Fresh New Small Business Ideas…..

By P. A. Neely

Dog walking is a serious business these days and can really rake in the moolah if you know exactly how to go about it. If you’re an animal lover and your stamina permits you to walk a few miles everyday with a few excited pets, you can make some decent money.

You will be amazed to know that dog walkers make between $15 to $35 per half hour for a single pet. Once you get established and have your regulars, the possibilities are limitless if you are enterprising and resourceful. But this is not as effortless as it seems. As with any other business, you need to get organized and have a proper plan in place.

What You’ll Need

The key things you need to get started are a love for dogs and knowledge about them. There are some essentials that you just need to know like the various breeds and how to care for them. This coupled with good business sense will take you a long way in your dog walking business.

Without careful planning even the best business ventures can sink. So be methodical and prepare a plan of action. You have to be practical. This is not a get rich quick scheme and you’re not going to make millions by dog walking. So first decide what your target earnings are and how you’ll go about achieving them.

How To Find Clients

Discover your potential market for customers. You’ll have to do a bit of research to figure out where your customers are located.

The ideal customers for a dog walking business are elderly people, handicapped individuals, those who go on regular vacations and people with long work hours. Once you get an idea of your prospective customers, you also need to determine who your competition is and what they charge. You can do a survey online to get this kind of information.

Do the Math

Make an estimate of the start-up costs. The bulk of your overheads will be in the form of basic dog supplies, business cards, pamphlets etc. While planning your budget keep some sort of breathing room for unforeseen expenses. Get yourself licensed and insured before commencing your operations.

The best way to gain exposure is by getting listed with one of the pet publications and an online directory. Whenever people are looking for dog walkers or pet sitters they refer to these. You also have various pet care organizations. Becoming a member of one of these is a great idea to get acquainted with the recent developments in pet care and to circulate with other pet sitters.

Advertising

Advertising is perhaps the single most thing that separates highly successful dog walking businesses from mediocre ones. Your marketing strategy should be rock solid. Hand out your business cards to local vets and stores that sell pet paraphernalia.

Inform everyone who knows you that you have launched a dog walking business. Word of mouth is the quickest way to build and expand your clientele. Give promotional offers like discounts for the elderly and handicapped individuals. Once you get a few regulars, you can also diversify to include other services like bringing in the mail, taking out the thrash etc.

Make a contract for each of your clients mentioning the name of the dog, the rate you will be charging, period or dates you’ll be walking the dog and the services you offer. Do not forget to keep a stash of leashes, poop bags and a first aid kit handy.

Always keep your eyes and ears open to discover new ways and means to enhance your business. Continue diversifying and adding to your client base. This way your dog walking business will turn out to be a howling success.

P.A. Neely writes about how to start a dog walking business for http://www.startadogwalkingbusiness.com Find out how to avoid the most common mistakes people make when starting their dog walking business by visiting her site.

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