Pet Cremation Business Plan: Tips on How to Start Your Own Business

Introduction

The following plan is meant for the design of a pet cemetery, crematory, and a funeral home. Owing to the immense opportunity in the management of pet remains after they die as a result of environmental stewardship, increasing the need to create lasting memories for pets by many households, and the increasing migration to urban areas and actual spread of urbanization, this business opportunity is a promising venture that is worth investing on.

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Key Characteristics and Elements of the Company

Mode of Business

The business venture will be a sole proprietorship; a sole proprietorship is also known as a sole trader or in simple terms, a proprietorship. It is a manner of business that is run and owned by a single individual whereby there is no any legal separation between the business and the owner. This is to mean that the business will not be deemed as a separate legal entity (Vendel & Brown, 2012).

Zoning and Land Use

The proposed business will be situated in the suburbs of Tampa, Florida and will be built on a three-acre parcel of land. The choice of location has been driven by the rising population in the cities around this small town and which necessitates the establishment of a pet cemetery. Additionally, there are very few pet cemeteries in this area, and this provides a wider market share for the business (Parker & Van Praag, 2012).

Start Up Capital

Before the starting of the pet cemetery, crematorium, and funeral home, there is a need to determine the mode of financing that the business will adopt. The options at the predisposal of the owner include self-sponsorship, equity financing, or debt financing. The business will approximately demand $400,000, and since it is most likely to be a sole proprietorship, debt financing would be most appropriate. A loan would be appropriate at the start of the business so that the owner may not experience liquidity constraints upfront; such a loan would reflect as a long-term liability in the business’ statement of financial position (Saylors, Boje & Mueller, 2014).

Air Pollution Regulation

Strict air pollution regulations necessitate more advanced methods of cremation as well as management of remains, which the proposed is ready to undertake. The business will make use of advanced technologies in the cremation unit and the remains processor. California State has adopted air pollution provisions akin to the standards of U. S. E. P. A. The proposed organization will take the time to measures to ensure compliance with these air pollution standards (Anandarajan, Anandarajan & Srinivasan, 2012).

Factors to Consider before Starting Business

Financing

The business is going to require a total of $381,100 which will be divided in the following manner:

• Land $80,000

• Building $103,000

• Human Resources 35,600

• Variable costs $20,000

• Marketing $10,500

• Trucks $70,000

• Legal Documentation $8,000

• Cremation Unit $33,000

• Remains Processor $ 21,000

Variable costs are those related to utilities for a crematory unit such as fuel, electricity, and water. These costs may vary from one point to another due to fluctuation in pricing. With 381,000 USD as the initial capital outlay, the business would have to break even within a period of one-quarter i.e. three months; this way the owner will be very much comfortable to pay himself first as the entrepreneur and to reserve more capital for the growth and development of the business (Mahdjoubi & Gibson, 2015).

On the contrary, there exist fixed costs that will be footed by the initial capital outlay. Fixed costs refer to business costs that will always be constant regardless of the quantity of commodities produced. At the beginning of the pet cemetery business venture, the costs that will be fixed include land rent, legal documentation, and erection of a cremation unit, building and remains processor.

All the finances of the business, having been sourced from a bank loan, will have to be eventually attended to by the profits and other revenues made on the side by the business owner. Since banking institutions do not accord borrowers a “grace period” the owner will be expected to repay the loan every thirty days after being granted the cash. The default may lead to bankruptcy and consequent dissolution of the business that is, insolvency.

Initial Expense

Operation Items

To operate efficiently, the business will acquire some items including brochures for marketing purposes, authorization from the local authority, tracking system, certificate of cremation for a private cemetery, certificate for private cremation unit, and an accounting system. Marketing will be an important part of the business and the target audience i.e. prospective clients will comprise pet owners.

Parking Lot

In the event of a funeral procession, there will be a need for the owners to park their vehicles at the periphery of the cemetery. With such a predisposition, about one more acre will be acquired from State authorities to cater for space on the driveway where pulled cars can be parked for a while. To better manage the space used, it will be a requirement that only ten vehicles be used as transport for the nuclear family of a pet and in rare cases, the extended family. Additionally, a parking lot will be necessary for all the vehicles belonging to the company whenever they are not in transit.

Furnishings

For the most part, the cemetery and the crematorium will not require a lot of furnishing, but there are several items that will come in handy at the funeral home. First and foremost, the funeral hone will require a freezing unit that will comprise several freezers for the preservation of pet bodies as they await burial or cremation. The freezers in question will have a freezing ability that can be likened to chest freezers. Stretchers will also be necessary because they will be used in placement of the dead animal bodies in the freezing unit.

Floor Plans and Remodeling

About remodeling and floor plans, the funeral home and the crematorium are concerned since there will be no floor on the cemetery. For the most of the funeral home, the floor will be tiled; this will also apply for the crematorium save for areas around the furnaces and kilns where steel reinforced concrete and asbestos will be used. Note that OSHA requirements will have to be followed to the tee because asbestos is not very conducive for human environments that are, workers at the crematorium.

Conclusion

In as much as starting a business comes with its fair share of challenges, keeping it afloat is the main issue. The growth and development of a business are pegged on the sales volume realized quarter on quarter. For the desired sales and subsequent profits to be made, the owner will have to conduct considerable marketing that will make customers aware about the presence of the business.

References

Anandarajan, M., Anandarajan, A., & Srinivasan, C. A. (Eds.). (2012). Business intelligence techniques: a perspective from accounting and finance. Springer Science & Business Media.

Boons, F., & Lüdeke-Freund, F. (2013). Business models for sustainable innovation: state-of-the-art and steps towards a research agenda. Journal of Cleaner Production, 45, 9-19.

Mahdjoubi, D., & Gibson, D. V. (2015). Formal Business Plans as Myth and Ceremony: Education and Practical Implications. World Technopolis Review, 4(4), 222-237.

Parker, S. C., & Van Praag, C. M. (2012). The entrepreneur's mode of entry: Business takeover or new venture start?. Journal of Business Venturing, 27(1), 31-46.

Saylors, R., Boje, D. M., & Mueller, T. J. (2014). Entrepreneurial Storytelling in Moments of Friendship: Antenarratives of business plans, risk taking, and venture capital narratives. Tamara Journal of Critical Organisation Inquiry, 12(4), 3.

Vendel, M., & Brown, T. (2012). SERIAL ENTREPRENEURS–ALTERNATIVES TO TRADITIONAL BUSINESS PLANS?(Interactive Paper). Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research, 32(4), 24.