Running a pet boarding and daycare facility can be absolutely exhausting, especially around the holidays. Many November and December holidays are celebrated walking dogs, cleaning kennels and feeding four-legged friends. Following New Year’s Day, January can bring a slight relief to the rush and give you time to think about your resolutions for the new year ahead. It takes a true pet lover to dedicate their time and holidays to their boarding and daycare business.

New Year’s resolutions are most people’s focus in January. All month long you hear people talk about losing weight, exercising, quitting smoking, making more money; however, only a small percentage of people will keep their New Year’s Resolutions. In fact, after about one month most resolutions are completely forgotten. The most common reason for participants failing in their New Year’s Resolutions was setting themselves up with unrealistic goals. Yet, those that do seem to achieve their goals, usually happens through goal setting (a system where smaller goals/resolutions are being set).

Understanding these trends allows us to look at our pet boarding & daycare business resolutions in a different, more obtainable light. Rather than setting one huge unsurpassable resolution that is likely to fail, I recommend smaller, more realistic seasonal resolutions. By setting small seasonal goals that can be achieved easily will allow you to keep moving forward and get rewarded along the way; basically, Small Resolutions=Success.

January - Planning

First of all, enjoy any rest you can get and use January as a simple planning month to sit down with a notebook and pen to make a few simple resolutions to add to your 2016 business plan. This plan can be as elaborate or as simple as you like, but I recommend simple. In fact, this plan can be simplified so that once you are in the habit of practicing your new business resolutions, you can potentially pass the responsibility to another co-worker or employee.

February - Fall in Love

Winding down from winter, during February, fall back into love with your business. Running a business can be just like a relationship. It takes attention, cultivation, and nurturing. How long has it been since you looked at the needs of your boarding/daycare business? Do you still go to work with the excitement you had the first day you opened? Make a list of the positives and negatives you feel about your business and make improvements. Unless you re-evaluate any relationship, it will not grow. Remind yourself what made you so happy in the beginning and use that to get back in love.

Spring Cleaning and Social Media

Moving from the grueling winter into spring is the perfect opportunity to “springboard” into cleaning and organizing before the Spring Breakers drop off their pets for vacation. Do a walkthrough of your facility, looking through the eyes of your clients. Are things organized, clean, and tidy? Do the kennels need improvements? Do the drains smell or need to be flushed? Is there doggy playground equipment that is breaking down? Have you let your yard get spotty and thin? Would a coat of paint to the building go a long way?

As you move through the spring cleaning and organizing season, make sure your marketing materials are current. Look over the printed materials and promotional items you use to see if they are up-to-date or need to be revised. Do you have a ready supply of brochures and business cards? Do they need a makeover? Do you need a new logo? Finally, do your uniforms or employees need a polish? The perception of value starts with the appearance of your staff and the facility the minute the client walks in the door.

While you are still trapped indoors during the spring thaw, it is a great time to get your online presence organized. Spring cleaning doesn’t have to just be in your facility and printed materials; it needs to be reflected in your website, social medias, and online listings. Look over your website to make sure the information presented is accurate, your picture gallery is updated, new employees are represented, and new services are updated. If you don’t have a website, now is the time to get one. According to the Internet World Stats, over 3 billion people use the internet worldwide. North America commanded over 315 million users alone in 2015. So, needless to say, businesses that can’t be found online won’t bring new business from internet users.

This also is a good time to get your social media in order. There are over 161 million Facebook users in North America alone. Make sure you are doing daily posts on social medias every day, or use a social media service that will let you post to several pages all at once to save valuable time. In fact, take 1 hour each month to schedule out your social media postings if you find checking daily is too difficult.

Market Your Summer Services

Moving from spring into summer provides great opportunities to offer new services for the summer vacation boarders. Once you have worked out your online presence and promotions, be ready with a full arsenal of services that can make you more money each transaction. Rather than just the routine check-in for boarding, create a menu of services you can provide to give clients the ability to choose activities for their pets. It can be bathing and grooming, nail trims, extra playtime, walks, socialization classes, training classes, holiday parties, special treats, as well as texting pictures of the pets being cuddled, spoiled and playing. Allow clients to ease the guilt of leaving their pets by letting them choose the fun extras to reward their pet with a vacation too!

Bring in more summertime fun by working on your client communications. Start collecting emails and smart phone numbers from every client. If you find your business slows down in the summer, text specials to clients on slow days. While a client may not need a full boarding service on the spur of the moment, they can certainly take advantage of special doggy daycare fun days. Texting offers of pool time, social mixers, and play hours during the slow days can generate missed income. Also, the clients can get into the habit of dropping off their pets while they go shopping or have their spa day.

To use email addresses efficiently, try to send out a monthly communication promoting 1-2 new things you are doing that month. I don’t really recommend newsletters since I, myself, really don’t read them, however, I love email commutations that are only 1 or 2 lines that get the message across quickly with a link to the website or phone number for fast contact.

Something New for Fall

Fall is back to school time! Learn something new or offer a big new service this season. It is always important to try and take your business to the next level. What is the one big service you have dreamed of offering? Is it to install a new indoor playground? What about a diving dock, or perhaps a grooming spa or pet massage parlor? Some facilities thrive on technology and install streaming cameras of pets being boarded so clients can login with a password and see how their pets are doing from their smartphone. Poll your clients and see what they would be interested in having for their pet, do the research and set a target start date.

Fall is also a great time for marketing your business with a fun event. While you may still be focusing on your new big service you are planning, don’t forget to start the holidays off with a bang in October. Having an event is a great relationship builder; it keeps you in the client’s sights for the holidays. Plan something fun and easy. You can offer a simple get together or have a pet costume contest with an open house. The sky is the limit when it comes to celebrating fun for your clients.

Give Thanks

Finally moving from fall into winter is a time for giving thanks. Resolve to build stronger relationships with your clients by expressing your thanks to them for trusting you with their beloved pet. Showing appreciation to your clients can strengthen the bond that will retain lasting relationships. There are several ways to show thanks without giving away services or discounts. Get a pack of thank-you notes and jot down a reason why you love to care for a client’s pet. You can mention how important their business is to you because it helps to not only keep your doors open, but it helps your family as well. You could also find a few minutes at check-in or check-out to speak with your clients and let them know they are appreciated or tell a small detail of why you look forward to their pet coming in. Any token of appreciation can go a long way in strengthening your relationships.

Season of Giving

Holidays can also be a time to give. If you are financially able, you can give each pet a small gift, however, if you are unable to do that, this may be a good time to invest in your community presence by becoming a drop-site for rescue donations. During the month of December we ran a food drive for a local rescue and collected almost 1,100lbs of food. This not only helped the rescue, it showed clients our compassionate side and created a buzz about our business in the public.

At the end of the year it is always important to take time to reflect back on all the resolutions you have instituted. Think about what worked, what didn’t, what could have been done better, or what should be repeated. By making small, obtainable resolutions monthly, which also reward you at the same time will give you the ability to keep moving forward into the next year with success.

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