Aquarium Services Business Plan

1.1 Mission

EcoAquatics is a hobbyist business intended to give its owner a way to develop environmentally-sound aquariums, sensitive to the potential ecological dangers of the aquarium hobby worldwide, on a small scale appropriate to a high school student’s infrastructure and reach.  It should be fun, rewarding, full of learning, good for the clients, and good for the owner.

1.2 Keys to Success

1. Maintain the vision of a part-time hobbyist business, moving only slowly and appropriately up.

1. Always be up-to-date on the environmental impact of home and office aquariums.

1.3 Objectives

• For the short term, the main objective is to extend my aquarium hobby by building and maintaining a few aquariums outside my home with selected close-in clients who will work with me in a friendly way.  I don’t want to pretend this a full-time business with completely normal business motivations.

• On the longer term, develop this into a business that can help me support myself through high school and college, generating a part-time income from a part-time endeavor that relates vocation to avocation.

2.1 Start-up Summary

We have the advantage of a very simple start-up. There is no equipment needed, no rent, not even a phone line. Because we are purposely focusing on just a few clients who are friends and family, we don’t need sales literature. The cost is the registration with the State of Oregon.

2.2 Company Ownership

EcoAquatics is registered in the State of Oregon, Lane County, as a fictitious business name. The business is owned and operated entirely by Megan Berry, who turned 15 a couple months before it was founded.

3.1 Market Analysis Summary

Although our immediate market is friends and family, the potential long-term market is businesses in Eugene. We’re looking eventually at two kinds of offices:

• Chamber of Commerce members.
• University of Oregon offices.

In addition, we’ve left some room for “others” such as school rooms, some private homes, and businesses not members of the Chamber of Commerce.

3.1.1 Market Segmentation

Although our immediate market is friends and family, the potential long-term market is businesses in Eugene. We’re looking eventually at two kinds of offices:

• Chamber of Commerce members.
• University of Oregon offices.

In addition, we’ve left some room for “others” such as school rooms, some private homes, and businesses not members of the Chamber of Commerce.

3.1.2 Target Market Segment Strategy

We don’t have immediate capacity to serve more than one or two clients in the beginning. For the immediate future we focus entirely on word-of-mouth clients, accessible through friends and family. We move into the Chamber of Commerce as a marketing tool later, when we need more sales.

3.1.3 Service Business Analysis

Aquarium maintenance and design is by nature a smaller business full of small single competitors. In Eugene, two aquarium stores offer these services, but only one of them even bothers to advertise in the Yellow Pages of the main phone book.

3.1.3.1 Competition and Buying Patterns

Of course there is competition – there always is – but we don’t see competition as a limiting factor in this small hobbyist business, because we focus on friends and family first and we must maintain low capacity to be true to our underlying objectives.

4.1 Competitive Edge

• In this business, being young, and a good student, is a competitive edge. When I need to generate new clients, people will relate positively to a young person working her own business.
• Knowledge is very important. I take the time to know what I’m talking about, particularly regarding the environmental-impact of the aquarium hobby.
• The environmental emphasis is unusual, and is also a competitive advantage. Many people will prefer to work with an environmentally sensitive aquarium vendor.

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4.2 Marketing Strategy

1. Start first with friends and family companies where I can establish a track record and reference site.
2. Move slowly, through word of mouth, into a carefully selected few additional sites that I can serve at a very high quality level.
3. Lever on the Chamber of Commerce, and my competitive edge, to market through personal talks and Chamber events.

4.3 Sales Strategy

Our selling will be entirely based on word of mouth. We will build the website for the future. Later on, as soon as we feel confident to turn on more business, joining the Chamber of Commerce would be sufficient. We could attend some of their gatherings, get an occasional forum, and build more business that way.

4.3.1 Sales Forecast

We will remain with a single client throughout this first year before expanding in the future. We need to establish history with one client, and we also need to maintain the constraints on this business as a single hobbyist business.

During the following year, when we have a drivers license, we can expand to three clients.

4.4 Milestones

The plan involves two additional clients for the summer of 2003, and then a transition during late 2004 in preparation for me to be able to leave clients to attend college.

5.1 Website Marketing Strategy

Low-key marketing will focus mainly on informational value of the EcoAquatics site, for placement at Yahoo! and search results in Google, etc.

5.2 Development Requirements

EcoAquatics will be a personal project, much like my present and former site at citruscoolkids.com, using Cold Fusion and Flash.

6.1 Personnel Plan

The personnel plan is to pay myself 90% of the billings of the services. This leaves some room for purchase of books, testing supplies, etc.

7.1 Important Assumptions

The following table outlines the general assumptions for EcoAquatics.

7.2 Break-even Analysis

The break-even is based on a very realistic assessment of the present hobbyist nature of this business.

7.3 Projected Profit and Loss

As the Profit and Loss table shows, we have a small hobbyist business here with very few expenses. The website hosting is an estimate, because it may actually be free.

7.4 Projected Cash Flow

The cash flow involves a loan from founders, which is essentially equivalent to not paying myself for the first two months plus a smaller loan from parents, to support the working capital requirements. Otherwise I would show a negative balance.

7.5 Projected Balance Sheet

The balance sheet seems acceptable for a low-key hobbyist business. The loans carried are mainly the first two months of sacrificed compensation to myself.

7.6 Business Ratios

My guess is that what I am doing is not going to be equivalent to the kinds of real businesses whose numbers were contained in the financial databases shown in the rightmost column here. Furthermore, I am not intending to seek bank loan or investment.