When potential clients are looking to hire a pet sitter or dog walker in 2023, price is often a deciding factor, and it may be one of the first things they look at when visiting your website. Therefore, it's crucial to have an easy-to-understand and fair pricing structure to attract clients. Use this blog post as a guide to set rates that are appropriate for your business and the services you offer.

Both categories are further divided by time:

• Dog Walks: 15-minute, 30-minute, and 60-minute
• Pet Visits: 15-minute, 30-minute, 60-minute, and overnight

It's worth noting that these time-based services are typically applicable to all types of pets, such as cats, dogs, birds, chickens, horses, cows, and more. In some cases, cat sitters may charge additional fees for litter boxes, or offer a lower rate for their overnight pet sitting compared to other animals. Additionally, it's common to consider travel time and weather conditions when scheduling services, which may be designated by time of day (such as "morning" or "afternoon") rather than specific arrival times (such as "9 am" or "1 pm").

As an established industry, there are numerous best practices to follow when offering pet sitting and dog walking services. Many pet sitting software providers catering to this industry offer easy-to-use setups that include standard options to ensure you're keeping up with industry norms.

If you're currently developing your pet sitting or dog walking services, you may find it helpful to explore the features of top pet sitting solutions like Easy Busy Pets. This platform provides a simple and efficient way to add and manage all your services without dealing with a pile of papers. Here's a sample snippet from Easy Busy Pets that can assist you in creating your list of services:

Keeping your service offerings simple is critical to running a successful pet sitting business. By limiting the types of services you provide, you'll be able to maintain a consistent level of quality and avoid becoming overwhelmed. Plus, pet owners appreciate straightforward pricing and clear expectations. Keeping it simple will help you establish a strong foundation for your business and set you up for long-term success.

It is vital to keep in mind your business's goals and the types of animals you'll be caring for. Do you specialize in dogs, cats, or more exotic pets? Will you offer additional services such as grooming or medication administration?

By offering a consistent and repeatable experience for all of your clients, you'll quickly establish a strong reputation in the industry and differentiate yourself from competitors.

Income is based on a number of factors, described below. Once you plug-in these details into your business plan, it will be clear whether or not you'd be making a profit, and more importantly if it's meeting your revenue goals.

Your goals need to be realistic and achievable. It's important to remember that building a successful pet sitting or dog walking business takes time and effort, and setting unrealistic revenue goals can lead to burnout and disappointment.

When selecting a location for your pet sitting business, it is important to consider the safety of the surrounding community, as well as any potential risks to your (future) employees and clients. You may want to research crime rates, police presence, and local safety measures such as neighborhood watch programs or security patrols.

Choosing the right location plays a crucial role in determining the pricing for your pet sitting services. Begin by identifying the states, cities, towns or regions where you might consider to reside and conduct business. Then, research your competitors [ex. Top 3 competitors listed on Google search] in those areas to gauge the average cost of services offered.

While you do not want to underprice your services, you also want to ensure that your rates are competitive with those of other pet care providers in the area. Striking the right balance between pricing and quality of service is key to attracting and retaining clients.  

More than ever, it is crucial to ensure that the prices you set for pet care services adequately cover your expenses and allow for a profit margin that you feel is acceptable. We've written in the past about expenses in starting a pet sitting business.

With the right software, you can save 10+ hours a week to service more clients, reduce your administrative costs (ex. online booking, invoicing, electronic forms, staff management), save on advertising expenses (ex. automated client reviews, social marketing, getting a website). Save even more hours a week and reduce human error with simple technologies like automated invoicing.

While offering a fair price for your services is important, some potential clients may still try to negotiate a lower rate, while others may not reside within your preferred service area. It's essential to evaluate whether accepting these clients is in the best interest of your business. If they are not willing to pay your full rate or are too far away from your existing client base, you must decide if it's worthwhile to take them on. While it may be challenging to turn down business, particularly when starting out and trying to expand, it's okay to decline clients who do not align with your business goals.

If you need any help in saying no, be sure to read our article on Polite Ways to Fire a Pet Sitting Customer. Many pet care providers implement a meet and greet stage before a pet owner can make a booking, so to help filter out the clients you don't want.

By offering more value to your customers, you can charge higher prices and increase your profitability. Decide on what you need to earn to be successful, and work backwards by calculating your costs.

Don't worry, you got this!