A business idea having to do with pet care can be easier and less inexpensive to start than many other types of home based businesses, and can be a very satisfying career for the animal lover.
And there are so many different areas that you can explore, everything from pet sitting, training, clean up, vet assistant, grooming and more.
Now this business idea covers a niche in the grooming business, specialty dog grooming.
There are some types of dogs that are just more difficult to groom, or have special grooming requirements such as prized show dogs.
When my younger daughter wanted to get a dog, I told her that we would have to have a dog that didn’t shed because of my older daughter’s allergies.
I knew this probably meant an expensive breed of dog, and I must admit that I secretly hoped that since we didn’t have an expensive dog breed type of budget that it would be the end of the discussion.
But low and behold a friend heard about a Bichon Frise that had been taken in by our local Humane Society, and guess who got the dog?
Now my daughter is gone to college and I have a Bichon Frise to take care of.
My groomer has told me that Bichon’s are one of the most difficult dogs to groom. The Bichon coat mats very easily and they require special care to keep looking it good.
Now many pet owners are not always going to be committed to the upkeep it takes to do this, and people who can afford a more expensive breed usually can afford to pay to keep their pet well groomed with regular visits instead.
This translates into a more lucrative and regular income as a dog groomer once you build up a good clientele base.
And I really don’t think this is a very saturated niche, there are only two dog groomers in my town and both are usually booked about 3 weeks ahead.
Another niche you could explore in pet grooming would be for badly behaved or difficultly tempered animals.
If you love “The Dog Whisperer” and have a special way with animals, perhaps you could provide grooming services for more hard to handle animals.
If you can handle these types of animals without having to tranquilize or muzzle the animal you can cater to a special type of dog owner.
There are pet owners who love their dogs to a fault, and who will live with a high strung or badly behaved animal for a number of reasons.
And they will also want their animal to be understood and treated as kindly as possible while being groomed.
I know of a groomer who does this, and it can be a lucrative business. You have to take so much more time to groom an animal like this, and you have the right to charge a premium for the service because it can be quite demanding.
If you feel that you could learn the skills needed to groom these types of dogs, and have the interest and enthusiasm to pursue this business idea, you could get started by taking an inexpensive online course.
Phoenix State University offers leading accredited animal care license programs that are accepted by City and State licensing departments worldwide.
You receive certification when you complete the course which gives you the professional credentials you need to get started in the pet grooming business.
You could also check at local tech colleges in your area to see if they offer any courses in dog grooming.
You will also need to purchase grooming equipment, kennels and a table, but it would be good to take a course first so you know exactly what you will need to start.
I have listed some grooming suppliers at the end of this article that you can order from online. And I have included some current listings from eBay, you might find a good deal on used equipment there.
You might also want to check out these
dog grooming videos
to see what it's really like to groom a pet.
Next you will need to get lots of practice.
Perhaps you can offer your services for free to a shelter and to friends and relatives with dogs to be groomed.
You could also try to find an internship with an established groomer who might be looking for help. Even a groomer who didn’t need extra help might be open to letting you observe and maybe work for free to gain experience, as long as you would not be competing with their services.
If you live in a big city, this would probably be possible if you planned to establish your business in a different part of town or to service a different clientele or dog breed.
Make sure to get yourself well acquainted in the dog show world too.
Attend shows in your area and study how the dogs are groomed. If you are allowed back stage you can do even more observation, and perhaps you can volunteer your services to assist at these events to get even more experience and to start making contacts in the dog grooming world.
You can market your services with flyers put up at pet care and pet product stores, and leave information about your service with local vet clinics and pet care services and kennels too.
Make sure you have good quality business cards that you can hand out when ever the opportunity arises.
And probably the best advertisement of all is to own your own specialty dog breed and to show off your superb grooming whenever possible.
Take your dog for walks in public places, enter dog shows and find other possibilities for exposure.
As a home business start up idea, I think this has lots of interesting potential depending on how you wanted to target the market, and what your temperament and personality is suited for.
There are numerous grooming suppliers that you can find with a quick internet search. Here are a few of the top ones:
