Moe’s B2B World

Before starting a dog walking business, you need to familiarize yourself with the different dog breeds, and their care and maintenance needs. All of this requires meticulous planning and attention to detail, or your business may do poorly and fail. Formulate a solid plan and be methodical as you construct your business.

One of the first steps you will need to take is to identify your target market. This means that you will need to conduct some research in order to pinpoint the geographic area of your potential customers. The best customers for any dog walking business are the handicapped, the elderly, people who work extended hours, and those who go out of town on frequent vacations. In addition to determining who your potential customers are, you also need to check out your competition. You can easily do this by searching online.

You have to outline the start up costs in order to get your business underway. Your expenses will mainly be in the form of business cards, groomers, dog supplies, pamphlets, and other miscellaneous items. Always provide for contingencies so that you do not bust your budget when things fail to go as planned. You will also need to procure a license to start and run your business.

Advertising is perhaps the single most important thing that separates highly successful dog walking businesses from mediocre ones. Hand out your business cards to local vets and stores that sell pet paraphernalia. Inform everyone who knows you that you have begun a dog walking business. Word of mouth is one of the quickest ways 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, and taking out the trash.

Another great way to gain exposure is by getting listed with one of the pet publications, or perhaps an online directory. Whenever people are looking for dog walkers or pet sitters, they refer to these. There are also various pet care organizations that you can contact about advertising. Becoming a member of one of these is a great idea so that you can get acquainted with the most recent developments in pet care, and to circulate with other pet sitters.

Make a contract for each of your clients that mentions the name of the dog, the rate you will be charging, periods or dates that you will be walking the dog, and the various services you offer. Do not forget to keep a supply of leashes, poop bags, and a first aid kit handy at all times.

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 roaring success.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 3rd, 2008 at 3:04 pm and is filed under Career.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.