I was in my lfs so much they offered me a job lol! I was 13 or 14 and got paid in fish & equipment. can never hurt to ask. maybe bring them in photos of your tanks and talk about the fish you keep, hopefully bought from them.
Making Money to Maintain Fish
- Thread starter KelberiFishLover19
- Start date
I got my first 55g from them I remember, also filter stuff and other random things that as they upgraded got handed down to me. plus fish! I also mowed yards and had a paper route.
almost forgot the biggest thing they gave me was knowledge! being eager to learn will get you a lot further!
My view would be to stand out on a street corner with a sign that says "my pet fish is sick, need money for vet bills/medicine". Also include a hand drawn picture. Before you know it your parents will be asking what you're doing strolling around with raybans and a rollex. If you have a dog even better, even if you dont i would just roll with it if the fish thing doesnt work out. Make sure you draw a sad puppy face if you go with the dog idea.
I got my first job at 14 years old at a little mom and pop LFS, by just going in a bunch and impressing them, and they knew I went to the school in the city and lived right around there. Paid under table, worked as many hours as I could. It was a great experience, worked there for a couple years before going on to other LFS. If you can, I'd go for that. Otherwise, just make it work man. The other day two kids, must have been 5 and 8 years old, came into the bakery I was eating at and went around to every table trying to sell a box of cookies. I'm not saying go do that necessarily, but you get the idea.
Also by doing this they won't be hesitant to give you an actual job there when you are of age. I'm 17 right now but just by going to my lfs a couple times a week and showing that I had knowledge they were so impressed they asked my age, what school I went too, and offered me a job. This happened at both of their locations from two different employees. I'm probably going to work for them this summer.
Do you have any farms by you? I believe you can start work on a farm at a younger age.
Good on you for wanting to work for your hobby! A good work ethic at a young age will get you very far. 
One thing I don't think has been covered yet though that you will have to learn as you get older (and I don't mean to be a downer, just some friendly advice) is to live within your means. Learn to budget well, and don't over do your budget (as it seems you have done since you said you were having trouble keeping up financially with your hobby). Work out what you can afford per month, and stick to it.
Not only will it help you with your fish hobby but its also a great life skill. Good luck finding work!
One thing I don't think has been covered yet though that you will have to learn as you get older (and I don't mean to be a downer, just some friendly advice) is to live within your means. Learn to budget well, and don't over do your budget (as it seems you have done since you said you were having trouble keeping up financially with your hobby). Work out what you can afford per month, and stick to it.
Not only will it help you with your fish hobby but its also a great life skill. Good luck finding work!
I want to commend you for asking for help, if you are able to do this at a younger age and continue to do so as you are older, you will be wiser than most people. This a great idea you have to work at the lfs.
First things first, when you walk into the store either ask for the manager or owner if available. (If you don’t already know who that is). You always want to talk to whomever is in charge because they will have the final say if it is a go or not. Give them a firm hand shake and look them in the eye, when you introduce yourself. Let them know your situation that you are looking to finance your fish hobby, and offer your services. Let them know that you are willing to do, whatever they can train you to do. Be a sponge and soak up any training they give you. This will be impressive to them.
Don’t say you will work for free, you can get yourself in a hard situation if you do that. But let them know what you are looking for- example: I am looking to make a small wage in order to buy more fish/ supplies and possibly more tanks. Typically if you work for them they will give you a deal on those items anyway. Asking for a small wage tells them that you know what you are after and it lets them know you have some maturity on you rather than being an indescisive child as you do not want to be seen as.
Then do your best to follow the leader. If they ask something of you, do it. If you don’t know how, ask them to show you how to do it so you can do it on your own next time. When you learn more skills, that creates value for the owner, manager. Always look to create value and you will find favour. Be their favourite and they will promote you, and that typically means more responsibility, more responsibility =more money.
While you are doing this, also negotiate a better allowance from your parents. Do chores and whatnot so they are more willing to give you a better allowance. Assuming you already get one, if not might as well try to get one. Try both at the same time and you will have a steady income in no time.
I did these things I told you when I was your age and I always seemed to have the stuff I wanted for my fish, bikes, a scooter when I turned 14 and had a learner liscence. I lived in a small town so a scooter was awesome to drive to the pet store I worked at. Now I own a business and employ roughly 10 people and some of which are very young and doing what we are describing here.
Good luck Sir.
