Comments | forpawz: Pet Care Rates

forpawz

Pet Care Rates

Feb 24, 2009 16:18

After researching average rates and comparing my services and charges to a petsitter I found in Knoxville (45 minutes from here), I've come up with my list of services and prices. I'd love it for people to check it out and tell me what they think. Thanks in advance for the help! Oh, and the formatting is all screwed up but I don't really want to ( Read more... )

Comments 17

blackbird_xiii February 24 2009, 22:36:23 UTC

So freakin' proud of you, you have no idea.

forpawz February 25 2009, 02:03:08 UTC

Thank you! I'm trying to be like you.

blackbird_xiii February 25 2009, 02:05:35 UTC

Hah, you're better than me, baby, no question!

anonymous February 24 2009, 22:57:36 UTC

(this is Mac by the way)

I think the only thing I would specify is whether or not you are charging by the month, week or day for pet sitting. But other than that it looks good. Also, make sure you mention that you have an education in pet psychology. ^_^ IT makes you more competitive than the typical high schooler who just wants an after school job.

blackbird_xiii February 24 2009, 23:00:19 UTC

Ooh I agree with Mac. Don't forget to include your resume.

forpawz February 25 2009, 02:04:59 UTC

Okay, I'll make sure the pricing reads better. Thanks for the advice. Oh, and it already says that I have a B.S. in both Biology and Psychology on the flyer Nikki made me but this was mostly for me to get my thoughts down and so I could figure out my pricing for when (hopefully) I get clients.

chikacherrycola February 24 2009, 23:29:13 UTC

Looks really good! Agree with the others, don't forget to include your resume, or at least your animal courses/work/volunteer experience!

Question, is the overnight pet sitting in the client's home, yours, or either? You might want to specify that. I'm pretty sure since the services include making the home look lived in it's at their home, but some people might not pick up on that if not specifically mentioned. Just a thought.

Oh and I'm with Nikki on the being proud of you bit! You two are going to be very successful in your respective career choices, even if they are currently a stepping stone for the bigger picture!

chikacherrycola February 24 2009, 23:50:20 UTC

Oh and for the pet sitting section I'd add playtime, and will work on/reinforce any training you are working on using the same techniques you do ( ... )

forpawz February 25 2009, 02:10:36 UTC

Yeah, playtime and training would be great to add to it! Thanks! My flyer actually says I'd do some training too, so I was going to look into any puppy classes offered around here to see what prices were like. I'm not trained in it but I know how to do basics and know about positive reinforcement and hand signals and how to properly use a crate and such.

I also thought about doing the pet taxi thing but since my mom and Nikki weren't sure, I didn't write it down yet. I think it could be something that people might like if they were already using me and trusted me.

Also, I assumed that I'd do a free consultation for both types of pet sitting and for dog walking just so I could get to know the animals and such. I just didn't write it down, so thanks for reminding me!

chikacherrycola February 25 2009, 02:18:50 UTC

You should print business cards. I know around here some people go to all the stores in say a strip mall or whatever with business cards, flyers, and like a tin of mints or candies to give to the store to hand out or put on display for their customers. Oh and create a web page for your business! Maybe you could figure out how to add paypal or credit card things to the site so people can use those to pay too. I know that bit is a little ahead of you since they probably charge a bit to use their services, but you could do the hand out thing at local stores.

Oh and I read somewhere that clients might ask you to be insured, you know for liability reasons and stuff. Not sure how you'd go about that though.

Thread 5

crumpetsfortea February 24 2009, 23:55:29 UTC

I think you need to specify how long a petsitting visit is, and if they can be made longer for more. For example, when I went to Spain, I was out of the country for three weeks, and did NOT want my babies cooped up without playtime for that long: I ended up paying my petsitter for $20, two-hour play sessions three times a week on top of their regular turning on the lights visits, to make sure that my kids got some exercise.

But I might be the only person in the world who needs that...

chikacherrycola February 25 2009, 00:17:46 UTC

I agree with this too. Most places I've seen that do this say that the pet sitting visits last 30 minutes to an hour at a base charge (so for you that'd be the 15, 30, 40) and any extra time has an extra charge.

Oh and just thought of this, but instead of saying you let the dogs out, maybe specify what you mean...like let the dogs out to go to the bathroom and play time (if the yard is fenced in), take dogs on a walk for exercise (once in the morning and at night). That way people know their dogs are getting awesome care. Oh and instead of saying feeding and watering them word it as giving fresh food and water (sounds more professional).

I'm thinking about this too much. LOL.

forpawz February 25 2009, 02:24:52 UTC

Okay, so I was thinking that letting them out would just be in the yard, but if they wanted to include an actual walk in one of the visits that I would charge a discounted walking fee. And I'll change the wording. Thanks!

forpawz February 25 2009, 02:23:20 UTC

Yeah, I need to figure out times more. I figure a typical visit would last around 30 minutes though depending on how many animals there were, it could obviously take longer. Do you think I should have a flat rate for whatever time or should I charge a bit more for much longer sessions - like over an hour?

Thread 5

forpawz February 25 2009, 04:39:44 UTC

I was thinking that the length of the visit might also depend on if I go once or more than once because if I have to do everything all in one visit, it might take longer. But then maybe it's like a buffet where one price fits all even though some eat more than others. Too weird of an analogy? Anyway, I've made lots of the changes you all suggested and will be looking into the pet taxi idea as well as trying to figure out photography prices. It's pretty confusing to try and keep it all organized, even when it's written out, so I appreciate all the help! It's a hard thing to do, making prices. I don't want to feel like I'm cheating anyone but I also don't want to sell myself short. I looked through lots of sites and found some averages and then compared them to a petsitter I found in Knoxville. I think things are fair. I'm either in the middle or low end of the ranges so hopefully things work out.