Coffee wrote:
MediumTex wrote:
1. How much money do you want to make?
2. How much money do you want to invest?
3. How much time do you want to devote to it?
Hi, Tex:
1. Ideally, something that I can scale up or scale down, depending on how much I want to make. But if I had to give you a ballpark, I'd say anything between $1k-$2k a month -- but could be cranked up to $5k+.
2. I'm flexible on this, but probably <$10k.
3. 10-20 hours a week.
I could start up another dog training business, but I'm bored with that. As a business model, it's got a lot going for it... all you really need is: Your marketing materials, merchant account and less than $300 in leashes and equipment. But I don't want to work with dog owners anymore.
[Edit: I should add: I'm looking for something I can do, myself. I don't want employees. ]
Since you already have the necessary skills....
Puppy day care. In your back yard.
I know someone who started a puppy day care business. The yard was puppy-proofed and fitted with lots of puppy toys, puppy pools and puppy forts. The pups are dropped off by 8:30am, in time for class. They spend the day romping, playing, learning social skills and good manners from their "pack leader." The puppies are dying to play with each other each morning. They love it. All pups come home dead tired — which the owners love. It's honestly the cutest thing you've ever seen, and a lot of fun.
The pack leader (you), a professional trainer, keeps the pack in line throughout the day and makes sure the puppies play well together — use a spray bottle filled with water to squirt the pups if they misbehave. Every pup gets one serving of high quality dog food as lunch/treats (for simplicity, owners cannot provide their own dog food). After lunch, the puppies crash and take a nap — it just happens naturally. During nap time the pack leader sends photos and a daily group report, or blog post, on what's happened during the day. Who played with whom, who dug a hole, who needs to work on manners, and so on. Take daily photos and post them to a blog or website. Puppies may be picked up at 5pm with late fees beginning at 6pm. Puppies are brought inside, into a cordoned off playroom, when the weather requires it.
Tiny pups and small dogs start in one class (Day 1) and graduate to the larger pup class (Day 2). All puppies "graduate" when they reach 40 Lbs or 1 year of age — whichever comes first. Well behaved small dogs over 1 year can qualify for small adult days (as you ramp up).
The puppies learn vital social skills all day, and go home exhausted from all of the playing. Owners love it because their hyper and energetic puppies are much calmer and happier for a 24/48 hour period after classes. These pups would otherwise be locked up all day and likely grow up without the social skills they need to become well-balanced adult dogs. It is a wonderful and rewarding service for the puppies.
Each puppy class is $35 per puppy. It's totally worth it, and each client is really only paying for one day (class) per week. Owners can purchase 10 classes for a small discount. Puppy supplies are sold in the mud room. If a puppy is absent, without canceling in advance, clients are still required to pay for the class.
Target the average class size from 7 to 15 puppies — don't do more than 15 spots per class. Roughly $500 to $1,000 per week if you do 2 classes per week. Ramp up to 3 or 4 classes per week as popularity grows — roughly $1,000 to $2,000/week. Expenses are relatively low, but be sure to insure for liabilities.
Make a deal with a local pet-supply store to hold a FREE Saturday or Sunday morning 1-hour puppy play hour — every weekend or even once a month will do. It gets you new clients and they learn about your service. The store enjoys the event because it gets people into the store. Start selling additional gear, toys, services, special training classes to your clients and your alumni. Get commissions for some referrals to local businesses. etc. etc.
What do you do for work? You get to play with puppies all day
It's exhausting, but a lot of fun.
