How to Start a Dog Daycare in New Mexico
Do you absolutely love dogs? Do you want to work from home? If you answered, "yes" then starting a dog daycare is an excellent choice. Millions of people travel for business and pleasure and are in need of reliable individuals to watch their precious "fur babies" in their absence. In addition, most are willing to pay a pretty penny to ensure that their dog is taken care. Learn strategies to start a successful dog daycare in New Mexico.
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Instructions
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Scope out the competition. Check around and see what types of similar doggie daycare services are already offered in your area to give you an idea of what to charge and how to get an edge on the competition. Pretend to be a paying customer and interview your competition carefully. Ask them about their rates, types of services offered, whether vaccinations are required or discounts offered to frequent customers, etc. Write down the answers to your questions and then see if you can create competitive or alternative services.
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Evaluate start-up costs. This will include marketing, insurance, and supplies. First, find out how much insurance will cost. It's safe to take out commercial, health, and liability insurance so you'll be covered no matter what happens. Insurance costs will depend on the size of your business, i.e., the number of dogs and employees, so have a figure estimated. When you know how much you will be paying for insurance, set a budget to determine how much you will spend on advertising and supplies. You're going to need a business license as well. You can get this from the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department. (See Resources for link.) You will also need to check into state and local regulations. For instance, do you charge sales tax? Is your service even taxable? Check out New Mexico's Taxation and Revenue website to find out. (See Resources for link.) This department also offers free CRS workshops regarding New Mexico's gross receipts, compensating, and withholding taxes. Take a look at their calendar to determine when a workshop will be available in a city near you. (See Resources for link.)
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Decide on a location. If you don't plan on hosting a large number of dogs and you already have a fenced-in backyard, it's feasible to open the business right out of your home. However, if you plan to keep a lot of dogs and have several employees, then you will probably want to look for a larger building. If you are looking for employees to hire, check classifieds such as Craigslist.org. You can also post an ad on Career Builder or Monster. You can also publish free ads on New Mexico Help Wanted. (See References for link.) It is best to have one employee for every ten dogs.
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Consider your services. Will you only be providing basic dog daycare services? Be sure to announce all costs up front, such as your customer providing their own dog food. Every dog eats a certain kind of food and changing his routine by feeding him a different type of dog food will upset his stomach. So it's best to have each customer bring their own food. Also make sure to keep on hand up-to-date vaccination records and emergency vet information. If you only offer basic services to begin with, you can consider expanding later into other areas such as obedience training. Some customers would be willing to pay extra if you can get their puppy house trained.
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Purchase supplies. You're going to need dog toys, brushes, and water bowls, as well as beds, pillows, or blankets for the dogs to nap on. You might also consider buying some dog treats. Customers want their dogs to be happy when they pick them up, and treats will certainly make them happy. However, before purchasing any treats, you'll want to find out the regular diet of the dog to make sure you aren't giving him anything that could make him sick.
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Advertise. Print some business cards to place in areas that pet owners frequently visit, such as veterinary offices and pet stores. You can also place flyers on bulletin boards at post offices and shopping centers. The best advertising method is of course word of mouth. If you're good at your job, then naturally your customers will recommend you to their friends. You could offer a discount for referrals and also a discount for more than one dog.
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