The entrepreneur said: “The worst case scenario is that I’ll lose it all!” On the day he chose to start a business, he made the following harsh words…
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This afternoon, 32-year-old Guan Sheng was washing and caring for the cat’s hair in his pet living center. He moved gently and skillfully, and looked at the cat from time to time.
This pet life center of more than 300 square meters has been in operation for six years. During the six years, the store started by Guan Sheng started with a net loss of 20,000 to 30,000 yuan per month. After a year and a half, it began to make money back, and then in the next year With a revenue of 2 million, the secret to persevering step by step is to keep a calm mind and work down-to-earth.
In his opinion, since you choose to start a business, you should not be afraid of risks.
“Smell” from pets to market
At the end of last year, the “2023-2024 China Pet Industry White Paper (Consumption Report)” produced under the guidance of the Pet Industry Branch of the China Animal Husbandry Association and other institutions showed that the number of pet dogs in China was 51.75 million in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 1.1%, and pet cats The number is 69.8 million, a year-on-year increase of 6.8%. In 2023, the urban pet (dog and cat) consumer market will be 279.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.2%. The pet market has become a promising consumer growth point.
As early as 6 years ago, Guan Shengzhi saw the future prospects of the pet market and chose to start a business in it. At that time, he was opening an online store in Beijing to sell computer accessories. After work, out of his love for pets, he raised a cat and a dog.
Raising cats and dogs is not a worry-free thing. The food, clothing, housing and transportation of pets are becoming more and more exquisite. Guan Sheng would often take them to various pet shops in Beijing to groom and style his pet dogs, and wash and care for his pet cats. Based on this, he met many friends in the pet industry and discovered the pet grooming market. The consumption potential is huge. At the same time, he also saw a mixed bag in the pet grooming market. Some stores smell pungent when you walk in, and the pet shapes are rough, while other stores are clean and tidy, and the pet shapes are fine and pleasing.
“At that time, there were not many high-end pet grooming shops in Tianjin, and most of them were small shops with small areas.” Guan Sheng, who often travels between Beijing and Tianjin, saw the market gap and also saw the market gap. Young and enterprising people He decided to return to Tianjin to start a business, closed the online store that was no longer making much money, and devoted himself to the pet grooming market.
“The worst case scenario is that we’ll all lose it!”
Guan Sheng took out 1 million yuan as a start-up capital. He also roped in a relative who was a cat breeder, who also invested 1 million yuan in the business. “Half of the 2 million yuan was used to rent shops and decorate. The other half was used to buy equipment and hire employees.” Although Guan Sheng only had experience in styling pets at the time and had never really worked in this industry, his determination to start a business was straightforward, “Don’t be afraid of failure when starting a business. I’ll pay it all and continue looking for a job!”
This sentence gave him the confidence to go all the way and face the twists and turns. At that time, he chose the location of the store in the Tiantuo area of Nankai, which is full of newly built high-rise commercial buildings. He learned from the consumption experience of pet stores in Beijing, “I decided from the beginning to be a high-end pet beauty shop, and there should be no odor inside. The decoration must be as comfortable as at home, and the pet groomers must have superb skills, so that they can compete in the crowded pet grooming market for a long time.”
At the same time, given that cat cafes in Tianjin were very popular at the time, he also followed the trend and built a cat cafe on the second floor of the store, making the store a model where pets could be groomed on the first floor and relaxed in the cat cafe on the second floor.
Calmness when the crowd is empty
The “JZ Pet Living Center” was ready for business, and Guan Sheng was very excited, but he did not expect that the place would be empty for a year.
“Completely different from expectations,” Guan Shengting sighed when thinking of the situation at that time. He gradually realized that compared to smaller pet grooming shops, many people wanted to take the high-end route, but the “JZ Pet Life Center” with double the price had many people on the fence. Attitude, is there such a big difference in the price of pet grooming? This gives people pause.
In addition, there were very few customers in the cat cafe on the second floor. “Later, we encountered a special period of three years, and basically no one came here.”
On average, the store loses 20,000 to 30,000 yuan every month. For a whole year, the store cannot make ends meet. Fortunately, Guan Sheng, who has run an online store before, knows that starting a business is not easy. “I was not particularly anxious during that period, but I also set a bottom line for myself. I will work for three years and see the results. If it doesn’t work, then I really can’t.” ”.
He knows that customers need to be nurtured, which allows him to stay focused and down-to-earth and continue to serve every customer well and strive to make them repeat customers.
“Actually, the more I get into this industry, the more I understand that there is a really big gap in pet grooming. A good pet grooming service requires not only skilled technology but also enough patience to get along with them.”
Several pet groomers in the store have large and small scars on their hands, which were left when they encountered uncooperative pets. “So, what we have to do is to allow customers to experience grooming with their pets. The style will satisfy the owner, the process will make the pet happy, and every detail will be taken care of.”
The confidence to open a chain
While accumulating, Guan Sheng was also making strategic adjustments based on the actual situation. Because the cat cafe continued to be desolate, and customers always asked whether the store could provide pet boarding services, he later transformed the cat cafe into pet boarding. space.
In order to increase the awareness of the store, Guan Sheng also promotes it online, which also welcomes many customers to visit the store. In line with the trend of group buying, Guansheng has also launched group buying of pet care and grooming at reduced prices to adapt to the level of the pet consumption market.
After many adjustments, the Pet Life Center has ushered in “spring” after one and a half years of operation.
The customer flow gradually and steadily increased, meeting Guan Sheng’s expectations when he first opened the store. “On average, there are 17 or 18 customers in the store on weekends. The store is no longer in a state of loss, and its reputation has also improved. Since everything from toiletries to Thanks to the meticulous beauty process, we have accumulated hundreds of regular customers. ”
Now it has been operating here for six years, and the store’s annual turnover has reached 2 million yuan. The customer flow can reach more than 30 people on weekends, and there are 17 or 18 people every day on weekdays.
Over the years, although Guan Sheng has not dared to cut the hair of pets easily, he has become an expert in pet care. “I have washed thousands of cats and dogs. Look, I also have a lot of scars on my hands!”
In terms of pet shearing and styling, the number of beauticians in the store has increased from the original two to four. They also often participate in some related exhibitions to buy some niche pet clothing, food, etc., and bring them back to the store to increase the sophistication of the store. feel.
“Many pets come to my house a lot. The owners take the initiative to run to my house when they are walking their dogs. They are very happy. This shows that both the owners and the pets recognize us!” With his career steadily rising, Guan Sheng decided to open another chain store in the future. “It is a direct operation model, so I can fully control it. If it does well, I will open a few more branches in the future to take advantage of the promising future of the pet market!”
(Jinyun News reporter Zhang Heyang)
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