29. Pet Services
If you love pets, then this is probably a business for you. Many people have pets that have various needs. They can not be left alone and require someone to pet-sit them. For instance, there are some pets that are not allowed to board the aircraft and have to be left behind. Pet owners like to leave their pets in a safe and familiar environment. Most people hire pet services for short periods like when they need them on a weekend or day out. There is no better place than the home environment and they need someone to take care of them. This is where a pet service is required to come to their homes and render their services. Starting this business is easy and can be done on a small scale in its initial stage. You can hire or contract more pet-sitters when the business is growing. See if can incorporate pet walking, disciplining, and scooping dog refuse as this will be additional costs to the client.
The business requires some marketing initiatives that can be done by targeting the community around your area. The targeted audience includes pet food retailers, dog trainers, dog walkers, and pet-grooming services. The capital to start the business is around $2,000. A license, insurance, and bond may be required in some areas. You will have to come up with suitable fees for long and short-term pet services. A good amount of start-up capital goes to the marketing of your business. These include flyers and networking activities. The services involve dealing with different types of dogs. There is a need to understand their characteristics. Love for the dogs and knowledge of animals will help you in providing good services. You are supposed to play, feed and walk with them. You can even upsell your services for untrained animals.