Share This Page

Tweet

There’s an old saying that “failing to plan is planning to fail.” This statement holds especially true in the world of professional pet sitting.

We’ve seen it all too often—a person, perhaps recently laid off or simply ready for a career change, thinks “I love pets, so how hard can it be?” and jumps right in. Months later, they are still scrounging for clients or worse yet, faced with financial ruin for a pet-sitting mistake that’s occurred.

This doesn’t have to be you. There are numerous resources for small business owners and professional pet sitters right at your fingertips. All it takes is a small investment of your time to make sure  “all of your ducks are in a row” before you officially open your pet-sitting business.

So, where to start? The good news is that thousands of pet sitters have gone before you and the information you need is easily accessible. Starting a pet-sitting business requires researching, planning, making key financial decisions and taking an inventory of your current skill set and any deficiencies you may need to address.

As you plan, consider these four important factors:

1. Your company’s purpose and potential.

If you’ve ever completed a business plan, you know the first component of the plan is your executive summary. Even if you will not be drafting an official business plan (although it’s a good idea!), thinking about your executive summary is an important step in setting a strong foundation for your pet-sitting business. In short, your company’s “executive summary” is a description of the basic elements of your business:

• What type of business are you starting?
• Why are you starting this business?
• What are your business goals (what do you hope to accomplish)?

To write a comprehensive executive summary for your business, you will first need to answer a few questions about your business history, the services you offer (or plan to offer), your current market and how your business stands out from the competition.

2. Your background and current pet-care and business experience.

If you are considering starting your own pet-sitting service, chances are you are a pet lover! Loving pets is a requirement for this profession and having experience with your own pets is a big plus, but other skills are needed.

Assess your current knowledge.

First, take an inventory of your pet-care experience and knowledge. Consider these questions:

• Do you have (or have you had) your own pets?
• How long have you been a pet owner?
• Have you cared for others’ pets/offered pet-sitting services before?
• Do you have pet-related volunteer experience (with a shelter or pet-rescue group)?
• What types of pets do you have experience with?
• Are there any pets you do not have experience with?
• Are you trained in pet first aid & CPR?
• Do you possess any other relevant training in pet care, pet behavior or pet health?
• Are there pet professionals, e.g. a veterinarian, groomer, etc., who can provide references as to the good care you give your own pet(s)?

If you are like most beginner pet sitters, you’ve likely noted several areas that you would like to learn more about. Perhaps you feel you need more experience with large-breed dogs, or maybe you are a lifelong dog owner but have little to no experience with cats. As pet ownership of other animal species continues to grow (birds and fish, for example), you may find that you need more training in those areas.

Identify continuing-education opportunities.

Fortunately, there’s a wealth of opportunities for both virtual and hands-on training in specific pet-care topics. Many pet sitters volunteer with local shelters or pet-rescue groups to obtain more hands-on experience working with a variety of pets. Many trainers, groomers and pet stores offer workshops and training that pet sitters can take advantage of locally.

Valuable resources are also available to pet sitters interested in earning the Certified Professional Pet Sitter™ (CPPS™) designation.

For pet sitters in the United States, the U.S. Small Business Administration can also be an excellent resource. The site can direct you to your local SBA office and provides tons of downloadable online courses and information to assist you as you plan and start your pet-sitting business. Canadian pet sitters can find similar resources through the Canada Business Network.

Decide on your services.

This is also a good time to determine what types of pets you will care for—are you open to sitting for any pet or are certain pets a big “NO” for you? Do you want your company to have a specific focus? While most pet sitters care for both dogs and cats (a majority also offer services for birds, fish and cage pets, as well as special needs pets), some choose to focus exclusively on cat care while others may offer dog walking only. Some even choose to specialize in exotic, reptile or livestock care.

It’s also important to give thought to the services your pet-sitting business will offer. Will you offer traditional pet-sitting visits only, or will you offer other services such as daily dog walking and overnight pet-care sits? Depending on your background and training, you may also consider offering behavior modification or basic grooming in addition to pet sitting. Some pet sitters also offer pet transportation (to and from veterinary appointments, for example).

3. Your potential for business (and your local competition).

Once you’ve decided what you want your business to offer and what training you’ll need in order to offer those services, it’s time to do some outside research. It’s important to get a good sense of your service area, potential for business and competition.

First, take a look at the areas you plan to service. What do you know about the pet ownership in your particular area?

Research the "competition."

Taking a look at the pet-focused businesses in your area can give you a good idea—if there are local pet stores, groomers, veterinarians, other pet sitters, etc., this is a good indication that the need for pet-care services exist.

Perhaps you already know all of the pet-care services in your area. If so, great! If not, the information is easy to find. Completing a simple Internet search or flipping through the phone book (do you even have a phone book anymore?!) will provide a quick list of other pet-sitting services in your area.

Don’t forget to look at alternate pet-care options as well, such as dog daycares, pet hotels and boarders that could also be competition.

Because of the growing pet-ownership rates, it’s highly unlikely that your area will be too saturated with pet-care options to sustain another one. But, to get a better idea of the number of pets in your area, you can take advantage of public records.

Utilize public records, if available.

Did you know that in many counties, pet owners are required to report the dogs they own and pay the taxes assessed for these pets? This annual listing is used to issue dog tags to pet owners. Because this information is public record, you are likely able to view it (and possibly able to also purchase the list) at your local city or county tax office.  This list gives you a good estimate of the number of pet owners (and potential clients!) in your area—and you can also use this list for future marketing efforts.

4. Your costs and the financial backing you will need.

An advantage of starting a professional pet-sitting business—as opposed to other careers in the pet industry—is the low start-up costs. However, with any business, start-up funds are necessary.

PSI offers this free estimated start-up costs checklist to help you determine the amount of initial capital you will likely need to get your business started.

Another important financial decision to consider is how you will support yourself (and, if applicable, your family) while you are building your business. While there’s great financial potential in the pet-sitting industry, it’s important to understand that it can take time to build up your client base and achieve your target income. The time it takes to build up your client base varies, depending on many factors, including your location and how aggressive you are in promoting your services.

Some pet sitters continue working their full-time jobs until they have set aside money to “hold them over” while they build up their pet-sitting businesses. Others offer pet sitting part-time (either in combination with a full-time or other part-time job) until their client base grows to the point that they need to quit their other job to focus exclusively on pet sitting.

Additional resources:

Want more information like this? These tips are excerpted from The Professional Pet Sitter's Startup Guide, available at The Pet Sitter Shop.

As you research starting your own professional pet-sitting or dog-walking business, you may find these additional resources helpful as well:

• 2017-2018 Pet-Sitting Industry Forecast
• 5 Must-Do Steps for Starting a Successful Professional Pet-Sitting Business
• Finding the Right Pet-Sitter Insurance
• What Makes Your Pet-Sitting Business Special? (Determining Your USP)

PSI members can log in to the Members area of www.petsit.com to access additional free Ebooks, white papers and downloads. Not a member? Join today or contact PSI to learn more.