Everyone loves animals (or at least we don’t know anyone who doesn’t!). As we already know, owning a pet has a positive impact on our mental health and wellbeing for a number of reasons.

But what if you’ve been thinking about turning your love of animals into a business? Is it even possible? I’m here to tell you that it is absolutely possible! Plus, who wouldn’t want a furry friend as a business partner? I know I would love it!

Do if this is something you’ve been thinking about but aren’t sure where to start, here are some ideas for you:

Dog walking/day care

Providing a dog walking/sitting service is probably one of the better-known pet businesses you could have. Along with having the chance to take care of a huge range of different dogs, you get to decide your own hours and have lots of flexibility.

We all lead busy lives nowadays and I know lots of people who would want a dog but not the commitment that comes with taking care of one full time. That’s where you step in. Folk are busy and they simply don’t have the time to spend an hour plus walking a dog every day, so you could offer to do it for them.

Not only is this a viable business idea (that has already been proven to be successful) but you’d get to spend all day with dogs. Building up a client base means more dogs for you to look after and more money. If to wanted to you could branch out to learning about dog behavior, training, and grooming. The sky is your limit. All you need is patience, a home that works for pets, and (if needed) a landlord who is happy with you having animals.

Dog and cat products and equipment

Similar to the above, maybe you really know what a dog needs, more than the dog itself. Maybe you can sense a dog’s emotions from a mile away and feel the need to help them via toys, products, and equipment.

If you’ve got an eye for design and like the idea of creating your own stuff, this could be for you. It’s probably a no-brainer to know that you’ll need to be good with your hands.

Here are some ideas for you if this sounds interesting to you:

• Doggy clothing
• Cat clothing
• Personalised collars and leads
• Commission art of pets
• Family portraits
• Animal jewellery

All of the above means you’ll probably need your own website or an account on somewhere like Etsy or eBay. You could even try Amazon. Lots of people nowadays set up social media accounts for their pets so building up a good following before you launch would also be a good idea. Sharing your ideas with fans would help you confirm whether there is a market to be had depending on the reaction.

If you’re feeling brave you could even pitch your products to local businesses and see if anyone would be willing to pay for a batch. You’ll also be able to gauge if your products are worth continuing with.

Honestly, you could really grow a thriving business.

Get your animal to be a model

Have you ever seen adverts containing some kind of animal? Yeah, me too. You might not know but some of these animals are raking in huge amounts of money for their owners.

Not to mention the Instagram accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers! Honestly, I get rather jealous of these accounts but they’re strangely addictive too follow and interact with.

So, if this sounds pretty cool to you too, maybe you could get your pet onto the big screen (or mobile screen for that matter)? You don’t even need a pure breed anymore (where you’d usually compete in competitions).

Animal bakery

Are you any good at baking? If you are, you could consider baking some healthy treats for your pets. Even better, you could set up shop selling your own baked goods made for animals. All you need is some kitchen utensils and a passion for baking and you’ve got a viable business right there. You can always test the idea by getting a stall at your local flea market before committing to something bigger.

I know that as pet owners we love to treat them. This means that there’ll probably more people out there willing to part with their money to get an unusual treat for their pets. There is actually a pet bakery in my town and their treats are cute, entertaining for the owners and their pets love them.

A winning combination for you, and a possible business option.

Pet store owner

This is probably one a more typical route to go down if you have a love of animals. There are some pretty bad practices across the pet shop industry but this is where you could set yourself apart from the rest.

If you enjoy a wide variety of animals (including rodents, fish and reptiles) this could be a really great business to be in. It would need a substantial investment to start off with and finding the perfect premises could be a pain, but if you’ve always dreamed of doing it, do it. There’s no time like the present.

There is obviously a great opportunity to bring your pet store online, check out Shopify to get your ideas rolling on what to sell​

Become a Youtube star 

The final but not least point for today is probably one for those who are good behind the camera. If you don’t clam up speaking on camera, this could be for you. Although competition is fierce on YouTube, gaining those all important subscribers is a must, so bringing in your pet could really be your unique selling point.

For example, Jenna marbles vlogs about millennial problems but often speaks to her dogs whilst on camera. It’s entertaining and funny, plus her dogs are just the cutest! She continues this through to her Instagram account where her dogs are featured regularly. No doubt she is bringing in a bucket load of cash through sponsorhips and fan contributions.

Author bio:

Jess is a mental health blogger and advocate (who also has a love of animals). She writes to help other people with their mental health and loves inspiring and motivating others. Visit her Modern Day Girl blog for more inspirational articles like this one.