Before starting a dog training business
Is there enough demand for dog training?
You would never open an umbrella store near Death Valley or the Atacama Desert, would you? However, it’s not uncommon to see dog training businesses operate in sparsely populated and remote parts of the country where there just aren’t that many dog owners.
According to the most recent survey from the Humane Society of the US (HSUS, 2012), nearly half of the households in the US (47%) have at least one dog. If the town where you would like to open your business has only 10,000 people, and you average/assume 4 people per household, that’s 2500 households, or 1250 total dogs that could possibly use your services.
If the average dog lives 10 years, and you manage to attract 25% of your market (a very optimistic number!), that translates to only 300 dogs over 10 years, or 30 dogs a year. Assuming a modest revenue-per-dog estimate of $250, your gross revenue would be $7500. That’s not a viable business; it’s maybe a hobby. Even if you decided to include neighbouring towns and were able to increase all the numbers by 5, it’s still barely more than a hobby business.
The reality is that you need to go where the demand is high. Population density and dog-ownership percentages have to be high enough to support a business. A related consideration is that the demand for dog training services increases with population density. Urban dwellers must have well-socialized and well-trained companion pets to survive. Suburban and rural dogs have a lot fewer expectations placed on them.
My advice here is to open your business where the dogs are. The denser the dog population, the better! The only exception to this counsel would be for someone who is already a highly established and successful trainer. People will come from all over the county, state, country, or even cross international borders to see a well-known professional pet trainer. If that is you, you can set up shop anywhere and be busy.
When you have identified the key areas where dogs and their owners are, you have an estimate of the demand side. Now it’s time to look at the other key side—the supply. Your knowledge of how to start a dog training business will be founded on shaky legs without the above consideration.
http://www.aboutdogfacts.com/how-to-start-a-dog-training-business/
http://www.aboutdogfacts.com/
You would never open an umbrella store near Death Valley or the Atacama Desert, would you? However, it’s not uncommon to see dog training businesses operate in sparsely populated and remote parts of the country where there just aren’t that many dog owners.
According to the most recent survey from the Humane Society of the US (HSUS, 2012), nearly half of the households in the US (47%) have at least one dog. If the town where you would like to open your business has only 10,000 people, and you average/assume 4 people per household, that’s 2500 households, or 1250 total dogs that could possibly use your services.
If the average dog lives 10 years, and you manage to attract 25% of your market (a very optimistic number!), that translates to only 300 dogs over 10 years, or 30 dogs a year. Assuming a modest revenue-per-dog estimate of $250, your gross revenue would be $7500. That’s not a viable business; it’s maybe a hobby. Even if you decided to include neighbouring towns and were able to increase all the numbers by 5, it’s still barely more than a hobby business.
The reality is that you need to go where the demand is high. Population density and dog-ownership percentages have to be high enough to support a business. A related consideration is that the demand for dog training services increases with population density. Urban dwellers must have well-socialized and well-trained companion pets to survive. Suburban and rural dogs have a lot fewer expectations placed on them.
My advice here is to open your business where the dogs are. The denser the dog population, the better! The only exception to this counsel would be for someone who is already a highly established and successful trainer. People will come from all over the county, state, country, or even cross international borders to see a well-known professional pet trainer. If that is you, you can set up shop anywhere and be busy.
When you have identified the key areas where dogs and their owners are, you have an estimate of the demand side. Now it’s time to look at the other key side—the supply. Your knowledge of how to start a dog training business will be founded on shaky legs without the above consideration.
http://www.aboutdogfacts.com/how-to-start-a-dog-training-business/
http://www.aboutdogfacts.com/
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