Some people have a
strong desire to operate a business in their home. They enjoy
eliminating regular work commutes, and often select this method to
be closer to their children. Operating a home business is clearly
a working lifestyle choice, and along with you must accept a few
disadvantages.
First, the home based
pet grooming business rarely earns the net worth of a commercial
salon business. Net worth is important because one day you will
sell your business and the income derived can provide a more
comfortable retirement, or a career change if that is your desire.
Commercial locations generally have a much higher market value,
including the value of a long lease or equity in the real estate
when you own the building. Commercial locations generally build a
much larger clientele, an important factor in setting the market
value of a business. When you sell a home-based pet grooming
business you are essentially attempting to sell your clientele and
perhaps equipment and supplies. From our experience, there are few
buyers with an interest in buying a home-based pet grooming
business. When you consider the buyer faces the obstacle of
transferring the existing clientele to a new location, and still
has to pay for the build out the new location, it becomes obvious
why there are few sales of home-based pet grooming businesses.
There are additional
obstacles. Be sure to check with your local and state regulations
to ensure that you can operate a home-based pet grooming business.
We know with certainty that there are areas within the U.S. that
prohibit home-based pet grooming businesses. Even if it is
allowed, how will your neighbors accept the business? They can be
a problem. Make sure you have at least 500 square feet for a small
business, and to keep your neighbors quiet, soundproof the work
area. Consider the extra traffic you are bringing in to your area
too. Neighbor complaints have been a common reason for some
home-based pet grooming business having to close down, or for
commercial codes that prevent operating a pet grooming business in
the home. Personally we have known of cases where neighbors got
together and easily shutdown a
home grooming business where
noise and traffic problems were
substantiated. If you are a renter, ensure very clearly that your
landlord will cooperate with your intent and building
improvements. Don't underestimate the demand for water and other
utilities. Also, ensure that you can find the necessary insurance
coverage for both the household and the business. Be sure to also
check on any restrictions to the number of employees you can have
working in your home too.
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Article Reprint
Dog groomer raising
hairs among neighbors Man
insists he is doing
nothing wrong; residents
claim man is running
business without a permit
Man insists he is doing
nothing wrong; residents
claim man is running
business without a permit
By Hillary Chabot,
Copyright 2004
Sentinel & Enterprise,
Fitchburg, MA
LEOMINSTER -- Princeton
Street resident Louis
Cannavino said he is dog
tired of a pet grooming
business operating a few
doors down from him.
Cannavino said a resident
at 80 Princeton St. is
running the business after
the Zoning Board of
Appeals denied his special
permit to operate in a
residential area.
"He has a shop that he
built there and I hear
dogs barking over there,"
Cannavino said. "I see
people parking there all
the time."
Andy LeBlanc, owner of Et
Pooch dog grooming, said
he does groom dogs at his
home but insists his
business is as clean as
his pets.
"I do take on a few
grooming customers,
because I didn't want to
lose them, but we work on
a barter system," LeBlanc
said. "I'm not doing
anything wrong."
LeBlanc applied for a
special permit to run a
business in a residential
area last October. The
permit was denied.
But LeBlanc has an ad for
the grooming business
listed in the Buyer's Guide
at his address.
LeBlanc has toys on
display in his garage,
along with a sign that
reads, "We accept cash
only please."
Councilor at large Dennis
Rosa said he has received
complaints from neighbors.
He said he issued a
complaint to Building
Inspector Edward Cataldo.
"I know Cataldo's been
involved and told
(LeBlanc) this can't go
on. We know he has a
Buyer's Guide ad," Rosa
said. "This is an illegal
business. I have to comply
with laws. I have to pay
taxes. So should he."
Cataldo did not return
calls for comment.
LeBlanc said he renovated
his garage and placed the
Buyer's Guide advertisement
last year when he thought
his business would be
approved.
"The ad wasn't supposed to
be put in this year,"
LeBlanc said. "I made the
facility but I'm not able
to use it in the way I'd
like."
Wayne and Phyllis Hellijas,
who live behind LeBlanc's
house, said the dogs don't
bother them at all.
"He's not hurting anyone.
He's been there for over a
year now, and it's always
neat and clean," Wayne
Hellijas said. "You don't
hear noise and they never
get loose."
LeBlanc owns two dogs, a
West Highland white
terrier and a Shih-tzu,
but said he will let other
dogs stay at his house if
friends need to go to a
dog show.
"I'll have about a half a
dozen dogs in my house at
most," LeBlanc said.
Cannavino said he dislikes
the barking and the extra
traffic from the business,
but mostly feels LeBlanc
is ignoring city laws.
"It's the principle of the
thing. He's not allowed to
run a business there,"
Cannavino said.
LeBlanc said he is not
running an illegal
business from his home.
LeBlanc said he is
planning on turning his
property into a grooming
school, which he can do
without a permit.
"If we're operating as a
school I'll be able to
teach a small group
grooming," LeBlanc said.
"Everything is within the
law." |
Starting a pet
grooming business in the home typically costs less, even much
less, than a commercial location. For that reason alone, persons
not willing to take out a loan, or seek out an investor, for a
mobile van or commercial location often turn to a home business.
Many home-based pet grooming business owners are excellent
groomers, but they are in a professional business sense sometimes
more appropriately characterized as a business hobbyist in
comparison to the business owner and manager set out to develop a
commercial salon with several employees. If your desire is to work
in your home, you will not mind the obstacles or limitations of a
home-based pet grooming business. It's then a great choice for
you.
There
is almost nothing in the way of books on managing a home grooming
business, however, management principles are management
principles. Therefore, read both of the two best grooming
management books, From Problems to Profits
and The Art and Business of Pet Grooming. Both can be ordered
securely on-line at the PetGroomer.com
Pet Bookstore.
Mobile
Grooming Business
PetGroomer.com
now offers you a page devoted to mobile grooming here.
We've
known many mobile pet grooming business owners. They are free
spirits that love changing scenery, and they love their working
lifestyle. They enjoy getting out on the road each day versus
being at home grooming. They typically don't want the extra
management concerns of a commercial location. For some it is
especially a smart idea as there are pet owners that definitely
appreciate their pet groomer coming on-site. In fact, only mobile
grooming personally serves many "shut-in" pet owners
that simply cannot travel to a commercial or home location, and of
course, many pet owners that simply want the groomer to come to
them.
In
general, we recommend mobile grooming over home based grooming in
that we have known home based groomers in major metropolitan areas
that were forced to close or limit their business when neighbors
complained about the traffic created by coming and going pet
owners. In fact, Recently one home based groomer informed me a law
was passed in their county limiting them to five visitors a day.
Another in California said the limit was lowered in the county to
two, and they counted each pet as a visitor! What
are the lawmakers saying? No home businesses that increase traffic
especially on a regular basis. Certainly mobile grooming doesn't
face this limitation.
Mobile
grooming startup costs can be less than those commonly associated
with a commercial location, but know that this is not always true
when you choose a commercial location not requiring extensive
expenses for leasehold improvements such as floors, walls,
electrical, air conditioning and other build costs. Those are the
most costly investments in opening a commercial space. See the PetGroomer.com
Startup Cost Menu for more information.
What
are the disadvantages? Just as the home-based business doesn't
have the same potential as the commercial salon owner to build a
large business with a very high net worth and market value, the mobile
business also faces similar limitations. Whereas the commercial
salon owner can typically keep growing and growing and simply add
staff to meet the demand, a mobile pet grooming business owner
reaches a peak where they cannot groom more than a set amount of
pets each day. The commercial salon owner can then groom 30 or
more pets in a day when the business grows large, but the mobile
groomer may only do 5 to 7 pets a day. The only other option is to
hire an employee and another van, but often another free-spirited
mobile groomer comes along and does that on their own. The mobile
pet grooming option is a good one, but it is still primarily a
working lifestyle choice, and if it is yours, you can do fine
within the limitations.
There
is almost nothing in the way of books on managing a mobile
grooming business, however, management principles are management
principles. Therefore, read both of the two best grooming
management books, From Problems to Profits
and The Art and Business of Pet Grooming. Both can be ordered
securely on-line at the PetGroomer.com
Pet Bookstore. Important: Mobile groomers
following The Madson Management System in From Problems to Profits
follow Step One of the Business Plan to create a loyal clientele
with excellent client services and effective management. Steps Two
and Three apply more to commercial locations. Maybe someday
someone will dedicate a book to mobile grooming, but for now you
can get a lot of great info from these books.
If you have an
interest in mobile grooming, don't overlook our Mobile
Grooming Main Menu filled with more information, van pictures
and leads to sources of top quality van conversions.
On the next
page we will take a close look at the similarities and
differences of home grooming and mobile grooming versus grooming
in a commercial location.
