A Work at Home Business working with Man's Best Friend.

by Lori Zobel for Work-at-Home.org

A great work at home business for people that love animals?

All those who share a love for animals raise your hands. Most true animal lovers don’t remember a time when they did not do a double take when seeing a dog, cat, turtle, snake, etc. My family had dogs growing up so naturally, they are my personal choice. Maybe that's why I was the first to volunteer my services for babysitting the neighborhood’s pets.

A number of people who work at home has dramatically increased over the last ten years as many companies have realized how beneficial to work at home is for both employer and employee. Not only are companies seeing this trend as a good thing, but it has opened many doors for individuals who have thought about starting their own work at home business from the comfort of your own home.

When an individual wants to start a business from home, they have to think about what drives them, what passions they have, and how much need there is for your specific skills and talents. There are so many things to ponder about when working at home and many times there is no immediate answers until you’re actually in the situation, which is why this is a learning experience! As a pet sitter, there are many responsibilities to the animals that one watches, but first and foremost, a pet sitter’s primary job is to see that the animals get the love, attention and care they deserve. When someone asks what a pet sitter does and how is that a work from home job? Well, each pet sitter has his or her own way of doing things they all call upon each other from time to time for ideas or helpful advice.

Sitters provide many services. Here are some of the most common:

• Giving fresh clean water

• Giving each pet the proper amount of food

• Cleaning up accidents or messes that occur

• Having play time with each pet

• Cleaning the litter box

• Administering medication if needed

• Checking on the welfare of shy or reclusive pets

• Making sure each pet eats their food and if not, monitoring the pet for any problems

• Sanitizing to reduce illness and disease

• Making sure pets get exercise if requested

• Keeping daily notes for the pet owners

• Making sure pets are in their proper place

• Setting and turning off security systems

• Doing trash, retrieving mail and watering plants as requested

• Monitoring the condition of the home

• Relocking the home

Obviously, you want the owner to feel confident and content that their home and pet(s) are in good hands. Professional pet sitting is a home based business the majority of the time. About 30% is done from your home and 70% is done from the client’s home. Of course, this can change from pet sitter to pet sitter, but the paperwork and scheduling can be time-consuming, so you must plan accordingly.

Each pet sitter sets their own prices and one must check other rates. Usually, you end up adjusting your rates depending on the market, the time of year, and which services you charge extra for. For many pet sitters, the income one can earn is around $10,000 per year so it is not an overly lucrative business. One does not pursue this business to become a millionaire, but more for the love of animals and their well-being.

To leverage your talents into a more profitable work at home business you could open a niche website for pet sitting or a local pet sitting service in which you don’t do the actual sitting, but the rather the screening, scheduling and order processing while others do the actual pet sitting for your home business.

Obtaining clientele in the beginning can be a struggle mainly because the pet sitting industry has become so large and more and more pet owners are recognizing the need and desire to keep “Fluffy” in the comfort of his/her own home while the family is away. With this need increasing each year, marketing your business can be a rather daunting undertaking. So, how do you find any potential clients? Keep in mind, that this is a work at home profession so one can have an unlimited number of resources made available to them.

For myself, I developed a flyer, which was kept in my car, so matter where I would be, it was always accessible. I could always place them in coffee places, grocery stores, cafes, pet stores, etc. Once they have been in circulation and the phone started to ring a bit, I had business cards and refrigerator magnets made. Another valuable resource is the mailings that come in the mail advertising coupons and new businesses to give ideas for how to get the word out. Other avenues include: the veterinarian’s office, dog parks, welcome wagons, apartment complexes that accept pets, etc.

Currently, the way my work at home business is marketed is through my business cards, flyers, coupon ads, the internet and, of course, word of mouth. There are a lot of different avenues on the internet to post as with any website, be careful about those who make promises or ones where they ask for money upfront.

It has been said that we should throw our hearts over the fence so our bodies can follow. If you love working with amimals, this may be a great work at home business in which you find satisfaction as well as financial reward.