Becoming a pet sitter is a rewarding experience.
So, you want to run your own pet sitting business? We agree, it's a great idea. Setting your own hours, being your own boss, and spending time with the cutest animals in your area definitely sounds like a great way to earn a living. If you love animals and want to start a business, pet sitting is a smart career path with a lot of room for growth.
There are different ways you can pet sit for your clients: you can watch people's pets in their homes, in your own home, or offer both. The job requires you to follow instructions regarding how the clients want their pets treated (walking schedule, feeding schedule, etc.) and the ability to give them love and attention. That last part should be easy.
That's the good life. That's what many people strive for. That's what it's like to be a pet sitter.
Well, at least some days!
Like most jobs, there's quite a bit of management to deal with. When you make the decision to be a pet sitter who runs their own business, you're the one who's going to be handling all of those managerial tasks. Scheduling, invoicing, customer relations, taxes, and licensing, are some of the unglamorous things you'll be doing when you're not playing with kittens and puppies.
You'll need to advertise yourself so everyone knows about what services you offer. Without pet care business insurance, you'll be liable for any damages incurred in a client's (or your own) home or any injuries suffered by the pet you're watching. You need to worry about business cards. You definitely need a website if you want to be professional in 2024. What about online booking? It goes on and on.
There's so much work to do before you even open yourself up for business. Once you finally do, you'll then need to figure out a way to run your business as efficiently as possible. Too many first-time business owners will rely on back-and-forth text messages and scribbled notes to manage their day-to-day operations, and when you do that it's easy to miss an appointment. The fastest way to ruin your pet sitting business is by missing an appointment. Imagine your client going out of town and their dog staying home alone without being fed or taken out. That would be a disaster! An angry customer means a negative review, and a negative review would ruin your reputation instantly. If you want to be a pet sitter, your ability to stay organized will make or break your business. Customer relationships are the keys to success. The business side of things is a job all on its own.
As luck would have it, we've been through all of that. As pet professionals ourselves, we're aware of the ins and outs of running a pet care business, and we built tools to help us run a successful pet sitting business. We've made these tools available to anyone who wants to be a pet sitter, including you.
You're just beginning your pet sitting journey, and we know that. That's why we offer the Cool Plan absolutely free. Forever. It includes a website and basic online scheduling to help you build an online presence and acquire customers. You'll be able to keep track of your clients, and they'll be able to book your services online directly from your website. How cool is that?
Once your business begins to grow and you get more customers, you'll definitely want to upgrade to the Super Cool Plan to take your pet care business to the next level. It has more website customization options, pet profiles, online payments, a powerful calendar, invoicing, coupons & discounts, earnings reports, and much more. It's what we use to run our pet care business, and we work tirelessly to test, add, and improve features to maximize efficiency and improve both our workflow and the customer's experience.
So, do you want to be a pet sitter?
Our goal is to make running your pet care business as simple as possible, so you can focus on being a pet sitter. If you have any questions or ideas on how we can better help you accomplish that, feel free to get in touch. We're always listening.
