Start Pet Sitting as a Business
Are pets a part of your everyday life? If so, you may be wondering if the care you give to your own pets can be turned into something more. As a matter of fact, it can. Consider starting a pet sitting service for animals of all types.
(Click here to instantly download a step-by-step pet sitting guide or for ongoing help for your pet sitting business join the Pet Business Success Circle)
What is a Pet Sitting Business?
In the interest of doing a good job and satisfying your clients, the serious pet sitter goes the extra mile to ensure that the pets are well looked after while they are in their care.
A pet sitter is responsible for looking in on pets when the owners are away. You can set the business up so they animals are boarded with you in your home or boarding facility or you can create a business where you simply visit the animals in their homes and tend to them during the day. If this is the case, you can be called upon to check in on the pets at least twice a day every day. Pets may feel anxious when their master is away especially if the pet is a baby and still learning the ropes. This is true of cats and dogs for the most part.
A meeting with the owners yields important information like medication use by the pets, number of pets, food requirements of the pets, and the key to the home to conduct your sitting duties. Responsibilities will include walking the pets if they can walk. A dog that has been cooped up in the house all day will want to get out and run.
After exercising, the animals need fresh food and water. Most animals eat once or twice a day. If any medications are required, it will be your job to administer them. Any messes they make are not required to be cleaned up by you but it will be a courtesy that the owners will appreciate.
What Skills & Equipment Do You Need?
Other than basic business skills and a love of animals, there aren’t any special skills required for pet sitting. A few reference books on various pets would not be a bad idea for a pet sitting service that caters to all types of pets. Any pets that you absolutely wouldn’t sit for will be specified in your literature so that owners know up front. Exotic pets are harder to care for.
Equipment needed for the job depends on the types of pets you will care for with your business. Caring for cats and dogs is simple when it comes to feeding and exercise. An indoor cat may only want you to give them a rubber mouse or ball of yarn to play with while you are visiting. Dogs roll over and expect pats on the belly, snack treats, and a game of catch around the yard or in the house.
Birds are an entirely different matter. The food usually needs to be removed after thirty minutes to avoid spoilage. Birds also have play gyms or like to perch on your finger to play.
Home-Based or Brick and Mortar
A pet sitting business doesn’t require a free standing office. Since you will visit each client, it is more cost effective to work from your home and significantly easier to care for the animals if they’re in a location which is convenient for you 24 hours a day – particularly if they’re overnight visitors. However, there are a growing number of pet daycares in commercial buildings. This is also a viable option if you don't have a lot of space and you're concerned about damage to your home that can be caused by pets.
What Next?
- Get Educated: Pick up a copy of the Fab Job Guide to Become a Pet Sitter. It will show you how to get started, find a suitable property, day-to-day operations, finding guests and more.
- Start Your Business Plan:You can create your custom pet daycare business plan here.
- Set up Your Website: If you want to attract more clients to your services, a website is a must. To quickly and easily put your professional website together, click here.
- Join the Pet Business Success Circle: Receive ongoing help and connect with pet sitters from all over to help build your own business. Join here.
