How to Run a Dog Business by Veronica Boutelle

Author:Veronica Boutelle
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dogwise Publisher
Published: 2013-03-28T00:00:00+00:00

Designing walking and daycare packages

Walking and daycare packages are usually monthly affairs. Either you invoice at the end of the month based on a daily rate and the number of days each client uses (see policies, on the next page), or, ideally, you invoice for a set amount prior to the month, based on a daily rate and the number of days each client commits to. Some progressive dog walking and daycare companies are even now charging a flat rate per month for all clients—a practice beginning to gain ground and with a number of advantages, including more predictable income for you, encouragement for clients to take more advantage of your services to their own benefit and their dogs’, and a nice price break for clients who use walking or daycare services full time. (This happens because pricing based on an average number of days per month comes out in the clients’ favor. It’s still in yours, too, because this packaging method means increased revenue from clients who otherwise would have paid for fewer days.)

The point in packaging daycare and walking services is to move away from the drop-in and pass models, which encourage clients to use services sporadically, causing staffing and cash flow issues as well as increased human and dog stress on the daycare floor or on walks, a higher degree of dog-dog incidents, and greater marketing and sales pressure. We’ll continue this discussion in the Cancellation Policy section below.

What do you charge? Setting your rates

Setting rates is relatively simple and yet in my experience many dog pros find the process stressful. What it boils down to is this: in much of mainstream America, dog training, walking, sitting, daycare, and other canine services have traditionally been regarded with bemused indulgence and even low-level disdain. And to be fair, the industry has attracted and nurtured its share of eccentrics over the years, many of whom had no formal education or experience. The stubborn stereotype—of the unschooled, self-taught, largely anti-social dog trainer—and the widespread misconception that dog walking, daycare, boarding, or sitting requires no skills whatsoever may be alive and well in places, but they are wholly untrue, and every dog pro owes it to him or herself to contribute to their annihilation. In the face of this, the challenge for most business owners is believing that they can demand a good rate and that they are worth it. Well, there really is no other way for me to say this than: You are. Your services are valuable, in fact they are essential. At present, there are roughly 68 million pet dogs in America and that number is growing steadily. Without having to get into the tragic figures of dogs who are given up, re-homed, or euthanized every year due to common and highly treatable behavior issues, suffice it to say that dogs and their guardians need you. By all means charge for your professional knowledge and skill set.

To set your rates, first look at your competition. You can start

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.