Pet Sitting Business - The Best Business for Pet Lovers

Pet sitting business can be a rewarding experience if you truly love being with pets. However, make sure to weigh all the advantages and disadvantages before getting started.

Pet sitting basically involves taking care of someone's pets when he/she isn't available. Apart from that, you may also have to render additional services like watering the owner's plants, mail and newspaper pick-up. The main task of course is looking after the pet. The reason there is so much demand for this type of service is that it saves the client and the pet the usual stress of dealing with a kennel. Clients are often more than happy and relieved to see someone take care of their pets than leave them at a kennel, when they are not present. If you love pets, then there can be no better business to be in than this.

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Though this business has lot of advantages associated with any business like flexible working hours, being your own boss, loving your profession, it does have its share of disadvantages. You might have to toil initially to establish your business as this business grows by word of mouth than marketing. Also, holidays can be especially busy, often making you to rework your plans to accommodate your own family needs. For example, you may not be able to take your kids on a vacation when they have holidays. You may instead have to plan short frequent outings whenever possible to keep them happy. As you can see, there are lots of disadvantages too hence it's absolutely necessary that you love pets or else this profession can be a pain if you are in it simply for the sake of money.

Start-up Costs

Unlike other businesses, there isn't much start-up costs involved in this business. It can range anywhere from $200-$300 depending on whether you intend to use the services of an accountant or not. It's often advisable to consult an experienced accountant as he will be able to explain all the necessary laws and policies concerning this business. For example, you cannot charge sale tax in some states as the pet sitting service may not be taxable.

Though this business grows more by word of mouth, you still may have to invest in some marketing materials like business cards, flyers, brochures, etc. The ideal places to place these would be kennels and vet clinics. As some vets offer kennel facilities to their clients, they may not agree to allow you to place your cards with them, as it would hurt their business. The best way to counter this would be develop a good relation with them and devise some sort of joint venture in which you'll be recommending their service to your clients in case you are fully occupied in return for recommendation of your services to their clients when they are running full. It's a win-win situation for both of you. You may also consider distributing your cards/flyers during pet shows and events in your locality.

To develop credibility, you must also get yourself insured. Not only this will develop trust among your clients but will also cover you incase there is any damage to your client's premises during your presence. As your business increases, your premium will increase too.

Make sure to keep track of gas, auto expenses and miles traveled in your vehicle as all these are business expenses and are tax deductible.

How Much to Charge

On an average, pet-sitters will charge anywhere from $5-$10 per visit. A lot depends on the number of pets and whether the pet is easy to take care of. Obviously you can't be charging the same rates for a client with four cats, one hamster and a client with one dog. Also, some charge more for first visit and less for subsequent visits. It's all the matter of individual preferences.

Tips to make your service stand out:

1) Keep copies of any pet related certificates like training, grooming, etc. and hand them over to your clients to create a professional image.

2) Have pre-made fill-in-the-blank templates for yourself and your clients to fill in all the details of the pets like their preferences, dislikes, routines, medications, contact number of vet, emergency numbers, etc. You can use this to plan your schedule accordingly. This also creates a sense of trust among your clients that you are professional and care for their pets.

3) Have written contracts ready that contains all the details such as the tasks you'll be required to perform, your responsibilities, the client's responsibilities, charges and clauses if the length of stay is extended than what was decided initially, etc. This will prevent any untoward incidences in case of any misunderstandings.

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