Pet Sitting Business Success

Are Pet Sitting Orgs Like PSI and NAPPS Worth The Money? [poll]

psi-nappsPet Sitters International (PSI) and National Association of Professional Pet Sitters (NAPPS) are the two big players in the professional pet sitter association circle.

PSI alone boasts more than 8000 members (that’s a lot of pet sitters) and the Internet is littered with articles claiming anyone can make money pet sitting.

But how much good are they really providing us with?

PSI and NAPPS both claim similar goals and benefits:

  • To educate the pet sitter
  • To promote pet sitting to pet owners
  • To give exposure to pet sitters across the country
  • To provide networking opportunities
  • Annual conferences
  • Quarterly magazines
  • Bonding and Insurance (through partners)
  • Searchable pet sitting directory
  • Pet sitting certification
  • Health care benefits
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6 Important Reasons To Hire A Pet Sitting Independent Contractor

hire-ICYou may be a self-proclaimed control freak (many business owners and entrepreneurs are).

You may like to supervise hands on to make sure every thing gets done exactly the way you envision it.

However, at some point you’ll come to realize you can’t do it all, at all times.

Enter your pet sitting independent contractor.

We all get sick, get tired, get burnt out, get called away for an unexpected emergency and simply want a day off for ourselves.

Plus, in order to grow into a powerhouse pet sitting business, you’ll need to bring others on for maximum potential.

When you begin to see an independent contractor as someone you can trust, count on and confide in, you’ll be able to breathe easier knowing your business is in fine hands while you tend to other matters – including growing your business and profits.

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Scream These 2 Four-Letter Words and Your Pet Sitting Business Will Grow

scream-shoutDon’t you just love using four-letter words?

They have power.

Use the right ones at the right time and you’ll succeed beyond your wildest dreams.

They make you feel good, keep you energized and have others looking up to you in admiration.

I’m not, of course, talking about those four-letter obscenities. I’m talking about the two four-letter words that most of us forget about.

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5 Small Business Articles I Wrote That Will Help Pet Sitters Succeed

technoratiEarlier this month, I was thrilled to be asked to write for the Technorati Small Business Channel.

Technorati was founded to help people discover great blog content, and their network of media sites was just ranked the 5th largest media property.

Needless to say, I’m stoked to have been given this opportunity to expand my business knowledge to a wider audience.

With that said, below are the first 5 articles published on Technorati. I’m certain pet sitters can find value in these posts.

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I’d Rather Live With A So-Called ‘Vicious’ Pit Bull Than With Most Of The People I Know

racial-profilingOctober 24 was National Pit Bull Awareness Day, which is a nationwide event to bring positive awareness to the heavily misunderstood breed.

Why do I feel so strongly about speaking up for the Pit?

Maybe it’s because I often feel misunderstood myself.  Or that I love all animals equally.  Or that I’d rather spend time with a furry creature than with most of the people in my life.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m a Leo, as social as they come, and label myself a ‘people person.’  But if our focus remains on proposed legislative bills to specifically ban dogs based exclusively on its breed, I’d like to turn the tables for a minute and shine the light on the human.

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Can You Really Make Money As A Pet Sitter?

cash-pileThis was the question I posed to the PetSittingOlogy community after reading plenty of articles online that included pet sitting as a way for kids, teens or adults looking to make money fast.

A sampling of articles claimed that anyone can turn to pet sitting for a quick buck.

Having spent plenty of time running my own pet sitting business, I wasn’t quite sure that pet sitting should be on the list of ways to make fast money.

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The 8 Components Of A Perfectly Run Pet Sitting Business

well-oiled-machineWe recently updated our “What Is PetSittingOlogy (About Us)” page (check it out, you can listen to an interview and learn more about my background).

The following list of 8 components was originally featured on that ‘About’ page but didn’t fit the bill during our page revamp.

So, it’s now restructured into a full-featured blog post here. Please make it feel welcome.

And, here we go…

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2 Movies About Dogs That Had Me Sobbing Like A Baby

cute-pupMy wife Alitia absolutely loves our Tivo. She’s also the one in charge of the remote control, for the record.

One of the brilliant ways Alitia saves us money each month is on movie rentals.

Instead of shelling out $5 per rental (or more on a Netflix service fee), she’ll go through the Tivo guide and search our channels for upcoming movies to record.

We then build up a library of movies to watch at our leisure (with no late fees, of course). A common enough practice.

Apparently, we’ve been catching a string of movies about dogs and honestly I don’t know how many more I can take.

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PSI and NAPPS Members Are Now Eligible For Health Care

thumbs-upWho can use a healthy dose of good news right about now?

Well, if you’re a member of PSI (Pet Sitters International) or NAPPS (National Association of Professional Pet Sitters) you are now eligible to receive quality and affordable health care.

If your pet sitting business is your main source of income, you may have found health care to be a near impossibility to afford or obtain.

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The Easiest Way To Gain Many More Pet Sitting Clients

get more pet sitting clientsAre you looking for more pet sitting clients than you can possibly handle?

Of course you are, it’s a trick question!

We can all use a spike in our bank accounts right about now and one way to increase our available balance is to increase our client base.

The holiday season is no longer just around the corner; it is squarely upon us. And it’s no secret that the last few months of the year are the most profitable for working pet sitters.

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