So, you want to be a pet sitter? How to set up your own pet sitting/dog walking business.

Paul Tokarchuk

Description

The book explains what you need to set up a pet sitting/dog walking business, the decisions you will need to make before starting and how to set up your business. Topics include managing your business efficiently, good customer service, continuing education, IC's vs employees and tips on how to avoid burn out. In the appendix there are checklists to ensure that you don't miss a step on your way to being a successful business owner.

Sujets

• Pets

Informations

• Publié par: eBookIt.com
• Date de parution: 12 mai 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9781456631161
• Langue: English

Extrait

So, You Want to Be a Pet Sitter?
How to set up your own pet sitting/dog walking business.
 
by
Paul Tokarchuk
 
Copyright 2018 Paul Tokarchuk,
All rights reserved.
 
 
Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com
http://www.eBookIt.com
 
 
ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-3116-1
 
 
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
Acknowledgements:
This book is dedicated to my wife Tiffany Festo-Tokarchuk who has been my biggest supporter in my business. She provided lots of encouragement and gave great support in the transition to just dog walking and boarding. Tiffany also does my taxes, e-files my sales taxes and edits my newsletters I send out to clients. She is a good sounding board for my ideas. She is also a great mother to our son Alex and did extra bed time duties while I was out on late night pet sits.
It is also dedicated to my son Alex who has opened my creative side and inspired me to be a better role model and helpful person. “Actions speak louder than words”- Abraham Lincoln.
Deb Colletti helped me when I was getting started in pet sitting using me as her IC for several mid-day dog walks, referred lots of clients to me over the years, gave advice and friendship. I would not have lasted over two years without her assistance.
Marta Hildebrand gave me lots of advice along the way and her assistance made for a smooth transition when I took over her dog walking business this past Jan. and continues to give advice as well as being a good friend.
All the ladies in Capital Area Professional Pet Sitters who gave advice, shared stories and beer over the years, especially our groups president Wendy Nigro whom some of the pet sitting stories are based on. She had many of the funniest and weird things happen while on pet sits and always pushed the envelope with advertising.
CONTENTS
So, you think you want to be a pet sitter?
Things you need to start your business:
Decisions you need to make before you start
Setting up your business/marketing:
Managing your business efficiently:
Good Customer Service:
What do you do in case of emergency?
Continuing education:
Employee vs IC’s (independent contractor):
Schedule time for yourself:
Get started:
Appendix: checklists
 
So, you think you want to be a pet sitter?
It is many people’s dream to shed the cubicle and work outside playing with puppies on bright sunny days. Starting your own pet sitting business is easy all you need is a car and some business cards and/or flyers. You might think, “Tons of people are doing it and I can too. I’ll make lots of money taking care of puppies and kittens and it will be fun.”
Yes, pet sitting can be fun and rewarding, where else does your boss warmly greet you as you come to work, licking your face and waging their tail. However, the average pet sitter lasts around two years due to burnout from over working. Not all pets are easy going and friendly and not all are healthy. They may get sick or have accidents which need to be cleaned up so it can be more work than expected. I was told the first two years are the toughest as you are growing your business and not making a lot of money, if you can survive those then you are golden (that will vary, depending on your service area and amount of competition). I worked retail several days a week the first two years until I made enough money at pet sitting to help support the family. I have seen people start up their business and disappear several months later and I have colleagues who have lasted over 20 years. Many Mom & Pop professional pet sitting/dog walking businesses make between $20k-$50k a year, some of the larger pet sitting businesses make over $100k a year (gross revenue).
There are many things to consider when going into this type of business. Don’t just go into pet sitting because you love pets. It is a business and needs to be treated as such. Being well organized is a key factor in your success. You will need to do your due diligence to set up your business properly and will have decisions you need make before you take on your first client. There will be a section on the risks and concerns that go along with this type of business. I will give tips and suggestions which you can choose from as every pet sitting business will be different based on services offered, size of business (Mom & Pop or employees), and service area covered (rural or city). I will point out the common mistakes that most pet sitters, including myself, have made, so you can learn from our experience. These will make you more organized and efficient so that you don’t burn out.
The goal is to stand out from the “fly-by-nights” and look very professional, be more efficient so you don’t spend too much money and can’t pay for ongoing expenses. Many businesses fail because they don’t control expenses to ensure the liquidity of the business.