The Easy Way To Start A Dog Training Business
Starting a new business is a long and intimidating journey. There are several steps along the way that someone needs to go through before they get to the finish line and are ready to set up their business. A dog training business is no different to any other business when it comes to setting it up. If you're looking into how to start a dog training business, here are a few steps you need to go through.
1. Research The Industry
No matter the field you're interested in, your first action when starting a business should be to do some research on your chosen industry. You might be interested in a particular type of work, but once you find out how much it pays, you might get dissuaded from pursuing it.
Work isn't just another part of your life - it's a crucial piece that affects you in many different ways. This is especially true for a business that you own yourself. Before you start setting up a business, you need to determine if it's what you really want and if it can serve your needs.
You should research the industry and the type of people it serves. What demographic does a dog training business cater to? In what areas do they live? What socioeconomic classes do they belong to? This is important because it will help you to recognize your primary audience, which could be your potential customers.
Through this research, you'll also learn where you should establish your business. In this case, your primary audience will be dog owners. That means that you should look into opening your business in a highly-populated area, where a lot of dog owners live.
Another thing you should research is the competition in the area you're hoping to get started in. You might be able to find a location where there's a lot of demand for the service you plan to offer. If there are already several similar and more established businesses then your business might not be able to survive the competition. Instead, look for locations with high demand but fewer competitors, especially if you don't have much experience in the field.
By researching your competitors, you can also get ideas on pricing. You can see how much the services you want to offer generally cost, which might also give you an idea of your revenue. Your revenue must be enough to cover all the standard expenses but also make you some profit.
Talking of expenses, you need to look into what the expenses are for the business you're interested in. While some things are standard between companies of the same type and size, others differ. Similar companies might be able to get substantial revenue in a specific area due to the demand. Still, the expenses might be very high for that exact reason (i.e., rent in popular locations).
By finding out how much you could earn through your business and how much you would have to spend, you'll better understand how feasible it is to launch your endeavors. You'll need to have enough capital to cover the initial expenses required to set up a new business and the standard costs for the first period that your business is active until you start earning money.
Finding capital is always a challenging step for new entrepreneurs, so you'll have to be honest with yourself in terms of your actual capabilities. Do you have the funds required to start? If not, could you possibly get a loan or get someone to invest in your business? Are you willing to put in the extra effort required to make your business succeed? These are questions that all prospective business owners need to ask themselves first.
Something to also consider is if the business you want to start allows you to get new opportunities to grow. Does the field make it possible to advance your business? How could you do that? For a dog training business, there might be options to offer more types of training in the future. Maybe you could form a partnership with another company that will help you expand your client list. You should look for opportunities that will enable you to increase your revenue.
Finally, as a new entrepreneur, you'll need to create a business plan. This is basically putting all the information you have collected in your research in writing. A business plan will help you organize your ideas and showcase all the strategies you will use to create your business and make it successful.
Making a business plan is especially helpful if you're looking for additional funding. Investors will ask you to present how you plan to succeed with your proposed business and why they should invest in you.
2. Select Your Speciality
A crucial part of starting a business is finding your niche. What is the specific service you want to offer and what makes you different from your competitors?
There are different kinds of techniques professionals use to train dogs. Most trainers find positive reinforcement a generally successful way to teach animals. Others also use items to train dogs, such as clickers. Finding what works best for you is essential in your dog training career. However, usually, it's not the technique that allows trainers to charge more for their services but the actual type of training.
There are several types of training in this field that you can choose from. Most trainers focus on obedience classes for puppies. Still, others focus on more specialized types of training, such as behavior modification classes for adult dogs who tend to be more aggressive or suffer from fears and different types of anxiety. Other types of training are guard dog training, service/emotional support training, or competition training.
Of course, selecting a speciality doesn't mean you'll only be able to offer one service. If you're interested in growing your business, there might be future opportunities to provide more services and hire more people specializing in said services. With Book Your Pet, you can list all of the services you provide so your customers can choose and book the one that's most suited to their individual needs.
An easy way to gain more experience and find out what type of training you're more interested in is volunteering. By becoming a volunteer in a dog shelter, you can get closer to other dog trainers and observe them. You'll be able to see what techniques they use and what might work better. You should also try to practice on your own dog or your friends’ dogs to examine if it is a skill you can further develop.
3. Get The Appropriate Education
Of course, practising is one thing, and getting an education is another. If you want to become a professional, you should pursue an education and some type of certification in dog training. Dog training is an unregulated field in many places, but beginners always recommend seeking out experts to receive certified qualifications. This isn't so that you can prove to your customers that you're a legitimate trainer but also helps you to be more confident in yourself.
As a dog trainer, you have a responsibility towards your clients to deliver excellent training service for their dogs, so certification will give you credibility.
Several organizations can teach you exactly how to become a dog trainer. One of these organizations is the Victoria Stilwell Dog Training Academy (VSA). VSA is founded by renowned English dog trainer, TV personality, and author Victoria Stilwell. She is best known for her work with animals on several TV series, including 'Greatest American Dog' and 'It’s Me or the Dog'. By receiving the proper education, you'll get the skills you need to train every kind of dog and cater to their specific needs.
Enrolling to receive training will require you to spend money and time, but it's an important step to help you excel in your career. Something else that enables you to establish yourself is joining different professional associations.
You can learn about all the latest industry news and meet other more experienced colleagues who can give you advice and even mentor you. Sometimes, a professional body membership is also a requisite to getting certified.
If you find yourself interested in many different types of training, you should also know that you don't have to limit yourself. If you deem that it's feasible for your business to offer more than one service eventually, then you can look into expanding. However, you don't have to be an expert in everything. If your business can afford it, you can always hire other, more specialized people for different services.
4. Register Your Business
Your first official step in creating a new business is deciding how you'll register it. There are a few different ways to go about it, and each has its advantages and disadvantages. For example, a legal business entity such as a limited liability company (LLC) or corporation prevents you from becoming personally liable for any debts, lawsuits, etc. In the event of these instances, your business and its assets can be affected but not your personal ones. However, they tend to require more paperwork on your part.
The sole proprietorship option is also very commonly used in the dog training field. There's not much work you have to do in this case, but sole proprietorship doesn't protect you from any personal liability.
If you have a partner or partners, and you want to share the business, you can select the option of a partnership. However, you would also be personally liable if anything goes wrong, with the added disadvantage that you would also be responsible for your partner's business actions. Moreover, choosing the type of business structure you want will also determine how you file your taxes.
Depending on where you live, there are different processes for obtaining all the necessary permits and licenses you need. Registering a business doesn't differ too much for those with physical headquarters or who work from home. This is an important step that you need to focus on because if you do not correctly follow the necessary guidelines to make your business legal, you might get fined or even shut down.
5. Set Up Your Operations
It's essential to set up your business’ policies and procedures early on. This will dictate what expectations customers should have from you and what they are entitled to regarding your services. It is also vital to have specific procedures in place if you have employees working for you.
You can create policies on payment options, refunds, behavior during class, and the client’s involvement in the training. You need to carefully think of different scenarios and analyze what you would do in each case. Are there cases of dogs that you would not feel comfortable taking on? If yes, which cases are they and why? Perhaps you can create a screening process based on the dog’s history and other factors that determines what cases you can get.
Policies should be put in place to protect you, the client and their dogs. Through a policy or a procedure, you establish the rules by which your dog training business deals with your clients. Of course, the most challenging part of making policies and procedures is the implementation, but it will ultimately help run your business more efficiently.
6. Organize Your Finances
Your price list is one of the first things you have to figure out regarding your business’ finances. Fortunately, if you've conducted your research early on, you'll already know the industry standard and how much your competitors charge.
The average cost per hour is $15 to $25 for each dog in group classes and $35 to $100 for private lessons. Pricing varies based on the type of training, the method, etc. If your business offers multiple types of services, it might be helpful to provide training packages that include various services. This will entice your clients to do more business with you. With Book Your Pet's software you can add dynamic pricing to your service offerings which will help you implement more specific pricing depending on factors such as size, age and breed.
Insurance is also an important thing to settle early on. Working with animals isn't always easy, and you can never know what might happen. Much like policies and procedures, it's better to be prepared for the worst than to get caught off guard if something happens. Because there are different types of risks in all businesses, various plans can cover you from being liable during any kind of incident. Find what's most suitable for your dog training service.
Opening a bank account specifically for your business is crucial to separate your personal assets from those of your company. If you have registered your business as a legal entity, the new bank account will ensure that your work finances will not interfere with your personal ones.
Most people prefer that because a business bank account allows you to access better rates and more credit opportunities. Most business owners also hire an accountant to oversee and organize the financial details, file taxes, and calculate expenses and profits.
7. Create Your Brand
To attract customers to your dog training service, you need to make sure that you properly promote your services. This can be achieved by establishing a distinguished brand for your business. Moreover, acquiring people skills, like networking and customer service, is crucial in learning how to become a dog trainer.
First and foremost, you need a good name for your business, something that will define your brand. A good logo will also help distinguish your brand. Once you find it, make sure to trademark it so no one else can copy it. Moreover, establish your business’ values and make a motto based on your selected theme.
To further promote your brand as a business owner, you need an online presence. Purchasing a website domain and employing someone to build your site can be a costly process. While it is beneficial, with Book Your Pet it's not a necessary part of the process. Our software allows you to create an online storefront that your clients will be able to find easily and book through instantly. Your Book Your Pet store will include all of the information potential clients need to customize their service experience and will allow you to market yourself to new audiences.
Advertising is also crucial for your business to grow and become known. There are many different ways to advertise (TV, radio, signs, publishing, internet, etc.) with varying levels of success, and prices differ based on the medium you choose. This type of promotion is significant for a brand-new business that hasn’t established a stable client list yet. A great way to gain more customers in your first steps is to offer promotions.
Providing better prices for your first customers can make your dog training service more approachable. Word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool. If you entice a client with a reasonable price and provide excellent service, they're likely to spread the word about you to more people.
You should make sure you ask your satisfied customers to write a review about you and your professional dog training services. Reviews are essential assets to have as you can use them in your electronic communication. They offer proof of your credibility and the quality of your services.
In the same fashion, you can also use referrals by partnering with other local pet businesses or asking customers to refer you to their friends that might be interested in your services and offer an incentive for potential clients.
Good customer service as a professional dog trainer is the recipe for a successful business. You need to have great people skills and be willing to listen to your client’s needs. If they have any concerns, you need to be able to show that you're dedicated to helping them and finding solutions.
Accept and seriously consider the feedback you get as it may help you improve the operations of your small business. However, if you feel that your dog owner clients are being unreasonable, try to find a solution but make sure that you adhere to your set policies. Confidence will drive away any ill-intentioned individuals.
Tools To Help You Start A Dog Training Business
There are many different tools you might need to create and then run a successful dog training business. Running a business is a lot of work, and at times it can be overwhelming, so you have to make sure that you have the right tools to alleviate some of the stress you might deal with as a modern dog trainer.
The Book Your Pet software has been designed to automatically perform various repetitive tasks within the same system. The app is perfect for a professional dog trainer as it is made specifically to help organize entrepreneurial businesses within pet-related fields.
Book Your Pet helps business owners with booking, payments, communications, and much more. It makes it easy for you to organize your priorities and schedule and connect with your customers. It also offers visibility for your business, making it easy for new clients to find you. Most importantly, it is completely free of charge for pet dog trainers.
Find out more about how Book Your Pet can help you launch your dog training business with ease. Watch our demo here.