Scorecard · Phoenix, AZ
Mobile dog grooming van
61/100
How much does it cost to start a mobile dog grooming business in Phoenix? $28,000–$52,000 in Phoenix, AZ, on the figures below.
- Profit
- A
- Phoenix mobile groomers charge $95–$150 a dog and finish 5–6 a day. At $115 and 5 dogs that is $575 a day with supplies under $8 a dog.
- Difficulty
- B
- Arizona does not licence groomers. You need a city transaction privilege tax licence, commercial auto insurance and the skill itself, which takes 6–12 months to get fast at.
- Capital
- C$28,000–$52,000
- A used van is $12,000–$22,000, the grooming conversion with tub, dryer, generator and water tank is $14,000–$26,000, and tools run $2,000.
Break-even
- The number that has to be true
- 23 dogs a week at $115
- Fixed costs a month
- $4,300
- The assumption
- Routes tight enough that five appointments fit inside one day of driving.
Opening for less
All three together take $44,500 off: $52,000 becomes $7,500.
Buy a van already converted from a groomer leaving the trade
−$16,000
Costs you: You take their layout, and resale is a narrow market
Start from a fixed tub in a rented salon chair, not a van
−$24,000
Costs you: Clients drive to you, which is exactly the convenience they pay the premium for
Run city water and a portable tank instead of an on-board hot water heater
−$4,500
Costs you: Every appointment needs an outdoor tap you are allowed to use
How you’d do it
What you need
- Grooming competence: 200+ dogs of practice before you charge $115
- Commercial auto and animal-care liability insurance, roughly $2,400 a year
- A Phoenix transaction privilege tax licence
- A booking system that holds deposits, because no-shows cost a whole slot
First 3 moves
- 1Groom 20 dogs at cost for neighbours and photograph every one.
- 2Price three Phoenix mobile competitors by phone and write their travel radius down.
- 3Fill one week of appointments by hand before you buy the van.
The hardest part
Your hands and your calendar are the whole business: one bad back is one lost month.
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