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Skills for Every Great Pet Food Franchise Owner’s Success

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As the owner of a pet food franchise, you will feel the pressure of being at the top. However there are a few things that, as a leader, can lighten the load. As you run your pet supply franchise, think about your day-to-day responsibilities and if you’re applying any of the following skills. If not, think about where and when you may be able to try them.

1. Give Power To People Doing the Work

Many pet food franchise owners think that because they own the business, every decision has to be made by them, whether it’s something huge that will affect the franchise as a whole or just giving a discount to a customer on the front line. Stress can be alleviated simply by giving those who are working the front line the authority to make certain small-risk decisions instead of having to call you every time. Considering giving your employees a little more training or ruling on certain things and freeing yourself from those smaller responsibilities.

2. Create Role Clarity
As an employee, it can be extremely frustrating to have a title for your job, but not know what the responsibilities of that job are. To create simplicity and understanding in your pet food franchise, create a list of duties and descriptions for each role. While some flexibility is alright, don’t try to flex the meaning of the roles too far. A quick way to frustrate employees of your pet supply franchise is to tell an employee their job is one thing then to discipline them for not doing something unlisted on their description—let alone something they’ve never been trained to do.

3. Share Leadership

If you’re pet food franchise feels like it’s becoming a little too big to stand on your shoulders alone, consider creating another management role for co-leadership. A great way to alleviate the pressure and even team build in your pet supply franchise is to share responsibility, train another in leadership, and to let them take over—especially when you’re unable to be at the ‘head’ of your pet store for any reason.

4. Stop, Look, Listen
An extremely important thing for any pet food franchise owner to do is stop, listen to the employees and the customers, and to encourage talk among your employees. By encouraging talk with your employees, you elevate comradery and team morale. You minimize the chance for strained relationships within your pet supply franchise, and even create a nice working atmosphere that individuals are stoked to come to every day. Make it safe to communicate by allowing others to speak without repercussions, but do not accept bad mouthing. There is a respectful way to speak and that should be encouraged over blatant bad-mouthing.

5. Be Passionate About Your Pet Food Franchise

It’s your pet food franchise. Put your heart into it. Your employees will feel your passion (or lack thereof) and adapted it into their own behavior. Create a mission statement that you truly believe and hang it somewhere handy to remind you and your employees why you’re there. Your passion, as a pet supply franchise owner, is a powerful tool; use it to share your heart for the pet industry and influence your employees.

Step Up Your Game in the Pet Food Franchise

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There are always ways to improve your pet food franchise. Sometimes it just comes down to asking the right questions to identify the deficiencies. By improving your pet supply franchise in small steps, you can increase profit, inventory, and services, improve profit and consumer base, and create a larger, more respectable and prestigious reputation for yourself and your company. When you’re trying to make improvements, check out these areas in your current situation.

Think About Your Value

A common problem with a pet food franchise has during the first few years of startup is accurate pricing. Many pet supply owners have a tendency to lowball their product prices in order to attract more customers. This in turn can cause financial loss on a large scale. Then often times to make up for the loss, the pet store franchise will try to increase store hours to bring in more business, but that also increases utilities bills and payroll costs and ultimately can decrease profit if you’re not getting the right funds from your current traffic. While you want to be fair to your customers, you also want to be fair to yourself. Instead of increasing hours, think of increasing the price on your product to match the quality you’re delivering.

Cut Costs

Many pet store franchise owners believe that cutting costs includes cutting product quality, service, or employees, but that’s not so. If you’re renting any equipment, try to purchase your own. Equipment renting can seem cheaper or faster up front, but you pay for that convenience in large rental fees that pile up and exceed what you would have paid for if you simply purchased your own. As you upgrade your purchased equipment, you can also opt on donating the old and taking a tax credit for your pet supply franchise. Find ways that don’t include cutting quality to cut costs.

Create Bundles

Across industries and companies small and large you’ll see displays full of packaged deals. Movie bundles, bathtub bundles, why not make a dog treat bundle for your pet food franchise? Pair specific brand food, treats, and toys or perhaps a grooming bundle with shampoo, a brush for at home, and a coupon for a free bath to bring them into your grooming shop. Many pet parents will bring their own shampoos even when attending a groomer, so don’t feel threatened by pairing the two together. By creating bundles for your pet supply franchise, you create specific product identities that will be associated with only you, value, and consumers who get to sample a variety of products they might not have tried if not paired with their other favorite products.

Establish Business Partnerships
An excellent business partnership for any pet food franchise to establish is one with the local ASPCA or pet shelter. While your pet supply franchise doesn’t buy or sell pets, you can create new pet parents or extend families while showing you care about the community. If a pet family is built in your franchise, they are more likely to return.