THINKING OF STARTING A DOG WASH?
As
the Canine Creek website continues to move up the search engines, we are
receiving an increasing number of inquiries from folks around the globe
who are interested in starting a self serve dog wash. While we're
honored that people might consider us to be experts
on this topic, we are not.
True, we did figure out how to open a dog wash, and have been successfully
paying the bills since the first month we opened, but this does not
necessarily qualify us to offer business advice to others. (Notice I
said "paying the bills"... I did not say "getting rich beyond wildest
imagination".) However, I (Susie) am willing to offer you
insights into this industry, and share some "words of wisdom", based on my
personal experience, trial and error, and, in some cases, sheer dumb luck.
If you are thinking of opening a dog wash, perhaps this will help you
decide if it's the right business for you. And, if you think it is,
what to do next.
THE DAILY GRIND
Do you have a job with boring daily routines? Do you work with people who
you don't necessarily like? Feel you aren't being paid enough for all the hours you
put in? Sorry to disappoint you, but owning a dog wash will not
save you from that. Owning a shop can be a lot of fun, but it
is more work and less glamour than most people think. Yes, a dog wash is
about dogs but, more importantly, it is a BUSINESS... a people business. Running a
shop is
hard work, and you must be prepared to handle everything from washing tubs
and scrubbing floors to advertising and accounting if you want to succeed.
If you love dogs this IS a fun way to make a living, but there are drawbacks, and, as they say, "stuff happens". Unless you
can afford full-time staff to work the shop, you will spend a significant
portion your time cleaning accidents (in and out of the tub), preventing
dog fights, dealing with grumpy pets and/or owners, eliminating
fleas/ticks/worms, mixing shampoo, tripping over wet towels, and/or
shouting over noisy dryers. Or, worse yet, standing around in the shop,
tapping your fingers, hoping for a customer to show up on a bitter cold
January snow day. The phrase “Build it and they will come” does not
apply... people will be curious when you open, but they will not likely
beat your door down. In order to be successful, you’ll need to spend
most of your time in your shop, and marketing your dog wash
every day, especially if
it’s a new concept in your area.
I enjoy going to work each day, and have never regretted my decision to
open our shop. However, my husband and I have made sacrifices, and
continue to do so, in order to build our business. There are many
sleepless nights, and 7-day work weeks. We pinch our pennies so hard they
squeal. We spend countless hours discussing things like shampoo choices,
advertising strategies, and which dog toys to sell. If someone gave us a
nickel for every time we said the word "dog", we could have retired to a
tropical island long ago. I tell you these things so you go into this
business with your eyes wide open, knowing there will be difficult times
ahead, and you need to be prepared for them.
Now, going into our fourth year, there are new challenges. I seldom
run the daily operations, clean tubs or restock retail. We have a
manager and seven employees who take care of those things. Instead
of working with customers all day, I'm often in "owner mode" -- managing
employees, promoting the business, and volunteering in our community.
My role has changed. We could have stayed small, but I have chosen
to work ON my business, rather than IN it. Letting go, delegating
and trusting your staff is the only way to grow. Is my new role
better than "going it alone" as I did in the beginning? Not better
or worse... just different. This growth phase is one all successful
business owners will face eventually. Do you stay "self employed" or
become a business owner? There's a big difference between the two,
and that's something only you can decide.
THE PERKS OF SELF-EMPLOYMENT
The good side to being self-employed is, of course, the ability to call
your own shots. You are the boss, and you have no one to answer to but
yourself. Don't like your logo or ad campaign? Re-do them. Shop hours
not working for you? Change them. Don't like the person you hired? Fire
'em. Lack discipline? Well.... maybe you need to be working for someone
else. You must be able to start each day with energy and a positive "can
do" attitude, regardless of how things are going, or how you feel that
day. The self-employment drive is, in my opinion, a personality trait you
either have, or don't have. If you have the desire and perseverance to
start your own business, you can learn the other stuff.
MY STORY: JOURNEY TO DOG WASH
OWNERSHIP
On any given day, I have the pleasure of interacting with a variety of
dogs, from the tiniest Chihuahua puppy, to the largest St. Bernard, and
everything in between. I am, admittedly, nuts about dogs. I
knew I wanted to work with animals since I was very young, but it took 40 years
to figure out how…
I started college majoring in pre-veterinary studies but, after one
semester, figured out that "vet = medicine". (I'm a quick learner.)
Basically, I knew I did not have the stomach for seeing animals in pain,
or worse, having to put them down. I switched my major to Business
Administration. Cross "vet" off the list of job prospects.
After college, and a number of years employed in the business world, I
left a respectable management position with a nice, steady paycheck (i.e.
a "real job", if you will) to start a pet sitting company. This was in
the early 1990's when the home pet care concept was still fairly new.
Most people thought I was nuts. My husband, however, loved me enough to
support my decision. Poor guy didn't know what he was getting himself
into. For nearly three years, I worked days, nights, weekends, and
holidays. We had a number of people working for us, the business was
profitable, and we were exhausted. Around this time, hubby received an
attractive career opportunity in another state (he's an engineer), so the
business was sold and we relocated. Scratch "pet sitter" off the list.
For the next several years, I dabbled in a variety of fields, trying to
figure out where I belonged. I spent a summer working on a ranch in
Colorado's high country, where I moved cattle, bucked hay, and mended
fences for very low pay. (Boy, was I in great shape.) For a number of
months I worked at a tack and feed shop, where I learned the
animal-related retail trade. I loved that job, and my employer
appreciated me, but, when hubby had an opportunity to advance his career,
we were off to another state. I was starting over - again.
Living on the East Coast provided new learning opportunities. I got into
the antiques and collectibles business, and learned how to sell on the
internet. I became an "eBayer" in 1998, when auction selling was still
fairly new, which then lead to me to develop our online retail shop. In
spite of my lack of computer skills, I managed to pull it off and, years later, am still making a decent living operating
Trojan Horse
Antiques & Collectibles.
As much as I enjoy my internet business,
it's not my true passion. I still wanted to work with animals, and I knew
I'd eventually figure out how. In late January 2004, I did. When driving
home from a puppy training class with our yellow Labrador Retriever named
Darby (we are puppy raisers for
Guide Dogs of America), hubby and I stumbled
upon a self serve dog wash. One visit and I knew this was it.
Approximately two and a half months later, on April 3, 2004, we opened
Canine Creek in Tehachapi, California. I had finally found a career that
feeds my soul.
You’re probably wondering why I felt the need to share my employment saga,
and how it can help you. Simply put, it’s to get you to think about
WHY you want to start a dog wash. Because you hate your present job
or boss? Because you think you’ll get rich being self-employed?
Hopefully it’s because you are passionate about dogs, enjoy working with
the public, and believe that helping dog owners take care of their pets is
rewarding and important work. It took years of experimentation,
learning, and soul-searching for me to figure out what career I was most
suited for, and years of experience working for others to gain the
necessary business skills needed to make it on my own.
Moral of the story… give a lot of thought
to your motivation for starting a dog wash business, and do it for the right reasons.
If you do it for the wrong reasons, you're not likely to make it through
the tough times. You have to want it very badly, and be willing to
make personal sacrifices. The business has to come first if you want
it to survive the start-up phase and grow into a viable enterprise.
In my opinion, a shop started as a "hobby" will not likely be successful
in the long run.
IS IT YOUR DREAM?
About a year after we opened, I received a phone call from a woman who told
me, in a very excited voice, that I was "living her dream". She was
contemplating opening a dog wash, and wanted my advice on how to do it.
There was no doubt that her enthusiasm was sincere, but her expectations of
shear bliss seemed a bit unrealistic. As I said above, starting a small
business (of any kind) requires a lot of hard work and dedication.
And, in most cases, it's highly unlikely you'll be able to pull a salary
in the first year of business. So, although you
might consider starting a dog wash "your dream", be sure to consider all
the pros and cons, and know what you are getting yourself into. Search
the internet, read everything you can find on the industry, and do your
homework. Then, if you are still enthusiastic at that point, pursue your
dream.
A SUPPORT SYSTEM
IS CRITICAL
Although our dog wash is technically my "baby", my husband, immediately
family, and even our friends have played a very important part in its
success. Having a support system in place when you start a business
is essential for a number of reasons, including financial, emotional, and
physical. Yes, you can do it alone, but I can't imagine how I could
have survived a start-up without the assistance of all these wonderful
people. We saved a lot of money on build-out costs when our
neighbors pitched in with painting, staining, meeting contractors, running
errands, and more. I've exchanged hundreds of e-mails with my
dog-loving sister and brother-in-law asking for their ideas and feedback.
My mom flew half way across the country to surprise me on our shop's grand
opening day. My husband, who has a demanding full-time career, has
given up the majority of his free time to help me build and grow the
business. At the very least, be sure you have plenty of moral
support before you start... you will certainly need it.
WHERE TO START
Once you decide the dog wash business is for you, the first step is to
define your vision. I've visited several dog wash shops around the
country, and found that no two are exactly alike (except for an expensive
franchise). Basically, each shop reflects it's ownership's philosophy.
Some are fancy boutique type places that offer all the frills for high
prices; some have the charm of a laundromat for bare-bones prices. There
is no "good or bad" of being either -- they are simply different business
models. In order to move forward, you'll need to determine exactly what
type of shop you want to be, what niche you want to fill, and if that is a
realistic goal in your location.
The next step is, for most people, the largest hurdle to overcome....
financing. While the old adage is true that it "takes money to make
money", you do not need to be independently wealthy to open a dog wash.
In researching our start-up, I found people who believed that $50,000,
$70,000, and even $100,000 plus royalties (for a franchise), was needed to
open the doors. That might be true in many cases, but not in ours. We
opened our 4-tub, 800 square foot shop, in less than 90 days from lease
signing, for under $25,000 in 2004. Could we have spent more? Absolutely. Did we
need to? No.
If you've read through our website, you'll see that we've expanded Canine
Creek three times since opening: to 1,000 square feet in 2005, and
to 1,600 square feet in 2006, both times within the same building.
Then, having outgrown our original space, we moved to a 3,000 square foot
free-standing building in March 2008... one month short of our fourth
anniversary. The cost for the build-out of this new 3,000 square
foot store, complete with 6 tubs in a separate bathing area and a large
retail sales floor? Roughly $75,000. Could we have initially
opened a store this big in a small town and survived? Perhaps, but I
doubt it. What we did was start small, listened to our customers,
and reinvested our profits along the way to grow. This minimized our
start-up risk and gave us a fight chance to succeed in the long haul.
So, as you can see, start-up costs can vary greatly, depending on the size
and type of facility you are planning.
Can you open a dog wash business in, say, New York City, San Francisco, or some
other large city for only $25,000? Maybe, maybe not. When considering
this number, keep in mind that we are in a relatively small California
town where commercial lease space is readily available at reasonable
prices (lots of growth, some vacancies), and contractor service can be
obtained at fair wages. Your costs could be much significantly higher
than ours, or possibly lower, depending on your location. Speaking
of which....
LOCATION,
LOCATION, LOCATION
Where you decide to put your shop will play a large part in its growth and
success. For the best results, choose a high-traffic location next
to busy chain stores that people visit often on their round of daily
chores, such grocery stores, video stores, pharmacies, etc. As most
people consider washing the dog a chore, you need to be conveniently
located when they want to cross it off their "to do" list. Many
times I have overheard a spouse say to the other "While you're washing the
dog, I'll run across the street and get groceries". The easier you
make it, the more they'll come.
Another important factor in selecting a site is safe, convenient parking
with good lighting and easy access. People should not have to dodge
traffic, cross the street, or fight for a parking space to get to your
shop with an excited dog (or several) bouncing at the end of a leash.
There should also be a good place for dogs to relieve themselves, with
clean-up bags provided (by you, of course), and a nearby trash can for
easy disposal. This is essential in maintaining a good relationship
with both the landlord and neighboring businesses.
FUNDING THE START-UP
Although $25,000 sounds like a lot (and it is), getting your hands on the
money may not be as hard as you think. If you are in good graces with
your family, you might find someone who believes in your dream, and is
willing to become your financial partner. If you are a woman or minority,
you may qualify for a special loan or grant program through the
government. If you own a home, an equity line of credit or equity loan
could provide the necessary cash you need. In our case, a couple of
expensive pieces of fine art, sold through our internet business, provided
the cash flow we needed, at just the right time. That would, no
doubt, fall under "sheer dumb luck", as mentioned in the first paragraph.
HOW WE DID IT
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