There’s no doubt about it, dogs are the most popular pets in theUnited States 89.7 million dogs were owned as pets in 2017. Dog owners usually treat their pet dogs like their own children. They pamper them with food and accessories, have them groomed, and walk them to places to maintain their good health and practice an active lifestyle. However, most dog owners are busy people with lots of responsibilities and it is not every time they have time to walk their dogs; that’s why they need the services of dog walkers to take their much-needed walk exercise whenever dog owners are busy or are not around. A lot of people are taking dog walking as their occupation since they can earn a serious income from quite an easy yet enjoyable activity. If you’re a dog lover and you love the company of dogs and also love to walk or run as part of your exercise, you can start a dog walking business. To help you get started, you need a business plan to guide you on establishing your business. Read the article to know how to write a dog walking business plan.

3+ Dog Walking Business Plan Samples

1. Dog Walking Business Plan

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2. Sample Dog Walking Business Plan

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3. Simple Dog Walking Business Plan

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4. Dog Walking Business Plan Example

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What is Dog Walking?

Dog walking is the act of a person walking with a dog on a leash. Dog walking is a fun activity for both the person and the dog and it also provides great health and social benefits. It improves cardiovascular fitness, lowers blood pressure, and stronger muscles and bones for the person walking, and prevents obesity and behavioral problems for dogs who get to walk frequently.

Details to Include in Dog Walking Business Plan

 1. Executive Summary

The executive summary is the first section of your business plan. It should not be more than one page long. Here is where you will summarize your business, your personal information, your qualifications for running a dog walking business, your financial information, and the amount of money you need for operating your business. The last part is crucial if you’re using your business plan to ask investors or loan companies for funds.

2. Long-term Goals

The next thing to include in the plan is your business goals. When thinking of goals you want to achieve, make sure they are realistic enough for you to achieve them successfully. Think of where you want to begin in your business, who are the people who will do the business with you, where you want to see your business in the future, and what services will you be offering aside from dog walking shortly. The answers to those questions alone can be part of your long-term goals.

3. Operations Plan

This section is where you describe all the operations you do in your business. It should include the following details:

  1. Insurance
  2. Customer policies and contract
  3. Dog supplies
  4. Your supplies and gears for walking
  5. Office supplies for your business
  6. The process of dog walking different types of dog breeds
  7. The Process of running the administrative part of the business
  8. Risk management for accidents or dog aggression

Don’t forget to include the details of your staff such as their name, their experience, and qualifications in handling dogs. Include a short description of each staff’s responsibility.

4. Services You Offer and Competitive Analysis

Of course, dog walking is the service you offer but do you want to expand your business so you can get more income? You should do that. Other services you can offer to your customers include:

  • Pet sitting
  • Feeding and watering
  • Care for other pets such as cats, birds, or other small critters
  • Additional hour of playtime

Once you’ve decided on the list of services you’re going to provide to your customers, decide on the prices for each of them. To be able to decide what your prices will be, base it on your competitive analysis.

The competitive analysis is research from other businesses to know how their business is doing and how much do they charge for their services. Your analysis must also include their strengths and weaknesses and from that data, compare your own business with them. You can offer more services than your competition doesn’t offer or your services cost way less compared to theirs.

5. Marketing Plan

Your marketing plan is where you lay out your marketing and promotion strategies to attract customers to patronize your services. Your marketing strategies may include:

  • Word-of-mouth advertising
  • Local service website advertising
  • Social media outlets promotions

Make sure your marketing plan must be based on the area your business runs, the demographics of the dog owners you’re targeting, etc.

6. Financial Plan

Your financial plan is where you include all important information of your business finances and how you manage them. Include the following information as your current capital and budget, profit and loss statement, break-even analysis, projected cash flow, projected balance sheet, and business ratio. Don’t forget to explain how you came up with these projections.

FAQs

How much money can you make as a dog walker?

Dog walkers’ salaries average around $20,000 up to $40,000 a year. However, their salary may vary of the number of years you’ve worked as a walker, the number of clients you have, and the rates that you charge.

What materials does every dog walker needs?

Dog walking might be easier compared to other jobs but dog walkers need resources to aid them to make sure the dogs must keep themselves behaving and avoid any accidents and disturbance from other critters and people. The materials they need are a heavy-duty leash, first aid kit, dog wipes, self-defense items, flashlights, dog treats, and a dog bowl (if needed).

What qualifications does a person need to be a dog walker?

There are no required qualifications for being a dog walker although experience in animal care, animal behavior (especially all the different types of dogs), and first aid will enhance the likeness of getting more clients.

Writing a business proposal isn’t a task that can be done in just an hour or two. You need to commit some time to brainstorm, plan, draft, and revise your proposal. Even though the whole process can be time-consuming, don’t pressure yourself to finish it right away, take your time so that your proposal is clear, concise, and free from error. Ask for help from a colleague to help you review your proposal. To help you get started on making a cafeteria business proposal, download our free sample templates provided above!

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