pet sitting tips

Pet Sitting Tips

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Do you want to start a pet sitting business this year or create more profit in the one you have?pet sitting tips

Here are some tips to help you get started:

1. Decide on the type of animals you want to care for in order to be crystal-clear when it comes to your defining your niche. This may sound obvious yet many new pet sitting business owners haven’t thought this one through. If you don’t really like cats or are allergic to them then you’ll want to focus primarily on dogs and other animals that you feel comfortable caring for (or hire someone else to care for your cat clients). If you really enjoy -and are experienced with- caring for horses and other farm animals then starting a ranch animal care service might really help word spread about your specialized service. And if you are a big time cat lover: start a cat-only pet sitting service–you’ll be amazing at how many cat-only clients will love that you specialize in felines.

When you focus your business primarily on the animals you enjoy caring for you’ll often be more successful because clients will know they are your Right Clients. Why? Because they have the type of animals you specialize in. Also that joy that you have for those particular animals will come shining through in everything–your meet and greets, your marketing materials and the smile that lights up your face when you are with the animal types you most enjoy. And joy for what we love brings more clients.

2. Decide upon the pet care services you’ll providing. This is as important as deciding upon your niche. One of the first actions I’ll take with new pet business coaching clients is to look at their website and do a quick ‘website audit’. I often see pet sitters listing 10 or more services on their websites and the page just swims with services! It’s too much. It’s overwhelming to clients. We are living in an age where overwhelm happens easily to us humans due to all the information out there. Keep things simple. Don’t list more than 5 services on your services page.

3. Create a marketing plan with daily activities in order to focus on income-producing activities. If you are used to working for someone else then it can be hard to know what to put your attention on when you are a new pet business owner. If you are a new pet sitting business owner or you aren’t seeing your client list (or profit) increase, I recommend putting at least 30 minutes a day into marketing, 5 days a week.

Marketing doesn’t just happen. You actually have to get out there (in the real world and online) in order to promote your services to the public. Create a list of all the marketing activities you can and want to do to promote your business and put those tasks on your weekly and monthly calendar.

Want more? Click for more start up tips for pet sitters.

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FREE Pet Sitting and Dog Walking Business Tips and Tools Booklet!

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Hi pet sitters and dog walkers,

For a limited time, I’m offering a FREE pet sitting and dog walking tips and tools booklet for you, my blog post readers!

This pet sitting and dog walking business tips and tools booklet is adapted from my book Six-Figure Pet Sitting.

Click to download the FREE pet sitting and dog walking tips booklet now.

Wishing you so much pet sitting business success!

Kristin Morrison signatureKristin4

 

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Cheap, Fast, Good. Pick two.

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pick twoA few years ago I contacted a web designer and told him I wanted a new website created in a hurry. He said, “I can do it cheap, fast or good. But you can only pick two. Which two do you want?”

Your pet sitting and dog walking clients may want all three too but guess what? It’s impossible to get all three in business…unless you want to go out of business because you aren’t making a profit.

If you are a ‘cheap pet sitter’ you are going to begin to get resentful (always happens when the pet sitter wakes up and realizes his or her price are well below market rate). If you try to raise your price too much, too fast then your clients will get resentful. (You don’t want that.) Raising your rates yearly (even by just $1) will help ease the resentment factor and bring your low prices to market rate sooner than if you wait years before raising them.

If you really need clients and some are cheap clients wanting discounts I recommend lowering the amount of time that you’ll spend with the pet. So if your regular 30-minute visit is $18 a visit, offer to do a 15-minute visit for $16. In this way the client will feel like they are getting something and you will have more time for more full price visits. (Obviously you’ll want to make sure that the pet who is getting less time will be well taken care of in 15-minutes. A 15-minute visit works well for shy cats who hide under the bed.)

If you are a sitter who says yes to last minute pet sits and dog walks you will also get resentful. So charge for those last minute sits. I recommend charging your clients a $20-$30 Last Minute Fee (LMF) for those clients who need to meet you or one of your sitters in less than 3 days. If UPS can charge for last minute delivery so can you!

And good? Well, if you aren’t good you won’t be in business very long. Good should always be a part of your business practice. And even better…strive for great. If you are great at what you do your clients will love you and thank you. (And refer you to their friends and neighbors.)

So the next time a client calls and says, “I need you to pet sit tomorrow. I need a low rate and I need you to do a great job with my dog” simply say, “Sure. You can have any two. Which two do you want? Cheap, fast or good?”

 

 

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5 Secrets for Six-Figure+ Pet Sitting and Dog Walking Success

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success road sign

 

 

 

 

In my own pet sitting business as well as in my work with pet sitters and dog walkers, I’ve discovered some common traits that nurture happiness and six-figure+ success.

Here are five secrets for success (practice them and watch your pet business grow and thrive!):

1. Set office hours and keep them. Successful pet business owners know when to close up shop and when to leave the door closed until morning (even if it is their home office).

2. Don’t offer discounts before your clients ask. And even then only give discounts during very slow periods. Be sure to let clients know that this is a ‘one-time event’. Also let them know (with a smile) that you plan to do such a good job that they will want you back at whatever price you charge! Confidence is attractive in a service-based business.

3. Set boundaries in a clear and direct way with clients. Successful pet business owners enforce their policies and procedures with clients regardless of how uncomfortable it might be to do so. Feel the fear and do it anyway (in a loving way). It’ll save you time and money and also gain respect from your clients.

4. Hire a manager who can help run your business so you can have a life again. (One that doesn’t involve work 24/7.) Successful pet business owners know that hiring and having a manager, or even just a phone and email assistant to help them run the business, will help them make more money in the long run. (In addition to bringing more happiness, joy and ease in running the business when they ARE working.)

5. Go on vacation at least once a year. Successful pet business owners have their priorities straight and a vacation is part of their priority. They put the vacation date in their calendar and it’s as solid as a client appointment. And once the date is set, everything works out from there.

If you have a pet sitting and dog walking company and you’d like to experience #4 above: This month I’m offering a brand new webinar on how to hire a train the right pet sitting and dog walking office manager.

HowtoTrainManagerWebinarImageIn the last few years I had 5 managers running my own pet sitting business and because of that I was able to travel around the world for months at a time (while my business ran under their care). And when I wasn’t traveling I only worked 2-3 days a week in my business. That’s the power of hiring good managers! And I’ll show YOU how you can do that too in my webinar next month.

PLEASE NOTE: THE WEBINAR IS OVER BUT YOU CAN NOW PURCHASE THE HOW TO HIRE AND TRAIN THE RIGHT PET SITTING OFFICE MANAGER WEBINAR REPLAY LINK.

 

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