Become a top dog business owner with My Best Friend

Introduction From our Founder, Jon Roff

When I created My Best Friend back in 2015, I walked away from a typical corporate management existence. My old job was dull, stressful and was taking too much time away from the things that mattered to me most in life – my family.

Fast forward to today, and my life couldn’t be more different. I wake up actually looking forward to my day. I work from home, so I’m able to spend time with my family and enjoy making the most of the beautiful countryside we have here in the Cotswolds.

When I changed career, I anticipated the change of pace – that’s why I created My Best Friend in the first place – but I didn’t anticipate the personal satisfaction I get from seeing the difference our services make to the lives of our clients – and their canine best friends. What we do is truly rewarding.

“The pet care market is growing at 4%, with nearly a quarter of UK households owning at least one dog. Now is the right time to start a dog care business.” - Forbes Magazine

What We Do at My Best Friend

My Best Friend provides a caring, convenient and professional service for dog-owners.

Our services include:

Day care
Home boarding
Home visits
Pet-sitting
Pet transportation
Dog walking

As a franchisee you can choose to build your business using all or some of our services to suit your lifestyle.

We take pride in treating our clients’ dogs as if they were our own

As a My Best Friend business owner, every day will be different. You’re likely to be spending a lot of time outside walking the dogs in your care. If you’ve built up a network of carers for home boarding, you’ll be making sure those dogs are happy, as well as doing house visits, new client consultations and caring for dogs you might be looking after in your own home. As your business grows, you may also decide to recruit one or more dog walkers to give you a hand.

Our model is deliberately very hands-on

We are not an online matching service and we assess each and every dog (and owner) before taking a booking. We’ve found this personal approach results in happy dogs, with happy owners who use our services again and again, providing a core of ‘regulars’ that’s vital for building a stable income.

“We can’t recommend My Best Friend enough. I wouldn’t let my dog go anywhere else!” - Jayne Newton, regular client“

What You’ll Get as a Franchisee

Your own patch

When you become a My Best Friend franchisee, we’ll work with you to build a tailored and exclusive territory on which to become established. We will give you comprehensive training and support to help you find clients, recruit carers and dog walkers, and assist with the day to day running of your business. You don’t need previous business experience, just a willingness to work hard and an affinity for dogs and their owners.

Getting started

To help you get up and running as easily as possible, we’ve put together a programme that covers all the aspects of running your own dog care business – everything from doggy first aid to Facebook advertising. Plus, you get to benefit from our experience, so you can work on the essentials and focus on building your own profitable business.

My Best Friend Dog Care Diploma

It’s important that you can work with confidence and know what’s best for the dogs in your care. To ensure you can do this, you’ll receive personal training that leads to the My Best Friend Dog Care Diploma. The training includes:

Getting started To help you get up and running as easily as possible, we’ve put together a programme that covers all the aspects of running your own dog care business – everything from doggy first aid to Facebook advertising. Plus, you get to benefit from our experience, so you can work on the essentials and focus on building your own profitable business.

Dog psychology
Managing aggression
Managing bite avoidance
Animal welfare and transport
Doggy first aid
Responsible dog-walking

Business-related Training

Some of our business-focused training relates specifically to our industry, and some is more generic. As part of the introductory training, you’ll be able to spend time at an existing My Best Friend operation and learn on-the-job.

We’ll also spend time with you on your own site to help you set up your home office, begin networking and make those first sales visits. In addition, you also get:

Sales and marketing training
Instructions on how to obtain Home Boarding Licences for your network of carers
Training in customer service to ensure a high level of repeat business
Financial reporting training delivered in partnership with the UK’s leading franchise accountancy practice
Training on administration tasks and software tutorials
A comprehensive manual on how to run your business

“Having always wanted to start my own business, and of course having always loved dogs, My Best Friend was an obvious choice. Their ethos and culture are a great match for me and their franchise packages seemed to be the most comprehensive available.” - Melanie Hillier, My Best Friend Franchisee, South Cotswolds

Financial Overview

What are the costs?

In our opinion the My Best Friend franchise package offers great value for money and a high return on investment; for an initial fee of £9,999 + VAT we give you the tools to get your business up and running. You may require working capital whilst you grow but don’t worry, we can help calculate just how much or little this may be. However, we do waive the management fees for the first three months to help you on your way.

We have preferred lending agreements (subject to individual approvals) with Lloyds, Nat West and HSBC which can provide you with up to 60% of the initial fee.

How much can I earn?

This really depends on you. As with most things, the more you put in the more you get out. As part of the application process we provide you with tools to calculate what you could expect to earn over the first 2 years of running the business. When we first started My Best Friend, our year 1 turn-over was a fantastic £47,000, with year 2 at close to £75,000*. *The above is not a guarantee of expected income and should not be taken as such.

Do I have to pay a deposit?

Yes, once both parties have decided they want to proceed we ask that you pay a refundable deposit which is subject to a deposit agreement; this secures your exclusive territory.

How long does it take to get going?

From the time you attend a discovery day to signing the agreement can be as little as 4 weeks. This gives you time to seek legal advice, arrange any finance and have time to really think it through. Once the agreement is signed we have an 8 week implementation process to get your business up and running.

How long is the franchise agreement?

A franchise term is for 5 years, but you get the opportunity to take another 5 years term for free! All we ask is that you have met the quality and performance targets set out in your initial agreement.

A Final Note…

Becoming a My Best Friend Franchisee is more than just calculating your return on investment. It’s about being your own boss, changing your lifestyle and doing something that’s great fun and very rewarding. We very much hope you consider becoming part of our team.

Simply get in touch for an informal no obligation chat; if you like what you hear, and we like the sound of you, we will organise a discovery day for you to really get under the skin of what it’s like to be a My Best Friend Franchisee.

My Best Friend Dog Care