The $1,000,000 Dog Grooming Kit

I want to talk to you about a new e-commerce venture I’m advising for. 

It’s in the dog grooming niche. 

Before you roll your eyes thinking, "Seriously, dog grooming?" hear me out. 

This isn’t just any ordinary business—it’s a huge opportunity, and here’s why I’m excited about it.

Let me explain.

I got the call from a friend of mine about this young, hungry woman who had started an e-commerce brand that she needed some help on. 

I am usually reluctant to help, I have never wanted to be a consultant and I usually get annoyed at people pretty quickly if they ask me for advice and then they don’t implement it. (I’m learning to be more patient).

And quite frankly, I did not want to do it.

But to humor my friend, I decided to take the call and maybe just give some free tips and leave on a good note. 

I was wrong. 

This isn’t just another run-of-the-mill person trying to turn a hobby into a business. The founder? She’s a total beast. 

She has the kind of drive that pushes people past mediocrity. She’s not doing this just for the money—although we’re aiming to make a ton of it. 

This is personal for her. 

There are people in her life who think she’s wasting her time, and nothing motivates like proving the doubters wrong. That’s a deep, emotional fuel, and you know from my experience, that’s the kind of drive you can’t buy.

Here’s the backstory: She’s a serious dog lover (no surprise there) who ran into a problem that many dog owners face: good grooming services are hard to come by, and when you do find them, they’re always booked. 

And if she wanted to do it herself, Using a regular hairdryer to groom her dog was too harsh, and she didn’t want to put her furry best friend through that. And the other products on the market were either too cheap, or too clunky or ugly.

That last one might make you laugh, but i’ll explain below. 

After some digging, she found that a quieter, dog-friendly grooming product exists—but not in North America.

So what did she do? FIX THE PROBLEM. She’s 25 and decided to put her money, time and ego where her mouth is. 

That should inspire you. 

Back to the product,

This isn’t just a regular blow dryer. It’s designed to adjust its temperature automatically, ensuring it never gets too hot or cold for the dog’s sensitive skin.

And the best part? It’s quiet. Like, really quiet. No more freaking out your dog with loud noises.

The product itself is also packaged beautifully. Think pastel colors, perfect for the dog moms out there who love aesthetics as much as they love their pets.

Packaging and aesthetics is a crucial elements of products selling well. Beauty sells. 

Now, why did this opportunity catch my eye? 

First off, this business isn’t just an idea—it already has sales. 

They’ve sold around 400 units at an average of $150 per pop, and that’s without any real marketing expertise behind them. They’ve hit some early success by attending pet expos, but now they’ve plateaued. 

They don’t know what they don’t know, and that’s where I come in.

Here’s the real kicker: the founder has deep connections with manufacturing in China, thanks to her family ties. If this product takes off, she has the potential to become the exclusive distributor in North America. 

There’s also the opportunity for white-label deals, where we can sell the product to other companies under their branding. We’re talking about a massive distribution play down the line.

Now, I’m not in this just for a quick consulting fee (which isn’t even worth my time). I’m getting a big chunk of equity in the business because I see the long-term potential here. This could grow into something huge, and I’m betting on it.

But before I took this on, I had to do my due diligence. 

First, I know everything in the pet niche is cutthroat and extremely competitive.

Next, I wanted to see if pet grooming was really a hassle as the owner claimed. 

So I tried to book a grooming appointment for an imaginary dog. Guess what I found? In Montreal, the soonest I could get an appointment was four or five days out. 

I checked this appointment calender on September 18th. The earlier availability is the 24th. Look at those time slots. I would have to take half my day off from work to be able to drop off my dog, and pick them up. Most people work 9-5s, these hours are extremely inconvenient. 

Even in bigger cities like New York, I had more options earlier, but the time slots were still challenging. It was also $90 USD for a single session, where the kit was $140 CAD. So there is a cost saving element here as well. 

Now, another thing to consider is these grooming services may be catering to people that have a spouse who doesn’t work, or a dog walker who can take care of transporting the dog to the groomer.

But a massive part of the market of dog owners, the average North American, is being neglected, in my opinion. 

What about economic downturns? Let’s be real—people love their dogs. 

And they’ll spend more on their pets than on themselves, especially when it comes to health and grooming. 

The pet industry is practically recession-proof. People cut back on spending for themselves, but they’ll still splurge on their dogs. (There’s even data showing that during economic downturns, spending on Mother’s Day gifts dropped, but spending on pet care didn’t.)

So, how can I help?

First, I’ve already done a thorough audit of their website. It’s making all the basic e-commerce mistakes—things that separate the $1,000,000+ brands from the ones that stay stuck. 

The entire website needs an overhaul, page by page. 

There’s no email marketing, no SMS marketing, and they’re not capturing customer information to build long-term relationships. These are simple fixes that can instantly boost their revenue.

Again, she is already selling hundreds of these WITHOUT optimization. 

But that’s just the beginning. The real money will come from upselling and cross-selling consumable products like shampoos, oils, and other grooming essentials. 

Imagine this: you sell the grooming kit, then offer high-quality, organic products for the dog’s health.

Once the customer sees how great the initial product is, they’re much more likely to come back for the rest. 

It’s all about creating a system that brings customers back for repeat purchases.

Here’s a little-known fact: When a customer buys from you twice, the odds of them becoming a long-term, repeat buyer skyrocket. It’s all about getting that second purchase, and once you do, you’re in business.

Oh, and as part of my agreement, I’ll be documenting the entire process. This means I’ll be turning this into a full case study of how we took a relatively unknown brand and scaled it into something big. 

Stay tuned for updates on this journey.

- Vessal