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Franchise Friday – Let’s Take a Look At PetCare!

W.C. Fields (who?) said, ‘Never work with children or animals,’. However, some of the most popular business models in the franchising world are working with animals every day and they can be a joy.  After all, haven’t you been saying for years that you should be able to bring you dog/cat/gerbil to work with you?

If you’re an animal lover and looking for a new career or direction in life, then a pet franchise could be the ideal way to get into something you love.

There’s a lot of success to be had in the pet industry. According to the American Pet Products Association, around 63.4 million US households own a pet dog compared to 42.7 million who own a cat.  Spending on pets in 2020, excluding veterinary related services, was projected to hit $68.8 B. And millennials may base their house purchases on the size of the backyard, or delay a wedding, for the love of their pet.

(Personally – I waited to fall in love with my husband until I saw how he got along with my cat.)

With all this animal love, it’s worth looking at a pet franchise as the way to go.  But what type?

Animal day care franchises

Work commitments, emergencies, yes – vacations, and everything else that is “life” translates to worry about your pets.  Enter from the left – pet day care and longer-term care franchises. Day care franchises look after pets on a short-term basis, maybe for a few hours each day, making sure they get stimulated and exercised while their owners are at work. Many of the day care franchises also offer longer term care – overnights, a week+.  Brands such as Dogtopia and Hounds Town USA are fantastic and cost efficient options to consider, or if you love cats and would love a business caring for cats, consider up & coming brand, Happy Cat Hotel & Day Spa!

Dog walking & sitting franchises

How many times have you talked about starting a dog walking/sitting business?  Well, you can actually get started with all of the support and benefits that buying a franchise provides with a business such as Fetch Pet Care. This is NOT the franchise version of Wag – Dog walking franchises are very particular about their walkers, meet each one in person and require background checks, bonding, licensing.

Nor are the owners the walkers.  Franchises don’t want you doing the walking (although you are welcome to take your turn if you want).  They want their owners to be planning on how to build the business, get out in the community, working on marketing strategy and managing the employees.

This flexible, low-investment franchise opportunity can be run semi-absentee, from home with a call center that handles your incoming calls from your marketing activities.

Pet grooming franchises

When owners are getting ready for that holiday photo with Fido, they want their pets to shine, literally.  In order for our pets to look their absolute best, most owners are going to find an expert groomer rather than do it themselves.  From coat cleaning, de-shedding and haircuts to teeth cleaning, nail trimming and de-skunking, grooming franchises such as Aussie Pet Mobile  help to keep animals in tip-top shape.

It isn’t JUST for dogs!  Cats too can enjoy the pleasures of having someone else do the work with a visit to  Happy Cat Hotel & Day Spa.

Pet training franchises

How many of you have had the nice neighbor with the non-stop-barking-dog?  Yep, me too! Every dog owner wants a well-behaved dog, but we don’t always know how to do it ourselves.

One of the most fun and innovative franchises in the Dog Training space is Zoom Room Dog Training.  They are training the owner to manage the dog and provide multiple types and levels of training beside the requisite behavior training – including puppy socialization, scent, therapeutic and agility.  On top of training, they work to establish a community of happy dogs and dog owners with in-store (socially distanced) social events that are all dog-friendly.

Pet food and supplies franchises

‘You are what you eat’.  That phrase extends to the welfare of our animals too. As the trends build toward natural, organic foods for our pets, franchises such as Pet Supplies Plus take the lead in both product offerings and great return on investment. Dogs, Cats, Birds, Gerbils, etc. – PSP will have what your customers need in terms of food, safety, comfort and entertainment supplies.

Keep in mind, Pet Care Franchises don’t need you to LOVE animals (but it is nice if you do).  They want you to LIKE animals and need you to LOVE running a business.  If combining Being Your Own Boss with Animal Love is of interest, let’s talk about pet related franchises and what it could mean for your work-life integration success.