Instructions

1

Contact your local and state governments. You need to make sure you're legally able to start a pet grooming business on your property. Also, you need to find out about the zoning, permit, licensing, and insurance regulations for your city and state. Find out what forms and applications you need and where you should submit them. For example, you may be zoned to run a small business from your home, but you may not be zoned to have clients visiting your home on a regular basis, which is necessary to run a pet grooming business.
2

Talk with your neighbors to make sure operating your business from home won't be a problem. Discuss their concerns in an open and honest conversation. Make sure they're fine with you having clients frequently visiting your home and having multiple animals on your property at a time. Having several dogs in your home at once, for example, could cause a great deal of noise. Make sure your neighbors understand this and don't have a problem with it. It's better to deal with any potential issues before opening your home-based pet grooming business.
3

Make a list of startup costs, and decide how much, if any, financial support you'll need. Your startup costs will depend on the types of services you plan to offer. For example, if you plan to offer pet bathing, you'll need a large tub. If you decide you do need financial support, consider bringing in a business partner or schedule an appointment with a financial adviser at your bank to discuss loan options.
4

Write out a business plan. Your business plan should include your startup costs, how much you can personally invest into your business, your financial goals, and remodels that will need to be made on your home. For example, you may need to remodel your living room to function more like an outer office. This type of construction could require adding walls or cutting out large chunks of your existing walls. You may also need to remodel an area to function as a place to bathe the animals, which would require the installation of one or more large tubs.
5

Make sure you have a marketing plan that includes specific steps you plan to take, as well as a time frame. For example, you plan to create a simple website within the first month of opening your business. Your website would include what types of pet grooming services you offer, rates for each service, and the types of animals you groom, such as dogs and cats.
6

Meet with an accountant and a lawyer. An accountant can help you learn to track your business expenses and profits for tax purposes. Keeping detailed records is very important for small business owners. A lawyer can help you understand your legal obligations to your city, state, and your employees if you plan to have any. For example, if you plan to hire an employee to handle certain aspects of grooming the animals, you may be required to provide medical insurance to the employee in case she's injured by an animal.