Start Your Own Pet Business and More

Pet Sitting, Dog Walking, Training, Grooming, Food/Treats, Upscale Pet Products

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• Publisher: Entrepreneur Press
• Year: 2009
• Print ISBN: 9781599181868
• eBook ISBN: 9781613080900
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Small Business
• Index: Business

Are you a pet lover? Fascinated by all things furred, feathered and finned? Why not turn your passion for pets into a profitable business! A fast-growing market, the multibillion-dollar pet industry offers a world of business opportunities for entrepreneurs like you! From hands-on pet care to specialty pet products like toys, food, and treats, Entrepreneur covers the cat’s meow of pet-related businesses. Providing insider advice, tips, and tricks along the way, our experts take you step by step and show you how to discover your specialty, legally and financially establish your business, manage day-to-day operations, and so much more! • Choose from five hot areas of interest—pet sitting/dog walking, dog training, pet grooming, pet food/treats, upscale pet products • Equip yourself with the right tools • Set competitive fees • Efficiently manage inventory and supplies for easy order fulfillment • Use effective marketing and advertising tools to get the word out • Build positive customer and vendor relationships • Plan for future growth • And more Let America’s pampered pets help your profits— start your pet business today!

1

Barking Up the Right Tree

When you think back to your childhood, is there a warm and fuzzy memory of a four-footed or winged companion in whom you confided your deepest secrets? Do you gaze into pet-store windows and vicariously tickle the puppies under the chin? Or have you ever considered buying a sweater for your horse, some galoshes for your cat, or some Armor All for your armadillo? If so, then you understand what it means to be a pet lover—and that’s probably why you’re interested in starting a career in the pet-care industry.

As you no doubt know, we Americans are in love with our pets. In 2004, we spent $34.5 billion on our cats, dogs, birds, fish, horses, and other pets, according to the American Pet Products Association (APPA). In 2005, that figure was expected to jump by another $1.4 billion, continuing a decade-long trend of pet-spending increases.

This is good news for aspiring pet-business owners like you. No matter whether you’re interested in providing hands-on pet care or selling pet products like toys, food, and treats, the prospects for success in a pet-care business are excellent. It’s easy to see why when you take a look at the APPMA’s breakdown of the estimated $35.9 billion in 2005 sales across pet product and service categories:

Category	Estimated 2005 Spending
Food	$14.5 billion
Supplies/medicine	$8.8 billion
Veterinary care	$8.6 billion
Live-animal sales	$1.6 billion
Pet services (grooming and boarding)	$2.4 billion

“The strong growth in the [pet-care] industry demonstrates what an important role pets are playing in the lives of Americans,” says Bob Vetere, APPA COO and managing director. “They have become a part of the family. Spending across all sectors, from pet food and veterinarian care to toys and treats, reflects what lengths we are willing to go to for our pets.”

As a result of this desire to pamper and spoil those pets, pet-care businesses are playing an increasingly important role in the lives of pet owners. Busy people rely on these professionals to look after their pets while they’re away at work or on vacation. They turn to pet-care services for care they may not feel qualified to provide themselves, such as grooming and training. They also buy pet food and toys at specialty shops or online and turn to the internet to search for retailers far and wide that carry the things that will appeal to their little darlings’ palate or sense of fun.

Fun Fact

Presidential pets have their own museum in Washington, DC. More than 1,500 artifacts and photos of famous pets, ranging from George Washington’s horse, Nelson, to President and Mrs. Bush’s Scottish terrier, Barney, are on display in this charming museum. The Presidential Pet Museum is located 19 miles from the White House on Route 4.

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It’s a Zoo Out There

A lot of people think of dogs and cats when the subject of pet care comes up. But Americans keep any number of pets in their homes, and unless you’re a dog trainer or pet groomer, you’re likely to encounter some of these animals at one time or another. To illustrate, the American Pet Products Association (APPA) breaks down pet ownership in the United States as follows:

Animal	Total in U.S.
Cat	90.5 million
Dog	73.9 million
Other small animal	18.2 million
Bird	16.6 million
Reptile	11.0 million

In addition, the APPMA estimates there are 139 million freshwater fish and 9.6 million saltwater fish swimming around in tanks or ponds in or around U.S. homes.

It’s not hard to figure out why pets are so pampered and integral to people’s lives. They bring us joy, they love us unconditionally, and they even lower our blood pressure and give us a sense of well-being. They also fill the aching void left when children leave the nest or a spouse dies; for childless couples, a pet is “someone” on whom to lavish affection and gifts. Many people consider their pets their “kids,” and even relate to them better than they do to people!

This love of pets is also often the reason why people decide to start pet-care businesses. “We started our business with the intent to help animals and to point people in the right direction to help animals,” says John Zambelli, owner of NaturesPet.com, an online pet-food business in Elmwood Park, New Jersey, that specializes in all-natural pet food. “By feeding pets properly, you give them a good shot at a healthful life. This type of business was the right thing to do for us, and we knew the money would follow.”

In this book, we give you the advice you need to start one of five different types of pet-products and pet-service businesses that are in demand today: pet sitting/dog walking, dog training, pet grooming, pet-food sales, and upscale pet products. Each of these businesses can be started as homebased enterprises with a fairly low financial investment. Two can be started as strictly internet businesses to really keep costs low. And all of them can be launched and run successfully by the owner, without any assistance from employees—at least until the time comes when you want to grow and expand the business beyond what you can personally handle.

The information and advice you’ll find in this book relates strictly to the business side of running a pet-care business. In case you do happen to need instruction in the specialized skills necessary to groom cats and dogs or train them to be well-mannered, we’ve included contact information in the Appendix for a number of professional organizations and schools you can explore.

Read on for a look at the five types of pet-care businesses discussed in this book.

Pet Sitting/Dog Walking

If you are charmed by all things furred, feathered and finned, this is the profession for you. As a professional pet sitter, you will care for people’s pets while they’re away, either for the day or for longer periods like during vacations or business trips. Pet sitters play with their charges, feed them, brush them, and possibly give them medication or injections. They often offer other services to make life easier for their customers, like cleaning up accidents and changing cat litter boxes, bringing in newspapers and mail, watering plants and taking out trash.

Dog walkers take pooches out for their daily constitutional one or more times a day, either individually or in small groups. In some cities across the United States, like New York, dog walking alone can be a booming business. But it’s actually more common for dog walkers to offer additional services, including playing with and feeding pets, bringing in newspapers and mail, and turning lights on and off.

Both pet sitting and dog walking are still in their infancy as recognized professions. According to an industry expert, only 3 percent of households nationally use a pet sitter or dog walker. Even so, that adds up to 50 million to 60 million visits annually, according to the same source—and that number is on the rise. In fact, the outlook for pet sitters and dog walkers has never been better. Some estimates put the number of bonded and insured pet-sitter businesses nationwide at 10,000 (regrettably, there are no stats on the number of dog walkers).

Bright Idea

When selling services like pet sitting, dog walking, and in-home dog training to new clients, offer to provide a list of references, even if your business is bonded. Giving a key to and allowing a stranger (you) into their homes while they’re away will make clients understandably nervous, and being able to check your references will put their minds at ease.

Just a few decades ago, these two professions didn’t even exist. Instead, people relied on neighbors to watch and water their pets while they were away on vacation, or they dropped them off at kennels. But all that changed in the ’70s with a decrease in stayat-home moms available to let the dog out or take the cat to the vet. Also, young couples began postponing their plans to have a family in favor of establishing their careers and often adopted pets to fill the void. Finally, an upsurge in business travel that started in the ’80s and continues today also contributed to the need for the services of a pet-sitting or dog-walking professional.

The field is wide open, so now is a great time to jump in with both paws…uh, feet!

Dog Training

Part instruction, part psychology, the field of dog training requires great people skills as well as a love of canines. Dog trainers will tell you that you’re not just training the pooches—you’re also training the folks who live with them. So you have to be able to talk to them kindly, deal with them patiently, and reinforce their behavior—then do the same with their furry friends. While a background in psychology can be helpful, a true love of both people and pets and a desire to help them goes a long way to ensure success in this career.

People have been training dogs professionally for decades, although the training wasn’t always done humanely. Prior to World War I, trainers used patience and rewards to school dogs. But with the war came the need for a lot of four-footed “soldiers” who could work in the trenches alongside human handlers. The military often used harsh techniques to train the animals they needed quickly—techniques that included choke chains, punishment, and fear.

But in the ’70s, a trainer who would become a legend began to teach people how to use kinder and gentler techniques to train animals. Barbara Woodhouse, an Irish dog trainer, believed there were no bad dogs, only inexperienced owners, and espoused the use of rewards and treats to train pets. Her 1982 book, No Bad Dogs: The Woodhouse Way, became a classic.

Fun Fact

The American Pet Products Association says the top four pet-industry trends for 2008 will be: new pet products by big name companies (Omaha Steaks, Harley Davidson, and Old Navy), hotels with pet-friendly policies, dental products as well as self-flushing litter boxes, and luxury items to spoil your pet.

By the late ’80s, there was a resurgence of a type of training that had been invented 30 years before. Largely due to the efforts of animal behaviorists Karen Pryor and Gary Wilkes, clicker training made a comeback. It uses a small mechanical device that serves as both a conditioned reinforcer and a signal that a reward is coming later. Although clicker training was initially ridiculed by trainers, “click and treat” training is now the standard in modern dog training, or as Wilkes says, “the first major improvement in dog training in about 15,000 years.”

Running with the Alpha Dogs

Barbara Woodhouse may have been one of the first to theorize in her seminal 1980s book that there are “no bad dogs,” only inexperienced owners. But it took an immigrant from Mexico with an engaging smile and dark hair wing-tipped with silver to make canine behavior modification into an art form.

Dog behavior specialist Cesar Millan—known popularly as The Dog Whisperer—has hosted his own shown on the National Geographic cable network since 2004. During each episode, Millan demonstrates various techniques for rehabilitating dogs who are aggressive, phobic, frightened, or just plain insecure.

The show is wildly popular—even among viewers who don’t own dogs—because of Millan’s unique gift for “connecting” with dogs and teaching their owners how to become the “pack leader” their pet innately needs. But this is a technique that entails much more than teaching a dog basic tricks like how to stay or sit. Rather, it involves being a “dog counselor” who corrects unwanted behavior by setting boundaries the pet’s owner may have previously been unable to establish.

The sheer popularity of Millan’s show is a good indication that there is a need for dog whisperers, which means there’s an opportunity for dog trainers like you to specialize in training animals with behavioral problems. While a cursory review of the internet did not turn up any credentialed or certified “dog whisperer” schools, there are quite a few books in print by experts like veterinarian Dr. Ian Dunbar that discuss canine behavior modification. It also should be noted that many dog behavior specialists do not agree with Millan’s methods. Still, if you’re interested in creating a niche for your new dog training business, becoming a dog whisperer might be a good way to build your business.

While there are no statistics on the number of dog trainers in the country because the profession is not licensed, the Association of Pet Dog Trainers has about 5,000 members. And with an estimated 74 million dogs in America, there’s lots of room for good trainers to enter the field.

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Pet Grooming

From bathing and clipping to tying bows and cleaning ears, the nation’s approximately 50,000 to 70,000 pet groomers do more than just change pets’ appearances—they also make them feel better both physically and psychologically. The loving touch of a groomer can calm a skittish pet, reassure a frightened pet, and make a well-adjusted pet wriggle with pleasure. In additio...

Table of contents

• Additional titles in Entrepreneur’s Startup Series
• Title Page
• 1 - Barking Up the Right Tree
• 2 - Pet Sitting/ Dog Walking
• 3 - Dog Training
• 4 - Pet Grooming
• 5 - Pet Food
• 6 - Upscale Pet Products
• 7 - The Scoop on the Market
• 8 - Paper Training
• 9 - Professional Handlers
• 10 - Kibbles and Bytes
• 11 - Pet Shop Talk
• 12 - Good Stock
• 13 - Pick of the Litter
• 14 - Learning New Tricks
• 15 - Blue-Ribbon Advertising
• 16 - Boning Up on Cyberspace
• 17 - Pedigreed Publicity Ploys
• 18 - Corralling the Cash
• 19 - Groomed for Success
• Appendix - Pet-Business Resources
• Glossary
• Index
• Subscribe to Entrepreneur Magazine
• Copyright Page