Beverly Freed
Dallas, TX (USA)
Role(s):
Founder/Owner/Principal
St. Gertrude's Cottage
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Startup
Location:
Dallas
Industry:
Healthcare
Year Founded:
2010
Number Employees:
1-10 people
Description:
The pet services industry just doesn't quit or slow down. It continues its growth and pushes out into new products and services daily. What people won't do for their beloved pets. One industry that has taken shape and grown is pet health insurance. The one that is coming along behind is the lifetime care facility. There are only about 12 in all of North America. All are at capacity; all have waiting lists; all have fees that range from $8000 to $50000 per pet.
A lifetime care facility is a home where owners can send their companion pets when they pass away or can no longer care for them. It is a facility that can tend to the needs of pets when their owners must be offshore or incapacitated in some way on a long-term temporary basis. I seek a partner or investor to help me initiate a feline lifetime care facility. My first plan is to purchase an established pet boarding kennel and leverage the customer base and revenues to launch the lifetime care facility. There is, however, a suitable property in southern Kentucky that is of great interest because it is unfinished and large on about 20 acres, with a very low tax rate. Still, the facility can be anywhere because the client base is worldwide.
Cats are easy to care for. They are low maintenance with minimal demands. They require little space, most of it vertical. A comfy pillow, a window, a little attention, something to smack around the room, and they are content with very little cost overhead.
I am the executive directory and founder of a 501(c)3 feline rescue organization that I steered to being self-sufficient within a year with no revenue other than adoption fees and donations. I was able to maintain costs and negotiate services. I have devoted years to rescuing, rehabilitating, and re-homing cats. I am well equipped to maintain a lifetime care facility for cats.
Right now, I seek someone to share the desire to establish a lifetime care facility and see it to profitability, which I have been told by those in the industry will be within a year. This future lifetime care facility is already on the referral list for other facilities that are full and turning away potential clients. They are waiting for me to get established.
An existing pet boarding kennel with a solid client base starts at $250,000. They can run up to $2.5M. To take over the property in southern Kentucky would be around $200,000 to purchase and finish the main structure, with the remaining land leased out for pasture. Therefore, the minimum funding for getting off the ground is about $200,000. This funding would be needed for about two years. The plan is to restructure the financing and give the investor an exit. My credit score is not suitable. I have been working in IT for nearly 20 years and fell victim to the (URL removed) crash and Enron failure. Later, I lost employment with American Airlines with the attacks on Sep. 11, 2001. After that, I trained my replacements in India and saw my job shipped offshore. Although I never declared bankruptcy and managed to retain my home, I waded through the debt and unemployment as I cared for a newly adopted child. Those were trying times. I am done with IT, and want my volunteer and medical experience to evolve into a new career. Right now, I need help getting that going. This lifetime care facility is my future and I plan to bring every bit of my knowledge and ethic to it.
This particular market has very little competition. In fact, most proprietors support one another with ideas and referrals. We have been discussing establishing a certification.
The economy of the region in Kentucky where I would like to establish the facility has little bearing on its success. All we need are access to essential services and an airport.