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Suppose you’re an aspiring business owner and an avid fan of doggies. We know what you are thinking – yes, a dog grooming business!
Pet grooming businesses, especially those that use pet grooming software, are currently one of the industry’s most profitable pet care businesses.
Why?
The number of American households that adopt pets is tremendously growing over time, and many of them are ready to spend dollars on their pet’s wellbeing. Mostly, they take their pets to a grooming salon for cleaning or want to have a new look once or twice a month. And with thousands of US pet owners, you could imagine how much you could earn in just a couple of months.
Take Your Business Idea into Action
Now that you found the perfect business idea, you are ready to go to another step – starting your very own pet grooming salon. However, creating any business is not a walk in a park. There is more to starting a pet grooming business than just registering your venture’s name with the state. There are numerous steps ahead on your way to running a pet grooming business, from processing legal documents and licensing to choosing a business’s name and creating a well-designed logo. Yes, it sure is a lot of work, imagining it’s only an initial stage. So, ensure that pet grooming software is on your essential list when you start your operation. It will take more than half of the time you spend on daily administrative tasks.
To help aspiring pet care business owners like you, we compiled a complete list of requirements to guide you through the process of starting your pet grooming business. It will ensure that your new business will turn out well-planned, appropriately registered, and legally compliant. Let’s take a look.
Creating an Effective Business Plan
Every startup business needs a business plan. A business plan is a complete guide essential to acquire funding and includes important details about your business, such as financial and market analyses and management arrangements.
Choose a Desired Operating Concept
After creating a practical business plan, it is time to derive a decision on where you will place your dog grooming business.
Here are your options:
• Lease space in a building
• Acquire a mobile grooming salon.
• Manage a dog grooming business as the owner and groomer.
• Operate a dog grooming salon and invite other groomers to rent space.
• Manage a dog grooming salon from your home.
• Operate a pet grooming salon and hire staff and groomers.
A grooming business floor plan usually comprises four divisions:
• lobby or the waiting area
• kennel or holding area
• bath and grooming area
So, when you rent or purchase a space for your dog grooming business, the facility’s size, and layout matter.
If you decided to manage it at your home, it might seem to be the most cost-effective. However, factors to consider such as limited growth opportunities as expansion physically and staff size can be challenging. Also, your neighbors may disagree with the noise of your dog clients. Before you decide to manage your dog business at your home, it is highly advisable to consult if you can legally do so.
If you choose to run your grooming business in a mobile van, yes, it provides convenience for pet parents and gives freedom to you as the owner. There are benefits, but there are also disadvantages such as faulty equipment and fuel cost.
Setup a Business Entity
Setting up a business entity is vital to protect your business from liability and save money on taxes. You may consult with a lawyer to determine which option is ideal for your pet grooming business. You may choose from these options:
• Limited liability company (LLC): LLC owners are not personally accountable for their liabilities and debts.
• Corporation: It is a group that acts as a single legal entity.
• Sole proprietorship: It is a business owned and operated by one entrepreneur. There is no legal difference between the owner and the company.
• Partnership: It is a business operated and owned by two or more parties. Sharing or liability and the profit differs depending on their terms.
Purchase Grooming Tools, Equipment, and Supplies
Grooming kits such as dryers, tubs, and grooming tables can be costly as it values around thousands of dollars. But these items are essential to operate a pet grooming business. These are the complete list of tool and equipment you need for your grooming:
1 Table for grooming
2 Fur dryers
3 Washing machines and dryers
4 Bathing tubs
5 Kennels
6 Grooming hose
7 Shower attachments
8 Brushes and combs
9 Grooming Shears
10 De-matters
11 Gloves
12 Grooming clippers
13 Nail clippers
14 Nail grinders
15 Shampoo and conditioner
16 Ear cleaning items
17 Bandanas and bows
18 Face masks
19 Hand sanitizer
20 Cleaning products
Acquire Licenses, Insurance, and Permits.
These legal documents are vital to operating your pet grooming salon legally. But the permits, licenses, insurance, and registration types needed to start a pet grooming business varies depending on your country.
If you manage a salon in a commercial space or on your home, you can obtain general liability insurance to save you from pet parents slipping or a dog bite. If you run a mobile van business, you may need to create a policy to combine with your insurance policy as most mobile groomers don’t add commercial activity.
Gain Skills, Training, and Certifications
Dog groomers are not mandatory to get legal certifications, but having training certifications will show your customers that you are qualified and can do an exceptional service.
Some of the skill you will acquire from the training includes:
• Handling aggressive pets
• Haircuts for any breeds
• Proper nail cutting
• Proper ear cleaning
Many schools offer virtual and in-person training and certification. As a business owner, you might also consider taking training in business management and bookkeeping software.
Set Appropriate Pricing
Before setting up your services’ prices, it is useful to analyze your competitors’ rates. Doing so will help you create your pricing as you will need to set your prices similar to them to make sure your business will be competitive. You may also consider the breed, service type, and how long it takes to accomplish the services when deriving pricing rates.
You may also combine services and offer them special deals and packages, offering first-time promotions and offering punch cards.
Ensure your pricing will cover the total cost, insurance, taxes, and at least a little for your savings. Saving will help you prepare for unusual expenses such as equipment failure or loss. The more, the better off your business will be.
Marketing Your Pet Grooming Business
When you have decided to start your dog grooming business, there may already existing competition in your area. Therefore, you may need to think of a unique marketing plan to boost your startup dog grooming business’s visibility. An excellent marketing strategy will help you put your service at the front of your potential customer’s minds and will make you their top choice when they need a service that you offer. You may promote special offers or incentivize your potential clients to avail of your services. These are some things to do to market your business effectively:
Create a unique yet memorable business name.
Layout a catchy logo
Design a professional website.
Send or email coupons.
Create a referral program.
Distribute business cards and flyers to vet clinics, pet boutiques, dog trainers, animal rescues, and pet daycares.
Create a social media page and stay active.
Launch advertising on social media platforms.
Be engaged in local Facebook groups.
Offer gift certificates (GC) for a fundraising event.
Employ A Dog Grooming Business Software
A dog grooming software is a set of application programs that helps pet grooming companies automate and manage daily processes. The system secures a record of all appointments made through the system, including confirmed, canceled, and no shows.
It also comes with client and pet management, salaries, commission, tip management, calendar management, payment processing, online reservations, rate management, email reminders, mobile app reservations, reporting, and analytics.
The system keeps track of everything your business needs to operate. It has a load of time-saving features and functions that simplifies daily tasks while improving your team member and client’s experience.
Using A Dog Grooming Software in Your Business Startup
Like we mentioned earlier, starting a business is not like falling off a log. Being a dog lover is not going to be enough for your business to thrive. Your dog grooming business also needs a thoroughly made business plan, determination, courage, sacrifices, capital, and reliable pet grooming software. Yes, having such software will give you the confidence to run in no time, and here’s how:
Kennel Software Provides Online Appointment Scheduling
Not many dog grooming salons offer online appointment scheduling. Therefore, using grooming appointment software will be a massive advantage for your business. Your customers can book their pets using your website online in just a matter of a minute. They will enjoy the convenience, and you will gain more prospective customers.
Dog Groomer Software Keeps Records Organized
Even for startups, it is highly advisable to use grooming appointment software to keep their appointment transaction histories such as booking, clients and pet records, etc. The system will maintain the organization of all your business information digitally. This way, you can immediately get the details you need just by searching in the system.
Dog Kennel Software Includes Convenient Payment Options
When you are offering an appointment online, your customers will expect to provide online payment options. Luckily, a grooming appointment software will also cover that for you. Providing hassle-free payment arrangements will improve your relationship with your customers and will lead to long-lasting engagement.
Dog Grooming Software Team Member’s Salary and Schedule Management Feature
When you decide to employ a groomer or two to work for you, you may need to create a workday schedule and manage salaries now and then. It is easier to handle those tasks with a small team but can be challenging if you need more staff as your business grows. A dog groomer software is your business saver with this challenge. The system will allow you to create a schedule quickly, and because it is digitally made, you and your team members can view it anytime using any device using the mobile app version. That same goes for salary management.
Kennel Software Can Enhance Your Groomer Management
As your business expands, your team and customer base grow as well. Therefore, keeping your grooming workflows organize and systematic is crucial to be successful. A dog groomer software allows you to limit each groomer on how many breeds they can groom in a day. You can assign the species to the groomer for which they have the expertise, and best of all, your customers can choose their preferred groomer for a day or set it as their default one.
Dog Kennel Software Avoids No-Shows and Late Payments
No-shows and late payments can be your headaches once you run your dog grooming business. Dog kennel software can minimize or even eliminate this dilemma. The software has an automated, easy-to-use, and customizable mailing system that will let you set a message and the time when you want it to send to a customer. It can be an appointment, pick-up, payment reminder, or thank you notes. You can even use your own or pre-designed templates provided by the system.
K9sky All-in-One Pet Care Business Management Software
K9sky dog kennel software can provide all the features and benefits above-mentioned and many more to let you start accepting grooming appointments confidently. At K9sky, we understand that starting a new chapter in your life as a business owner can be a rough road. But as a dog lover and with K9sky dog kennel software, you can rest assured that you will not get behind the competition. Instead, you can be at the top while enjoying the advantages of being a groomer with your furry canine clients.