Fun Ideas for Your Business
The pet care business is a service-oriented business that does best with strong relationships: Relationships with the owners, with the dogs and between staff members. Games and fun help all these relationships grow stronger. Keep reading to find a helpful list of activities and a list of annual celebrations that will allow you to increase the fun factor in your facility…and make money while you do it!
Listed below is a brief overview of some revenue-generating ideas you can implement today. They cost very little to start, are low risk, don’t require excessive payroll, and can be used in virtually any pet care center regardless of the primary business you are doing. But more importantly, be sure to check out your monthly bonus, which is an Annual Pet Holiday Calendar you can use throughout the year. You’ll never be at a loss for ideas!
- HOLIDAY/THEMED PARTIES Set aside a day when you celebrate a holiday (Memorial Day, Thanksgiving, Fourth of July) or a special theme (a picnic, vacation on the seas, a rodeo, etc.). You run the day just as you would normally, but add the addition of more photos, a goodie bag for the dogs to take home, and a few decorations. You can charge a small amount for the party (on top of your normal fees) to offset the cost for the décor and special treats. If you do this on a slow day, you’ll find attendance skyrockets!
- BIRTHDAY PARTIES A month before Fido’s birthday, send an email to the owner asking if she would like to sponsor a party for her dog during the normal daycare or playgroup time. The owner can pay you a predetermined fee, and you’ll provide goodie bags and party hats to every pet who attends daycare that day. You can even include invitations to send to all the other pet center animals inviting them to the birthday party. Just as with the holiday parties, do this on a slow day, and you’ll find a boost in attendance. Take plenty of photos, which will double for advertising for future parties.
- TRICK OF THE MONTH Offer to teach a “trick of the month” to any dog who visits your facility during a particular month. The owner pays a set amount, and you have a staff member teach an easy trick (e.g. shake, roll-over, play dead, etc.) to their dog. Use treats to speed up the training process and then show the owner how to get their dog to do it when they pick up their pet. Of course, you’ll want to select easy tricks that can be taught in a few short sessions, but if it takes more than one day, that’s just incentive for the owner to return for another visit!
- SPECIAL TREAT OF THE DAY Create special treats that owners can purchase to be given to their pets at naptime or some other period of the day. Frosty paws at lunch time or yummy, homemade, one-of-a-kind dog treats are a big hit. You can suggest these food items for a nominal fee when an owner drops off their pet. The special treat of the day could also be connected to a special time of year such as Cinco De Mayo “barkaritas” made with animal-friendly ingredients.
- MASSAGE Who doesn’t love a massage? Offer some one-on-one time to the animals in your facility. The owner provides additional revenue for their pet to receive some extra care and attention while they are with you.
- GETTING FIT Core training is important to all of us, right? Specialty balancing boards and exercise balls are now being made for dogs. Doggie treadmills have also become more popular. Why not add gym equipment to your facility and offer some short 10- to 15-minute fitness training sessions to dogs during some of your slower times of day. With the extra revenue you can generate, you’ll pay off the equipment in no time.
- WHATEVER THE CLIENT WANTS! Rather than turning down special requests from clients, see how you can offer it for a fee. Some examples I’ve seen include a telephone call to the pet, Skyping with a pet, turn-down service in the boarding facility, reading a book to a pet…these all started as unique ideas from one owner, which later turned into revenue-generating ideas offered to everyone.
Be creative and look for ways you can have more money with less work and have more fun while you work!
