How to Make a Career Change With a Pet Franchise

Elliott Fudge, writer

Published at 22/03/2022, Updated on 04/05/2022 , Reading time: 4 min

How to Make a Career Change With a Pet Franchise
Photo © How-to-Make-a-Career-Change-With-a-Pet-Franchise.jpg

Making a career change can seem like a daunting and scary transition to make. But if you’re looking for a new challenge, why not think about making a career change with a pet franchise?


Starting a new chapter with a pet franchise isn’t the same as jumping into any other industry. If you have a love of animals, good business sense and are looking for a way to combine the two, there are franchises out there that are a good fit for you.

But making a career change doesn’t come without some risks, so preparation is everything if you’re keen to take the leap. Here’s what you need to know about making a career change.


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Why make a career change with a pet franchise?

The pet sector is broad, profitable and competitive. Whether you’ll be working to deliver healthy food to pets, grooming dogs or looking after them while their owners are away, what you do in this sector will be varied, exciting and rewarding. So while working with pets will deliver satisfaction by the bucket load, the reasons to work as a franchisee only start there.

Franchise businesses help you skip the years of building a business from scratch to running an exciting pet franchise operating at the top of its game. From reaping the rewards of excellent job satisfaction to being able to cash in on a pre-built customer brand, franchising lets you go straight to the top.

There are lots of advantages to making a career change with a pet franchise, so if this sounds like the right option for you, here’s what you need to know.

How to make a career change with a pet franchise

To help you prepare for a career change that pushes you professionally, here are some of our top tips for starting a pet franchise.

1. Work on your skills

Much of the success of your career change will depend on how well prepared you are. Get your preparation right and you will find that your transition into franchising will go smoothly. So take a first step by making sure that you are in the best shape possible to become a franchisee.

Your skills will be tested and developed, so while you don’t necessarily need to be the most experienced franchisee around, having the following skills would put you in a great position:

  • Team leadership skills
  • Confidence working closely with people
  • A passion for looking after animals and pets
  • The ability to adapt quickly and be flexible
  • Good business sense
  • Some minimum qualifications that show you know best practices when it comes to animal welfare

2. Assess your competition

One of the most important things you can do as a franchisee is to research your competitors and to put in place a strategy that helps you outmaneuver your competition. When researching the pet industry and the potential competitors that your franchise business will have, ask yourself the following questions:

  • What unique selling points do your competitors have? Are they to do with pricing or services? Could you replicate them?
  • How do your competitors market themselves?
  • Does your competition operate from a fixed headquarters or in a remote way?
  • Do they operate single-unit or multi-unit franchises?
  • What could you offer differently?

3. Understand your operational area

Depending on what franchise you choose to operate with, you could be given a territory to operate within. While you could go straight ahead and start operating as soon as you open, it is also a good idea to make sure you understand the area you’re operating in. For example, if you’re operating in a more urban area, you may have a larger number of younger pet owners who may respond differently to your business and marketing. Or, if you’re in an area with a higher average age, you may need to pivot your services again to meet your customers. Understand who your customers are and hit the ground running with your pet franchise.

4. Consider your financial options

You’ll need to make a minimum financial investment to become a pet franchisee. But the good news is that with a franchise, there is plenty of financial flexibility for you to make use of. Because franchising has great survival rates, many major banks will be prepared to lend often up to 70% of your startup costs, meaning that even when it comes to making an investment, you still have plenty of flexibility.

It should also be noted that pet franchises are known for offering very affordable minimum investments. To help you make a career change, you could turn to:


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5. Decide on your future development

Your franchisor will be there to help you develop your own skills, to help you recruit and to keep your business moving forward, so never be afraid to seek out further development. Whether or not you’re experienced or a complete newcomer to franchising, make use of the training and support on offer to you.

Make a career change with a pet franchise today

Making a career change can seem like a daunting and scary prospect at first, but with the right knowledge and preparation, you can make being a pet franchise an exciting opportunity. If you want to see what other opportunities are available to you, have a look at the UK franchise directory.

Elliott Fudge, writer

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