Targeting the Mix of Pet Services You Provide

Filed Under Pet Business Tips |

One of the great things about owning your own business is that you get to choose the jobs that you take and the types of services that you provide. I have a clause in my service contract that if during our initial interview visit we find that a dog is displaying aggressive behavior then for our safety we have the right to refuse service for the pet.  For the first couple of years I also chose not to offer overnight pet sitting services. I’m married and I don’t like to spend time away from my family overnight.

However, in the last year I have begun to advertise overnight service on my website as I have had a couple of contractors that are willing to perform this service.  This week I thought I would try out a job myself as it was very close to home and just one night.

Well last night I did my very first overnight pet sitting job for 5 dogs.  I loved the dogs - they were all great - only trouble was I didn’t get much sleep being in a strange place with different noises etc.  Today I felt lack lustre and tired - just not my best. I have pretty much confirmed my suspicion that these jobs are not my cup of tea!

I wanted to use to this to illustrate that when setting up your business it’s important to be careful to offer only the services that you are comfortable performing.  Choose to offer only the services that you think that you can perform to the best of your ability and enjoy. As you grow your business and add staff you may feel that you can offer additional services, but it’s always best to start out small and concentrate on a more targeted market. For me when I started business this meant targeting vacation and business travelers that wanted morning and evening pet sitting visits.

Some other examples of targeting are:

1) the dog groomer that chooses to groom only particular breeds of dogs.

2) the pet photographer that photographs only cats

3)  the dog walker that specializes in day treks and adventures

There are also many pet professions that can be mixed and matched - for example a pet sitter could add grooming to their list of services to enhance owner convenience.  For a  full range of pet career options that you can consider providing as part of your service take a look at my ebook Your New Pet Care Career.



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  1. Pet » Targeting the Mix of Pet Services You Provide on October 10, 2007 9:48 pm

    [...] Danielle Chonody wrote an interesting post today on Targeting the Mix of Pet Services You ProvideHere’s a quick excerptThere are also many pet professions that can be mixed and matched - for example a pet sitter could add grooming to their list of services to enhance owner convenience. For a full range of pet career options that you can consider … [...]

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