in cheap! lol Cheers

[92cw12]

realisitically i see business would get worse and worse as people begin to turn to forums in times of help and advice

[xyra]

Originally Posted by Richcymru

Well, I used to do it a long time ago when I ran an aquatics department. But since then I have a degree in marine biology and more experience. so, the plan is to hopefully get a business up and going sometime this year. What would you consider good charges...so i dont go in cheap! lol Cheers

Look at how much you need to earn.

Say you want to take home £30,000, and had overheads of £20,000 a year (tax, rent, electricity, accountancy etc. etc.). Realistically you are only probably going to be working 10 earning days a months, the rest of the time will be marketing, finances, planning, networking etc.

That works out at £416/day or £52.00/hour minimum income. You would probably want to look at, say a 15% - 20% profit margin you would be looking at about £60 an hour which is an average consultancy fee in quite a few different businesses - although I have no idea in aquatics

Surprising it is currently quite a good time to be thinking about setting up at the moment. You should use recession times to develop products & services so that they are ready to hit the market when the next boom hits.

Talk to and maybe join your local BCC accredited chamber of commerce - they are great and really do work if you use the networking events (people buy people etc.)

A major issue a lot of people often fall into is they start off cheap to get business in. However when they try to raise prices their customers are 'cheap market' and won't take the rise meaning you have to effectively set up again a second time - however get into the premium market and it is not an issues. Nothing wrong with doing cheap work for a project you particularly want or could lead to more (loss leader) or cheap work for friends, discounts for forum members etc. Just remember you are in business to earn money for you - once you reach the money you want then you can do cheaper stuff as an extra!

[Richcymru]

Thanks! some good advice!