How To Start A Pet Sitting Business? – A Step By Step Guide

Isn’t it amazing to earn money doing something (rather caring for something) that you love? For someone who has immense love for animals, the pet sitting business will be of both fun and profit.

Dog walking or pet-sitting can bring you the profit and business growth you want while turning up your career with a very inexpensive investment.

As of the report from 2019, the industry has a market size of $2.6 billion. The experts expect the industry to grow at a CAGR of 8.7% between 2020 and 2027.

As a business owner, you can enjoy the full financial freedom you have always wanted. In addition, you can offer pet-sitting jobs to enthusiast people looking for career opportunities in this field. And the best part, you get to be around the adorable animals.

Now, if you are willing to get into this business and be your own boss and care for the animals you have always loved, you can follow my article here. I have put down a step-by-step guide on how to start a pet sitting business.

What Do Pet Sitters Do?

Pet sitters are the caring individuals who take care of your pets when the owners are away. In their absence, the pet sitters take their dogs on walks, feed them, give necessary medications, and the like. Take, for instance, pet sitters at Foufoupuppies, who have extensive knowledge of how to train the animals.

These sitters usually stay at the owner?s home and care for the animal so that their dogs/cats don?t feel alienated. They also vacuum the pet?s hair and collect the mail if needed.

Start Your Pet Sitting Business With These Steps

Before starting any business, you need to plan out the entire process, set a budget and aim for a successful goal. It is no different if you are starting a business about sitting pets. Here is a structural process that should help you get into the pet sitting business.

1. Select The Pet And The Location You Will Offer Service To

Before starting your Pet sitting business, it is crucial to decide on the pet you will be providing your service to. Most people either have a dog or a cat. The most revenue you can generate is from these pets.

Also, whether you will sit your client’s pet at your place, at the client’s home, or both, matter a lot. Your client will decide whether to hire you or not based on these factors. So, the more options, the better.

The pet sitter may have to do additional work like watering the plants and receiving the mail. Pet sitters don’t do the job only for the money alone. Their attachment to the animals also drives them towards doing this job. As long as you remember that, you will be on the path to success.

2. Getting The Legal Permits

It is of utmost importance to complete all the legal requirements before taking your business on the ground. Then, you can contact your local business licensing officer and get over with all the legal paperwork.

• You can look up the internet and find out about your local business licensing officer.
• You can choose from DBA and LLC business structures. These structures and your residing state will decide the cost for your legal permissions.
• If you are boarding the animals at home, the legal paperwork will be a little more. You may also have to pay a higher amount.
• The Small Business Administration can help you with the required business license in this field.
• You will need an EIN (Employer Identification Number) number to apply for a business license.

3. Get The Proper Business Insurance

When doing business with animals, it is more important to have insurance. If any pet was to fall sick while in your care, your insurance will cover for you and the pets’ medication. Several authorities in the US offer pet sitting business insurance. Here are some of them-

• Pet Sitters Associates offers business listing services. They have been around since 1998.
• Kennel Pro offers three different packages for your pet sitting businesses.
• You can also contact Pet Care Insurance; they offer several products you will need for the business.

4. Create A Payment Method And Structure For The Clients

It is crucial to create payment options for your business. Your clients need a method through which they can pay you. Indeed cash works, but having more options is better. Here are what you can do-

• It is better to have a separate business account to accept the payments.
• Give your clients more than one payment option. Payment through bank transfers, cards, and online payment are good options to consider.

5. Gather The Necessary Equipment For Pet Sitting

Although your client will provide the equipment and materials to take care of their pets, it is better to have some materials with you. So, if they have specific nutrition requirements such as using Badlands Ranch foods, and pet supplements, then make sure that you are stocked up. The pet-sitting equipment isn’t that expensive; if you are boarding the pets at your place, then you can keep the below types of equipment-

• Food
• First-aid kit
• Leashes
• Treats
• Cleaning Supplies
• Towels

6. Advertise Your Business

No business goes forward without advertising or marketing efforts. Since pet sitting is a local business, following the traditional ways of advertising will be more effective. Here is what you can do- 

• Make your business cards and print out bulletins. You can place your flyers around pet clinics, supermarkets, and other crowded places.
• Having a logo for your business will help you create a brand and make your business appealing to the clients. Using a logo generator will help you get a logo that defines your business, and at the same time, it also helps in enhancing the branding and marketing campaign of your company. You can use your logo on your vehicles and at the service storefront.
• Get your business listed on the Google map by using Google My Business. GMB is great for small local businesses.
• Create a social media site for your business and post regularly about the recent services you have provided.
• Word-of-mouth marketing will help you if your business is offering good services. You can use your client’s testimonials on your business websites and the flyers.

7. Set Up A Business Website

People nowadays like to look a service or product up on the internet before availing them. You may have social media sites for your business. But those are not enough.

You can look at the rover pet sitting business site, for example. They are doing incredibly well and offer clients an online service platform.

You can do something similar. For example, you can build your online pet sitting site and avail a more accessible service.

• Your clients are always searching “pet sitting near me”; they will find you easily if your business had a website.
• You can take help from services like GoDaddy Website builder and build your business site. Platforms like these are easy to use and do not require you to be a developer.
• However, you can still hire a developer and build your pet sitting site.

8. Service Details And Pricing

Once you have set up a pet sitting website, you need to offer all the service details on your business site.

• You need to list the pets your sitters will take care of. Dogs and Cats are the most popular choices. 
• What kind of services will you provide? Boarding, House Sitting, Day Care, Dog Walking, Drop-In Visits are the most popular options you can provide.
• How you will charge your clients is also a matter of importance. You can charge your clients based on the hours of service, type of animal, number of animals, or job.
• You can get an overview of the price by checking out similar pre-existing services in your town.

Frequently Asked Question (FAQs):

If there is any more guide related to this subject, you can follow some of these frequently asked questions.

1. How Much To Charge For Pet Sitting?

You can charge based on your services. Usually, pet sitters charge by hours, days, and weeks.

• For a thirty minutes visit, you can charge $25.
• If it is a full-day job, you can charge $20 to $30.
• For a nighttime setting, you can charge between $50 to $75.
• A weekly package should include a price between $250 to $350.

2. How Much To Pay Neighbor For Pet Sitting?

The national average cost is $15. If you are sitting with your neighbor’s pet, you can charge between $20 to $30. Considering your relationship with your neighbor, you can negotiate the price of anything between this price.

3. How Does A Pet-Sitting Business Make Money?

Pet-Sitting businesses earn money by charging their clients on service-based packages. The price varies based on the time of the service. For example, prices for nighttime, daycare, and weekly pet-sitting services differ. The service cost also depends upon the care they give. If there is any additional care like grooming and special training, the service cost will increase.

Final Words

The best thing about a Pet sitting business is the fun and freedom that comes with it. So many people are searching for ‘Pet sitting jobs near me’ on google. You can provide them with work they love. Also, you will need a very minimum budget, as low as $500.

So, what are you waiting for? If this business is on your mind, you should get on with it.

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