Writing a Business Plan for a Dog Wash

[Bubbles Galore]

I was just wondering if those of you with a dog wash could help me out with some numbers. I am looking for:

startup time and price
number of units
number of vendors
products sold in vendors
blow dry or vac
type of unit (mfg.)
things you wish you would have installed but didn't and why
average monthly income

If you don't want to post on the forum please send me a PM so I can start to compile my information. I visited a dog wash earlier today and was amazed at how busy it was. I know that with some good advertising and marketing you could make this quite a unique profit center. Thanks for all the help!

 

[wasiknator]

Dog Wash

Our Start Up Time is $10 for 10 minutes.
We have one unit, bought it in July 2008.
Our vendor is a Max Vend II, sell a towel and a treat along with car wash supplies.
Blow dryer, no heat
K9000 dog wash
We have enclosed the wash with a fence, I am in Florida, so it is an outdoor wash.
Business is ramping up, over $1000 in washes in October, only have had an article in the newspaper and a spot on the local news in September.

Happy with the set up so far. May add a cover over the dog wash to give more shade, but a tree nearby has been doing well.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

Thanks for the input. Who sells the K9000? Have you had any comments about the startup price?

 

[wasiknator]

TMC Pet Vending Solutions distributes the K9000. They are out of St. Pete, FL.

Very few complaints about startup price, was concerned myself initially, but the unit itself in my opinion is the best out there from a self contained dog wash. Once the wash is used, the client is sold. I even get phone calls from people just to say that the dog wash was awesome. Great idea!, etc. Easy to use, easy to clean up, has two drain traps to prevent dog hair clogging pipes.

Using Tropiclean Shampoos. Have had many comments on this as it is a very high quality shampoo. Many dog owners said that their dog no longer itches after using the wash and the shampoo does not remove Frontline or Advantage flea treatments. This is a big deal for dog owners. Also, the dog wash is a much harder sell in my opinion than a car wash. Dog owners are very particular about their dogs. My electrician told a bunch of his coworkers about the dog wash and how much he liked it, and his buddies started asking a bunch of questions about safety, water temp, shampoos used, etc.

 

[bigleo48]

Bubbles,

Being in Michigan, I would likely look at the more traditional tubs (like the Kleenrite models).

Pricing for the tubs systems you can get from them, but a lot of expense goes into the room. Stuff like doors, hvac, hot water delivery can run in the several thousands depending on your site and how complicated it's all gonna be.

Being in the great lakes area too, I would start with $5 for 7 minutes (don't want to scare away anyone with a big starting price) and expect 5 dogs per day average to start based on one tub. Summer is best, winter can be very slow. I would also expect an increase in maintenance costs if your site is unattended as these tubs need cleaning after almost every use.

Dryer yes and the Pet vac option is a good idea as it is a very high margin sale and helps with the clean up.

Vending is good, and dog treats are the best sellers.

PM me if you have any specific questions...BigLeo

 

[Bubbles Galore]

Thanks for all the great input. I am just trying to get everything in order so that I can have this in by early spring.

What kind of hours do you operate your pet wash? Do you have to go and open it up or do you have an employee? I was thinking about using some type of magnetic lock that would be hooked to a timer and open and close automatically.

BigLeo: What is your startup price? How many cycles do people use on average?

 

[Waxman]

Also, what would you consider a ballpark project cost for a new, 1 tub petwash? $20k? 30? More/less? Thanks.

 

[bigleo48]

What kind of hours do you operate your pet wash? Do you have to go and open it up or do you have an employee? I was thinking about using some type of magnetic lock that would be hooked to a timer and open and close automatically.

BigLeo: What is your startup price? How many cycles do people use on average?

Mine are open 7am-9pm and I do have an electric door strike tied to a timer that unlocks the door at 6:30am and locks it a 9:30pm. I'm 70cents per minute with a $5 startup. Typically people spend about $7 to $8 on average.

Waxman, I built my petwashes as part of my mechanical room, so it just cost me the door, window and two walls, the HVAC, plumbing and hot water were already there feeding my carwash gear...so I can't really comment on your situation, but my install was about $12k and paid for itself in about a year.

BigLeo

 

[Bubbles Galore]

All my estimates are showing me about $1000/month. I wish I could say each one of my bays was doing that consistently =)

I will have to close one whole bay down, but I plan on using the back half of the bay to house my eventual automatic. I am probably looking at about $15,000 for start to finish. Once I get some prices, I will post them online and maybe do some updates if there is any interest.

 

[Waxman]

I'm very interested. I built my detail shop with this idea in mind. Therefore, I put the water lines (hot and cold) over on the wall that will eventually be the petwash side, as well as access to gas and sewer and electricity.

This is definitely a part of my project I could do myself (framing, roofing, etc.) but will eventually get some estimates anyway.