Most people in Zimbabwe own pets though, for the most part, it seems to be a preserve for homes with middle income (going up). Regardless, a considerable number of people own pets. Pets (or what are considered pets) in Zimbabwe are of course limited in number. Dogs are obviously the biggest demographic; cats do come in here and there. The amount of money spent on pets globally every year is in the billions of US dollars. In this article, I shall be looking at businesses targeting pet owners. They are broadly services-based and good-based; the services aspect is the most active though.
Pet Food And Supplies
Though people tend to feed their pets with readily available food at home such as leftovers, some prefer to use professionally processed foods. A common example of pet food is dog biscuits. There are also quite several pet-related supplies necessary for taking care of pets. The easiest way to start such a business is to source and sell. You can also consider diversifying into actually being a manufacturer which would enable you to become both a wholesaler and retailer.
Veterinary Services
Pets just like humans are susceptible to diseases and conditions relating to their bodies. They have to be inoculated also as might be necessary for people. Typically veterinary service providers that mainly cater for livestock do include services for pets. Veterinary services span technical services, vaccines, antibiotics, surgery, lab tests, and so on. If you manage to spot a good market you can start a veterinary services business solely meant for pets.
Pet Housing And Accessories
Pet housing is also needed for pets – one of the most common ones being wooden cabins. There are also associated accessories such as straps, leashes, and the like. If you do surveys to establish what pet owners use and need for housing and caring for their pets you will discover several items. The good thing is that virtually all of them can be homemade. You will also have room to explore the use of low cost means to come up with competitively priced items.
Pet Sitting Or Day Care
Just like babysitting and daycare for humans, the same can be adapted for pets. Numerous circumstances can necessitate pet owners to move around a lot. There are times when their pets will be left unattended. A business can be modelled around offering services where pet owners can come with their pets to you for temporary care. Alternatively, you can be the one who will go to fend for them in situ. Many people usually leave their pets unattended and offering such services might actually be something they never knew they needed.
Pet Training And Grooming
Many people do not have trained or groomed pets – dogs for instance. I, for one, would prefer to own a pet that is trained and groomed. The business approaches here are several; think broadly. For instance, you can source dogs and train them and sell them. You can explore, through research, what basic and specialist functions pet owners would want pets to perform. This all involves some niching because what pet owners need could be highly segmented. On the other hand, you can offer services where pet owners come to you to have their pets trained or groomed. It is quite an interesting business concept and if well executed can be lucrative.
Pet Breeding
Many people aspire to own pets but not know where to get them. That is where you can come in to breed pets so that you can sell to prospective pet owners. One of the most popular focuses is dog breeding. Some dog breeds once ready for the market can fetch US$300 or more per dog. Good money can be realized from all this.
Pet Location
It is a common occurrence to find pets getting lost. Regularly we get to see stray cats and stray dogs. You would be amazed to discover that most of them actually have owners looking for them. You can set up a business where you can use a structured approach to search for and recover lost pets. Most pet owners would be very much prepared to pay good money for such services.
These are 7 of some of the businesses targeting pet owners one can undertake. I must emphasise though that in Zimbabwe you would have to conduct thorough market research. The importance of accurately niching cannot be overemphasized in this domain. You could even score big if you hit the right buttons; most of the businesses I mentioned in this article are not yet widely the mainstream.