The Pet Sitting Business

Bad news for the neighbor kid looking to make a few extra bucks: The Pet Sitting Business claims that professional pet-sitting is now the fastest-growing home-based business in the U.S., even attracting downsized professionals and entrepreneurs. In fact, over 7,000 professional pet-sitters now provide in-home pet care, catering to the 60% of American households with one or more pets. Several pet-sitters are interviewed here, offering a number of insights and tips (job-shadow an established sitter first) on the subjects of business planning and marketing, setting fees at a competitive rate, determining policies (such as off-leash vs. on-leash dog walks), the importance of obtaining liability insurance and bonding, and ideas for expanding services (such as providing a pet taxi for vet appointments, or taking up pet photography). The program places a lot of emphasis on getting accredited through a professional organization such as Pet Sitters International (five of their employees are interviewed), which offers discounted liability insurance to members. With no overhead and just a few hundred dollars needed for start-up, pet-care may be a solid choice, especially in a quasi-recession economy, and some interviewees here report profitability in as little as three months. Recommended. Aud: P. (R. Reagan)