Veterinarian Dave Close of Raleigh, N.C., owns and operates a clinic for cats and dogs. Though it has cages, surgery table and pharmacy, it isn’t your typical vet’s office. He runs his practice from the back of a restored 1964 Ford truck he bought for $4,500.
‘I decided that by being mobile I could set my own hours and still spend time with my kids,’ says Dr. Close, who started his business, Close Calls, 2 years ago because he got tired of working at a 24-hour emergency veterinary clinic on the weekends, and missing a lot of his kids’ soccer games as a result. His annual revenue is about $55,000.
In the world of commerce, there may be nothing more independent than having a business on wheels. While little hard data exist, there is anecdotal evidence of increasing numbers of mobile entrepreneurs, who, market research suggests, are driven by more than the lure of the open road. Indeed, some see a growing market for a variety of mobile services, thanks to increasing numbers of stay-at-homes and people pressed for time. The diversity of current businesses on wheels includes pet grooming, car detailing and washing, paper shredding, gyms and shoe repairs.
A 2006 study by Packaged Facts, a division of Rockville, Md. based MarketResearch.com, estimates that mobile grooming of pets accounts for as much as 15% of total pet-grooming-service sales.
Customers in this niche include stay-at-home moms, self-employed people who work at home, seniors who no longer drive or who live in retirement homes, and shift workers who can’t drop off a pet in the morning. Mobile groomers are able to charge at least $10 more than groomers with storefronts, and can afford to groom fewer pets per day, averaging 6 instead of 8.
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