Hamster Boarding Service?

[ham888]

I think we're lucky as we rarely go away (hmmm, doesn't sound like luck...) and a friend takes our furballs when we do. A service would be a good idea generally.

However, do consider / watch for two things. If you do this as a business your house insurance most probably will not cover you - most exclude business use other than paperwork.

The other thing to consider is, say you have a house full of furballs and a house disaster means you need to move out temporarily. What do you do?

Starting a business is really easy - as a sole trader basically you just start. The government are only bothered that they get their pound of flesh, sorry, tax on your profits.

Keeping a business going is something else... planning, planning and planning, and a bit of book keeping. If you can get that sorted you'll be fine, especially if it is not your only source of income i.e. it doesn't matter if business is slow. Even a limited company is easy (I have one) and book keeping and tax returns are not particularly onerous unless they are really complex or you earn zillions or you are into VAT.

Oh one other thing, watch out for business use of your telephone. A lot of providers do not permit it and you need an actual business line - which is exactly the same thing except they get to charge more!

[hamtarokid]

You don't have to pay a lot for bookkeeping either. You can teach yourself to do it with free software.

[freyashamsters]

Sounds like a nice idea! Luckily for us when we go away we have a neighbor check in on the hams every day but a boarding service managed by someone who ACTUALLY knows what they're doing sounds like a lifesaver for someone who has no one to look after their hams

[ham888]

Originally Posted by freyashamsters

a boarding service managed by someone who ACTUALLY knows what they're doing

And there's your advertising slogan!