Starting a Pet Sitting Business: Secrets for Success

2010-07-21T07:30:00.000-07:00

If you're an animal lover and have experience working them, then starting a home pet minding or pet sitting business might be the appropriate business for you. Pet sitters offer valuable assistance to pet owners, and they have become an indispensable part of the lives of 145 million pets in the US alone. Pet sitters are needed when busy pet owners go on trips or simply need somebody to watch pets through the day.

Getting started as a pet sitter could be very simple. Here are some steps:

To start with, you’ll need to decide if this really is a enterprise that you want to pursue. Although starting the business is simple, keeping the business going is another matter altogether. The first question you need to ask yourself is, "Do I really love animals?" If you are contemplating pet sitting just because you assume it will likely be a straightforward job, then it isn't right for you. You should take pleasure in spending time with animals and have at the least some experience in being around them. Whereas most pet sitting jobs involve dogs and cats, you may sometimes be requested to care for rabbits, birds or reptiles. Do you feel comfortable with these pets?
Get a legal name for your business. A business license doesn’t cost much and gives you an advantage when getting new clients. You’ll additionally have the ability to benefit from many tax write-offs, including business supplies and your costs for mileage to and from client' homes. You will also look more professional if you have a legal business name.
Get the necessary business and marketing materials such as business cards and an appointment book to keep track of your assignments. Unlike other work from home businesses, the start up requirements for pet sitting are relatively not much.
Decide what pet sitting services you will offer and how much you will charge. Spy on the competition and find out the going charge for pet sitting services in your area. Try to keep your prices in close range, specially if you're starting. Offering lower prices might appear to be a a good strategy to beat the competition, but it might make your service appear less valuable to potential clients. Put your price list on marketing materials that you send out.

Getting clients

Getting new clients to your pet sitting business could be the most difficult aspect of your startup business, just because of the fact that you are new and pet owners have not heard of you or your business. But with more effort, you could put your name out and start getting leads and interest. The best way to get clients and jobs is by word of mouth. You might have to start offering your services to neighbors and friends. If you give good service, they will tell their friends, neighbors and relatives about you, and you will start getting calls.

Promoting your start up pet sitting business

As with any startup, you might have to offer free and low-priced promotions to get your first few clients. The important thing is to make a connection with pet owners. At this stage, you are not thinking of making profits, but building relationships. You have to get the word out and introduce yourself. You can distribute your cards at local pet retailers, or put up a flyer on their bulletin boards. Offer coupons and discounts to their customers, so get a value from your promotions. Ask your vet if they would put a few of your business cards on their reception desk, or recommend you to other pet owners. In return, you can offer to refer new clients to them. Also consider paid advertising in local newspapers and magazines.

Great Customer Service: Keeping your clients and their pets satisfied
Just as important as getting new clients is keeping them clients for life. Once you have clients calling you for pet sitting appointments, make sure to give them the best customer service. Here are a few ways:

Return calls and answer emails within the same day, if possible. You don't want to be seen as unresponsive and hard to reach
Always arrive on time and ready to watch their pets.
Respect their home and their property, and their privacy. Do not enter areas of their house that you're not supposed to. Treat their home with care as you would treat yours.

If you follow the tips and advise above, your start up pet sitting business could bloom into a reliable source of income.

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Become a Scam-Proof Work at Home Mom

2010-07-21T06:54:00.000-07:00

Working from home is a good way for moms to earn some extra cash and still have time to watch the children. Every woman who has become a work at home mom (Wahm) has traveled down the same path. Unfortunately though, that path is laden with scams and traps, all meant totake money and time from honest women who are looking to make money from home. But with a little common sense and extra research, you can find legitimate work at home opportunities and avoid becoming victims of scams.

Here are some steps:

Search for jobs in the right places. Often, people simply click on ads to find jobs but often that leads to nowhere. Why not look for helpful groups of Wahms who have successful work at home jobs to guide your search? You can start your search on message boards or e-mail groups and you will get ideas where to start your work at home job search. Because of the wealth of experience being shared in these communities, you will get insights on work at home opportunities that are actually worth your time.
There are really no ways to get rich quick on the Internet or by working at home. Keep this in mind. Truth be told, the only people who get rich are those who are scamming others. Never believe an claim or a products that claims that you will get rich instantly. It's a red flag for a scam.
Other red flags are offers asking you to pay for work or to get job lists. You should not have to pay for these since there are plenty of free listings available that can provide tons of work at home opportunities. If you are being sold a jobs list, then you will be disappointed to discover that the lists are often filled with dead job leads, or lists of other companies that want to charge you money. Many work at home scams will also require you to pay a start-up fee or cover the cost of “necessary” training or materials. Legitimate jobs will never require you to pay them any money for you to work.
Be wary of offers or ads that tell you to “act now” and claim that their job offer will expire at the end of the day. Make diligent research and do not act on impulse.
If you want to learn more about a company, do some research on the Better Business Bureau website. The BBB has records of complaints filed against companies. You will see complaints of scams and rip-offs.

So what are the types of jobs that are attractive for scams? Here are a few:

Envelope stuffing. This is a a common scam, although it is being seen less and less these days but still quite a number of people still fall victim. These jobs are usually listed as mail service jobs, and then you are asked to pay for a start up kit to start your job. After you receive a start up kit, you are then told to place your own work at home ads. You basically just sell the start up kit to other people and become a scammer yourself!
Craft assembly scams. This can take many forms. Usually, you receive a set of crafts and instructions to complete them. You will be asked to pay for the set and then are told you will be reimbursed for the kits and also paid for their assembly. But the scam starts when you returned the assembled kit to them and you are told that your work is not up to their quality standards. You have just lost money and have been scammed.

You can avoid these scams if you make diligent research and connect with other Wahms who have been successful. When in doubt, ask. There are legitimate jobs out there for Wahms. If you do your research and you don't act impulsively, you can successfully work from home and never be scammed.

Small Biz Startup Secrets

Starting a Pet Sitting Business: Secrets for Success

Become a Scam-Proof Work at Home Mom