5 Ways to Expand Your Pet Sitting and Dog Walking Business The new book, Start Your Own Pet Business, details easy ways to add new revenue streams to your biz.
By Dan Bova
In Rich Mintzer's new book, Start Your Own Pet Business, the author expertly outlines everything you need to know to successfully launch a pet-based business. In this excerpt, we'll look at ways to bring in new revenue streams that go beyond walking or sitting more furry clients.
Offer more services
If you really know your way around a pooch, these are some services that most dog owners are always in need of:
- Grooming
- Taxi service to veterinary and grooming appointments
- Obedience training
Those are just a few of the possibilities. The good news about most of that list, and about a lot of services, is that your business incurs little in the way of additional costs per service. Typically, the cost to you is in time and perhaps a few supplies. Your real costs are in obtaining your own education and then any additional equipment you need to provide the service. It's not likely all your customers will want to avail themselves of your new services, but some will. And voila! You've expanded
Selling products
The other way you can expand is to be a reseller of products that your existing customers might need. Many pet-related service providers find a product they really like and use on their own animals and then become a dealer for that product — certain kinds of leashes or collars, shampoo products, nutritional supplements, etc. This can be a great way to sell because your personal enthusiasm for the product comes across in a sincere way. Or you may find that your customers use some everyday products you could sell. This makes your customers' lives a little easier and makes you some profit.
Some considerations for selling products:
- Products have an upfront cost associated with them. Many companies require their dealers to buy a certain quantity each month to keep their dealership status and to
- get the discount that you'll need to make a profit on the item.
- You need to have room to warehouse your supplies. With food, this warehousing can be very specific in terms of rodent-proofing.
- Rather than trying to offer everything under the sun, find a niche market or a way to personalize the products. Perhaps you can provide customized frames and offer to print some of the million photos of poochie they have on their phone.
Related: Dive deeper with Start Your Own Pet Business on sale now
Night Watch or Off-Hour Feeding
Just because an animal hospital or pet store is closed does not mean the animals don't need care. If you live in a populated enough area where several veterinary offices or pet stores are located, you may be able to make a whole business of off-hour service. This service could involve being the regular off-hour caretaker on certain days of the week. Or you could provide backup when the regular staff is sick or away. Care probably includes feeding, cleaning cages, and perhaps providing a bit of exercise to the animals. It definitely includes checking on each animal and reporting to the appropriate person if any animal seems unwell.
Doggie Day-Care Service
A new service that is becoming even more popular: doggie daycare. Working dog owners are using doggie daycare facilities like never before. It's essentially multiple pet-sitting in one place of your choice. These facilities are intended for a working dog owner to drop off their dog in the morning and pick up the dog at the end of the workday. For this to go smoothly, you need to consider a number of things:
- You will need play areas for the dogs. Actually, depending on the number of dogs you plan to take in at once, you'll probably need several play areas. Not all dogs get along, and you want to sort them into groups that play well together.
- The dogs need time to relax and take a break from playing with their buddies. You'll need nap areas that are comfortable places to snooze, are warm in winter and cool in summer.
- If you want to offer the best daycare, you should have a covered or indoor play area
- so dogs can play in any weather.
- This is not likely to be a business you will set up in your home. The liabilities, zoning laws, and so many other factors make it impractical unless you are only looking after two or three dogs. If you want to watch the herd, you'll need to rent space. Then the question you'll need to ask yourself is whether you can get enough regular clients to cover the costs of renting a space. Crunch the numbers carefully before moving forward; start out with three dogs at your house and see if you really want to branch out.
Offer classes
You may be able to expand your business at least a little by offering classes in pet care, pet first aid, basic obedience training, or other kinds of training. You'll need to find a space that allows classes with pets to be conducted. Teaching can be a fun adjunct to your business, and it can bring in business as well! Plan your presentation in advance, practice, show your enthusiasm for pets as well as the subject you're teaching. You should probably first try training some dogs for your clients free of charge until you get the hang of it. Once you feel you are proficient, you can start charging modest fees with new clients to also help them train their dogs. You should include some one-on-one work with the owner and the dog together. You can give private lessons or run a class—but you'd better be good at it. If you develop a reputation for successfully training dogs, you can make good money. People will pay $30 to $80 per class for dog training, so it might be worthwhile to hone your skills.
Related: Pet Lovers, Here's How to Get Your Dream Business or Side Hustle Started
Other Home-Related Services
Extra services over and above feeding, cleaning cat litter boxes, and letting dogs out can bring in extra money from additional fees and create more of an appeal for your services. They can also attract new customers. Pet owners hiring a pet sitter are pleased to know that the same person is also willing to bring in the mail, water the plants, turn a few lights on or off, and generally help give the home the appearance of being occupied.
