The industry of Pet services is booming like never before. Regardless of which era we talk about, people have always been very fond of their pets. People love them; they care for them and often spoil them silly. Even though most dog products are very expensive, you will not find dog owners hesitating in splurging over their lovely pooches. Anyone who loves dogs and is good with them might be tempted to start their own dog boarding business in order to tend and groom dogs. But it’s easier said than done. Developing any kind of business requires a whole lot of effort. But this effort doesn’t need to be painful. You can do wonders if you pay attention to the basics.
Experience is the Anchor
If you are serious about making Dog grooming your business. Then it is best that you get some on hand experience. And my experience, we don’t mean playing in your backyard with your dog and the neighbor. Actual real world dog hostel kind of experience.
You have to understand exactly how a dog hostel functions. What are the questions that people ask, what are the kind of things that dog parents are scared of and like to be vigilant about, what can be the things that need to be avoided and where do you draw the line?
Try registering yourself with an animal shelter. See, working with one dog is much different than working with a bunch of them. Different breeds behave different behaviors and each one reacts differently to different situations.
When you work at a pet shelter, you will be able to experience what it is like working with other pet professionals like dog walkers and vets who have a good experience in their psychology. It will also give you an insight on who to hire and what all rules you can manage to handle yourself.
Develop a Dog Boarding Business Plan
The next step is to obviously sit with a paper and a pen and chalk out a clear business strategy. This business plan will require you to draft a clear piece with all the details of every aspect that is requisite when going into business.
You will have to work on the location, the estimated overheads, the hiring procedure, the entry for dog’s procedure, what kind of charges you will keep, and what kind of dogs you will accept and why, what kind of an environment will you offer to the dogs which will make your business attractive to your customers.
Funding and Insurance
Funding is critical for a business. While you may or may not be having enough capital to start off a business like that, it is always advisable to enter a business with a partner. It not only shares the risks involved but it ensures that there is twice as much that you can do.
A good dog boarding business rests solely on how much effort you are willing to put into it. If you care enough for dogs, and if you think you should, in some way, give back to nature, then helping dog owners with the right kind of accommodation for the dogs is the best entrepreneurial business.
Just make sure you check up on the legal procedures and licenses required for such businesses. It will also require for you to get insurance so that all your legal bases are covered. You might even want to liaison with any existing dog food or dog supplies chain so that they can fund you for your venture. Being associated with a big name will give you the launch pad that you need.
Location
This is probably the one area that will give you the most trouble. Basically, you don’t want your dog hostel somewhere too far away that it’s difficult for the people to reach you. Nonetheless, you also don’t want it too close by to residential areas because all that barking that the dogs will produce should not disturb the inhabitants of the region.
Look for a large landscape with enough place for lots of dogs to play around. Make sure you are not in violation of any government norm. You can also get an Uber for dog grooming app or a dog boarding business app to make it convenient for the people.
