Dog and Cat Kennel Business Plan

Executive Summary

Noah's Arf is a full-service animal care facility built around one idea: busy pet owners deserve a single, trusted place for everything their dog or cat needs, available whenever they need it. We combine day care, overnight boarding, in-home visits, self-service wash stations, grooming, and basic obedience support under one roof, in a clean, upscale, genuinely 24-hour facility.

The timing favors this venture. Pets now occupy a central place in American households — U.S. pet owners spent an estimated $158 billion on their pets in 2025, and that figure is projected to climb further in 2026, according to the American Pet Products Association. Columbus is one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the Midwest, and its Short North Arts District in particular has become a magnet for dual-income professionals living in condos and apartments without yards — exactly the households who need reliable daily exercise, socialization, and boarding for their pets.

Noah's Arf will open in the Short North, serving downtown Columbus, the Arena District, Grandview Heights, and the broader Franklin County market. Kris Price, owner and operations manager, brings twenty-three years of customer-service leadership from her career at a growing Columbus-based company, along with a lifetime of hands-on pet care experience — she has kept one or more animals in her home for as long as she can remember. Her daughter, a licensed veterinary technician, joins the team in the fall of Year 1, giving Noah's Arf in-house clinical support most local competitors can't match.

To fund the launch, Noah's Arf is seeking a long-term commercial loan supplemented by owner investment. Start-up capital will cover facility build-out, kennel and play equipment, initial inventory, and opening working capital.

• Superior customer service — genuinely staffed 24-hour care, not just extended drop-off hours.
• A clean, upscale environment — odor-free, well-lit, and built to put both pets and owners at ease.
• One-stop convenience — day care, boarding, wash, grooming, and basic training in a single facility.
• Location — the Short North puts us within walking or short driving distance of the exact households most likely to need us.
• Reputation — Kris Price's track record of dependability and follow-through.

To provide excellent animal care in a pet-friendly atmosphere while ensuring our customers — pet and owner alike — receive attentive service in a safe, playful environment.

1. Build a steadily growing client base through Year 1, tracked through monthly bookings.
2. Reach full day care and boarding capacity by the end of Year 2.
3. Expand into veterinary support, mobile services, and online retail by Year 3.
4. Maintain strong gross margins on retail and add-on services as the client base matures.

Opportunity

Problem Worth Solving

Busy professionals with demanding careers and little free time need pet care they can trust — and right now, getting it means juggling multiple businesses. A typical Short North or downtown Columbus dog owner might use one facility for day care, another for boarding, a groomer across town, and a separate wash station, each with its own hours, booking system, and price list.

• One-stop convenience — Columbus pet owners currently visit multiple businesses for day care, boarding, grooming, and wash services.
• True 24-hour care — most Short North-area day cares operate standard business hours and require pickup by early evening, which doesn't work for owners with irregular schedules, late flights, or overnight shifts.
• Peace of mind for traveling professionals — Columbus's downtown employers, from Nationwide and Cardinal Health to Ohio State University and the city's growing tech and logistics sector, send plenty of people on the road, and their pets need dependable overnight care.
• Daily exercise and socialization — condo and apartment living in the Short North and Arena District has grown quickly, and most of those units don't come with a yard.

Franklin County is home to well over 150,000 dog-owning households, and Columbus's population growth over the past decade has consistently outpaced the national average. Nationally, U.S. pet owners spent an estimated $158 billion on their pets in 2025 — pet care and services make up one of the fastest-growing slices of that spend as owners increasingly treat animals as family.

Our Solution

Noah's Arf sets itself apart from animal care businesses that offer only one or two services. In conversations with dozens of local pet owners, we've heard the same frustration again and again: they want day care, boarding, wash, and grooming, but they're stuck piecing it together from several different businesses across town. Noah's Arf brings all of it under one roof.

Our core focus is day care and overnight boarding, but the services we provide go beyond what competitors in the Short North and greater Columbus market currently offer. Our facility is clean, friendly, and upscale — the kind of place owners feel comfortable leaving a pet they consider family. We add a personal touch other facilities skip: a daily digital report card for every pet, sent straight to the owner's phone, plus birthday recognition and photo updates through our app.

Most importantly, we offer genuinely staffed 24-hour service — a rare commitment in this industry, and one that directly answers the biggest complaint we hear from Columbus pet owners about existing options.

Competitive Comparison

The Short North and greater Columbus market has several well-established pet care providers, but each is built around a narrower service model than Noah's Arf.

Homedog Resort & Daycare competes primarily on facility size and a strong staff-to-dog ratio. Dogtopia is a national franchise with brand recognition but a fairly standardized service menu. CityPets614 differentiates through its integrated veterinary clinic but doesn't offer the same breadth of day-to-day convenience services. None currently combines true round-the-clock staffed care with the full menu of wash, grooming, boarding, and day care that Noah's Arf offers in a single Short North location.

Product and Service Description

Noah's Arf offers a full menu of pet care services designed around convenience, so owners never need to coordinate across multiple businesses.

Day care — supervised, cage-free group play in our 3,000-square-foot indoor/outdoor play area, with staff-to-dog ratios kept low enough for genuine supervision, not just containment.

Overnight boarding — private dog runs and cat condos for pets staying anywhere from one night to several weeks, with live overnight staffing rather than a simple check-in/check-out model.

In-home care — for owners who prefer their pet stay in familiar surroundings, our staff provide scheduled visits, walks, and overnight check-ins at the client's home.

Wash-your-own stations — self-service tubs with raised basins, warm water, professional-grade dryers, and pet-safe shampoo, priced well below a full groom for owners who just want the mess out of their own bathroom.

Grooming — full-service baths, haircuts, nail trims, and de-shedding treatments from our on-site groomer.

Basic obedience support — foundational training sessions focused on the everyday behaviors that make city and condo living easier: leash manners, crate comfort, and socialization.

Small animal and cat care — day and overnight care for cats and other small pets in a separate, quieter area of the facility.

Retail — food, treats, toys, and accessories available in-store and through our online shop.

Every registered pet gets a profile in our client app, so booking, payment, vaccination records, and daily report cards all live in one place.

Future Products and Services

• App-based live cam access, so owners can check in on their pet during day care or boarding from anywhere.
• Monthly newsletter with pet care tips and client spotlights.
• Weekly community play hour open to registered clients.
• Espresso and juice bar in the lobby for owners picking up or dropping off.

• Expand overnight kennel capacity by ten runs to meet growing boarding demand.
• Launch a mobile wash-and-groom van serving Short North, Grandview Heights, and Upper Arlington.
• Sell food, treats, and accessories through an expanded online store with local delivery.
• Add a supervised exercise pool for low-impact play and rehab.
• Explore a co-located partnership with a local veterinary practice.

• Expand overnight kennel capacity by another ten runs.
• Evaluate franchising the Noah's Arf model to other Ohio metros.

Sales Literature

Our primary sales channel in 2026 is digital: a mobile-friendly website with online booking, a Google Business Profile optimized for searches like "dog daycare Short North" and "Columbus dog boarding," and an active Instagram and TikTok presence built around daily pet content — exactly the kind of content Columbus pet owners already follow and share.

We'll supplement digital reach with targeted local partnerships: brochures and referral cards placed with Short North and Grandview Heights veterinary clinics, pet supply stores, condo and apartment leasing offices, and Columbus Humane. A direct mail and email campaign will target registered dog owners in the Franklin County ZIP codes closest to our facility.

Sales literature — both print and digital — will lead with our core differentiators: true 24-hour staffed care and one-stop convenience. Photography and video from the facility itself will do most of the persuading; a professional-quality look matters in a market where owners are trusting us with a family member.

Market Overview

Noah's Arf will focus on dual-income, time-constrained professionals living in and around downtown Columbus — the Short North, Arena District, Victorian Village, and Italian Village — who are trying to balance demanding careers with the needs of a pet. Our most valuable customers are the ones who don't have as much time as they'd like to give their pets and are willing to pay for help.

Columbus's dog day care market has grown quickly over the past several years, tracking the city's broader population and housing boom, and today includes a handful of established, well-reviewed operators — evidence of real, sustained demand rather than a fad.

Target Market Segment Strategy

This segment includes dual-income professionals and young couples living in Short North, Arena District, and Victorian Village condos and apartments, typically without private yards. They work full-time, often in downtown offices for employers like Nationwide, Cardinal Health, Chase, or Ohio State University, and view their pet as a full member of the household.

We'll reach this segment primarily through digital channels — Instagram, TikTok, Google search, and Nextdoor — along with brochures at condo and apartment leasing offices and partnerships with nearby veterinary clinics. Pricing and packaging for this segment will emphasize convenience: recurring day care memberships, easy app-based booking, and true 24-hour access for owners with unpredictable schedules or frequent travel.

Target Market Segment Strategy

This segment includes families in Grandview Heights, Upper Arlington, Bexley, and Dublin who often own more than one pet and travel frequently for work or leisure. They're less price-sensitive than the downtown segment but expect a higher standard of facility and communication while they're away.

We'll reach this segment through direct mail, email marketing to registered pet owners in these ZIP codes, referral incentives, and partnerships with local veterinarians and pet stores outside the urban core. Multi-pet family discounts and extended-stay boarding packages will be the primary offers for this group.

Market Trends

Pet ownership continues to deepen rather than plateau. More professionals are having children later — or not at all — and pets are increasingly treated as full family members rather than just animals. Owners are willing to pay a premium for care that mirrors the comfort of home.

Hybrid and remote work haven't reduced the need for day care the way some expected; if anything, dogs used to more owner attention during work-from-home stretches now need more structured socialization and exercise on the days their owners are back in the office or traveling. The always-on nature of many Columbus jobs, especially in logistics, healthcare, and tech, continues to drive demand for overnight and last-minute care.

Pet tech is now mainstream — GPS collars, health-monitoring wearables, and app-based live cams are standard expectations, not novelties, and owners increasingly expect the businesses caring for their pets to offer the same level of digital visibility. Pet insurance adoption has also grown steadily, giving owners more room in their budgets for premium day care and grooming services.

Nationally, U.S. pet owners spent an estimated $158 billion on their pets in 2025, with continued growth projected into 2026, according to the American Pet Products Association. Columbus's population growth — among the fastest of any Midwest metro over the past decade — continues to expand the base of potential clients within a short drive of the Short North.

Business Participants

Columbus's pet care industry is made up mostly of small, function-specific participants: a day care that doesn't board, a groomer with no day care, a wash station with no additional services. Well-known operators like Dogtopia Columbus-Downtown, Homedog Resort & Daycare, and CityPets614 each anchor a piece of the market, but none combines true 24-hour staffed care with the full range of day care, boarding, wash, grooming, and in-home services in one location. Existing facilities' limited hours create real inconvenience for owners with irregular schedules. Noah's Arf will change that by offering genuine one-stop convenience for Columbus pet owners.

Service Business Analysis

The Columbus pet care service industry consists of many small, individually owned facilities, each specializing in one or two services, alongside a few national franchise locations with standardized offerings. Barriers to entry are moderate — commercial space zoned for animal care, adequate insurance, and staffing for genuine round-the-clock coverage are the biggest hurdles, which is part of why no local competitor currently offers true 24-hour service.

Noah's Arf's strategy is to establish itself as the Short North's full-service, genuinely 24-hour facility, creating the kind of customer convenience that fragmented single-service competitors can't match. Over time, this comprehensive model should also produce stronger unit economics, since a single facility, staff base, and client relationship supports multiple revenue streams rather than just one.

Competitors

Dogtopia Columbus-Downtown — A national franchise offering day care and boarding with strong brand recognition and consistent service standards. Limited to standard operating hours and a fairly fixed service menu; no on-site grooming or wash stations.

Homedog Resort & Daycare — A large, well-regarded local operator with a sizable facility and strong staff-to-dog ratios. Focused primarily on day care and boarding; doesn't offer grooming, wash stations, or in-home visits.

CityPets614 — Combines day care with an integrated veterinary clinic in the Short North, a genuine differentiator for medical care. Narrower focus on day care and wellness services rather than the full boarding-to-grooming spectrum.

Camp Run-A-Mutt Columbus — Positions itself around outdoor, cage-free play. Appeals to owners who prioritize an active, natural play environment but offers a narrower service menu than a full-service facility.

Across the board, competitors specialize rather than integrate. Noah's Arf's opportunity is to be the only Short North facility offering day care, overnight boarding, wash-your-own, grooming, in-home visits, and basic obedience support with true 24-hour staffing.

Market Growth

Pets offer their owners companionship, affection, and security — and for busy professionals and multi-pet families, a trustworthy day care and boarding option offers real peace of mind. Franklin County is home to well over 150,000 dog-owning households, and Columbus has consistently ranked among the fastest-growing metro areas in the Midwest over the past decade, which continues to expand the pool of potential clients.

Nationally, U.S. pet owners spent an estimated $158 billion on pets and pet care in 2025, according to the American Pet Products Association, with continued growth projected into 2026. Pet humanization — the trend of treating pets as full family members — shows no signs of slowing; surveys consistently find that a large share of pet owners consider their pet's wellbeing as important as their own daily routine.

Pet owners can be confident their pets are in good hands at Noah's Arf. Pets get to socialize with regular playmates, receive attention from trained caregivers, and enjoy a full day of structured activity rather than sitting alone at home.

Market Needs

Our target customers are pet owners — often with more than one pet in the household — who are working professionals needing reliable, trusting, and convenient care that fits their unpredictable schedules. Many live in condos or apartments without yards, making daily exercise and socialization harder to provide on their own. Above all, there's a need for genuine one-stop convenience: a single facility that can handle day-to-day care, last-minute boarding, grooming, and wash needs without owners having to coordinate across multiple businesses.

Execution

Market Plan Overview

Noah’s Arf will differentiate themselves from other animal care facilities. We will establish our business offering as a clear and viable alternative for our target market.

Build long-term relationships with clients, not just an occasional visit. Let them become dependent on Noah’s Arf to help out in many situations. Make them understand the value of the relationship.

We need to focus our offerings on the busy professionals, who want to save time to enjoy convenience, multiple services, and total satisfaction of services.

We can’t just market and sell service and products, we must actually deliver as well. We need to make sure we have the knowledge-intensive business and service-intensive business we claim to have.

Pricing Strategy

Noah's Arf prices at the upper edge of what the Short North market will bear, reflecting our premium facility, extended hours, and broader service menu compared to single-service competitors.

Indicative 2026 pricing:

Package pricing and monthly memberships are used to build recurring revenue and client loyalty, while à la carte pricing keeps the door open to first-time and occasional visitors. We'll revisit pricing annually against local competitors and our own capacity utilization.

Marketing Strategy

Our core marketing strategy is simple: satisfied customers are our best marketing tool. When a dog goes home tired and happy after a full day of play, or an owner gets back from a trip to find their cat calm and well cared for, our reputation grows on its own — and in a neighborhood as tightly networked as the Short North, word travels fast.

We'll build initial awareness through targeted local partnerships: brochures and referral cards placed at nearby veterinary clinics, pet supply stores, and condo or apartment leasing offices, with an introductory discount for new clients. We'll pursue local media coverage — Columbus outlets like NBC4, ABC6, and Columbus Underground regularly feature new small businesses — and advertise through digital channels including Google Ads, Instagram, and Nextdoor, which reach our target demographic more efficiently than print in 2026.

We'll also build a company website with online booking, an active Google Business Profile, and a steady stream of short-form video content (daily play sessions, pet "report cards," staff introductions) across Instagram and TikTok — the primary discovery channels for pet owners researching local care options today.

The Premium Pet Parent

Sarah Miller

Sarah is a high-earning professional who views her Golden Retriever as her child. Living in a luxury condo in Victorian Village, she has high standards for cleanliness and service and is willing to pay a premium for the convenience of having grooming, daycare, and clinical support in one location.

Age

34

Location

Victorian Village, Columbus, OH

Family Status

Married, no children (DINK household)

Education

Master of Business Administration

Profession

Marketing Director at a Fortune 500 company

Opportunities

• Offer 'Day-at-the-Spa' packages that combine full-day daycare with a premium grooming session and a clinical wellness check by the on-site vet tech.
• Implement a 'Platinum' membership providing priority boarding during holidays and unlimited use of the self-service wash station.

Pain Points

• Guilt over leaving her dog alone in a small condo during 10-hour workdays
• Frustration with driving to three different locations for grooming, boarding, and daycare
• Concerns about facility hygiene and the 'dog smell' often found in older kennels

Needs

• An upscale, odor-free environment that mirrors her own living standards
• One-stop convenience to save time in her busy schedule
• Peace of mind provided by 24/7 staffing and in-house clinical expertise

“My dog is my family. I need to know he's in a clean, safe environment where he's getting exercise and expert care while I'm in meetings.”

The Peace-of-Mind Professional

David Ross

David is a seasoned consultant who travels frequently for business. He owns both a senior dog and two cats, making the clinical support of a vet tech and the availability of 24/7 overnight boarding his primary decision-making factors.

Age

52

Location

Grandview Heights, OH

Family Status

Divorced, empty nester

Education

Juris Doctor (JD)

Profession

Senior Management Consultant

Opportunities

• Provide specialized boarding suites that allow his cats and dog to be housed near each other with consistent care routines.
• Utilize the in-house vet tech to offer specialized monitoring and medication administration for aging pets during long-term stays.

Pain Points

• Anxiety about leaving an aging pet at a facility without medical staff
• Difficulty finding boarding that accepts both cats and dogs with high-quality standards
• Late-night flight arrivals making it impossible to pick up pets from facilities with standard hours

Needs

• Genuinely 24-hour staffing for late-night arrivals
• Clinical oversight for senior pet medication and health tracking
• A trusted, reputable owner like Kris Price who understands high-stakes responsibility

“I'm on a plane twice a month. I don't just need a kennel; I need a partner who can handle my senior dog's meds and let me pick him up at 1 AM.”

The High-Energy Urbanite

Jordan Taylor

Jordan represents the typical Short North resident—young, social, and living in a space-constrained apartment. They struggle to provide enough exercise for their high-energy Husky mix and need a reliable place for socialization that fits a creative professional's irregular schedule.

Age

27

Location

Short North Arts District, Columbus, OH

Family Status

Single, living with a roommate

Education

Bachelor of Fine Arts

Profession

Lead Graphic Designer at a creative agency

Opportunities

• Market the self-service wash as a way to keep apartment bathrooms clean, offering a monthly 'Muddy Paws' unlimited pass.
• Leverage the facility's upscale environment to provide shareable photos of pets, appealing to the persona's active social media presence.

Pain Points

• Apartment bathrooms are too small to wash a large dog without making a mess
• The dog becomes destructive when bored in a small living space
• Standard 9-to-5 daycare hours don't work for someone who often works late or attends gallery openings

Needs

• Affordable daycare options to manage dog energy levels
• 24-hour access for drop-offs and pick-ups after social events
• A local facility within walking distance of their Short North apartment

“Living in the Short North is great, but my apartment isn't built for a dog who needs to run. Noah's Arf is basically our backyard.”

Promotion Strategy

We'll launch with an open house and a drawing for a free service package to build initial buzz in the neighborhood. For the first six months, we'll use visit-based incentives to build a loyal client base, tracked automatically through our booking app rather than punch cards:

• 10 wash-your-own visits = one free day care day.
• 10 day care visits = one free overnight stay.
• 10 overnight stays = one free wash-your-own visit.
• 20 total visits = $10 account credit.
• Three referrals = one free day care day.
• Monthly account-holder drawing = one free visit.
• Bundled day-plus-wash-plus-night packages at a discount.
• Multi-pet family discount.

Branded merchandise — frisbees, collars, and coffee mugs with the Noah's Arf logo — will reinforce the brand with clients who are already loyal, particularly through referral gifts.

Competitive Edge

Noah's Arf's core competitive edge is simple: no competitor in the Short North or greater Columbus market offers day care, overnight boarding, wash-your-own, grooming, in-home visits, and basic obedience support with true 24-hour staffing, all in one location. Competitors specialize; we integrate.

That combination matters most to our target customers — busy professionals who don't have time to manage relationships with four different pet care businesses, and who need care available outside standard nine-to-five hours. Our in-house veterinary technician adds a further layer of trust that most day-care-only competitors can't offer.

Sales Plan

Noah's Arf's sales approach centers on converting first-time visitors into recurring clients through packages and memberships rather than one-off transactions. Day care and overnight boarding are our primary revenue drivers, supported by wash-your-own, grooming, in-home care, retail, obedience support, and small-animal/cat care as secondary streams that increase revenue per client without requiring new customer acquisition.

Most bookings will come through our website and app, where clients can register their pet, upload vaccination records, and book recurring day care or last-minute boarding in a few taps. We'll supplement online booking with phone and walk-in scheduling for clients who prefer it, particularly for first-time tours of the facility.

As the client base matures, retail and add-on services (grooming, obedience, wash-your-own) are expected to grow as a share of revenue, since they require no additional client acquisition cost. See the Financial Plan for detailed revenue projections by stream.

Locations and Facilities

Our facility totals roughly 8,000–10,000 square feet, sized to support 26 overnight dog runs, eight cat condos, a dedicated day care play area with safety fencing and play structures, four wash-your-own stations, an on-site grooming suite, and a small retail area near the entrance.

The layout separates loud, high-energy day care play from quieter overnight boarding and cat/small-animal areas, reducing stress for boarding pets and easing noise for neighboring units. Non-slip, sanitizable flooring, dedicated ventilation, and sound-dampening materials are built into the space from day one — not retrofitted later — since air quality and noise control are two of the most common complaints about older pet care facilities.

The facility is designed with room to grow: unused space is reserved for the ten additional overnight kennels planned in Year 3, so expansion won't require a relocation or major build-out disruption.

Technology

Noah's Arf runs on cloud-based kennel management software (comparable to platforms like Gingr or PetExec) that handles booking, vaccination record tracking, digital waivers, payment processing, and client communication in one system, accessible to staff on tablets throughout the facility.

Clients manage everything through our mobile app and website: booking day care or boarding, checking their pet's daily report card, viewing live cam footage during play sessions, and paying for services. Automated reminders handle vaccination renewals and booking confirmations, reducing no-shows and administrative overhead.

Internally, we use standard business tools for scheduling, payroll, and accounting, and maintain a company website and active social media presence as our primary channels for client acquisition and engagement.

Equipment and Tools

Noah's Arf requires substantial facility and care equipment to operate as a full-service animal care center.

• 26 overnight dog runs and eight cat condos
• A roughly 3,000-square-foot day care play area with safety fencing and play structures
• Four wash-your-own pet tubs with raised basins, brushes, pet-safe shampoo, dryers, and aprons
• An on-site professional grooming suite
• Bathing facilities and basic exercise equipment for obedience sessions

Cloud-based kennel management and booking software, tablets for staff, live cam hardware for the day care and boarding areas, and a point-of-sale system for retail.

Kennels, play structures, bathing facilities, and the facility build-out represent the largest share of our start-up investment; grooming supplies, pet food, bedding, and retail inventory make up our initial working inventory. See the Financial Plan for detailed start-up costs.

Milestones

Key Metrics for Success

We'll track a mix of operational and financial indicators to gauge whether Noah's Arf is on plan.

• Day care and boarding capacity utilization (target: steady growth toward full capacity by the end of Year 2)
• Client retention and repeat-visit rate
• Online/app booking adoption rate versus phone and walk-in bookings
• Referral rate (share of new clients coming from existing client referrals)
• Average revenue per client across day care, boarding, grooming, wash, and retail

• Monthly revenue growth throughout Year 1
• Gross margin on retail and grooming services
• Progress toward monthly break-even, tracked against fixed and variable costs
• Expansion into new service lines (veterinary support, mobile wash, online retail) by Year 3, per the Financial Plan

Detailed revenue, margin, and break-even projections are maintained in the Financial Plan chapter.

Company

Ownership and Structure

Noah's Arf is structured as an Ohio Limited Liability Company (LLC), based in Franklin County, privately owned by its principal operator, Kris Price.

The LLC structure provides liability protection for the owner while maintaining operational flexibility for a single-location service business. All ownership and management authority rests with the principal operator, who will also serve as operations manager during the launch phase.

Company Locations and Facilities

This facility will be established in the Short North Arts District of Columbus, Ohio — a dense, walkable neighborhood of condos, apartments, and mixed-use development along the High Street corridor. We'll serve the growing Short North and Arena District condo population directly, while also capturing clients from Grandview Heights, Victorian Village, and Upper Arlington who commute into or near downtown Columbus.

The site is zoned for commercial and animal-care use, permitting day care, overnight boarding, and grooming operations, and sits within easy reach of I-670 and I-71 for clients coming from across Franklin County.

Start-up Summary

Total start-up investment for Noah's Arf is estimated at approximately $200,000, covering facility build-out and design, kennel and play equipment, initial inventory, legal and accounting costs, permits and zoning consultants, insurance, initial marketing and collateral materials, and a working capital cushion to carry the business through its first-year ramp-up.

Start-up capital will be financed through a combination of direct owner investment ($70,000) and a long-term commercial loan ($130,000), with the loan collateralized by company assets and backed by the owner's personal guarantee. Detailed sources and uses of funds, along with the full start-up cost breakdown, are maintained in the Financial Plan chapter.

Company Ownership

Noah's Arf is 100% owned by Kris Price, its founder and principal operator, structured as a single-member Ohio LLC based in Franklin County. There are no outside equity partners at launch; start-up capital comes from a combination of owner investment and commercial loan financing rather than outside investors.

As the business grows, Kris intends to retain full ownership through at least the first five years, with any future equity partnerships (such as a co-located veterinary practice) evaluated on a case-by-case basis as part of the Year 3 growth plan.

Management Team

Kris Price spent twenty-three years in a high-paced, customer-service-oriented role at a growing Columbus-based company, earning the respect of colleagues through consistency and hard work. She's cared for pets belonging to friends and family for years, and has rarely been without at least one animal in her own home.

Her daughter, a licensed veterinary technician, joins the team in the fall of Year 1, bringing clinical skills that support vaccinations, emergency response, and care for pets with special needs — a level of in-house expertise most day-care-only competitors in the Columbus market don't offer.

Kris's network of colleagues, friends, and early client conversations gives her a strong head start on building the trust this business depends on.

Owner resume available upon request.

Day-to-day operations are supported by a receptionist handling front-desk and booking duties, a team of playground supervisors overseeing day care and boarding (starting with one supervisor at launch and growing to a team of five to six as capacity fills), and an on-site groomer. Staffing levels are phased in with client demand — see the Financial Plan for the hiring schedule.

Advisors

Noah's Arf will work with a small group of professional advisors to ensure a smooth launch and ongoing compliance.

Legal and accounting — Support for Ohio LLC formation, lease review, and initial bookkeeping setup.

Insurance advisor — A broker specializing in animal-care liability coverage, given the unique risk profile of boarding and day care operations.

Veterinary consultant — Kris Price's daughter, a licensed veterinary technician, provides in-house clinical guidance day to day. We'll also establish a relationship with a local Short North-area veterinary practice for emergency referrals and vaccination protocols.

Permits and zoning — A local consultant will assist with Franklin County and City of Columbus zoning compliance for day care and overnight boarding use.

Financial Plan

Revenue

Expenses & Costs

Profitability

Use of Funds

Total start-up funding of $200,000 will be deployed as follows:

Start-up capital purchases the facility build-out and kennel/play equipment, covers one-time legal, permitting, and launch-marketing costs, and leaves a working capital cushion sized to carry the business through its first-year ramp — see the financial forecast for the month-by-month cash position.

Sources of Funds

Noah's Arf requires $200,000 in total funding, sourced as follows:

The commercial loan will be paid back from business cash flow over seven years, collateralized by company assets and backed by the owner's personal guarantee. The loan and owner investment together fund the facility build-out, kennel and play equipment, pre-launch costs, and an opening working-capital cushion, keeping cash on hand positive throughout the ramp-up period.

Projected Statements

Key Assumptions

Important financial assumptions, aligned to the LivePlan forecast:

• Multi-service animal care facility with 9 revenue streams: Day Care, Overnight Boarding, Small Animal and Cat Care, Wash-Your-Own, Retail, In-Home Care, Grooming, Obedience, and Special Requests.
• Year 1 total revenue: $449,954; Year 2: $638,161; Year 3: $733,160.
• Revenue ramps monthly through Year 1 as the client base builds toward the Short North facility's capacity, then continues growing at a slowing rate through Year 3 as utilization matures.

• Blended direct costs (retail COGS, grooming and wash supplies, pet care consumables, card processing) run roughly 11% of revenue.
• Direct labor (Playground Supervisors, Groomer, Veterinary Technician) is treated as a cost of service delivery, consistent with industry gross-margin benchmarks for a labor-intensive pet care business (Year 1 gross margin ~52%).

• Facility rent: $84,000 | Utilities: $21,600 | Insurance: $16,800 | Property taxes: $5,400
• Advertising and promotion: $26,400 | Software and booking platform: $4,200

• Owner investment: $70,000 (one-time)
• Commercial loan: $130,000 at 8% over 7 years (84 payments), funded at launch
• Opening working capital after start-up asset purchases: approximately $73,000