Though franchises aren’t for everyone, they can offer some significant opportunities to your dog walking business. They allow you to start and run your own business with the support and name of an already existing and developed company. There are several pros and cons to using franchises and you’ll want to consider them all before you put down your money.
Many individuals who would like to start a dog walking company but don’t have a great deal of business startup knowledge will enjoy the convenience and support of a franchise to get them started and keep them going. After all, most franchises offer new dog walking business owners a package that contains virtually everything they need to get started legally and effectively.
Some of the things that you can expect to be included in a typical dog walking franchise owner’s welcome package includes:
- A handbook – this is an overall manual for operations and training. It should tell you everything from how to set up the business to how to advertise and procedures for entering and leaving a client’s home, as well as rules for walking the dogs themselves.
- A webpage and email address – to establish your web presence quickly and easily. The hosting and domain fees are generally covered as well.
- Stationary – which can included elements such as business cards, letterheads, and other similar printed pieces.
- Flyers – these will often be personalized to your own name and contact information.
- Uniform – the best uniforms include shirts for both warm and cool weather (such as a tee shirt and sweat shirt) and should ideally have a waterproof jacket option as well.
- Business documents – this should include everything from the welcome package for the client to the actual contract agreement.
- Liability insurance – provided on an annual basis.
- Logos and trademarks – permission to use these identification symbols is important to show your association with the franchise company. It gives you increased credibility through your connection with the larger organization.
By working through a franchise company, you’ll be able to get your company off the ground right from the very start without having to concern yourself with actually designing the business. All of the basic elements of the business – from the website to your documents – will already exist, so you just need to begin trying to find some clients.
You’ll also find that people are more ready to trust you through your association with a franchise company than they would if you were simply an individual offering dog walking. Customers may recognize the logo or they may simply feel that because you are a part of something larger, then more reliability and security can be expected.
Many franchises will guarantee their territory. That is, they will only have one representative of their company working within a certain location. This means that you will not be competing against other dog walkers within your own immediate area. That being said, there will still be other dog walkers out there who are not associated with your franchise.
There are, however, some disadvantages to working through a franchise company. For example, though compared to other franchise businesses, the fee is not as significant, you do need to buy your way into a franchise to benefit from the support, supplies and name. With a dog walking franchise, you can generally expect to pay in around eight to ten thousand dollars to get started. You are also more limited when using a franchise in the sense that you will need to follow their rules and use their designated supplies, as opposed to running a business for yourself where you make all of your own decisions. Furthermore, a portion of everything that you earn will go to the franchise company.
Whether or not to go with a dog walking franchise is a serious decision and you will need to choose for yourself if it makes financial and practical sense for you.
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