Many people have a strong desire to operate a business in their home. They enjoy eliminating regular work commutes. Some groomers prefer to be closer to their family especially while raising young children, so a home based business is ideal. Operating a home business is clearly a working lifestyle choice but there MAY a few disadvantages.
First, the home based pet grooming business rarely earns the “net worth” of a commercial salon business. Commercial locations generally have a much higher market value, including the value of a long lease or equity in the real estate when you own the commercial building. Commercial locations generally build a much larger clienteles, an important factor in setting the market value of a business. Net worth is important because one day you will sell your business and the income derived can provide a more comfortable retirement, or a career change if that is your desire. However, a large valuable business is not always the goal of the home based groomer.
There is only a small percentage of buyers with an interest in buying a home-based pet grooming business including the property, but they are out there. So home groomers ask if they can keep their property but sell their clientele. The answer is “Yes” but again the demand is small, but not unheard of at all. When you consider the buyer faces the obstacle of transferring the existing clientele to a new location, and still has to pay for the build out the new location, it becomes obvious why there are few sales of home-based pet grooming businesses unless the property is a part of the sale.
There are additional obstacles. Be sure to check with your local and state regulations to ensure that you can operate a home-based pet grooming business. We know with certainty that there are areas within the U.S. that prohibit home-based pet grooming businesses. As an area becomes more populated with high density housing, the likelihood of increased restrictions on home businesses is almost certain.
Even if a home based grooming business is allowed in your area, how will your neighbors accept the business? They can be a problem and ask the local regulators to stop your operation for reasons generally derived from increased traffic and noise created by your home business.
Make sure you have at least 500 square feet for a small home business, and to keep your neighbors quiet, soundproof the work area. Keep windows closed, so you will need air conditioning. If you have a yard area for dogs, strictly limit their barking.
Consider the extra traffic you are bringing in to your area. Neighbor complaints have been a common reason for some home-based pet grooming business having to close down, or for commercial codes that prevent operating a pet grooming business in the home. Personally we have known of cases where neighbors got together and easily shutdown a home grooming business where noise and traffic problems were substantiated. Some home groomers have worked around traffic related problems by picking up and delivering the pets they groom.
If you are a renter, ensure very clearly that your landlord will cooperate with your intent to operate a home business and the required building improvements. Don’t underestimate the demand for water and other utilities.
Home groomers need insurance for their business in addition to regular homeowner coverage. Ensure that you can find the necessary insurance coverage for both the household and the business.
Starting a pet grooming business in the home typically costs less, even much less, than a commercial location. For that reason alone, persons not willing to take out a loan, or seek out an investor, for a mobile van or commercial location often turn to a home business. Many home-based pet grooming business owners are excellent groomers, but they are in a professional business sense sometimes more appropriately characterized as a business hobbyist in comparison to the business owner and manager set out to develop a commercial salon with several employees. If your desire is to work in your home, you will not mind the obstacles or limitations of a home-based pet grooming business.
There is almost nothing in the way of books on managing a home grooming business, however, business management principles are business management principles. You can order some really helpful books on PetGroomer.com Pet Bookstore. Moreover you can find some more information there.
In some areas regulations for home based businesses may restrict hiring employees. Again, check with your local regulators.
Do your homework for your business! Many home groomers have invested thousands of dollars remodeling a home grooming business only to find out later they have to shutdown, and move the business to a commercial location. Don’t go by what friends and family say alone, do your homework. Usually that means talking with Town or City Hall government and the County government. Never forget that the closer you live to neighbors, the more likely your business could disturb them and they have rights that may prevail over your having a home business affecting them with noise and/or traffic.
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September 26th, 2006
Shopping for your pet’s meal can sometimes really difficult. Which one is the best? How reliable is this company? Everyone wants to give their pet the best there is, but often it is a difficult task because of all the different choices of foods available.
When choosing a pet food, there are several factors that need to be kept in mind: palatability, digestibility, suitability for medical conditions, and cost.
Lifestyle feeding is important to meet the nutrient requirement of different age groups, and diets are available for puppies/kittens, adults, and geriatrics.
Other factors that may be important to some people include whether or not the food is “natural” or “organic”. One must keep in mind that a term such as “natural” is not legally defined or regulated, and as a result is open to interpretation.
So let’s think a bit.
We will start with palatability. Taste is perhaps one of the most important aspects of a pet food. Kibble that is not appealing and tasty to a pet will not be eaten readily. Palatability is a result of the combination of smell, taste, and texture of the food. For example, dogs generally prefer moist food over dry food because the increased water content makes it more appetizing. Pets generally prefer their food served at body temperature, which is normally not necessary, but may be of great assistance in getting an animal that is ill and not interested in food, to eat.
See blog about Herbal and Green Tea
Then digestibility. After ingested, food is digested (broken down by enzymes) into nutrients that can be taken up into circulation and distributed around the body, for use as energy and to build organs. Commercial diets can vary greatly in digestibility based on the ingredients used and how they are processed. An estimation of digestibility can be made by measuring the difference between the amount of nutrients in the food and the amount in the feces. Higher digestibility of the food means more energy and nutrients to the body, therefore, resulting in more efficient feeding (decreased feeding costs) and less feces. Furthermore, digestibility can be affected by the physiology of the animal. For example, large and giant breed dogs have an increased gastrointestinal transit time, and can benefit from highly digestible foods.
Diets for Medical Conditions. Feeding a specially formulated diet for a medical condition will not cure the disease, but may slow down the progression or minimize the clinical signs of the illness. Most of these foods are available only from a veterinarian and require a prescription. They are specially formulated to meet the needs of the animal’s specific medical conditions and have also gone through extensive palatability and digestibility trials. For example, a dog with heart failure can benefit from a diet lower in salt, reducing the amount of fluid that can pool in the lungs. A dog with kidney impairment or failure requires a lower protein diet to keep clinical signs under control. There are also diets formulated for common problems, such as obesity, diabetes in cats, gastrointestinal problems, food allergies, constipation, joint disease, dog dental health maintenance, and many more. It is best to consult your veterinarian about these diets as he or she represents your expert source on feeding.
A last but not the liest – cost. The cost of food is perhaps one of the greatest driving factors in choosing one diet over another. Feeding a dog can be an expensive endeavor, especially for owners of large and giant breed dogs. In general, there are four categories of diets: the generic grocery store brand, the premium pet store brand, the veterinary products recommended for pets with specific medical issues and the top of the line holistic foods. Of course, as quality of the food increases, so does the price. However, even though the net price of a bag of high quality food may be more, the actual cost of feeding your animal may not be excessively increased. Consider a bag of food purchased at a grocery store: A 9kg bag sells for $25.00. This will feed at 20kg dog for 40 days (if fed according to label directions), working out to a feeding cost of $0.62 a day. On the other hand, an 18kg bag of your highest-quality veterinary exclusive maintenance diet sells for $60.00. When fed to a 20kg dog the bag will last for 81 days (according to label directions), resulting in a feeding cost of $0.74 a day! This small difference in price is almost negligible when considering the benefits of a diet much higher in quality. Furthermore, premium diets are superior because the ingredients used are consistent, and do not depend on which ingredients are cheaper at the time of manufacture. You can be certain that your animal is receiving consistent, high-quality ingredients.
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July 29th, 2006
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July 29th, 2006
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July 29th, 2006
I found these funny pictures on http://www.zimfamilycockers.com There are many other lovely pictures of my favourite dogs there.
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July 27th, 2006
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