Start Your Own Pet Sitting Business Today!
Showing posts with label start pet sitting business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label start pet sitting business. Show all posts
Start Pet Sitting Business
If so, you are at the right place!
This blog will discuess all areas of pet sitting from setting up to the day to day activites to hiring help once you grow.
Job Description
What Does a Pet Sitter Do?
You own your own business right...so you can offer whatever services you want to offer!
Pet sitters usually offer an array of services from pet sitting, dog walking, pooper scooper, pet taxi and even house sitting. 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 on a long vacation. Most pets 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 their homes.
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
- Getting Mail
- Taking Garbage to the curb
- Watering Plants
This is what most pet sitters will do on most visits. The purpose is to keep the pet in his regular routine. So, if the dog normally gets a treat when he wakes up, you would give a treat when you arrive in the a.m. f 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 which is 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 and breeds.
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.
Business Name
How to Pick a Business Name
Your business name will be very important to your business image. Think about names that will be easy for your clients to remember, stand out and sound professional but also spells out what you do. You want to make it easy for your clients to be able to refer you to their friends.
Take a look through the internet 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. Your potential clients 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:
- 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. If someone nearby is using it, definitely do not use it. You don't want the companies to get confused especially if someone has had a negative experience with that other company.
- 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.
- 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.
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 Internet, 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 even if they have not registered it. You can't even use a variation of it. Why would you want to get confused with another business anyways. Pick a different name if you are unsure.
In conclusion, be sure to check all your resources before putting your business name on paper. It will be much harder to change it later, so be sure before you go any further.
Now that you have your business name ready, you can get your business license. We will discuss how to do that in the next installment.
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 only require you to register your business with the state (which is called a DBA - Doing Business As).
To find out what your state licensing agency requires, click here, then click on your state and choose general licensing. This will take you right to the link to register your business. It is usually fairly easy to find this information online, but if you are having trouble finding it, just find a phone number (to your local state government agency) 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 government office.
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.
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