Here are 4 great tips for building your dog walking company
Keep It Simple, both for your sake and your clients. A Dog Walking Business should not be complicated, so don’t over complicate it. Work out your business systems in the most simple way, this will help you keep costs down and stop you getting headaches quite so often. Keep it simple for the customer; which means concise clear messages and website, straightforward pricing structures and clear marketing messages. Think about Google; it didn’t become the world’s most successful search engine company by being over-complicated – it really looks quite basic and therefore easy to use.
Quality is Key
Exceeding your clients expectations, will help out perform your competition every time. There are lots of ways you can provide quality to your clients, apart from the obvious things which you need to do anyway (such as being reliable and always turning up for your appointments). Think about the ways you can add quality to your business, whether it is sending them a text at work to let them know how their dog is enjoying his walk or send them a Christmas card featuring a picture of their very own hound (you can do this via services such as Moonpig or Vistaprint).
Build a Great Team
You can’t do it all on your own. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, trying to do every single part of your dog walking company may prove to be a too big a headache. Concentrate on your strengths with in the business and the things that bring you more clients, such as client meetings. Some of the other work you may need to farm out, i.e. for your accounting you are going to need the services of an accountant/CPA, you may need someone to design or help you with your website. Think about the people you know (friends and relatives), do you know any graphic designers (for your logo), a friend who is a whiz with websites (maybe he can help with yours!) – don’t go it alone, start building your great team.
Into the Unknown
Going solo and setting up your own dog walking business isn’t easy and success isn’t guaranteed – if it was everyone would do it! Being and entrepreneur and setting up your own dog walking company feels a bit like walking the plank – when you first take the plunge, you might feel like you’re flying, then you might feel like your falling, but you don’t know if you will sink or swim until you hit the water?
In your past life you may have had a steady job or career, regular wage packet and regular hours – but now you are in unknown waters and it is going to feel very weird at first. You have officially left your comfort zone. If you have your plan in place and know what your goals are then you are going to have to start swimming, and the sooner you do, the sooner you will feel a little bit more comfortable. Always remember where you are heading towards and occasionally remember what you are leaving behind…