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Would You Go Into The Fish Business?

Some members of this Board might have entertained, at one time or another, the possibility of turning their hobby into a business. However, before turning this little piece of wish fulfilment into reality, a few caveats are applicable!

First of all, any prospective fish retailer, for example, had better be prepared to put in long hours. Running one's own business is NOT a nine-to-five occupation! Especially when various statutory obligations are taken into account ...

First of all, here in the UK, we have something called VAT. This nasty little acronym stands for Value Added Tax, although the only people for whom it 'adds value' are the Government. Every business here in the UK is legally bound to register for VAT auditing. And, VAT auditing is controlled in the UK by Her Majesty's Customs & Excise Officers - the same people who control import and export duties, and duties on commodities such as tobacco and alcohol. These people are NOT to be messed with! HM Customs & Excise have powers of search, entry and seizure that even the Police don't have - in fact, Customs & Excise have powers that the Gestapo would have been envious of, and so, anyone trying to defraud them is likely to spend a LONG time discovering the delights of prison. Even honest traders can find to their cost that Customs & Excise can be, when they want to be, extremely heavy-handed, and furthermore, they demand that their bills are paid not a second late.

Next, there's the matter of other taxes. These are covered by Her Majesty's Inspector of Taxes (HMIT) in the UK. Again, pay them late, and they hit you with stinging penalties. What's more, the moment you set up in business, you become, whether you want to or not, an unpaid tax collector on behalf of HMIT. The legal onus is on YOU to calculate all the tax you're due to pay, and again, you pay when THEY tell you to. If you don't have the money, tough, you end up with an overdraft.

This brings us nicely on to banks. Banks will, initially, be happy to lend you money to start up. Why? Simple. The moment you take out a loan, you pay them interest. Banks didn't get rich by throwing money away. Banks became massive corporate entities by making sure that you, the consumer, face a plethora of charges for even the simplest of services. Even the simple business of paying cash into your account costs you money. Yes, the banks [charge you for paying cash into your account. This is because cash is messy. It requires people in uniforms and armoured vans to move it from place to place. And with this, comes the risk of robbery. The people who move all this cash around face, at least some time in their careers, the risk of being killed in an armed robbery by some thug wielding a sawn-off shotgun. Consequently, the security companies charge the banks a lot of money for moving cash. A cost which the banks pass on to you, with interest. That's why direct debits are so popular in the business world. The only thing that is transported is electrons down a wire. And they cost less to administer. Which is why gas and electricity companies charge less to customers that pay by direct debit. Which of course, means that the well-off pay less for their utilities. Who said this was fair?

Then, of course, you get charged more as a 'business customer' for your gas and electricity. All those tropical fish tanks needing heaters are going to make a big dent in the funds because of this. Still like the idea of making your hobby a business?

If so, then there's the matter of finding somewhere to trade from. In a word, premises. Which, usually, you have to rent. Lucky is the business that owns its own property, which in this day and age is a massively appreciating asset. Most rent their premises, for which they pay property companies a nice slice of wonga. Up front. And property companies usually have nasty teams of lawyers to deal with defaulters.

Then, if you're going to sell fish, you'll need a pet trader's licence. Local councils make a bomb on this little number. Bureaucrats come round, inspect your premises, tell you how they think you should do things in the most irritating and patronising manner possible (hey, you're in business now - didn't you know you were a cash cow to be milked at leisure by local and central government?), then if they decide you're up to it, they issue you a pet trader's licence. And again, they charge you for the privilege.

To let you get on with the business of actually selling fish, you need an accountant. Accountants cost money. LOTS of money. If you haven't a clue about book-keeping, you'll need to hire a book-keeper too. Either that or spend time learning how to do it yourself. Even so, if the books aren't kept in tip top condition, when it's time for your accountant to handle your tax and VAT affairs, he'll charge you a whopping fee for the privilege. Keep the books in order, and your accountant takes enough money off you to buy a new PC. Present a set of messy books, and your accountant has more work to do, for which he charges you. In the worst case scenario, you end up buying him a brand new BMW.

Then, you get to mix it with wholesalers. Some of whom have their own ideas about what they want to sell you. Which you then have to try and sell, even if the paying public doesn't want to touch it with a 40 foot barge pole. If you're lucky, you get to choose what sells well, and possibly add some exotica that you have some customers lined up for in advance. If you're unlucky, you become the dumping ground for the wholesaler's 'graveyard goods'. This doesn't just apply to fish, but to all the ancillaries too. If your customers all want Tetra fish foods, for example, and your wholesaler wants to offload Aquarian on to you (because he bought it as a mistake and can't shift it), you could end up stuck with it gathering dust on your shelves. Because the wholesaler might make taking his unwanted dross a condition of future trading. It does happen now and again!

Then, you have security to worry about. The world is full of opportunist criminals. The favourite targets - namely off licences and tobacconists - have become armed camps littered with defences, including CCTV cameras and direct alarm hotlines to the local Police. Most criminals prefer softer targets. Which, by going into business, you've just become. And, if you have a reputation for acquiring exotica for local aquarists and their societies, you could also attract that specialist criminal, the one that steals valuable stock to order. Koi dealers trading in expensive pedigree Japanese carp face this menace, but if you deal in rare marines, or certain Rift Lake fishes, you too could attract the attention of this vermin. Which means, yes, more money going out of the door on defences to keep them at bay.

Guess what comes last on the list? That's right, you. The person doing all the hard work. You want a steady income? Don't go into business. If you're skilled, or ruthless, enough, you might make a decent living from it. But be prepared for your life no longer to be your own for at least five years, while you get the business off the ground, and transform it from small fry to full-grown Oscar in breeding dress. Dodging various Piranhas along the way of course, a fair number of whom come in government suits wielding all kinds of irritating statutory powers.

If you hire staff, oh, you're in for a treat. Welcome to being a tax collector on their behalf too. Also, welcome to the wonderful world of Health & Safety Legislation. Enough red tape to truss up every wildebeest on the African plains several times over.

Needless to say, this is just the fun and games we here in Britain can enjoy if we're stupid enough to go into business. Doubtless the Americans and other nationalities on this Board have their own slices of joy to share in this regard.

Trust me, it may seem expensive, but sticking to your fish as a hobby is probably a much happier way to go. And after reading the above, you'll have an insight into why, at least here in the UK, fish prices are what they are.



Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Great article, I'll stick to the hobby. Thanks for taking the time to write such a very detailed and excellent post.

As much as that holds true for opening up a fish shop, it holds true to any private owned business. Im sure importing fish is much more of a pain that finding a wholesaler for many other goods. Honestly, IMO, the hardest part about any entheusiast opening up their own shop would b the conflicting morales and ethics. As much as we all love fish and try our hardest to provide the best care for them, at a shop that often becomes a sacrifice. Think about it, all those over-stocked tanks are mainly to save money and maintance. Its much easier to care for one 15g tank with 10 oscars in it than for 2 15g tanks with 5 in each, and that extra tank (although it would benefit the fish) would just b one more tank on the mantaince list and one more tank that costs money to run. And how do shops keep these overstocked tanks from completely failing? Well other than a huge filtration system, keeping the fish from eating of course. Anyone ever see the LFS people feeding the fish? WHEN they do, its in very sparing amounts. Sure, every so often a GREAT store comes around that only hires knowledagle staff and will perform mantaince on tanks the way it should be done, and wont completely over-stock tanks and wont starve fish. But lets face it, most shops do overstock, do put their fish on the brink of starvation and do skimp out on mantaince. There are 5 LFSs in my area. Out of those 5, 1 is truly a great store and a store that i completely trust (Aquarium Adventure). Thats just how i feel and my opinion on the whole subject.

wow

Good article

The Amazon Nut...

glad i live in ontario theres no laws dealing with the private sale of fish if there non native
but a full out business if u were to actually register it wood b a pain in the though cuz we all know our liberal government loves to rob us blind with taxes

wow, england has it hard! about the accountant thing, why not do what I plan on doing and take some accounting classes? Here in the US, as far as I know, most people who start a buisness have taken accounting classes.

Also, I don't know if it is just the way that I read it, but it sounds like you are extremely mad in it. If this is the case, then what drove you to right this article? Just curious.

I'm not in the fish business Rasco, but one of my friends is (he supplied me with the Pencil Fish and the Otocinclus among other things). Plus, there was an article in a back number of Practical Fishlkeeping that made me sit up & take notice. This, combined with my LFS's anecdotes about local government bureaucracy formed the nucleus of this topic.

And, having encountered the above from a safe distance, I'll want a LOT of backing capital before I try making a living as a fish retailer

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

I've read that artical as well Calilasseia. I was also pondering on maybe setting up one with my siblings who are hobbyists as well. But after reading the article, including the costs (not to mention your life as you cannot just simply up and go if you want to go on a holiday - and that is if you have some money for it!) I have to change my mind and remain a hobbyist. Maybe when I, in a wierd chance end up with loads of money I will try. One can only dream!