Have you ever thought about turning your love for animals into a business you can do from your own home? If you are a pet owner, you’re probably a customer for many pet-related businesses.
As you read through this list of ideas for profitable pet businesses, think about your local community. Are any of these products or services that you would use, but aren’t available where you live?
You can also start conducting some market research with friends, family, and local pet owners. Ask them what’s missing or what products they use most often. Or, what services are in high demand for dog owners or cat owners? Think about how busy owners are and how you could make their lives easier or more convenient.
Also, don’t be afraid to learn! If you’re interested in one of these businesses but don’t currently have the knowledge or skills, don’t disregard it. Look up courses, watch YouTube videos, and use Google or ChatGPT.
Another consideration for profitable pet businesses is whether you want one where you work directly with animals, or one where you work solo but provide a product or service to the pet industry or pet owners.
Lastly, depending on the business, such as grooming or training, ensure you have the necessary space, either inside or outside your home, for example, boarding facilities or space and supplies for grooming.
1. Selling Services on Rover
Using the Rover app is one of the best ways to break into the pet industry and get some experience.
With Rover, you can offer a variety of services such as:
- Dog Walking
- Boarding
- Doggy Day Care
- House Sitting
- Drop in Visits
If you want to offer any of these services but aren’t sure how to get clients, Rover is a good place to start. Sitters and walkers can earn up to $1,000 a month.
Want to earn even more cash? Add boarding to your sitting services. Sitters who do this can make up to twice as much.
For more info, check out this in-depth Rover review to learn more about what it’s like and how much money you can earn. If you’re ready to sign up, you can become a sitter here.
2. Offering Grooming Services
If you want to work directly with animals, pet grooming is another profitable option for a pet business.
If you feel comfortable and can find your own customers, you can start working for yourself immediately. Or, you could start part-time work as a groomer for a pet store as you build your business on the side.
To gain experience, consider working as a bather or a grooming trainee first, as these are often entry-level positions and can be easier to find work in. You can find these jobs at pet stores like Petco and PetSmart.
Groomers can provide services such as bathing, nail trimming, ear cleaning, haircutting, and teeth brushing.
On average, groomers make around $23 per hour. If you offer mobile grooming services, you can earn even more.
3. Making and Selling Dog Treats
Before you start any pet food business in the US, be sure to read up on the FDA’s requirements and do your research to see if there are other local or state regulations you need to follow.
If you want to learn from someone who is already doing this, check out Kristen Larsen from Diva Dog Bakery. She has a free workshop on how to run a profitable dog bakery. She also offers a variety of paid courses to help you streamline the process of starting a bakery and learn about selling wholesale, pre-orders, and packaging.
Having a background, or at least an interest in, baking is helpful. Since your furry customers can’t give you direct feedback on your products, it might take some trial and error to find the right products and recipes that keep your customers coming back for more.
You’ll also need to decide where you intend to sell your treats: locally at farmers’ markets, pet stores, online, or a combination.
You can also offer something more niche, like organic pet treats or grain-free or gluten-free treats for animals with different dietary needs. Now that owners are becoming more concerned with pet health, you can serve an important need.
To learn about pricing your treats, check out this dog treats pricing guide.
As a side hustle, you can make $500-$1,000 or more selling treats. Or, if you go full-time, you could even earn five figures monthly, making this one of the more profitable pet businesses.
4. Pet Sitting and Walking
Becoming a pet sitter is a nice business because it’s simple and basically free to start.
Pet Sitters International and the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters are useful resources if you want to start your own pet-sitting business. As we mentioned earlier, you can also look into using a platform like Rover if you don’t want to find your own clients.
While not mandatory, you can take courses to learn pet first aid, pet CPR, and discover more about how to run a pet sitting business.
Some of the services you can provide are:
- Drop-Ins (15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, etc.)
- Overnight
- Extended hours
- In-home boarding
- Walking
You will want to charge different rates for each of these services, so it’s important to learn how to price them.
5. Vlogging Your Pet
When I graduated from college, I started watching a YouTuber who had a pet corgi. Over time, more and more of his content became corgi-related. Now he also sells lots of corgi-related merchandise, and most viewers watch him for his corgi content.
As a pet vlogger, you can document the day-to-day life of your pet and entertain your followers with tricks, games, or other activities your pet does.
Spend some time watching other vloggers and see what stands out about their content.
One of the best advantages of vlogging is that you don’t need specific training or large startup costs. To get started, you’ll just need a camera, some editing software, and creative content ideas to keep your viewers engaged.
As a YouTuber, you can earn money through ads with the YouTube Partner Program, land sponsorships with brands, use affiliate marketing, sell products, or create a channel membership program.
This article will teach you how to start a YouTube channel and will guide you through more ways to make money as a YouTuber.
6. Taking Pet Photos
If you have a background in photography or love taking photos, consider going into pet photography.
To get started, you’ll need experience with photography, either professionally or as a hobby. Plus, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with editing software such as Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom.
A high-quality camera and a good lens are important as well.
Lastly, experience with animals is important because you’ll need to make the pets feel relaxed and comfortable. To do this, you can also have pet toys or treats on hand.
You can read this article to learn more about pet photography pricing structures and tiers. In general, the average rate is $150 per hour. You can either charge by the hour or a set price that includes the photo shoot, editing, and photos. Don’t forget that editing can take up lots of time, so build that into your rate if you use a flat fee.
7. Influencing
For anyone with a passion for social media and animals, pet influencer work could be a fun business idea. You might even have a long list of cats or dogs that you already follow on Instagram.
To make money with pet influencing, you can use affiliate links, create sponsored content for other brands, or even sell your own merch like leashes, pet clothing, or other pet supplies.
Start following other accounts, and pay attention to which content catches your eye and which posts get the most clicks, comments, or likes.
Think about what platform you will use and what type of content you will create.
8. Blogging Your Pet
Pet blogging is another option for introverts or anyone who wants a completely remote business with no customer or client interaction.
To become a pet blogger, you’ll need to work on two things.
First, you’ll need to come up with content ideas.
Think about both your experience with pets and your interests.
For example, do you want your content to be educational, where you teach something, or primarily entertaining, where you make people laugh?
Second, if you’ve never had a blog, you’ll need to learn how to start one and handle the logistics.
Bloggers can make money through affiliate links, advertising, sponsored posts, consulting, or online products.
Blogging can be a great complement to being a YouTube vlogger, as we discussed earlier.
9. Drawing Pet Portraits
If you are artistic and creative, drawing pet portraits could be a career that combines your love for animals with your creative interests.
You can even do this completely from home, as long as the owner sends you pictures of their pets.
To start, learn from someone who is already doing it. On her website, Jess Ridley walks through her entire process for creating pet portraits and the tools you’ll need.
If you’re brand new and nervous, you might consider doing a few pet portraits for friends or family at a reduced rate or for free to get some experience and become more comfortable with the process.
You might be wondering how much to charge. As a beginner, $50-$150 per portrait is a good range. As you gain experience, you can raise your rates. The most experienced and talented artists can make thousands per portrait.
To set your price, also consider the materials you’re using, the portrait size, how much time you have to complete the project, and any special details the owner has requested.
10. Conducting Dog Training or Pet Training
Pet training can be an interesting and rewarding career if you’re willing to put in some time and effort up front.
A certification from an organization like CCPDT (Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers) is not required, but can be helpful.
You can also gain some experience by volunteering at an animal shelter or finding a mentor who is an experienced trainer.
Hands-on experience is critical, as pet training can require a lot of patience, strong people skills to work with owners, and an understanding of animal behavior.
The average pay for a dog trainer is $19.40 per hour. However, you can earn more if you run your own business than if you work for a company.
11. Creating and Selling Pet Products on Etsy
Etsy is another good option for creatives looking to start profitable pet businesses, especially if you don’t want to run your own online store.
On Etsy, you can find thousands of products for both pets and their owners, like dog collars, pet clothes, toy baskets, key chains, feeding mats, mugs, and other accessories.
You can either create and sell generic products or, for an additional fee, customize them with names, dates, or other personal details for pet owners.
To get started, read up on how to start an Etsy shop. Or, check out some of these Etsy alternatives for places to sell your goods.
When you’re using a huge platform like Etsy, it can be hard to get views on your products, especially as a beginner. Take some time to learn how Etsy Search works and about Keywords 101.
12. Working in Veterinary Medicine Remotely
Another option is to offer freelance services in veterinary medicine. This could include roles such as bookkeeping, admin or virtual assistant, HR, or social media management.
Or, if you’re already trained as a veterinarian or veterinary nurse, you could work in telemedicine or get a remote role in pet insurance or with a pharmaceutical company.
13. Teaching Online Classes or Courses
Another option is to consider teaching. You could use many of the ideas we’ve talked about above and package your knowledge into an online course or class.
For example, you could teach others how to start a dog-walking business, or demonstrate your skills in grooming or pet training with an online program.
If your students want additional help, you could offer consulting or freelance services as well.
To begin, you’ll need to choose a course topic and find a platform to sell it. Some popular platforms are:
A Few Tips About Getting Started
Conduct Informational Interviews Before You Start
When you’re embarking on a new career or side hustle, informational interviews are your new best friend.
Find at least one person in the pet industry and email or message them on social media.
There is no better way to gather insights about profitable pet businesses than from someone who is already doing it.
Market and Get Customers
If you’re struggling to get your first few customers, try offering your products or services at a free or discounted rate in exchange for testimonials or reviews.
You can also ask happy customers to refer you to their friends and family.
For product-based businesses, you could also send your products to influencers or YouTubers to review or share with their followers.
Consider the Startup Costs
When starting a business, it’s important to consider the costs of getting it up and running.
While most of the businesses we’ve discussed are free or low-cost to start, it doesn’t hurt to create a comprehensive business plan that details your expected costs.
Price Your Services
Remember that pricing can vary based on many factors.
As you set your rates, consider your location first, and see what others are charging in your area.
Also, if you’re working for yourself or are an independent contractor, you’ll need to consider taxes, insurance, administrative work, and other business expenses.
Summary of Profitable Pet Businesses
As you can see, there are countless options for a career path or a thriving business in the pet industry.
Start by considering whether you want to work through a platform or app like Rover or Etsy, or prefer to run your own business.
You can always start with an app, as you grow your own business on the side.
If you’re planning to run a business that works directly with pets and their owners, make sure you’re comfortable with animals and have strong people skills, as it’s important to get along well with the owners.
Lastly, another possibility is to find volunteer opportunities to work with animals, such as Canine Companions or your local animal shelters.
So, which of these profitable pet businesses would you like to start?
