Just starting
out? Some things that may help you.
There are
many books out there specific to this industry many available
in libraries or on line such as;
- Pet Sitting
for profit by Patti Moran. In my opinion all pet sitters should
own this book, would-be pet sitters as well.
- The Professional
Pet Sitter by Lori & Scott Mangold. This book contains sample
forms etc. I have this book and found it helpful.
- Operating
Your own Pet Sitting Business Kit by Vickie Whelan. I have this
one as well. It is a small book and was fairly pricey when I
purchased it but it has a lot of forms and useful info. You
can probably get it on half.com for a lot less.
There are
more but these should give you a lot of help, insight, etc. to
get you started and give you a pretty good idea about what you're
getting into.
Create
a Business Plan: Once you decide that yes you do want to be
a pet sitter, my advice is to create a business plan. It is a
valuable tool! It puts down in black & white everything you
need to do, what your expectations are, your goals, what steps
you need to perform to reach these goals, and if pet sitting will
make those goals and expectations a reality. What type of services
will you offer? How big will your service area be? Will you do
mid days, daily dog walking, or just vacation care? Also check
with your local powers that be and find out what, if any licenses
and permits are required in your area. How early will you start
daily? How late will you go? Will you be 24/7 365? Or do you plan
on just doing this part time?
Know Your
Market: Know your target market and your marketing area! Is
your local market strong? On a downward slide? Is your area growing?
What about the competition in your area? How many established
sitters are in your basic area? Can your area handle another service?
You need to know your competition and therefore be able to stand
out from the crowd if your area is saturated. Creative marketing
and providing services that perhaps the others don't can help
you here. On the other side of this, if there are no sitters in
your area and pet sitting is new to your area, you need to approach
it a bit differently! You will have to educate your target market
as to what pet sitting is and how much better it is than kenneling.
Pricing:
Also know your area and what pricing structure it will bear! Don't
set out to be the cheapest as you'll burn out fast! You may want
to keep it simple as far as pricing, as in flat fee per visit
instead of per pet etc. Know what your time is worth and charge
accordingly and that should cover most situations. I've seen a
lot of creative pricing here and for me it would be a bookkeeping
nightmare! You do have to price competitively but you also have
to cover your expenses and make a bit on top of that.
Expenses:
You need to know and factor in your start-up costs. Some do it
on a shoestring and others go all out! But you at least have to
figure in your insurance costs, bonding if you need and/or want
it, licenses and permits if your area requires them, computer,
printer, all your pet sitting supplies plus office forms, advertising
costs, car, gas maintenance costs etc. Then you need to factor
in how much it will take to keep your business running until the
cash flow is established which, depending on your area and how
aggressively you market your biz can vary a lot.
Business
Considerations: Then ask your self an honest question, How
much do I know about managing a business? What do you bring to
the table in the form of past business experience? Besides the
caring for pets, your business needs proper care to survive! Proper
management is vital! Do you have experience handling employees?
Accounting? What are your company policies? Set them early and
adhere to them and it will save you trouble down the road. By
policies I mean for example, job sharing? will you do EODs (every
other day visits)? What about aggressive or non-vaccinated pets?
Will you go out of your service area? Overnights? Dailies? Pet
Taxi services? Will you care for livestock or just small pets?
Cats or dogs only? Exotics? Will you use ICs (Independent Contractors)
or employees? All of these things and more should be well thought
out and addressed! It will save you time, trouble and stress down
the road when these things do come up if you have your policies
in place at the get go. Good record keeping is very important
in running any business! You are also required by law to keep
records of your income and expenses.
Get a business
checking account! Much easier to track and keep your personal
and business transactions separate. Get a phone that is strictly
for business! Whether it's a landline or cell, keep it just for
business! Much more professional! I prefer a landline as I believe
it shows a more permanent endeavor. But many use cell phones very
successfully.
You can find
business plans for free online and I would suggest contacting
the SBA in your area for personalized help.
Insurance:
Get your insurance!! PSA (Pet Sitters Associates) is very affordable.
PSI (Pet Sitters International) also offers insurance and bonding
for pet sitting professionals who are members. Insurance is probably
the most important thing you can and must do for you and your
business! Without insurance, you will be in danger of losing everything
if you are found responsible for pet or property damages of a
client.
Marketing:
Next you need to tell people that you are in business. Marketing
yourself and business is very important.
Get your business
cards and flyers up all over your area! Don't just do it once,
keep going back and checking and putting up more when gone.
You can try
door hangers. They work in some areas better than others. I've
used them and had some success.
Do mass mailings!
Send postcards to people in your area targeting pet owners. Infousa
has reasonably priced mailing lists for sale and you can choose
your own criteria. In some areas you can get a list of licensed
dog owners from your city hall.
Get some nice
professional brochures made. Create your own if you have the talent
or have them done professionally. Take them to the vets, groomers,
gyms, coffee houses, libraries, travel agents, real estate agencies,
dog trainers. Know your local kennels and develop a good rapport.
Send out newsletters!
Consider newspaper
ads. I've done a number of them and have had very good luck! I
also run a continuous classified ad in my local paper. Contact
housing and development managers in your area and try an ad in
their publications.
Don't forget
the Yellow pages!! They work great in most areas!
Website:
Have a great web site done for you or do your own if you
can! Then get it out there to all the major search engines and
all the pet related sites you can think of!
Vehicle signage.
Excellent advertising!! Low cost and constant! I started with
the magnetic signs and later switched to the permanent vinyl,
which I love! No matter where you go or what you do you are advertising.
This has been and continues to be a great source for me. Going
hand in hand with this is Custom clothing for your business. Have
some nice shirts done up and wear them always! Polo shirts, tees
even caps! They're great! Put your logo and business name etc.
You can also enlist the aid of friends and family by giving them
shirts to wear too!
Word of mouth
is wonderful and free! It takes awhile to get to this point but
a referral from a happy client is the best! You can help towards
this end by giving existing clients a free visit for every new
client they bring in!
Anyway, I
guess the gist of this whole thing is not only to help (I hope)
but to also give you who are, just in the planning or *thinking
about it* stages, some food for thought. There is much more to
owning and running a successful pet sitting service than just
loving pets and wanting to be around them and care for them. This
isn't a piece of cake! It is long hours, days on end, and hard
work. It is often stressful and very rewarding. If it sounds like
a lot or too much, then it probably is! You might want to consider
working for an existing service instead of starting your own.
If you are
undaunted by the above, then welcome to the wonderful world of
pet sitting. I personally couldn't think of doing anything else,
I love what I do and believe it shows in my service, It is hard
work, long hours etc. but the joy I've received from helping my
clients and their pets makes up for it! (well most days ;0) Good
luck!
Copyright,
Terri Randall, Creature
Comforts Pet Sitting
Reprinted with permission.
