idea on side job? sugegstions please

[tropicfishman]

well me and my friend andy are carpenters, he has more expereince and schooling for ith tan me, but hes tought me all he knows over the years. Anyways we were talking today and i was showing him my tanks and we were thinking about making a couple stand for mine. Then it hit us, combined with our massive amounts of tools, l;arge workshop he rents off some people, expereince, my knowing of fish tanks, and the fact we have autocad 2006 on both desktop pc and laptop, we were thinking of making custom stands for people and trying to sell them in the local saltwater shop. How cool would it be to call up a local company and within 24 hours have a 3D model on computer of your custom fish tank stand and canopy? Plus i'm great when it comes to sheet metal work and welding, TIG, MIG, ARC, oxy acyetlyene, brazing, etc. so stand could be made of steel or aluminum if desired, let me know what you guys think, would this flop, or be a good idea? The local saltwater shop has around 350 customers they know on a first name basis, and there alwyas getting more, so give me some ideas on what ya think...thanks

 

[willowthepoet]

hey, i say if you can make money off it (legally) then do it. i wouldn't spend too much at first, but drop your info at all the LFS, and if you get some people saying they're interested, go for it! sounds like an awesome idea.

 

[Zagz]

Sounds like a great idea! The customers would most likely be happy to give their business to local people and the quality would be assured so they wouldn't have to worry. Go for it! (Too bad you didn't live near me. )

 

[tropicfishman]

I don't think to much money would be invested, but thanks for the suggestions

 

[Zagz]

I would think that with the current tools, shop and everything you have, overhead would be extremely low. I would love to run a business with overhead that low! I still think it is a fantastic idea!

 

[mr funktastic]

u should put up a sign in your lfs and other pet related stores about custom stand design. alot of people are interested in haveing a stand made to fit the decor of the room instead of the cheap paperbord stands they sell at the stores. u could also look into custom canopys to go with the stands. if u have basic knowledge of electricity u can configure the hood easily. i make all of my stands for my tanks and it costs very little. wood is very cheap near me. i use a real nice maple ply wood that they sell at home hardware for only 46 bucks a sheet. 1 sheet made the entire stand for my 20 gallon including door and drawer. then a few bucks for hinges and handles. a quick stain job and voila u have an awsome stande made by u that will last alot longer and looks alot nicer. good luck with your buisness.

 

[DeFeKt]

go for it mate, I have the same qualifications, but only diff is we use Microstation. Was thinking about doing similar.

 

[dskidmore]

Your LFS might do a better job of advertising if you are willing to sell a few stands on consignment through them. Not so big a profit margin for you on those few stands, but you put your best stands in the store with advertisement on it, get calls when someone wants one a little diffrent.

Do you do carvings? That's one way my custom stand is special, although I'm still working on that. Doors and side panels are removable, going to have cutout shapes for air flow, in case I eventually put a sump in there.

 

[tropicfishman]

this has gotten alot better responsive than i would have thought it would. You guys gave me some good idea's, and I never considered carvings, that we will have to try!!! same with air vents. Thanks for the responses guys and gals

 

[brant]

Sounds like agreat idea if you do start you may want to contact the lfss you wish to deal with and get specs on diferent light, hood,and filter options then desine around the most popular set ups that way you could give est easier according to what people want plus don't forget to do standard design on most popular tank sizes and then add options from there like if you wanted this stand with this certain finish and this hood it would cost X. doing this it wiil also make it easier to do a list of options and prices if you wanted to start selling on the web. And isn't autocad great i was a machinist till i came into my family Biz. The only way to work is for yourself good luck If you get it going let us know maybe can stop by on my way to see my sister in N.O. LA. and see your shop.(maybe even get a stand off you)

 

[bosk1]

Sounds like a great idea. Here's a suggestion for how you might get it off the ground (feel free to take whatever parts of this idea sound good to you, and scrap whatever doesn't): Build your stand first, and take lots of pictures. Have some inexpensive business cards made up at your local print shop. Make a one-page color flyer with one or more pictures of your stand. Take the flyer and business cards to your local lfs, and talk to the owner to see if you can work out a deal where you either: (1) sell your custom stands through the lfs as dskidmore suggested; (2) have them post your flyer and keep a stack of your business cards; or (3) both. Best of luck!

 

[dskidmore]

I'd be careful of web sales. Shipping on that kind of thing would be a bear. If you could get some fancy programming in to give a rough picture given common options, might be worth the website for advertising purposes. Wouldn't want more than an e-mail link for ordering custom work though, need to have a conversation with the customer, like the custom aquarium people do. (can't remember the company off hand)

I like Brant's idea for getting LFS co-operation. Build one designed around an equiptment package they want to sell with it. Of course, feel them out for interest and risk before making such a customized item.