Business License

Do I Need a Business License?

Most people are very confused about this. Pet Sitting does not require a trade business license, but most states will require you to register your business with the state. To find out what your state licensing agency requires, visit the Small Business Administration's list of states and click on your state. This will take you straight to your state's business website. Once you are there, browse around to see what sort of licensing they will require of you. It is usually fairly easy to find this online, but if you are having trouble finding it, just find a phone number and give them a call. They will be able to tell you all you need to do to become a legal business entity.

Canada may require you to file Declaration of Trade Name Form. You may also be required to acquire a Master Business License or municipality license in each area you may service. For more information, visit your local city hall or goverment office.

In most of the UK, a pet sitting license is not required however, in some areas you may be required to hold a license if you walk more than 4 dogs. This license is free of charge. Visit http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/Home/EnvironmentandTransport/Dogs/dogwalking.htm for more information.

When you register for your business license, they will ask you what sort of business entity you will want to register under. There are a few options: Sole Proprietor, Partnership, Limited Liability Company and C or S Corporation.

In the next installment, we will talk about what each of these mean and which is the best for you.

Rates and Services

What to Offer and What to Charge?

Now that you have the knowledge about what a pet sitter does and you have chosen a business name, it is time to write down exactly what you will offer and what you will charge. Get out a piece of paper and start writing.

What do you want to offer?

Do you want to start out with just pet sitting?

Will you offer other services such as:
· Dog Walking
· Pooper Scooper
· Overnight Care
· Taxi Services
· House Sitting

Now that you have written down what you are going to offer, it is time to determine what you will charge.

In my opinion, it is best to charge for your time. Have time slots set up with a rate for each.

For example:
A 15 minute visit is $15; a 30 minute visit is $18 and so on.

This is for as many pets they have in a single household. I don't think it is wise to charge extra fees for more than 1 pet or 3 pets. It turns out being a turnoff for your client when you start to add on more and more fees. If your client has more pets than you feel you can handle in the time slot they request, they would have to purchase a longer time slot. Many pet sitters will charge a small fee for administering meds. This is fine and recommended. A nice up sell is to add on Pooper Scooping. Cleaning up what the dog does while you are there is included if asked, however, you can offer to clean the remaining yard for another small fee. Basically, what is included in your visit is doing all that the pet owner does to keep the pet in its same routine. That is one of the luxuries of hiring a pet sitter. Boarding kennels are very stressful on a pet. They feel much more comfortable in their own home in their own bed. Next we will be discussing getting a business license.