Pet Sitting A Good Business for Retired People?

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Todays article is from guest author Denton Fowler. Denton wrote this article for www.PetWellbeing.com, which offers prevention and treatment products for cancer in cats and Cushings Disease in dogs..
Taking your retirement in these tough economic times is not an easy decision to make.  But what if you supplemented your income with a pet sitting business in order to get paid for doing something you love?

First of all, dealing with new and different animals is not for just anyone.  It takes someone who enjoys working with them.  Why? Because your customers will know.  And honestly, it’s your retirement.  This should be something that complements your lifestyle, not adds more stress.

Ideally, you want a situation where people feel they are dropping their pets off at a grandpa’s place for the weekend.  While your business understanding and structure must be in place, your public image should be warm and welcoming.  There is something about an experienced, older person who loves animals that gives you an edge over other younger, just-in-it-for-money sitters.

Some simple decisions must be made like any new pet sitting business. Like what type and number of animals and what services you will offer.  Obviously, your house must be part of your considerations.  How many dogs can comfortably be in the house?  Is there room in the basement for a shampoo table?  There are a number of valuable articles at http://www.WorkingWithPets.com that can help you make these decisions.

Pet sitting is ideal for the older, retired person.  Your family is grown and your schedule is your own.  This is important because this type of business needs you to be available at the most common vacation times like summer, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Your vacation desires become secondary because you MUST be available when your clients need you.

Word Of Mouth

Getting the word out about your business is the most important factor because word-of-mouth will get you the growing client list you will need.  If you can get your customers to recommend your services to others, you’ve got it made.

Assuming you will be sitting for dogs, the dog park is probably your biggest draw.  To begin with, a t-shirt goes a long way to advertising your business.  Nothing too professional because nothing says loving better than “Grandma’s Dog Sitting Service”.  Again, your business has to be solid, but your face has to say ‘family’. 

As you play with your dogs or talk with other dog owners at the dog park, they will see your business name and associate it with the care you show to all animals.  After all, they bring their dogs to that dog park for a reason and will appreciate that you will bring their dog there as well if he is being sat by you. Be ready with a business card or a flyer when a business connection is made.  But don’t force it or go looking for a client.  The attention you show to your dogs is your biggest selling point.  Make sure you visit all the dog parks in your area.

Business cards and flyers are essential.  Not only are they important to solidify that face-to-face connection, they can be left at pet stores or tacked to the local grocery store bulletin board.  It allows potential clients to go home and leave your advertising on their kitchen counter.  It also shows that your ‘business’ is local and you are part of the community.

Internet Connection

Make sure that you collect emails from any clients you have.  Creating a mailing list is a great way to remind people of your services when you tweak them in advance of a high-vacation period.  Always give them an option to opt out of such a list.

Just as important as the ‘family’ feeling for you business is the internet face you present.  Yes this is essential because some people only use the internet for looking for such services.  Your website can be simple, but it needs to have at least the services, location and details of your business.  Again, you can find some good advice on this site to set up an effective website.  Your internet site becomes the go-to place on your business cards and any flyers you hand out.

Is a pet sitting business for you?  It can be, with the proper preparation.  It can easily supplement your retirement income and provide you with some easy, enjoyable company. 

Happy Holidays and Winter Pet Safety Tips

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Happy Holidays Everyone!  I hope you get some time to relax with family between all those pet house visits this week.  We are having an snow storm today in Dallas Fort Worth after a beautiful day of 75F yesterday! The weather is so fickle here :)  Wherever you are - keep warm and safe and enjoy the celebration!  Here are some tips for keeping your pets safe during the winter months:

Winter time is here, and now is the time to take all the extra precautions to keep your pets safe in the cold weather.  If your pets stay indoors there is less things to worry about then if you have outdoor pets. Indoor animals can keep warm and dry, but if your pets are outdoors they run the risk of serious illness or even death caused by the cold.  Even if you have a dog house, that may not be enough protection against harsh winds and cold.  Make sure the doorway is covered or closed, and be sure to have a lot of warm blankets.  Older pets should never be left outside in cold climates, and if your pet does not have a thick coat, then it will not do well in extreme cold.  Here are some things to watch out for in the winter months.
Metal bowls - Anything metal that you keep food or water in can become a great hazard to pets outside in the cold.  Pets tongues can get stuck to the cold metal and injure themselves by trying to pull away or run.  As a solution, switch to plastic or ceramic bowls until the temperature gets warmer again.

Ice salt - Chemicals and salt that are used to melt the winter snow can be toxic to your dogs or cats. They can pick it up on their paws and lick off the salt, causing upset stomach, or other sickness.  Be sure to wash your pet’s paws in warm water after walks or extended periods outside.

Car engines - Before you start up your car, always check under the car to be sure no animals have crawled up into the engine.  Cats and raccoons are drawn to the heat of your car, and you may find one cuddled up beneath the car engine to keep out of the harsh weather.  If you start the car before checking, it could cause the animal serious injury or death.  To avoid damage to them and your car, bang on the hood or honk your horn to scare any animals away.

Dehydration - If your cat or dog spends a lot of time outside you’ll need to increase the amount of food and water you give them, because keeping warm requires a large amount of energy.  Try a heated bowl to prevent the water from freezing.  Provide them with extra food because of the calories they burn generating heat.

Lost pets - More pets are reported lost in the winter months than in any other season.  This is due to the fact that they lose track of the scent of home, because of snow and sleet.  This causes them to become disoriented and run away.  Be sure to keep your dogs on a leash at all times during walks.  This is also a good practice if you live near water.  An animal may run over to a pond, and fall through the ice. During these cold months, keep a close eye on your pets.

Frostbite - No matter how long your pet is exposed to temperatures below zero, they can still get frostbite.  Most cases are seen in the feet, nose or ears.  Check to see if skin looks grey or white and may be peeling.  The best way to prevent it is to remove any snow or ice from their fur and paws right away.

The winter months can be harsh not only on us, but also on our pets, so take some extra time to ensure the best environment for them in the cold weather.  If you do, you and your pets can enjoy the season a little better.

Be An Eagle in Your Pet Sitting Business in 2010!

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This is a great story that my husbands boss sent out with his Christmas wishes to all his staff. I love it and wanted to share.  I hope it gives you inspiration to be an Eagle next year!

Ducks Quack - Eagles Soar

No one can make you serve customers well….that’s because great service is a choice.
Harvey Mackay, tells a wonderful story about a cab driver that proved this point.

He was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing Harvey noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for Harvey .

He handed my friend a laminated card and said: ‘I’m Wally, your driver. While I’m loading your bags in the trunk I’d like you to read my mission statement.’

Taken aback, Harvey read the card. It said: Wally’s Mission Statement: To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment….

This blew Harvey away. Especially when he noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean!

As he slid behind the wheel, Wally said, ‘Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.’ My friend said jokingly, ‘No, I’d prefer a soft drink.’ Wally smiled and said, ‘No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, water and orange juice.’ Almost stuttering, Harvey said, ‘I ‘ll take a Diet Coke.’

Handing him his drink, Wally said, ‘If you’d like something to read, I have The Wall Street Journal, Time, Sports Illustrated and USA Today..’

As they were pulling away, Wally handed my friend another laminated card, ‘These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you’d like to listen to the radio.’

And as if that weren’t enough, Wally told Harvey that he had the air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for him. Then he advised Harvey of the best route to his destination for that time of day. He also let him know that he’d be happy to chat and tell him about some of the sights or, if Harvey preferred, to leave him with his own thoughts…

‘Tell me, Wally,’ my amazed friend asked the driver, ‘have you always served customers like this?’

Wally smiled into the rear view mirror. ‘No, not always. In fact, it’s only been in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard the personal growth guru, Wayne Dyer, on the radio one day.

He had just written a book called You’ll See It When You Believe It. Dyer said that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you’ll rarely disappoint yourself. He said, ‘Stop complaining! Differentiate yourself from your competition. Don’t be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd.’

‘That hit me right between the eyes,’ said Wally. ‘Dyer was really talking about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers.. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more.’

‘I take it that has paid off for you,’ Harvey said.

‘It sure has,’ Wally replied. ‘My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year I’ll probably quadruple it. You were lucky to get me today. I don’t sit at cabstands anymore. My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on my answering machine. If I can’t pick them up myself, I get a reliable cabbie friend to do it and I take a piece of the action.’

Wally was phenomenal. He was running a limo service out of a Yellow Cab. I’ve probably told that story to more than fifty cab drivers over the years, and only two took the idea and ran with it. Whenever I go to their cities, I give the m a call. The rest of the drivers quacked like ducks and told me all the reasons they couldn’t do any of what I was suggesting.

Wally the Cab Driver made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles.
Ducks Quack, Eagles Soar.

Have a nice day, unless you already have other plans.

Pet Sitter IC Toolkit - Product Review

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I have used independent contract sitters in my Dallas Fort Worth based pet sitting business Protecting Max for the past 5 years.  Today I couldn’t run my business without them. Well… I guess I could, but without my contract pets sitters I would only be able to service a fraction of number of clients, I would have to service a smaller geographic area, I would be out pet sitting every night and weekend, I wouldn’t have the freedom to travel and take family vacations, and I wouldn’t have any back-up to look after my business when I’m sick or have other commitments.

Having contract sitters gives me a lot of flexibility to grow my business, a lot more time to work on marketing and help other pet sitters grow their business, and peace of mind that comes with having a business support team.  One of my contract sitters even took over the reins of the business for a full month while I travelled to Australia and China earlier this year.

I know that many of you have fears around hiring your first contractor staff members.  I had all the same fears - in fact hiring my first pet sitter was a really nerve racking process. It was the first time that I had to put my pet sitting business reputation in the hands of another person and trust that they would take care of my customers pets just as well as I did. I also had to work through contract issues and uncertainty of IRS rules, working out where to find people and how to advertise, and learn how to screen and interview sitters to determine if they would fit into my business. Much of this was a trial and error process for me. Some of the first sitters I hired didn’t work out but over the years I have learnt from my mistakes and improved my hiring processes.

In the last year I have written several articles here on the blog about hiring and managing ICs’s and have recognized the need for a product that would help take the trial and error learning out of the IC hiring process for new pet sitting business owners.

This week Josha of Petsittingology.com beat me to the punch and has released just such a tool. His brand new product - Pet Sitter Independent Contractor Toolbox takes all the guesswork out of finding and hiring contract pet sitters. As soon as Josh released it last week I bought my own copy as I wanted to update my own IC contract and also learn from a guy who with his wife Alita built a six figure pet sitting business in just one year and works with 30 independent contract sitters.

I love the toolkit and think it is the perfect tool for any pet sitting business owner who is ready to expand and hire their first IC sitter. I wish this toolkit has been around 5 years ago for me - it would have certainly saved me a lot of time and worry.

The toolkit includes:

Fill in the blanks Pet Sitter IC Agreement - which clearly eliminates the worry of IC sitters stealing your clients, makes sure that the new staff member understands their role as an IC sitter, and keeps you within the IRS rules for using contract staff. It also comes with a step by step guide that explains every section of the IC agreement

IRS Form W-9 that you use to collect tax info from your sitters

IC Time Sheet Template - which simplifies the process of paying your sitters

IC Contractor Interview Checklist - to make sure you ask the prospective sitter all the right questions and ensure they fit your needs

Background Check Authorization Form - to make it easy for you to collect the right info and get your candidates screened

The Pet Sitter Contractor Manual - that explains everything you need to know to find and hire the best contract sitters

28 Really Effective IC Job Listing - which gives you the exact ad copy that 28 other pet sitting companies have used to find and hire their independent contractors

This toolkit is very detailed and Josh has obviously put a lot of thought and hours into putting this information together.

Until December 31st Josh has the toolkit on sale for $67 (a 30% discount).  I can’t believe that the price is so low. The information makes the process of hiring IC sitters so easy - and a product like this for pet sitters just isn’t available anywhere else. Plus - how often do you get a sneak peek at what is working for other pet sitting business owners?

Take a look for yourself - you can learn more about the toolkit by clicking on the link here :

Pet Sitting Independent Contractor Toolkit

As I have my own copy I am more than happy to answer any of your questions about the toolkit - just post a question on my Facebook page or leave a comment after this post.

(PS. The links in this post are affiliate links and I do earn commissions from my referrals of this product.  I only recommend tools that I own myself and think will help you as my readers grow your pet sitting business)

Pet Sitting Website Review - Part 2

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Last Monday I started my review of Karin’s pet sitting website. In that review I talked about how to make your website customer friendly - that is make sure you give your prospective clients / website visitors all the information that they are looking for and start to build their trust.

Today I want to look at the next key to a great pet sitting website - your website must be attractive and easy to read. Another way of saying this is - Is your website pleasing to the visitors eye?

One of the big trends in the past few years was to use fancy flash animated graphics (for example dancing dogs or cats) and really colorful patterned backgrounds.  Today you should not use flash animations or busy backgrounds. Both will really date your website - and they are only distracting the customer from your main message.  If your website has these features - remove them!  The aim of your site is to give a customer information, prove your credibility, and get them to contact you to book services - not to entertain them or make them say how cute!

Your website needs to give your customer the perception that you run a professional pet sitting business and that you are serious about providing reliable pet care. Make sure that you have a website that conveys your professionalism by having a consistent background and layout for all your pages.

Get a professionally designed logo and make sure that the image quality of your logo on your site is sharp and clear (this should also be true for any photos you display on your website).  The colors that you use for background and text on your site should co-ordinate with the colors of your logo to portray a consistent brand image. If you need help designing your logo or your site you can find graphic designers for a reasonable price at http://99designs.com/ or http://www.elance.com.

Photos on your site should show you with a welcoming and warm smile - and are even more effective if they show you with your own or customers pets. If you don’t have photos of you and your pets, you can include pictures of your pets too - or go out and have some new photos taken with them.  Photos with your family are also effective if you promote your business as family owned and operated - I’ve had several customers tell me that they selected my pet sitting services because of the photos that I displayed on my About page on my website.

The last important key to making your site easy to read is to include plenty of white space between your text and pictures.  Don’t make your site too busy or cluttered - but space out text and use lists and bullets to highlight services and service areas.

On Karin’s site http://s2.webstarts.com/AnimalsGreatandSmallPetsitting/index.html I would recommend:

1) An updated logo - and I would also advise using exactly the same logo format on each website page.

2) Breaking up the text on the home page by using lists and centering some of the text to create more interest and more white space.

3) Using a smaller picture on the home page - the poop scooping dog is cute but it dominates the page too much and distracts from the information about her service.  A picture of Karin with a dog or her pets would be a better choice.

4) Using a larger, clearer, color picture of Karin on the contact page that shows her happy and enjoying the pets.

If you have any other suggestions for Karin please leave a comment on the post.

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