We will tell you how to start a dog walker business…read on.
How to start a Dog Walker Business
If you love man’s best friend, you can now become good friends with their owners by learning how to start a dog walker business like PugetPets. If dog walker isn’t for you, but you still want a job that revolves around man’s best friend, perhaps a dog sitter would be more your style. Looking after multiple dogs at once is fun, but can be difficult. Purchasing one of these commercial dog kennels makes it easier to control the dogs you’re caring for, but becoming a dog walker is certainly less effort. Customers will love the fact that you’re there to give their pet exercise when they’re not around. Just be sure to read through the following to learn what it takes.
Step 1: Do Some Market Research
Before you get too far into learning how to start a dog walker business and spending any money on marketing, you’ll want to do some market research first. Just because you love dogs doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a business opportunity around you.
To be clear, you probably won’t be making a fortune with this business venture, but you don’t want to lose money either. If you have to drive all over town to find these animals and walk them, you’ll end up in the hole.
Step 2: Get Insured
This might sound like an odd step to take in learning how to start a dog walker business, but it’s still a really good idea. There are only a few insurance companies that offer this sort of thing, but qualifying shouldn’t be a problem. Pet owners may want to get dog insurance so their pets are covered while in your care.
The thing is, as you probably know, people really, really love their dogs. If anything happens to theirs when you’re responsible for them, you might be held responsible. Having insurance will make a big difference in that scenario. This point is two-fold, as to get proper insurance you will need the proper equipment. A simple rope lead just won’t cut it. You may want to invest in a good dog harness. This site can help with UK based reviews and recommendations.
Step 3: Prove Your Reliability
Speaking of which, most people aren’t just going to give you the leash to their dog and let you walk out the door with them. Furthermore, many of your customers will be giving you access to their home. In order to convince people to put this kind of trust in you, run a background check on yourself and provide a copy to any prospective customers.
As time goes on, you’ll have testimonials to offer people. However, in the meantime, get some from former employers and coworkers. Ask them to testify that you are responsible and trustworthy.
Step 4: Advertise / Market Your Dog Walking Business
Finally, get marketing. Start a website, put out ads on social media and print up fliers you can hang in pet stores (with their approval) and dog parks.
It’s probably pretty clear that learning how to start a dog walker business isn’t too difficult. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t make pretty good money and have a lot of fun doing it, if you’re already a dog lover.
A big part of learning how to start a Dollar Store business is marketing. Obviously, if you don’t handle this step, you may not reach your full potential.
MARKETING YOUR DOG WALKING BUSINESS
- Create a Website
- Create a Custom Business Card – Vistaprint.com is a good place to start
- Attend local council meetings, chamber of commerce events, Rotary meetings, and other local gatherings
- Create a Flyer – Vistaprint
- Launch a Grand Opening
- Provide Promotional Events & Discounts
Let us know if we can help you with the start of your next business.