Pet Sitting Business Guide

By Carol R.

About The Author:

I was vice president of the data processing IT department at a large New England bank. I am a very outgoing person and in this field your main focus is to make sure all the computers are working properly so that all your tellers are online and able to work. I would have little interaction with people and worked in an area with no windows so you were pretty much isolated in a controlled environment. As the banking industry started to change and most banks were merging or selling to larger banks which happened to the one I worked for. They offered me early retirement and I decided to take it.

Then I was hired back as a sub contractor to help them with their conversion from our system to theirs. I had worked for them for 27 years so it was a little depressing to leave it all behind even though my true passion was to work with animals and be outside in the fresh air. My husband traveled Monday – Friday so I always wanted to live in Florida so we packed up and moved. I took a job at SunTrust bank for a short time until I finally decided to open my own Pet Sitting Business. So finally I was going to be able to work outside, meet people and work with animals a dream come true.

In order to succeed in this business you have to truly love animals. You will have to work most all holidays because this is when people do most of their traveling. But if you are looking for some freedom that comes with owning your own business and will be happy with $25,000 to $35,000 dollars a year depending on what you charge. If you are looking for a part time or full time business that does not cost a fortune to start then I highly recommend becoming a pet sitter and starting your own pet sitting company.

You will see a lot of different forms and ways to run a pet sitting business but I have been doing this for over 10 years and my best advice keep it simple and keep your overhead down.

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Getting Started With My Pet Sitting Business:

First thing you need to do is decide on a name and get your business cards and website. I just had HODI Hosting re-work my website for me and I transferred my hosting to them. They offer a fantastic deal to get a web presence for your business. Then get your business cards printed (Vista Print will give you 250 free cards to get you started) with your contact info and make sure you put your website address on your cards. With the website you can explain in more detail what services you offer and tell a little about yourself and your company. Next get yourself some magnetic signs from Build a Sign and after you get going if your neighborhood allows it I would get signs painted on your vehicle or the complete vinyl wrap you see on some vehicles. Now you need to get insurance first thing to do is check with NetQuote it is free and it will help you get a comparison on what you will get offered by joining some of the organizations out there. Next I would join NAPPS this is the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters they also offer insurance and bonding for your business but I would also price it out through NetQuote. So you have picked out your name, purchased your domain name and started your website, purchased business cards, magnetic signs and have chosen the best insurance for the money. You still have some things to do. You need to go down to your local business licensing establishment and get your occupational license this usually runs $25.00 to $50.00 for a year.

Set up a room or space in your home to run your business out of. This will help you during tax time because you can deduct this as an expense off of your taxes. Before you get started looking for customers you need to get a simple bookkeeping system setup. I would go to a local accountant and ask him how you should set this up. It is easy to do but if you set it up like your accountant wants it will save him time when you file your taxes. If you open your business as a sole proprietor which is the easiest and least expensive you can do your taxes yourself if you choose. If you incorporate you must use an accountant. You should not need a sales tax certificate because unless you sell some type of products you should not have to charge sales tax to your customers for this pet sitting service business but to be safe in your state I would check with your sales tax agency or ask your accountant.

Ok now you are ready to start getting customers. You want to start with family and friends telling them what you have to offer and give them some business cards to pass out to their friends and family. Next go to all the local veterinarians’ and ask if you can leave cards in their waiting room. Stop by all the local pet stores and restaurants do the same. Only put cards out in the demographic area you plan to cover in your pet sitting business. Most all towns have a small local newspaper just for their area and it usually is affordable so take an ad out that you can afford every week. In this ad make sure you put your website address so people can read more about what you have to offer by going to your website. Don’t waste your money on the yellow pages what you need is word of mouth advertising this is the best advertising so don’t get locked into a monthly payment with the yellow pages it is not worth it. By offering great service at an affordable rate is how you will build your business.

Services & What to Charge:

I offer pet sitting to all pets from dogs, cats, ferrets, horses, birds etc… To stand out from the competition you need to offer something different or better. I offered custom pet sitting. I would keep their pets in the same type routine when the owners were gone as if they were home. Most pet sitters come in feed water maybe walk or let the pet out for exercise etc… I would do the same but if the pet was always brushed once a day then while I was there I would brush the pet. If the pet usually played ball after they ate each day then I played ball with them also. This way the amount of stress on the pet is greatly reduced because their daily routine stayed the same. This is what made me different from many in this business.

Keep the pricing simple you will see many companies up charge for everything from walking the dog or bringing in the mail etc… Keep your prices simple and don’t charge for things that are easily done like feeding the fish, watering the plants and bringing in the mail. These services can easily be performed while you are at the house taking care of their pets without taking you any more of your time.

Dogs & Cats

Feed and water
Clean the litter box
Exercise
Walk the dogs
Brush cats or dogs
Give medication

Horses & Barn Pets

Feed & Water
Brush them down
Clean the stall
Turnout
Give medications

Birds & Other Pets

Feed & water
Clean the cage
Take them out for play time
Give medications

Free Services

Water plants
Bring in the mail or newspaper
Feed the fish
Fill a bird feeder with feed
Turn house lights on at night for security

Learning what to charge does take some practice because you need to be observant when interviewing the customer. For instance if you are going to take care of a horse and you see the stall is a complete mess then you know since the horse does not just go to the bathroom in one spot but instead kicks it all over the stall it is going to take you longer to clean it up so you must charge more. If someone has dogs and cats or horses etc… then you charge $15.00 visit charge plus the additional animal charge for that type of animal. I always let the customer know what the charge is going to be before during the interview. I never add on to a bill unless they stay longer then agreed upon or something unusual happens but this is usually talked about on the phone prior to happening.

My basic service is feed and water the pet
Let the pet exercise and go to the bathroom
Walk the pet if no exercise area is available
Clean the stall, litter box, cage etc…
Bring in the mail or newspaper
Water the plants (if they have a lot of plants then I would have to charge more)
Feed the fish
Check the property (just basic look around the outside of the home) if anything more detailed than that I charge $2.00 per visit.

What I Charge

$15.00 per visit for one or two dogs each additional dog is $10.00
$10.00 per visit for one or two cats each additional cat is $2.00
$15.00 per visit for one horse each additional horse is $10.00
Pet needs to be brushed out then I charge $10.00 for each time I brush them.
Giving medication that is going to be a shot or eye drops anything other than just easily putting it in their food I charge an additional $2.00 each time I have to administer it.
If the horses stall is going to be a big mess each time I have to clean it I will charge an additional $3.00

So you can see the basic charge is $15.00 per visit unless you are taking care of cats or any pet that doesn’t need much in the way of exercise. If you just have to stop in clean the litter box and give food and water this will take less time then walking dogs etc…

I always get paid prior to the customer leaving by either check cash or credit card. If you need to get set up to take credit cards here is an easy inexpensive way to do it. Accept by Phone the cost is $10.00 per month plus a small transaction fee and you have no contracts and you just use your phone vary simple.

I would charge 3% fee of their total bill if they choose to pay by credit card to offset the fee I get charged.

If a customer comes back early there are no refunds on the amount charged. I set up and allotted this time for them and I have to get paid for it. If a customer comes back late I just charge them for the additional trips I had to make.

Interview & Forms:

When you go to interview your new customer you need to remember they are also interviewing you so you need to look and act professionally. You need to teach yourself to be observant when interviewing in time you will become very proficient at interviewing but in the beginning you need to stay focused. The pet sitting interview with your customers is so they can explain where the food is located, what water source do they use, are certain bowls for certain pets, where does each pet eat, what pets are on medication and what are the doses and times they need it, what pets get brushed, where do they throw away their garbage some people want the food cans or plastic rinsed and separated into recycling containers. You need to know what dogs get walked and where.

Do you walk the dogs together if there is more than one or separate. You need to pay attention to how your customer explains these tasks to you and take notes. Always write everything down and go over it when you are done with the interview. Some things to the customer will seem easy to them but you will have questions. What commands do they use for the pets if any. You will have them fill out a short form with common questions. On the form you will see a place for their security code always get the code and the secret answer in case the alarm goes off. They can call their alarm company and give them a code for you. Even if they tell you they are going to leave the alarm off get the code. It has happened more than once to me that a customer left the alarm on and I was left to explain myself to the police.

Have your customer write a letter addressed to their vet giving you permission to handle any problems that might happen. It is just a simple; I Jane Doe give pet sitting company the authority to make decisions on my behalf for my pets listed below. Have them list their pets, print their name and date and sign it.

Questions to put on form:

Client’s Name
Address
Phone
Fax
Email
Service Dates (from)____ (through) _____
Number of Visits_____
Rate per Visit______
Total Due_______
Pets Types and Names
Veterinarian (name, address, phone)
Special Needs
Feeding Instructions
Comments
Mail/Paper (yes or no)
Property Check (yes or no)
Turn on Lights (yes or no) which ones
Water Plants (yes or no)
How to reach you while you are away
Clients signature

You need to have your information on the top of the form so it looks professional. Business name, address and phone number, email etc…

Hiring Help:

You want to be very careful in who you hire for your pet sitting business because of the trust needed to be in other people homes. I personally only hire friends or someone recommended by a friend. I have always either known someone in their family or a very close friend knew them well. You can do background checks on the internet if you feel it is necessary. Make sure you spend time interviewing people before hiring them. They should have some type of background with dealing with animals. You need to have confidence when you take care of someone else’s pets because the pet will sense the nervousness or fear in you right away. You need to be able to take control and be aware of your surroundings and you won’t have any problems. In over 10 years I have only been bit twice and that was because the animal was scared not mean. Confidence and a firm voice will go a long way in pet sitting.

I pay my pet sitters as sub contractors this means they have to deal with their own taxes. I give them a check after each job or once a week depending on how often that pet sitter works for me. You need to have each pet sitter fill out a non-compete form this is a standard form keeping your pet sitters from taking your customers and opening their own pet sitting business. You can find these forms for sale on the internet for a couple of dollars. I think even Staples caries a standard version of the form. You will need to know each pet sitters social security number and address because at the end of each year if you have paid them more than $600.00 (this number can change check with your accountant) in a year you will need to send them a 1099 if you use an accountant they will do this for you. As far as pay I pay each pet sitter 65% of what I charge the customer. I keep 35% for advertising, insurance and day to day expenses of running the business. Like I said before I am not getting rich but I am busy and I love my pet sitting business.

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