start your own dog treat business??

[tammy8833]

hi
i am a stay at home mom, and i want to make a little extra cash, but i am scared to just jump into anything, has anyone ever purchased the kits online to start your own dog treat business??
does anyone have any suggestions or comments??

Thank you

[Ladylavender]

I don't think you need a "kit" to get started. Here are a couple of things you need to do:

1. Call your local city/county business license office and see what you need to do to get a business license. You will need to find out if you can legally run a business out of your home in your neigborhood and what the parameters are for that. Every city/state is different. You will also need to decide if you want to operate as a sole properietor or under and LLC. There are pros and cons for both, and they will affect how you file your IRS taxes.
2. Call the State office and see about getting a Federal I.D. # or see if you can operate your business under your own SS# and what the finacial obilgations are to do one or the other.
3. You will also need to find out what the code regulations are for making dog food/treats. They are probably not as stringent as they are for human food preparation, but their may be some and you will need to be in compliance.
4. Call an insurance broker and see about insurance for small businesses. (Most homeowner insurance will not cover you under liability for any business risks so you will need to make sure that you get that taken care of. Some will not even cover you for inventory either, so you do need to make sure about that)
5. You will need to start out with 1 or 2 recipes (start small) and you will need to experiment and make sure that you have the right recipe and that more dogs will like the treat, than not.
6. Decide on packaging (name of company, logo, etc.)
7. Find wholesale companies in the area or on-line to purchase your inventory from. You want to make sure you get the lowest prices possible to increase your potential for profit. You don't want to over price the product, because your expenses mandate it.
8. Keep track of all your expenses - for tax purposes. I really like the program - Quick Books - it is accounting made easy.
9. Decide on the market you are going to sale too. Farmer's markets, dog botiques.... That may affect the outcome of your packaging, advertising, etc.
10. Decide if you want to sell on line which is an added expense of web design and web site maintenance.

These are a few things to consider. Once you are set up and on your way, there is very little else to do but make your product, package it and sell, sell, sell!

But remember this: Selling is the key to getting your business off the ground. Selling is going to get you out of the house, so even with an "at home" business, to be sucessful, you CANNOT remain at home. You will have to make time to get your product out to the general public. So you may be at home 30% of the time, making your product , and then out of the home 70% of the time finding people interested in carrying your product.

You will need to establish pricing lists. You will have a set of 2. One for the general public (retail) and a wholesale list for those vendors that want to purchase in bulk and sell in their stores. This entails a whole set of new decisions.

HTH.

[tammy8833]

wow!!

it's a lot, huh? i just really want something simple, to see how i will do before i get to serious, i thought about just making some, see how do i seeling them to people around town i know, word of mouth then moving on to bigger things like the license, the taxes etc...
but i guess i cant legally do that......?

ohh and thank you for the info too!!!! :0)

[chloeandj]

Why not start out on ebay or something? Make a few and see if they sell. Lots of people get their start on ebay before they go into full business. I just don't know if dog treats have a market on ebay, you can do a search.

[tammy8833]

thanks i thought of that too, but i dont know any receipes and dont want to get in trouble for using the avaiable ones online...my mom actually gave me the dog treat idea, because i really just want money to buy more yorkies so my husband cant say anything about me using his money buy some yorkies and stuff, i only have 2 and i want at least a female.

[yougetthesmiles]

Originally Posted by tammy8833

thanks i thought of that too, but i dont know any receipes and dont want to get in trouble for using the avaiable ones online...my mom actually gave me the dog treat idea, because i really just want money to buy more yorkies so my husband cant say anything about me using his money buy some yorkies and stuff, i only have 2 and i want at least a female.

LOL I love that!
I hope you do good at selling the treats so you can get your new baby!

[Ladylavender]

Originally Posted by tammy8833

wow!!

it's a lot, huh? i just really want something simple, to see how i will do before i get to serious, i thought about just making some, see how do i seeling them to people around town i know, word of mouth then moving on to bigger things like the license, the taxes etc...
but i guess i cant legally do that......?

ohh and thank you for the info too!!!! :0)

Well you can do it as a hobby, but you will not be able to claim any of your invesments into inventory as a business under IRS tax laws.

Also, once you exceed a certain $$ amount of sales, then legally you have to start reporting your earnings to the State under your SS# or your federal ID #, so you really want to make sure what those parameters are so if you reach them, you will be prepared. Also, you will not be able to sell wholesale or charge tax without State notification.

You will need to check with the buisness office once you pick a name for your doggie treats that you are going to sell them under, to make sure that no one else in your city/county has use of that same name. You will also need to find out if you can sell products out of your home, legally. I would also check out the code regulations for dog food preparation, if there are any. (because once you start selling to the general public - hobby or not - you will have liability issues)

Even if you start small, you want to make sure that you are protected, in case anyone wants to sue you for making their dog sick!

[tammy8833]

:bowing:
thank you, thank you!!!

[tammy8833]

Thank you ladylavendar, you have been a big help!!i reallt appreciate all thin info and i will keep so i can go back to it if i decide to do this
thank you
thank you
thank you!!!

[xtine]

wow that's really neat! i wish you luck! tell us how it goes!

[Hickey007]

Originally Posted by tammy8833

thanks i thought of that too, but i dont know any receipes and dont want to get in trouble for using the avaiable ones online...my mom actually gave me the dog treat idea, because i really just want money to buy more yorkies so my husband cant say anything about me using his money buy some yorkies and stuff, i only have 2 and i want at least a female.

You can always use the ones online to help you determine what all goes into treats then just kinda come up with your own ideas. Make them in small batches first to see if your pup likes them and if they do then make larger batches to sell. Also if you have a dog boutique around you want to check with them to see if they would carry your treats. I really think in the right area that sort of thing could really take off. Good luck.

[tammy8833]

Thank you
i went to target today and they have 5 or 6 different brands od gourmet dog treat!!!
i was thinking along the same lines , to kinda look at differnet recipes, put some of them together, get a cookie cutter, and i saw some really cute buckets at target for a $1 then wrap them up in something, put in bucket with ribbons, a label and maybe they get a charm for the collar with the treats or something nice as a special gift!!!

[MyTrixie143]

I like your idea of starting up a business for some extra money. I plan on starting up a dog clothing, bedding and etc business in fall. It is so exciting thinking about it. Your dog treat idea is great, I will have to buy some once you get started. Good luck!!!