Help with pet sitting service

[SugarCubes]

I’ve been asked by a number of people to horse or farm sit while they’re on vacation or away at a show. I’m getting to the point where it’s keeping me pretty busy and I’d like to make this into more of an official business and have been doing a lot of research lately.

I’m needing help coming up with a good name, so that I can get a website up and running and so I can start doing some advertising.
I’d focus mainly on horse or dog sitting, but would be willing to house sit and I’ll take care of whatever other critters a client may also have. I’ve come up with my rates, and am currently looking into insurance. I already have great references and am going to have a few past clients write testimonials for the website. Thinking about making a facebook page also.

Rate wise - how does this sound to you guys:

Breakfast: $25/1 horse, $10 each additional horse
Feeding/supplements/medications to owners specifications
Stall cleaning
Blanket changes if necessary, fly spray if necessary
Turn out
Tidy up barn, sweep aisle, etc
Can add grooming or longing for $5

Lunch: $15/visit, $5 additional if feeding 3 or more horses
Lunch feed, or lunch hay, if needed
Refill water
Visual inspection of everyone

Dinner: $20/1 horse, $5 each additional horse
Feed, water
Bring in from turnout
Blanket change if necessary
Visual inspection
Tidy up barn, lights off, close up…whatever owner’s nightly routine consists of

Not really sure how to charge for dogs…

I’d also like to add some other services that will help set me apart from the rest. I’m thinking I’ll offer tack cleaning, bathing, and mane pulling. I’ll water plants, and I can do pooper scooper service if they are interested in that too. Anything else you can think of?

How does that sound so far? Any clever name ideas? I had thought of Horse and Hound but that’s kind of stealing ;), or Ponies and Pups…but I’m not loving either.

[littlebaypony]

I do a fair amount of house/horse/pet sitting and I think your plan is very reasonable. I charge $12.50/animal/day with a $25 minimum. So for 2 horses twice a day a person would pay you $60? Do you have a plan for horses that are out 24/7 and only need feed, water and boo boo check?
I don’t charge for cats because initially all I was dealing with was barn cats but I wish now I charged when I have to clean litter boxes; they are so gross!
Good luck with your business.

[SugarCubes]

[QUOTE=littlebaypony;8757805]
I do a fair amount of house/horse/pet sitting and I think your plan is very reasonable. I charge $12.50/animal/day with a $25 minimum. So for 2 horses twice a day a person would pay you $60? Do you have a plan for horses that are out 24/7 and only need feed, water and boo boo check?
I don’t charge for cats because initially all I was dealing with was barn cats but I wish now I charged when I have to clean litter boxes; they are so gross!
Good luck with your business.[/QUOTE]

Correct - I’m wondering if I should offer some type of package pricing that is discounted, however. If it’s a one day thing, I’d charge $60, but maybe a multi-day discount? So much depends on how the barn is set up, or like you said, if they’re out 24/7 I’d need to adjust rates based on that. If all I’m doing is dumping grain, checking water and checking for boo-boos, I’m thinking $15 would be reasonable? Pricing is SO hard because it’s very much dependent on the specific situation…maybe I shouldn’t have set rates?

One client I help has 5 horses, chickens, a dog, and barn cats. I only charge them $80/day for the horses because they have stall/paddock access and are easy and fast to take care of. Don’t know what to charge for the rest of their animals though, the chickens can be a major pain to get into the coop at night.

[candyappy]

I remember why I no longer go on vacation.

It might be less intimidating if you have vacation pricing( by the week) and 1-2 day pricing ( for show people). You could keep your prices somewhat reasonable and maybe have a milage fee if it was a fair bit of driving involved.

Of course, if this is what everyone in your area is paying go for it!!

[Texarkana]

I had a pet sitting biz and fair rates were always a challenge for me. Partly because I undervalue myself to a fault, but also because I had some 30 horse farms that were less work and took less time than some 2 horse farms.

What worked best for me was a flat daily rate for all jobs, plus an hourly rate added on if it took me longer than an hour per feeding. I rarely enforced that hourly rate unless it was obvious up front, like having stall work or wanting me to spend hours walking dogs. But it helped prevent people from taking advantage of me. I suppose I should take it as a compliment, but folks were always asking me to do addition crap they didn’t want to do themselves. “Can you pull Dobbin’s mane and cobweb the barn while you’re here? You do such a good job!” Um, no… It took me many years to realize “no” is a complete sentence.

Good luck with your endeavor, it’s always a needed service. I have been pet sitting my whole life and can never seem to truly escape it no matter how hard I try. I have a love/hate relationship with it. Even now that I have disbanded my biz, I still end up getting roped into at least one big job a year. My problem is that it always turns into more commitment than I want. When folks know they have good, affordable help, they often take advantage of it.

[partita]

Where do you live?*

[Laurierace]

Step one if you haven’t already is get insurance. I am insured through PSA, not sure if they have coverage for farm animals as well but they may and are the most reasonably priced that I have found.

[Murphy_s_Mom]

Just sent you a PM with a link to my pet sitting friend’s new website.

Good luck with your new business. I only sit for a couple of neighbors. I get $20/day for feeding 2-3 horses and a few dogs 2x a day, no turn out or cleaning. Both places are about a mile from my house and it only takes 15-20 minutes including drive time (I’m lazy, I drive over, they are both up steep hills). It makes for good pocket money.

[Laurierace]

Step one if you haven’t already is get insurance. I am insured through PSA, not sure if they have coverage for farm animals as well but they may and are the most reasonably priced that I have found.

[SMF11]

Re the name – I don’t like cutesy names, so I’d pick a name that makes clear what the business is, e.g. Laurie Smith Farm and Petsitting or similar.

Strongly urge you to factor in the time the work takes. My barn chores in the summer take me half an hour in the morning and again in the evening. Even here in the land of high prices I’d baulk at a daily fee of $135 for the 7 horses.

[Sansena]

Call local Barnes and dog boarding houses and see what their daily rates are. I just up or down based upon the services you provide Anna comparison. Factor in mileage, and of course your P I a fee and there you have it.

Repeat or regular customers get a discount because I know I can count on regular work from them. If someone starts off the conversation stating how much they need to get out of you in terms of work, so they get their moneys worth, you know that Likly isn’t someone who will pay you a fair rate.

Use commonsense, network, and always be willing to negotiate.

[meupatdoes]

When I am on the client side of things, I really balk at piecemeal rates. I much prefer a per day flat rate, with discounts for longer terms.

So I would set rates based on how long it should take to do the work. 1/2 hour breakfast feeding is $x, no matter whether 17 goldfish or 3 camels are involved. 1 hour breakfast feeding is $y.

And if they buy a week’s worth, or a package of 30 times that they can use over several vacations, that deal is $z.

From a marketing stand point you want to be able to tell them something in a sentence or two that is easy to remember. You want them to be able to mentally calculate what they can expect to pay fairly easily, and also be able to easily tell their friends.

[Paks]

My barn sitter charges $35/hr plus a travel charge. With a minimum charge per visit of $35. She does 4 horses including stall cleaning along with care of 6 barn cats and 3 indoor cats for $70/day with 2 visits.

[SugarCubes]

[QUOTE=Laurierace;8757990]
Step one if you haven’t already is get insurance. I am insured through PSA, not sure if they have coverage for farm animals as well but they may and are the most reasonably priced that I have found.[/QUOTE]

Yes, thank you! I have already looked into that

Good tips and advice…I think you guys are right about the rates, a flat fee may be easier, and I want pricing to be more competitive, I think what I originally posted is too high. It’s just so dependent on each individual situation that I wonder if I should meet with the client and see what needs to be done, then come up with a price based on that.

[red_mares]

@meupatdoes;8758936

When I am on the client side of things, I really balk at piecemeal rates. I much prefer a per day flat rate, with discounts for longer terms.

Your rate schedule is way too complicated for me. I can see a higher price for feed/turnout vice just feed, but 3 different prices for one day is too far into the weeds.

[jawa]

I find an hourly rate is an easy thing to do. You can make sure your travel time is compensated in the rate. A 15-30 min job would be slightly higher per hour than a 2-3 hour job.

[Wonders12]

I don’t run a full business, but when people ask for my rates, “House and indoor pet sitting starts at $40 per night, and horse/farm sitting starts at $60 per night. Prices depend on your exact needs. I would love to schedule a time to come by, discuss what you’re looking for, and provide you with exact prices.”

It gives people a general understanding of my prices (I’m not a $10/night sitter), but gives me room to charge based on the exact job.

I like this structure because it’s not complicated for the client. While I have a general idea of what I charge for different services/animals/etc., the actual price I quote is much more complicated than that. Barn cats are easy, house cats that with daily litter box changes are not. 10 horses with a round bale that I just need to make sure have 2 eyes and 4 legs are easy, 3 poorly mannered horses with thrice daily mash and water that needs to be hauled from the house are not. Walking clients through that process is time consuming and upsetting for them. (Clients never think their animals or process is as challenging or time consuming as it is.)

This also keeps people from asking me for a la carte services that aren’t worth my time. For house sitting, my nightly rate is $40, and I’ll add a daytime visit for $5. I’m not really making money off that daytime visit, but it’s a way to keep my customers happy without me losing money. I would not make a $5 daytime visit on its own, so I don’t advertise it like that. (Although I do explain this to clients so they know they have the option of the lower price if they want.)

KISS when it comes to pricing.

[Laurierace]

[QUOTE=meupatdoes;8758936]
When I am on the client side of things, I really balk at piecemeal rates. I much prefer a per day flat rate, with discounts for longer terms.

So I would set rates based on how long it should take to do the work. 1/2 hour breakfast feeding is $x, no matter whether 17 goldfish or 3 camels are involved. 1 hour breakfast feeding is $y.

And if they buy a week’s worth, or a package of 30 times that they can use over several vacations, that deal is $z.

From a marketing stand point you want to be able to tell them something in a sentence or two that is easy to remember. You want them to be able to mentally calculate what they can expect to pay fairly easily, and also be able to easily tell their friends.[/QUOTE]

Why a discount? I have had dogs for as long as two months and did not discount. A time slot or in my case a dog for in home boarding is a time slot. I see no reason why I should make less just because I have been doing it longer. I am allowed five dogs here overnight, if I turn away a full paying dog because your dog is here at a discount that is just bad business. I would think that would be multiplied in someone who farm sits since they can only be in one place at one time.