KennelSource Pet Industry Resources

Opening a Kennel - What You Should Know

by Daniel Rubenstein

There are so many things that go into opening a successful pet care center that it is imperative that you get an idea of what you are getting yourself into before you actually do it. That is not to say that diving head first into business without a plan will impede upon your success. Many Entrepreneurs have been very successful just with a great idea, a small amount of money, and the will to forge ahead no matter what the obstacles while others are more careful and meticulous in their planning. However, it goes without saying that no matter what type of person you are, nothing ever goes according to plan. As an Entrepreneur you need to be flexible and ready for change if something is not working.

Personally, I have no regrets from my personal experience starting and operating one of the largest and most successful pet care centers in the Country. I would say, as Entrepreneurs go, that I fell somewhere in the middle of flying by the seat of my pants and planning for the future. I found that the more that I tried to learn things on my own, the more it cost me financially. That is because, I mostly learned from my mistakes. I wish I had the following resources available to me when I started my business. It probably would have saved me close to $100,000. Yes, it was an expensive education but I survived and thrived. It was also better than any education that I could never have received at Business School albeit just as costly.

Brian Headd, an economist in the Office of Advocacy for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), says the best indicators for a company's survival include the business owner's level of education, age, and previous experience. According to the SBA, roughly 12 percent of companies enter the market each year--a rate that has remained fairly constant over much of the past two decades. Of those new businesses, about half generally survive for four years or more. Headd says that the most important factor in success is experience, particularly with a previous entrepreneurial endeavor. "That's the educational process," he explains.

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