There are more than fifty million dogs in the United States. One in four homes has a dog. Many dogs sit home all day while parents work doggie. Many live in condos and apartments, which means you do not get to be outside during the day at all. Dog walking has become a necessity. If you love dogs this is your chance to cash in on a fantastic career and start your own dog walking service.
Dog walking is a great career, because you can earn money while you are training. And while the work can be physically demanding it is fun so you'll hardly notice. The good news is that you will not have to fight traffic, or do the nine to five grind and you can actually make a good living at this. Think you get paid to play with the dogs of the people.
If this seems interesting company will need a few things to get started. It is to build a kit. This is easy and you can build for less than $ 100.00, is not a bad investment for their business. You'll need a plastic box of 15x21x18 with a cover for your car.
in your kit should be a baby carrier, you wear and use everyday. I got fanny pack with water bottle holders on the sides. In the pouch is packaged trash bags, water for you and your dog, keys, sunscreen, business cards and treats, and maybe even a longer leash. The baby carrier is essential because you want to keep your hands free.
And 'nice if you have a T-shirt with the name of your company or your name on it. In this way, the people who come in contact with know what you do. I got business this way. You can buy a shirt later if you start with a bare bones funding.
A good strong keychain is a must. You will want to have "all" the keys of your client with you at all times. I can not tell you how many times I had a customer call at the last minute and take a walk. Put your name and phone number on your key ring so if you lose you can be contacted to have it returned. Do not label the keys with the address of your client. Use your dog's name instead. If you have two dogs with the same name to use Ally Ally 1 & 2, for example.
You will need an endless supply of dog waste bags and you can not be afraid to use them. Hey, if that's the worst part of the job you can not complain.
Business cards are a must. You can make your computer or buy some 'cheap in a local press place. If you can afford to buy them to get some hooks too. I put door hangers on doors where you see or hear a dog in a yard. I got the job in this way. Once I saw this poor girl with a business suit and high heels pulled from a Great Dane. I pulled over and gave her a business card. I had that dog for over five years before dying of old age. Business cards are a great marketing tool and this business is sold.
In this day of our release forms litigious society is a must. This basically lets your customer know that if it was negligence on your part will be responsible for vet bills if the dog is sick or hurt while in your care. Once I had to run a dog to the vet because he was allergic to bees, we did not know until he was no rush. His head blew up like a balloon and I took it to the vet just before going into anaphylatic shock. Another time I was driving a group of dogs back from the dog park when one of them had a seizure. The client had no idea his dog was epileptic. unforeseen things happen make sure you are covered. You can find forms of online base release.
note pads and pen are important. Some customers want an activity report every day on their dog. I had both the pens and note pads with my name and number on them. They are a great marketing tool. In this age of cell phones The text A lot of my clients with the updates.
purchase and maintain an appointment book. Write down all appointments of all though are regular days, this way you can compile time intervals and at the end of the month, you can use your appointment book to do the billing. It will be a lifesaver when you always begins busy and it's a good resource at tax time. Make sure to write in pencil and keep it updated.
manual A fee gives you the ability to record all expenses for the year by month. It is useful at tax time and much better than a shoebox. Be sure to keep receipts for all business expenses. I presented my monthly in an accordion file.
A book mileage will help you record mileage when you are working. Unless you have a separate machine for your business you are not allowed to write off the cost of your car, even if you can clear some of the gas and maintenance as long as you keep a log.
An address book is essential. You should keep customer numbers with you at all times. I kept my in my cell phone and in a book if my phone was not usable. I had to call customers on site if their dog is sick or if something has happened at home. Keep customer numbers with you at all times.
Always have a first aid kit on hand. Hopefully nothing happens, but if it does you will be ready with your doggie first aid kit. You can buy first-aid kit for dogs on line, but they have instructions for building one on the line as well.
Now that you have your whole kit is necessary to understand what your taxes are going to be. Check around to see what other dogs and pet sitters are getting. Look through the yellow pages and call a few pet sitter to see what they are charging. You want to be competitive, but several command areas other taxes. Find out what the going rate is in your area. My business has grown rapidly and I was actually able to raise rates, with a period of six months. This activity really does sell itself.
You want to charge accordingly if you walk more than one dog in a family. You can give a discount, but make sure that you charge. You can also set a monthly rate if you walk more than once a day dog. Set up a compensation structure that both you and the client are comfortable with. To get customers first time you may wish to offer an introductory price, they say a month dog walking for half price, or you can offer a goody bag customers first.
Although I never did pay extra for services such as feeding a dog or give them a pill some of the dogs they charge for extras. If you have to return home later to do these things then by all means pay them as you use more gas.
The next thing you want to do is set up your books. You will need a billing system to bill your customers. I used the Quick Books and turnover at the end of each month. I sent them an invoice with all the dates are entered their dog. Okay, where is that appointment book? I go through the book for each customer and make a bill. Most of the time that will be billing after the fact. Customers may need to cancel during the month so billing after just makes more sense.
You will need another set of books (Book of tax) of your income and expenses. This is where you write down the mileage from the booklet, every route that you have bought, the money spent on gas, sun block, trash bags, of course, your start up kit and anything else you buy that helps you manage your company. You can also write off walking shoes. I recommend getting a tax preparer who has experience in doing business taxes. If you run your business out of a home office you can be deleted ten percent of the mortgage, rent and utilities. Please list all income and all or expenses, with receipts saved (I keep all my receipts in a basket), use them when I do my books and then store them in my accordion file per month.
you will definitely want insurance. There are some companies that can help, but a broker that can connect up much easier. business insurance can be expensive, but it's much better than losing everything you have worked for if something tragic happens. Do not be afraid in all my years of travel I have never had to use my insurance once.
There are plenty of ways to advertise but word of mouth will always be your best resource. Visit the area condominium and apartment complexes that take pets. Wear the company shirt to go talk to the manager the complex. Tell them what your business is and ask them if you can advertise on the whole. They will welcome you, because they do not want the dogs messing in their units. Ask them if you can leave your business cards to put in the new residents packets. Also see if you put some business cards in their common room, laundry room or near the mailboxes.
Another good place to get customers is business-residential complex. corporate housing is where companies put new employees until they can not get transferred. These complexes often take pets. You can be the person who receives them to the territory and at the same time take a load off their mind to walk their dogs on the move. Know you will be a relief for them, how can you be a wealth of information to them, such as giving them the names of local veterinarians and groomers.
Other good resource is local veterinarians. Ask them if you can put your business cards on their front desk (always provide their business card holder). Tell them that when you get new clients will be referred to them. It is a win-win situation. Your pet store is another good avenue for advertising. Laundries and anywhere else that has a bulletin board are good advertising resources. Always carry business cards with you. Strike up conversations with people. Let them know what. You always want to be prepared.
If you have your dog take your dog to the park in the evening or on weekends and talk to every dog owner there. Tell them about your services and give them a business card. Let them know what physical shape of their dog means to you.
If you live in a tourist area visiting local hotel that accepts pets. A lot of people bring their pets on vacation and would definitely pay to have their pet walking if they are going to be out all day. Visit hotel manager and give them some of your business cards and door hangers. If you asked the hotel employee can only deliver their hotel patron of a hook at check-in. Again the hotel owner does not want messing dogs in their rooms.
Always make a client visit before taking the responsibility of walking a dog. You want to meet the dog so you know when you show up at the door for their first walk. Let the customer to complete and sign the release form. Meanwhile down on the floor and interact with the new customer.
You want to try a new customer. More information on all of their peculiarities, they are social with other dogs, with people, what they are afraid, they do ride camera in place, have their toy or treat aggressive? You'll want to have all these questions answered before taking the dog out of his first walk. I had a dog who was terrified of garbage trucks. To avoid putting him in a situation where he had come face to face with a garbage truck I took him to the park. Be sensitive to their phobias. They are like children in your care and you want their experience to be enjoyable.
Do not be afraid to ask the customer what they expect of you. Some may ask you to leave a light on how the owner comes home after dark. Still others may want to turn on the TV so that the dog company. You may need to change the potty pads if they are dirty. You will get all kinds of requests. Always, always change the dog's water bowl if you are asked to or not.
Some owners use alarms. There is nothing worse than to set off the alarm on the first day. The alarm is blaring a howling dog and the neighbors came running up to see what is wrong. Then the local police go up and you have to explain why you are there. I speak from experience. Ask about alarms and get the code before you start. Gated communities are another problem. You will need a way to enter. Some other places have a gate code will need a gate opener. Get all these issues out of the way ahead of time so there are no surprises on your first day.
Your task is to get your dog client out for some exercise and a banal break during the day. Each walk will be different, but every walk should last at least a half hour. There are some ways to get your exercise time. You can walk each dog individually, or you can take a load of dogs to a dog park for an hour and let them run off leash. If you do take them to a dog park to remember to be responsible for them. They must be supervised at all times. If the customer is not very social still try to find the walking time, recreation. For example, you can run an energetic dog up and down a hill to the added exercise, or bring a ball and let them play fetch. A geriatric dog may just need to be left out in order to be lifted, but you can still give them a half hour to be seated under a tree or giving them a massage.
will be walking dogs in all kinds of weather. One must be careful with the heat as much as inclement weather. Dogs can become hot very quickly. This is a dangerous situation for each animal. On hot days to keep exercise to a minimum. You may not want to play ball. A simple walk and then back home, if you can walk in a shady area the better. Do not walk your customer on hot pavement. Stick to sidewalks or green parks. Make sure your client has plenty of water while on the walk and then again when they return home.
Yes, you still have to walk your customers, even if it rains, however, most customers just want their dogs out for a potty break so they do not track mud into the house. Ask your customers what they want. Never walk a dog in an electrical storm. It 'a good idea to keep old towels in your kit for rainy days.
Most dogs love the snow, but once again it must be able to meet a whole series of dogs. Be aware that smaller dogs and dogs with short hair become cold more quickly than most other dogs. We may want to cut their journey in half and warm in towels when you take in them. Do not leave your dog shivering. icy roads or sidewalks are another concern. Ice and salt to dry the pads of a dog and getting stuck between your toes. It can also cause burns. Clean ice and salt from their paws when you get the customer at home. They paw wipes for this purpose.
Remember your work is very important for your customers. They feel guilty leaving behind their pet throughout the day. It makes them feel better about it. Even when they come home tired after a long day at the office their dog will be tired too. It gives the customer a sense of security. Also, what other jobs you can do where you play and get paid for it?
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