You’re as excited to write a pet business plan as you are to give Wolverine the Calico a nail trim. But, like clipping those deadly paw needles, business planning assures long-term health.
Writing a pet care services business plan is quick and painless — if you do it right. This blog demos every step with examples from real pet businesses and helpful fill-in-the-blanks. Download this free pet business plan template and fill it out as you go.
Let’s get this thing done!
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6 Easy Steps to a Pet Care Services Business Plan
TL;DR kind of day? Get the highlights of starting a pet business by jumping to where you need help. Here are the pet business plan sections we’ll cover:
1. Create Your Executive Summary
Think of the executive summary as a bite-sized preview of your business plan. An executive summary explains why your business needs to exist and answers questions like:
- What do you want to achieve with your business?
- What kinds of clients are you hoping to help?
- What pet or pet parent problem are you hoping to solve? How will you solve it?
- What are you qualified or uniquely positioned to do this?
Your executive summary should include your:
- Business name
- Vision statement: A 1-3 sentence summary of the problem you want to solve and why your business matters. This should be your idealistic guiding light.
- Mission statement: A 1-3 sentence overview of how you plan to make your vision statement happen. This should be paws-on-the-ground, practical, and specific.
- Company description: Briefly introduce yourself, including your experience and credentials. List any staff and their role in your business.
- Services: Briefly preview your pet care services or service packages. This doesn’t have to be detailed — you’ll have more space later for specifics.
Found in the Wild: Real Vision & Mission Statement Examples
This Ohio-based pet daycare, boarder, and groomer covers many elements of an executive summary on its website homepage.
Vision Statement
“Our mission at The Orville Pet Spa & Resort, LLC is to provide premium care for your pets and create an at-home environment while you have peace of mind away.”
Problem to solve: Pet parents worry about pets’ safety and comfort while they’re away.
Why the business matters: Orville Pet Spa & Resort provides pets with the at-home environment and care they need, which gives pet owners peace of mind.
Mission Statement
“We promise to conduct ourselves professionally and with integrity, ensuring that we treat your pets as though they are our own. Our staff are eager to tend to your loved ones in a pleasant, clean, and safe environment. Our goal is to be your preferred choice for caring for your pet by providing a variety of services to make you and your pet want to return to us!”
How Orville Pet Spa solves the problem:
- A professional, eager, loving staff with integrity
- Care that treats your pets like family
- A pleasant, clean, and safe environment
- A variety of services
This dog training franchise with a heavy focus on animal advocacy lays out its business mission and vision on its website.
Vision Statement
“Every DogSmith will work toward a world where people and their pets live together to the mutual benefit of each. Through our efforts, skills, and training, we can significantly reduce the number of unwanted pets and provide abused, neglected, and abandoned pets an opportunity to find their ‘forever home.’”
Problem to solve: A large number of unwanted or abused pets that may be more difficult to place or keep with owners.
Why the business matters: The DogSmith’s training benefits pets and their owners by improving the ability of rescue pets to live safely and happily in forever homes.
Mission Statement
“The DogSmith exists to enhance the lives of pets and their owners by improving their relationship and the quality of life they share, through:
- Providing professional support and training to Pet Dog owners
- Supporting and assisting animal shelters and rescue organizations to minimize the number of unwanted animals
- Offering affordable and professional care to family pets so that pet ownership is never a burden”
How The DogSmith solves the problem: Supporting dog owners, animal shelters, and rescue organizations with affordable and professional training that improves the ability of formerly abused and unwanted dogs to live harmoniously with new owners.
Pro Tip: Don’t forget who’s holding the leash. You’re in this for the animals, but pet parents are the ones with the power to book (or not). Focusing on why your services benefit pet owners will ultimately benefit pets, too. Both of our real-world examples do a great job of highlighting why their services help pets and their humans.
Executive Summary Templates: Just Fill in the Blanks!
Pet Business Vision Statement Template
[Your client(s)] need [pet need or problem] to [their ideal outcome]. [Your company name] helps to achieve [their ideal outcome], because we believe [why what you do is important.]
Pet Business Mission Statement Template
[Company name] exists to [purpose of business] for [ideal client(s)] by [summary of what you do]. We make our goal to [your business vision or values] a reality by [list of practical steps to achieve your vision.]
Pet Business Company Description Template
[Company name] is a [pet care service] that specializes in [your focus] in [location]. [Your name or company name] uses [your qualifications, resources, and/or staff] to ensure that [what you want your business to do for pets and pet parents.]
2. Define Your Value Proposition
Your value proposition answers the question: “Why would a client choose me instead of someone else?” To answer, you need to know these two things:
Your Pet Care Niche
Your pet care niche is the group of clients you want to reach. If the answer is “all pet owners,” try again. No pet pro is right for every situation, so consider who you’re best equipped to serve:
- Your niche might be a specific client or demographic. For example, The Dogsmith works with animal shelters, rescue organizations, and pet parents of rescue or adopted dogs.
- Your niche could also include people with a specific need or desire. For example, Orrville Pet Spa and Resort focuses on a homey boarding experience (rather than a luxe, budget, high-energy, or super-social one).
Your Unique Selling Proposition
Your unique selling proposition involves the qualifications, resources, knowledge, or prices that uniquely equip you to help your niche audience. What do you offer these pet owners that your competitors don’t?
Let’s go back to our earlier real business examples to see how they turned their vision and mission into a reason to book:
Found in the Wild: Unique Selling Proposition Examples
The DogSmith aims to help more rescue placements work (which is also their clients’ goal) by training pups and parents to live harmoniously.
How? Knowledge + connections: animal advocacy nonprofit ties, training based on dog psychology, and detailed methods made publicly available on their website (a bold, unusual strategy sure to make rescues and shelters perk up).
Orrville Pet Spa’s tagline (“Leave Your Pets at Home With Us”) and website facility walkthrough don’t sell luxury — they sell familiarity. Mid-budget pet owners need peace of mind when leaving their fur babies. Orrville Pet Spa reassures them of safe, familiar comforts by showing exactly what conditions and services dogs will enjoy.
Value Proposition Template: Just Fill in the Blanks!
Here are some questions to get you started on your unique selling proposition:
- Is there an issue around pet ownership or animal welfare that’s close to your heart?
- What are the goals of pet parents who use your service?
- What challenges do they face in their pet parent journey?
- How could you help, and why should they listen to you?
Pet Business Plan Value Proposition Template
[Business Name] aims to leverage [unique selling proposition] to help [customer niche] achieve [specific need/desire for your niche.]
Pro tip: If you can link to a resource that proves your ability to deliver this solution (like Orrville Pet Spa’s facility tour or The Dogsmith’s training methodology), even better!
3. Conduct a Market Analysis
Not only do you want a smart business idea that solves a client’s problem, you also need enough demand to support your business long-term. A market analysis takes a look around the competitive landscape to answer these questions:
- Competitor analysis: Who else might clients book instead of you, and why?
- Audience analysis: What makes clients in your niche book a pet care provider?
- Trends and industry analysis: What’s the state of your market or industry, and how is it changing?
Competitor Analysis
Direct competitors are other businesses or freelancers who offer similar services to a similar audience. Paying attention to them reveals where you’re competitive or unique already and where you need to improve your resources, advertising, or strategy.
Your pet business plan template has a handy chart to organize the following data about your competition:
- Location: Where is their central hub? Where does their territory and yours overlap?
- Target audiences: Whose business do they want? How much do they target your niche?
- Pricing: How much do they charge? Are your rates competitive with this group?
- Brand Personality: How do they present themselves or talk to clients? How is it similar to/different than you?
- Marketing: Where, how, and how much do they advertise? What are their website and social media presence like?
- Strengths: What helps them succeed in your niche, or what do they offer that you don’t?
- Weaknesses: What could keep them from success, and what don’t they offer that you do?
Competitor Analysis AI Prompt Template: Just Fill in the Blanks!
Psst! AI is pawe-some at this. The answers might not be perfect, but they’re an excellent starting point. (Just make sure you don’t share any sensitive info.)
Try entering this series of prompts into ChatGPT or your favorite AI to identify and analyze competitors:
- Who are the five main competitors for a [your pet care niche] business in [your area]?
- This is my business, [your business name]: [input your location, target audience, pricing, brand personality, current marketing efforts, strengths, and weaknesses]. What are the key differences between [your business name] and [competitor 1]? Focus on the business’s location, target audiences, pricing, brand personality, marketing, strengths, and weaknesses.
- Repeat for each of your competitors.
Audience Analysis
An audience analysis includes the size of your potential client base and how many of those clients you can realistically reach. (See this guide to calculating your market share for help.) An audience analysis also reveals who your clients are and what drives them.
Here are some questions to answer in the audience analysis section of your business plan:
- How many people fit your audience niche in your area? Of that number of people, how many could you reasonably expect to serve based on your current staff and resources?
- What type of pet parents could benefit from your service but don’t have many options locally?
- What are the average demographics of pet owners in your niche (for example, their age, gender, sex, race, marital status, or employment status)?
- Which demographic factors might affect what someone looks for in pet care? Who is currently underserved in your area because of these factors?
- What concerns or objections would someone in these demographics have about hiring pet care?
How to Sniff Out Audience Demographic Data
Not sure how to find out more about your audience? Here are a few options:
Research national pet owner demographics
For example, if you’re writing a pet sitting business plan and discover millennials hire dog sitters the most, you could use research on marketing to millennials to drive your customer outreach strategy.
Want to know more about the average pet care client’s booking and spending habits this year? Find pet care client demographics and more in our data-packed Pet Care Trends Report.
Research categories within your audience
Try typing “audience segmentation + [pet care service]” or “client demographics of [pet care service]” into your favorite search engine. This can clarify the types of clients who use your pet care service most.
Curious about how to break your audience into categories, or how to tailor your services to different audience segments? Read an audience analysis example in our marketing for pet trainers blog.
Poll local pet owners
Find out what potential clients think about available pet care in your area. Do an informal survey by asking friends and family, or create a free Survey Monkey poll and post it on your social media or email it to pet owners in your network
Make use of local public records
Did you know many county records for dog licensing and taxes are available to anyone? That’s a free list of leads on dog-owning potential clients and an excellent estimate of your local audience size. Talk to your city or county tax office to see if you can sneak a peek.
Trends and Industry Analysis
Tapping into industry trends is crucial to growing a business, but what if you accidentally identify a trend or need on its way out? A trends and industry analysis clues you into which services your audience wants most and whether they will stay in demand.
This section of a pet business plan shows investors your ears are perked up — you know what’s popular, but you’re also planning ahead. Answer these smart questions:
- What is the projected growth rate (often called the compound annual growth rate or CAGR) of your pet care niche in the next year? In the next five years?
- Search for annual industry outlook reports from reputable research organizations like Statista, government agencies like the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), or pet industry sources like the American Pet Products Association (APPA).
- What emerging trends or services are gaining popularity? Which ones could fit your service menu?
- Check trending search topics. Use tools like Google Trends or Exploding Topics to explore what your clients search for online, including which search terms are growing or declining in popularity.
- Join niche social media groups. For example, if you were writing a pet grooming business plan, follow #petstylist or #groomersofinstagram and browse r/doggrooming to see which services or cuts are popular.
- Poll local pet owners to see what trends they’re participating in. Say you’re a cat sitter and local clients are heavily invested in litter robots. You could run an entire ad campaign around things a litter robot can’t do that a cat sitter can.
- How much has local competition in your niche grown or shrunk over the last five years? Count how many new competitors came on the scene, and which failed.
4. Develop Your Marketing Plan
A strong marketing plan addresses the four Ps of marketing: product, pricing, place, and promotion. For pet businesses, we suggest adding a specific section for referral generation — it’s that crucial.
Product
Your products (in this case, your services) are what you sell. This is the place to add more detail to that service menu you listed in your executive summary. List each of the services you offer with a short explanation or just link to your professional website’s services page, if you have one.
Need help organizing and describing your services? Check out these website design tips for pet businesses, including five examples from real pet groomer websites. We particularly like how New York dog groomer Now You’re Clean breaks down their services and pricing.
Now You’re Clean separates services into three categories, then briefly describes the details and pricing of convenient packages in those categories. It’s clear, concise, and effective.
Pricing
List your prices for all those services in this section. Here are a few things to consider:
- Think about pricing for individual services and packages. Which popular services make sense to bundle for your clients? Which services should be an add-on or upcharge?
- Use your price range to support your unique selling proposition. Let’s say you’re writing a pet daycare business plan — any of these price ranges could be right on the money, depending on your client niche and location:
- Are you a luxury pet daycare, like Sniff Dog Hotel in Portland, OR? It might make sense to charge $90/night for a doggy suite with a view, plus upcharges for an a la carte activity menu. These prices fit clients who want their pup pampered.
- Are you a mid-range pet daycare like our earlier example, Orville Pet Spa & Resort? A $34/day rate with a less expensive, half-day option might fit your client’s budget while assuring them their pup is happy and comfortable.
- Are you a budget-friendly pet daycare, like Rover Star Sitter Crystal T. of Louisville, KY? $27/day might be just right to stay competitive for your area while ensuring wider access to loving pet care in your home.
Not sure how much to charge? Our pricing guide for pet sitters offers a great pet sitting business plan template. It also walks through the main factors that affect most pet businesses’ rates and how to do competitor pricing research.
Place
Place refers to how or where you sell your services. That might mean discussing the website booking process for an online dog training consultant, or the email quote and phone order system for a local pooper scooper service.
Since pet client bases tend to have geographic limits (especially come-to-you services like pet taxis, mobile groomers, and pet sitters), defining your service range is helpful. Flight nannies, pet transporters, and other long-range pet care pros should think about max travel distance in terms of time or mileage.
Promotion
How and where will you advertise? While traditional or digital marketing could work, using both ensures you aren’t leaving any business on the table. Consider where different groups within your audience look for pet care and choose a mix of marketing channels that meets everyone where they are.
Here are a few high-impact advertising channels for pet businesses:
- Professional website (like a DIY Squarespace site to explain your services, pricing, and qualifications in detail)
- Social media (like a business Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, or Reddit account designed to show off your expertise and let you interact with followers)
- Directory listings (including general business directories like Yelp or Google Business Profile and service or certification directories like Pet Sitters International’s member directory)
- Pet care apps (like a Rover or Wag profile)
- Paid advertising (including social media ads, search ads, and more)
- Door hangers or direct mail (great for canvasing the neighborhood when your service sets up shop)
- Flyers or business cards (effective in locations where pet parents hang out, like a local vet’s office, pet store, or animal shelter. Just ask first!)
- Content marketing (aka helpful resources that subtly promote your services. For example, a “How to Get Pets Through TSA Checkpoints” blog demonstrates your know-how while showing how much hassle your flight nanny service saves pet parents.)
Referral Strategy
Did you know: 88% of pet care businesses say they get clients through word-of-mouth referrals? (We know because PCI asked hundreds of our insured pet businesses.)
Referrals come naturally if you’re good at your job, but that doesn’t mean you’re stuck waiting and hoping. Encourage clients who already love you to send up a howl with a referral program. Your program can include anything that prompts recommendations, like giving clients a discount when they refer a friend or post a review.
5. Map Your Financial Projections
This section of your pet business plan is probably the one you’re dreading: it’s time to do math. We promise, it’s easier than it looks.
Projected Income
How much do you expect to earn? Calculate your projected income by totaling all the sources of money from your business (aka your revenue streams). For example, add up expected earnings from passive income, like a recorded online training course, plus active income, like home visits.
Here are few pro tips to consider as you create your estimates:
- It’s okay to make educated guesses. No one expects you to know exactly how much you’ll make, but you should be able to estimate based on the data you’ve collected so far. Use your service pricing and market size as a guide.
- Factor in your industry’s seasonality. For example, pet groomers have a lull after the winter holidays but pick back up in spring at the start of shedding season.
Projected Expenses
How much will it cost to run your business? Add your startup costs (expenses to get your business equipped and ready to go) to your overhead costs (the price of running your business after it’s set up). Remember that some of these costs are one-time expenses, but some (like rent or marketing costs) will repeat every month.
Pro Tip: Budget for legal considerations like taxes, business registration fees, and pet business insurance. No one loves paying for insurance, but planning ahead protects you from paying out of pocket later for emergencies and accidents.
Want to see how it works? We created charts breaking down a cat sitter’s startup and overhead costs and the startup costs for a pet taxi.
Projected Profit
Your income minus your expenses equals your profit. Consider calculating profits over milestones like one, three, and five years. Startup costs may mean you don’t see a profit right away, so projections show the long-term potential of your idea.
This section is also an excellent place to discuss funding plans. Experts recommend having the money for startup costs plus three to six months of overhead before starting a business. If that seems impossible to save, you may need a loan, partners, or investors — all of which usually require writing a pet care services business plan.
6. Plan Your Goals and Milestones
The last page of your pet business plan template is a SMART goals planning exercise. SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely) goals help you track the results of your business and marketing strategies.
Refine your plans into SMART goals by asking yourself these questions:
- Specific: Does your goal say what you want to achieve?
- Measurable: Can you track progress toward achieving the goal?
- Achievable: Is it realistic to achieve your goal with the resources you have?
- Relevant: Does the goal tell you something valuable about your business success?
- Timely: Does the goal include a start and end date?
Goal: Gain New Customers
Acquire [#] new clients in the next [#] days through [method].
Example: Acquire 20 new clients in the next 90 days through a targeted local advertising campaign and referral discounts for existing clients, friends, and family.
- Specific: 20 new clients
- Measurable: Number of new clients
- Achievable: Through targeted advertising and referrals
- Relevant: New clients grow a business
- Timely: Within 90 days
Goal: Boost Social Media Engagement
Increase social media engagement by [#]% in the next [#] days by [methods.]
Example: Increase social media engagement by 40% in the next 60 days by posting daily content and running one paid ad campaign.
- Specific: Increase engagement by 40%
- Measurable: Percentage increase
- Achievable: With daily posts and one ad campaign
- Relevant: Engagement boosts visibility
- Timely: 60 days
Fetch Success with a Pet Business Plan
That’s really all there is to it! Don’t forget to download your pet business plan template and start planning for your future success.
Your Next Read: Business Plan Helpers for Every Niche & Need
Here are all the pet business planning resources we mentioned in our walkthrough, plus a few new ones for you to bookmark. Bone appetit!
- Dig into Data: Pet care industry statistics perfect for a data-informed pet business plan
- Know & Reach Your Audience: Audience targeting, audience segmentation, and marketing strategies
- Strut Your Stuff Online: Tips for explaining services online and creating a professional-looking website
- Setting the Purr-fect Rates: Guidelines for calculating a competitive yet profitable pricing strategy
- Understanding Startup and Overhead Costs: Cost tables that help you estimate your business expenses
- Preparing the Paperwork: Help with the planning stages of starting a pet business, like registration, LLCs vs DBAs, contracts, pet business insurance, and more
How to Write a Pet Business Plan: FAQs
How do I start a successful pet business?
Step one of starting a successful pet business is writing your business plan. The difference between a business that flourishes and a business that fails is usually careful preparation. Writing a pet care business plan helps you:
- Clarify your pet care service, who it’s for, and why it matters
- Identify a specific client niche with a problem you can solve
- Understand your market, industry, and competitive landscape
- Budget for startup and overhead costs
- Develop a marketing strategy to bring in clients
- Create a loyalty program to retain clients
- Define SMART goals to track your progress over time
How much does it cost to start a pet care business?
The startup costs for a pet care business range anywhere from about $500 to $25,000, depending on the scale of your business and the type of pet care business you want to start.
To limit costs, focus your budget on non-negotiable expenses (business registration, insurance, rent, equipment) and areas where you lack expertise. DIYing tasks in your wheelhouse with free or low-cost tools can help you fill your startup fund faster.
What legal requirements do I need to consider when starting a pet business?
Before you book your first furry client, cover the legal requirements of running a pet care business in your state.
- Register your business with your state and/or the federal government to set you up for success when tax time rolls around
- Most pet professionals aren’t legally required to have pet business insurance, but getting insured is smart to avoid expensive legal claims if a pet in your care is injured or you make a mistake on the job.
- Secure any certifications or licenses required by your state to run your business.
- Consult a lawyer about pet care client contracts to minimize your risk of being sued in the event of an accident, unexpected cancellation, or misunderstanding
How can I make my pet business stand out from the competition?
Pet businesses that stand out from the pack have a strong sense of what problem they exist to solve, how they’re uniquely equipped to solve it, and how they can convince a specific audience to try them.
Focus on a segment of the market no one in your area serves (e.g., is anyone catering their dog training courses to retired couples or kids?) or a convenience no one else offers (e.g., could you add a pet taxi service that drives pets to and from your daycare?).
Where can I find funding for my pet business?
Pet care businesses have options to find funding, especially if they create a comprehensive business plan that sells their idea and offers a return on investment. Here are a few options for funding a pet business:
- Small business loans: Talk to local banks, credit unions, or reputable online lenders, especially those with experience in pet care business loans.
- Local, industry, and organization grants: If your business focuses on helping a protected or underserved population (such as service dog users), you may be able to get extra funding from your local government or a nonprofit. You can also apply for grants targeting small businesses in the pet care sector.
- Crowdfunding platforms: If your pet business idea involves creating a physical product or selling online services like training workshops, crowdfunding through Kickstarter or GoFundMe may be an option.
- Investors: Talk to your local small business development center, reach out to venture capital firms focused on the pet industry, or search angel investor databases.
How often should I update my pet business plan?
Update your pet business plan at least once every year, but you may want to make small, quarterly adjustments as your SMART goal tracking starts showing results. An annual review will confirm whether your plan is still effective and prompt you to make any necessary changes to match industry or local market trends.
