Zoom Room founders look to franchise dog-training centers.

Date AddedJuly 27, 2010 02:47:26 AM

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Will dog lovers drop more than $150 for Fifi's birthday party - including 10 four-legged friends, with extra charges for treats and doggie gift bags?
Mark and Jaime Van Wye have bet they will. So the couple is going national with its Zoom Room business. They're franchising their concept for agility and training centers where dogs learn how to run obstacle courses, do tricks, get obedience training and even celebrate birthdays. A six-session course for dog agility training is $150.
The Van Wyes opened the first Zoom Room in Culver City four years ago, and used the location to find the right style. They sold that center to a franchisee last year, opened a second Zoom Room in Austin, Texas, this month and they're now preparing for an August opening of a company-owned Zoom Room in Hollywood that will serve as the headquarters. Next up are stores in Colorado and Florida.
"Dog agility is huge and no one has come along to brand it as a franchise," said Mark Van Wye, chief operating officer at Zoom Room Inc.
Jaime Van Wye, a longtime dog trainer, developed the idea for the company after running an upscale dog hotel in Culver City. She wanted to own a doggie business that was easier to manage.
"What I decided to do was to take everything that I liked about dogs and keep it," said Jaime Van Wye, the chief executive, "and take away things I didn't like about the hotel, such as a huge staff, liability for the dogs and overnight care."
So, she convinced her husband to quit his job as a marketing consultant, and they launched the company.
Zoom Room franchises cost $95,000 to $170,000, including a $35,000 franchising fee. Franchisees have to take online classes and volunteer at animal shelters. They also have to spend three weeks in Los Angeles to receive hands-on training in Zoom Room's specialties of agility and obedience training.
Will it work? One franchise consultant cautions that Zoom Room might be trying to spread too wide too early.
Edward Kushell, president of Franchise Consulting Group in Century City, said it might be wise for Zoom Room to concentrate on the L.A. area before taking the brand national.
"The correct way to start a franchise is to first penetrate more geographically aligned areas, and build your brands and gain name recognition," Kushell said. "When it comes to supporting of franchisees, it becomes expensive if you have to put someone on a plane to Florida as opposed to going from Culver City to the San Fernando Valley."

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