Friday, November 24, 2006

Pet Grooming Business Options

So you’ve already decided that starting your own pet grooming service is right for you. Pet grooming can be a highly profitable business, and starting your own pet grooming business is a viable option for those who love working with animals, desire to be self-employed, and have a knack for handling scissors and clippers. As a matter of fact, the timing for starting your own pet grooming business couldn’t be better as the "National Industry-Occupation Employment Matrix," a publication of The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, estimates that the demand for Pet Groomers will increase 12% over a ten-year period ending 2010.

Now that you’ve established what pet business you want to start, you have to decide on the business model you want to use. You might be surprised at the number of choices you have. In this article, we’re going to take a look at the most common business options for starting your own pet grooming business.

Let’s start with a Mobile Grooming Service . This is becoming very popular today. With the hectic lifestyle we live today, many people would prefer that you go to them instead of them coming to you. For this choice, you’ll need a van and some special equipment, which can be quite costly. But this will eliminate the need for a typical brick and mortar establishment and all of the cost associated with that. You can even purchase a mobile pet grooming franchise through such successful businesses as ”Aussie Pet Mobile”.

Moving on now to starting your pet grooming business.at home. You will still need the special equipment associated with a grooming business, but you can simply set up shop in your garage or storage building. You should check with your local government for any zoning, licensure, and insurance requirements for your business. This is very important and could be the difference of your grooming business succeeding or failing. A dog grooming business is still a business even though it may feel more like a fun hobby.

How about the traditional pet grooming salon? You can purchase a local pet grooming business that is already established if you can find one for sale. Or you can either have one built or find a facility for lease or sale that will suit your purposes. Here you will certainly need to be concerned with zoning, licensure, and insurance requirements for your business, along with installing the necessary grooming equipment. This is certainly one of the more expensive options, but one that can grow and expand over time.

Finally we come to setting up your pet grooming business within an already established pet business such as a small animal vet or a pet boarding facility. This option definitely utilizes a symbiotic relationship, as both parties benefit from being associated with the one another. Your grooming business is an additional perk or calling card for their clientele, and you have a very reputable third party endorsement. While you will still need to install some specialty equipment, the facility is already in place, there is already an established clientele, and much of the zoning, licensure, and insurance requirements have already been taken care of.

You will most likely need to do some more detailed research before you’re ready to set up shop, but hopefully this article will give you a good starting point. An excellent place to start would be the National Dog Groomers Association of American, Inc, or NDGAA. They offer NDGAA Sponsored Dog Groomers Seminars, Trade Shows and Grooming Completions as well as NDGAA Sponsored Continuing Educational Workshop and Certification Testing Sessions.

You can get even more details and information on Pet Grooming Tips and the Pet Grooming Business at http://www.pet-grooming-boarding.info