You Deserve a Pay Raise

You definitely deserve a raise in pay if you are the typical pet business owner that participated in our financial survey.

Recently we received the detailed final report of 2017 financial results that The Dog Gurus and the International Boarding and Pet Services Association (IBPSA) survey annually.

Every year I look forward to this peek inside our industry and spotting trends on where the industry is headed. The bottom line in reviewing this report is that many pet care business owners need to increase their pay to avoid burn out.

We need high quality pet care centers in our communities and to avoid burn out you need to make a salary that keeps you persevering through the tough times. Based on my assessment of the summary report, following are five action items that can increase your salary.

1. Set a goal to increase your profit percentage – The majority of respondents (57%) to the survey reported range of profits of 0%-20%. Concerning is that 11% of respondents reported a net loss and 42% of all respondents earned 10% or less in profits. Set annual goals to increase your profits to at least 15%. Making money and providing high quality care are not mutually exclusive goals.

2. Analyze the discounts you offer – The highest discount offered is 21% for multiple pet boarding and dogs in daycare. These average discount percentages are higher than profits earned, so this is an easy opportunity to increase revenue and your own pay. Discounts should be a win for your business and your clients so consider shifting them to reward behaviors that benefit your business like boarding during off-peak periods.

3. Raise rates if your business is over 10 years old – The survey pointed out a pattern of older businesses pricing lower than average in their market. Annually complete a pricing analysis and raise some rates in your business to ensure you are covering your costs and making a profit. Price for the quality of care you provide not the appearance of your facility.

4. Dog Daycare is a commodity so alter your model – The Dog Gurus have been warning of this shift and the survey proves their point. Forty-five of daycare providers have capacity for over 50 dogs per day and the median rate charged is $27. This struck me since that is just below the rate Urban Tails charged when we opened in 2000. Look at a new model of daycare. Check out Daycare 2.0 recommended by The Dog Gurus as a way to change your model so dogs have more fun, staff enjoy their jobs and you make more money.

5. Increase your pay – The median pay of business owners was $57,475 in 2017, up 26% from the prior year. Only 25% of owners paid themselves $100,000 or more last year. Business owners frequently pay themselves last with what is leftover. A better strategy is to pay yourself first and then adjust your business model to operate with the money that is left for all other expenses.

What is the key to giving yourself a raise? You need to know and understand exactly how your business makes money and where you spend it.

We’re here to help you do that and this month you can save money on three new tools in our store.

• Get your copy of the full Pet Care Services Financial Survey Results Report and spend time comparing your results to industry averages looking for opportunities to improve your bottom line
• Pet Profits: Know Your Numbers is a very affordable workbook that calculates your discount percentage, break even and profits by service in easy to use excel templates
• Key Performance Indicators are a great starting point in getting to know how your business makes money