Tail Waggers
Small Business Management - Spring 2003
Table of Contents
Introduction ....................................... 3
Industry Trends ................................... 3
Demographics / Target Market ................. 8
Competition ...................................... 13
Competitive Advantage ........................ 21
Appendix - Bibliography ...................... 25
Introduction:
Tail Waggers is a group of dog-loving people who will provide dog walking, dog grooming and dog sitting services in their owner's homes. We will provide these services on a daily basis, only on certain days, or for extended periods of time. Our basic services include visiting the pet in their home, taking them for a walk, playing with them, feeding them and straightening their area. The home visits will be scheduled in 20 to 30 minute intervals. In addition, we will offer an array of expanded services that include grooming the dogs in the comfort of their own home, overnight dog sitting, and referrals to obedience training programs.
Industry Trends:
The economy plays an important role in a small business.
It is important to understand the factors that affect the economy in order to decide if the new venture will have the desired outcome. Factors that affect economy include the inflation rate, interest rate, and unemployment. Right now United States is suffering a mild recession that is affecting some states more than others. Our business will operate in central New Jersey, specifically in Princeton, Plainsboro and West Windsor. The chamber of commerce in New Jersey stated that "New Jersey economy appears on track for a slow recovery following a mild recession. The overall inflation outlook remains very good with the New York / New Jersey consumers. The price index is rising at an average 1.7 percent for the first six month of this year". Job growth in the central Jersey has expanded by .3 percent compare by the first half of 2001.
Very good
you mentioned in the article that you faced little competition, i would from personal experiance say that this si not the case. true, you do not face much professional competition, but nearly everyone has someone they know (neighbor boy etc) that is perfectly able to take care of their dog. i think the market definatly is short on in home grooming services, great idea, but the house sitting market has alot of competition. great idea, i loved it, i think you covered all of the bases, be sure to check extra hard on what the market can handle, that is one of the most common mistakes businesses mak, thay dont do enough reserch. if you turn this into a business, please let me know how it goes.
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