How to Start a Pet Care, Pet Grooming or Pet Supply Business
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"This is a popular field! People are needed to help with pets in a variety of areas."
Business Start-up Kit for Pet Sitters and Dog Walkers
Pet sitting can earn you a good full-time income that allows you to either work at home or offer a mobile
service.
Kristin Morrison is a nationally recognized expert in the field of pet sitting, a well known pet
business coach. She is a contributing writer for the NAPPS (National Association of Professional Pet Sitters)
and founder of the Six-Figure Pet Sitting Academy, a company committed to providing pet sitters with business
skills and information to create successful pet sitting businesses.
Kristin has coached hundreds of pet sitting business owners across the country. Now you can purchase the
same business products that have helped her and her business coaching clients create six-figure pet sitting
and dog walking businesses. You can create the same business success for your own pet sitting
business by ordering these business products that were created by a successful pet sitter for pet sitters.
Get her start-up tools >> Pet Sitting Business Start-up Kits and Forms
Dog Kennel Business |
Doggy Day Care Business
Find out how to successfully start and operate a profitable dog kennel from home.
- Choose retail products & kennel services you can offer, construction and design plans and
financing
- Licenses, regulations and permits you'll need, and important information on supplies, equipment and
wholesalers
- How much to charge, plus accounting, budgeting and bookkeeping help
- How to develop a marketing plan, advertising budget and bring in new customers
- Get it Risk-Free >> Start Your Own Dog
Kennel
NEW! How to Start a Pet Bakery
Business Learn how to turn a shoestring budget into a 6-figure income with a pet bakery
business, step by step.
Pet Business Resources:
Pet-Related Business Plans:
If you want to know how to organize and plan your business, professional business plan "templates" are
awesome, they make the process super easy. The Pet Services Association is also a good resource for networking and finding pet
business experts. Download Plans Below:
Attract Customers to Your Pet Business
If you can't find customers to buy your pet services, your business will never survive. The good news is
that finding new clients doesn't have to be hard: simply use the techniques that the experts have
learned.
Marketing Expert David Frey has been around for as long as I can remember. He has helped thousands of small
business owners find new clients (including myself).
He gives you all the information you need to find customers, get the to buy more and to keep the coming back
to purchase from you again and again. You don't have to buy lots of books, pay for expensive courses or
seminars or even hire a costly rep to promote your company. David Frey makes it easy and affordable (and even
fun) to find the customers yourself. I highly recommend his website to any small business owner starting out.
Small Business Marketing Strategies
Advertise your pet sitting service when you drive your vehicle: Free Car Door Custom Magnet
Advertise Your Pet Sitting Services
online through job network sites like MiNeeds and
Care4Hire
.
Creating a Welcome Packet for Your Pet Care Business Clients
When you're marketing your business you put a great deal of time and thought into the preparation of your
materials. You analyze every word and picture to make sure you not only portray the service you provide, but
that you entice potential clients to take action!
Once you get the call from a new client, the next piece of information they receive from you is crucial in
solidifying your relationship. Whether you use a generic contract or have one that you tailor to each
individual client is up to you - however, you need to remember that the materials you use to "seal the deal"
reflect the quality of your business and set the tone for the type of relationship you will have will your
clients.
Because I'm a not just a business owner, I'm a pet-service provider - caring for the most precious
possession my client has - I want all my paperwork to not only portray my professionalism, but the fact that my
business is run by a "real person."
I recently reviewed the professional relationships I've had with business coaches, fitness instructors and
personal chefs, and realized that they all had something in common - a Welcome Packet - not a contract. It also
occurred to me that I immediately liked working with these professionals because I felt at ease - almost like
we were working "on a handshake" instead of in a tight corporate structure. Don't get me wrong - I knew that
these welcome packets included all the same "fine print" you'd find in a contract - it just felt better.
This realization led me to the creation of my own Welcome Packet for pet-care clients. A Welcome Packet can
be an essential tool in your pet-care business; success and can set the tone for the human touch to all your
client interactions.
Here are some tips for creating and using a Welcome Packet for YOUR pet-care business.
1. Start with a welcome letter that is easy to personalize.
Include the client's and the client's pet's name in the opening paragraph. Feel free to include anything
specific you gleaned from your pre-qualifying discussion. Ex. "Dear Susan, It was a delight to talk to you
today about Fifi's puppy training regime. I certainly remember the early days with my pup and the stress I felt
trying to get home each day at lunch to let her out. Fifi's needs are really clear and I'm so glad we'll be
working together to make them happen."
The welcome letter should also tell the client briefly what information follows in the document. (Ground
rules, rate information, client profile and pet profile and anything else you will send with this initial
letter)
The letter should include a brief list of what the client should expect and have prepared for their
in-person registration meeting. (Keys, payments, completed packet)
End your letter with a personal touch by thanking them for contacting you and letting them know you look
forward to meeting them and taking care of their pet's needs. If you have set a date and time for your
registration meeting, you should include that here too.
2. The next document in your packet is your "Policies and Procedures" - which I refer to as "Ground
Rules." This is a fairly extensive document which I begin with a statement that it's important to our
relationship that they READ and UNDERSTAND all the terms included before we start doing business together.
Items that I include are:
- Fee
- Payments and Deposits
- Business Hours
- Holiday Policy and Fees
- Weekend Fees
- Cancellations
- Confidentiality
- Visit Hours
- Access to home by others
- Additional Fees (delivery, transportation)
- Emergency/Last Minute service
- Registration Fee
- Keys
- Free-roaming pets
- Pet-proofing certain areas of the home
- Safe Access (shovel walks, clear entry)
- Request for their comments and testimonials
- Referral partner statement
3. The third item or document in the Welcome Packet includes a Service Agreement.
The service agreement includes the start date of service, reiterates the rate and states that the service
can be renewed without any additional paperwork. It also states that we will complete the specific work as
requested. In essence, this is the working contract for our services.
4. The additional documents in the Welcome Packet include
- Pet Profile Form
- Client Profile Form
- Vet Release Form
- Locksmith Release form
- Pet Guardianship Form
All of these different "documents" are combined in one file that is sent, via e-mail, to new clients. We
also attach a copy of our testimonials, a referral list and a tip sheet for working with your pet-sitter with
each Welcome Packet.
The Welcome Packet itself is fairly lengthy document and you should verify with your clients that they have
DSL or cable internet access in order to receive the document. In rare cases where they do not have the ability
to receive this type of attachment, the packet is printed and presented to the client during the registration
meeting.
Our clients continue to tell us how much they enjoy working with us - and that they knew from our first
"official" interaction that we would have a good fit - because while they could tell we knew the "business"
side of pet-care, it was clear that we understood the "human" side too!
About The Author Peggie Arvidson-Dailey, the owner of Peggie's Pet Services, LLC and the founder of
the Pet-Care Business Success System and The Pet Care Business Success University helps pet-care business
owners throughout the US, Canada, UK and Australia find and book the best clients, make more money and still
have MORE time for their lives! For more information on the Pet-Care Business Success University and to
subscribe to The Pet-Care Business Success Shortcuts E-zine visit www.peggiespets.com/wst_page9.html. The monthly e-zine includes tips and information on
the best ways to run a successful pet-care business and is the only FREE e-zine and information source
exclusively for pet-care business owners. peggie@peggiespets.com
2,000 Business Plans
