Splash and DashTurn pet care into a neighborhood routine.

Welcome to Franchise Roundtable. I'm Alex. And I'm Jordan. So, uh, the secret to the fitness industry isn't treadmills. And it definitely isn't, you know, free weights. It's actually the psychology of a monthly membership. All right, it's all about that recurring commitment to a routine.

And I want you to imagine taking that exact same psychological driver, just ripping it completely out of the gym and applying it to, to, well, a very muddy dog. Wow. Which is, I mean, that's quite the mental leap. It is. Yeah. Yeah. But stick with me here, because I think we've all been there.

Just picture this scenario for a second. You're coming home from the local park on a beautiful, crisp Sunday afternoon. Sounds nice so far. Right? Your dog had the absolute time of their life. And you know this because they are currently wearing at least half of that adventure right there in their coat.

Oh, yeah. A happy, panting, completely muddy disaster of a dog. Exactly. So you're standing at your front door, looking down at the dog, and then you look toward your pristine, perfectly clean bathtub. And you start doing the mental math on how much of your Sunday afternoon is about to completely evaporate.

Yes. It is the universal dread of every pet parent. The pure joy of the park is instantly followed by this crisis management of the cleanup. And it never goes smoothly either. The dog shakes water all over the walls. You've got wet towels piled everywhere and you know your back is just aching by the time it's finally over.

It's a localized crisis. But imagine a completely different ending to that afternoon. Picture a spot right in your neighborhood where that muddy adventure doesn't end with you hunched over a bathtub. Okay, I like where this is going. It ends with a clean dog, a friendly conversation at a front counter, and you keeping your afternoon schedule exactly as you planned it.

That is a very vivid feeling of relief. Right. It's that outsourcing of a messy chore, turning a crisis into a simple calendar event. And that is our starting point today as we explore Splash and Dash Groomery and Boutique. And it really is a fascinating concept to pull apart because, you know, we aren't just looking at a place that washes dogs.

We're exploring a grooming, bathing, and pet products business that has actually anchored its entire operational model around monthly memberships. Which is exactly why we are doing this deep dive. Today, we are gonna explore the customer experience of Splash and Dash, but more importantly, we're gonna look at what you could potentially build around this as a next chapter career move.

Yeah, like is this the local business opportunity you've been looking for? Exactly. And to figure that out, we're pulling from the brand's own account of its origins, its customer service philosophy, and the hard data from their official franchise disclosure your document, which is dated March 18th, 2025. And that origin story you mentioned? That is exactly where we need to start.

Because to understand how a dog grooming business ends up running on a membership model, you have to look at the founder, Dan Barton. Right, because he wasn't always a pet industry guy. No, not at all. What's so interesting is that he didn't start in the pet space. His background was heavily, heavily rooted in fitness. He was actually a franchise owner for world's gym.

Wait, really? The world's gym owner. Yeah. The inspiration to completely pivot into the pet business came entirely from his Yorkie, the whole dog named Mercedes. So he goes from like dumbbells and protein shakes to a tiny Yorkshire terrier. I mean, that is a massive industry pivot.

It is on the surface. Yeah. But if you look at the underlying mechanics of the business, the strategic carryover actually makes perfect sense. How so? Well, back in a 2014 company company announcement, Barton explained how he took the gym membership model, which he obviously knew inside and out, and applied it directly to bathing and brushing dogs in 2010.

Okay, I'm tracking. The gym model is built on people dedicating a recurring budget, right, and making time to care for themselves. He looked at pet owners and realized they are equally willing to dedicate a recurring budget to care for their pets. Okay, wait, I need to push back on this a little bit. Sure, go for it.

I understand the gym membership model for human fitness because, well, I know I need to work out regularly. Gyms fundamentally work on human guilt. Yeah, they really do. We pay every month to force ourselves to go or because we feel terrible if we don't. But dogs don't care if they are muddy.

They don't have gym guilt. That's a very fair point. So does a membership model actually change human behavior when it comes to pet care? Or are people just like pre-paying for a bath they would have bought anyway? Anyway. That is a great question, and it really gets to the core of why this model was designed this way.

Without a membership, pet hygiene is almost entirely reactive. Reactive, meaning they only act when there's a problem? Exactly. Like you said, a dog owner usually only thinks about grooming when the dog jumps in a puddle. Or when their fur gets painfully matted, or when they start smelling up the living room.

It's a chore they put off. No, totally. You ignore it until you can't anymore. Right. Right. So what the membership does is create structure where there previously was none. By pre-paying for a monthly bath and brush routine, the customer is committing to maintaining the dog's hygiene on a predictable schedule.

So it shifts them from reactive to proactive? Yes. It prevents the matting. It prevents the smell before it starts. It elevates the care of the pet from an occasional annoying afterthought to a managed, predictable part of their lifestyle. out. And it's probably worth mapping out the timeline of how they've evolved into the opportunity that's available today.

Yeah, let's look at the timeline. So Barton has this initial aha moment in 2010. They started as a licensing business, then according to the disclosure document that licensing business evolved into a full franchise model in 2014. And then we have another distinct stage of the brand's evolution.

The current franchise or actually took over in 2023, which really highlights a fundamental truth about this business. Because they brought that that gym membership model over, you are not opening a traditional pet retail store. Right, it's not just a shop. No, you aren't signing a lease, filling the shelves with dog, shampoo, and squeaky toys, and then just sitting behind a register passively hoping the customers happen to walk in off the street.

You have to be active. Exactly, the entire business is built around cultivating a proactive recurring service relationship. So if the entire model relies on these recurring visits, what exactly is the customer experiencing? Like when someone walks through the doors of a splash and dash. What is the actual service mix they are walking into?

The disclosure breaks the service offerings down very clearly. The mix includes full grooming, standard bathing, related to optional spa services, a curated selection of retail pet products, and of course, those core bath and brush memberships. Got it. It's a pretty comprehensive menu. It is.

And importantly, they have modernized the front end for convenience. Venus. Customers can book their appointments and handle their payments entirely online. So the friction of scheduling is removed before they even leave their house. That's huge. It makes a big difference. Let's walk through what that actually looks and feels like in the physical space.

Imagine you are a customer walking in for your first visit. You step up to the counter. The team doesn't just greet you, they immediately greet the dog. Oh, that is such a crucial psychological touch point. It really is. They ask about the dog's specific needs, they explain different service options, and they just naturally introduce how the membership works.

And notice how that interaction has a dual focus. Right. It's completely dual focus. The dog gets a treat and some physical affection, which immediately lowers their anxiety about being in a new place. We just half the battle with dogs. Exactly. Meanwhile, you, the human, get an incredibly convenient experience and a clear solution to your muddy dog problem.

The shop is simultaneously caring for both the pet's comfort and the owner's schedule. And that dual focus is where the long-term relationship is really forged. I mean, if the dog is happy to walk through the door, the owner is going to keep coming back. But that level of service doesn't just happen by accident, which means we really need to shift our perspective here.

Yeah, let's flip the script. Let's step away from the person holding the leash and look at the person standing behind the counter. If you are listening to this right now and picturing a splash in dash as your next chapter, What is your actual day-to-day role? That's the big question. Right. Like, are you standing in the back room with a waterproof apron on up to your elbows and suds for eight hours a day?

No, and honestly, that is probably the biggest misconception people have about entering the pet space. The disclosure outlines very specific stipulations for the owner's role. Okay, what do they require? It is firmly rooted in leadership, not manual labor. The franchisor requires what they call substantial participation, which they define as dedicating at least 20 hours a week to the business, barring reasonable holidays and vacations.

Okay, so a 20-hour minimum. But what are you actually doing during those 20 hours if you aren't washing the dogs? Well, to directly answer your previous question, no. The owner does not personally have to be the one bathing the dogs, and they aren't expected to be the one clipping their nails either. That's a relief for a lot of people, I'm sure. Absolutely. Furthermore, Furthermore, the owner does not even have to be the on-site general manager, although the franchisor does recommend that arrangement.

Oh, interesting. So you can hire a GM. You can. However, there is a very important caveat in the rules here. If you, as the owner, expect to spend fewer than 30 hours a week in the store, or if you score low on their required operational assessment, the disclosure mandates that a full-time general manager must be hired.

That rule is fascinating because it tells you exactly what the franchisor values are. Yes, it speaks volumes. They are ensuring there is dedicated high level leadership in the building at all times. They know that an entirely absentee owner leads to slipping standards. Exactly. And in a pet business, slipping standards equals a safety risk or a destroyed local reputation.

Precisely. You can't phone it in when you're dealing with live animals. So if you step back and look at that 20-hour minimum, you really are acting in an executive capacity. Very much so. Picture a typical week. You are reviewing the upcoming appointment calendar and analyzing your metrics. You're sitting down with your general manager to discuss staffing needs for a busy holiday weekend.

Right, looking ahead. You're helping the front-counter team prep for the day, ensuring they know which VIP members are coming in. And then, crucially, you are stepping out of the store to do local neighborhood marketing. Which is so vital. It is. You are building relationships with the local vet clinics, dropping off cards at the dog park, or, you know, setting up a booth at the neighborhood farmer's market. it.

And we absolutely cannot overlook the human element of that leadership role. Think about the physical transaction that happens at that front counter. The handoff? Yes. When a customer hands you that leash, they aren't just dropping off a piece of clothing at the dry cleaner. They are trusting you with a member of their family. That's a heavy responsibility. It is.

But if you honor that trust month after month, you stop being just a retail store and start becoming a pillar in their neighborhood routine. Your real job, as the owner, is leading a team that understands the immense weight of that trust. Which means this opportunity appeals to a very specific type of entrepreneur.

If you just like dogs, that's great, but you should probably just volunteer at a local shelter. Yeah, liking dogs isn't enough to run a business. Right. This business is for someone who is interested in executive leadership. It's for someone who wants to coach a team, manage a P&L, deliver high-level customer service, and build a tangible community hub.

But that brings us to a very practical hurdle. How do you actually learn the operating rhythm required to manage that specific ecosystem? Yeah, especially if you're coming from outside the industry. Exactly. If your professional background is in corporate IT or B2B sales or health care administration, how do you suddenly learn to run a recurring revenue pet grooming franchise?

Well, they don't just hand you the keys and wish you look. Definitely not. The franchise provides a highly structured curriculum to bridge that exact knowledge gap. The required training hours are thoroughly detailed in the disclosure. What's the breakdown look like? You're looking at 60 to 65 classroom or online training hours, paired directly with 40 on-the-job hours inside an operating location, and the program is actually subject to adjustment based on your prior business experience.

That's a solid chunk of time. It is. But the key here is what they are teaching. They aren't spending those 100 hours teaching you the chemical composition of dog shampoo. Right. You're not going to cosmetology school. No, they are teaching you operational flow, staff management, financial oversight, local marketing strategies, and client relationship building.

And layered on top of all of that is a non-negotiable focus on safety. The disclosure specifically mandates that the owner and all employees must be recertified in safety programs at least every six months. Every six months. That's rigorous. It has to be when you are dealing with live animals Safety protocols cannot be something you read once in a manual and forget They have to be actively maintained and drilled into the culture But you aren't managing that culture or those memberships with just a clipboard and a pen to manage the volume of a recurring revenue model There is a serious tech stack involved.

Oh the tech is impressive They have a highly defined shop concept and running at the center of it is their proprietary point-of-sale system, which is called FIDO. FIDO is incredibly robust. That disclosure describes it as the central engine for the business. What does it actually handle day-to-day?

It handles employee management and scheduling. It processes the payments. It manages the entire client database. It generates the financial reporting, and this is the best part. It even handles automated marketing. I love that automated marketing piece. So FIDO knows when it's a dog's birthday and can automatically send the owner a promotional email for like a discounted blueberry facial.

Exactly. It really is like the backstage crew of a theater production. That's a great way to put it. Fido and those standardized operating procedures, that's your backstage team. They are managing the lights, calling the cues, tracking the inventory, making sure everything is running seamlessly in the dark.

Meanwhile, the front is totally calm. Right, all of that invisible automated work is what makes the friendly, calm, welcoming performance at the front counter possible. possible. Without that backstage organization, the front of the house is just pure chaos. Oh, absolute chaos. If you are exploring this franchise, I highly recommend asking management to demonstrate the FIDO system for you during your discovery phase.

Get a feel for how that backstage software actually operates. That is excellent advice. Seeing the tools gives you a much better understanding of the daily reality of running the business. But of course, FIDO and those backstage systems sound great, but you don't get that software or the physical commercial building to run it in for free.

Let's talk capital. Yeah, let's get into the numbers. So the disclosure lays out a very specific getting started blueprint. It does. For a single splash and dash location, the estimated initial investment ranges from $296,880 to $453,420. And just to clarify that range includes their $60,000 initial franchise fee.

Yep, it does. But you know, the raw dollar amount only tells half the story here. You have to to look at the assumptions baked into those numbers. Right, the context is everything. So this estimate assumes you are securing a least location of between 1,000 and 1,300 square feet.

It also assumes you are receiving the space in what commercial real estate calls a vanilla shell condition. Yes. And it factors in the assumption that you will negotiate some level of a tenant improvement allowance from your landlord. Now, the estimate does include a specific bucket of $20,000 to $40,000 in additional funds.

Okay, so there is some cushion. Sort of. This is your working capital. It's meant to cover the first three months of operation while the business is just getting off the ground, so paying your groomers, keeping the lights on. Right, business expense. And it strictly excludes owner compensation. So the disclosure breaks the reported locations down into two distinct groups based on their physical footprint.

The first group is the larger franchise salons, and those are defined as locations that are at least 1,401 square feet in size. Okay. And in the 2024 sample, there were four of these larger salons. Right. For that calendar year, those four locations reported an average total income of $775,917.

Over three quarters of a million. Yeah. And the median total income for this group was $865,818. And the document notes that two of those four larger salons performed above the average. Okay, so that's the big group. The second group comprises the smaller salons, which are defined as locations with a footprint of 1400 square feet or less.

In the 2024 sample, there were eight of these smaller salons. They reported an average total income of $585,432. Okay. The median total income for this smaller group was $519,103. And in this group, three of the eight salons performed above the average. Okay. Okay.

The disclosure strictly defines this sample. These 12 salons, the four large and eight small, they are established locations that had operated for at least 12 months by January 1, 2024. Okay. And they continue to operate throughout that entire calendar year. We are completely excluding two locations that close closed during the 2024 calendar year, and we are excluding eight franchises that were simply too new to meet the qualifying period.

That makes sense. Total income is a comprehensive sales measure. It spans grooming services, their proprietary membership programs, retail product sales, and other miscellaneous sales. Okay, so basically everything we're ringing through the register. Sort of, but the exclusions are just as vital as the inclusions.

It explicitly excludes any refunds given to customers. It excludes collected sales taxes, and it excludes any discounts, coupons, and promotional markdowns. And here is a fascinating mechanical detail in the document. Prepaid card sales are completely excluded from this total income figure until the moment they are actually redeemed by the customer.

Yes. These are unaudited historical sales reported by the franchisees themselves. Crucial point. They are top line gross revenue numbers. They are not profit. profit. They are not what the owner transferred into their personal checking account at the end of the year. Nope, not at all. Individual results will vary wildly and there is zero assurance a new owner will achieve these specific amounts.

Wow. Okay. Those numbers really do ground the entire conversation. They take us from this abstract idea of a fun pet business down to the concrete reality of square footage, commercial build out costs and revenue groupings. They do. And the most valuable way to use that item 19 data is as a structural framework for your own due diligence.

How should someone approach that? Well, when you are talking to the brand's management team, you can look at that total income data and ask them in these specific salons, what was the percentage breakdown between the grooming services, the recurring memberships, and the retail products?

Digging into the revenue mix. Exactly. Understanding that mix helps you plan the specific operational model for your own location. Which circles right back to the core concept we started with turning an unpredictable messy chore into a predictable structured relationship. You are utilizing capital to build a sophisticated backstage system and a beautiful physical space all designed to facilitate that recurring relationship.

If we pull all of this together and look at the bigger picture of what a splash and dash owner is actually building, it really comes down to community integration. It's more than just a storefront. Far more. By adopting this membership model, you aren't just processing retail transactions and hoping people walk by your window.

You are building a genuine hub of trust right in the middle of your neighborhood. I love that. A hub of trust. It is an opportunity to become a reliable, beloved fixture in the daily routines of the people and the pets who live around you.

And that is ultimately what you have to decide. It's about what kind of day-to-day life, what kind of community role you want to design for yourself in this next chapter of your career. The leash isn't just connecting the dog to the owner. It's a metaphor for connecting a local business owner to their entire neighborhood.

As we wrap up, please remember that this deep dive is strictly educational. It is not intended as legal, financial, or investment advice of any kind. You should always review the current franchise disclosure document with your own attorney and your own accountant to make the most informed decision for your specific financial situation.

If the idea of building a business centered around pets, people, and local community relationships interests you and you want to take the next step in your research, I want you to visit franchisebrokers.com. That's Brokers Plural with an S. Tell them you were listening to the show and that you are interested in Splash & Dash.

It is a fantastic no-pressure opportunity to discuss your specific market, your professional background, and the exact ownership role you would like to build. Franchise Roundtable is sponsored by Franchise Brokers.com. Thanks for joining us.