How to Start a Pet Sitting & Dog Walking Business Colorado

Steps

1. Have a goal. Know exactly what you want to accomplish. If you don?t have a defined goal, there?s no way to tell when you have successfully reached what you set out to do. Decide what you want your goal to be and then write it down. If you don?t write your goals down you will find it much more difficult to succeed.
2. Make a Plan. Write it down. Write out and read your plan daily because you will never be able to remember what you need to do to succeed.
3. Advertise verbally The more people you tell about your business, the more likely you will be to succeed. Put a flyer on the bulletin boards of book stores, coffee shops, pet stores, post offices...basically anywhere you can find a bulletin board.
   • Decide on what type of pets to cater to.
   • Do you want to limit it to dogs and cats.
   • Would you also want to sit for birds, rabbits and goldfish when their owners go on vacation.
4. Build a website. In today?s world people go straight to the Web when they want to find a product or service. The days of the phone book yellow pages is dead. Don?t ever waste your money on a listing in the yellow pages. It?s expensive and nobody uses the phone book anymore. Instead you will definitely increase you chances of success drastically by using a website.
   • Just having a website is not enough. In addition to being found your website has to tell people that you will care for and love their pets just like they do when they aren?t home.
   • People who use pet sitters really love their pets like their children and if you don?t have the right message on your website it can kill your business before it ever gets started.

Tips

• Make sure your business is organized and professional. Your customers will want to be sure you are a responsible business owner. Your first impression will be what will tell them if they can trust you with their home and pet.
• Your first impression will be your meet and greet. Here are some steps to be sure it runs smoothly:
• Show up on time and in clean clothes
• Introduce yourself to the homeowner and the pet(s).
• Sit on the floor and play with the pet a bit, but not the entire time.
• Go over your credentials and show them your insurance policy.
• Next, go over your visit details (dates, times, etc).
• You should have paperwork to record all of this on. You will need a pet sitting/dog walking service agreement (or contract) to outline your business policies to protect you and your business. You will also need a sheet to record what you are going to do while you are there.*Once you have all the paperwork filled out, you are done. Let them know you will send out a confirmation of the dates when the job gets closer.

Warnings

• Make sure you inform them of your cancellation policy. It is recommended you receive full or partial payment upfront, especially for new clients.

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