im thinking of starting a dog walking business any ideas or tips?

Question

hi there,
im thinking of starting up a small dog walking service, has anyone got any ideas, tip or ideas to get started ?
what sort of places to advertise, insurance, ect
thanks

Answer 1

buy some really good shoes

Answer 2

I always like to hear about people who are willing to exert the effort to start a new business. I can give some advice about insurance. You need three kinds of insurance.
The first is liability insurance in case something happens to a dog while you are in charge of it (like it runs into traffic and gets hit) or some harm is caused by a dog while you have charge of it (like it bites someone who is walking by).
The second kind of insurance you need is property insurance if you have assets involved in your business such as an office, a kennel, a computer etc.
The third kind is health insurance for you. Unless you have access to a group plan through your parents or spouse (if you are a qualified dependent), you will need to get some on your own. A good kind when you are starting out is short-term medical insurance. It covers new illnesses and injuries and it is much less expensive than ordinary insurance even though the coverage is really good. In most states you can get a policy for up to twelve months maximum and you can pay for it a month at a time. For more info, go to http://www.wavehelp.com/small-business-health-insurance.htm and look around. You can get a no-obligation quote and even buy on-line if that suits you.
Good luck on your venture.
Best wishes.

Answer 3

The best routes to take are to research the process of starting a business as well as the industry you're interested in.

I recommend checking out the SBA, Entrepreneur, The Start Up Journal & Nolo. All 4 are great informational resources for the new/small business owner. I posted links for you in the source box.

Associations may be a good avenue to explore. These organizations will address many of the thoughts, questions and concerns you'll inevitably have as well as many you haven't anticipated yet. See the source box for some relevant links.

Research, research, research – this cannot be stressed enough. Read as much as you can about the industry. Here are some book titles that are relevant:

* The Face in the Window: A Guide to Professional Dogwalking by Dianne Eibner
* Entrepreneur Magazine's Start Your Own Pet Sitting Business by Cheryl Kimball
* The Professional Pet Sitter: Your Guide to Starting and Operating a Successful Service Edition 2005 Newly-Revised Includes Business Forms by Lori Mangold

There are plenty of free informational resources out there. Check the source box for links to articles.

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

Answer 4

Yes market it at older people also along side do some market reseach get some cheap pet insurance and put some advertisments up, hey you now have a dog walking business!

Answer 5

advertise in local vets and local papers,have buisness cards to hand to clients who always know other owners and while your walking the dogs cos that's when people come up to you to enquire,keep your eyes open for local dog shows and go there.Do a good job,word of mouth works,make arrangements for cover when you want a holiday.

Answer 6

yea, don't tell everyone about your Idea... do some research... and call around to find out how much other company's charge.. and then go lower

Answer 7

Don't have any real advice but it sounds like a good idea good luck

Answer 8

my only advice is ............................. Go fetch lol