Pet products and services can provide general care or solve a problem unique to pet owners.
If you are considering starting a business in the pet industry, the national statistics are encouraging. Sixty-two percent of U.S. households own a pet, according to the 2011 to 2012 American Pet Products Association's National Pet Owners Survey. That translates to 72.9 million U.S. homes with 78.2 million dogs, 86.4 million cats, 16.2 million birds, nearly 151.1 million fishes and millions of other small animals and reptiles. In 2010, U.S. expenditures on pets totaled $48.35 billion dollars. The sales projection for 2011 is $50.84 billion.
Instructions
1. Conduct market research. If you seek to create a specific pet-related business, start by reading current pet industry data related to product and service trends. In addition to the APPA, which reports industry statistics and trends, check out the World Pet Association and the Pet Industry Distributors Association for industry reports and pet product expos that can point to new business opportunities for entrepreneurs. Additionally, when researching the market for pet business ideas, consider your specific skills, interests and financial resources.
2. Start a pet service business. According to the APPA's 2011 pet products trend report, a growing number of pet owners seek to pamper their pets. This means that the traditional pet grooming and boarding services is seeing a trend towards spas for pooches, doggie day care centers and pedicures for birds complete with nail polish. Health care related services such as surgical and routine vet visits are still the highest pet service expenditures. A specialized ancillary service that might appeal to busy pet owners may be accompanying pets to the vet.
3. Develop a product-based pet business. The APPA report also indicates pet owner product purchases are moving beyond traditional necessities -- to high-end and high-tech items. An assortment of product categories is available in the pet industry, such as food, treats, vitamins, toys and attire. Earth friendly products for dogs are trending, as well as clothing lines -- especially for dogs. Additionally, computerized identification tags outfitted with GPS systems make finding the lost dog a much easier task.
4. Become a pet dealer. Use the Pet Industry Distributors Association as a resource to learn about opportunities related to becoming a pet dealer. The PIDA is oriented towards providing its members information and training on pet and product sales. If you are interested in exploring the pet retail industry as a shop owner, PIDA resources includes information on Pet Store Pro training. This is free, online training for those interested in opening a retail pet store.
5. Develop a business plan. You might stumble upon a great business idea from the significant amount of data available about pet product and service trends. To develop the business idea into a viable business, write a comprehensive business plan. Delve into the nuts and bolts of business plan writing for your new pet business idea using the U.S. Small Business Administration's free online resources, which includes business plan templates.
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