Dogs Are Big Business

Dogs Make Business Owners Big Bucks

Once only our best friend, our dogs are now part of the extended family. How many people do you know or see carrying a small dog in it’s own carrier or in their arms? I can remember seeing Paris Hilton and Britney Spears (on TV – not in person) both wearing a live dog as an accessory recently. The smaller the dog, the more spoiled they are. Jewel studded collars, hand knitted sweaters, and matching carriers are all the rage these days.

According to a recent article in the New York Times pet supplies added up to a $37 billion industry in 2004. Remove food and services such as grooming and there is still about $8.5 billion left over. Petco, one of the largest retail pet suppliers, claims the pet supply market is growing about 7% a year. The New York Times also reports the pet services sector is growing fast as well. Dog grooming, dog walking, and pet sitting are all growing businesses segments.

What does this all mean to a small business owner or internet marketer?

If you own a small bricks and mortar retail store you should consider adding a line of pet products. A women’s accessories retailer could add the Louis Vuitton pet carrier line and display them with their purses for instance.

An internet marketer could find several ways to ride this trend to increased business. Find a wholesale source of pet supplies and put together an e-commerce website to sell them. Develop a website that caters to the luxury dog and cat accessory market. Don't try to compete by selling food or large heavy items. The shipping cost will take the all the profit.

Find a few retired folks that love to knit. Buy them some yarn, give them the patterns, then give them a portion of the profits when the dog sweaters sell. If you know someone that likes to sew make the same deal. They sew the dog shirts and share in the profits.

Phyllis, my wife’s nail technician, owns a Chihuahua that wears a shirt or sweater everyday. This dog will not allow removal of her clothes until bedtime. If you tug on her shirt she growls and tries to bite your hand. My mother-in-law knits dog sweaters during the winter and Phyllis sells them in her salon. Since the salon’s customer base is small the sales aren’t huge but a couple of hundred extra bucks is greatly appreciated by a retired woman on a fixed income. I think this could be a good niche market on the internet.

Write an e-book and sell it on Clickbank. How about one on “Do it yourself grooming”, or “How to train a show dog to win”, or “Knitting patterns for dog sweaters”? The pet service and supply business lends itself to a wide range of information products that could be sold on Ebay or your own website.

My daughter just bought a purebred Shih Tzu a week ago. This little bundle of joy looks a lot like an Ewok in the face. Since it was her money I didn’t object too strongly but this dog didn’t even have papers, yet she paid $700. Once the rest of the accessories were added on she spent over $900. She bought a crate, food bowl, water bowl, a water bottle, several chew toys, and you guessed it. A faux leopard-skin dog carrier. Yep it’s cute when she carries it like a purse with a little Ewok face sticking out. She also bought a small sweater since puppies shouldn’t get cold.

Don’t prejudge your market. My daughter is 16, works after school, and will be paying for this dog’s care and upkeep. She has wanted a dog of her own for quite a while and made this decision on her own. Even the teenage market has money to spend.

There is a huge market demand out there. Many of your current customers own pets. Find out what type of products they want and sell them some.