Pets. Can’t live with them, can’t live without them. Some of us love our adorable companions and spoil them as if they were our children. They are part of the family. Some have puppies, some have kitties, birds, fish, lizards, snakes, while some have goats, and chickens..etc
But what happens when our lovable companies can’t be with us, or need to be taken care of while we are at work, on a business trip, a vacation..?
Ruth, a doggy day care business owner from Nottingham, East Midlands steps in and takes care of your puppies, takes them for walks, feeds them, play’s with them and loves them.
Ruth was able to find success as a startup doggy day care business owner and she owes a lot of her success to UKStartups and government funding.
We had a chance to welcome Ruth and have her join us for a Q&A session to discuss her path to success and government funding.
I got the idea to start my business last year (2016) simply because my sister was in the hospital for a few weeks and needed her two dogs to be fed, walked and entertained daily. The cost of doing this by somebody else (a business) was ridiculous I thought. I did it for a few weeks and realized that it’s not bad at all and that I could do this as a business. My first step was to post a few local ads to see the interest, and within a week I had 20+ dog owners calling me asking for my services. I knew I had a business. Right now, we take care of about 75 dogs per week and are very successful.
I believe that due tot he fact that we have a large facility from my husbands previous failed business it gave us an advantage to create a dog park right in our facility, and our customers love that. The facility is paid off so that allows us to save on rent/paying location fees and allows us to pass the savings down to our customers and allowing us that advantage of being nearly 50% cheaper with more involvement with the dogs.
Our biggest and most critical challenge to our business was the initial startup cost. Like I said, we had the location so it was a matter of populating the facility with the right equipment and promoting the business. I posted ads locally and pretty much reached a threshold of how many new customers I could obtain that way, but one thing about dog owners is that they want to see the facility, and mine was empty at the time. I needed money to be able to buy equipment, hire some staff and promote the business services, but I wasn’t able to get funding from the bank at all due to my previous history with my husbands failed business.
While discussing my business needs at the bank, and trying anything and everything to get a loan and being refused from pretty much all banks I was so disappointed and was about to turn away the opportunity of being my own boss again. That night, I looked online to see if there are any high interest loans available as I was really willing to try anything and I noticed an ad on Google that talked about Government Funding. I clicked it, and found myself at the home of UKStartups.
The overall platform and membership seemed very interesting to me as it basically provided me with what I needed. I needed to create a business plan, needed to find investors or government funding and you guys did that for me. All was there. It just made so much sense and it was pretty cheap to try. I took the risk and said even if it doesn’t work out, at least I tried one more thing.
I was obsessed with the funding database. I think I read through every single government grant and loan programme available. I think there was over 600 at the time. I wanted to make sure that I was going though it with in such detail so that I don’t miss out anything. The funding database was definitely what I used the most and what benefited me the most
MONEY! I needed money to hire 2 people, to promote my business and like I mentioned to buy some toys, equipment, food..etc
After using the funding database I was able to narrow down about 11 potential programmes for my business. I didn’t want to focus on grants because it seemed that nobody who has a doggy day care or similar business was able to get grants, so I turned to loans. I picked 3 of the 11 programmes and filled out the applications. They were pretty long and boring but I had to try.
Well each of the applications, or the programmes was for a different purpose. It’s not like I said give me £50k for my business for this, that and this. That’s something I didn’t know about government funding, it’s very organized. So my first application was to a programme that only provided up to £5,000 in government loans to business owners looking to purchase tools. While the other one was for a percentage of wage that I would pay my employees if I hired them for a number of months, and the third was for marketing/promotion and general business cash flow use. I had to do my business plan using your tool and that was something that I later improved and sent in with my application. Since it was a new business I had to show my assets, which I luckily was able to use my location.
Once I started applying it was pretty simple actually. I took the applications and started filling out each section out. I had to google a lot of things because it seems that the application terminology is sort of difficult but I managed and was able to send them out. So the steps were, find the programmes that were right for me since there was A LOT of programmes, ensure I meet the criteria for the program and that I have the qualifications and provide what they were asking. There is a lot of little tricky things that one application was detailing out, such as print, fill out with blue ink only, scan and send by mail. This was a bit confusing. Why scan when i’m mailing? But after reading further it was asking me to print it, fill it out and mail it to an address, but also to scan it and e-mail it. Something to watch out for.
I got £21,315. Majority of my funding was for my employees and to cover the wages of 5 employees. The £5,000 was for equipment purchase and the rest for general cash flow.
It took about 3 months before I got the money from 2 agencies. However the wage subsidy one is on-going, so when I get an employee who is part of the program I pay them a percentage, the government programme gives the rest.
My next step is to continue to grow my business and to expand. We are already looking at hiring more staff and by the end of 2017 we are looking to manage over 150 dogs in our facility on a daily basis. With that much growth, we need more funding to sustain and we are glad to be a member of UKStartups and contentiously use the funding database.
I would suggest that no matter what your situation is, if your plan is to start a small business – don’t give up. Use tools and resources that are available all around you and don’t be scare of a small investment (like £239 to join UKStartups), as it could be the best investment you make.
As you can see Ruth had to go through many steps in order to get the help his business needed. By reading Ruth’s success story, we hope that you are motivated to start your own funding search and to see if your small business may be able to get money from the British government.
Do you love animals and have an interest in owning your own business? Learn why K9 Resorts is perfect for you:
Figuring out how much does a dog boarding business make depends on a few variables. First, the territory in which the doggy daycare is located dictates the amount you can charge for services. The popularity of your location or the density of pet owners within the area is directly related to the number of dogs that you’ll have in-house each day. Of course, there are busier times based on the season, as well. As an example, any time of year that people are more prone to travel could provide an uptick in business. To calculate estimated dog daycare profitability, you’ll need to average the number of dogs being serviced each day multiplied by the cost for a full day of daycare for each then subtract operating costs. Generally speaking, dog daycare franchises, like K9 Resorts, are more profitable than other options. A franchise open for at least 24 months can average over $1.2 million in sales and nearly $400K in EBIDTA.
Doggy daycare costs can range anywhere from $29 to $46 for a full day of doggy daycare with a franchise like K9 Resorts. If you’re being very conservative in the number of dogs you service each day, assuming 30 dogs show up on any given day, you’d be set to bring in $870 on the low end and $1,380 on the high end each day. This works out to a minimum of just over $6K a week if your location is open seven days a week, putting you at more than $316K a year in daycare alone. These numbers don’t account for overnight stays or any additional services that you may offer. While the profitability of a dog daycare location is variable, there are things you can do to set yourself up for success. Instead of going the independent route, opening a trusted franchise could provide a better guarantee in your overall revenue.
Franchising is nothing new. Fast food joints and grocery stores have been doing it for decades. But recently, more industries are catching on to the convenience and security of franchising, specifically the booming pet care industry. Spending in the pet care industry only continues to rise and many see it as a recession-proof market where they can find solid footing in franchising – and they’re right. While franchising in the pet care industry isn’t easy, it is rewarding. Specifically opening a dog daycare franchise is a smart move because the market is underserved and growing. Because pet owners work long hours, they feel guilty leaving their furry family members home alone all day. As a result, they look to dog daycares to fill that void and provide a safe, community space for their dogs to thrive during the week when they’re at work. Most responsible doggy daycares put a limit on the number of dogs that can come to daycare on a given day, depending on the staff they have to handle the load. With the service in high demand, many are left without an option when the nearest dog daycare location fills up.
Investing in a dog daycare franchise gives you the opportunity to fill a growing need as well as run a business that is recession proof and profitable. More and more, pet owners are seeing pet care services and products as necessities instead of frivolous spending. Just as a working parent would need childcare during the day, the dedicated pet owner seeks out quality pet care, too. People respect quality franchises across any industry but specifically when it comes to the care of important members of the family. Knowing exactly what kind of care their pets will receive eases owners worries which creates repeat business. Investing in the right dog daycare franchise is crucial to any savvy entrepreneur’s success.
A Dog Boarding Business is Profitable! Here’s Why
The pet care industry is booming, and more savvy entrepreneurs are looking at ways to get involved in this burgeoning market. Many may be asking themselves, “are dog daycares a profitable franchise?” The simple answer is absolutely. The profitability of dog daycare is on the rise in comparison to other pet franchises. More households welcome four-legged friends into the family each year. In fact, the number households with pets increased to 68% in 2016. That means that a majority of people in the country are spending real money on their furry companions every month of the year. The way people view their pets has also changed. More frequently, pets are being considered true members of the family and people are doting on their devoted canines. Luckily for dog daycare franchise owners, pet owners are more willing to spend a portion of their budget on their animals than ever before.
Just last year the pet care industry was valued at nearly $70 billion, making it one of the hottest markets for entrepreneurs to enter. According to the American Pet Products Association [1], more than $6 billion of that total number was spent on pet services like daycare, boarding, and grooming. The pet care industry is being fueled by two specific sets of people: millennials and baby boomers. Both of these populations are avid pet owners and dedicated to providing the best care and services for their canine companions. According to a piece by Inc. [2], 40% of pet owners that patronize the pet care industry are between 30 and 49 years old with nearly three-quarters of 30-somethings in America owning dogs. As for millenials, they are the first generation to view animals like true members of the family when compared to previous generations. This group is also putting off having children and instead opting to become dedicated pet owners. That disposable income goes directly toward showering their furry companions with all the latest and greatest pet care services.
Baby boomers, on the other hand, are filling their empty nests with pets. Once their kids have gone off into the world, they’re essentially replacing them with “fur children.” They also spare no expense when it comes to their pets. According to a recent article, spending in almost every category declines past 55 years old. However, the money spent on pets shows to actually be peaking between 55 and 64. Since baby boomers are retiring later in life, they still find themselves with a need for pet care services like dog boarding. They feel just as guilty as any millennials for leaving their precious companions at home alone while they’re at work or on vacation, which makes them more willing to patronize services like dog daycare and a dog boarding business!
If you live in a tourist area there might also be a market for overnight stays where people have booked into accommodation that doesnt allow dogs – we are doing this in Cornwall later in the year because we enjoy staying in a smart hotel and eating out in the evening but want our pup with us during the day.
£10 per day is the going rate in glos too. its the same price whether dog sleeps over or not. my home boarder allows dogs to sleep in her bedroom, i wouldnt have left my dog otherwise because i was worried about him being anxious away from home. as it turned out he decided to sleep in the kitchen with other dogs but the doors were left open so he could access human company if he needed to. she is very busy but we do live on the edge of a city
The other thing that struck me is how are you going to manage to walk several dogs, in all weathers with your 2 kids in tow? Most dog owners will want you to take their dogs out for at least an hour around the middle of the day, will your kids be up for this? What about the holidays? Wont you want to take go for day trips, visits to friends, etc? Again this wont be possible if you have walking commitments in the middle of the day. I dont want to sound negative but this is what scuppered my plans to earn some extra with dog walking! Pesky kids! 
Blimey, lots of good points. Is it really that straightforward to build your own website, the thought scares me! I will look into it though 🙂 Our area is definitely affluent, but what Im not so sure about is the large numbers of working people. It does seem to be mostly SAHM at my sons school – the total opposite of where we used to live in Bristol. I think generally there could be less call for it here in terms of less working people, although Im sure that there will be a lot more dogs where I live now, so maybe that will balance out? Were about 40 mins from the airport and 50 mins from Bristol. Thanks for all the pointers, I hadnt thought about it in such a detailed way before. If I could get a website up and running cheaply (before I actually get made redundant) I could try to get a business going on Mon/Tues (my non working days) to see how much interest I get before Im relying on it full time.
Yes, fab idea ref the holiday cottages and campsites! That would be ideal wouldnt it? Were taking our dog to a holiday cottage next month and Id been thinking myself that it was going to be a bit restrictive. Doggy day care is ideal in that situation. So its sounding like there are probably a few good opportunities out there if Im quite open minded about where I look for the business! Feeling quite hopeful about it all now!!!
FAQ
What qualifications do you need to run a dog daycare UK?
Do I need a licence for dog daycare UK?
How profitable is a dog kennel?
How big is the dog daycare industry?