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Cool Business Ideas for Pet Lovers

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Looking for Cool Business Ideas Fueled by Your Love of Pets?

Keen minds have tuned into the booming pet industry that has been rapidly expanding in the last few years. The growth rate in the last five years has been over 30% with projections for the 2017 year ending in $69.36 billion. Why? There are tons of reasons for this expansion, but most importantly, there are a growing number of people out there just like you—they love their pets. The business ideas turned million dollar enterprises amplified onto the radar starting in 2015 with startup apps like Swifto, BarkBuddy, and Pooch.

For pet lovers looking to get in on the action and work alongside animals in a lucrative and fun-fueled career, the opportunities are nearly infinite.

What is one of the coolest businesses in the pet industry?

Owning a Pet Salon

Working with animals is an awarding experience. For a long time, there were only a few avenues to explore where a person could earn a substantial salary alongside animals. You could attend the four years of post-graduate schooling to become a veterinarian. Or, you could invest nearly a million dollars to open up a big box pet store. Now the playing field is even. Entrepreneurs can take their business ideas for the pet industry and thrive.

Owning a pet salon is great because it’s such a relaxed environment. Most dogs are content being washed and trimmed by professional groomers. Even the more timid dogs will warm up to kind hands. The best part about being an owner is you can be as hands-on as you choose. Usually, owners let the groomers do the grooming and the sales team takes care of building clientele. The goal is to eventually have your shop become self-sufficient, which leaves you time to chat with customers, play with their dogs, and work on the future.

With the right staff, and some hard work on your part, you can turn your business ideas into a profitable doggie penthouse.

Be Your Own Boss

Whether you’re a ‘Type A’ personality, or just fed up with bad management, capitalizing on your business idea could free up your time to dedicate to your ideas. This hindrance of corporate America is that unless you work for a really progressive company, chances are—you’re earning on their terms. Bad management strategies account for 70% of low employee engagement, according to a Gallup poll.

The same study shows only a mere 30% of employees are engaged at work. Gallup uses key metrics to survey employees on their emotional commitment to their companies organization and goals. When this engagement is low, productivity stifles. The reason this is so common—besides bad management—is because companies are failing to supply employees with the tools they need to maintain productivity.

Employees search for careers that can a provide job satisfaction. Work-life balance, location, schedule-flexibility, salary, and motivation are the factors that sustain job satisfaction. Owning a small business is a route that secures all these life arrangements on your own terms. Your success is contingent only on one person—yourself.

Passion fosters the work stemming from your business ideas that will gauge how successful you’ll become. Being your own boss empowers you to structure your own life.

Franchising Trends

As the pet industry continues to grow, the number of pet franchises is sharing the growth. Every franchise package is different. Some offer mobile pet grooming, live animal selling, retail, grooming, and everything in between. In large cities, upscale pet boutiques are proliferating. These boutiques feature unique products like designer pet strollers and rhinestone encrusted tiaras for pet owners looking to really spoil their pooches.

The mobile grooming franchise is also gaining traction. This model brings all the convenience of grooming right to pet owners’ house. The entire arsenal of tools pet groomers need is set up inside a commercial van. The only downside is that mobile grooming fails to take advantages of retail opportunities and other hidden costs of being mobile.

One of the strongest dynamics is combination package of having a hip pet salon combined with retail space that supplies progressive products for pet owners. Pet salons are popularizing. Many pet owners are tired of pet groomeries that reek of wet dog, have outdated modeling, and mediocre service.  On the contrast, Pet salons offer all the chicness that an extravagant human salon offers—space designed for relaxation.

As Eco-friendly products become more available, many pet salon franchises are supporting the green cause. A pet retailer can provide more high-quality products that last longer and are made with recycled materials. Cycle Dog, a pet collar made of old bike tires, is an example of one of these awesome products. Cycle Dog’s whole product line is made from recycled materials, crafted with the Earth in mind.

Owning a pet franchise that betters the world, conveniences their clients, and helps reduce the carbon footprint is an amazing way to forge cool business ideas.

To know more about some of the business ideas happening at Splash and Dash Groomerie & Boutique, click here.

 

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Pet Grooming 101 I The Tools and Supplies You Need

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One of the most important parts of taking care of a dog is getting them groomed adequately. Grooming meets their essential needs. Much of a dog’s health is reliant on tending to coat, nails, and oral hygiene regularly. This physical maintenance can save pet owners money by giving preventative care that could stop costly visits to vet’s office in its tracks. Regular grooming also keeps dog’s content—feeling relaxed and clean. Equally as important as the dog spa you choose is the pet grooming supplies they use.

Dogs come in all shapes, sizes, and hair types. Using the right pet grooming supplies and equipment ensures that pets are kept safe. Overheated razors can accidentally burn a dog and using a wrong-sized blade for a particular trimming increases the likelihood of inadvertent snipping. Using quality equipment will also help the final product of a pet’s haircut look professional.

This article will show pet groomers and pet owners alike the industry standard tools and what we like to use in Splash and Dash Groomerie & Boutique shops.

Pet Clippers & Blades

Our own Jaime Meyer who owns the Splash and Dash Coppell, Texas location provides some of her insights into the pet grooming supplies her groomers use. At her location, they use the Andis AG 2-Speed or above. What makes these clippers great is that they don’t run hot and operate at low-volume. This makes working with more timid clients much easier.

The Andis AG-2 clipper has two speeds—27000 and 3400 strokes per minute. The 4X4 motor powers the heavy-duty clipper through sessions. Also nice, is that the clipper is compatible with multiple detachable blades which are quickly interchanged. The blades the Texas team uses are Wahl Professional Animal Competition Series Blades. The teeth of the blades are slightly curved allowing fur to slide into the blade like butter. This is great for precision!

Andis, Oster, Aesculap, and Wahl clippers and blades are the most recognized and popular tools in the repertoire of pet grooming supplies.

Brushes, Shears, & Nail Clippers

Brushes are one of the most important tools for pet groomers. During the whole grooming process, constant brushing helps guarantee matts do not get stuck under the blade and there is less resistance while trimming. Without brushing, grooming will be an uncomfortable experience for a dog. There are various styles of brushes including bristle, wire pin, slicker, and rake brushes.

At the Coppell, location groomers use the Miracle Care Pet Slicker Brush. The brush can be used for dogs with single and double coats and will effectively remove burrs and matts. The soft padding and flexible pins make for a gentle brushing that will not irritate a pet’s skin. The ergonomic handle is easy to grip and prevents slipping.

Another tool used is the Les Pooch Mat Zapper. This is a detangling tool that is used for pesky isolated matts. The bristle pad can sift through matted hair in ’emergency’ situations. The Mat Zapper gently lifts hair from its knotted position without harming a client. This is one of the best grooming supplies for dogs with thick wiry coats like Poodles, Irish Terriers, or Yorkshire Terriers.

For shears, Coppell will use curved, straight, and thinned sets as long as they are not sharpened. Depending on your grooming technique, and client, will determine what style of shear you will want to use. Thinning shears are used to blend different textures and lengths of hair into each other and remove excess bulk.

Some popular brands are:

  • Aesculap
  • Cherrybrook
  • Dubl
  • Millers Forge
  • Hauptner

Jaime’s team uses Millers Forge Quality nail clipper which is durable enough to safely clip large and small breeds’ nails. Having sturdy nail clippers is important. Groomers do not want to hit the quick and make doggie client unintentionally bleed.

All-Natural Pet Shampoo and Conditioners

An honest pet spa should never hide the ingredient lists of their shampoos and when it comes to your pets, transparency is key! Synthetic preservatives, dyes, and artificial foaming agents are not good for your dog’s coat and skin.

At Splash and Dash, all our luxury treatment shampoos and conditioners are handcrafted from the finest all-natural ingredients.

Shampoo & Facial Treatments:

  • Fabulous Fur Facial
  • Fido’s Favorite Fix the Itch
  • Funk-B-Gone
  • Parched Pooch
  • Yucky Pooch
  • Yucky Puppy
  • Shed No More
  • Pink Berry Facial

Aromatherapy Shampoo Treatments:

  • Relax—Canary Islands Lavender & Soothing Chamomile
  • Renew—Lily Zeal & Moroccan Argan
  • Energy—Energizing Ginger & Orange Blossom
  • Hydrate—Coconut, Cucumber, and Green Tea

Leave In Or Wash out Conditioner

  • Nourish—Hypoallergenic & Vitamin Enhanced

Popular Pet Grooming Supplies Wholesalers

Splash and Dash visits the Global Pet Expo annually to facilitate our shop owners handpicking their inventory and pet grooming supplies. The company also helps keep inventories stocked and supports equipment renewal.

Independent pet groomers can use a variety of wholesalers to get all the pet grooming supplies they need. PetEdge offers anything a pet grooming store would need and orders over $550 are free. Groomer’s Choice is another popular wholesaler who offers financing to help a business grow.

Having the top quality pet grooming supplies can make all the difference in your grooming shop!

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