Have you ever thought about quitting your desk job to do something you really love? Do you spend your days in the office daydreaming about frolicking with your four-legged friends? Have you ever considered starting a new career as a pet sitter?
Some people who leave cubicle land wind up pet sitting, thinking they can make a living. They may be mistaken. If you choose to market your services on Craigslist or by advertising yourself through a national pet service like Rover.com, you may make just above minimum wage. Factor in the cost of insurance, and you might barely break even. That’s why aspiring pet sitters should learn about the benefits of working with Critter Sitters. Critter Sitters is dedicated to cultivating a caring, supportive community of pet sitters who have the freedom and opportunity to make a substantial income.
If you choose to work with Critter Sitters, you can earn more while doing what you love. To learn more about the pet sitting opportunities at Critter Sitters, call today at (404) 793-6178.
How Pet Sitting Works in Georgia
To figure out whether your pet sitter falls into the professional category, we need to dig into the economics of the business, at least a little. Most Georgia pet sitters charge about the same amount for a basic visit. This is often the case, regardless of whether they are individuals advertising through Craigslist or flyers on bulletin boards, companies like Rover.com that connects freelance sitters with those who need pet sitting, or a full-service dog sitting company that offers experienced professional care.
The average Atlanta dog walk (midday) runs about $25 for one dog, and a few bucks more for each additional dog. At Critter Sitters, we charge $25 to walk one dog for about 20 minutes, plus $4 for each additional dog. If business or travel takes you away from home, Critter Sitters is prepared to take care of your pet without breaking the bank. Our out-of-town service costs $26 for the first animal, $4 for each additional dog and $3 for each additional cat or other pet. When our pet sitters check in on your furry friend, they’ll help out in other ways, like by bringing in mail, cleaning litter boxes, and more.
Like most services, after the basics the full cost can get complicated. Some pet sitters have an upcharge for holidays, late evening visits, giving medication or injections, distance traveled, key duplication and even for the initial client meeting, among other so-called “extras.” At Critter Sitters, we decided 40 years ago that having one simple price makes the most sense to clients, and we have stuck with that philosophy. That’s just one of the first major differences between our company and almost all the others.
Pet Sitting Income Averages
If you want to make pet sitting your full-time job, it’s important to understand how much you’ll be making. At Critter Sitters, we care about transparency between us and our sitters, which is why we’ve compiled income averages from competing services. You should know all of your options so that you can earn an income that will support you from doing what you love.
Independent Sitters
Individual sitters might promote their services on Craigslist, pay nothing for advertising and keep everything they earn (minus taxes and expenses). So, theoretically, you could charge any amount for pet sitting services. That said, it’s hard to find clients and difficult to stand out from the crowd. How do you differentiate yourself, and how do clients know they can trust you if they don’t already know you? Reviews can help, but larger, well-established competitors earn the majority of new business. Without volume, no individual pet sitter can begin to make a living without help promoting their services.
National Services
Pet sitters that advertise themselves through national services, like Rover.com, can set their own rates, depending on experience and preferences. These rates depend on the individual, so it’s hard to know exactly how much pet sitters that use Rover.com actually make. If some pet sitters offer services at a very low rate, clients may be more inclined to hire them and not you.
While sitters can set their own pricing, Rover.com keeps a significant portion of what sitters make. Rover.com charges a service fee to pet sitters, which equates to 20% of what a sitter makes per booking (15% for people who joined before a certain date). Plus, Rover.com has the right to charge pet owners extra fees, which you’ll find in the fine print.
Sitters who join RoverGO, Rover.com’s premium service, need to hand over 25% of their earnings from each booking. Although RoverGO gives sitters a boost in the search rankings, a session with a professional photographer and other benefits, it also requires a minimum one-year commitment or the sitter has to reimburse the company for many of these charges.
Pet Sitting Insurance
Having protection, like insurance, is good practice for anyone caring for someone else’s beloved pets and home. Organizations such as the Georgia Network of Professional Pet Sitters require members to be insured, and national associations, such as NAPPS, teach it as a best practice. Prospective pet sitters should understand the cost of insurance, and how that might affect their income.
Insurance for pet sitters is not inexpensive, and the cost borne by a pet sitting company is passed along in its rates. Larger organizations doing more business can absorb insurance costs more readily, and many but not all of them include it as a benefit for sitters who work with them.
For example, Rover.com does offer insurance that covers up to $25,000 of medical bills resulting from illness or injury where the sitter is at fault, after a $500 deductible is met. But the terms of service spell out many areas in which the company will not pay out.
Generally, it looks like most sitters, except for individuals who have many regular clients, are working for peanuts. Minimum wage is minimum wage. Even being generous and saying a pet sitter nets $10 a visit and gets assigned eight visits a day means they’re taking home less than $30,000 a year. And that’s while working seven days a week with no vacation. It’s also important to note that the business is not that consistent. It’s seasonal. The winter is slow. And it’s rare to have as many visits on weekdays as on weekends.
When you crunch numbers, and consider the cost of insurance compared to how much you’ll be earning by working for our competitors, pet sitting sounds less and less attractive. That’s why aspiring pet sitters should think hard about which company they’d like to work for: one that pays more, or one that doesn’t.
Why We are Different
Critter Sitters is a little different than other pet sitting services. First, our sitters work for themselves under a license agreement that mandates procedures and controls quality. Everyone works from the same fee schedule. The clients pay the sitters, and the sitters pay their managers, who then pay the company. We honor territories and have built a strong community of pet sitters in Georgia over the past 40 years. All of this is what allows our sitters to earn more while doing what they love.
Honesty
Our CEO and president, Jeffrey Lauterbach, says, “Honesty is generally rewarded with honesty. Also, from years of experience we can spot people who may be cheating. It always seems to come out.” The sitters pay their managers on the same day each month after the end of the preceding month. Sitters can make their earnings work for them in the meantime, especially if they invest them wisely. In other words, the company rewards and supports their entrepreneurial commitment.
Opportunities for Growth
Sitters work on a license fee schedule that starts with their keeping 70% of the first $600 they earn each month, and paying lower percentages of amounts above that. The managers aggregate the totals of all the sitters in their territories and pay on a similar schedule. As CEO and president of Critter Sitters Jeffrey Lauterbach says, “We reward sitters who work hard, provide great service and build up repeat clients.”
Sure, but how many sitters with the company make that kind of money? Lauterbach says that more than you would think have the persistence to work at building their businesses and wind up making over $50,000 a year, after license fees but before taxes and travel expenses. Just as with client pricing, there are no extras in the Critter Sitters model. The company provides everything a sitter needs to be a pet sitter, except for reliable transportation, and there is no upfront fee of any kind, although the company is quite picky about screening newcomers.
Lack of Competition
Another difference between Critter Sitters and other pet sitting services is that we provide and honor geographic territories. Sitters can count on receiving all the business that comes in in their area. Sitters who work for themselves or for companies who don’t have territories face more competition for the same amount of business. As our CEO Jeffrey Lauterbach says, “Territories protect sitters with the expectation that they will service all business that comes in within their territories.”
Community
At the end of the day, if you choose to find clients through Critter Sitters, you’ll get to keep more of the money you earn than if you worked for comparable competitors. What’s more, you’ll also benefit from nearly four decades of experience, organized competent management, and resources (like our relationships with vets, who frequently recommend our services, promotional efforts, professionally designed materials, and an outstanding website). All of this adds up to a vibrant community tended by the company and featuring many sitters who have been with us for 10, 20, and even 30 years.
Interested in Becoming a Dog or Cat Sitter?
Critter Sitters have camaraderie, as well as the ability to build something that can be worth a few dollars if they ever retire. Not to mention, the added self-esteem that comes from being one’s own boss. To learn more about the pet sitting opportunities at Critter Sitters, call today at (404) 793-6178.
