Doggy Daycare-Business Idea?(long)
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| I have a friend who does it out of her home. She requires all the usual vet stuff, but also has them come out and meet with the dog before she agrees to take them. Very few are ever kenneled (they can be crated at night) - she only takes dogs that will fit in their home environment. She is rural and has a beautiful fenced acreage. Stressed - make sure you have good insurance. |
| What great timing.
I just went to a conference on exploring business ownership. It was sponsored by the Small Business Administration, Goodwill and Neighborhood self-employment initiative (NSI). They discussed what it takes to be a business owner, the pros and cons, how to write a business plan and a lot of other useful information. They gave us a list of the top 10 home business opportunities for 2007. Number one was “pet sitting”. I would call your local SBA and see if they have a similar program. There is no charge for this program and I will be meeting with a counselor soon. Here is the site for the NSI www.nsibiz.org I know it is for Indiana but maybe you can find some useful information there. If you will PM me with your e-mail address, I would be more than happy to copy the handouts and send them to you. |
| I did in-home dog boarding for a while, and had a contract for the owners to sign. I charged more than the local boarding facilties, but it is nowhere near the same thing.
The biggest problems I had were getting the rest of the family on board. It was fun at first, but then it became a "job" for them and all I got were complaints...about the dogs who whined the whole time, barked during the night, or weren't trained at all so were difficult to take out to potty etc. Speaking of which, house-training often went out the window with new dogs, and then my own would relapse. Then there is the dog that got out and we had to catch as he raced across the farmer's fields.. 
There are also the folks who cancel at the last minute, and also those who show up late to pick-up...or the next day..
But it would be something for you to try to do before getting into the full-scale doggie daycare...You will be able to see what you have to overcome. As for the daycare, make sure you check with the local bylaws. I live in the country and to run something like that the nearest neighbor's building had to be over 400 feet away from my main dwelling....due to the noise concerns. And yes, the insurance would be something that might make or break it. Imagine if one dog hurt another one! Yikes! But a doggy daycare would be a dream job, if you could do it. Maybe there is a francise or some existing company that you could open one for. |
| I HATE to say this, but I'm not sure you should do something that hubby is totally against.
Getting a new business up and running is difficult enough with two people pulling in the same direction; having one that is silently unhappy about it or even openly hostile towards it might be a big problem. Perhaps you can use this to open a dialog such as: "OK, I understand you aren't agreeable to the Doggy Day Care idea, but I really want to run my own business. What kind of a new business would be ok with you?" Of course you don't have to take his recommendations or suggestions, if any, but maybe you can come up with an idea with which you're both in love. Of course if he's just against everything you might be able to trade him in on a fluffier model. Just kidding. Sort of. |
| I tend to agree with Ron and I think Nicole's experience provides a very valuable perspective.
I would add that you need to give some hard thought to the numbers. How many dogs could you take in and what rate would you charge? At full capacity every day, is this actually enough money? And is full capacity a realistic scenario? How many dogs for how many days a week would you actually need as customers to make this viable from a financial perspective? You have to consider not just covering your costs, but also compensating you for your time and effort considering the opportunity cost of what you could be making elsewhere. I would go talk to local doggie daycare owners, petsitters, etc. in your area to find out how business is going, challenges they face, startup considerations, etc. Maybe you could start by offering to take dogs in on weekends or overnights - keeping your current job, but adding to your income, building up a clientele and developing valuable experience -- before ditching everything to focus on this. |
| Hi Pam, I had opened up a dog daycare center back in the year 2000, and yes it is still in business and going strong. I did sell out my interest in the business due to partner problems. I will tell you that having your own business can be very rewarding but is alot of work. My day started at 6AM and I finished at 10PM and that was 7 days a week. There is much to be considered before opening a business and to be successful much planning ahead is needed. Running a dog daycare is not just about walking and playing with dogs, you have to be prepared for every scenario that can/could happen both financially and just day to day. You are dealing with the public and yes some dog owners can be very difficult. Unfortunately dogs happen to come with owners, so you have to deal with them. The first thing that I would do is go to your local Chamber of Commerce and see if they have a group of retired men and women who can give you advice on starting a business. At my local Chamber of Commerce there was a group of retired business men who I sat down with submitted my business plan and proposals and got here feedback and advice. This was a free service. You also need to check your local zoning to see what is allowed, whether you run it from your home or rent out a building. What I might recommend for you to do is to start small with a pet sitting business. I did this and was very very successful. I worked a full time job and did this on the side. I started by flyering some neighborhoods with my information I got a few calls and then by word of mouth I had a very successful side business. No startup cost, no overhead. I had to keep this business small since I had limited time and I only selected customers that lived within a two mile radius of my home. If I can help you out further just let me know. Good Luck to you. Remember though preparation is the key to getting successful with you business. Take good care. Jack |
| A small scale pet sitting business can also tell you what kind of interest in doggie daycare there is in your neighborhood! |
| I like the idea of a small scale pet sitting service as well. It gives you a chance to make a name for yourself, gain a better understanding of what a full scale dog day care service might entail, and possiblly save the profit to reinvest in a full scale dog day care service. As a side benefit it might help you with the "job blues' as you are taking active steps toward your goal.
Good luck with your decision. |
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