Mobile dog grooming business ?

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Yesterday I had a mobile dog groomer come to my house , trim nails, cut her hair short and wash (flee bath) my Schauzer Terrier for $50. I really don't have the desire to do it myself.

That got me thinking this business can make great money. Just like a landscaping business since its all cash, you work hard and build up your clientele base and stay busy year round.

Not something I would do, but for someone that can work alone and bust their butt visiting dogs, not a bad business since overhead is low. Lady had a Ford Transit with graphics advertising her business..... thats how I found her at 70 MPH on the highway.
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Hard work, backbreaking.

How long did f it take? Add travel time, not much money, take off expenses, gas, insurance, initial cost of a truck, conversion, maintenance, initial purchases
 
45 minutes from start to finish.

I had to wait a week to get an appointment. She makes her schedule to do 5 dogs a day in an area, then the next day she is a few miles away in another location.
 
Originally Posted by Mr Nice
45 minutes from start to finish.

I had to wait a week to get an appointment. She makes her schedule to do 5 dogs a day in an area, then the next day she is a few miles away in another location.


Yeah I think it could be profitable depending on her business model and like you said about moving to locations. Just like how a landscape company won't make money if all of their clients require driving across town. I'm sure she does pretty well when she hits client sites that have multiple dogs.
 
Add to the above the chances of getting bit from all the dogs you don't see often enough for them to get comfortable with you doing up close and personal things to them. Every dog isn't automatically tail wagging slobbering friendly. They seem to be a viable business to the degree that every town seems to have at least one, I've noticed 2 different mobile groomers here.

Then you have the situation that made the Phoenix news a couple of months ago, a large mobile grooming business with employees had a groomer step out of the trailer to have a smoke or toke or whatever and the little dog jumped off of the table and hung himself. Hard to explain to the owners that their dog died getting a shampoo.
 
I always look to see if a mobile groomer has run a hose either from the house or to a sewer/storm drain.
The idea of a mobile groomer seems straightforward to me however, as mentioned, amortizing the capital layout by washing 4-5 dogs a day AND driving 125 miles a day doesn't seem doable.

I saw a mobil wheel straightening/refurbishing truck. Parked next to it was my neighbor's Volvo S60. She had tried to exit a parking lot where a curb had been oversprayed by blacktop sealant.....YES, all 4.
 
around here the cost is $60 for a medium-sized dog. more for a large dog. you could probably make it work with 5 dogs/day, but I would think that you might need to do more than 5.
dont forget insurance. you will inevitably injure a dog, or at least get blamed for it eventually; or you will get sued for something. my wife worked at a brick & mortar grooming store. 15-25 dogs weekdays; 30-40 on a Saturday.
one of the "regulars" was chauffered in a Mercedes for its weekly grooming. ah, to be a dog!
 
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Originally Posted by Mr Nice
That got me thinking this business can make great money. Just like a landscaping business since its all cash, you work hard and build up your clientele base and stay busy year round.

Maybe, but consider the risks of being bitten and scratched by the animals, or injuring an animal and being sued by the owner.
 
The overhead to me is actually high to me with a newish Transit and all the related equipment you are paying for.

I am used to low overhead businesses consisting of an iPhone/Verizon plan, Internet Service, MacBook Pro($1300) ever other 2-3 years, $300/yr tech accessories and that it as Cloud Application Architect.
 
Originally Posted by Schmoe
50 bucks???? ouch. That's really expensive.

Really? I don't know of any service that would be willing to drive out to my house and spend an hour there and charge less than that.
 
Originally Posted by Schmoe
50 bucks???? ouch. That's really expensive.


Depends where you live and how valuable your time is. I am assuming cost of living is low in OK?
 
Originally Posted by madRiver
Originally Posted by Schmoe
50 bucks???? ouch. That's really expensive.


Depends where you live and how valuable your time is. I am assuming cost of living is low in OK?



I know someone nearby with a small poodle mix that pays a lot more than that for a shampoo and trim. I think it's closer to $80.
 
Originally Posted by Quattro Pete
Originally Posted by Schmoe
50 bucks???? ouch. That's really expensive.

Really? I don't know of any service that would be willing to drive out to my house and spend an hour there and charge less than that.

$50 is very reasonable for grooming a 20 Lb dog.
 
Originally Posted by Schmoe
50 bucks???? ouch. That's really expensive.


Originally Posted by madRiver
The overhead to me is actually high to me with a newish Transit and all the related equipment you are paying for.

I am used to low overhead businesses consisting of an iPhone/Verizon plan, Internet Service, MacBook Pro($1300) ever other 2-3 years, $300/yr tech accessories and that it as Cloud Application Architect.


OP is in Central Florida. Not only is there no personal state income tax in Florida but there are a ton of retirees w/ small dogs as well. Just ask Robert Kraft, he spends time in Florida.. (shots fired !!! hehe)

I could see how it might be profitable in that state.
 
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We have some friends that have a mobile pet grooming business and they are doing pretty well. They pull a trailer around that is set up nicely.
 
Originally Posted by KGMtech
I doubt that she's getting rich. One back injury or a bad bite to her hand and she's done.
My mom was a groomer for years and got chomped and scratched more than a few times. Only once did she get a bad infection, but I think she screwed up her back. She's not that big. Boomers are also horrible at injury prevention. Modern groomers use hydro tables and specific tubs that reduce the wear on tear on the employees. She was using a residential bath tub near table height (her boss was really cheap). She had help to lift big dogs, but she was getting a little to frail to control them once they were up on the table towards the end.

She was making good money in the back of a pet food store. All cash, and she gave the store owner a cut. She worked at the same store over two locations for nineteen years. She liked it because she could set her own hours and work as much or as little as possible. She had no overhead which was a sweet deal, I'm not sure how much money you could make with a mobile business, the tools themselves are not large, or expensive but the vehicle would cut into your profits. My mom could net a few hundred over a full, eight hour day that included full grooms but also doing walk in nails. I think you could do it if you had a full on grooming van in addition to someone who visited dog parks or meets doing strictly nails. Here in Toronto, I have heard that the Beaches neighborhood has some of the highest pet dog density in Canada. I think you could also clean up by marketing towards retirement communities where you could potentially crush large amounts of small dog grooms in single sessions.

I'm not sure it would be worth it if you tried to go legit and pay taxes, especially if you hire employees. Decent idea if you know the market, have the connections and are willing to do all the work yourself under the table.
 
Originally Posted by Schmoe
50 bucks???? ouch. That's really expensive.

Price depends on the dog's behavior. My groomer wanted $72 for my mean-aazz Min. Schnauzer. EX: It shows teeth when handled by strangers. Claimed she needed a 2nd person.
I do it myself now.
 
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