How To Launch Your Pet Care Business With These 7 Steps
06/09/22 12:44
7 Steps to Launching a Successful Pet Care Business
Have you always considered yourself an animal lover? Maybe you have a few pets of your own, and you imagined yourself working with animals someday. Perhaps you even have some professional experience with animals under your belt. If so, this could be the perfect opportunity to launch your very own pet care business!
Today, Taranet is here to help you decide which pet care business idea is right for you, and how to maximize your chances of success in this industry.
The Right Timing
Why is now such a great time to launch a pet care business? Younger generations care deeply about their pets, and they’re willing to go the extra mile - and spend a little more - to ensure that their pets get the care that they need. The National Association of Professional Pet Sitters states that spending on pet care services has risen in recent years, and with more families adopting pets during the COVID-19 pandemic, pet care entrepreneurs have found their services in high demand!
Choose Your Business Model
There are so many potential business ideas that fall under the “pet care” umbrella, so take some time to think about which model would be best for you. Consider where your skills and interests lie, what might be in demand in your area, and how much you can afford to spend on startup expenses. Maybe you’d like to start a dog walking business, launch an ecommerce shop for pet gear, or start a grooming business.
Pet sitting is also a great business idea. This will mean handling a wide range of pet care responsibilities for your clients, including feeding and playing with their pets, letting their pets outside and walking them, and even bringing their pets to the vet if they happen to get sick or injured on your watch.
Create a Business Plan
You’ve settled on an idea – but what comes next? You’ll want to spend some time drawing up a business plan that provides an informal road map for your company. Which details deserve to be included in your business plan? Lendio recommends writing down some key information, including your specific goals for the upcoming year, an overview of your offerings, industry and competitive analyses, a budget and financial forecasts, and plans for sales, marketing, operations, and management.
Set Up Your Website
No matter which type of business you’re planning to start, you’ll need to establish an online presence. This starts with building your website! The type of website you build will depend on your business model. For example, if you’re starting a pet grooming, dog walking, or pet sitting business, you’ll want to include a scheduling tool where new or returning clients can book consults or appointments directly through your website.
On the other hand, if you’re launching an ecommerce shop, you’ll need to choose a web hosting service that offers ecommerce functionality. If you’ve never worked in ecommerce before, you’ll want to brush up on smart digital design principles before you start developing your website. Decide on your visual branding scheme, implement a visual hierarchy with the most important information displayed near the top of each page, and use high-contrast colors for text and images to make them stand out.
Marketing Your Services
Perhaps you’ve been telling your family and friends about your new business, but you’ve only gotten a few clients through word of mouth. You need to expand your reach by marketing your services. Implementing a proactive marketing strategy will be crucial during your first year of business ownership because you’re still building up your client roster. Ideally, by your second year, you won’t need to spend as much time and money on marketing because you’ll be able to draw in loyal, repeat customers.
So how can you go about marketing your business? You can:
- add a blog to your website
- promote your services on social media platforms
- make flyers to put up around your town
- create business cards.
Designing marketing materials whether offline or online should be done with a clear idea on your branding. Be consistent. And ensure your messaging is clear.
Networking
As a small business owner, you’ll quickly find that marketing isn’t the only way to grow your customer base - you need to get out and network, too! Networking can seem awkward at first, but there are plenty of tried-and-true strategies you can follow to make it feel easier and more natural over time. Try going to happy hour networking meetups hosted by local professional organizations, conferences, and other industry-specific events - soon, small talk will become second nature!
Expand Your Company
As you gain more clients and grow your revenue, you might start thinking about expanding your business. For instance, if you’re a pet sitter or dog walker, you could get certified as a dog trainer so that you could start offering training services. If you’re a groomer, you could begin providing additional grooming services, or invest in a van so that you can take your services directly to your clients’ homes! And if you’re running an ecommerce shop, you can expand your product selection and hire dedicated customer service representatives to better serve your patrons. Just make sure that you have the revenue to invest in these projects before you take the leap!
The term “pet care” encompasses so many different products and services that no matter your skill set, you can launch a business in this niche. With more and more demand for services in this sector, you’re sure to find long-term customers with the right approach. By following these tips, you can build a sustainable pet care business!
Here at Taranet we aim to share with you how a holistic approach can be useful for animals and help your horse or dog care business to be successful. If you have any questions, please email info@taranet.co.uk.
Photo via Pexels
About The Author
"Penny Martin of fureverfriend.info"