Top Reasons to Start a Pet Care Business Today

As a small business consultant people often ask me for suggestions on what would be a smart and profitable small business or franchise category to consider starting a business in today. One business category that often comes to mind is Pet Care. While the economy has had its challenges over the past few years, this industry has apparently continued to grow making it practically recession proof. Going forward most experts believe the pet care industry will continue to grow especially in pet care related services that offer convenience and time saving solutions for busy consumers.

Here are some of the top reasons why you should consider starting your own pet care business or franchise:

Pet Care is a growing and by all accounts a recession proof industry. Americans love their pets and spend by some estimates over 45 billion dollars a year caring for them. This number has doubled in the past 10 years and shows no signs of slowing down. Figures released from the American Pet Product Manufacturers Association (APPMA) indicate that pet ownership is at an all time high. The stats indicate that 63% of all households own a pet which equates to "69 million" households. That's up from 64 million in 2002 and 51 million in 1988 when the tracking began. Americans currently own approximately 73 million dogs and 90 million cats.
There are a number of different types of pet care businesses to consider starting. This includes pet stores, product distribution, mobile grooming, pet sitting, waste removal services, bakeries and specialty shops. Each of these services is growing right now and can easily translate to either a home business, store front, or an ecommerce business. A home or web based business will have generally low overhead expenses due to savings on leasing space and the minimal amount of equipment and staffing required. A retail store front business will have a larger overhead, but can be beneficial due to the advertising advantages and location stability.

Here are 3 relatively easy and affordable pet care related small businesses you might want to consider starting today:
Pet Products Distribution Business: Starting a small distribution business can offer an entrepreneur many advantages. Generally, only a small investment is required to start up a distribution business and you have the option of running your business from home which helps keep your overhead expenses low. Distributing pet products can also offer high margins and the ability to develop a residual income stream from repeat sales. Another advantage of starting or buying a distribution business is that you can often begin on a part-time basis giving you time to establish the business at your own pace.

Mobil Pet Grooming Business: This is a fairly new business model with lots of room for growth as statistics indicate that the number of pet owners will continue to increase. The 2010 pet grooming business is expected to reach $3.45 billion in sales with a 3.5% increase for 2011. Mobile pet grooming has become very popular because it’s a very convenient option for consumers since their pets can be groomed at their home, saving them time and gas money. The advantages of starting and operating this type of service business include generally low start up costs and overhead, flexible hours, repeat business, and healthy profit margins.
Pet Waste Removal Business: This is a very fast growing pet care category which is evidenced by the number of pet waste removal franchise concepts that have emerged in the market place over the last few years. More and more busy pet owners appear to be embracing this type of service because of the convenience it offers. Some of major advantages of this business model for an owner is that it’s easy to operate and the start up and operational costs are very minimal. And since it’s a service you have the opportunity to build a business with repeat customers that can provide a predictable revenue stream. It’s also a fairly easy business to grow as long you provide good customer service and stick with a consistent marketing strategy.