You’ve all read stories of people who started a business from their kitchen table. How about starting your business from someone else’s kitchen table or a multitude of tables?
That is how I started my business, house and pet sitting while figuring out what this business of mine was going to look like.
This might sound like a great deal, free rent ties in return for caring for someone’s home and pets. Easy right? Although there are many upsides there are also some downsides you need to be aware of before you dive into this lifestyle:
1. Where do you live between housesits?
This is the question I was asked most often. My answer? It depends. Sometimes I’ll use Air BnB or rent a room from a friend, go camping or sleep on someone’s sofa. You do need a backup plan as you won’t always be able to smoothly go from one sit to the next.
2. You need to be able to travel lightly
I lived with what I can fit in the boot of my car. Everything else that was precious to me was locked away in a storage unit.
I really liked living this way as less “stuff” means more freedom to me. Also, you really come to know what you need as you pack and repack a lot!
But there were times where it’s a pain in the backside. Where I long to be in a place surrounded by the treasures I’d collected from my travels or I missed a favourite cookbook.
3. You need to be adaptable
This is true for all housesitters. It is especially important if you’re growing a business at the same time.
The internet might not work quite as well as you were told.
The owners may not have left any wardrobe space or kitchen space for you to exist in their home.
The pets you’re looking after might not behave as described by their owners.
I love the variety of housesitting. Seeing how others live and exploring new neighbourhoods. There were still times where I’ve muttered under my breath when arriving at a house sit to find that the house hasn’t been cleaned or the fridge is so full of stuff that there is no space to put my food. Luckily this was pretty rare.
4. It takes time
I introduced a friend to housesitting and she described it as a part time job. Which is true. It takes time to review options, apply for sits and be interviewed. Then there is the travel time and the settling in time as you get to know pets, houses and neighbours. This is a “cost” of pet sitting that isn’t always talked about, you need to be prepared to put in the time to make this lifestyle work.
5. Buffer days
When I moved from one sit to another I didn’t attempt to do any work that day. By the time I’d cleaned the house I was leaving, written an update to the home owners, packed and unpacked the car, introduced myself to the house and any animals and dealt with any “unfortunates” on arrival, the day was done.
I also didn’t schedule any client calls for a couple of days in case the internet wasn’t working and I needed to find an alternative. Having these buffer days became even more important as I started doing international pet sits.
6. You need to be organised
You’re caring for someone’s treasured home and pets. Get the owners and their pet’s names right. Get dates right. Make sure you keep in touch as agreed. Think about how you’d feel in their shoes, especially if this is the first time they’ve had a pet sitter.
7. You need to love animals
I had thought this was a given for pet sitters but the more home owners I talked to the more I realised this wasn’t the case. They’d had bad experiences with people just wanting a free place to stay and their pets hadn’t been cared for in the way they deserved. If you’re not sure if animals are your thing then do some trial pet sits for friends to allow you to test out how you are with different animals.
There are so many different options on how to start a business. I leapt feet first, giving up my job as a corporate lawyer and diving right in. That approach won’t work for everyone so always do what feels right for you. Over the years I’ve taken on contract work to even out my cash flow – lots of business owners do this yet it’s not often talked about.
I’ve been a pet sitter for over 10 years now, on and off, here in New Zealand, in Mexico, Guatemala, Argentina, the US and Canada. I’ve lost track of the numbers of pets I’ve cared for – it would be close to 200 by now. It’s been an incredible experience.
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