How to Succeed in Your Pet Business in 2021

There’s a bubble coming in the pet care industry. Are you ready for it? In our last article we talking about the 5 trends for 2021 in the pet care industry including:

 1.) Our target market (affluent, upper class, white collar workers) stayed employed during the pandemic and they’re still spending money, just on different things including their pets!

2.) People still have pet care needs and problems during the pandemic, they’re just different problems than before the pandemic.

3.) There were record numbers of pets adopted in 2020 who now need care.

4.) Many of the smaller pet care companies or solopreneurs didn’t make it through the pandemic, leaving a gap of service providers in the market.

5.) People are anxious to travel and start living lives outside of their homes. They have the money to do it and travel vouchers and plane tickets purchased before the pandemic to use up. They’re just waiting for the all clear to take off!

These trends are real and are setting the backdrop for a great year for pet related businesses. Not just a great year, but a year of tremendous growth. There has never been a time quite like this or a scenario that favored pet care related businesses so perfectly. Here are 4 things you can do with and in your business to take advantage of this.

1.) Address the monster in the room, Fear

In March of 2020 something terrible happened. People became afraid to have anyone other than family in their house. Overnight, or close to it, pet care workers became a physical threat. Even today with protective measures, clients are still afraid to risk personal contact, and rightly so.

As a care provider you need to provide a solution to this problem. This means putting processes and systems in place for things that directly address their fears. For pet sitters and dog walkers this could mean virtual meet and greets or providing contactless dog walking. For groomers this could mean providing pick up/drop off service as part of a grooming service they already offer to help clients avoid contact with others in your shop. For veterinarians it could mean the doctor coming out to your car to administer care to your pet in a more secure area. For dog trainers this could mean taking the dog out of the client’s house or the training facility to work with them in a more open, safer area. And then, and this is very important, you need to tell them what you’re doing. Shout it loud and often from every platform you use.

It’s likely you’ve noticed this already in the services and businesses you use in your personal life. There’s a reason you’re still using these businesses, they’ve adapted to meet your needs and address your fear. You need to provide your clients with the same thing.

2.) Solve the new problems for clients

When people started working from home many dogwalkers and other pet care workers worried that revenue from these clients would disappear. For a while this was true. People working from home had the best intentions and great plans. They were home 100% of the time, they reasoned they would have time to walk their own dogs and take their pets to the groomers, etc. After a short while though, they started realizing that working from home is just that, work. It’s just as time consuming as working in an office and add to that many of them were now tasked with home schooling their kids as well.

They found they had less time than they thought they would to get Fido out for a regular walk each day. This was compounded with the fact that they were now doing zoom meetings for work several times a day and were unable to concentrate because Fido, who hadn’t been for a proper walk, was barking at the door or constantly bringing them squeaky toys to play with.

Their old problem was that they weren’t home to get Fido out and pottied at noon. Their new problem is that they now need someone to come earlier in the day, take Fido our for an energy burning walk and bring him back worn out so that they can go about their business meetings with no interruptions. As a business you need to cater to and advertise for that need.

3.) Cater to the Pandemic Puppies

One of the wonderful things that came out of the pandemic was the rise in pet adoptions. Shelters literally emptied out as people seized the opportunity of being present full time to bring new furry family members home. The number of puppies adopted rose significantly, many by people who hadn’t previously had pets.

This was great in terms of more pets finding forever homes but these adoption decisions were not completely well thought out. Pets are a LOT of work and not everyone understands that before bringing that cute little ball of fluff home. Add to that, all of those cute little baby puppies are now in their rambunctious teens and they’re not so little anymore. They are full size, highly energetic and sometimes out of control because they haven’t really yet mastered their training and commands.

Their owners are realizing at this point that they need help! They may be unable to commit to the time needed to exercise and train their dogs or they many have the time but not the inclination. They may just be unwilling or uneager to take the dog for a walk several times a day in sometimes harsh inclement weather.

Again, as a business, if you advertise for and cater to this new need, you’ll thrive.

4.) Flexibility is key

As we ease into 2021 things have changed from the first months of the pandemic. In 2020 most white-collar workers were asked to work 100% from home. Companies used this time to “pandemic proof” their offices and work spaces. They installed screens, pods, sanitization procedures and many other measures to make it safe for their employees to come bac to the office. As the pandemic wore on and because companies have made modifications to the work spaces, many employees have now shifted to a mixture of working at the office and working from home. In many cases this new schedule is variable and unpredictable from week to week. 

Peoples schedules are now inconsistent but they still want consistent care for their pets. This means they need on demand booking for dog walks or the ability to easily schedule last minute services or to change the schedule as work needs change. They also need an increased level of responsiveness in their pet care providers to accommodate this variability. Gone are the days where the daily dog walking client books like clockwork Monday through Friday at 12pm. We need to meet this new need at least in the short term until work schedules stabilize somewhat. Moreover, in reality, many people have gotten a taste for working from home part time and many companies plan to continue this practice beyond the pandemic. We need to prepare for that eventuality.

These are things you can and should be focusing on to be ready. There’s a bubble coming and due to the many pet care businesses that have shuttered in the last year there’s a shortage of providers available to fill it. Businesses that have and are continuing to pivot to meet these new needs are the ones who will survive and thrive in 2021.

Other great pet business articles you might like:

The 5 Major Trends in the Pet Care Industry in 2021

 https://www.thepetbusinesscoach.dog/5-pet-business-trends-to-watch-for-in-2021/

3 Questions to Answer Before You Start a Pet Business

https://www.thepetbusinesscoach.dog/3-questions-to-answer/

About Eliza

Eliza is the owner of two successful pet related businesses; Preferred Pet Partners, a pet sitting and dog walking company, and The Pet Business Coach, offering coaching and resources to aspiring or current pet related business entrepreneurs. She maintains two awesome blogs. One for pet parents https://preferredpetpartners.com/blog/ and one for pet business owners https://thepetbusinesscoach.dog/blog-page/.  Eliza also supports various animal rescue and shelter organizations. Eliza and her husband have three furry family members. Visit her websites: www.preferredpetpartners.com or www.thepetbusinesscoach.dog.