Pet Sitting Careers One of 10 Best Home Businesses

According to self-employment experts Paula and Sarah Edwards, Pet Sitting ranks as one of the 10 Best Home Businesses for the 21st century. If you want to start a Pet Sitting business, you'll find it has low start-up costs, low stress and is remarkably easy to enter.

What the Business Involves:
Many pet owners don't like leaving their cherished animals alone or in unfamiliar surroundings. Pet Sitters come into their clients' homes to feed their pets, walk them and play with them while their owners are away. Ofttimes, someone with a Pet Sitting career performs additional tasks involving making the house look "lived in" in other ways (bringing in the mail, turning lights on and off, et cetera.) You're normally paid by the day, with higher fees paid for more visits per day.

Knowledge or Skills Required:
You need to like animals and understand basic pet care techniques. Otherwise, being dependable, punctual and having reliable transportation are the "biggies." It's helpful to have an extra leash or two, a flashlight, some pet treats and cleanup supplies (for the inevitable "accident." Pets are like kids; they're accident-prone!)

Advantages:

Growing demand

Little training or equipment needed

Very rewarding to see pets and their owners happy once again

Disadvantages:

Your busiest times will be holidays and weekends, times when you may want to take a vacation or be with your family, too.

Unless you set specific geographic limits, your time and money may be spent on too much driving.

Need for liability insurance and bonding (although according to expert Dave Grass, author of "Start Your Own Professional Pet-Sitting Service", costs at minimal if you join one of the pet sitting organizations that offer group rates).

Resources for More Information on Pet Sitting Careers

Pet Sitters International

National Association of Professional Pet Sitters
Pet Sitting Business Manual

Pet Sitting Business Manual
There is much more to professional pet sitting than simply walking and playing with your client's pets. You will soon learn the secrets to one of today's fastest growing pet businesses!

Here are just some of the topics covered this manual:

-How to attract and keep new clients
-How to determine if a market exists in your area
-Advertising and Marketing
-Proper safety for the pets in your care
-How to make sure your business is profitable
-Getting started: How much capital is required?
-Other services you can offer which increase your income
-Much, much more... Order now for $39.95, money-back guarantee

"Start Your Own Professional Pet-Sitting Service", book by Dave Grass

Comments/Ideas:
Your Pet Sitting Career will flourish if you specialize in certain breeds or types of animals. And make sure you never, ever violate a clients' privacy by gossiping about how dirty the house was or the objectionable pictures in the teens' bedroom.

And it will help your Pet Sitting Business (and your own peace of mind) if you know a bit about pet health - at least enough to be able to tell if anything is wrong with Rover or Fifi. An excellent electronic book is available, Veterinary Secrets Revealed

Another tip: Once you've set up your business, register your business at Pet-Sitters so that potential customers can find you! Some good advice at this site, too.

Pet Business Central:

How to Choose, Start, Market & Grow a Business in the Booming Pet Industry - FAST!

Pet Sitting Careers One of 10 Best Home Businesses