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Sample the Book!
Forward
It is 6:00 on a lovely June morning. I slip sleepily from my bed, send my crew of seven wide-awake pooches out the back door to potty, and make my way to the kitchen to start the coffee. Minutes later, I pour the steaming drink into a travel mug and step out into the summer morning sun, ready to start my day.
By 6:20 AM, I reach my destination. Two adorable Scottish Terriers, one black and one wheaten, have heard the sound of my car and joyously greet me as I unlock the door to their house. A couple of love-pats later, the pair rush though the open sliding glass door, off the deck, and out into their yard to chase an intruding gray squirrel. Mug in hand, I settle comfortably on the steps of the deck to watch as the Scotties play happily in the yard for the next 20 minutes.
When their romp is finished, the Scotties and I are ready to see about their breakfast, their heartworm pills, and their "good-bye treat (a peanut butter biscuit each). At 6:50 I say good-buy to the pair, hop into my car, and am off to my next visit. I will repeat this particular visit two more times today; once at 1:00PM and one more time around 8:30 PM. It's what I do: I'm a pet sitter!
After a 7:00 AM visit to walk a very sweet but very regal German Shepherd, I return home to face my own yapping pack of pups (they want a walk too, of course), and whatever household chores await me until my next visit to the Scotties a little after noon.
My time between those visits is MY OWN. I have no one to tell me when to punch the time clock. No one will reprimand me if I take a coffee break at 10:30 in the morning. There's no company policy against talking for 45 minutes on the phone to a friend. My comfortable "uniform" is a tee shirt and jeans.
On this particular day, I will spend three hours with pets (plus a few minutes driving to and from their homes). I will make $60.00. It's a light day. Sometimes I make nine or ten visits to various pets. That's 5 hours, and $100 or more for the day. It's not a fortune, but when you factor in the freedom and fun that I have doing my job, it's not peanuts, either.
I began my Racemere Pets n' Plants Pet Sitting Service about eight years ago. Before that I taught English on the college level for ten years, and worked part-time in a veterinary clinic. I was interested in finding a business that would belong to me alone. Plus, I wanted a job that would allow me to have flexible hours so that I could spend more time at home doing other things (like writing a book about pet sitting and selling it on the Internet...grin...) My pet sitting business is all of that. And I haven't even mentioned that to a pet lover like me, interacting with animals all day long is nearly heaven. Well, most of the time, anyway.
When I began my pet sitting business, I had grand ideas about hiring employees and making the kind of money I'd heard the larger pet sitting
it would take to grow my business into a huge one with the headaches
that half-dozen employees would involve. I wanted some free time, too!
Consequently, I have grown my business slowly. I have about 30 clients, with a "base" of about 10 clients who call me very regularly to sit their pets. Of course, I am still taking new clients. And I am not limiting the growth of my business...yet. I simply intend to let it grow slowly at a pace with which I am comfortable. (That's the great thing about owning your own business. You get to do what YOU want to do!)
It is my hope that as you read this book, you will be able to make
a decision about whether pet sitting would be a perfect business for
you. If you decide that it is, the information in this handbook should
allow you to start your own pet sitting business with a minimum of
expense, frustration and headaches.
The Initial Interview page 45
You have worked hard passing out your fliers and brochures. You've run a nice little ad in the newspaper, talked to your friends, and canvassed your neighborhood to let everyone know that your pet sitting business is all ready to launch. Then one day your phone rings...it's a prospective client who desperately needs you to sit for her pets next week. What's your next step? After you give your caller enough information that she is ready to meet you, you will need to set up an "initial interview."
Make the Appointment for the Initial Interview
Make an appointment to visit the client and her pets at her home. There are several reasons that this needs to be done at least a week before the client leaves. First, after you have met the client and the pet, you may decide that you don't want the job. (Hey, it happens occasionally. You may decide it is too far to drive. You may find that the pet is going to be hard to get along with, and you'd rather not spend a week trying to make "Bruno" go outside without losing your hand or foot. You may discover the "little kitty" you are supposed to meet comes with a pet wolf caged
in the back yard that the client didn't tell you about until you got there. Another reason to set the appointment at least a week before you are to begin the assignment is that the client needs to meet you and feel comfortable about hiring your services.
How Do You Pet Sit a Cat? Page 70
Whatever you know about body language in dogs does not apply to cats! (I take that bad, A happy cat usually carries her tail up.) However, a cat with its ears down and a smile on its face is a cat that is about ready to take a bite out of you. Tail  wagging? Mad cat. On the other hand, if you encounter a purring, rubbing against you kitty...well, that's a good sign...uh...usually. (One cat I recently sat for gave me the whole purring, rubbing, "Oh boy, I really love you" routine and then promptly bit my finger! And then he had the audacity to glare at me as if I had done something horrible to HIM!)
While the occasional feline is a people freak, and can't get enough of you when you come to visit, many are shy and aloof. You may spend much of your time trying to find the shy little kitty you're supposed to be taking care of instead of petting or playing with her. (When I mentioned this section of the book to one of my pet sitter friends, she hooted, "Cat sitting is easy! All you need is a flashlight so you can hunt for the cat under the bed!)
Let's talk about the book!
The complete handbook,
How to Make Money Pet Sitting
will help you to learn how to:
Start your pet sitting business
Advertise your business
Organize your paperwork
Ask your clients the right questions
Find out if Pet Sitting is right for you
Understand the different kinds of pets
Discover the joys of PET SITTING
...And MUCH MORE
New! I have added 75 pages to How to Make Money Pet Sitting!
Digital Download Only $39.97
Blank pet sitting forms are in Microsoft Word format.
If you wish to use your credit card to order the Mail order Soft cover or the CD ROM copy of How to Make Money Pet Sitting:
Continue as if you were ordering a digital download online.
On the order page you will see Delivery Method
Click on the drop-down "delivery method" menu and choose from:
* Digital Download
* Notebook + CD ROM USA only ($15.03 printing/shipping/handling)
* CD ROM USA only ($3.80 shipping/handling)
Choose the type of product you wish to order, then continue with your order.
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Don't want to pay online by credit card?
Special
USA RESIDENTS only:
How to Make Money Pet Sitting, Pet Sitting Potholes + Blank Pet Sitting Forms all on CD ROM*
Get all three for $35.00 when you send a check or money order
by mail to:
Ginger Miller
423 Gra-Roy Drive
Goshen, IN 46526
Would you rather have a soft cover book?
USA Residents only
I will accept checks or money orders. Send your name, address, and check for $55.00 to cover printing, shipping and handling, and I will send you a copy of How to Make Money Pet Sitting in a soft cover book + How to Make Money Pet Sitting + Pet Sitting Potholes and Other Stories +blank pet sitting forms on a CD. Mail the check for $55.00 to:
Ginger Miller
423 Gra-Roy Drive
Goshen, IN. 46526
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