Pet Business Tips from a Pro

While I have frequently offered what I believe to be sound pet business tips, it’s always a good idea to get “second opinions” from other pros.

To that end, I spoke with Howard London, a sales and marketing pro who’s a veteran of the pet business, who provided some excellent business tips for those who are in, or want to get into the critter business.

The self-styled "Pet Industry Guru,” who is now vice president of sales and marketing for Bravo raw pet foods and columnist for Pet Business Magazine, has been in the pet business in one form or another for more than 25 years.

Without further ado, here’s are some of his top pet business tips.

Pet Business Tip # One: Do Your Homework

“Even if you have a lot of money, don’t just jump into it (the pet business),” he said. “If you’re able to work for a company for six months to a year to get your feet wet, it’s not a bad thing. See what works and what doesn’t. It’s a little investment of time, but in the end, it’s not going to hurt. If it’s a perfectly run store, it’s a good model; if it’s horrible, it’s a good model. You will learn something either way.”

Pet Business Tip # Two: Research the Competition

“Like the saying goes, ‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.’ PetSmart and Petco are not going away. But figure out how to compete. Talk to them; go visit them."

Pet Business Tip # 3: Offer Something the Big Box Stores Don’t

London and I are very much on the same page when it comes to this crucial pet business tip…

Above and beyond customer service is worth its weight in gold!

“Offer something the big guys don’t or can’t,” he said. “You can’t compete with their prices. They, however, cannot beat the independents in customer service. Their employees are like little robots. It’s hard to find a person on the floor because they’re doing stock.”

Pet Business Tip # 4: Avoid Bad Business Pitfalls

This is something that drives me crazy, which I weighed in on before.

“When someone goes into a pet store, there’s no one to be found, or they’re ignoring you, or two employees are talking to each other and ignoring you. Or they don’t know where the product you are looking for is, or they’re out of it. I get if it’s a hard to find item that they sell one of every three months. But if it’s a bag of pet treats I use every week, then I won’t go there again.”

Pet Business Tip # 5: Take Full Advantage of Social Media

Here’s where the independent pet shops may actually have an advantage over the big guys.

“Petco and PetSmart have Facebook pages that are national. They (the independents) should have a Facebook page, as well as a presence on Twitter and foursquare, where they can offer specials. These sites really are built for the local businesses. The big guys are so big that they can only speak nationally, not locally. The smaller businesses need to engage the local community.”

Some Other Important Pet Business Tips

There are some other crucial skills and traits one must possess to successfully run and operate a pet business, or any business, for that matter:

• Being good at sales, or hiring someone who is
• Knowing how to effectively market your business
• The ability to manage finances and profit and loss statements
• Enthusiasm

The latter is extremely important. As I always say, if you really believe in the products and services you offer, and have a passion for this pursuit, you already have a “paw up” on the competition.

A Parting Pet Business Tip

Don’t let fear hold you back.

“I just think that, even though we are in this recession, it’s the best time to start or run a successful business,” London advised.

“The standards for products and services have increased 10-fold in this recession. This has actually opened the door for great products and services. If you can deliver it, you can be successful. Don’t believe what the government tells you, that you have to cut back. So many successful businesses were started during a recession or the Depression. Personally, people might be hurting. But for business, it’s a great time.”