Pets have always been considered part of the family, but over the past few years, their role in the lives of people has reached a new height. Over the past decade, the pet industry in the United States has been on a steady rise and is expected to reach $358.62 billion by 2027. As a result, the pet industry is thriving. The rise of eCommerce, the introduction of emerging pet technology products, and a shift toward premium foods have all contributed to a boom in this industry.
According to statistics from American Pet Products Association (APPA), more than 67% of American households own at least one pet. Not only this, their annual spending collectively on their pets is over $95 billion and its most significant portion goes on food and treats. If you’re an animal lover and have an entrepreneurial spirit, opening a pet-related business is a great option you can opt for.
And if you don’t have expertise in this industry, consider choosing a pet-related franchise as this will provide you with the back support and skilled professionals you’ll need to run and manage your business successfully. To learn more about the pet franchise industry and how to start a pet related business, make sure to continue reading our comprehensive guide.
What is a Pet Franchise?
Pet care franchise functions similarly to other franchise businesses. It enables aspiring entrepreneurs to capitalize on their passion by investing in an already-established and branded business that has all of its processes in place. Individual franchisors typically own, operate, and manage these types of businesses. If you want to buy a franchise, you must pay a certain amount of initial and royalty fees. In exchange, you will receive ownership of the branding, trademark, and business model rights.
When it comes to the pet franchise business, Dogtopia is one of the leading pet franchises in the United States that has continued to attract several prospective franchisees with its unique and approachable business model. The franchise provides franchisees an opportunity to spend their days playing with dogs, interacting with pet parents, and nurturing valued relationships in the local community. Presently, Dogtopia operates over 150 locations and has sold over 250 stores. In fact, in the last five years, the business has recorded double-digit same-store sales growth. In 2020, the brand recorded a systemwide sales growth of $57 million, which further increased to $114 million in 2021. Clearly, the brand witnessed an increase of 100.5 percent within just one year, which signifies that the pet industry is one the fastest growing industries of today and offers franchisees with a myriad of benefits and veterinary franchise opportunities.
Benefits of Opening a Pet Franchise
Owning a pet care business is one of the most lucrative business investments, especially for animal lovers as offers entrepreneurs a myriad of benefits listed below:
1. Provides an opportunity to diversify the portfolio
Running a pet care franchise business offers you the perfect opportunity to expand your portfolio. If you already own a successful business and have a love for animals, you can consider investing in this business to combine it with your entrepreneurial penchant. No matter whether you’ve any experience in the field of pet related business or not, franchising will give you the backing of a proven system and a knowledgeable team of professionals to run your business successfully.
2. Allows flexibility in schedule
Opting out of a franchise business allows you to be your boss, however, it completely depends on the type of business model you invest in. By working in a franchise-based model, you get a chance to work on flexible hours which enable you to take time off to pursue other things.
3. Provides unlimited income potential
If you’re working as an employee, you likely have a fixed amount of money. Investing in a pet franchise business will allow you to draw an unlimited income potential. All you need to have is a rough idea of how much you might earn before investing in a pet-related franchise business. You can easily gather this information from the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
4. Ensures job stability
A report published by ProShares shows that the pet industry in the United States has grown every year since the 2001 recession. The global pet care market size in the year 2020 was $207.90 billion. And as per Fortune Business Insights, it’s expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.6%. This means, if you’ve already invested in this industry or are planning to do so in the near future, this business offers you job stability and prevents you from losing your job because of lay-offs or downsizing. The growth over the last 2 decades shows that the pet care sector is a recession-proof industry.
10 things to consider before investing in a pet franchise business
Finding the right franchise can be a tedious and a time consuming process. Once you’ve committed to the idea of owning a pet service business, it’s vital for you to consider some of the key things before making a final decision listed as follows:
- Initial investment you need to make: Like any sector, the business model you choose directly affects the cost of opening a franchise business. Therefore, it’s critical that you first evaluate the initial investment you need to make to ensure successful running of your business. Initial investment cost includes the amount you need to pay as franchise fee, marketing fee, build-out, travel, and more. Given that the pet care franchise business offers a broad range of franchise options, from daycare to pet grooming and pet essentials (food, toys, etc) to pet training, some of these will require you a larger investment than others.
- Reputation of the franchise you’re going to invest in: No matter whether a pet franchise business operates at 10 locations or 10,000 locations, it’s important that you associate yourself with a brand that has a positive local as well as nationwide reputation. Having a good reputation can go a long way to provide you with business from the first month itself. In addition, determine franchise history of termination and transfers. A reputable franchisor occasionally terminates an individual’s franchise agreement whose performance is not as expected and/or not operating in compliance with the franchise agreement. Therefore, if the rate of terminations or transfers is high within a certain period of time, then it’s a red flag and you shouldn’t consider investing in that particular franchise.
- Financial track record of the business: Before choosing a pet franchise business, it’s always worth digging deeper to understand the franchisor’s profitability record. Doing so will enable you to know whether the business has maintained its financial strength. Not only this, it’ll also give you an in depth understanding of the fluctuations it has gone through.
- Market research and competitive analysis: While many franchisors have already conducted the market research to determine the ideal locations for their business, it’s equally vital for you to conduct your own research before investing in a business. By getting a clear understanding of the areas in which a business is doing well and which areas seem to be in a bad position, it’ll be easier for you to focus on identifying the type of pet franchise business that you’ll be able to run successfully in your community.
- Litigation history: Make sure that you read the item 3 of the FDD (Franchise Disclosure Document carefully. This section of the document outlines the details of ongoing litigations the franchise business is involved in or bridging against other parties such as a franchisee. If you find that the franchisor has a history of litigation and involves other franchisees as well, investing in such a business is not at all a good idea.
- Understand the culture of franchise business: Every pet care franchise has its own unique culture. Before investing in a business, it’s important that you determine whether it’s a great fit for you or not. And to learn this, you must understand its core values, if the business lives out those values, and if those values align with yours.You can easily gather this information by speaking with the franchisor as well as existing franchisees.
- Return customer potential: Having an idea of the potential of returning customers enables you to get a clear picture of whether the business you’re planning to invest in is a successful one or not. Acquiring new customers takes a lot of time for any business, but if a business is able to retain existing customers, they act as brand ambassadors and get your business new customers with the word-of-mouth marketing.
For example: Scenthound, a dog grooming franchise business offers its customers a unique membership model to provide their pets reliable services, which keeps them coming back and gives repeat business to the brand.
- Training and support: Most people who decide to invest in the pet franchise industry are already pet lovers, but if you’re someone who has no background and knowledge in pet care, then you must consider a franchise business that offers a comprehensive training to their franchise partners. Also, a business that has a well-structured education program for staff members is worth investing in. This helps you ensure that all your staff members are fully trained and prepared to run the business and provide the pets of your customers with the best in class service.
- Offerings in terms of marketing your business: One of the major incentives that a franchise business in the pet or any other industry can offer is a guaranteed support from a winning team of marketing professionals. Unlike establishing your own business, owning a franchise based business comes with the support of a well-recognised brand and its team of experts who’re always available to guide you run a successful business.
- Return on investment (ROI): You must always read and review the FDD carefully and gain a clear understanding of every item listed in it. If you want to get a sense of ROI that you can expect, make sure that the franchisor has included Item 19 in the disclosure document. This item gives you detailed information about the overall system of the franchise, including the financial performance.
