How to Make Money Creating Dog Clothing

Dog dresses are popular items for dog owners

Dog owners tend to be very passionate about their pets and treat them as part of their families. This is largely the reason many dog services have become more prevalent, such as doggie daycares, dog bakeries, dog salons and dog clothing retailers. Selling dog clothing can be lucrative, as this is a specialty market that is in demand.

Instructions

1. Decide what type of dog clothing you want to sell. Since there are so many types and sizes of dogs, choosing a niche makes the most sense, as opposed to trying to create pieces for every type of dog breed. For example, you can make clothing for small dogs, large dogs, medium sized dogs, dog sports jerseys, custom dog accessories, dog sweaters, dog dresses or dog rain boots.

2. Determine how you will make the clothing. If you know how to sew and create patterns, you can buy pieces of fabric and finishings from a craft, hobby supply or fabric store, or visit garage sales and thrift stores to find clothing to re-purpose into dog attire.

   Alternatively, if you want to just create dog T-shirts, you can use a print-on-demand service such as Zazzle or CafePress. These services not only eliminate the need to carry inventory, sew or find models for your dog tees, but they handle payment processing as well. The downside: You will make marginal profits and will need to sell a large volume of dog T-shirts to make a living.

3. Call or visit the website of your city's local small business development center or Small Business Administration (SBA) office to see whether you need an assumed name certificate (DBA), employer identification number (EIN) from the IRS, resale permit or tax identification number to sell dog clothing in your area. If your state has a sales tax, you will likely need to obtain a tax identification number and DBA.

4. Choose a venue to sell your dog clothing. If you make the outfits and accessories yourself, you can start your own e-commerce store, rent a kiosk or mall booth, purchase booth space at local fairs and craft shows or sell via an online craft marketplace such as Etsy or 1000 Markets.

   If you are going to use a print-on-demand service, you can sell your dog clothing through their website--they will offer you different storefront options, and you won't have to handle payment processing or shipping of orders.

5. Make clothing samples, using a range of styles and designs. For example, if you're making dog dresses, you can make a formal dress, sun dress and a novelty, sparkly dress to show customers what design options you have available. If you will be selling your dog clothing via a print-on-demand service, this step is not needed--they offer custom previews for customers that feature your designs on an actual dog.

6. Find a dog to model your clothing designs and take photos of it wearing each piece if you are not using a print-on-demand service--these photos will make up your portfolio. Showing the clothing on an actual dog will allow potential customers to get a better idea of how it will look on their dog.

7. Promote your dog clothing business by placing fliers (with permission) in your local veterinarian's office and dog groomer parlors, setting up a vendor booth at dog shows, listing your business in online and print retail directories and modeling the clothing on your own dog (if you have one) whenever you go out in public--be sure to carry business cards with you.

References

• DeesDogCare: Make Money Dressing Dogs

Resources

• PuppyLove: Free Dog Clothes Patterns For You to Sew