Your pet store business plan has a strong, strong advantage: who can
say no to a wagging tail, whether from poodles or fishes?KEY CONSIDERATION
It's hard to know whether pets are a luxury
or a necessity. Whichever they are, your job is to demonstrate how
your pet shop will capture your client base better than The Biggie Store
will.
STRONGEST ADVANTAGE
Pets are personal. KMart may have a
lot of doggie stuff, but for personal things for pets, from natural food to
hand made collars, it is the smaller store that will prevail.
STRONGEST DISADVANTAGE
Because you cannot compete with KMart et
al, you do need to locate in a place where people can afford your specialty.
You may have the most magnificent hand made aquariums in the world, but if
your business is in a non-aquarium neighborhood, watch out.
OVERCOMING THE DISADVANTAGE WITH YOUR
PET STORE BUSINESS PLAN
Really Promote Your Online Business
The more specialized your product
selection, the more important it is to create an online presence that really
sizzles.
And the more "average" your physical
location, the more absolutely critical your online business becomes.
You may have trouble shipping your rare koi
from country to country (although, in truth, this is probably possible), but
any hard product is very shippable.
In fact, the very strongest way to start
your business would be to start the online segment of it first. This
is relatively inexpensive in terms of leases, advertising, etc., and can
bring a big return. If you then want a physical location, you will
have a track record of success to set in front of your banker.
Prove that you have the marketing background and skill to make the
pet store
successful.
It doesn't matter that you were vice
president of finance for a Fortune 500 company. It does matter that
you were manager of pet shop, and successfully so, for several years.
In the alternative, you need to prove your expertise with your online
business.
I worked with a lady a number of years ago who was the manager of a
large, privately held pet store. She was incredibly proud of the fact
that her sales staff was the best trained staff in the business.
"But", she moaned, "the owners won't give me the money to run the store!"
There was something seriously wrong with her thinking. The money
should be flowing in the other direction. The store should be giving
money to the owners, not vice versa.
Stories like this are much too common in the pet business. It is a
business. Demonstrate that you recognize it as a business.
OTHER PLUSSES FROM YOUR
PET STORE BUSINESS PLAN
You personally will be judged as severely
as your business in your business proposal.
Yes, you need to know your craft.
And, yes, you need to know business
skills.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
FOR YOUR PET STORE BUSINESS PLAN AND PET STORE MARKETING PLAN
For traffic information on your retail
location, contact the
owner/manager of the retail center. Also go to your city or country
planning department where you can get traffic counts and information on
housing and construction in that area. The pet shop
business proposal must include strong demographic information (see below for
more on demographics) as well as strong financials.
For statistical information on the
pet industry for your pet store marketing plan, or on any segment of it, go to BizMiner. Having
solid statistical information is critical in your pet store business
plan. Bankers pretty much assume that you know your pets; and
they also assume you don't know business.
At the home page, for the Search box. Enter "pet".
You will get a lot of false hits, with petroleum and carpet, etc., so
look for the "pet" related fields, such as
- Animal hospital services, pets and
other animal specialties
- Breeding services, pet and animal
specialties
- Pedigree record services, pet and
animal specialties
- Showing services, pet and animal
specialties
- Training services, pet and animal
specialties
- Grooming services ...
- Vaccinating services ...
- Canned pet food
- Frozen pet food
- Horse and pet accessories
- Pet collars, leashes, etc
- Pet supplies, manufacturing
- Pet foods
- Pets and pet supplies, wholesale
- Pets and pet supplies, retail
- Health insurance for pets
- Pet sitting, in home
If your pet shop business plan focuses on a
particular type of pet, such as horses, search on that word instead.
Under "horse" you will find
- Horses and other equines
- Horse farm
- Breeding services
- Training services
- Horse and pet accessories
- Horse blankets
- Boots, horse
- Feed bags for horses
- Trailers or vans for transporting
horses
- Horse trailers
- Carriages, horsedrawn,
- Hobby horses
- Rocking horses
- Horse drawn transportation service
- Horseshoeing
- Horse race track operation
- Racehorse care
- Dog and horse racing
- Hose shows
- Saddlehorse rental
... with lots more under every other
kind of pet or animal!
Your pet business plan could focus on
goats or emus or tropical fish or cats or kangaroos, and the approach
would be the same: Find the Financial Analysis and the Marketing
Research reports that best suit your business. Study the daylights out
of them, and incorporate what you can into your pet store business plan.
While you are at BizMiner, be sure to look at the left side of that
page for the LOCAL MARKET VITALITY SERIES compiled from US Census
statistics. This is the information that your banker will be
working with, so know what it says before you meet your banker.
Incorporate significant findings into your business plan for a pet
store.
ONE STEP BEYOND ...
To make a strong impression on your
lender, present a business plan for a pet shop worthy of your business. The
creativity and energy that you bring to your pet shop should be reflected in
the plan itself.
Finding a business plan template that
uses MS Word and MS Excel, programs you already know, is not easy.
But here's one you can depend on:
|
Your 7-Step Business
Plan for a Pet Shop is an excellent
source for targeting your business plan specifically for your
pet store. The 100+ page book is not expensive -- you can download
it immediately for under $45. It's great because everything is included,
all in one spot.
Click on
the book cover for more information |
YOUR LIKELY
LENDER/INVESTOR
The SBA
is a strong lender in the retail field. Depending on the size of your
pet shop, you may qualify for a business loan.
YOUR ONLINE
PRESENCE
Just as your pet store will
reflect your style, and your business plan will reflect your style, your
online presence will reflect your style too. Customers from near and
far will be able to find you, and buy from you. See best
web host for my favorite web hosting company. And, if you would
like help setting up your web site, there is none better than Your
SBI Coach.
THE LAST
WORD ON YOUR FREE RETAIL FLORIST BUSINESS PLAN
Your creative talent will
shine in your new business! Use this free pet store business
plan to its full advantage.
.
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Pet Store Business Plan
