If you love dogs and have the right experience and business sense, you can start a business related to pets. This includes being able to run a good business for grooming pets.
People who want to start their own business could create a pet grooming business. You can start your new grooming business small to get some experience before you grow.
The Dog Grooming Industry in the United States
People think that the US dog grooming market is worth about $8 billion. About 230,000 people work in the country’s 130,000 grooming shops.
Because so many people have pets, the economy is growing by about 8% a year. Growth of 8% per year is expected to keep going on until 2026.
Pet services, like grooming, don’t just happen once. Animal grooming is repeat business because animals need to be washed, have their nails cut, and have their ears cleaned every month, among other things.
Starting a Pet-Grooming Business
Grooming is a treat that many people with service animals want for their pets. Many pet owners don’t have the time, skills, or desire to groom their pets themselves, so they take them to people who are trained to do it.
This is an excellent chance for an experienced pet groomer who loves animals and wants to start a small business making other people’s pets look nice.
The pay for this kind of job can vary based on where it is and how much it is needed, but it is usually low. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics groups groomers with other people who take care of animals.
As of May 2017, the median pay for groomers and other animal care workers in retail was between $23,000 and $24,000. In this group, the top 10% of earners probably make more than $36,000 per year, while the bottom 10% probably make less than $18,000 per year.
In the industry, there is also a need for professionals. From 2016 to 2026, the BLS says that the number of jobs for people who care for animals will grow by about 20%. This is more than the average growth rate for all industries, which is 7%.
Why Should You Start a Dog Grooming Business?
A lot of people got dogs as pets or adopted them during the pandemic. There’s no secret here. Because of this, businesses like pet grooming that deal with pets and pet care do very well and grow faster than other businesses.
This could be one way to help achieve your financial goals. Your pet grooming service fills a need because pet owners don’t have the time, skills, or space to do this themselves. Most businesses that groom pets have low costs and can make a good amount of money. You can also look into pet franchises to find a business model that has already worked.
However, if you want to make a living as a dog groomer, IT IS MUST that you fit into two main groups: you should like animals and you should like people.
The Pros
Even though the money might not be the best, owning and running a pet-grooming business has a lot of good points.
You can use your love of animals to start a business. This is a great way to make money if you like dogs, cats, and other pets and have the right training or are willing to pay money to get it.
Many pet owners think of their animals as members of the family, so they want to meet other animal lovers who will care for their pets the same way they do.
A pet grooming business can be run in different places and in different ways. If you have enough space, you can run your business out of your home. If not, you can run it out of a store. A mobile business can run out of a van or trailer with grooming tools and supplies.
You can also rent space from stores, kennels, rescue groups, veterinarians, and other businesses or organizations that deal with pets. There are also a lot of ways to mix and match these options.
There are many ways to run a pet grooming business, and there are also many ways to advertise and get customers. By working with other pet-related businesses in your area, you can fill a need in the community, find new customers, and make it easy for new customers to find you.
For example, a kennel in your area might not offer grooming services, which would make it possible for you to reach the customers of that kennel. You can send customers to that kennel as a way to say thanks.
Using these different options can also help you grow your business. You’ve been trained to work with dogs of different breeds and personalities, so you can offer other services like pet sitting, walking dogs, or even opening a kennel if you have room.
The Cons
Even if you love animals, that’s not enough to make you a pet groomer. The job comes with some problems.
Costs can be high when you first start out. To be a successful professional pet groomer, you need to buy and keep good supplies that are enough for all sizes and breeds of pets.
Some things, like tables and bathtubs, can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. When you add accessories, high-end tubs that are big enough for most breeds will probably cost close to $2,000 or more.
Depending on the features, if you want to run a mobile business out of a van, the van and the work to turn it into a business vehicle can cost more than $100,000. You can get a trailer set up and buy a used van for less than half of that.
It’s not enough to just like animals. You need to know how to take care of different types of pets, breeds, and personalities, as well as how to groom them.
Some dogs are well-trained and don’t mind being groomed, but others will fight you, and you’ll need to be well-trained to deal with them.
Certification from groups like the National Dog Groomers Association of America isn’t required, but it can help you train and market your skills.
To protect yourself from being sued, you will need insurance. You could be sued for negligence if you hurt a pet while taking care of it or if it got out of your care and ran away.
Costs for insurance can vary a lot depending on where you live, how many services you offer, and what coverage and deductible options you choose. As of 2019, Pet Care Insurance’s basic groomer policy costs $168 per year. You should pay no less than this.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How Much Does it Cost to Start a Pet Grooming Business?
Most dog groomers start out small and spend about the same amount of money on tools like clippers, dryers, crates, tubs, cleaning supplies, and grooming tables. Prices for this gear range from $10,000 to $18,000. Some of the costs that keep coming up are shampoos, conditioners, utilities, and insurance.
You will need to do an apprenticeship or training program. A training program could cost anywhere from $500 to $3,000.
From there, it will depend on how and where you run your dog grooming business.
