Skip to main content

Become the Visionary of Your Pet Sitting Business

When I first started my pet sitting business, I was going through the motions. I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t have the slightest clue what I wanted to create. I would go day by day by day, and I pretty much flew by the seat of my pants for about a good five years… until this concept was introduced to me.

You think, well, of course, I know what I want to create, but most people don’t.

Today I want you to get clear on exactly what it is that you want to create in terms of your business.

#1 What is your vision for success?

It would be best if you get crystal clear on what you want to create in your business. You need to close your eyes, and you need to think about it.
– How much revenue do you want to generate?
– How many clients do you want to service?
– What services do you want to offer?
– How many team members do you want?
– What role do you want to play? CEO, Manager, Pet Sitter, Dog Walker etc.

Become a Visionary of Your Pet Sitting Business


Close your eyes and visualize in your mind what your successful business looks like.

For me, I created this business where I was the bottleneck, and I was working 7 days a week, 365 days a year, living in other people’s houses. I got clear on the freedom that I wanted, and I visualized the business to give me freedom.

And then I felt what that was going to feel like. That is part of it. It is not only seeing what you want to create in your life and your business, but feeling how it feels now and being grateful for it now, and trusting that it will come to you in the future.

#2. Create a daily practice of closing your eyes, painting a picture in your mind of what your future success looks like.

We are all creators of our own lives. What we think about and what we feel is creating the reality we live in. We’re manifesting stuff daily, and we can do it more powerfully, effectively, and intentionally if we connect with it and take small steps to get a little closer every day. Commit just 5 minutes every day to visualize what it is that you’re trying to create.

#3. Believe with the conviction that your vision for success is yours for the taking.

Trust in knowing that it’s on its way to you. Believe whole-heartedly that it’s on its way to you. You have to get yourself in a place where you believe that you can achieve your goals with absolute certainty, that it’s your destiny and your reality. Feel like success is already yours and on its way into your life.

Get clear on what you want, tune in with the vision every single day, and believe with conviction that it’s yours for the taking.

Enter your first name and email address below to receive our Wildly Successful Pet Sitting Business Plan Workbook

 

Privacy Policy: We promise to protect your privacy and we will NEVER share your email address.

Email Marketing Ideas for Your Pet Sitting Business

I get a lot of pushback with regards to email marketing. Most of my students don’t use an email autoresponder like MailChimp, Active Campaign, or Infusionsoft in their pet sitting business.

They say, “I don’t want to be pushy. I don’t want to send emails.”

I get that. I used not to like it either, and it made me feel uncomfortable.

QUOTE - Email Marketing Ideas for Your Pet Sitting Business


Thus, this is why people and business owners should have an email strategy in place in their business. Today, I want to go through different email marketing types you can implement in your pet sitting business.

Have a welcome email.

When you sign up with a new customer, you want to have an email that shows them exactly who you are, easy to follow steps and systems to go through to onboard them to your company.

They will now know who you are, how you do business, what their responsibility is as a customer and your responsibility as the business owner.

I’ve had many welcome emails that I keep making better as time goes on. A welcome email is one of the easiest ones you can start with. Have a welcome email to open your arms and welcome your new customers to your pet-sitting business.

Offer an educational email.

You’re keeping in touch with your customer base, or your customer prospects, to stay top of mind with them so that when they are ready to buy or are willing to schedule service, you’re going to be the first person they think of. You do this by offering value and educating them.

Think of what you can send to your customer prospects and customers that would make them think like, “Wow, that’s an excellent email.”

Think of anything newsworthy in the pet sitting industry. Think about cross-promotions with other pet businesses in your area. Would your customer love a $30 coupon to a local pet store?

You and these businesses can work together and cross-promote, educate, and provide value to the people on your email list.

Think of different, fun ways. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. What would my customer find value in? And if I were the customer, what would I like to see in my inbox?

Write promotional emails.

You’re allowed to promote yourself and your business. You are in business to make money.

“Hey, Christmas is coming up. Are you headed out of town for vacation? I would love to take care of your pets. Here’s a pop-up sale we’re doing. Book your summer services now. Pay in full, and you’re going to get $39 off your service order.” So on and so forth.

Don’t be shy about promoting yourself, even with social media.

Create triggered or transactional emails.

You are offering a free download, a free PDF, a free coupon. When a potential client sees those and they say, “Yes, I want that. Here’s my first name and email.” boom, an automation kick in.

You don’t have to go home and say, “Ooo, I have to send this person that asked for this PDF, the PDF when I get home.” It just happens automatically.

Use lead nurturing emails.

When someone does raise their hand and says, “Yes, I want what you have to offer on your website,” you want to have a campaign set up where you are nurturing them.

You are letting them know, “Hey, this is who I am. These are my pet care values. These are the paying points that I help solve for my customers.”

You always want to speak to the benefit and outcomes that your customer prospects will get by choosing your pet-sitting service.

You can easily do this in a well thought out, nurture sequence. Your customer prospects can get, let’s say, four to five emails from you, one a day, and each of those emails is going to help move them along the process to them becoming a paying customer because you’re the only logical choice. That’s what that lead nurture sequence does for you.

Create re-engagement emails.

Often, we have these pet-sitting clients come, sign up, and use us. We don’t hear from them again.

You can do different re-engagement campaigns to offer a big high-value coupon if they book service within the next two weeks.

You could say, “Hey, Christine. I haven’t heard from you in quite some time. Here is a 40% off coupon that you can use towards your next service. If you sign up by…”.

You want to add scarcity, so put a deadline date in, and then that is going to re-engage them. One, to become active on your list because they’re taking action within the email. Your email service provider is going to say, “Okay, this person’s active.” Then, they’re also going to book service, and you want to get them re-engaged with your company. You want to nurture them again, and you want to stay top of mind with them.

That is email marketing 101 in a nutshell. Don’t be fearful about it.

You can check out MailChimp; if you want to get started to test this out on your own. It’s free for the first 2000 subscribers. Then you can choose one of these emails to implement in your business.

Take action, and then really think out an email marketing campaign for your business. Because email marketing works.

Hey there, Newbie Pet Sitter! Are you feeling stuck or overwhelmed with starting your pet sitting business? Fret no longer, my friend. I’ve got ya covered!

Enter Your Info Below to Download The Complete Checklist For Starting a Pet Sitting Business!

 

Privacy Policy: We promise to protect your privacy and we will NEVER share your email address.

How to Manage Your Pet Sitter’s Lack of Response Time

I’m doing a follow-up to a video I did a few weeks ago, wherein I gave a tip to include due dates when requesting things from your team of pet sitters or customers.

I received a follow-up question from a community member.

“Colleen, I loved that video. I implemented it immediately. However, I still heard crickets from my staff of pet sitters. What would be your next step? Or what consequences would you institute if this happened to you?”

I would call a meeting with the said sitter and say, “I sent you this email on this date. I gave you this due date. Number one, I never received an acknowledgment. Number two, you did not turn in the video by said date. Why is that?”

Then you listen to their response.

QUOTE - How to Manage Your Pet Sitter's Lack of Response Time


You don’t want to be that person, just the talking head. Take time and listen to what they have to say.

Then I’d say, “Okay. A requirement for this position is I need this video to create a trust factor for our customer prospects. I also need you to respond to me when I request something from you. I’m going to ask you, is this still a position you are interested in doing?”

If they say, “Yes, absolutely,” say,

“Okay, wonderful. But moving forward, I’m setting this boundary, which is the personal responsibility that I’m requesting from you. This is how we do business around here. You ignoring my emails is no longer going to fly.”

If they say, “No, this isn’t actually for me,” you are better off.

Think of it this way. Let’s say your customer left a last-minute note. They’re running out the door, and they said, “Oh shoot, there are two new plants by the slider. I need to have the sitter water them.”

Do you want a sitter to be like, “I don’t know if I’m going to do that today. I don’t feel like it.”?

No, of course not. That is pretty much what that sitter did to your professional email, requesting a video from them and giving them a duty. They blatantly ignored you.

Now, it may have fallen through the cracks. There may be a reason. With this specific situation, people are often nervous in front of the camera, and instead of telling you that, they may have just tried to ignore it.

This isn’t a total deal-breaker. It would be best if you instituted what you’re going to allow and set the stage for what you expect from your team of pet sitters.

If they explain, “I’m just really nervous about being in the camera,” give them helpful tips and tricks.

If they say, “No, this position isn’t for me,” you’re better off. That is how I would personally handle it. It doesn’t have to be a contentious conversation.

It could be a friendly conversation. “You’re amazing. I love how my customers love you, and the pets love you. But here’s the deal. I am the owner of this company, and I need to know when I send you a request for something that you, one, acknowledge and, two, get back to me in a timely fashion. If that’s not going to work, then this business relationship isn’t going to work.

I hope that makes sense and you find that helpful.

Enter your first name and email address below to download our Team Expansion Tool Kit
It’s 100% FREE!

Privacy Policy: We promise to protect your privacy and we will NEVER share your email address.

Direction & Control if Using ICs as Pet Sitters

People have strong feelings about using pet sitting independent contractors as employees. I have much information on this subject that I want to share about this as long as nobody emails me or posts crazy things.

I successfully built a high six-figure business, using independent contractors for 17 years. I switched to employees in 2018 because I kept getting audited. They kept coming for me, and I kept winning the audits.

The last time they came for me, they said just one year after I’d already won the previous audit that no record of that audit and that they were going to do it again. It was an exhausting situation, and I didn’t feel like fighting it anymore. I just wanted the monkey off my back. Thus, I let this win, and I switched to employees.

And it’s been great.

There hasn’t been a big difference. I do team meetings, they do marketing for me, and they can have car magnets (not that I use car magnets. If I wanted to, I could have them do that). Employees get the perk of getting benefits now, which they appreciate.

Direction & Control if Using ICs as Pet Sitters


Understanding the direction and control aspect of using pet sitting independent contractors and ensuring you create the correct framework will help you when you get audited.

Your clients direct and control your pet sitting independent contractors.

Your clients ask them to be there at a specific time and have outlined the pet care plan for the independent contractor to fulfill. You are simply the connector between the IC and your client.

This setup is how I won all the audits that I went through. I went through the 20 point checklist as well, had everything set up correctly, etc. You can ask employees to use car magnets, wear clothes with your logo, etc.

If people are using IC’s, I believe it’s their choice and great if you’re using employees.

Enter your first name and email address below to download our Team Expansion Tool Kit
It’s 100% FREE!

Privacy Policy: We promise to protect your privacy and we will NEVER share your email address.

2 Ways to Manage Your Money in Your Pet Sitting Business

When I started getting good at business doing marketing and the money started coming in for my pet sitting business, it was a super stressful time because I had no money management in place.

I’m super excited to chat with you today about my two favorite ways to manage your money.

#1 Hire a professional.

An accountant can guide you by setting up budgets for your business that can help you write things off for your business, keep track of monthly numbers, tell you if you’re on point, and can do your tax returns at the end of the year.

It is hard to figure this out all by yourself. Being an entrepreneur is like a full-contact sport. You need to know so much, but this is not one of those things.

2 Ways to Manage Your Money in Your Pet Sitting Business

 

#2 Create simple money systems.

When you do this, your business will scale quicker. A simple money system I suggest doing is checking your income daily. What you track grows. It’s a universal law.

Another system you can do is do your weekly allocations. Each week you’re going to allocate a percentage to your operating expenses, your tax account or the governor’s money accounts, to your profit account, and your owner’s pay.

You already know how much money is coming in percentage-wise, what you’re allocating to each of those accounts. And then guess what?

At the end of the year when taxes are due, you’re not going to have the midnight sweats like I used to have. “Oh, am I going to be able to pay the taxman?”

Now I think it’s super fun. I love logging in. I love seeing it. I love that it’s all organized, I love that I have a great relationship with my accountant, who helps and guides me to create these systems in my business so that I can enjoy my life and all the money that I’m creating in my life.

Enter your first name and email address below to receive our Wildly Successful Pet Sitting Business Plan Workbook

 

Privacy Policy: We promise to protect your privacy and we will NEVER share your email address.

Work Smarter Not Harder In Your Pet Sitting Business

Are you still working too many hours in your business?

Every day in my free Facebook group, the Pet Nanny Coach Community, I post a tip of the day to help you grow your pet sitting business.

Last week one of the tips was to get seven to nine hours of sleep at night. It’s not groundbreaking advice, but most of us don’t do it.

However, I was surprised by the responses. Some people said, “Huh, tell the dogs that.” Some people said, “Yeah, right.”

But one specific comment stuck out. A member of our community said that following my advice to hustle and work hard on your business means that she works from 5.00 AM to 11.00 PM every day, leaving absolutely no time to get even seven hours of sleep a night.

I teach working less and making more

And I thought this is not at all what I teach my students.
Yes, I want you to hustle. Yes, I want you to take action. Yes, I want you to implement all these amazing business strategies in your business.
But that does not mean working from 5:00 AM to 11:00 PM!  As a lifestyle that is going to cause burnout and most likely is going to cause you to quit.
It’s not sustainable. And I know because I lived it for five years.
What I teach is working less and making more.
The more you work in your business (rather than on your business) the less money you’re going to make because there’s only so many hours a day that you can trade for dollars which puts a glass ceiling over your head.
Work Smarter Not Harder In Your Pet Sitting Business
But when you leverage yourself through a team of heart-centered pet care professionals that will take exceptional care of your clients’ pets, the sky is truly the limit in how big you can grow your business.
I teach my clients how to get more clients, make more money, and have more freedom.
Freedom is an integral part of what I teach. Your business is supposed to add to your life, to give you a lucrative income stream and provide the time to be able to do the things that you love.

Grow a pet sitting business that serves you

Freedom comes from team building and creating systems and processes in your business, which is what I teach in my Multiply Mastermind program.
My tip today for you, my friends, is to start thinking about how you can work smarter and not harder.
How you can get out of the day-to-day grind, trading hours for dollars, and how you can grow an exceptional, awesome business that serves you, serves your life and gives you the freedom to enjoy your life. Because that is what I want for all of you.

Enter your first name and email address below to download our Team Expansion Tool Kit
It’s 100% FREE!

Privacy Policy: We promise to protect your privacy and we will NEVER share your email address.

5 Reasons Why Your Pet Sitting or Dog Walking Client Prospects Back Out

Sometimes it happens that you have a wonderful conversation with a pet sitting prospect. They are super excited about using your pet sitting or dog walking service and then for what seems like no reason what so ever they back out. You’re left confused thinking, “what happened?”

Any of us who have been in the pet sitting industry knows that this happens often. Sometimes, there is nothing you can do about it, but it’s definitely worth examining.

In my personal experiences it boils down to the following:

#1. Simply put, he or she may not be your ideal dog walking or pet sitting client.

Be honest with yourself, sometimes your gut tells you that this person is going to be difficult, but you ignore your inner voice and decide to sign them up anyhow because you need the money. We’ve all done it and we all have regretted it.

#2. They’re not convinced of the VALUE that you’re dog walking business is offering.

As compared to our competition, my pet sitting service Pet Nanny, offers immense VALUE to our clients. We’ve gone above and beyond to make our service stand out. We truly care about our clients and their pets and will give them nothing but the very best that pet care has to offer. Sometimes a pet sitting prospect may not see the value that you are trying to portray. They think, “pet sitting services are a dime a dozen. It doesn’t matter who I hire, I’ll still get the same result.” In this case you may be speaking too much about processes and not the RESULTS that they receive from using your service… complete and total peace of mind. Attempt to shift some of the things that you are saying in your get acquainted call to focus on the RESULTS that they will receive from using your awesome service.

#3. They’re concerned about the money.

We all know that there are a million pet sitting businesses out there and we also know that there are many that greatly undercut the prices of the more professional services to try and gain clients. Again, the money issue is usually based on the fact that your pet sitting prospect does not see the VALUE in what you are offering. Examine how you are presenting this to your prospects. Just remember, there are some people out there that are bargain shoppers no matter what and guess what… they are NOT your ideal client. There are also some people that may not be able to afford your service. Pet ownership is can be a hefty expense and if they can’t afford your top-notch service than wish them the best of luck and perhaps refer a less expensive service to them.

#4. People want it to be easy.

Make it as easy as you possibly can for pet sitting or dog walking clients to sign-up and use your services. If there is too much hoopla involved, they may move on due to frustration. So, examine your processes and streamline as much as you possibly can to make it as simple and easy as possible.

#5. He or she is the last minute customer that suddenly realizes they have weekend plans but nobody to watch their pets.

I have devoted an entire blog article to this issue. These people call every service in town trying to find someone to help. You then jump through hoops to help them out. Then, when you call them back they say, “awww… thanks, but my Mom is going to watch them.” DO NOT waste your time with these people. I don’t take any reservations for new clients unless I have 3 solid days to process them. 9 times out of 10 these last minute callers will not be your “ideal client” and if they do end up using you that weekend, you most likely will not hear from them again. Trust me on this one. I’ve made this mistake countless times.

pet sitting prospect

Your Homework Assignment: Spend some time and examine feedback from clients that have backed out. Make a list. What are they saying? Is there anything that can be changed?

If it’s a value issue than it’s time to change the way you are speaking to prospects and perhaps changes need to be made in your marketing materials to convey the VALUE you offer and the RESULTS that your clients receive.

Howdy, Pet Lover! Are you struggling with attracting new clients to your pet sitting business? Would you like to have a consistent pipeline of new clients coming to your business? Well, wait no longer, my friend. Grab my FREE report, 125 Ways To Get More Pet Sitting Clients. This resource is 100% FREE and is my gift to you. Enjoy!
  •  

YES! Send Me The Complete Checklist of 125 ways to get more PET SITTING CLIENTS!

 

Privacy Policy: We promise to protect your privacy and we will NEVER share your email address.

My #1 Pet Sitting Business Success Secret

Are you ready to hear my number one pet sitting business secret?

It’s something available to anyone starting a pet sitting business and was the one thing I did that really boosted my business and got me to where I am today.

So, if you’ve been reading my blog for a while you know that at the beginning of my business journey I was pretty miserable.

Working around the clock for clients that I hated, I almost quit. In fact, I almost went into pharmaceutical sales!

After having many long conversations with my husband and my parents, I decided not to quit but to go all-in.

A business coach is like a roadmap to success

Almost miraculously, just as I’d made that decision this person stepped into my life out of nowhere.

Her name is Fabienne Fredrickson, a business coach who came to speak at a pet sitting conference in Philadelphia.

Immediately I thought. “This is who I want to work with. I want to hire this woman to teach me how to have a successful business.”

I came home and told my husband that this is what I’m going to do. I’m going to hire somebody that has the business results that I want in my life. I need someone to teach me what it was that I didn’t know.

And he said, “All right, well that sounds great. How much is it?”

I think back then the program cost $15,000 and he about had a heart attack.

I don’t blame him, he didn’t know about business coaching or business building and it was a lot of money.

Finally, after discussing it long and hard, he said, “Fine, I believe in you. I trust you. But the deal is whatever she tells you to do, that is what you have to do. Every last thing she tells you to do.”

And I did. I joined the program, I learned, I implemented, and I got results.

Back then there wasn’t a pet sitting business-specific coach so I went with a general business coach. But she taught me all about marketing, all about ideal clients, and attracting your ideal clients.

She taught me all about systems and processes and how to have a website that converts. She taught me all about automation. I listened. I learned.  And then most importantly, I took action, and in one year I increased my business by 100%. It was a big year.

The $15,000 investment was absolutely worth it.

Make an investment in your future

The key was I hired somebody that had the results in their business and in their life that I wanted, and that could show me what to do.

It gave me a shortcut to success.

And that’s my number one pet sitting business secret. Hire yourself a business coach, whether it’s pet sitting specific, pet business specific or somebody else.

So, my advice is to find somebody that you connect with. Find somebody that you trust. Find somebody to show you the way and give you a shortcut.  Without a roadmap you can spend a lot of years spinning your wheels, not making enough money, wasting your time, wasting your freedom when you should be making money, enjoying your life.

Enter your first name and email address below to download our Team Expansion Tool Kit
It’s 100% FREE!

Privacy Policy: We promise to protect your privacy and we will NEVER share your email address.