If you love dogs, would prefer to work for yourself and get fit at the same time, dog walking could perfect for you, read on to find out what you need to start a dog walking business.
Bear in mind that it’s not just a case of simply walking the dog and getting paid, you also need an organised structure and there is clerical work involved.
So, in addition to walking dogs you will need to deal with:
- Insurance
- DBS check
- Bookings
- Information Packs
- Forms and contracts
- Meet and greets
- Telephone calls
- Payments and banking
- Accounts and doing your own tax return.
- Filing
- Vets
- Website and Promotion
- Safe storage of client’s keys
Public liability insurance is a very important cover for dog walkers, in case someone is injured or their property harmed because of your business.
A DBS (CRB) check is important especially if clients give you access to their house in their absence.
Online Booking Service
Some of the booking and payment work can be taken care of and made easier for you by using an online booking service like Rover. They take a percentage of what you earn but will help you by dealing with all the payments from your clients online. This way you know that you’ll be paid.
An online editable calendar is provided which is set to your schedule allowing people to see when you’re free and make bookings with you.
Rover advertises for you which saves a lot of time, plus it’s also the world’s largest network of dog walkers and sitters and your services have more chance of being seen than by advertising on your own website.
If you want to provide a doggy daycare or dog sitting service, a licence will be required from your local council.
As you can see there is quite a bit of work that goes on behind the scenes of dog walking. You may wish to read this post that covers more dog-related businesses.
Books To Read
You may want to read up a bit more on the subject before taking the plunge. Here are a few popular books to take a look at:
