I'm currently trying to start my own pet sitting business, but I'm not having much luck so far. One of the clients that I currently pet sit for has been gracious enough to give a few of their neighbors my name and number, and yes, they have called me. Trouble is, they call me, asking me how soon I can start, how much do I charge per sit, etc. etc. I give them the information, then the person on the other end of the phone (usually it's a lady) says, "I'll talk to my husband about this, then I'll call you back tomorrow." Trouble is, they never do call me back!

I don't know why they're not calling me back. I charge the same amount of money for pet sitting services that everyone else around here charges, and I readily give them the information that they are asking for. Shoot, I even gave the one lady my references to check (and I have very good references), and I've never heard from her, either! How the hell am I supposed to start a successful business when these people who call me prove to be flakey and unreliable?? I've posted flyers everywhere, shoot, I even placed a small ad in my church bulletin (and have not even received one single call yet!) I swear, some people are so damn unreliable that they wouldn't even commit to anything, even if there was a gun pointed to their head!

Guess I just need to keep at it, and hope that one day I'll get lucky. I only have one client so far, but I need a lot more than just that if I'm going to be able to support myself doing this! Right now I work two part-time jobs while I'm trying to get this thing going. It's so damn frustrating!!!!!!

[Edited 9/10/13 21:04pm]

First of all, congrats on taking the plunge and starting your own business.

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I have my own business as well (since 2005) and I can promise you that it takes A LOT of determination, hard work and patience to get things rolling. You need to be very dedicated and willing to make adjustments as needed to find the best way to do business and to market your business. Most businesses do not take off immediately. It normally takes several years for that to happen. Hard work & flexibility are key.

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Here are a few helpful tips (if you don't mind me sharing):

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Have you registered your business with the Department of Revenue in your state for tax purposes? I don't know what state you live in, but you may need to be collecting sales and / or service tax and submitting that to your Deptartment of Revenue.

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Do you have a name for your business other than your real name? If so, have you registered that name with your state's Secretary of State? If not, you need to do that as well. It's called a DBA (or doing business as). Having a catchy name for your business is a good way to get your name out there and for name recognition.

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Do you have a website or domain name? Even if it's one page of info, it's extremely important to get online. If you don't have a website, you need to get one. It's really inexpensive if you go through GoDaddy and set the website up yourself but you can also find one or two page free sites as well and do something simple. You can't rely just on word of mouth, fliers and church bulletins to get your business going. You HAVE to be online. That's where people go to find goods & services these days.

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Get your business name listed in online directories especially for your local area.

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Do you have business cards that look professional? That's important for handing out to people you meet.

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You're going to reach a MUCH LARGER audience if you get online. I cannot stress how important that is. That's the first place most people go these days.

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Have patience with people and your potential customers. You will run into the occassional crab apple once in awhile but I've found that most people are wonderful to work with. If I show them kindness and respect, I usually get it back as well. And, many repeat customers are won this way.

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So, my advice to you is be very patient, work hard and GET ONLINE! Don't rely on others to carry your business or make it happen for you (by word of mouth, follow through etc.). Your business is up to you and you alone. It's wonderful when you get the extra bonus of people referring, etc. but you can't rely on that and you can't blame others for your business not taking off. Just be patient and diligent and give the best customer service you can when you land jobs.

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Hope that helps a bit and best of luck to you!

Regarding flakiness, people change their minds about things all the time. It's part of doing business. Therefore, it's important to reach a larger pool of people (ie, the internet) and then the ones that change their minds won't seem like such a big deal. Try not to take people changing their minds too seriously. It's nothing personal. Just people changing their minds or putting it off until later.

Be persistent...send them reminder cards or something.

I have noticed that over the past decade or so, the business climate has changed dramatically here. Everyone wants MORE but they want to pay LESS...and everyone wants something "free", an incentive for them to give you their business.

I don't know anything about Pet Sitting...but can you offer some "rewards" incentive? For example, my company will reward an existing customer (homeowner) 3 free months of alarm monitoring for referring someone to us (who signs up with our service). So...maybe if your current customer referrs someone to you who uses your service for a certain period of time, you can offer that original customer a free day of sitting (or something like that)??? I don't know how your business works, or if this could be applied to what you do, but I hope you get the idea.

Good luck though!

OK, wow! It looks like God has sent this post my way.....

How would you like a website? I've just gone crazy since last December teaching myself website frontend work, and I'm looking to get started, like, doing sites for friends or something, before I start charging for them from people from the Real World.... so - I'd do your site for cheap - what say? I just want to hone my skills, and this looks like the perfect opportunity for you - you could get your site built by an Orger!

Oh, and I love dogs btw!

Ran across this informative blog post regarding starting your own pet sitting (& dog walking) business and wanted to share. Lots of good business tips.

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http://www.homebusinessfo...ogspot.com

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[Edited 9/11/13 14:07pm]

domainator2010 said:

OK, wow! It looks like God has sent this post my way.....

How would you like a website? I've just gone crazy since last December teaching myself website frontend work, and I'm looking to get started, like, doing sites for friends or something, before I start charging for them from people from the Real World.... so - I'd do your site for cheap - what say? I just want to hone my skills, and this looks like the perfect opportunity for you - you could get your site built by an Orger!

Oh, and I love dogs btw!

luv4u said:

domainator2010 said:

OK, wow! It looks like God has sent this post my way.....

How would you like a website? I've just gone crazy since last December teaching myself website frontend work, and I'm looking to get started, like, doing sites for friends or something, before I start charging for them from people from the Real World.... so - I'd do your site for cheap - what say? I just want to hone my skills, and this looks like the perfect opportunity for you - you could get your site built by an Orger!

Oh, and I love dogs btw!

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That is very cool & very sweet.

tinaz said:

I can maybe explain some of the flakiness... I think people are always looking for something cheaper.. If your prices are compareable there would be no reason for them to try you out if they already have a sitter.. Also, since you are new, you havent built a reputation yet.. Your going to have to offer something FANTASTIC to make them want to try you out... So maybe you should offer something to reel them in! Good luck

I agree. You have to make your service more attractive by doing something other sitters don't do, like maybe lowering your price, offering something for free like maybe the first few hours gratis, offering to give pet medications if needed or bringing your own treats for free if the owner doesn't mind. Maybe you could make your own nutritional, allergen free treats. If they're good enough and pets love them, you could have another little side business. Go on line to find good pet treat recipes or experiment on your own. Most dogs love bacon or liver flavored treats. And don't limit your service to dogs. Cat lovers need sitters, too. Good luck!

What happened to Psychodelicide?

psychodelicide said:

Tempest said:What happened to Psychodelicide? I'm still here. Thanks for all of your good hints, Tempest. Thanks to everybody who posted on here to give their opinion/feedback. I appreciate them.

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You're welcome!

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Glad you came back to this thread and be sure to keep us posted on how your business develops. Wishing you much success!

be competitive & lower your prices, everyone loves a bargain plus it's not what you know it's who u know. if you are good at what you do people will recommend you. once you have your customer base, you can increase your prices. people don't mind paying for quality service but you have to earn their trust

i think you need to completely change your attitude or you're destined to fail

why would people suddenly change over to you when you charge the same for the same service?... maybe they're happy with the people they use now

do you have a business plan?... what are you doing to advertise?

it's VERY hard to run your own business, i have a jewelry design business & it took me about 2 years to finally get it running exactly how i wanted it. in the begining it was difficult, because there is so many other people offering jewelry online, etc. so i had to have something that stood out from everyone else, price wise, packaging, etc. now i'm very successful, selling my jewelry in several stores around my local area.

my advice to you is to offer services to your customers/clients that make you stand out from everyone else that is doing the same thing in your area. lower your price by even a dollar cheaper than your competitors, offer a free doggie treat, or some other simple service included in the price.

i wish you lived closer to me, because i actually could use a pet sitter now and then for my dog, and it's hard to find any good ones in my area. so i haven't used any here.

i hope everything gets better for you.