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Need a name for your business? Click to try our: Dog Daycare Business Name Idea Generator Once you have your business plan written up, use our Free Doggie Daycare and Pet Boarding Business Profit Spreadsheet to calculate your future business expenses, revenue, and your eventual break-even point (when you've paid off your initial investment).

Are you starting a doggie daycare or dog boarding facility? If so, you're in the right place. At least twice a week, we here at DoggieDashboard are emailed asking if we have a doggy daycare business plan template for new dog boarding businesses.

Seeing as so many people having been asking for a doggie daycare business plan, we decided it was in the best interest to produce one so that all you future owners of doggie daycares, pet hotels, dog-walking & pet-sitting businesses can start with the right foot forward. This dog boarding business plan asks you all the important questions that you need to answer before starting your pet boarding business.

All we ask is that you keep DoggieDashboard in mind when you start your doggie daycare or dog boarding facility. Our free online software will make keeping track of your clients and their pets very simple!

This is section from your heart. Talk about why you want to open a doggie daycare. Are you opening the business for the money or are you opening it because you have a passion for the pet-service industry?

Figure out the underlying motivation that is making you pursue this career path. Use this section to paint the ideal picture of your future doggie daycare. What’s the end result of all your hard working going to look like? When will you feel like you’ve succeeded?

- Why do you want to start a doggie daycare & pet boarding facility?

- Are you in it for the profit or the passion? There are many other business endeavors with higher success rates than opening a doggie daycare. If you’re not in it for your love of dogs, you might want to bow out of the race.

- Where do you see the business in 1 year? What about in 5 years? Will you expand? Sell? Future projections are a great way to figure out the longevity of your business concept. We’ll detail the inner details of the business further down the worksheet. For now, describe your ideal version of your doggie daycare. How many pets do you want to board per day, per month, etc. What’re your profit goals, etc?

- Have you ever started a business before? Everyone like to think of themselves as an entrepreneur, but it takes a LOT of hard work to get a business off the ground. Are you (and your family) prepared for the long hours and stress involved?

What to Put Here:

Now that you’ve decided to open a doggie daycare, do you know who you’re going to be working with? Where will you do your advertising? Here is where you'll break down your client acquistion strategies.

- What kind of animals will you be boarding? Large dogs, small dogs, any type of dog?

- How do you plan on attracting/advertising to this target market?

- How much are you willing to spend on advertising per month?

- Will you do in-house advertising and design work, or will you use a consulting firm?

- Does your business have a website yet? If not, how much are you willing to pay for a good website designer? Poorly-designed websites

First things first, take a minute to realize you aren’t the only doggie daycare in your area. Competition isn’t a bad thing though. It’ll actually make you a better business person by forcing you to constantly stay on your toes. Getting stagnant makes you an easy target for someone looking to push you out of business. In this section, lay out and analyze the competition that you’re going up against. Is it a wise choice to open in an area that’s already saturated? Really dig into how you’re going to deal with these issues.

- Do a quick Google search and look to see how many other doggie daycares are in your geographic area. Are more needed?

- Do you currently have a relationship with any of these doggie daycares?

- What will make your daycare more successful than your competition? There has to be something about your daycare that will attract people to yours and not someone elses. Better play toys, grooming options, vet visits?

- Do you have an friendly relationship with other daycare owners? If not, will they inhibit your entry into the market?

- What are your biggest weaknesses? How will you fix them? Be truthful with yourself. No business is invincible. Figure out your weaknesses and your mitigation strategy.

You need to consider your doggie daycare like it’s a tangible brand. You don’t want to just be known as another so-so business. I bet you know of at least a few doggie daycares in your city. That's called brand awareness.

- Does the name of your doggie daycare make it easy to produce marketing materials? Don't pick a name that is kitschy. Pick a name with longevity.

- Some business names sound great on paper, but don’t turn out well in the flesh. Names that are hard to pronounce or spell don’t help your brand. Purposely misspelling words can make it difficult for people to find you on the internet.

- Are you going to be visible to the public or hidden away in a industrial park? If you’ve got a good storefront location, you want good signage. If your signs are eye-catching, you’ll increase the window traffic at your daycare and get more pet clients.

- How are you going to build business at your daycare? Word of mouth advertising is the best way to increase the number of pet clients. If your current clients are in love with your daycare and the services you provide, they’ll happily encourage their friends to come bring their pets. Think about ways you can make your daycare and brand stand out amongst the crowd.

Now we’re getting down to the nitty gritty aspects of owning a pet boarding business. The little details that might be overlooked when you’re imagining running your own business and making profit hand-over-fist. Here is where you describe the inner details of your business. Lay out every aspect of how the business will operate, who’s in charge of what, etc.

- Does each employee have a written job description detailing their responsibilities?

- Who is in charge of hiring, firing, legal disputes, etc?

- Do you have a location/facility chosen for your box?

- Do you need to build out the facility?

- How much will build-out and equipment cost?

- Who has keys to the facility?

- Who runs the facility on a day-to-day basis and what are their hours?

- Do you make employees sign contracts?

- What’s the daily cost of doing business?

- How many days can you do business before running out of liquid capital.

- Have you registered the business yet?

- How long is the registration and inspection process going to take?

Running a doggie daycare can be a very profitable endeavor. However, you need to be prepared to endure some losses before you start turning a profit. In this section, lay out the details of your financial plan. Figure out every expense that you’ll have. Don’t tie is personal expenses, those are separate from the business. Visualizing the financial outlay of opening a doggie daycare will be help you better understand the (educated)risk you are taking.

- How do you plan on making a profit? Boarding fees? Pet training fees? Pet toy sales? Grooming fees?

- What is your monthly financial goal?

- How many months can you sustain business before you’ll need to turn a profit?

- How much money are you willing to spend on starting your pet boarding facility?

- Will you be providing all financial capital or will you be seeking outside investors?

- If using personal money, are you putting yourself/family in financial insecurity?

- If you decide on investors, what interest rate are you willing to pay them?

- What’s the maximum you are willing to LOSE in this venture? Not all businesses succeed. Be prepared to cut your losses if your business doesn’t work out.