Become a Franchisee

"I worked as a dog walker for James when Mad Dogs was operating only across Sydney. He made me a challenging proposal to take the brand interstate, which I was worried to do so as I didn't know how it would be. With my hard-work combined with James' guidance, a very strong brand and a well oiled machine system, not only the Brisbane franchise succeeded but also became the biggest Mad Dogs franchise in a couple of years. Mad Dogs has expanded all over Queensland since then and I have just happily renewed my contract for another 5 years"

Kiel MDAE Brisbane & Terrigal

“After leaving the Police Force and never having owned a business before, and no experience handling dogs apart from owning pets - with James’ know how, support and expertise, my franchise has gone from me alone starting with a couple of clients, to being the largest dog walking business in my area - with 4 vans and 5 full time staff!”

Kyle MDAE Inner West Sydney

"Having spent 8 years walking dogs for Mad Dogs prior to becoming a franchise owner, this journey has been both a personal and professional achievement.

Over the past four years, I've enjoyed continuing to grow my franchise with 4 vans on the road, as well as spending my days out with my team and the dogs.
I am particularly grateful for the ongoing support and guidance provided by the Mad Dogs & Englishmen team. It's reassuring help and advice is only a phone call away."

Petra MDAE Northbridge

"I originally joined Mad Dogs and Englishmen to get more hands-on experience working with various breeds of dogs on the way to potentially working with service dogs. I absolutely fell in love with the work and seeing the pups have the best time during their runs. I was over the moon and honoured when MDAE North West Brisbane offered me the opportunity to take on a larger role and become a Franchisee and the support from MDAE in taking this next step has been amazing."

Adam MDAE Albany Creek

• Things to Consider & What to Expect:

To begin as a Mad Dogs & Englishmen Franchisee, you first need to consider whether its the right thing for you, and how do you go about it!  How much money do you need to get started as a Dog Walking Franchisee? Can you handle the physical demands? Do you start off in a new area, where you begin from scratch and have to build a client base over time, or do you fast forward and buy an established franchise with a guaranteed income?

The following should help you answer most of these questions and decide if it is the right thing for you.

• Should I buy a new franchise or an established one?

To begin in a new area is more affordable ($5,000 plus GST, plus you will need to buy a van!), Established Franchises will cost from $35k up to $200k+, but will include a guaranteed income from the start and maybe some vans as well. If you start from scratch, you will have very low set up costs, but you will need to consider how you will support yourself while you build the business. It can take 6 to 12 months to really get going, so you have to consider how you will survive the first months. However, once you are firing on all cylinders, you will have an established business with a reliable income which will just keep growing, along with the satisfaction you have built the business yourself.

If buying an established franchise, there is often an option to pay in instalments by negotiation with the franchisee selling the business. This is often a good option if you don't have the full amount, but want to buy an already successful franchise that has taken years to build. By doing this you can make an upfront payment, then use the income from your new franchise to pay the balance off. This is often a good way to obtain the bigger franchises as you know you can reliably predict your profits before you start.

• Will I make a good living? How much can I expect to make?

The answer is, YES, as well as the lifestyle, you should be making a good income - at the time of writing the average Mad Dogs & Englishmen Franchisee has monthly sales of $19,417 plus GST  per month (or $233,000 per year), with our busiest franchises achieving more than double this with monthly sales of over $40k per month. If you were to buy an existing franchise, you will know what to expect, a new franchisee will take while to build, but you will get there with our support and training. By looking at the month by month sales of our new franchises in similar area's, you can clearly see how quickly you can expect to grow. Generally the franchises get busier and busier, it is just a case of how long it will take you to get there. Our first objective is to get your first van full up and doing 4 group walks a day by the end of your first year - this has been achieved by almost all of our franchisees. A full van should generate sales revenue of around $100k a year, once you have reached this land mark, we look to expand and get a second or third van on the road, most franchisees have multiple vans, many have 4-5 in their franchise area.

• Why become a franchisee instead of just going it alone?

Yes, of course you can go it alone, but as it is a very crowded market, many new dog walking businesses don't survive or struggle to compete. Remember, every one wanting a dog walker has to choose from the many competing dog walking services out there - there may be as many  as 20 companies to choose from in a suburb. As we are by far Australia's busiest Dog Walking Service walking well over 1,000 dogs every day around Australia and growing by the day - we know how to do it! People know us, and trust us because of the reputation we have been building since 2006.

We will train and support you, and importantly, by being part of a larger group we have a team of Professionals:  SEO (Search Engine Optimisation so people can find us online), Adwords, Web Designers and a marketing budget which allows us to help you get you noticed! We even have an in house marketing co ordinator and a graphic designer who can quickly create anything you need! By being part of a franchise system, the budget we have for marketing our Dog Walking and Doggy Daycare Service far exceeds what many afford to invest if you were to go alone. Just to be competitive on Adwords in a crowded market requires several thousand dollars a month alone, which would be difficult to sustain for a new dog walker going it alone.

We do ask for the franchising Industry standard of 10% of sales, from which we draw the funds to train, develop and market the business, however the best way to answer the main reason as to why its better than going alone? Do you want to make 90% of $100k a year, or 100% of $50k a year (or less!) We see a lot of people going alone don't last long as it is a very competitive market. The support, training, and systems we have developed for Booking and Organising the business alone have come from on the ground experience of walking dogs every day since 2006! By working as a franchisee and having our support, you will have a much higher chance of success, and the backing of a team of professionals, plus you will still be your own boss!

Also, If you were to start in an area where you have a neighbouring franchise, it is common for new franchisees to help out the franchise next door while you build the business, this works well as you can make an immediate income working for another franchisee while you are getting established, giving you an income and getting you noticed while you get established in the tricky first few months.

• What can I expect In return for becoming a franchisee?

When you become a Mad Dogs & Englishmen Franchisee, you will become part of Australia's largest Dog Walking Franchise System. This means that you will receive the support of a team of experienced professionals, and get the benefits of the extensive marketing programmes we operate, we even have a marketing co-ordinator to make sure we are optimising our marketing budget via Adwords, Radio Ads, SEO, SEM, Social Media, TV appearances and much more. You may even choose to use our "Pop-Up Stall" at your local shopping centre to get things moving!

If you decide to join our team, we would start off by setting you up by adding your profile to our web site, deigning any marketing material you may need and adding your area to our marketing strategy if starting in a new location. You would then receive a day of training on the Admin side of the business at Mad Dogs & Englishmen HQ, where we will set up all you need to get the business running properly - this includes training on our invoicing software, accounting, how to take bookings and also how to plan your day using our day planner software. We have a training manual which we will spend the day working through to make sure you are ready to go.

Next, you would spend a day with a manager & experienced dog handler, walking dogs for an existing franchisee where we will show you exactly how we handle the dogs, how to identify any risks and what to do in various situations. By following the process we have developed and refined since 2006, we will show you how walk the dogs in a safe, fun and professional way, so that you can enjoy your new life as a dog walker/franchisee! After training you would be required to spend a minimum of 2 days shadowing an experienced franchisee to reinforce the training and see how it is done. 

Once the training is complete, you are ready to start off on your own. A manager is at the end of the phone if you are in a situation where you are not sure what to do. We will focus on finding you new customers and building your new franchise - historically, we find around 70% of the clients for you via our marketing endeavours, while you, as franchisee will be doing such a great job at the park, that people will see you working and book in because of you (usually around 30% of new clients come from you - the franchisee). 

We also prepare a professional monthly report showing how we are performing, what is new and any news.

• What are my ongoing fees and costs?

In addition to your set up costs, as a franchisee you will be required to pay 10% of revenue plus GST on a monthly basis. This combined payment from all franchisees means we can help your business grow via heavily investing in marketing. The only big investment after buying the franchise, is the purchase of a van, (if the sale doesn't include one). Beyond that, as you don't need to pay crippling rent, as with a traditional Doggy Daycare Centre's, ongoing costs are fairly minimal. Your marketing costs and support is included in your franchise fee - so you don't need to worry about the advertising and marketing - we take care of that!

As the business grows, you may need to consider buying additional vans and employing staff, but as we have seen most of our franchises grow to the point where they have staff, we can show you how and when to grow and incorporate additional staff.

• Which Area's are available?

We are fairly well covered in Sydney with 14 Franchises and also 9 Franchises in Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast. Plus we have now recently started Melbourne, Adelaide and The Southern Highlands franchises! However we believe there are great Dog Walking Franchise Opportunities in areas we don't currently cover, especially Perth and Canberra - and with a sale price of $5,000+GST, it will be a great investment for a motivated and professional dog lover with good business sense! 

Franchises for sale - starting from just $5k + GST (Canberra and Perth Still Available!).

Established franchises for sale - with a sale price up to $300k. The benefits of buying an established franchise includes a solid client base, van(s) and a business that has been successfully run for years for you to step into.

EMAIL US now to see if buying a Dog Walking Franchise is for you, or for further details on existing franchises for sale.