Did Santa Bring You Any Tools for Your Pet Sitting Business?

Filed Under My Pet Business | 6 Comments

Talk Back Tuesday This year I asked my husband for a new Pulse Smart Pen that I saw reviewed by Lynn Terry on her blog Clicknewz.com. I was lucky and he found one for me (at the local Target!).

This pen is so cool - everything you write is automatically scanned by the pen so that when you connect it to your computer via USB it is uploaded as a scanned page of text that you can then email, or save as a file. It will also record audio as you make notes and the audio is captured and linked to whatever you write. If you want to go back later while you are reading your notes - you can tap the pen on a word and it will start playing the audio that was recorded while you wrote that note!

I tried this out while listening to a recorded tele-seminar the other day and it was so easy. I just turned the pen on - tapped the recorded button on their notebook paper - and listened and wrote notes. It is all recorded on the pen if I want to go back later and refresh my mind on what was said. The only draw back is that you have to use the pen on special paper. The pen did come with a 100 page notebook and you can purchase new notebooks - 4 for $20 which seems pretty reasonable.

I want to put this to good use this year by giving you access to some of my notes and audio here at Working with Pets - just another gadget to let me share my ideas with you.

So - did Santa bring you anything that you are going to put to use in your business in 2009? Leave a comment and tell me about it!

Marketing You Pet Sitting Business with Car Signs

Filed Under My Pet Business, Pet Business Marketing | Leave a Comment

Marketing Monday On January 1st I will officially be changing the name of my Euless pet sitting business. It has been a decision that I have been wrangling with for about a year - ever since I discovered that I am not able to Trademark my current name - Claws Paws & Jaws Professional Pet Sitters. There is another pet sitting company in California who uses a very similar name ( make sure you do a good search before naming your business!). A couple of months ago I attended the Brand Power intensive to come up with a new name - and decided on Protecting Max - Your Pet Sitting Partners.

I have already had customers asking me the significance of my new name.

As pet sitters we are effectively the temporary guardians of our customers pets. Another name for a guardian is a protector - hence “Protecting” Max. I chose Max because I was looking for a name that is very commonly used as both a name for a dog or a name for a cat. I found that Max is the most popular dog name in the US and is also a popular cat name. The “Pet Sitting Partners” is especially significant for me as I believe that part of my job as a pet guardian is to work with my customers as their partner in the care of their pets. It is my job to ensure that the quality of life of the pet is continued even though the pet owner is not there to take care of the pets.

I have always been intrigued by the eye catching fully “wrapped” vehicles that I see on the highway. So .. I decided that with the change of name - it was a perfect time to try this marketing method out myself. Voila! - The Max Mobile was born. Here it is!

Protecting Max

I have been driving this around town for a few weeks now and it certainly gets a lot of looks and I saw a guy outside the bank the other day get out a pen and jot down something while he was standing in front of the car! So I hope that the bold statement will help to spread the word quickly and get me some instant brand recognition.

Of course I am awaret that there is a lot of debate about the use of car signs between pet sitters. Here are the most common opinions:

1) On one side of the debate are pet sitters that believe that car sign alerts potential burglars that the home owners are out of town.

2) On the other side are pet sitters who believe that burglars will actually be discouraged from entering a home if they know that the pet sitter may return unexpectedly.

I can see both sides of this debate so I have made the decision not to regularly use this vehicle when I am visiting homes for pet sitting visits. Luckily, we have a second car and myself and my husband can trade out.

I let my customers know that they may see me around town in the car - but that we won’t be turning up at their house to do pet sitting visits in this vehicle. I sent out this news in a letter to my existing clients with my Christmas cards and also let them know about some other changes to our services that they will see in the next year.

You don’t have to go the Full Monty and get your car wrapped like mine. There are several other less expensive options. You can get magnetic signs made with your business name and contact numbers or have some lettering added to your back window. The guys at 360wraps who did my car can also just give the same treatment to just a single section of the car (they were designing just a back wrap of a car for a lady with a beauty spa while I was visiting their office). If you search online or look in your local yellow pages I’m sure that you will find that there are many sign companies in your area that can quote on a partial wrap or window sign.

If you also have some crazy car signs make sure you link to a picture by leaving a comment. Otherwise leave a comment and let me know what you think of having signs on your vehicle that you are using for pet sitting visits.

10 Fun Activities To Do With Your Dog

Filed Under Pet Health | 1 Comment

Getting out and taking part in regular activities with your dog boosts your relationship by promoting better communication and gives your dog more opportunities to learn good manners. Dog activities also ensure that your dog gets enough exercise and that you reduce the chance of boredom in your dog which may lead to destructive behavior.

Here are 10 activities that you can do to have fun with your dog:

1. Agility is a sport where a dog handler directs their dog through an obstacle course. The dogs performance is measured by time and accuracy. You can learn agility methods from books and purchase your own practice equipment or you take your dog to an agility training school.

2. Assisted Therapy involves taking your dog to visit people in health care institutions to provide mental and physical stimulation. You will need you dog to have the right attitude for this activity. Therapy dogs need to be social, calm, tolerant and friendly.

3. Disc Dog is a sport where a handler and dog take part in distance and freestyle catching competitions using a Frisbee.

4. Flyball is another competitive sport for dogs. Dogs compete in a relay race in teams of 4. Dogs jump over a set of hurdles, step on a spring loaded box which shoots out a tennis ball, catch the ball and return across the hurdles. For more information look at the website: http://www.flyball.org/

5. Dog Parks are available in many communities where you can take your dog and let them off leash in a fenced area where they can run and socialize with other dogs.

6. Play Games with your dog at home for exercise and interaction. Games for dogs include find the treat and follow the leader. For game information go to http://www.wagntrain.com/Games.htm

7. Dog Parties are a fun way to celebrate a major event in the life of your dog by inviting friends and their pets to a party. Parties can be held at home, at a dog day care facility, or at a dog park. Send out invitations, have a doggie cake, play dog games, and even give out doggie bag favors to your guests.

8. Group Dog Walks or hikes are organized as charity fundraisers or by local dog walking groups. You can also organize your own walk at a local trail with a group of friends. Make sure you take plenty of water for the dogs and apply sunscreen!

9. Dog Water Sports are a fun activity if your dog is relaxed and comfortable playing in the water. There is an official association http://www.caninewatersports.com that promotes local events and splash dog training.

10. Dog Camps are a vacation option for you where you must take your dog. Get away to a unique location and enjoy participating in group dog agility, obedience and games.

Why not take this time at the end of the year to plan how you can get involved in one of these fun activities with you dogs in 2009. It will make their year!

Do You Have a Favorite Pet Radio Show?

Filed Under Pet News | 1 Comment

Talk back Tuesday This week I was interviewed by the Doggie Chronicles Radio Show to discuss my article Holiday Pet Hazards. Each week the Doggie Chronicles show interviews diffrent experts about dog related topics. Sharing my show they also interviewed a lady who makes matching jewellery for dogs and their owners.

You can listen to my interview at http://www.doggiechronicles.com/product-reviews/barneys-bling-holiday-pet-hazards

This week for Talk Back Tuesday I’d like to ask - do you have a pet related radio show that you regularly listen to?

Let us know by leaving a comment after this post. Look forward to your suggestions!

Free Editable Customer Feedback Form

Filed Under My Pet Business, Pet Business Tips | 3 Comments

Freebie Friday For several years I have been following up with each of my pet sitting customers after our visits to make sure they are fully satisfied by sending them a short survey. I now email the survey to them with a follow up letter a few days after our visit (I used to leave a copy with them with my daily report sheets at the pet sitting visits).

Another function of this post job followup is to solicit testimonials that I can use on my website. Testimonials are a great way to gain credibility with prospective clients. I used this followup form this past Thanksgiving and 80% of clients responded with comments that we can use as testimonials. It was very effective!

Today for the Friday Freebie I am giving you an editable copy of the survey form that I use. You can download right here by clicking the link:

Pet Sitting Customer Feedback Form

This is a Microsoft Word document that you can edit to add your company name, add extra questions, change the questions, and add your logo.

Please let me us know if you have any suggestions to improve the form by leaving a comment after this post. Nothing is ever finished nor perfect!

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