Many of us view our petsas part of our family. I know I do -they are my family. That means that we want the best for them. That'swhy the industry grew to $13.6 billion in sales in 2010. And why the pet industry has coined a new phrase for pet owners -we're now pet parents!
Over the last few years we've seen a variety of upgraded pet productscome onto the market, from premium food to customized pets diets, designer dishes and clothes to fluffy beds and personalized paraphernalia.
Austin-based PetRelocation.com took vantage of this growing trend beginning in 2004. OwnersKevin and Angie O'Brien began PetRelocation.comwith $97,000 in the vision of providing worldwide door-to-door pet transportation services. They handle every detail involved in planning and implementing safe and compassionate pet shipping for their clients.
Thishusband-and-wife team were no strangers to pet care. In fact they sold a doggie daycare business to get into their new operation. The $97,000 investment was used to create their website, run Google ads and to buy a van for comfortable transportation.
Today, the business has the ability to move any critter anywhere around the world--from dogs to rats to frogs and more. Wow - guinea pigs in flight!
PetRelocation.com offers a fully turn-key service for your pets. They book the airline flights, take care of all the veterinary requirements, manage logistics and even handle any requirements for international moves (like customs and more.)
PetRelocation.com has won numerous awards for their TLC with our family members. In doing so theypowered $4M in revenues in 2010. How's that for a return on a $97K investment?
PetRelocation.com saw an emerging market opportunity and shifted their course to leverage it for growth. And it wasn't a huge shift - they already knew the pet business from their doggie day care experience. They simply saw a larger (and less competitive) opportunity looming in front of them, and they took it.
Do you have an emerging growth opportunity staring you in the face? Have you looked for one lately?