Pet Sitting Business

5 Business Tips for Successful Holiday Pet Sitting and Dog Walking

How to Start a Dog Walking Business, How to Start a Pet Sitting Business, Pet Business, Pet Sit Coach, Pet Sitting Business, Pet Sitting Business Coach, pet sitting marketing / /

4065380186_5475889415_m

Below are 5 of the most important tips for holiday pet sitting and dog walking business success:

1) Charge and enforce a holiday fee. Many pet sitters are resistant to charging a holiday fee because they are afraid or embarrassed to ask for more money over the holidays. Get over your fear and DO IT. You (and your staff) are giving of your time to work during this special time of year and deserve to be compensated for it.

2) Have your holiday fee be over the holiday period, not just on the actual holiday days. My holiday period this year is Dec. 20-January 3. Clients are charged an additional $5 for visits and $10 per night during this entire period.

Charging a holiday fee for the entire holiday period can help your profit increase by $500-$1,500+ during the holiday season!

I recommend that half of that holiday fee goes to the sitter working that particular holiday job. The other half goes to the company. Obviously if you are the one doing the job(s) you would receive all of it.

Why should your company get a portion of that holiday fee if your staff are doing the holiday jobs? The bulk of December reservations are often (obviously) only around the holidays so often times pet sitting business owners will find they are super stressed this time of year but are not making any more money than they might make in say, April. Having you, the business owner, receive a portion of that holiday fee will help your business thrive financially during the holiday season.

3) Figure out exactly how many visits you want to take NOW so you can have a sane holiday. Holidays only come once a year, folks. It’s up to you to decide now how you want to spend the days that are special to you.

If you want to spend Christmas day pet sitting from morning till evening with a brief holiday dinner in between jobs that is no problem. If that is what you want.

But if you don’t want that, decide now and limit the number of visits that you are willing to take. Make a time plan of the special holiday days that matter to you (Christmas Eve/Christmas/New Years) and block off the time for you that is sacred. Be clear and firm that nothing can touch that time you have blocked off for yourself and your family, no matter how insistent a client might be that YOU are the only one who can care for her pets.

Sound easy? It’s not. That’s why deciding now and sticking to a holiday time plan will help you stand behind your no (or help you get a staff member to take an insistent client).

4) Have all of your holiday cards and gifts purchased and sent off by December 18. If you get all of the holiday preparation done by December 18 you will be able to focus on the business of pet sitting and be able to enjoy your own holiday period. Start today by outlining all that you need to do to be fully prepared for the holiday for both your business and personal life. Next write down the action steps that you need to do between now and December 18. Put the action steps in your calendar on the specific days that you intend to accomplish them.

Example:
December 7: Purchase holiday cards, purchase staff gift cards
December 8: Write holiday cards
December 10: Mail holiday cards

5) Buy yourself a holiday gift to honor all the hard work you’ve done in your business this year. Why is this a success tip? Because it is a way of honoring all the hard work you’ve done this year. When we honor ourselves, more money flows to us. Always.

This is an action step I give to my coaching clients this time of year and sometimes it is the hardest action step they can take! Allow yourself to give something to you. Pet sitting is a business of serving and taking care of others; explore a way to bring that focus to yourself in the form of a gift for you.

Here are some gifts that pet sitters have bought for themselves to honor the work they’ve done in their businesses: a six-pack of massage certificates to use at various times in 2010, a novel that a pet sitter has been wanting to read all year but hasn’t made the time to read (part of her gift to herself was putting time in her time plan to read the book too!), a 2-day spa retreat with a girlfriend in January, a new car (!), a dinner out at a favorite restaurant.

Happy Holidays everyone!

For many more holiday success tips you can purchase the Riches and Relaxation for Holiday Pet Sitting Recording.

5 Business Tips for Successful Holiday Pet Sitting and Dog Walking Read More »

How to Create a 3-Day Pet Sitting Workweek Teleclass: January 6, 2010

How to Create a 3-Day Pet Sitting Workweek, Pet Business, Pet Business Marketing, Pet Sitting Business / /

book1(4)

This will be my last teleclass before I head out for my 2-month trip around the world until April 2010.

I’m a business coach who practices what I preach and I’m offering this teleclass to share my secrets with all of you wonderful pet sitters before departing for my traveling adventure.

This teleclass will truly change your life by profoundly transforming the way you relate to your work and your work schedule! You will come away excited and ready to create a work schedule that is beyond your wildest dreams (while being firmly rooted in reality).

Most pet sitters think that they have to work long and hard hours to create a successful and profitable business. If you are one of them you are not alone.

I thought that I had to work countless hours to make a lot of money until the year I began running my business in a completely different way.

In one year I began transforming my relationship with my business and the way I ran my business. To my surprise and amazement my profits began to rise even though I was working much, much less! It didn’t make sense at first (in fact it blew my mind a bit!) but then it completely made sense.

In less than one year, I went from working 12-14 hours a day, 7 days a week to working three 8-hour days a week.

If you have an established business and responsible staff members that you trust, you can too!

All it takes is some out-of-the box thinking and a willingness to try some new ways of running your company that I will outline in this teleclass so that you can create the schedule that works best for you in 2010.

Whether you want to take one day off a week, weekends off, or create a 3-day workweek like I created, it’s up to you. I will tell you how to do it and outline the step-by-step method necessary to create time off.

Click here to find out more and to sign up for the How to Create a 3-Day Pet Sitting Workweek Teleclass.

How to Create a 3-Day Pet Sitting Workweek Teleclass: January 6, 2010 Read More »

ASK ANYTHING! Pet Sitting Biz Q & A with Six-Figure Pet Sitting Academy Founder

How to Start a Dog Walking Business, How to Start a Pet Sitting Business, Pet Business Marketing, Pet Sitting Business, Pet Sitting Startup / /

book(2)


Save $10 if you sign up by Tuesday, November 3!

Date: Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Time: 5:00pm PST / 8:00pm EST

How does class take place? Via a conference call line. Call-in instructions will be given upon signup.

How long is this teleclass? 60 minutes of open forum for questions and answers!

How much: $20 (register by November 3) $30 (register November 4 or later)

Class description: In this 60-minute dynamic and interactive open forum, the first 10 pet sitters and dog walkers who sign up will have the opportunity to ask Coach Kristin their most challenging pet sitting questions. If there is time left over then Kristin will open up the line for additional ‘impromptu’ questions.

If your question relates to business or pet sitting-you can ask it! As a pet sitting business owner you are guaranteed to find this Q & A session with Coach Kristin compelling, supportive, and ultra-informative.

How do I get my question answered: The first 10 pet sitters who sign up will be contacted via email about their question and will be instructed on when to ask their question. If you are not contacted within 72 hours of signing up for the class it means you are not one of the first 10 callers. You will still receive valuable business information when you listen and learn from others having their questions answered.

Limited spots available so reserve your spot TODAY!
Click here to find out more and to sign up for the ASK ANYTHING! Pet Sitting Business Q & A Teleclass with the founder of Six-Figure Pet Sitting Academy.

ASK ANYTHING! Pet Sitting Biz Q & A with Six-Figure Pet Sitting Academy Founder Read More »

Dealing with Client Conflict: How to Turn Angry Pet Sitting Clients into Happy Puppy Dogs

Dealing with Pet Sitting Client Conflics, How to Start a Dog Walking Business, How to Start a Pet Sitting Business, Pet Sitting Business / /

2813647822_c0603a658b_mA couple of blog posts ago I wrote about why client conflict can be good for business. Now you’ll find out how to deal with it!

1) Remember when you have an angry person on the phone or emailing you that this is an opportunity to create an even better relationship than you had with this client before they were angry. Print out the “How Conflict Can be Good for Business” blog post and keep it near the phone or your computer so that when you are REALLY freaked out by a screaming client you will have something to calm YOU in the face of all that negative energy.

2) If you are on the phone: let the client have their screaming fit. They need to get it out of their system. If you interrupt them in midstream they will lash out at YOU and you don’t want that.

Here’s what to do: Think about this upset client as if they are an angry dog.

As a pet sitter who is around dogs all the time, you probably realize that most angry dogs need to express their anger by snarling and baring their teeth. Once they’ve had their say, they will often just turn around and be on their merry way. But if you interrupt them by talking “Nice doggy” or stepping forward,  they most likely WILL attack. Both of these actions interrupt the dog’s process to express his anger.

Words to live by when dealing with client conflict: Breathe. Listen. Don’t interrupt.

3) If the client has emailed you, DO NOT email back. Call them or email only to find a time to meet in person or on the phone. One of the best business tips I ever received is do not discuss any difficult issues via email. (This tip is invaluable for personal relationships too.)

Take the issue to the phone or in person. Why? Communicating a difficult subject via email creates a wall between you and that other person. You can remove the wall (or at least make it a wall you can peer over) by hearing that person’s voice and/or meeting them in person.

4) When the client is done spewing then let them know you heard what they said and you will do whatever it takes to rectify the problem. How do you know when they are done? Count for three LONG seconds.

If they have not spoken during the entire three seconds it is okay for you to talk. Say, “I’ve heard you and I’m so sorry for the part we’ve had in upsetting you.”

Put yourself in their shoes and let them know that you completely understand how they could feel that way about whatever it is that upset them.  (People want to be heard and not made wrong for what they are complaining about–give them that gift and most clients will be forever grateful.)

Offer to give them money back. If one of your sitters did a lousy job then ask your sitter  if they will pay for the mistake. (You cannot do this if they are an employee, only if they are an Independent Contractor.)  If you feel that you are to blame because you weren’t clear with your staff-own that mistake and be willing to refund a portion or the full amount of their pet sitting fee. Also be willing to apologize to your staff if the communication error was on your part.

5) After you’ve offered money back ask your client if they need anything else by saying: “I’m truly sorry about this. Is there anything else I can do to make this right?” And be willing to do it.

Dealing with Client Conflict: How to Turn Angry Pet Sitting Clients into Happy Puppy Dogs Read More »

Conflicts with Your Pet Sitting Clients can be GOOD for Business

Dealing with Pet Sitting Client Conflics, How to Start a Dog Walking Business, How to Start a Pet Sitting Business, Pet Sitting Business / /

3351810231_f7edc2eccaSound strange? It’s not.

Here’s why: when we work through issues that come up in relationships, including our working relationships, we then develop trust in that particular person and in the relationship itself. Often that relationship is then stronger and more connected than it was prior to the conflict.

That’s why having conflict with your pet sitting and dog walking clients is a ripe opportunity to create a bridge from anger, resentment and misunderstanding to a meaningful, lifelong working relationship.

Think about it: when you hire a service or company to do something for you and they screw up and then bend over backwards to make it right don’t you come away happier and raving to your friends about the excellent customer service?

I know I do. And you probably do too.

And for good reason. You were upset, the company made it right and then some (probably throwing in a little something extra to sweeten the deal and the thus, creating a sweeter relationship) and wah-lah! You went from being an angry, unhappy customer to telling your friends how incredible this particular business now is.

Had there been no conflict you might not be singing their praises to the masses.

Now pet sitters: I’m NOT advising you to create conflict for the sake of creating a more loyal relationship with your clients. Not at all!

What I’m advising is simply to look at conflict differently: look at it as a possible bridge to a more meaningful and lasting relationship with your pet sitting clients.

In my next blog post I will write about how best to bridge that conflict from tension and anger to harmony and customer loyalty. Stay tuned!

Conflicts with Your Pet Sitting Clients can be GOOD for Business Read More »

How to Start a Pet Sitting and Dog Walking Business – Step #2

Dog Walking Business Start Up, How to Start a Dog Walking Business, How to Start a Pet Sitting Business, Pet Sitting Business / /

2496956264_1819136d2d_m Step Number Two in the How to Start a Pet Sitting and Dog Walking Business Series is:  Get a Business License / Fictitious Business Name Statement for your Pet Sitting and Dog Walking Business

Before you get your business license you’ll have to decide if you want to be a sole proprietor, an LLC (Limited Liability Corporation) or a Corporation. Check with your accountant to find out what is best for you. With the help of your accountant you’ll decid what category of business you’d like to create. Once you decide you are then ready to get a business license.

In some cities you may have to get a county business license and a city business license if you are providing pet sitting for different cities within your county while also working from your home office.  Call your local City Hall to find out how and where to get your business license.

If you are named Jerry and your business is called Jerry’s Pet Sitting Service you will not need to get a fictitious business license.

If your name is Amanda and you want to call your business Jerry’s Pet Sitting (I’ve seen it happen!) or  if you want to call yourself “ Bakerville Pet Sitting and Dog Walking” then you will need to get a ficticious business name. Why? Because your personal name is not part of your business title.  City and state laws require that all businesses that don’t have the owner’s name in them get a special license so the city and state can determine exactly who the owner is.

A business license generally costs anywhere from $40-100 for new businesses. You will be required to renew your business license every year and some cities will base your renewal amount on a percentage of your gross earnings.

A fictitious business name statement generally costs anywhere from $30-60 and you will also need to pay to have your name appear in a local newspaper for 4 weeks. You will need to remember to renew your fictitious business name statement every 5 years.

How to Start a Pet Sitting and Dog Walking Business – Step #2 Read More »

Self-Worth = NET WORTH

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

Yesterday I had a coaching client call me to ask if I could do an emergency pet sitting business coaching session with her. 593834863_3080791c5d_m

Due to my  jam-packed coaching and work schedule I’m usually not able to fit coaching clients in the moment they call for an appointment but it just so happened that I had a 45-minute open window of time. We were coordinating when to set up her emergency session and I could hear the frustration and burnout in her voice so I said, “Would you like to do the session right now?”

“YES!” The relief in her voice was palpable.

Offering that kind of relief to pet sitters who are in business crisis (or just low-grade burnout) is so rewarding to me. I just love it. Having owned my own pet sitting company since 1995 I understand the frustrations that can come from owning this unusual type of business. Being in that place of despair and frustration (excuse the expression) sucks.

Anyway, we started her session and basically she was wanting to know exactly what it took for me to get from ‘there’ (frustration, burnout, working a ton but not making a ton of money) to ‘here’ (ease and joy in my worklife, working 3-4 days a week, making a lot of money without doing doing a lot of work, etc.).

I walked her through the various changes that I had made in my business and what exactly I do differently now that I didn’t do then. We talked about the nuts and bolts of running a business: from spreadsheets to marketing to time management.

Then we hit on the most important business tool of all: Self-worth.

Discovering that place that is deep within ourselves that really knows that we deserve to make a lot of money without a lot of stress and strife.

Out of that awareness comes the self-worth to raise client prices, market the heck out of our county and have the phone ringing off the hook and to not take difficult and super-challenging clients simply because they are paying us green stuff.

Have I been at the place of low self-worth? You betcha. And yes, it sucks. And it absolutely affected the way I ran (or didn’t run) my business. And it absolutely affected my profits.

How did I get to the place of high self-worth? Well, it has come from the various little and big changes I made in my business life. Some of them include:

  • Having the willingness to say no to clients no matter the amount of money they were willing to pay because I knew that, should I take them on, they’d suck my energy dry.
  • Raising my pet sitting prices even when I was scared.
  • Realizing that I don’t want to work 40+ hours a week and having it be okay that I work much less than most of the American population!
  • Allowing myself to have the desire to make a lot of money and not to be ashamed that I wanted to make a lot of money. (That one took a long time to break free from and sometimes I still struggle with the okay-ness of wanting to be wealthy.)

Self-worth often came when I had the courage to run my life and my business in a way that was congruent with those inner parts of me that desire a really great life–one with meaning, purpose, ease and profit. Managing my life and business in a way that isn’t always congruent with the way society says I should manage my life or my business. As I stay true to my own inner course in business and my life, my profits have continued to rise, rise, rise. And yours can too.

Today I encourage you to: notice the areas where you are saying ‘yes’ when really you want to say ‘no’. Notice when you are charging a client too little and feeling resentful for the amount of time a particular pet sitting/dog walking job is taking you. Are you feeling totally stressed out in the area of time and/or money? If so, what you can do to give yourself a little breathing room today?

Noticing is a first step to changing behavior.  And if the current way you run your business is not working for you, begin the process of changing the way you run your business. Making those changes will increase your self-worth which will, in turn, increase your profit.

Self-Worth = NET WORTH Read More »

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 / /

262792170_327bd54d1d_m

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 »

Scroll to Top