How To Add Revenue with a Pet Wash Service

Everyone has a love for animals. Some people won’t travel or partake in activities that could exclude their pets and/or keep them from their pets for too long. More and more businesses are catering to people’s bonds with their cats and dogs — and seeing an expansion in revenue as a result.

So what if you offered services for pets in addition to what you’re already offering? For example, some drive-thru restaurants have started offering treats for animals. Because of this, customers are more likely to visit these places with their animals. Setting up a pet wash at your existing car wash (or other wash service) can bring in new clientele.

JBS Industries can help get you set up for servicing pets!

Contact Us For Your Pet Wash Supply Needs

What is a Pet Wash?

You may be wondering what a pet wash is and what it consists of. Well, it’s actually pretty simple. A pet wash is simply an area where you wash and groom your pets. Typically, a pet wash will consist of some sort of bathing area, a hose for rinsing and a drying area/blow dryer. You may have heard a pet wash referred to as a self-serve wash.

Of course, there are groomers who bathe pets. Well, groomers can become expensive. It can also be frustrating having to wait for an appointment with a groomer. What if your dog rolled around in the mud? He/she would need a GOOD bath, but you can’t wait days, or even weeks, for the groomer’s schedule to open up to take care of a smelly pet. Every dog owner knows your loyal friend can get into some nasty, stinky stuff from time to time.

Pet washes will of course have business hours, but they are usually open for the convenience of pet owners. As long as there is an open pet wash station, they are free to give their pet a bath. With the groomer, there are usually only a few groomers compared to the hundreds of clients who need to be helped.

A pet wash will also usually supply anything you need, such as the tub (or bathing area), shampoos and face washes, towels, wipes for ear cleaning and blow dryers. If someone were to wash their pet at home, it can be frustrating and expensive to keep all of these items in stocked — not to mention the mess you’re left with after washing a muddy or smelly dog.

Pet washes are just an easy, convenient location to bathe pets. Best of all, the mess is kept out of your home.

What are the Benefits of a Pet Wash?

Stopping at a pet wash to clean up a dirty or stinky per offers numerous benefits to pet owner, which benefits your revenue as well.

• A pet wash can be much less expensive than a groomer.
• There is a designated place to wash pets to stay out of the weather. A lot of people typically wash their pets outdoors to keep from making a mess in their home. This can cause a problem when it is super hot, cold or rainy outside. A pet wash typically provides an enclosed area for pet washing out of the weather.
• The facility is made for pets and offers better access. For those with larger dogs, it can be hard to get them into a tub. Most pet washes have a dog wash bath, which has a ramp animals can use to get in and out.
• Supplies are usually provided. At home, pet owners have to buy/keep up with all the supplies needed to bathe the animal. At a pet wash, they just have to bring their animal. Everything else is provided to them, easing their work load and their budget.
• Pet owners don’t have to worry about excess hair. A pet wash is going to be set up and prepared for lots of hair to come off the animals in the bath. Therefore, there will be systems in place to deal with that. Otherwise, the pet owner has to worry about it either clogging the drain inside or having clumps of hair present around the outside of their home.
• Pet owners don’t have to worry about cleaning up afterward. A major appeal of pet washes is the pet owner doesn’t have to clean out the area once they’re done. After they bathe their pet, they’re free to go, and who wouldn’t want to take advantage of that?
• Avoiding back pain. With a pet wash, people don’t have to constantly lean over to bathe their pet. The pet wash is usually raised so consumers can be standing straight up the whole time to avoid that neck and back strain.

With a pet wash, consumers don’t have to worry about anything except bringing their pet to the location. Everything else is already prepared for them, making their trip as hassle-free as possible.

Expanding Your Revenue Stream

There are millions of people in the world, and a large majority of those people have a pet. Just like us, animals need baths to stay clean and smell fresh. The world is really opening up to dogs. Some stores now allow pets inside. Restaurants are beginning to allow dogs on patios and outside seating areas.

The reality is that if you don’t consider opening up a pet wash, one of your neighboring businesses might beat you to it. If you own a car wash, adding a pet wash is something you should really consider.

Adding a pet wash can:

• increase revenue
• increase overall business exposure
• attract new customers
• earn your business referrals

Think about it. If you’re running a car wash, cleaning is already on the consumer’s mind. Additionally, they’re not going to want a dirty or stinky pet hanging out in the car that they’ve just washed. Adding a pet wash to a car wash lets customers eliminate two errands in one trip, and as a business owner, you’re encouraging each customer to spend more than they did before.

There are of course the startup costs, such as purchasing all necessary supplies and having the equipment installed. Don’t let these costs deter you from adding a pet wash and raking in all the profit that comes with it.

Your pricing to use the pet wash will of course depend on your area, the amenities you provide and maybe even the breed of the pet. But let’s just say your price is $10 per wash, and you sell 10 washes in one day. That’s $100 for the day. If you sell 10 washes every day 7 days a week, that’s $700 per week. If you continued on this pattern, that would be $2,800 per month. If you continued this pattern for the whole year, that would be $33,600 per year. Of course you would have to take into consideration the cost of supplies and operational costs, but that’s still several thousand more in profits than before.

But there is definitely room for even more money to be made. In 2019, about 77% of people chose to use a car wash service. In 2016, the American Pet Products Association (APPA) showed that about 68% of homes had a pet. Think about these numbers. These are both large percentages. More than half the population uses a car wash and owns a pet. If you’re able to combine these two things into one convenient location, you have the potential to make much more than the figures above.

In 2020, the total sales for the pet industry hit about $103.6 billion, which is a first-time achievement for this industry. This achievement is a step up from the 2019 sales, as those were about $97.1 billion. $34.1 billion of those sales were spent on vet care and product sales, and $22.1 billion was spent on supplies, live animals and medications. Your business can bring in a share of the sales for supplies and products if you offer a pet wash.

There is definitely profit to be made with a pet wash business. If you pair it with your existing car wash business, it has the potential to significantly increase your current profits and draw new customers to your location. People with pets are likely to choose a car wash that includes a pet wash station over one that doesn’t.

Choosing JBS Industries

JBS is very familiar with the world of car washing. We have experience with truck washes, touchless car washes, self-serve, friction car washes, dealership car washes, service shop washes and industrial washes.

We can also help you when it comes to pet washes. JBS can help you attain the products you need to successfully run a pet wash, such as different kinds of soaps, flea and tick treatments, tub cleaners and so much more.

In addition, we can help you through the process of setting up your pet wash service. For the pre-planning stages of your new pet wash business venture, check out these helpful tips.

1. Create a business plan. Your business plan is a great way to work through any obstacles you might face. It can also be helpful in showing you how this will benefit your business in the long run. Don’t let this overwhelm you, though. It is just the beginning stage of getting set up for a pet wash.
2. Find the best location. Of course you’ll want it to go along with your pre-existing car wash, but where? Where on the property will it get the most attention from current customers and those driving by? Location is very important for success.
3. Find the best time to open. If your grand opening is around the holidays, people might be too consumed with shopping or family to make a stop by your wash. Try to find the optimal time to open to have the best success. Use this strategy for your business hours as well. Some car washes are open after dark, but people may be wary of partaking in the pet wash at night. Think about your city and what will attract more people.
4. Check out the costs. To start, you’ll definitely need a space for the pet wash as well as all of the supplies. Make plans to get everything paid for and ready for the opening.

If you’re trying to plan to open a pet wash, you’ll want to follow the steps above. This plan will help you get started and start preparing for your new pet wash business.

Once you’re ready to start making decisions and purchases for your new pet wash, take a look at this guide.

1. Start planning. You should already have your business plan, so you’ll have a good place to start. But now you’ll need to really start to plan how things will fall. For instance, you’re going to have to make a decision on how many stations you’ll have and how the stations will be set up.
2. Start purchasing your equipment. You’ll need to start purchasing your tubs and supplies. You’ll want to do this a good bit in advance, just in case there are any stock or shipping delays for the products needed.
3. Contact your needed representatives. When incorporating the pet wash into your existing business, you’ll need your lawyer (or whoever works on your business documents) to draft the contracts to process this. You’ll need to contact your insurance agent to make sure the pet washing business is covered. Whether you get it added into your existing policies or have a new one written, this is extremely important before the grand opening of your new business. You’ll need to contact your accountant or bookkeeper to make sure all of these new expenses are being included. If you need to expand to have more space, you might have to find a real estate agent to help you purchase more land for an expansion. Make sure you contact everyone to tie up those loose ends. This can save you time and frustration in the future.
4. Pick your prices. Start figuring out what your pricing will be. Compare with other pet washes to see what the competitive rates are. Look into a discounted price for bundling a car wash with a pet wash, or maybe some other incentives for purchasing multiple products. You’ll want to do some research on the industry and standards to be successful.
5. Promote your new business. You’ve already got some advertisements out there, but run some promotions and ads on the new addition to your car wash. Make it known that it’s there so people know to give you a try. Make sure people know you offer more than the typical car wash.

With these 5 steps, you can move into the business of pet washes and see an increase in revenue in no time.

At JBS, we don’t sell you cheap products. We pride ourselves on being a high quality manufacturer. We’ve been in the industry of car washes since the 1970s. We have expanded into the pet washing business, and our practices are just as good of quality as with cars.

JBS wants to help you expand your business’s revenue with our high quality line of pet wash products.

We would love to help you with this new business venture. You can contact us via the form on our website, email order@jbsindustries.com or sales@jbsindustries.com, call us at (888) 745-0720 or if you’re ready to go ahead and place an order, you can do that here.