The Easiest Business to Start
America. Land of the free and home of the brave. A land that was built on the system of free-market capitalism. Where a person is free to design, build, or create something that people need or serve them in some way in exchange for money. In essence all of us are either solving a problem or meeting the needs of someone each day we go to work.
Some jobs take years of training to perform while others no time at all. And more training generally means you make more money….but not always.
I hated school. Except for art classes… So it was clear that I had to find a job that didn’t need years of formal training. But like most people I also wanted to make as much money as I could. Thus after I somehow graduating high School I got a job as a dental tech, (begun without any training) and then during my free time I started learning all I could about how to make money, business, marketing, motivation and human behavior. What became clear was that the answer for me was going to be starting my own business. So I did. A number of them. And what was the easiest of them all? Making ponds for people.
IN PRAISE OF PONDS Dig a hole, make it hold water, get paid! How simple is that? So if you’d like to discover one of the easiest businesses to start this idea might be right for you. Let me explain.
Just about everyone loves to hang out by water. The ocean, lakes, rivers, streams, and rivers. Even fountains and bird baths draw attention from people and creatures alike. In Asian and other cultures water has played an important role in spiritual ceremonies and customs for ages. It brings life, healing, longevity and sustenance. And it’s what we’er mostly made of as well!
So given these facts it’s no wonder that most people love the idea of having a pond and waterfall near their homes. And that was what I found to be true.
But how to do it? How can one make a well functioning, workable, beautiful pond feature that will become a treasured yard feature of your clients for years to come?
Here’s how. The system I started with used real rock laid over and on top of 45 mil pond liners, (a synthetic rubber product call an EPDM liner). It comes from the tire industry and is one of the best materials for building ponds. What is so cool is that you can buy kits that take you through the entire pond building process to completion. These same kit companies will help you calculate how much rock and what types and sizes of rock to buy. Now there are many different pond companies with various styles of filters, skimmers etc. but the one I worked was/is called Aquascape Designs. And I believe that owner Greg Whittstock was one of the earliest developers of this approach to pond construction. See www.aquascapeinc.com
Back to the how part… There’s a few things you need to get right. In no particular order you 1) - need to be careful not to put a hole in the liner. 2) - You need to set all your rock and stones so that they don’t move much, (see # 4). And speaking of stones you 3) - need to make sure you have enough rock to adequately cover the liner, (your kit company can help with that estimating) 4) - When you dig your pond basin you need to include enough terraces, (flat steps) and keep the angle of the wall not to steep so that you can cover the liner easily. 5) - The pond size must be large enough to allow for any moving water that is inside the stream or water feature when it’s running to fill the pond without overflowing it’s banks. 6) - Beyond that you just need to follow the direction in your kit. Like how to attach the BioFalls and Skimmers to the pond liner. Also I recommend including a UV filter in your pond design. It improves water clarity and kills suspended pathogens that could be harmful to fish and other pond inhabitants. What’s a UV filter? It’s an ultraviolet light that is built inside a pipe which, when installed, has the pond water running past it thus killing all suspended organics.
More things to keep in mind as your starting your new business are you’ll need to learn about water quality, filtration and how to set stones in a natural way. Study nature. Observe the real thing. You will also benefit by learning about fish and other aquatic life and what makes them thrive since when making ponds you are creating a complete ecosystem.
Again, this business really was so easy! Basically I just bought and studied some “how to build a pond” books and then found Aquascape Designs products when I went to a pond supply/building store. I asked a bunch of questions of the owner and then built a small pond at my house. The basics of this pond building system are pretty straight forward. Then literally within a month or two I had sold my first job with a $1,000 budget by doing a little Home & Garden Show! Not to long after that I had new jobs with an eventual $50,000 pond that even included a dock!
The truth is you can do this! Or you can do something else. But the key is GOING FOR IT! All along the way I’ve had to go for it and push through my fears, climb over obstacles, or break through walls to achieve success. And of course that included failure episodes. But they just taught me what didn’t work. Do than enough times and you learn what not to do and can then focus on what TO DO. It’s that simple.
So now all you need to do to launch “The Easiest Business to Start” is to go for it!
- Dave