I wonder how one can think of 200+ way to earn big profit from pet businesses but James Stephenson has done it and explained it in his book. Anyway I am not going to discuss here all his strategy but I am just going to explain 5-6 ways which could be a good income generation for those who want to work at home. I have seen many people who like the idea but are not keen to take the initiative because of many reason. One primary reason is they don’t have patience to spend most of their time with other pets. Having said that, I don’t find it as a valid reason because you can always hire person to do the job and you can focus on building client, talking to pet community, exposing your services to pet shops, pet clinics and other places etc.
What I meant to say is there is nothing wrong if you don’t want to do it yourself but you can get it done and make a profit out of this business. So now the question is what all you can do in this front. If you want to learn all the available opportunities with respect to pet business, I will advise you to pick his book. There are few people who doubt this opportunities but let me tell you that Dog owners consider dog as part of their family and makes similar budget on their pet too. This is quite evident from the pet food advertisement appearing on air almost all the time. Anyways so lets discuss few opportunities which sound good to start off with:
- Day care
Dog is a social animal who does not like to be alone. They prefer to be in a company of any person or any other dogs with whom they can play with. Most of the dog owner has realized this point. This service also becomes important when both members of the family are working and don’t spend their daytime at home. Dog owner love to leave their pet in a dog care house because of their peace of mind. They don’t need to bother about their food, play when they are away from home. There are ample scope of innovation where you can provide dog day care spa, complete with water features, fenced outdoor space, and indoor couches to ensure your clients have all the creature comforts they’re used to at home. I also read somewhere that one innovative day care center recently installed web cams throughout their facility so people at work could log onto their website and see live footage of their dogs playing with other dogs.
- Dog walk
If you have time, patience and affection to dogs, dog walking service might perfectly suit to you. The best part is that this business can be started at minimal investment. There are various type of multi-lead dog walking collars and leashes available in the market that will allow three or more dogs to be walked at the same time without becoming tangled in the leash. You can acquire these small but effective to your new business, as it will reduce frustration and enable you to walk multiple dogs at the same time, resulting in more revenue and profits. You can promote your service in various way which might include designing a promotional flier that explains your dog walking service and qualifications and you can circulate the fliers to businesses that are visited by dog owners, such as groomers, kennels, pet stores, community animal shelters, and veterinarians. This service get popularized immediately with word of mouth service and you would not find difficult to establish a base of 20 or 30 regular clients to start off with. As stated above if you dont want to do your service yourself, you always have an option to hire someone who has the same qualities and you can focus on acquiring clients.
- Dog Training
It is believed that Dogs are man’s best friend and get mixed socially at a very good pace. They easily understand the body language of owner and very obedient also. This is the prime reason that Dog obedience training has become multimillion-dollar industry and it is still growing by double digits as more and more dog owners knows the benefits of professional obedience training. You have an option to conduct classes at home or you can visit your client’s home for training purpose. The home is more good because it helps you to train them in a group. However one to one training is also quite good because you can charge a premium for that. You can also sign contract with pet clubs, dog community to hold dog obedience classes on weekends or in the night time. There are less awareness about certification in this line and very few institutes have this course in the offering, Many trainers are not certified by a recognized association but this is changing now. If you want to take this career professionally and you are really serious, you should never mind receiving professional training to become an instructor and obtain the required certifications. Your certification will authenticate you and will work as powerful marketing tool when convincing people that you’re a good trainer for their dog, Also you can charge a premium for your service if you have a certification from recoganized associations. You can also start course for dog owners which can teach them how they can spend better time in training their dogs.
- Dog / Pet Sitting
People keeps on traveling quite often and pet owner find it quite difficult to leave their pet with their friend or relative or they find it difficult to board them. Boarding could be difficult because of many reason like health conditions of pet or pet owner personal preference. They may find it difficult to take care of when they are boarded or they prefer to have their dogs, cats and other pets in the safety and familiar surroundings of home, rather than an unfamiliar boarding environment. This generates a good business opportunity when pet owners want or need to be away from their home. They find pet sitting service as most reliable one wherein service provider can come to their home and give their pet a good care when they are not at home.
Sorry to repeat again but the same principle goes again. If you just want to utilize your free time or want to make pocket money you can do it yourself but if you want to start it as a professional service with business plan and growth strategy, you can hire people with similar interests. You need to make sure that this is not an usual business and the candidate must be pet loving individual and should not do this service only for money. The same marketing plan hold good here which includes marketing your pet-sitting services through pet-related businesses in your community such as veterinarians, pet supply retailers, dog trainers, dog walkers and pet-grooming services. you have to be ready with long and short term jobs because many people go out just for a night out while many people go out for a weekend while others for a longer time like family events etc.
- Dog Grooming / Clothing and Accessories
All pet owner prefer to keep their pet clean all the times because they treat them as their family members and they are always inside the house. So dog grooming might start with basic service with cleaning the dogs. You may sign a contract wherein you have to visit dog owner place and give their pet a cleaning session (includes bathing). Though most pet owner to avail this service only in weekend, you should keep yourself open with daily or weekly service. Now second part of dog grooming is clothing and accessories where the big money lies. You can earn big by designing, making and selling designer duds for dogs. Sweaters and rain jackets are sure bets to become top sellers,
It has been found that dog lovers across the world are also buying designer dogie hats, goggles, shirts, booties, scarves and even Halloween costumes for their beloved furry friends. The criteria for getting started are minimal-design skills, sewing skills and equipment, patterns, and a bit of gumption to get out and pitch your fabulous designer fashions for mutts and pedigrees alike to pet shop retailers, especially if your ambitions are to establish wholesale accounts with chain and independent pet shop retailers. Even If not, you always have an option to get in contact directly with dog owners. These include exhibiting and selling at pet fairs, online sales via dog-related websites, mail order sales supported by newspaper, catalog, online and magazine advertising, and establishing a doggie clothing boutique at home or in a retail storefront location. As dog owners know, word travels fast amongst dog owners, and when a great product for a pet is found, pet owners are quick to spread the word to other pet owners.
