Author name: Kristin Morrison

Can Pet Sitting Business Owners Leave their Businesses and Travel for 2 Months?

Dog Sitting Business, dog walking business, Goal Setting, Pet Business, Pet Sitting Business / /

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Yes. Yes. Yes! If you’ve got a supportive management team and great pet sitters and walkers on staff you can take time off to see the world.

And that’s just what I am going to be doing in January 2010.

When my business was 3-5 years old I traveled each year for 2 months. I would do lots of pet sitting for 10 months and then have my manager oversee everything for the two months that I’d be gone from the business and out of the country.

I went on a lot of great trips. I traveled for two months in Europe. Two months in Bali. Two months in Thailand. (Thai villagers dressed me up in Thai gown and crown and I led a parade of villagers down the street but that’s for another blog post!)

I have been desiring to travel again. What has held me back is that my business is now MUCH larger than it was 10-12 years ago! We have 35 staff members. Our huge client list continues to grow with the new calls we get daily.

I have been mulling over traveling for an extended period of time for awhile now and was noticing that fear was holding me back. I try to live my life in such a way that I normally don’t let fear run my life. I’ve coached many of you business owners on how to make peace with your fears and really live in a way that is fulfilling and meaningful both in business and in life. And yet here I was finding myself wanting to travel and letting the thoughts of fear stop me from committing to something that I really want to do.

My fear thoughts went something like this:  Will everything be okay while I’m gone? What if something happens while I’m away? What if……? (fill in the blank.)

Well, last week I decided to look the fear straight in the eye and smile at it and say, “I’m going.”

So I took the first step and asked my main business manager if she could manage the business while I was away. She said that she would love to.

And now I’m compiling an ultra long list of many tasks that need to be completed before I depart in 5 months. I’m also exploring: where do I want to go? I’m still mulling it over. Bali is definitely calling to me. I might start there and end up some place totally different.

I’ll keep you posted!

In the meantime I’d love to hear about you: what are some unrealized dreams that you have that you are afraid of fulfilling? Is there a way your business could support you in making those visions a reality? Email me privately or post your comment below if you like.

Can Pet Sitting Business Owners Leave their Businesses and Travel for 2 Months? Read More »

Pet Sitters: Grow your Pet Sitting Business through LinkedIn!

Dog Walking Business Start Up, Pet Business Marketing, Pet Sitting Business, pet sitting marketing, Social Media Marketing / /

LinkedIn

Are you ready to learn new ways of using LinkedIn to generate more business and gain more clients?

The LinkedIn: How to Grow your Pet Sitting Business and Generate New Clients Through LinkedIn teleclass is Tuesday, August 25 at 5:00pm PST / 8:00pm EST.

There’s still time to sign up and get the $20 rate discount if you sign up by August 18. After that the price goes up to $30 so sign up today to take advantage of the special $10 discount for early registration.

Find out more and sign up now by visiting the LinkedIn: How to Use this Powerful Site to Generate New Clients teleclass page. We look forward to ‘seeing’ you at this exciting teleclass!

Join Kristin Morrison from the Six-Figure Pet Sitting Academy™ as she interviews Therese Kopiwoda. Therese has the knowledge and experience to teach you how to use social media to get your business noticed by potential clients and customers. She has used LinkedIn and other social media tools to turn her online business, PetsitUSA, into a nationally recognized source for pet sitters and pet owners alike.

Pet Sitters: Grow your Pet Sitting Business through LinkedIn! Read More »

New Pet Sitters: How to Determine Your Dog Walking and Pet Sitting Rates

Dog Walking Business Start Up, Dog Walking Rates, Pet Sitting Business, Pet Sitting Rates, Pet Sitting Startup / /

2892058635_da341cba5f_mIf you are a new pet sitter here’s the easiest way to determine your pet sitting and dog walking rates:

1) Create a spreadsheet with at least 10 different competitors on the far left.

2) On the columns to the right have each service plus time limits plus extra pet fee. Find your competitors’ rates sheets and enter their totals there.

3) If you can’t find ten competitors in your area then look in the next immediate town until you have ten different pet sitters listed in or near your town.

4) Figure out the medium range by looking at the range of prices for each service from your ten competitors.

I usually recommend that new pet sitters have their rates be in the middle-range of your competitors when you are first starting out.

Here’s how to determine the average middle: Let’s say you create your competitor pricing spreadsheet and you find the range is $12-$20 per 30- minute pet sitting visit. You’ll want to start out with a rate $16 per visit.

Once you develop a stellar reputation as a pet sitter you can (and should) raise your middle-range rates.

New Pet Sitters: How to Determine Your Dog Walking and Pet Sitting Rates Read More »

The Power of a Post It Note

Goal Setting / /

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In 1953, researchers surveyed Yale’s graduating seniors to determine how many of them had specific, written goals for their future. The answer: 3%.

Twenty years later, researchers polled the surviving members of the Class of 1953 — and found that the 3% with specific, written goals had accumulated more personal financial wealth than the other 97% of the class combined.

Do you have specific, written goals for your business?

If not, it is time to start.

One of the simplest ways to start setting goals is to write this month’s money goal on a Post It note and stick it on your computer where you see it every day (and usually you’ll see it multiple times a day if you are a frequent computer user).

I wrote my money goal on a Post It note on July 1.  Next to the amount that I wanted to earn for the month July, I wrote that I ‘easily and effortlessly achieve my goal’. And guess what? Money has easily and effortlessly come to me this month–I am almost to my target profit goal.

The power of the Post It note is that it creates an intention of what is wanting to be created. Creating a clear intention often inspires direct actions to take. THAT’S where the power ultimately is. Taking action in a way that will increase your business success. Sometimes we need a yellow sticky note to prompt us to do that.

Tomorrow is August 1, the perfect time to start experiencing your own Post It note success. What will your money goal be for August?

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Marketing: Are clients finding you everywhere?

Goal Setting / /

bb114s1946I spoke with Felicia Lembesis, the executive director for National Association of Professional Pet Sitters (NAPPS) on Monday.  We were discussing pet sitters and marketing and how it seems that many pet sitters have a fear or extreme dislike of marketing. Because a lot of pet sitters dislike it or fear it they end up not doing much of it and ‘hope for success’ instead of actively creating their business success.

In my own pet sitting business I ask clients how they heard about us and will often hear new clients say, “I see your company everywhere.”

How do I get EVERYWHERE?

Here is just some of what I do to get my business “everywhere”:
~ My website is search engine optimized (SEO) so I show up on the first or second line of most of the search engines. (Need help with this? I can do a complete SEO session with you.)
~ I drop off my attention-grabbing business cards on a consistent basis (every 1-2 months) to groomers, vets and pet stores.
~ I advertise in different pet publications that pet owners read.
~ I have signs on my car.
~ I look for advertising opportunities wherever–my feelers are open for possibilities to spread the word about my pet sitting company.
~ I have my website information on the bottom of my personal email so that friends are reminded (or alerted to) the fact that I own a pet sitting company.

Begin promoting your pet sitting business in a way that clients will soon be saying, “I see you EVERYWHERE!”

Marketing: Are clients finding you everywhere? Read More »

Blogging and my Book

Blogging, Dog Sitting Business, dog walking business, Pet Business, Pet Sitting Business / /

KristinOliveback

I’m noticing that I’m excited about this new blog and being able to communicate with all of you pet sitters on a regular basis and yet I’m also really excited and lit up about the book that I’ve been writing for pet sitters.

So…though the thought of  blogging every day sounds so fun and is tugging at me a bit, I’m finding that I really want and need to use my extra time to work on (and finish) my book.

Writing this book really has been a labor of love. I started it a few months ago when I hurt my back and was bedridden for a couple of days. One day I found myself writing for 10 hours straight! Now I usually write for 1-2 hours every couple of days and will stop when I find my attention wandering or I realize that I don’t want to be writing anymore.

I’m trying to really honor my natural rhythm of writing and not force myself to keep writing if I don’t want to.

I’m keeping the title hush-hush for now but in a few weeks I’ll be announcing it and telling you more about it. Stay tuned.

Blogging and my Book Read More »

What do YOU want to read about in the Six-Figure Pet Sitting Blog?

Blogging, Dog Sitting Business, dog walking business, Pet Business, pet sitting blog, Pet Sitting Business / /

blogimageWhile I’m still working on my ability to upload pictures and make this blog ‘pretty’ I’d like to know what business topics that you would like to read about here.

Feel free to post your topic ideas and preferences or email them directly to me and I’ll create blog posts from your suggestions.

What do YOU want to read about in the Six-Figure Pet Sitting Blog? Read More »

Hello Pet Sitters and Dog Walkers

Blogging, Search Engine Optimization (SE0) / /

Horray! My blog is finally up and I’m so excited to have the opportunity to post every few days as my way to communicate with you in between our coaching sessions, teleclasses and my newsletter. I’m still trying to figure out how to put pictures up but other than that blogging is easy. You should try it.

If you’ve been thinking about getting a blog I really recommend it for these reasons:

1) You’ll get higher on the search engines like Google, MSN, Yahoo and the new Bing if you have a blog.

2) It’s so much fun. Try it. You’ll like it.

PS-I finally figured out how to put pictures in. 🙂

Hello Pet Sitters and Dog Walkers Read More »

How to Write and Send the Perfect Rate Increase Letter

Goal Setting / /

In the last blog post I wrote about the importance of raising your rates and how, by simply raising your rates $2/per walk with 10 clients you can increase your earnings up to $5,200 a year.

Now, it’s time to actually do it!

Below are 5 tips around writing and sending the perfect rate increase letter for your pet sitting clients:

…

How to Write and Send the Perfect Rate Increase LetterRead More »

How to Write and Send the Perfect Rate Increase Letter Read More »

How to Make $4,800 More This Year in Your Pet Sitting Business – Without Doing More Work!

Dog Sitting Business, dog walking business, Pet Business, Pet Sitting Business / /

Let me guess: you’ve been thinking about raising your rates but thinking about it as far as you’ve gotten…

This can be a costly mistake in business. Why? Well, most of your creditors raise their rates yearly to keep up with inflation. If you are not at least keeping up with the rising cost of …

How to Make $4,800 More This Year in Your Pet Sitting Business – Without Doing More Work!Read More »

How to Make $4,800 More This Year in Your Pet Sitting Business – Without Doing More Work! Read More »

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