Re: [RC] Increasing Income--Petsitting! - Karla Watson
I was a professional petsitter for over 5 years.
250 regular clients with keys on file and another 300+ clients per year. I
specialized in cats who were easier and only required 1x visit, as opposed to
the 2-3x day visits with dogs and other higher maintenance pets. People paid
more for my services cause I was the cat specialist. I wore sweat pants and
enjoyed talking to kitty cats all day long. It was a very fantastic business
that I sold for quite a bit of $$ when I was done. My clients (cats) were always
happy to see me and it was fun to see so the inside of many people's homes.
Make sure you get licensed (city license), bonded
(easy & inexpensive but makes people feel good) & insured (basic
liability insurance). You do NOT want to do this even part time without
liability insurance! I can't tell you the number of times weird things happened
to people's homes while I was taking care of their pets or the pets that
suddenly got sick that I didn't want to be blamed for. (I have some
GOOD stories!) There is a National Petsitting Association (www.petsitters.org) and other
great resources. Also make sure you get a yellow page ad. They are very valuable
in helping you build your business. I got 8-25 calls per week from my little ad.
The downside of petsitting....when you become
successful, which happens really quick if you are good, you will work 7 days a
week most of the year. On Christmas day its typical to be doing 10-18 pet rounds
a day. That sucks. And you rarely have a day off. Weekends are your busiest and
holidays are complete madness. You must love being in your car as you will live
in it. You quickly find out that going to a job 2-3x day is really crazy. You
never are done with your day and the evening traffic is not fun to drive from
place to place. It really works well for a single person for a couple without
kids.
But it was perfect for when I wanted a part time
income when my kids were little but it quickly grew into a very full time job.
But it is easy and super fun. Sometimes I miss
it terribly. Just don't miss the 7 day work week year round. It was really hard
on my family.
------------Karla Watson.....now hairstylist only
5 days/week, then petsitter of "Home Sweet Home Cat Sitting"/Portland,
Oregon
A guy in our area started an at home business, it's grown so big, he can
hardly handle the demand, in fact, he turns down business because he's
unwilling to grow the business any larger than what he and his wife can
handle. They pet sit, horses mostly, but when you're on vacation, they
will also water plants, pick up mail, change lights, etc. They charge
$40 per day, and come out twice in the day. Not enough in my opinion,
especially with fuel prices, taking one large dog in to be boarded is almost
that much. He's reliable, the horses like him and he comes out prior to
the time needed and writes up a list of what needs to be done. Bad
thing, he's in huge demand on holidays and weekends, but if one wanted a good
income, it's definitely an option.
