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Dog Walking Business Plan Sample

Business plan for dog walking service

Are you planning to start a dog walking business? Well, dogs are the most popular pet in the world especially in the United States where 89.7 million dogs were owned as pets in 2017. According to a recent survey, these dog owners need the services of dog walkers which can take their beloved dogs on the very much needed walk when they are not around.
The people of the United States spend extravagantly on their pets, the majority of which are dogs. So, if you are thinking about starting this venture you should know that you can earn some serious cash provided you plan your business efficiently.
The first thing before making any move towards this business is to write a comprehensive plan which will establish the basis of your company’s future operations and decisions. Although dog walking business is relatively simpler and much easier to start as compared to other businesses yet you will need an in-depth business plan dog walking to determine the course of your actions.
So, if you are wondering how to write an effective business plan dog walking then here we are providing you the business plan for a dog walking startup named ‘PupWalk’.

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Executive Summary

2.1 The Business

PupWalk will be located in the New York City at a fifteen-minute drive from the Chelsea neighborhood. The company will be licensed by American Pet Association and equipped with all resources to provide the highest quality of services possible.
The business plan dog walking will be owned and operated by Ted Mills, a renowned dog trainer of the United States. Mills has been serving in various executive positions in major dog training centers of the United States. That’s why he perfectly knows how to start a dog walking business and yield profit even in the first year of launch.

2.2 Management

Starting even a simple business, like a dog walking business, has its own demands. You’d probably think, ‘before starting a dog walking business what do I need?’ Well, the most important thing that you will need for your business plan dog walking is good management. Mills will manage the overall operations of the company and will hire only a few people in the initial phase. He will be assisted by his niece, Lisa Mills- a financial expert, for managing the finance of the company.

2.3 Customers

The company aims to serve one of the richest and the busiest cities in the United States. The community living in the region has the annual mean household income of over $400,000 and is most of the time stuck up in its busy routine. That’s why we are there for them to offer our quality services of walking their beloved dogs.

2.4 Target of the Company

The company aims to provide highest quality service to its customers and become the best dog walking business of the New York City within three years of its launch. Mills also plans to launch a few more centers in other cities as well.
The company’s financial experts have forecasted following sales and profits for the next three years of launch.

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Company Summary

3.1 Company Owner

PupWalk will be owned by Mills who has spent nearly his entire life among dogs. Mills was a dog lover even from his childhood. He has been serving in various dog training centers throughout the United States for the last 20 years.

3.2 Why the Business is being started

Mills has always wanted to start a dog walking business out of his love for dogs and had been planning for it for quite a time. He believes that he has fully explored the dog training area and now it was time for him to move on to something new related to dogs. He wants to dedicate his life to serving these voiceless innocent creatures and the best way to do that was to start his own business plan for dog walking. Dog walking business was the most suitable option as it requires a minimum capital and investment group business as compared to other dog businesses.

3.3 How the Business will be started

Mills has planned everything about his business plan dog walking. All the initial investment will be made by Mills himself and he won’t need any loans, at least for the first year of operations. Being experienced in the pet industry, Mill knows how to start and how to promote dog walking business.
PupWalk will be a bonded, insured and licensed dog daycare business. Mills is about to acquire the license for the company and has already procured a beautiful facility near the residential zone of the city. The cost of inventory has been estimated with the help of experts. Mills, with the help of financial experts, has forecasted following costs for expenses, assets, investment, and bank loans for the Start-up.

The detailed start-up requirements, start-up funding, start-up expenses, total assets, total funding required, total liabilities, total planned investment, total capital and liabilities as forecasted by experts, is given below:

Start-up Expenses  
Legal $72,500
Consultants $0
Insurance $32,750
Rent $222,500
Research and Development $32,750
Expensed Equipment $62,750
Signs $12,250
Dog Chambers $27,500
Dog Food $22,000
TOTAL START-UP EXPENSES $485,000
Start-up Assets $0
Cash Required $322,500
Start-up Inventory $52,625
Other Current Assets $222,500
Long-term Assets $125,000
TOTAL ASSETS $121,875
Total Requirements $245,000
START-UP FUNDING $0
START-UP FUNDING $273,125
Start-up Expenses to Fund $121,875
Start-up Assets to Fund $195,000
TOTAL FUNDING REQUIRED $0
Assets $203,125
Non-cash Assets from Start-up $118,750
Cash Requirements from Start-up $0
Additional Cash Raised $118,750
Cash Balance on Starting Date $121,875
TOTAL ASSETS $0
Liabilities and Capital $0
Liabilities $0
Current Borrowing $0
Long-term Liabilities $0
Accounts Payable (Outstanding Bills) $0
Other Current Liabilities (interest-free) $0
TOTAL LIABILITIES $0
Capital $0
Planned Investment $0
Investor 1 $312,500
Investor 2 $0
Other $0
Additional Investment Requirement $0
TOTAL PLANNED INVESTMENT $495,000
Loss at Start-up (Start-up Expenses) $113,125
TOTAL CAPITAL $121,875
TOTAL CAPITAL AND LIABILITIES $121,875
Total Funding $295,000
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Services for customers

Our dog walking service is primarily aimed to serve those people who cannot spare some time for their dogs due to their busy schedule or those people who are unable to go on a walk due to health issues.
We will walk our customer’s dogs while they are at work, or away on a vacation, or enjoying a weekend trip. Besides the dog walking service, we will also provide training, exercising, feeding, and veterinary services for the dogs.

Note

We will also provide transportation services to pick and drop the dogs from their owners hence facilitating them by every means.

Marketing Analysis of dog walking business

The most important component of the business plan of dog walking service is its accurate marketing analysis. Mills paid a lot of emphasis on it before developing the dog walking business plan. He even acquired the services of marketing experts to help him make the business plan of dog walking service.

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5.1 Market Trends

The pet industry has seen a tremendous increase over the past few years. According to the American Pet Products Association, the residents of US spent a staggering amount of $60.28 Billion in 2015, $66.75 Billion in 2016, and are $69.36 in 2017. These stats show that this industry can be immensely profitable provided that you market yourself successfully.
In the pet industry, the dog walking business has seen a consistent increase and the number of businesses providing dog services have found to increase exponentially. After carrying out a thorough research, our experts found that dog walking service is very much required especially in the busy cities like New York.

5.2 Marketing Segmentation

A successful and efficient marketing strategy can only be developed after we know our potential customers. That’s why our marketing experts carried out an extensive research to identify our target customers. Our experts have identified the following type of target audience which can become the future consumers of our services and products:

The detailed marketing segmentation of our target audience is as follows:

5.2.1 Individual Households

The biggest consumer of our services and products will be the community living in the Chelsea neighborhood of the city. The residential community includes three main types of people who will need our services.

  • The first is the youth who due to their involvement in busy academic and social life has no time to walk their dogs themselves.
  • The second is the working class men and women who also cannot spare time for walking their dogs due to their busy schedule.
  • The third is those elderly people whose health doesn’t allow them to go for a walk.

These residents are also much likely to acquire our dog training, exercising, and veterinary services. Furthermore, the first two groups will need our services only during the official days of the week. We will see a reduction in sales from these groups in summer when most of the young residents will be on the vacation.

5.2.2 Corporate Organizations

Many corporate organizations like police or security agencies own detective dogs. They need their dogs to remain healthy and hence will require our services throughout the year.

5.2.3 Dog Dealers

There are also various dog dealers in the New York City. They also need their dogs to stay healthy but can’t walk such a large number of dogs themselves. Hence we will provide our services to them. We hope that these dealers will also help us generate a lot of revenue. They will also need our services throughout the year.

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5.2.4 Animal Shelters

There are more than 3500 animal shelters in the United States for accommodating abandoned, stray, or lost animals. Usually, these shelters lack the dog walking staff, hence we hope to target the animal shelters located near us.
The detailed market analysis of our potential customers is given in the following table:

Market Analysis
Potential Customers Growth YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3 YEAR 4 YEAR 5 CAGR
Individual Households 42% 22,334 32,344 43,665 52,544 66,432 10.00%
Corporate Organizations 27% 11,433 13,344 16,553 18,745 20,545 13.43%
Dog Dealers 19% 8,322 9,455 10,655 12,867 14,433 15.32%
Animal Shelters 12% 4,333 5,655 6,877 7,877 9,543 15.00%
Total 100% 46,422 60,798 77,750 92,033 110,953 9.54%

5.3 Business Target

We aim to become the best dog walking business in the New York City within next three years. Our business target can be subdivided as follows:

  • To achieve the net profit margin of $20k per month by the end of the first year
  • To increase the profit margin by at least 15% each year
  • To balance the initial cost of a startup with earned profits by the end of three years

5.4 Product Pricing

We have priced our products and services in similar ranges as our competitors. The reason behind this pricing policy is to attract as many customers towards us as possible. We will offer three types of packages which are:

  • Daily package starting from $15
  • Weekly package starting from $60
  • Monthly package starting from $500

These packages also include transportation charges. Training and exercising will be inclusive of the monthly package. Veterinary services are free to cater all unforeseen circumstances.

Strategy

After carrying out the marketing analysis, the next step was to develop an effective strategy to target them successfully. The strategy developed by our company experts is as follows:

6.1 Competitive Analysis

Luckily there is only a few other dog walking services in the Chelsea neighborhood of the New York City. So we will have a little competition ahead of us. But our biggest competitive edge will be the magnitude of our startup and the additional dog training, exercising, and veterinary services. Our second competitive edge will be our transportation services which are not provided by any of our competitors in the neighborhood.

6.2 Sales Strategy

Sales experts gave many dog walking business ideas to Mills for the purpose of increasing sales. It was decided that we will arrange special transportation facilities for our customers so that they can easily send their dogs to us. We will also offer special packages and discounts for organizations, dealers, and shelters.

6.3 Sales Forecast

Considering the market demand and the quality of our services, our sales pattern is expected to increase with years. Our experts have forecasted the following sales on the yearly basis which are summarized in the column charts.

The detailed information about sales forecast, total unit sales, total sales is given in the following table.

Sales Forecast      
Unit Sales Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Feeding Services 539,320 770230 1,002,310
Exercising Services 265,450 322,390 393,320
Dog Walking Services 1,435,320 1,250,430 1,762,450
Training Services 134,240 394,340 842,230
TOTAL UNIT SALES 2,374,330 2,737,390 4,000,310
Unit Prices Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Feeding Services $700.00 $800.00 $900.00
Exercising Services $650.00 $750.00 $850.00
Dog Walking Services $1,400.00 $1,200.00 $1,000.00
Training Services $1,150.00 $1,300.00 $1,450.00
Sales
Feeding Services $50,110 $71,600 $93,000
Exercising Services $139,350 $194,600 $249,850
Dog Walking Services $602,350 $723,000 $822,050
Training Services $229,500 $365,500 $501,500
TOTAL SALES
Direct Unit Costs Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Feeding Services $0.30 $0.35 $0.40
Exercising Services $3.00 $3.50 $4.00
Dog Walking Services $0.70 $0.75 $0.80
Training Services $3.00 $3.50 $4.00
Direct Cost of Sales
Feeding Services $17,900 $35,000 $52,100
Exercising Services $19,400 $67,600 $115,800
Dog Walking Services $87,700 $89,200 $90,700
Training Services $64,200 $224,700 $385,200
Subtotal Direct Cost of Sales $294,100 $699,400 $1,104,700
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Personnel plan

7.1 Company Staff

Mills will manage the overall operations of the business plan dog walking while the finances will be managed by Lisa. The company will initially hire a small team during the first year of its launch. The staff will increase with the increase in sales over the course of three years. The initially hired staff includes:

  • 1 Accountant to maintain financial records.
  • 4 Sales and Marketing Executives responsible for dealing with corporate businesses, dog dealers, and animal shelters
  • 15 Dog Walkers to provide the main dog walking service
  • 5 Dog Trainers which will also help them in exercise
  • 4 Drivers to transportation of dogs owned by dealers, organizations, and shelters
  • 1 Front Desk Officer to act as a receptionist in the company office
  • 1 Veterinary Doctor to provide first-aid in case of an emergency

To ensure the best quality service, all employees will be selected through vigorous testing and will be trained for a month before starting their jobs.

7.2 Average Salary of Employees

The following table shows the forecasted data about employees and their salaries for next three years, as calculated by the financial experts of the company.

 Personnel Plan      
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Accountant $45,000 $52,000 $59,000
Sales and Marketing Executives $145,000 $152,000 $159,000
Dog Walkers $410,000 $440,000 $480,000
Dog Trainers $55,000 $65,000 $75,000
Drivers $60,000 $63,300 $70,000
Front Desk Officer $20,000 $23,300 $30,000
Veterinary Doctor $10,000 $12,000 $15,000
Total Salaries $745,000 $807,600 $888,000

Financial Plan

The finance experts helped Mills in setting the dog walking business prices and developing a financial plan for the company. The financial plan developed by them outlines the development of company over the next three years.

8.1 Important Assumptions

The company’s financial projections are forecasted on the basis of following assumptions.

General Assumptions
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Plan Month 1 2 3
Current Interest Rate 10.00% 11.00% 12.00%
Long-term Interest Rate 10.00% 10.00% 10.00%
Tax Rate 26.42% 27.76% 28.12%
Other 0 0 0

These assumptions are quite conservative and are also expected to show deviation but to a limited level such that the company’s major financial strategy will not be affected.

8.2 Brake-even Analysis

The following graph shows the company’s Brake-even Analysis.

The following table shows the company’s Brake-even Analysis.

 Brake-Even Analysis  
Monthly Units Break-even 5530
Monthly Revenue Break-even $159,740
Assumptions:
Average Per-Unit Revenue $260.87
Average Per-Unit Variable Cost $0.89
Estimated Monthly Fixed Cost $196,410

8.3 Projected Profit and Loss

 Pro Forma Profit And Loss      
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Sales $309,069 $385,934 $462,799
Direct Cost of Sales $15,100 $19,153 $23,206
Other $0 $0 $0
TOTAL COST OF SALES $15,100 $19,153 $23,206
Gross Margin $293,969 $366,781 $439,593
Gross Margin % 94.98% 94.72% 94.46%
Expenses
Payroll $138,036 $162,898 $187,760
Sales and Marketing and Other Expenses $1,850 $2,000 $2,150
Depreciation $2,070 $2,070 $2,070
Leased Equipment $0 $0 $0
Utilities $4,000 $4,250 $4,500
Insurance $1,800 $1,800 $1,800
Rent $6,500 $7,000 $7,500
Payroll Taxes $34,510 $40,726 $46,942
Other $0 $0 $0
Total Operating Expenses $188,766 $220,744 $252,722
Profit Before Interest and Taxes $105,205 $146,040 $186,875
EBITDA $107,275 $148,110 $188,945
Interest Expense $0 $0 $0
Taxes Incurred $26,838 $37,315 $47,792
Net Profit $78,367 $108,725 $139,083
Net Profit/Sales 30.00% 39.32% 48.64%

8.3.1 Profit Monthly

8.3.2 Profit Yearly

8.3.3 Gross Margin Monthly

8.3.4 Gross Margin Yearly

8.4 Projected Cash Flow

The following column diagram shows the projected cash flow.

The following table shows detailed data about pro forma cash flow, subtotal cash from operations, subtotal cash received, sub-total spent on operations, subtotal cash spent.

 Pro Forma Cash Flow      
Cash Received Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Cash from Operations
Cash Sales $40,124 $45,046 $50,068
Cash from Receivables $7,023 $8,610 $9,297
SUBTOTAL CASH FROM OPERATIONS $47,143 $53,651 $59,359
Additional Cash Received
Sales Tax, VAT, HST/GST Received $0 $0 $0
New Current Borrowing $0 $0 $0
New Other Liabilities (interest-free) $0 $0 $0
New Long-term Liabilities $0 $0 $0
Sales of Other Current Assets $0 $0 $0
Sales of Long-term Assets $0 $0 $0
New Investment Received $0 $0 $0
SUBTOTAL CASH RECEIVED $47,143 $53,651 $55,359
Expenditures Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Expenditures from Operations
Cash Spending $21,647 $24,204 $26,951
Bill Payments $13,539 $15,385 $170,631
SUBTOTAL SPENT ON OPERATIONS $35,296 $39,549 $43,582
Additional Cash Spent
Sales Tax, VAT, HST/GST Paid Out $0 $0 $0
Principal Repayment of Current Borrowing $0 $0 $0
Other Liabilities Principal Repayment $0 $0 $0
Long-term Liabilities Principal Repayment $0 $0 $0
Purchase Other Current Assets $0 $0 $0
Purchase Long-term Assets $0 $0 $0
Dividends $0 $0 $0
SUBTOTAL CASH SPENT $35,296 $35,489 $43,882
Net Cash Flow $11,551 $13,167 $15,683
Cash Balance $21,823 $22,381 $28,239

8.5 Projected Balance Sheet

The following projected balance sheet shows data about total current assets, total long-term assets, total assets, subtotal current liabilities, total liabilities, total capital, total liabilities and capital.

 Pro Forma Balance Sheet      
Assets Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Current Assets
Cash $184,666 $218,525 $252,384
Accounts Receivable $12,613 $14,493 $16,373
Inventory $2,980 $3,450 $3,920
Other Current Assets $1,000 $1,000 $1,000
TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS $201,259 $237,468 $273,677
Long-term Assets
Long-term Assets $10,000 $10,000 $10,000
Accumulated Depreciation $12,420 $14,490 $16,560
TOTAL LONG-TERM ASSETS $980 $610 $240
TOTAL ASSETS $198,839 $232,978 $267,117
Liabilities and Capital Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Current Liabilities
Accounts Payable $9,482 $10,792 $12,102
Current Borrowing $0 $0 $0
Other Current Liabilities $0 $0 $0
SUBTOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES $9,482 $10,792 $12,102
Long-term Liabilities $0 $0 $0
TOTAL LIABILITIES $9,482 $10,792 $12,102
Paid-in Capital $30,000 $30,000 $30,000
Retained Earnings $48,651 $72,636 $96,621
Earnings $100,709 $119,555 $138,401
TOTAL CAPITAL $189,360 $222,190 $255,020
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND CAPITAL $198,839 $232,978 $267,117
Net Worth $182,060 $226,240 $270,420

8.6 Business Ratios

The following table shows data about business ratios, ratio analysis, total assets, net worth.

 Ratio Analysis        
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 INDUSTRY PROFILE
Sales Growth 4.35% 30.82% 63.29% 4.00%
Percent of Total Assets
Accounts Receivable 5.61% 4.71% 3.81% 9.70%
Inventory 1.85% 1.82% 1.79% 9.80%
Other Current Assets 1.75% 2.02% 2.29% 27.40%
Total Current Assets 138.53% 150.99% 163.45% 54.60%
Long-term Assets -9.47% -21.01% -32.55% 58.40%
TOTAL ASSETS 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%
Current Liabilities 4.68% 3.04% 2.76% 27.30%
Long-term Liabilities 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 25.80%
Total Liabilities 4.68% 3.04% 2.76% 54.10%
NET WORTH 99.32% 101.04% 102.76% 44.90%
Percent of Sales
Sales 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%
Gross Margin 94.18% 93.85% 93.52% 0.00%
Selling, General & Administrative Expenses 74.29% 71.83% 69.37% 65.20%
Advertising Expenses 2.06% 1.11% 0.28% 1.40%
Profit Before Interest and Taxes 26.47% 29.30% 32.13% 2.86%
Main Ratios
Current 25.86 29.39 32.92 1.63
Quick 25.4 28.88 32.36 0.84
Total Debt to Total Assets 2.68% 1.04% 0.76% 67.10%
Pre-tax Return on Net Worth 66.83% 71.26% 75.69% 4.40%
Pre-tax Return on Assets 64.88% 69.75% 74.62% 9.00%
Additional Ratios Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Net Profit Margin 19.20% 21.16% 23.12% N.A.
Return on Equity 47.79% 50.53% 53.27% N.A.
Activity Ratios
Accounts Receivable Turnover 4.56 4.56 4.56 N.A.
Collection Days 92 99 106 N.A.
Inventory Turnover 19.7 22.55 25.4 N.A.
Accounts Payable Turnover 14.17 14.67 15.17 N.A.
Payment Days 27 27 27 N.A.
Total Asset Turnover 1.84 1.55 1.26 N.A.
Debt Ratios
Debt to Net Worth 0 -0.02 -0.04 N.A.
Current Liab. to Liab. 1 1 1 N.A.
Liquidity Ratios
Net Working Capital $120,943 $140,664 $160,385 N.A.
Interest Coverage 0 0 0 N.A.
Additional Ratios
Assets to Sales 0.45 0.48 0.51 N.A.
Current Debt/Total Assets 4% 3% 2% N.A.
Acid Test 23.66 27.01 30.36 N.A.
Sales/Net Worth 1.68 1.29 0.9 N.A.
Dividend Payout 0 0 0 N.A.

Download Dog Walking Business Plan Sample in pdf

OGS capital writers specialize in business plan themes such as doggie daycare business plan, starting a dog training business, start horse boarding business, business plan for horse education, dog and cat kennel business plan, opening a pet photographer business and many others.

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  • Christy

    This is great for helping my daughter start her own small business. However, the link to download the .pdf for a dog walking business goes to a hospital business plan; not useful at all. Would it be possible to just send the correct link my way, please?