Your desire to begin a dog daycare business most likely stems from your adoration of all things connected to the furry, four-legged pack creatures, and we can’t help agreeing that dogs are such useful and amazing animals. Caring for them can bring great satisfaction.

Be that as it may, beyond the fact that a dog day-care business is likely to bring you such financial and personal satisfaction, you really can’t just set up such business without considering things such as cost, energy, the latest trends, and the number of competitors around your intended business location. Because we understand the need for you to make smart strategic decisions, we desire to assist you in setting up your dog day-care business, and getting it to its zenith. To do this, we have discussed below all the tips that you will find useful. However, firstly let’s consider why opening this business is a great idea.  

Why A Dog Daycare Business Is A Profitable Venture: 

Want to grow and scale your ‘Dog Daycare’ Business ?? Then you need to apply right targeted strategies which can bring a lot of Pet owners as your customers!! Click here to know more!

Research shows that dogs are highly loved in the United States. In fact, forty-nine percent of dog owners consider their dogs to be family.  What’s more, there are currently over seventy-two million pet dogs in the United States. In 2007 alone, dog owners spent approximately $2.7 billion on  pet services like pet sitting, grooming, and dog walking. 

In consideration of the above statistics, a dog daycare business would definitely thrive. The reason? To start with, people would pay for the satisfaction and relief they would get when they know that their animals are safe and are well-taken care of in their absence. In essence people live hectic lives, and attend to a string of business. So, when they get a safe place for their furry kids to play and stay taken care of, they would consider it an amazing relief that they would gladly swipe their credit cards for.  Now that that’s been said, let’s go on to take a look at tips for getting your dog daycare business idea started. 

Useful Tips For Beginning A Dog Daycare Business: 

 

• Consider the Opportunities And the Need For This Dog Service When Picking A Business Location:  

 

If you take your time to figure out possible business locations for the start a dog daycare, you will definitely come across outside facilities that you can purchase or rent. Furthermore, if you want to save up on cash for getting an outside facility, then you can always use your home. Whatever your choice may be, one thing is necessary. Before you give in to the idea of quickly setting up a business location, you certainly have to consider opportunity. By opportunity, we mean the number of dogs, and dog daycares in the area.  If there are little to no dog owners in your intended business location, then your business would be more prone to run at a loss than at a profit. Also, if there are for instance, three dog day care businesses in your intended business location, then if you decide to open another daycare there, things would probably turn out bad. On the flip side, if the other facilities are not meeting the needs and wants of dog owners, then setting up a fourth facility can be a promising and profitable step. 

 

• Apply For the Legally Required Permits:  

 

Dogs as you know are most times considered to be children to their owners. As such, many states and cities require intended dog daycare owners to get the needed permits prior to opening the business. The permits may need the facility to meet all safety and health standards. They must also have the needed insurance covers that will protect them from specific liability, and they must subject themselves to be inspected periodically. Such insurance cover is necessary because it will be helpful for sorting out damages and compensation if a dog injures another person while under your watch, or if a dog gets injured while in your daycare. 

 

• Draw Up A Tried And Tested Business Plan Template 

 

Hardly does a business succeed without a business plan. So, if you desire to take your business to its pinnacle, then you need to draw up a tried and tested business plan. This is pretty much a document that can be likened to a road map for businesses. It will point out your business objectives and the strategies that are necessary for achieving such objectives. What’s more, the process of drawing it up reveals the most efficient marketing and advertising strategies to engage to rise above your competitors. If you can’t write your business plan, you can hire an expert business plan writer. This will be money well-spent. 

 

• Consult With A Business Attorney: 

 

In consideration of the fact that you will be taking care of living creatures, you just can’t risk operating against the provisions of the law. So, you definitely need to hire the services of a business attorney who will give you every legal advice and assistance you need to stay within legal requirements.

 

• Design Your Daycare Facility: 

 

When putting together your dog daycare facility, you should figure out if you would love to operate out of a basement, retail space, warehouse, or a renovated barn or garage. It’s really not so much of a big deal the space you use. What’s most important if you want to thrive, is that you should include a customer greeting area, a rest area or areas, and an area for playing. If your daycare will be open to both large and small sized dogs, then you should have at least two play areas for small dogs and large breed dogs respectively. 

Additionally, you should seek out possibilities of being accredited by a pet sitting industry association Lastly, you can add web cameras to your business premises. This would help to keep the minds of dog owners at ease as they would know that their canine buddies are having fun. 

 

• Enroll In Dog Training Classes:   

 

If you desire to be amazing at taking care of different breeds of dogs and also keeping the bigger dogs from intimidating the smaller ones, then you need dog training classes. You should get trained in dog handling, and effectively curbing aggressive behavioral tendencies in your canine clients. Luckily, there are online courses and in person seminars that you can take advantage of. Furthermore, you should pay due attention to the interactions between these furry animals. Such attention would help you easily spot issues, and nib them in the bud before they grow beyond your ability to curtail them.  

 

• Make Available Hard To Resist Optional Services: 

 

If you will love to add to your business bottom line, and increase the level of your revenue then you should take the initiative to make your menu offerings more appealing. This can be done by you offering services like dog training, grooming, pick up and delivery services, as well as overnight boarding. The idea is to give dog owners reasons to have you as the first choice for caring for their dogs. 

 

• Be Flexible With Your Hours Of Operation: 

 

Of course, every business should have a clearly spelt out opening and closing time. However, what happens when the owners of your furry four legged pack animals run eight to twelve hour jobs, and can’t pick up the pets on time? In such situations, you have to be flexible with the hours of operation. This would definitely help you win and keep the trust and confidence of your clients in your business. 

 

• Create An Attractive Business Name And Logo: 

 

In truth, visuals are important if you want to establish your business presence in the minds of your target audience. For this reason, we advise that you get creative and write out a list of possible business names that will appeal to your target audience. Out of the list, pick the most suitable and unique. When that’s done, you can then design a logo that captures the concept of your business and is also visually appealing. 

 

• Determine the Type Of Dogs That Will Be Your Canine Clients: 

 

Considering the fact that there are loads of dog breeds, it would be good for your dog daycare if you can figure out what types of dogs that you will care for. Some daycare facilities accept either small dogs, big dogs, or neutered males. Depending on the structure that you have as your facility, you will definitely need to make a choice. Alternatively, you can open up your facilities gate to any friendly and harmless dog. 

 

• Set Prices For Your Daycare Services: 

 

For this tip, you essentially need to know the price range charged by competitors for their dog daycare service. When that price range has been known, you can then conveniently set your own prices. If your services are likely to be more reliable than other daycare services, then you can make your prices a bit higher than other prices. 

 

• Know Your Competition: 

 

 If you’re going to succeed in business, then you have to know your competition. Now, we’re talking about you researching into the facility structure of other daycare centers, knowing how the animals at other centers are handled, how the employees communicate with clients, and what products, and services that they offer among other things. When you know what your competition does and does not do, you will definitely know what to do to make your venture a success. 

 

• Create Procedures And Policies: 

 

This basically means that you should draft a customer agreement. The agreement should spell out how your company will handle late pick-ups, missed appointment, and cancelations. The agreement should also let your customers in on the extent of the services that your company offers. When these are clearly defined, you will be less likely to have offended customers and disagreements. 

 

• Have An Estimate Of the Cost And Expenses Of Operating A Daycare Business: 

 

This essentially means that you should create a budget. Research and find out your start up cost, maintenance expenses, and setting up expenses. Luckily, dog daycare ventures are easy and affordable to start up. The average start up expense is below $10,000, and maintenance expenses are usually below a thousand dollars per month. Such maintenance often includes dog food, and supplies. When your cost and expenses estimates has been known, establishing your business becomes a lot easier. 

 

• Spread The Word About Your Offerings: 

 

Engage marketing techniques like email marketing, social media marketing and leaflet distribution at strategic places like pet stores and veterinary hospitals. Visit dogs parks and let dog owners know that there is a new dog daycare business in town, and trusting you with their pets would be a decision that won’t birth regrets. 

 

• Have A Considerable Amount Of Experience Under Your Belt: 

 

Lastly, no dog owner would trust you to care for their dog if you can’t show them that you’ve worked with dogs before. In line with that, many dog daycare business owners have worked in the pet industry as pet consultants, pet sitters, and much more. So, before you go on to start a dog daycare business, you might want to put some months into working in the pet industry. 

On a final note, having a company full of happy furry pack creatures relying on you for care can be amazing. However, before you go on to set up a dog daycare business, you should ensure that you tie up all lose ends, and strategize on how to get the trust of dog owners. In view of that, we have discussed above important tips for beginning a dog daycare business. 

Want to grow and scale your ‘Dog Daycare’ Business ?? Then you need to apply right targeted strategies which can bring a lot of Pet owners as your customers!! Click here to know more!