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Love animals? There could be a way of making money from your passion. This could allow you to be around animals all day, while making an income from it. The pet industry has seen a huge boom over the last decade, while industries like farming are in high demand. Now could be your time to get involved.
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Find your niche
Just what kind of animal-related business should you start? There are so many options from starting a wool farm to opening horse racing tracks like Belinda Stronach. Some of these options are likely to involve acquiring land, which is something you’ll need to find funding for.
Pets tend to be a popular niche - within this niche, dogs tend to be the most popular option. A few examples of dog-related businesses could include:
- Dog walking
- Dog sitting
- Dog training
- Dog grooming
- Selling dog toys/equipment/food
- Becoming a dog breeder
- Starting a dog shelter
Educate yourself
When getting into any industry, you need to take time to educate yourself. This will allow you to carry out your job to a high standard and gain trust of customers.
In the case of something like dog grooming, it could be essential to take a course so that you understand different types of dogs and their individual grooming needs. If you’ve never run a business before, it could also be important to develop an understanding of elements such as accounting and marketing.
Scope out the competition
There are likely to be other businesses out there doing what you’re doing. Research into your competitors in order to see how you can set yourself apart. For instance, if there are other dog grooming services locally, you may be able to take a different approach such as setting up a portable dog grooming service or catering to specific types of dogs. Or if you plan to train dogs, you can introduce more effective ways of training or use better equipment for a board and train dog training facility.
Work out how to fund it
Starting a business can be expensive. This isn’t the case with all businesses - a dog-walking business can be set up without requiring any money. However, businesses such as starting a farm or opening a cat cafe could require a lot of investment up front.
Some people are able to fund businesses using savings, however most people seek out business loans or get help from investors. When it comes to business loans, shop around for different options - you could consider banks, private lenders or peer-to-peer lending. When it comes to investors, there are options such as crowdfunding or angel investors.
Develop a marketing strategy
Want to start attracting customers? You’ll need to start marketing yourself. The best marketing strategy for you depends a lot on the type of business you’re running. If you’re running a dog walking service, you may want to try advertising through social media and local ad sites. If you’re planning on starting a farm, you may need to work out a way of selling your product to local retailers (with things like eggs and honey) or local manufacturers (with products like wool).