{"id":17093,"date":"2022-12-27T09:00:58","date_gmt":"2022-12-27T09:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/?p=17093"},"modified":"2022-12-19T16:16:43","modified_gmt":"2022-12-19T16:16:43","slug":"how-to-start-a-successful-cat-sitting-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/how-to-start-a-successful-cat-sitting-business\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Start A Successful Cat Sitting Business"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 4<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

Starting a new pet sitting business from scratch can be a daunting task. In this article, we share some tips on how to start your journey into the world of cat sitting.<\/p>\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

When you’re looking to get into the pet sitting industry (and specifically cat sitting!), there are a few things you’ll need to be ready to gain experience in that are typical of all kinds of newly launched businesses, as well as gaining plenty of knowledge and confidence regarding\u00a0our feline friends.<\/p>\n

You’ll need to know all about cats<\/strong> \u2013 This includes how to care for them, but\u00a0you should enjoy spending time with them, the skills and knowledge of\u00a0different temperaments and personalities which will guide you in\u00a0dealing with different types of cats.\u00a0This will be particularly beneficial when starting out, as\u00a0owners will trust you to care for them. Naturally you’ll build a lot of that experience over time too!<\/p>\n

First aid & medication administration<\/strong> \u2013 Knowledge of cat\u00a0health, knowing the risks and warning signs and any\u00a0signs of illness will all be incredibly valuable and provide reassurance to your customers.<\/p>\n

Knowledge of the industry<\/strong> \u2013 It will help greatly if you know where people will look for a pet sitter and where to advertise and market yourself. Owning a cat will be beneficial as you will have the advantage of experience around vets and pet shops, so you can use your connections to\u00a0advertise locally.<\/p>\n

Communicate expertly <\/strong>\u2013 it is important within\u00a0any business to be able to communicate effectively with your clientele,\u00a0to be friendly and\u00a0consistent with your communications by responding promptly to questions and queries and regularly updating your clients on their pet’s well-being.<\/p>\n

\"pexels<\/p>\n

As a small business owner you’ll need to be a jack of all trades – both a specialist in your services as well as managing areas such as finance and marketing.<\/p>\n

Where Do You Start?<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Look into franchising opportunities<\/strong> \u2013 If your aim is\u00a0to run your own business, but you don’t want the stress of starting and building both the business and brand\u00a0from scratch, you might consider joining a franchise. After all, you’ll still\u00a0be your own boss, with the ability to work comfortable hours following an already established business model with the advantage of brand recognition.<\/li>\n
  • Research your area <\/strong>– Find your target market, and work out how many people in your local area would be likely to require your services. How many families have cats, and how often they would require the services of\u00a0a cat sitter?\u00a0Research other sitters in your area and use the information to market yourself and create client opportunities in and around your area.<\/li>\n
  • Make it official<\/strong> – Come up with a unique company name and register your business. Either as a limited company or a sole trader.\n
      \n
    • Limited company \u2013 comes across as more professional and is legally separate from you personally.<\/li>\n
    • Sole trader \u2013 is easier to set up but means yourself personally will be liable for the business.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
    • Open a business account \u2013 <\/strong>You should do so to\u00a0separate your business and personal finances. It will help greatly to keep track of your business’s cash flow. Keep your finances well organised by taking\u00a0photos of any business receipts.<\/li>\n
    • Get your taxes in order \u2013 <\/strong>Whether you hire an accountant or complete your taxes yourself, this is something you need to think about. You will eventually need to submit a self-assessment tax return to the HMRC, usually after your first year of business as a sole trader. <\/strong>Depending on how you register your business will decide on which tax you will need to register for and depending on how much you are expecting to earn each year.\u00a0You may even need to register for VAT once you’re generating a larger turnover for your business.<\/li>\n
    • Insurance and criminal record checks \u2013 <\/strong>You will need insurance to cover you for anything that may go wrong on the job. It is not a requirement to have insurance, but it will offer a safety net against the risk as well as reassurance for your customer base – as you’ll be delivering your services within their homes and looking after their beloved pets.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      How to Organise Yourself<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      • Decide a price point<\/strong> \u2013 You will of course\u00a0need to charge for your services of cat sitting!\u00a0Firstly, work out the expenses to you and your profit margin to help understand how much you will need to charge clients for your services. Take into consideration visit times, the location of clients’ homes which you will need to\u00a0travel to, how many cats they may have and\u00a0how many customers you can visit each day.<\/li>\n
      • Paperwork<\/strong> \u2013 You will need templates for customer agreements, invoices, contact details and the cat’s needs and requirements on file.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Your Brand<\/strong><\/p>\n

          \n
        • Consistency <\/strong>– Your brand is what makes your business recognisable to clients and promotes you to prospective clients; your branding should be the same across all your marketing materials. If it isn’t, you can risk looking unprofessional. <\/strong>Your name and logo should in some way represent or incorporate pet sitting to be more attractive to cat owners.<\/li>\n
        • Website<\/strong> \u2013 Your website is a window into your business that’s open 24 hours a day. Customers should be able to venture onto your website and find out all about your company. You should include useful pages like prices, the services you offer and a page that tells the customer more about you.<\/li>\n
        • Social media<\/strong> – Think about posting regular content to sites such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook; you can also interact with potential clients by answering comments. Always link back to your website and keep the content across all channels the same and consistent.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          \"pexels<\/p>\n

          Get Advertising<\/strong><\/p>\n

            \n
          • Word of mouth<\/strong> \u2013 Get your friends and family in your area involved, tell them to spread the word and give them your business card. Local veterinary practices, pet shops and pet groomers are also great places to advertise your services if they are happy to do so.<\/li>\n
          • Flyers<\/strong> \u2013 Distribute these in local newspapers, supermarket bulletin boards, community centres and the vets.<\/li>\n
          • Drive around in an advert<\/strong> \u2013\u00a0 A livery for your vehicle offers a great way to promote your brand whilst you’re on the move, going from customer to customer.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            The Cat Butler Franchise<\/strong><\/p>\n

            If you would like more information on becoming a franchisee with the Cat Butler, fill in our short\u00a0form below to request a brochure and learn more about our unique cat sitting franchise opportunity.<\/p>\n

            Our franchise brochure gives you plenty of industry insights and, in particular, a useful comparison between joining a franchise or going it alone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Starting a new pet sitting business from scratch can be a daunting task. In this article, we share some tips on how to start your journey into the world of cat sitting. Introduction When you’re looking to get into the pet sitting industry (and specifically cat sitting!), there are a few things you’ll need to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":17095,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1472,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-cat-butler","category-pet-franchises"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/pexels-rodnae-productions-7516109.1000x350-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17093"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17093\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}