Pet Sitting & Dog Walking As Home Businesses
For those who like pets, there are opportunities to develop a home business taking care of them for owners who are away on a trip or simply at work during the day. No, you don’t need to have them at your home…although that’s a possibility. Read further.
Research a bit into the various opportunities available. Use your imagination and ingenuity.
- I chatted with a classmate at a reunion and discovered that she and a friend care for cats when the owners are away. They used to care for dogs, too. But they decided cats were easier. They didn’t have to walk them in all kinds of weather.
- I’ve heard of a young woman who does walk dogs. She meets the owners at intervals at a dog park, walks the dogs, then takes them home.
- Another woman operates a doggy daycare at her home. She has a barn and yard. Her clients leave the dogs for the day or longer and she cares for them, exercises them, and even will groom them.
- Grooming dogs is another possible business. I’ve heard of a number of people who operate from a van specially set up with grooming equipment. They drive to appointments or have customers bring the dogs to their home for grooming.
- Add other types of pets to this…guinea pigs, rabbits, fish, turtles, etc.
Just as when you’re setting up any type of business, you’ll need to decide upon the price you’ll charge to make it worthwhile, find out what people will pay in your area, learn what supplies/equipment you’ll need and determine whether you need to carry any type of insurance.
Do you have any pet related business stories to share?
(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen
Tags: business idea, dog walking, home-+-biz-+-notes, home-business, Mary-+-Emma-+-Allen, pet grooming, pet sittingShare This
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2 opinions for Pet Sitting & Dog Walking As Home Businesses
Lindsay
Oct 25, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Dog walking can be quite lucrative if you live in an urban area with off-leash parks.
I have met several full-time dog walkers when I’ve been at the park with my guys. They have anywhere from 6-11 dogs with them and get paid about $20 per dog per day (this is in the Seattle area). You did need a big van or something in order to pick up the dogs at the owners’ houses, but if you do it on this scale, you can see the potential for earnings.
There’s also an outfit in Seattle that does one-on-one dog “jogs” (6 miles leash runs for high energy dogs). It’s a neat twist on the niche. Their site is http://www.jogsfordogs.com/ if anyone wants to check them out.
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Oct 27, 2008 at 7:08 am
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