Business Name

How to Pick a Business Name

Your business name will be very important to your business image. You want to have a business name that is easy to remember, stands out and sounds professional but also spells out what you do.

Take a look through the phone book for plumbers and check out the business names. You will find the very small business owner and the large franchised companies. What do you notice when you read through the names? This is what your potential clients will be thinking about when they look for you. They may have a list in front of them of 2 pet sitters or if you live in a very large area such as LA, they may have a list of 100 or more! What is going to make you stand out of the crowd so they will look over all the rest and call you?

There are four important things to think about when picking out a business name:

1. Originality: You want your name to be original. There are tons of Pampered Pets and Pet Sitters R Us. Once you pick out your name, do a Google search to see if anyone else thought of it first.
2. Alphabetize: If you are among a list of 100, you would want your name to be as close to the beginning of the alphabet as possible. This shouldn't be your top priority, just something to think about.
3. Spell out your services: If you are pet sitting, you must let the consumer know. If you just call your business Pet Perfection, your client's may forget who they are calling. Add on your services to the end. For example, you can call it Pet Perfection Pet Care Services. Be sure when you add on your services, you are not limiting yourself. You may want to grow in the future. So, if you think you may add on errand services or home care, you may want to add pet & home care services to the business name.
4. Location: Personally, I believe this is very important when thinking of your business name. People love where they live. They love their state, town, street, etc. Tying that in to your business name will make people remember you. For example, if you live in Florida, you can be the Sunshine State's Best Pet Caretakers. Doing this also increases your chances of having an original name.

Once you have picked out your business name, it is very important to make sure no one else is using it. Some businesses will federally trademark their name. This is to ensure no one else can legally use their name nationwide. To check the trademark database click here and then click on search in the right hand column.

Now that you have checked the federal database, you need to check your state database. There is a separate database available for each state. To find your state database, go to the Secretary of State site and click on your state. Find the area where you can do a business search. Then just type in the name you are thinking of using. If nothing comes up, that means no one is registered in your state with that name.

You may also want to check the newspapers, Internet and the phone book, just in case someone is using it but is not registered with the state. You can not use a name which is in use in your state or nationally. You can't even use a variation of it. So, be sure to check all your resources before putting your business name on paper.

Now that you have your business name ready, you can get your business license. We will discuss how to do that next time. Have a wonderful evening.

Job Description

What Does a Pet Sitter Do?

Pet sitters usually offer an array of services from pet sitting, dog walking, pooper scooper, pet taxi and more. The most advertised is the pet sitting aspect of the business.

Pet sitting consists of taking care of all types of pets in the comfort of their own surroundings. Pet sitting does not mean taking the pets into your home. That would be considered animal boarding.

The purpose of pet sitting is to limit the stress to the pet while the owners are away for the weekend or a long vacation. Pets seem to do better when they are in their own home with their own bed and blanket, their own toys and their own buds (other pets). Pet sitters provide this luxury by making daily visits to care for the pets.

The following is a list of common pet sitting duties during regular visits:

• Potty Break for dogs (can consist of a walk)
• Feed/Treats
• Refill water dishes
• Play time
• Snuggle time
• Petting time
• Clean any messes/litter box/cages
• Administer Medications

This is what most pet sitters will do on most visits. The purpose is to keep the pet in its regular routine. So, if the dog normally gets a treat when it wakes up, you would give a treat when you arrive in the a.m. If the pet normally takes a walk around the block daily, you would do the same. If the pet likes to get read to (birds like this), you would read to it. This minimizes stress and allows the pet owners to relax more while they are away. If the pet needs a pill everyday at 6pm, you would be sure to arrange your schedule accordingly.

Pet sitters can also offer many other services to supplement their income. Many pet sitters will also offer daily dog walking to help those clients who work long hours, have an elderly dog or have a new puppy. Pet sitters may also offer pet taxi to the vet or pet taxi to the groomer. Pet sitters may also offer pooper scooper. This is picking up what the dog did while you were not there. This is a nice convenience since you are already there. You can use their scooper, plastic bag and throw it in the trash. You can make a nice $15 or so for just 20 minutes of work or less depending on the size of the yard. Basically any service you can think of pet related you can add on to a pet sitting service. You can even add on errand services. The possibilities are endless.

It is recommended to start off with just pet sitting and start building your business based on customer requests. This way you will learn what your area is in need of and start advertising based on that. The bulk of your requests and client bookings will more than likely be derived from pet sitting and dog walking.

Now that you know what a pet sitter does, you can determine if this is the right business for you. Remember you are taking care of pets. You may have some messes to clean up and you should have some basic knowledge of pet care.

Once you have determined if this is the right job for you and you have thought about which service you would like to offer within the pet sitting industry, it will be time to set up your business. The first step in setting up your pet sitting business is picking a business name.

We will discuss how to pick a business name in the next installment.

Start Pet Sitting

Start Your Own Pet Sitting Business Today!

Are you ready to be the owner of your own amazing professional pet sitting business? If so, you are at the right place. We will tell you ALL you need to know to start your own professional pet sitting business! Best of all...IT IS ALL FREE!!!! That is right. We want you to have all the available, up to date information to help start you on the right track.

We know how hard it is to find all the information you need. We understand the frustration and neck aches while you are browsing for this information all over the web. Now, you can find it ALL right here.

We will be discussing all areas of owning your own professional pet sitting business from what a pet sitter does to how to pick your business name to how to hire employees. So, stayed tuned and check in regularly to see what we have to say.

Even if you already have your own pet sitting business, we will still be providing you with very useful pet sitting business advice. We will be discussing many aspects of advertising with a focus on free and low-cost advertising. So, this is even for you veterans out there.

Stay tuned for our first installment which will be released shortly!