Free Report - How To Define Your Pet Sitting Market Profile

Filed Under Pet Business Success Circle, Pet Business Tips, Pet Sitting Business Tips | 2 Comments

I hope you have subcribed here at Working with Pets and downloaded your free report “101 Ways to Market Your Pet Sitting Business” (If not go to the form at the top left of the page and get it now!). This report will give you many fresh ideas to get the word about your great service to the pet lovers in your community.

To get the most out of these new marketing tactics you also need to understand your local market of pet owners. This is where a market profile comes into play. Your market profile describes how your pet sitting business fits within your local market. It outlines the features and benefits of your service, identifies what makes your business unique, describes the characteristics of your ideal customers, and profiles the services of your competitors, and their target market.

Putting a document like this together sounds pretty daunting - but don’t worry. My special report that I have for you will guide you through the process of developing your plan step by step with simple exercises. You’ll have it done in no time! Set some time aside this week to working on your profile so you can make your marketing 100 times more effective.

Download my special reprort “How to Define Your Market Profile” now right here:

How to Define Your Pet Sitting Market

I hope you enjoy it and put it to good use :) 

If you need some support rolling out your new marketing plan look no further than the Pet Sitting Success Circle.  As a member you’ll have your own mastermind group of “business advisors” to help you every step of the way.  See what Pet Sitter of the Year Rob Nager has to say about his involvement at http://www.petbusinesssuccesscircle.com. 

PS - You will also receive my “One Page Pet Business Plan Toolkit” as a bonus gift when you try out the Pet Sitting Success Circle. The report sells here at Working with Pets for $10 but your trial membership is only $7 for the first month!

How to Keep Your Pet Sitting Business Off The IRS Hit List in 2010

Filed Under Pet Sitting Business Tips | 1 Comment

Vicky Collins - The Deduction Diva - and my personal business accountant is a CPA who works with home-based businesses throughout the U.S.  She just let me know how worried she is about the new IRS initiative to go after home-based businesses. They believe businesses such as yours and mine could be a major source of tax revenue and they’ve convinced Congress to up their annual “enforcement” budget to $5.5 Billion dollars just to prove it.

One major focus will be businesses with losses - this could be your part time or full time pet sitting business if you are just geting started or have invested in set up costs, trademarks, signs, conferences, and training programs this year.

You know, when the CPAs are worried, we should all be worried. But rather than just worry, Vicky has put together a program that will show us how to document our profit intention. Not only that, she’ll show us 6 main types of small businesses audited by IRS

9 Key Characteristics IRS uses in making a determination of a business or hobby

3 Main IRS Examination Techniques used 4 Types of information likely to be requested

3 Key Rulings and Laws that support taxpayers

What happens to your deductions when the business is reclassified as a hobby

This information rich call is only $29.95 and will take only 1 hour of your time and could save you lots of headaches!  

I hope you’ll join me on the phone with Vicky for this very important call. You can learn more by clicking here:

Small Business IRS Auditing Call 

Ps: The call is coming up on August 16th. Even if you cannot attend the call live, please sign up now
as an MP3 download will be available after the call. 

Learn more about the call by clicking here

Get Prepared For National Dog Day August 26th

Filed Under Pet Sitting Business Tips | 2 Comments

Dog TeamNational Dog Day is not until August 26th but I wanted to give you some notice so that you can plan a special event, promotion, or just do something special for you doggie charges. This is also a topic to discuss in your newsletter or on your blog next month – or even a good topic for a press release!

National Dog Day (NDD) serves to help inform the public to recognize the number of dogs that need to be rescued. NDD acknowledges family dogs and dogs that work- selflessly- each day to save lives. Dogs put their lives on the line every day- for their law enforcement partner, for their blind companion, for a child who is disabled, for our freedom and safety by detecting bombs and drugs and pulling victims of tragedy from wreckage, saving their lives and often grieving the dead and dying they cannot save.

NDD was created so we can appreciate their endearing patience, their work, their unquestioning loyalty, and their capacity for love and ability to impact our lives in the most miraculous and fascinating ways.

NDD is a great day to pamper your own pooch as well as your clients. Bring your pup to a doggie spa where you can get your fabulous doggie’s teeth cleaned, get a bath, and get an amazing new do! Take him or her on a nice long walk, go to the dog park, and buy him or her some of their favorite treats.

You can even get a doggie gift basket from greatarrivals.com! Or if you want to make your own buy a round dog bed. Then fill it with tons of treats and toys and anything and everything that your dog loves. And if a NDD event is too far away then just start your own in the neighborhood! Have games, treats, and toys for a fun-filled day. You and your dog will meet many new people

Another great gift to give you dog or your clients on NDD is training. Typically the more trained and well behaved a dog is, the more likely they will be become integrated into family life and the less likely they are to be abandoned or left in a shelter.

Having well trained dogs can also help reduce the number of dogs in shelters. In humane societys, rescues, and shelters tons of people everyday come to look to adopt a dog. On the cages of dogs in these places there is a usually little information about the dog. The dog could’ve been surrendered, been a stray, or could have been adopted and then returned. The people who work at these particular places always try to tell the truth about the dogs. Most people want to adopt a dog who is friendly and well-trained. If the dog is trained then that will go on their information sheet on their cage. If more dogs are trained more will get adopted into good homes and will reduce the number of dogs in shelters.

Start organizing for NDD now and do something special for your pooches and for your business. Anyone know if we have a National Cat Day?

The Blogs I Read Everyday - What Are You Reading?

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

It’s woofwednesday at twitter today - a day where pet people recommend to others people on twitter that are interesting and worth following. If you are interested in connecting with more pet people on twitter do a search for woofwednesday and you’ll find lots of new contacts.  Of course I’d also love you to connect with me while you are there - http://www.twitter.com/daniellechonody

So as a spinoff from woofwednesday I wanted to share with you some blogs that I love. I have a list of blogs that I visit everyday because they always have great tips and interesting advice. Some are pet related and some are just about internet marketing.   Here is my list:

PetSitUSA  - http://www.petsitusa.com/blog

PetBusinessVA - http://www.petbusinessva.com

7 Lucky Dogs - http://www.7luckydogs.net

Alice Seba - http://www.aliceseba.com

Clicknewz - http://www.clicknewz.com

Entrepreneurs Journey - http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com

Take a look at these and see if you like them.  I’d love to hear from you about the blogs that you love and visit regularly.  Please share them with us so we can connect with other great bloggers (of course if you have your own blog please tell us about it!).

Fundamentals of Fantastic Customer Service

Filed Under Pet Business Interviews, Pet Business Success Circle, Pet Sitting Business Tips | 4 Comments

When owning your own business it’s important to know how to provide exceptional customer service. Without it, you may end up with unhappy customers, and that can cause you to lose business to other pet sitting competitors.

Fantastic customer service creates repeat business and customers who can’t stop themselves from talking to all their friends and family about you.

Next month I am interviewing Rob Nager of Decadent Dog - PSI Pet Sitter of the Year to learn his customer service secrets. To join us on August 11th on the call register now at http://www.petbusinesssuccesscircle.com/RobCustomerService.htm

Rob has delivered seminars on customer service at the PSI annual conference and at their regional events. If you haven’t had a chance to hear how he wows his customers - don’t miss this opportunity to hear him without leaving home!

Knowing the fundamentals of customer service is the secret to a thriving business. Owning my own business has taught me that there are five major things that you can do to keep your customers coming back again and again!

• Be knowledgeable about the service you provide.
The more you know about your service, the more prepared you will be when providing it to your customers. Do your research and make sure you know everything there is to know about your business. Without that knowledge you could find your potential customers going elsewhere. You want them to feel informed about what you are offering and not have any confusion of what your services may include.
• Always listen
It’s so important to listen to what your customers are telling you. It always seems easier for me to take notes. The more I remember about them the better they will feel, and want to come back again.
• Show your smile
You can’t always be serious when dealing with people. By smiling, you are showing your customers you are happy they chose you over another company. Being yourself and feeling comfortable helps build a better relationship with your clients. By you smiling, you are showing confidence, and that will cause them to feel more comfortable around you as well!
• Do more then you have to
Just because your job title may be “Dog Walker” for instance, does not mean you can’t also brush the dog after its walk. This will show that you actually love what you do, and want to do more than is expected of you. No matter what your job title may be, going above and beyond will show your customers how dedicated you really are, and they will want to use your service again.
• Make it memorable
Give clients as wonderful and memorable an experience as you possibly can. The more memorable experience they have, the better chance you have of them recommending you to someone else. If they remember you, they will talk about you to others. . If clients talk about you to their friends, then that is the best advertisement you can ask for.

Remember, always be confident about what you are offering. Owning your own business is hard work, but knowing how to keep your customers coming back is the source to keeping your business alive. Show them you have the expertise, pay attention to them, be happy and smile, give them more then they asked for, and try to make their experience memorable. If you can do these five things, then you will have a successful pet sitting business!

Again don’t forget to register for my call with Rob and get your questions answered (it’s free) - http://www.petbusinesssuccesscircle.com/RobCustomerService.htm

If you have any special tips for wowing your customers - share with us by leaving a comment!

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