Can i legally sell homemade dog treats?
I'd be willing to bet that a large percentage of small businesses begin in the home without a license. I know I did (I don't sell edibles). I have worked at many fairs, events, etc., where I have never, ever been asked to produce proof of a business license or anything of the kind. This relaxed approach may differ by state, though. We didn't get a license till we had a brick & mortar location and "walk in" clientele.
How to prevent homemade dog biscuits from molding?
Cut out the milk........that's the cause of the mold, as milk in all forms needs refrigeration. I would use rice flour for those dogs that have food allergies, olive oil for a mono fat, pasteurized eggs, and never cornmeal as here again, some dogs have allergies to corn. A simple biscuit that all my dogs and other trainers dogs seem to like consists of rice flour, grated carrots, granulated garlic, an egg, olive oil and wild caught salmon filets (2 ..4oz.). I grind up the carrots, salmon, egg, and garlic, then add a little water to make a loose dough and enough rice flour to hold it all together. I roll them into 1/2 inch balls and bake ,on a pan sprayed with Pam, at 350 for 17 minutes. I store them in the freezer, but take out a weeks worth and put in the refrigerator. They are used as training treats, and hold up well out of the refrigerator for a day or so.
How much should I sell my homemade dog treats for?
I say $100000 each. Now im not actually being silly, im trying to make a good point here: First work out how much each one costs to produce, that includes the cost of fuel to go shopping, how much time it takes etc. (Yea its a lot to do, but it will make the price you sell cover your real costs) Now you cant sell below that price. So we have doggie biscuits, and we have a set price for each one we need to at least make before we even make money. How are the customers going to know my biscuits are the best? Advertising, how much is advertising? Add to cost: Damn the store sells these for $1.49 to make $0.10 on the biscuit mine need to be $1.69 hmms AH packaging and perception of quality. Good old tin foil thanks for being cheaper than plastic. "tin foil wrapped for freshness (not because its 0.3cents cheaper than plastic lol) A good quality design - not just bonzo on the cover looking like a good boy? Now my biscuits are $2.00 to make $0.08 cents profit Add psychological nonsence appealing to the owners mentality "Your pet deserves only the best." Add the packaging and actually box it And pull industry tricks, ever seen the phrase on top end products "scientifically tested" then in miniture writing at the bottom it says" tested to contain 0.05% nutrion" But send off 1 biscuit and claim it. Also you wont compete on price wars which as a new business you cant win, what you will have is quality perception get that right, and you could be incredibly successful. I really hope you are too. now its $3.99 your making $0.40 per biscuit and its seen as a top end product. So thats an example of how to do and work it out. Your only going to get the price the CUSTOMER IS PREPARED TO PAY - if you want more make the customer THINK they should pay more - and its fun to go out hold random things and ask customers how much they would pay for an item in a stores research shelf.
For female entrepeneurs....I own a dog walking company and now I"m pregnant, what do I do?
It's a small company, I generate a middle class income, I'm the major walker with my mother in law twice a week. She works the other days of the week out of her home so can't pick up extra days. I have one baby, and previously my husband took over while I was too pregnant and in the early months of our daughter. I don't know how I should handle this next move. I don't know if I should just give the clients to another dog walker and hope I get them back when I return. Hire someone, however I've tried to hire two people both quit before starting. That was for part time so I don't know if I'll get someone a bit more serious for the heavier load. Any advice is great, we were quite surprised by this pregnancy and haven't had a chance to really set up anything and now I have about 20 weeks before I have to stop walking. Any ideas are great!
Feeling guilty about my hobby?
Hello everyone, I can say that my hobby is video games. Since I graduated from school in December, I have a lot of free time until I start my full time position this summer. Although I like playing video games I can't help getting over the fact that its not a good hobby. It does not feel like anything productive comes out of it. In order to solve this issue I tried getting into other hobbies: Painting, Programming, Writing, 3d Modeling, Clay Sculptor, Tennis, Running, drawing, Learning Piano, Learning a new language (Spanish), creating my own video game, but no matter what I try everything eventually gets boring. When I talk to my other friends they are into things like building robots, or doing martial arts and it sounds so fulfilling and they have things to show for what they have done. I guess the issue is that although I love playing video games they don't give me that feeling of fulfillment or accomplishment. My question is have any of you felt like this and if so do how do deal with these thoughts? If you haven't felt like this is there a hobby I left out that maybe you can suggest? Thanks for everyone's help with this
Are Top Chews Chicken Jerky treats safe to give to my dog?
Because of the problems with contaminated jerky treats i would not risk feeding any jerky treats. if they are made by a small reliable Company (in the U.S.) then i might feel better about it. but defiantly not from big box pet stores. And most often treats will say made In the U.S. and then on the back it will say in tiny letters made in china. You also need to read the bar code. All bar codes that start with 690, 691, 692, thru 695 are MADE IN CHINA. Bar code items starting with 471 are Made in Taiwan. http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/b/b... How about making your own chicken jerky treats. Slice the chicken into thin strips and bake them in the oven until crispy. http://www.dogtreatkitchen.com/chicken-j... http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/chi... I just googled the brand name, I would defiantly not purchase these. Costco Is not a reliable source to get jerky treats from. I can bet these have been contaminated in some way or another. I wouldn't risk it. And Quite frankly, They look like a cheap brand.
Is it safe for dogs to eat lunch meat?
Its not healthy for them. A little piece maybe as a treat, but don’t encourage it. Lunch meat isn't healthy for us either. Dogs are sensitive to onions, garlic and salt, the smaller the dog the higher the risk. Loaded with salt, nitrates, artificial flavors, smoked, spiced, and fake junk to make it lower in fat or calories. Lunch meat is usually a meat ( beef, pork, chicken, turkey or a combination) ground up, with additives or fillers then molded into a shape, smoked, baked or roasted or boiled, then sliced into rounds or slices for sandwiches. Bologna while tasty is not the best either, as it often is made with scrap meat which can include animal parts you might never eat otherwise. The same for hot dogs and sausages. If you can find a good butcher (charcuterie) that makes their own sausage or wieners with good quality meat and ingredients, then yeah, that is a treat for you and a taste for ROVER.
My neighbors keep calling the police on me and falsely accusing me of criminal acts. I am afraid to go outside of my house. What do I do?
I have a neighbor that is fixated on my husband. She seemed a little off, but once she found out about his time in prison she developed a full blown obsession. She wrote the association board for our community a complaint about him slamming doors and watching her when she was outside. This was nonsense but they still had to address it with us. She wrote subsequent letters to the board stating he has a key to her car, and gains entry to turn on her radio...that he lets air out of her tires...that he's getting in her home and releasing ants...and he's poisoning the food in her refrigerator. We'd see police at her door, but they never stopped by to talk to us. One day last fall, my husband was riding his bike. This neighbor pulled her car in front of him and slammed on her brakes, causing him to fall off his bike. Her behavior was now endangering him so we went to the police to file a report. The police were helpful, and knew our neighbor well. Apparently she'd filed lots of police reports about my husband and a few other men from the neighborhood. The police recognized she has mental health issues and never pursued her later complaints. So what can you do? Try to have your cell phone ready to record if you think your neighbor will confront you. Keep a cool head, there's nothing wrong with not engaging in an argument. Don't be afraid to talk to the police to see what your options are if you're being harassed. You don't want to end up on the wrong side of this problem.UPDATE: my local police department reached out to the neighbour's daughter, the daughter called my husband to apologize and let him know she will be intervening in a medically supervised care program for her mother. She made sure he has her contact info should we have any problems. I give her all the credit in the world, she was wonderful and it's great that she wants to be involved in her care! Here's hoping my neighbor gets back on track.
What are some good fundraising ideas for startups?
You didn’t mention the type of startup. I am mentioning that because depending on what the startup does and its market, there may be fundraising ideas that are more specific. Here are some ideas:Crowdfunding. Make sure that you choose the right platform. Some crowdfunding platforms require that you raise the entire amount you asked for before you can take a payout. Other platforms don’t require you to do that. Just make sure that your supporters get something in return for their support.Take out a personal loan or credit card advance. This can help you get the money that your startup needs without worrying about giving up any equity.Invest in your own business. Put as much of your own money into your startup as you can. If you’re currently working a full-time or part-time job, look for another job or a side hustle. Put all of that money toward your startup.Look for sponsors for your product or services. Depending on what you offer, maybe another business would like to have their name mentioned on your website, podcast, or whatever. They may be willing to pay good money for that (depending on your following and how well you pitch the idea).Get lean. Get rid of all the frills. Do the best you can with the money that you do have for the business. This will help you continue to manage your business funds better in the future.Of course, there are more traditional types of fundraising for startups (such as convertible notes and equity financing). If that’s the type of fundraising that you’d like to pursue, make sure that you talk with an attorney who is experienced in fundraising for startups. At LawTrades, we provide a marketplace of startup attorneys and we’ve helped thousands of startups. We can help you make sure that you’ve got the information that you need to make informed decisions related to your fundraising. Initial consultations are free and we pride ourselves in staying in contact with our clients from the very beginning through the very end of their project.