Doggie Daycare - Top 3 Getting Started Tips

1. Business Plan: Put together a business plan of course!
2. Demand: Make sure that there is a demand for a dog daycare service in the area you are looking at
3. Location: The third most important thing (which kind of sounds the same as the first but isn't) - is location, location, location!

Getting Started Tip #3: Location, location, location!

As with any business where your clientele has to come to you, the facility needs to be located in a place that is easy to access. Somewhere that is either near a large population of dog owners, or even en route to an area where people will be going to work/shop. You will find that people tend to speed in on their way to work or an appointment and they will act like they don’t have enough time to come in and have a chat, or wait while someone else’s dog checks in. This kind of thing needs to be discouraged from the get-go. In my experience it only leads to problems in the future with clients behaving like their time is more important than yours. It also leads to pressure from clients in pushing their dogs on to you even if you are already at capacity. To minimise these problems and lower stress levels, an accessible location and speedy check-in system is paramount.

The key thing to remember is that before your daycare existed, these people did something else with their dogs during the day.

Getting Started Tip #2: Demand

Make sure that there is a demand for a dog daycare service in the area you are looking at.

You can measure demand by putting together a survey and actively going out in to the community and talking to dog owners. You can also try posting an advertisement in the local paper or on notice boards with details of your proposal to gauge interest levels. Make sure to do some research too in case someone else has tried to start a dog daycare there before and has failed due to a lack of demand.

Getting Started Tip #1: Business Plan

Before you get started you need to be able to see that your business can make money, or at the very least break even. Most daycares in areas where they have regular clientele (as opposed to tourist areas) take about 2 years to make money. Make sure you are prepared for this! Figure out your base line for renting space, retail supplies, cleaning supplies, what you will charge for daycare, grooming, walking and any other services you offer.