The Dog Training Franchise Delivers Success With Scalable Model and Community Focus
Nearly two-thirds of Americans (62%) own a pet, and 97% consider their pets to be family, Pew Research reports — factors that make pet-related franchises recession-resistant. Tamara Lembke aims to further strengthen human-pet bonds at her Zoom Room franchise in Williamsburg, Va.
A franchise consultant introduced Lembke to Zoom Room, a dog training gym that emphasizes socialization. It’s a golden opportunity, according to Allied Market Research, which says the pet-training services market totaled $3.83 billion in 2021 and should hit $6.84 billion by 2031, a 6% annual growth rate.
She opened her Zoom Room in October 2023 after researching the brand, speaking with several franchisees and visiting the Virginia Beach location. Clients appreciate Zoom Room’s flexibility, says Lembke, who previously handled finances, planned events and led classes for a gymnastics facility. “Owners can mix and match which classes to attend based on what they’ve been cleared to participate in. Some clients come in for a tricks class on a Monday, an agility class later in the week and do obedience on Saturday.
“We educate clients about their dog\’s breed, body language, brain development, and how to properly reinforce behaviors that we do want to see as well as how to extinguish behaviors that we don\’t. Zoom Room’s motto is ‘We don\’t train dogs. We train the people who love them.’ Having owners in class is great. When a dog hits a milestone, the celebration is that much more rewarding with the owner there.” Lembke’s day-to-day has certain constants. Her opening team arrives an hour early to check emails and voicemails, make class rosters for dogs and note the milestones they’ve earned, and set up for the first class. “There are usually two or three classes in the morning. We then have a break in group classes where we do evaluations, private lessons and play groups. Group classes resume around 5 p.m. and end at 8 p.m. during the week.” After hours, the closing team sanitizes to prepare for the next day.
Growing the Business
Outside business hours, Lembke posts on social media, attends community events and tends to other marketing tasks. “We try to be involved with anything in the community that is unique to dogs — including adoption events — and also do events like school career days and the community’s Christmas parade. We’ve donated proceeds from our doggy doughnut sales and offered free training to make dogs more adoptable.”
Growing her business has taken hard work and patience. “You have to be very hands-on and know the business from the ground up, especially when first opening, which drives a lot of that time commitment. Building a business takes time, often more than you’d think. You need a great team — dependable, loyal, engaged employees— to create a culture that will drive not only new business, but keep clients coming back. It’s important that every client interaction is a five-star experience.”
Zoom Room Franchise\’s Pluses
The franchisor touts these attributes:
- Four Zoom Rooms cost the same as most single-unit doggie day cares.
- Only two staffers are needed at a time; facilities require under 3,000 square feet.
- Revenue streams include various classes, parties (such as birthday parties) with clients’ friends and their dogs, and sales of eco-friendly, solution-oriented training products.
- All current franchisees are profitable and have renewed.
- Inc. magazine ranked Zoom Room 38th among fastest-growing U.S. consumer service brands in 2023.
- Zoom Room offers veterans a 10% discount on their franchise fee.
For more information about the Zoom Room franchise, visit https://zoomroom.com/franchise/.
