Starting a new business is an exciting yet stressful experience. Whether youâre doing it on your own or with partners, itâs a daunting task, but with the proper guidance and research, it can be rewarding in many ways. For a small business start-up, like a dog daycare business, itâs essential you have a dog daycare business plan.
You may be thinking âwhy do I need a dog daycare business plan?â How tough can it be? You find a space, buy some kennels, and the dogs will come, right? If it were only that simple. A lot goes into starting a dog daycare operation, and one of the first requirements is a solid business plan.
This article will showcase what to include in a great business plan and what youâll need to consider when putting it all together.
It doesnât matter what business youâre going into or how much money you need to get it off the ground, a business plan provides you (and potential investors) with a road map to long-term success. Most business plans include certain components that provide a fairly detailed overview of three things - what the business is, why itâs a good idea, and how youâre going to make money.
To be clear, more goes into a business plan to address the specifics of a business plan for dog daycare, but donât overthink it. Get the first draft complete and then you can come back, review, revise, and get it, shall we say, âtrained and housebroken.â Letâs start with the basics. A good dog daycare business plan should have the following:
đŒ Executive summary: In a short paragraph, explain what your business is, its purpose and why it will succeed. âSummaryâ is the operative word here. Keep it concise.
đ Company overview/description: Now you can go into more detail about your dog daycare business! Describe your goals, target customers, what differentiates you from other dog daycare/boarding businesses, and what problem your business is going to solve for your customers.
Start with a mission and vision statement (more on this later). Discuss your strengths and any competitive advantages, such as having an animal expert on your team or grooming and/or training. And, while your love of dogs may seem like a key differentiator, this isnât the place to tell your favorite dog story.
đ¶ Market research: This is where you show youâve done your homework about the dog daycare industry. This section should include research on the growth and opportunities in the pet care industry, an analysis of the competitors in your local area, challenges for your business and how you can overcome them.
Give an overview of your target audience, demographics, household income, percentage of dog owners in the area, other services they use, and why they need your service. Ideally, you can provide statistics, data, and actual numbers to support your research.
The goal of this section is to prove that your doggie daycare business is needed and why youâre uniquely positioned to start it.
đ§âđŒ Management: Briefly describe your operational plan, how it will be structured, and who will be responsible for daily tasks. Describe the legal structure you intend to pursue, such as a C or an S corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, or a partnership and who are the participants. If there are unique attributes your team brings to the table, mention them here.
đȘ Marketing: How are you going to launch your business, drive new customers and keep them, and grow your business? Go into some detail about your marketing strategy and sales process, but donât get mired down in describing specific tactics in detail.
đŠ Funding request: As they say, you canât get what you donât ask for. If the primary goal of your dog daycare business plan is to acquire funding, you must first lay out your funding requirements, how much youâll need for several years, and how youâre going to use the funding. Separate the funding request into buckets for open/launch, for the first year, and project out three to five years. Finally, briefly describe your longer term goals, like paying off your debt, expansion, and a potential exit strategy, like selling your business or transferring ownership.
đ MoeGo Capital provides essential funding to drive growth and expansion with no hidden fees or lengthy applications to fill out. Upon approval, you can receive your funds as soon as the next business day
đ° Financial Projections: Lenders want to understand how their investment will pay off. Your financial projections should demonstrate stability, potential, and provide a road map to success. Project your financial statements for the next 3-5 years, including a balance sheet, cash flow, and capital expenses. Any collateral youâre putting up against the loan should be provided here.
Be as detailed as possible for your first year projections, monthly if you are able. Show how many customers you need to acquire every month to be profitable and ensure your continued success. Also factor in some âmeltâ (loss of existing customers). Lastly, show how your projections match the funds youâre requesting.
If youâre already in business and are requesting more funding, include income statements, balance sheets and other supporting documents for at least the last three years.
From here, weâll go into a little more detail about the components of a dog daycare business plan.
Crafting both a mission statement and a vision statement is crucial for a business plan. It helps you define exactly what your purpose is and where you see your business in the future. Both statements help potential investors understand in a nutshell what your business is and your vision for it. But thereâs a difference between a mission and a vision statement.
As a rule of thumb, a mission statement is a short paragraph that describes what your business does and its purpose. A good mission statement also becomes a filter to help you make decisions â does this decision align with our mission statement? If not, rethink it. Lastly, a mission statement helps define your companyâs core values and motivate your employees.
A vision statement is more about the future. Where do you see your business going in the best possible circumstances? The vision statement describes it.
Do some research and read the mission and vision statements of your favorite brands and well-known companies. Itâs a fascinating exercise that can help you hone your message with your voice and personality.
Your financial projections will be based upon achievable goals for your business. Set goals that will support your projections and funding request. For instance, what is the number of dogs per day you need on a weekly/monthly basis to break even at a particular price point.
Secondary goals may be to offer more services, like boarding, grooming and training. A third goal may be to generate enough business so that you donât have to focus on the day-to-day operations and can work on increasing your customer base or offerings.
Longer term goals may include hiring an outside marketing and/or accounting firm, opening a second (third?) location, selling products, and offering better benefits for your employees.
The point is that these goals are achievable, and you have a strategic plan to make them happen.
Market research is key to understanding your audience and competitors. If you donât know who youâre marketing to or how challenging the market is, youâre setting yourself up for failure. The following tactics will help you understand the marketplace, but donât include the details in your business plan.
Your target audience are dog owners who need a dog daycare and can afford it. Another defining characteristic is the radius around your location that potential customers are willing to travel.
Start with online searches for various demographic information. You will find several tools that can tell you most of the socio-economic data you need, including dog ownership by zip code. Online searches can also yield helpful results in terms of dog boarding and ancillary pet care service providers in your area, like dog training and veterinary clinics. If theyâre in your area, you know dog owners are there too.
The pet care industry is growing substantially, and it is likely there may already be dog daycare businesses in your area. Whether they are standalone businesses like yours or national franchises, they present an opportunity for analytics. Here are a few tactics to try:
As the âDogfatherâ once said, âKeep your friends close and your enemies closer.â The more you know, the more informed your business plan will be.
What will your operation look like on Day One? What is actually going to happen, who will be there, what will they do, and who is responsible for what? These are all questions your operational plan must answer. Itâs the day-do-day activities of your business, and thereâs more to it than letting dogs in and watching them play all day. Learn more about how Bark Place signed up 120+ dogs before even the business opened with MoeGoâs tools to support your pre-launch campaign.
Identify the daily workflow(s) and tasks that support them. There are lots of moving parts to a dog daycare, and it may be easier to break up the daily operations into blocks, such as:
The list goes on, but this is a good start for a daily operations guide. For more information, you might reach out to dog daycare owner support websites, such as the International Boarding & Pet Services Association and a variety of Facebook groups specializing in dog daycare owners and their staff.
You donât have to do this alone. MoeGo is literally a one-stop dog business support solution. From managing your daily schedule, staff, and payments to marketing, membership and loyalty programs to accounting software, reports, and even an app for your customers. Find out how MoeGo can help you get your business started, grow and thrive.
Knowing what itâs going to cost to successfully launch your dog daycare business and operate for a reasonable period of time is paramount.
Thereâs obviously lots to be done prior to your grand opening, like securing the location (if not in your home), acquiring permits and licenses, legal fees, hiring staff, purchasing equipment and any necessary upgrades to your physical location, signage, parking, upgrades, construction, technology (security cameras and computers), etc. Make a list of everything you need and assign a cost to each.
Once you have an idea of what itâs going to cost to open the doors for your dog daycare business, what is it going to cost to keep the doors open? Typically, the major ongoing costs for a dog daycare include:
Donât forget annual fees like property taxes, inspections, certifications, and licenses that must be renewed. If youâll be selling products, youâll have to consider how much those products cost versus how much you sell them for, otherwise known as âcost of goods soldâ (COGS).
Finally, there will be costs associated with marketing your business. This number can be small, provided you have some expertise and willingness to make it happen on your own.
Once you have an idea of your start-up costs, your business plan should show how youâre going to pay for its ongoing operation. Lenders wonât expect you to be profitable from day one, although that would be great.
First, identify your revenue streams. Day/weekly charges for dog daycare are probably your primary revenue stream. Are there others you can add initially or after 1 month, 3 months, or 6 months? This could include home pick-up/drop-off service, grooming, training, overnight boarding, and sale of products like dog food, accessories, toys, and more.
Second, map your projected revenue against all of your estimated costs and the money youâve already spent to get the business started. How long until youâre making a profit?
The answer to these important questions lies in how many customers you need to have in order to generate enough income to 1) pay your monthly bills, and 2) recover the monies spent to launch the business.
The key to your success is reaching dog owners with the right message, converting them to your customers, and keeping them as your customers. If your projections indicate that you need 50 customers to operate your business profitably, then thatâs your initial target. But, what is it going to cost to acquire those customers (cost per acquisition)? That depends on how much you can do on your own and what you can afford.
To be clear, your dog daycare business plan does not need to include a detailed marketing plan. But you should include a section on how youâre going to market it â building a website, launching social channels, local advertising outlets, direct mail, and software to help you manage your marketing strategy. If you can identify an accurate cost-per-acquisition, two Scooby snacks for you!
Also include a paragraph on the actual sales process. For example, when a potential customer contacts you, how do you convert them into a paying customer? Identify the steps in your process â outreach, scheduling an appointment, evaluating their pet, presenting buttoned-up paperwork and documents. A lender wants to see that youâre ready to convert customers who are in your âpurchase funnel.â
Again, MoeGoâs marketing software is a fantastic starting point, and it shows lenders that youâre âin it to win it!â
Like any business, there are legal requirements, permits, inspections, and more that you need in order to open your business. Some will be specific to the dog daycare industry. Also, you take on some risk with a dog daycare business. Your business plan should briefly discuss these topics to show that you understand whatâs at stake and have plans in place to mitigate problems that arise.
Opening a dog daycare has multiple legal requirements and documentation that must be in place. This includes business and other pet care licenses, zoning permits, insurance, and inspections (health and fire). Check with both state and local resources to find out what you need.
Not to overstate the obvious, but youâre responsible for the care of peopleâs pets at your dog daycare. Your business plan should address that you understand the various risks involved, but again, not too much detail. This includes:
Your first draft isnât your final draft. Have your business plan reviewed by professionals that have started businesses and/or lent money to start a business. Itâs a good idea to have a lawyer review all your documentation to ensure it meets legal requirements.
Writing a dog boarding business plan, dog daycare business plan or dog kennel business plan can be overwhelming. But once you get all the facts, details, and numbers in place, you need to review your work, edit it, and make sure you avoid these common mistakes.
Once you feel like your dog daycare business plan is ready for review by lenders, let it sit for a few days. Review it again, one last time.
Congratulations! Youâre one step closer to opening your own dog daycare business. Itâs exciting and scary but so fulfilling to actually run your own business. The team at MoeGo is here to help in any way we can. Check out our MoeGo Care Program which is specifically tailored to meet the needs of new pet care business owners. Click HERE to find out more!