A pet sitting business can be a rewarding business to run, especially for animal lovers. With a few simple steps, you can make a great income from this type of business.
To start a pet sitting or dog walking service requires a much smaller investment and number of business set up steps than other types of business. Once you have the legal requirements like insurance and licenses in place, you can start taking bookings. There is no required qualification for pet sitting or dog walking, however experience is necessary with caring for animals, even if this is just having owned your own dog.
To create a successful business from pet sitting or dog walking, the most important thing is to be professional and have credibility. To do this, you can ensure you have training, insurance association membership and CRB checks.
Here are a few important things to consider before starting a pet sitting or dog walking business:
1. You Must be an Animal Lover
To make a pet sitting job successful, you must love animals. Most of your time will be spent with other people’s pets so a love of animals is essential.
2. Get a Qualification
Getting qualified will help your business to have an advantage over others. A Pet sitting and dog walking training course is a great way of educating yourself and allow you to gain credibility. This will show you are a professional business when marketing your services, earning you a good reputation and respect in the industry.
3. Maintain a Physical Fitness
To be a pet sitter, you should be physically fit. Dog walking and animal care can be physically demanding, not just whilst walking, but also cleaning up after a dog, and being on your feet a lot.
4. Get Insured for Pet Sitting
If any incidents or accidents occur such as a pet getting injured or getting lost in your care, then you’re financially responsible for all this. These financial burdens can include expensive medical bills, legal costs and any compensation claims. Having a Pet sitter or dog walker insurance will protect your company’s financial well-being in the event of a loss. You must ensure that you are insured properly for if claims happen.
4. Set Boundaries
Business Owners often think that getting more clients is better, so they end up compromising on their boundaries. However, it is very important within the Pet Sitting and Dog Walking industry to maintain boundaries to protect yourself and your business reputation. If you choose to only care for small dogs, don’t accept a booking for a large dog that you know you will not enjoy. If a customer has an aggressive dog, think about the damage that could do to your reputation if the dog was to attack another dog or person whilst under your control. A good reputation will ensure a large customer base once you are established.
5. Have a Policy for Handling Pet Emergencies
Pet emergencies can happen anytime and anywhere. You need to be prepared well in advance, even pet owners look for assurance and trust someone who can handle pet emergencies professionally. Knowing basic pet-related first aid skills and what to do when things go beyond your medical know-how is important when becoming a professional pet sitter. Take a professional pet sitting or dog walking course to expand your knowledge about how to deal with these situations.
If you’re wondering how to start-your pet sitting or dog walking service, NarpsUK can provide you with all the support you need to run your business successfully.
The National Association for Pet sitters and dog walkers hosts a series of unique and comprehensive online pet sitting courses. By taking up their course, you can gain credibility and professionalism, earn respect, gain a competitive advantage, have a justification of charging higher prices than the industry average. To know more, visit us at NarpsUK Ltd.
