A Pet Franchise Could Be the Best Way to Get Into the Pet Business

Pet franchises, or even more specifically, dog franchises, continue to surprise the experts with just how popular they are becoming in spite of a difficult economy.

It has been suggested that is it is a “comfort” thing. When the outside world looks uncertain it is appealing to retract back into one’s neighborhood or even one’s own backyard and deal with things that are more certain and personally enriching.

Actually, if you think about it, choosing between a job where you must spend most of the day in an office cubicle struggling to met the month’s targets imposed by a boss, or spending the day greeting thankful pet owners and building long lasting business and personal relationships which are based on a common love of pets. The choice is easy to make.

A dog franchise can be many things. Pet grooming franchises and mobile dog washing franchises have taken off in a big way here in the United States. Also there are pet day care franchises, dog walking franchises, dog training franchises and pet waste removal franchises. For each type of pet business opportunity there are usually several different franchise companies to select from.

Investment requirements are relatively low and knowledge of the industry is not a prerequisite. You obviously will need to be good at handling pets and, perhaps less obviously, good at handling their owners, but apart from that, no special skills are needed.

So if a popular franchise has a strong presence in your neighborhood and business appears to be robust, look at choosing a competing franchise. There is usually room for a bit more competition in any business niche.

Although these pet franchises tend to be tightly focused, there is great potential to broaden the business base. A van-based hydro bath or grooming business could take advantage of the good will that has been built up to run parallel businesses delivering pet food or offering pet sitting services. One franchisee in Atlanta does exactly that. While her husband is out running the mobile dog wash business, she is at home looking after the pets in their boarding kennel, many of the guests of which have regularly been groomed by her husband.

There are also the more traditional retail businesses such as a pet store franchise which have the advantage of leveraging the skill, knowledge and years of experience of the franchisor to make what could be quite a complex project, the opening of a pet store in your neighbourhood, into a relatively quick and painless endeavor.

Another interestesting trend is for upscale pet boutiques which sell bejeweled collars, gourmet pet snacks and designer pet carry bags. If you live in an affluent neighborhood franchises of these concepts could be well worth investigating.

It is natural to think that the the pet business industry is small, but the figures tell of a very different story. One in three American households have a dog and that works out to about 70 million dogs. It is close to a 50 billion dollar market right now. That’s billion with a “b”!

So if you have a love of pets, do not overlook the possibility of being able to turn that into a profitable business which could support you, your family and your chosen lifestyle.