How to Start Pet Care Business in 2023
The trend, forecast, opportunities, and analysis of the India Pet Care Market shows, from 2011-2016 this industry has grown with a compound annual growth rate of 26.21% and is continuously growing with a CAGR of over 17% during 2016-21. In this business blog, we are guiding on How to Start Pet Care Business in 2023 in detail. The advantage and flaws will also be explained.
According to the India International Pet Trade Fair (IIPTF), in India, the population of pets has grown from 7 million in 2006 to 10 million in 2011. If we take the average of the data, then 600,000 pets are adopted every year in India only. USA and Canada are leading in the Pet Care Industry globally. So, the opportunity and scope are enormous, and a lot can be harvested by getting into this industry.
Here, 10 Guiding Principles on How to Start Pet Care Business are
- 1. Target Your Market & Establishing a Niche
- 2. Make a Business Plan:
- 3. Location and Layout
- 4. Required Investment in Pet Care Business
- 5. Purchase All The Necessary Equipment:
- 6. Get Required Certificates, Licenses and Documents:
- 7. Buy The Absolute Business Liability Insurance:
- 8. Decide Payment Method for Pet Care Business:
- 9. Obtain a Signed Contract:
- 10. Market and Promotion of Your Pet Care Business:
1. Target Your Market & Establishing a Niche
First of all, do market research, make a list of your rivalries. Also, make a checklist of different types of breeds, pets, and the kind of society. Your preferred pets and target market can be dogs, tortoises, guinea pigs, parrots, birds, fish, or rabbits. It may vary from a particular brand to be readily available in one place.
The target age could be from 35-65 consist of both men and women. Their standard of living must be high, and their surrounding should be in the metropolitan area. Our market segment customers will lead a lifestyle in which their canines play a large part, and these pets are often seen as “children” by their owners.
2. Make a Business Plan:
- Define the purpose and potential of your company by setting up a benchmark
- Sketch your experience, passion or past-present pet care experience
- Question to yourself
- How passionate or pet lover you are?
- Do you care for pets?
- Have you been ever associated with pet rescue team or served animals?
- What types of pets do you love the most?
- Are you trained in pet first aid & CPR?
- Do you possess any other relevant training in pet care, pet behaviour or pet health?
- Are there pet professionals. For example; a veterinarian, groomer, etc., who can provide references as to the good care you give your own pet(s)?
- Make a checklist of your services; you can provide
- Research the competition and that particular pet or breed
- Sources of total operational and functional cost
3. Location and Layout
Metropolitan city, Porsche area (Your own house, Pet Owners House, or any particular land or house), depending on your business size and investment.
4. Required Investment in Pet Care Business
Generally, it varies from INR 5 lakhs to 50 Lakhs to start a full-time Pet Care business. The overall facility layout, equipment, and modifications may range from $ 10,000 to $50,000. The average cost of a commercial lease for pet daycare is from $2,000-$8,00/month; depending on your location, the size of the layout, and other parts.
For greater reach and to build your professional network, you can take membership in “National Association of Professional Pet Sitters”(NAPPS) and Pet Sitters International (PSI). The annual groups of both professional networks are $135 and $140 respectively.
Insurance Cost: The insurance cost of a pet depends on the breed and other factors. If we take the insurance cost of Dog, then the sum assured for pet insurance products ranges from Rs. INR (15,000 to 30,000).
Professional Website will cost you from $10-$50.
Book the best website hosting and free domain name for your pet care business.
5. Purchase All The Necessary Equipment:
- Food
- Treats
- Towels
- Cleaning Supplies
- Waste Bags
- Leashes
- First Aid Kits for Humans and Dogs
- Refrigerator for Medicine and/or Foods
- Spare collars and leashes
- Poop Bags
- Dog Treats and Toys
- Business Cards
- Camera or smartphone
6. Get Required Certificates, Licenses and Documents:
Every country has a different set of procedures and documents. They have to meet certain criteria in terms of age, place, or sometimes qualifications. In the case of India, According to section 38 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, pet shops must be legalized and have proper certificates. A nominal fee of INR 1,000/- for renewal of a license shall be submitted along with the application, to the local authority.
Also, mentioned below bodies do not require Licenses;
An establishment that undertakes tasks for the betterment of animals and does not engage in the commercial animal trade.
A shelter for animals operated by Animal Welfare Organization
A pet sitter business does not require a license. If you want, you can take it.
7. Buy The Absolute Business Liability Insurance:
Insurance prevents you from losses. Sometimes accidental damages or heavy losses also occur. So, be insured and be confident. General Liability Insurance is the best business liability insurance. It protects your Pet Care business when someone claims “you or one of your employees damaged their property or caused bodily injury”. Pet sitters, groomers, and boarders often purchase this policy due to its affordability. Also, it protects you from some of the most common liability issues in your field.
8. Decide Payment Method for Pet Care Business:
To manage the overall supply chain and operational process, billing is an essential part. Therefore, you have various payment methods for billing in offline and online modes. Clients must get various options for payment.
Apart from payment methods, you must create the structure of payment in the form of automatic, semiautomatic, or manual based; on your business size and client base. The price breakups, taxes, or other services offered need to be mentioned in detail. If you want cross-selling then other pricing offers or services must be included in the payment structure.
9. Obtain a Signed Contract:
Nowadays, owners of pets are very sensible and they love their pets as their children. Clients can be impatient or Sue against you if anything happens wrong. In the Pet Care business, documentation with all the terms and conditions in details of your service in an agreement must be mentioned.
There must be a detailed description of service offers, pricing, payment options, cancellation policies, damages, veterinary situations, etc. Take the signature of each and every client on mutual agreements before providing services or beginning your work.
10. Market and Promotion of Your Pet Care Business:
If you are serious and professional want to start a Pet Care business, the first thing every business needs is an online presence. Therefore, create a professional website from WordPress. Name your business or company, describe your offerings and services in detail. To get more potential customers and to attract them, start writing blogs based on your services to your niche. Tell the prospecting clients about your work. Upload pictures and testimonials of your happy clients on your website. Also, email marketing promotes your business at a large level with the “Segmenting, Targeting and Positioning” pedagogy of business.
On the other hand, get yourself activated on social media channels especially on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Create post and market is well. Also, make a network with vets, pet groomers, and pet shops in your area.
Types of Pet Care Business:
You can start and operate a dog pooper-scooper service in your society, network, or community. It requires less investment, no training or mastery skill sets, and minimum equipment to handle the entire operation.
If photography is your passion or hobby then Pet Photography service can be your part-time or full-time profession. Your target market or potential customers will be the owners of all kinds of pets such as dogs, cats, reptiles, horses, champion livestock, and birds. Even fish can all be potential customers.
As the industry of Pet Care is magnificently growing, The retail store of clothing and accessories such as Halloween Costumes, hats, goggles, booties, scarves, and shirts which are dedicated to pets only, can be the best opportunities. In this, you have to meet a certain set of skills such as 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. If you find difficulty then you can hire also.
The Pet Sitting business can be the best business and most profitable opportunity in the pet care business. Due to the unhygienic and non-friendly environment owners of the pets don’t want to board them in an unfamiliar environment. They prefer to have their pets in the safe and familiar surroundings of home.
Training of pets is a multimillion-dollar industry. It will continue to grow by double digits as more and more pet owners realize the benefits of professional obedience training, especially for dogs. You can start with a very small amount or with no cost. Because pet training can be initiated at your home. The training format could be one-on-one or in groups. If your house is not comfortable then you can choose the pet owner’s house for training.
I hope, you remember Morris the cat, Lobo, Moose, the Jack Russell Terrier on the TV show Frasier. After getting huge popularity, few animals become huge stars. Hollywood Paws which is based in Los Angeles is an example of a business that trains animals and their owners to work in the entertainment industry.
Pet Boarding business needs investments where you require a setup facility. The owners of pets drop their dogs, cats, or any pet in that facility and they go for work. Profit in this business is huge, but it requires investment, pieces of equipment, and a team wh can take good care of the pets.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Pet-Care Business:
Pet Care Business Pros:
- It requires a low initial investment in comparison to other businesses.
- No heavy infrastructure setup, machinery, or equipment is required in Pet Care Business. At the initial stage of your business, at least till expansion; entire business operations can be controlled from your home. Also, you can use your own vehicle to approach and travel with your clients.
- If you are an animal or dog lover then you can pursue your love or passion along with your profession.
- It is up to you, whether you want to do pert care business part-time or full-time. This can be your extra income in the form of passive income and if you have enough client base then it can be your full-time work and you might be the owner of your own company. The average price for a single pet visit is about $19.35, according to Pet Sitters International.
- Your market is huge and clients are also potential ones. You can make good money out of them if you have the propensity or ability to deliver quality work and build trust among them. Always remember; in Pet Care business, word-of-mouth publicity is the best marketing technique.
Pet Care Business Cons:
- He should be highly fit in terms of physically and mentally. Direct physical presence and involvement is needed in Pet Care Business.
- To get involved in the Pet Care business, a person needs to be very responsible and accountable. He/she must be trustworthy and reliable to the pets, towards his client, and most importantly to his/her job.
- People think that Pet Care businesses don’t need more documentation or formalities. But a contract or agreement of your service between you and each client is essential to establish exactly what care you will provide and under which circumstances. And under any circumstances, you have to fulfill.
- Insurance of Pet sitting is also vital. If any of your service pets get lost, bite someone, or get injured, the losses will be recovered from your hand. Also, if the keys of your client’s homes are with you then accidental damage or loss of keys will be recovered by you.
- Hence, to avoid any kind of losses, insurance or bond to protect you from all the liabilities has to be there. As of 2019, Pet Care quotes pet-sitting insurance starting at $129 per year.
- You can not say this is a 9-6 job or business. There is a hustle of 24*7. So, flexibility in work is necessary. Your clients frequently will need your services; especially on weekends and holidays.