Venture Concept No. 2

Venture Concept Write-Up

Opportunity

The opportunity started mostly from an overlooked market, which can be under the label of college students. However, as I further developed the idea it seems that many consumers residing in urban areas are also interested in a similar service/ product. This is a great opportunity to delve into because of the growing number of pet owners and pet related products.

So the main people who have the needs are:

1. City pet owners
2. College student pet owners
3. Local pet owners

The nature of the need is that these pet owners want to have a place that is close location wise to allow their pets to play outside and also a place that they can bring to their pets to be taken care of temporarily. However, most of the time they need to go to locations that may not have everything that they need and may be far away.

Things to take into account

Changes in the environment creating this opportunity?

The changes that I have noticed is the increase of pet owners especially within the UF college campus. This increase in pet owners grow larger especially during the holidays as pets are a common gift. It is also becoming increasingly common to have more than one pet, then it has been in the past.

How is this market defined geographically and demographically?

As I said previously most of my market will be pet owners, probably from suburban areas. However there has been some demand in urban areas. Below are some charts showing dog and cat owners and their distribution within America. From what I can see, there are more cat owners in the northern states and more dog owners in the southern states.

How are customers currently satisfying this need and how loyal are they to whatever they use now?

·         Using their backyard as an area for their pet

·         Other local pet parks

·         Using a pet sitting service that is separate from the park

The loyal that these consumers may have to the local pet parks and pet sitting service might be strong, however if given the opportunity to make their trip to easier they would most likely chose it.Another thing to note is that most houses in crowded urban areas do not have backyards so they do not have the first option.

How big is this opportunity?

It really depends on the whether this trend of increasing pet owners will continue, however I think it has the opportunity to be a good opportunity to invest in. Especially with my newly developed concept of an indoor pet park.

Duration of window of opportunity?

The duration of the opportunity is not very long, because this idea can be easily imitated and also many companies have already tried to appeal to pet owners as a potential market.

Innovation

The service that I am introducing is opening local dog parks with differentiating amenities such as a pet sitting service and a toy rental store. This will be placed strategically so that it will target the intended market. The thing that I’m selling is the experience of visiting this dog park. If this is accomplished then both the owner and pet will enjoy the park and visit. The way I intend to make money is to through the toy rental, pet sitting, and potential donations,

1.    Toy rental: This will give owners a chance to borrow toys temporarily for their stay at the park. The price depends on the type of toy.

a.       Simple toys like a tennis balls will be inexpensive. For example two tennis balls will be 1.00 for two.

b.      More complex toys will range from 5-10 dollars.

c.       Owners also have the potential buy new toys within our inventory to keep

2.     Pet sitting: Will give owners a place to leave their pet if they need pet sitting service.

a.       This will also be dependent on the type of pet and how long they intend to stay. The range would be 10$-50$ per day and can be reduced if they stay longer than a certain amount of time.

b.      It will be a little  more costly for small increments of time and discounted for longer periods of time

c.       Overnight stays will be around 40-50 dollars

d.      Package deals could be made.

3.       Donations

a.       Donations will be collected in a box at the front desk

b.      Some incentive to donate would be pet perks such as getting discounts for pet sitting or pet products.

c.       Partnering up with potential businesses, which can provide us products.

4. Parking Fees/Entrance Fees

        a. Costs depends on where you live and how much space is available

        b. Entrance fees may only apply to indoor pet parks

Venture

Consumers are willing to buy my innovation because of the convenience and the experience that it could provide them. They can now get multiple services at one location, which makes the pet owner’s lives easier. This convenience is a big part of why customers would want to switch to my park. Potential competitors will not have all the amenities that I will provide and they lack unique qualities that could differentiate them from the other dog parks. The biggest thing that I would like to concentrate on is the customer experience and business location. This is because they play an important role in building and supporting my business concept.

Ways to continue the ongoing product of my service?

·         Constantly innovate and update service to match consumer needs

·         Generate good word of mouth to have free marketing people trust.

·         Great customer service with around 5-15 employees depending on the day

·         Event planning that correlates and complements the environment of the park

·         Initiating community based involvement and activities to form a close relationship with the consumers

·         Continue developing my idea for an indoor pet park suitable for both cats and dogs.

The Three Minor Elements

Most Important Resource	What’s Next	Future
·         Constant improvement that my service is willing to perform for my consumers. ·         Good Word of Mouth ·         Direct contact with the consumer and taking suggestions.	·         I would like to have a small convenient store so that owners will be able to purchase basic items for their pets. ·         Maybe expand to other locations with a large amount of pet owners. ·         Expand into more urban areas by implementing the idea of indoor pet parks to account for majority of the cat owners in the North.	·         I hope to be able to say that I have made my venture last successfully for five years ·         This first venture will help me achieve my future ventures by giving me experience in entrepreneur ship. ·         In the next decade I hope to make my mark on the music industry.

Additional information:

So far, the feedback was really helpful. Most of the comments were concerned about how I was going to get the land in the urban area for a pet park. My solution for that would be to establish indoor pet parks for the areas that don't have an open area to build a pet park on. I think this will be a great solution for the people that live in big cities.They also asked if I was going to have entrance fees, however I am not to sure as of right now. Perhaps I will have entrance fees  for the indoor pet parks and parking fees. I also had positive feedback on the format of the venture concept so I maintain most of the format.