The Balanced Pet Sitter: What You Wish You Knew Before Starting Your Pet Care Business

Winner- 2020 American BookFest Award! Everything you need to run a successful pet-sitting business without losing your mind. In The Balanced Pet Sitter , Portland’s beloved pet sitter lets the cat out of the bag: You too can create a prosperous and fulfilling life with the people and animals you love. Renée Stilson’s step-by-step guide will teach you how to start your own dog-walking business and expand your side hustle into a full-time pet-sitting career. This compact, comprehensive handbook provides a complete set of practical tools that take you from startup to success with your peace of mind intact. Renée’s practical advice goes hand in hand with mindfulness skills that are paired with helpful tips for finding work-life balance. Even experienced pet sitters will learn that peace of mind in self-employment is not for the birds. It’s for you!Table of Contents:PART 1: HOW TO PLAN YOUR BUSINESS MINDFULLYChapter 1 So you want to be a pet sitter. But why?Chapter 2 How to launch your new pet-sitting service Chapter 3 Defining your boundariesChapter 4 Beginners’ brandingChapter 5 Mindful networkingChapter 6 Client materialsChapter 7 Organizational tools for your businessChapter 8 Your first client!PART 2: RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS WITH INTENTIONChapter 9 Mindful schedulingChapter 10 Working with peopleChapter 11 Other people’s energyChapter 12 Dealing with difficult clientsChapter 13 Staying sane during crazy timesPART 3: CARING FOR OUR ANIMAL FRIENDSChapter 14 How to keep pets happy while their humans are awayChapter 15 Dogs, dogs, dogs!Chapter 16 Crate trainingChapter 17 The emotions of dogsChapter 18 Walking the dogChapter 19 Dog healthChapter 20 The fantastic felineChapter 21 The emotions of catsChapter 22 Communing with catsChapter 23 Cat healthChapter 24 Chicken careChapter 25 Bunny care—It’s not just about carrotsChapter 26 The scope of our care doesn’t end therePART 4: GETTING THE HELP YOU NEEDChapter 27 Collaborating with colleaguesChapter 28 How do you know when to hire staff?PART 5: SAFETY FIRSTChapter 29 Staying safe out thereChapter 30 Taking others with you on visitsChapter 31 EmergenciesChapter 32 Runaway petsChapter 33 Disaster preparednessPART 6: CARING THROUGH COMFORTChapter 34 Helping those sweet seniorsChapter 35 End of life with our animal friendsChapter 36 Emotional hazards for caregiversChapter 37 Self-care and time offRECOMMENDED READING Read more