Friday, February 8, 2019

Assignment 9A - Testing the Hypothesis, Part Two



In the first half of the assignment, I identified my opportunity as an unmet need in the community for a dog daycare/resort that allows pups the freedom to play all day while their owners are busy. My solution for dog owners is to have an upscale facility where their dogs do not have to be kenneled. This solution has been well received thus far.

Who: During my interviews, my interviewees brought up several types of people that fall outside of the boundary for my opportunity. People that would not use this service would be people without dogs, owners that have aggressive dogs, owners that do not have a lot of money to spend, or owners that would rather have their pets watched in their own home. It also appears that from the interviews, the unmet need exists in areas with a higher annual median income.  

What: When speaking with my interviewees, 2 of the dog owners mentioned that they would prefer the kenneled pet resort because they do have dogs with behavioral issues outside of their home. The need for owners with pets like this is for in home sitters or kenneled resorts.

Why: Interviewees expressed that there is a difference in needs because of the owner’s preference, financial situation or their dog’s behavioral characteristic.


Inside the Boundary
Outside the Boundary
Who:
·      Dog Owners
·      Owners that do not want their dogs kenneled
·      Owners that need to drop their dogs off during work hours
·      Owners that need flexible hours for pick up/drop off.
·      Non-dog Owners
·      Owners who are limited on finances or financially conscious
·      Owners that have aggressive or anxious dogs around other dogs or people
·      Owners that would rather have their dogs stay home
·      Owners with kids – who do not treat their pets like kids
What:
·      Facility for day care/overnight stays that allow dogs to be roaming during the stay (e.g. not kenneled).
·      Owners that like kenneled facilities or have in home sitters.
Why:
·      Most pet resorts kennel the dogs.
·      Owners without dogs (i.e. cats)
·      Owners that do not need care for their pets

3 comments:

  1. Hey Danielle,
    I think you did a good job of making the slight distinction between whose inside your opportunity's boundary and whose on the outside. In what ways could you develop this opportunity further to handle aggressive dogs, tackle affordable dog kenneling and animal abuse? Obviously, every dog that would walk through the door wouldn't be the best/ most well behaved dog, so I think it'd be important to accommodate as many dogs as possible while still finding this new niche in the dog sitting sitting business. Nice post!

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  2. I would love to use this service for my dogs. Most of the time I just have the neighbor come over and add water and food for the dogs and I also have them walk the dogs around the block daily. The only thing would be the price for this service that would form my ultimate decision. My dogs also are not fully trained around other dogs , so I wouldn't be sure how they would act around others ones. However, I think you make a great post about knowing who is inside and outside the boundary.

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  3. Hi Danielle,
    You make some great points in this post. I know some people who do not take their dogs to kennels at all because of the violence between dogs that can occur. That is definitely something to look into before you actually were to open this dog spa.

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