About Us Leadson Dog Walking I set up my dog walking business (Leadson Dog Walking) in 2006. We had recently moved to a new area with no family support.  My husband and I both worked full-time and struggled to find someone to walk our dog during the middle of the day.  I would usually race home at lunchtimes (20 mile return journey), quick toilet / walk and race back to the office, all very stressful especially with an irate manager to contemplate upon my return to the office, quite expensive with the additional petrol costs involved and invariably hungry as I didn’t have time to eat a sandwich!. In time, I left my employment to care for our son, who was a toddler at the time.  His child minder had finished working through ill health.  It was at this time when we were out with our dog that it occurred to me that we mustn’t be the only ones who struggled with dog walking during the daytime.  A small guide such as this would have been really helpful at that time, I made many mistakes and regularly changed my operation  until I found a way that fitted in with our lives and suited my customers. In addition to the dog walking side, we subsequently set up another aspect to the business with an online dog poop bag shop: Dogpoopbags.co.uk has been trading online since May 2009 and was formed following requests from my dog walking clients for environmentally friendly waste bags and in line with our environmental policy.  We now regularly supply individuals / pet stores / dog walking businesses / local / town / parish councils, police forces and housing associations throughout the UK on a bulk basis.  We are located in Laurencekirk, Aberdeenshire and have been dog walking since 2006.   About You You have to decide if a dog walking business is right for you.  There are no pre-requisites for this but a genuine love for animals and the outdoors together with a good level of physical fitness are probably the most important.  Your clients are the most important aspect of your business, they will know if you are the right person to service their requirements – after all, they will be allowing you access to their cherished pets and probably to their home.  THIS IS A HUGE RESPONSIBILITY! Animal handling experience / background would be fantastic as you will be confident and knowledgeable from the start.  Your clients will be put straight at ease. Be prepared to go and meet new people and their pets at their home.  Consider whether you are confident enough to promote your business in this situation. Some areas may require an element of travel to reach your customers; consider the weather aspect, are you happy to attend in all weather situations - spring, summer and autumn are usually excellent but winter can be difficult at times, especially in wet, windy, cold, icey and snowy conditions. If you are not keen on animals, then I would say this job is not for you and find something else better suited!    Information Self employment Being self employed has both advantages and disadvantages, some that I consider to be of importance:   Advantages of self employment 1.            Financial – you control how much you earn 2.            Hours – you control what hours you work 3.            Independence – you are “the boss” and do not answer to anyone   Disadvantages of self employment 1.            Financial – possibility of no or irregular income 2.            Responsibility of your book keeping, tax returns, VAT returns etc... 3.            Few holidays / days off   The above are just a few general factors which apply to any business start up but are very serious issues to consider before you make move into the world of animal care...   ·                    What sort of income are you looking for?  This line of work is not the highest paying careers but very rewarding   ·                    Would you work full-time or part-time?   ·                    Can you afford to have a period of non-payment until you have acquired a client base and then in a position to start to invoice?  Can you afford your mortgage / rent / living costs / expenses for what could be weeks or even months before you see any earnings coming in?   ·                    Do you need to buy a vehicle?   ·                    Can you manage your own book keeping? Or would you need to hire specialist services for this?   ·                    Inland Revenue – NI payment, tax return, register for VAT   ·                    Insurance  - commercial and transportation   ·                    What service (s) would you provide?   ·                    Animal 1st Aid     Starting up   Decide upon a business name. Decide what services you can provide – you will find this will develop further with time and experience – e.g. dog walking, dog day care, cat care at home, small pet sitting, reptile, fish, pet taxi, house sitting to name a few. Start up costs can range from minimal to thousands of pounds – sole trader or the purchase of a franchise.          Insurance   This is to protect you.  Insurance offers a peace of mind to your customers in that you are a responsible and established business.  Shop around for the best possible deal.   Basic insurance cover will cover you for 3rd party public liability insurance; care, custody and control of your clients; lock and key cover, should you lose your clients keys and be liable for replacement of new locks etc...   Additional insurance will cover your clients for accidental injury to the animal.   If you are employing staff you will need Employers Liability Insurance.   Transport insurance if use a vehicle.     Transport   A vehicle may not be essential in the early days but as your business grows it can be financially viable for you to walk several dogs together at a suitable location, thus requiring their transportation.  An estate car is good, or a van is ideal.  If purchasing a van look for rear and side opening doors, enabling you to reach your clients safely and easily, with added ventilation / air conditioning.   I have found the vehicle to be my greatest source of advertising as it is signed with my business information.   Business transport requires additional transport insurance and only cost me a few pounds per month more than my private insurance.  However the added flexibility of carrying several clients together has increased my turn over and significantly paid for itself.   Check with your local Authority before proceeding as different areas have different guidelines.       Advertising You need to let your potential clients know what you are doing and that they need your service - A dog owner friend, who worked full-time once said to me “Dog walking? I wouldn’t have known I needed one until I heard what you were doing”. Costs can vary dependent upon how and where you advertise.  Flyers / business cards in local shops / notice boards / vets / puppy classes / neighbours / local homes etc... might be sufficient for low cost.   There are online businesses which can produce very low cost flyers and business cards.  Always carry cards with you. Local newspapers can be a good source of advertising but can work out costly if you run a campaign for several weeks.  However, if budgeted for, you may find this a great method to pick up customers quickly.  Yellow Pages / Yell.com can be expensive for a large advert, but these are reliable and well known.  Yellow pages come out annually but Yell.com can advertise from your specified date.  There are annual fees involved.  Vehicle – your car / van gets seen wherever you go, even while parked outside your house so essential to have signage denoting your business.  Website – I collect a large percentage of new clients from my website.  I built and maintain my own and have optimised for the major search engines to find my business for my local area.   Your website should look good, professional and come up on the first pages of search engine results.  In this day and age of internet access I would strongly advise a website of your own, even a basic version who, what, where and when etc... Advertising a product or service now falls within Distance Selling Regulations and compliance is necessary.  Your local Trading Standards Department at your local council can help with this.  Word of mouth – I have found this very positive.  There is nothing better than an existing or past client recommending your services.  However, you have to get one first!!   Speak to people.  If you have a dog of your own, then chat to them whilst you are out walking – don’t oversell yourself but a remark here and there.  Always carry a business card.   You will eventually discover the best method of advertising in your home area by trying as many different methods of advertising as possible.       Book keeping   Keep accurate records One of the keys to running a successful business is to keep on top of your paperwork. From day one keep clear and accurate records of everything that happens to your business, especially financial transactions. Try to be as organised as possible and put time aside each week to keep paperwork up to date and organised. It is a legal requirement to maintain a good standard of book keeping for Inland Revenue purposes and file for 7 years (true at time of writing, this may be subject to change – check your IR Department) You can do this yourself or employ specialist services. You must maintain your books for: 1.            Income tax 2.            National Insurance 3.            VAT (if relevant) You should maintain your books because: 1.            Records your turn over / purchases 2.            Highlights any overdue accounts 3.            Shows profitability 4.            An organised system will prove helpful when preparing your income tax / VAT return 5.         You can make sensible business related decisions and planning   Inland Revenue Inform Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs You must notify HMRC within three months of becoming self employed.  This is easy to do, either by filling out the online form or phoning the Newly Self-Employed Helpline on 0845 915 4515. You will also be responsible for paying your own National Insurance contributions: Class 2 NI Contributions are £2.45 per week (2010/11 tax year).   You may pay additional Class 4 contributions on profits you make over £7,000 (2010/11 tax year). Once you become self-employed you will pay tax each year by filling out a tax return and self-assessing how much you owe.  Place money designated for income aside in a separate bank account from day one – then you should not find yourself struggling to meet a payment.   Speak to your local Inland Revenue department for new business start-ups for detailed and further advice.   Register for VAT If your turnover is greater than £70,000 (from 1/4/2010) in a rolling 12 month period you will be liable to pay VAT even as a self-employed person.  If you exceed this limit you must register for VAT within 30 days.   Bank Account Keep your business financial affairs separate from your personal finances. Open a business bank account – either with your personal bank or shop around, compare charges / interest rates, local branch etc..., for both current and deposit accounts.   Local Authority   Some local authorities issue rules and guidelines for pet businesses within their areas.   Check with your local Environmental Health Department to see what action is required.  For example, some authorities restrict the amount of dogs you may walk in a public place at any one time; regulations which govern the carriage and transport of animals; dog fouling rules for your area.   The local Dog Warden can be your friend, use them to your utmost advantage.   If you intend to build a website contact your local Trading Standards Department as they will help ensure you are in compliance with the correct regulations for distance selling and advertising and also Privacy Policy statements.     Rules and Regulations   Familiarise yourself with whatever rules you can.   Refer to The Department for Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) website.    EU Regulation for transport of animals Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act (Amendment) 1997 The Animals Act 1971 Dog Control Orders Distance Selling Regulations Data Protection Act Privacy Policy     Pricing   Designate a practical geographical working area. Decide what services you will offer Eg, dog walking, dog day care, small pet sitting, pet taxi etc... and regulate your charges accordingly. Check out your local competition. Do not over price yourself – you may not acquire / maintain your clients. Do not under price yourself you have your costs and wage to pay! Do you need to charge a mileage rate. List your prices on your website – if your potential client contacts you, this means that they know what to expect. My rates start at £7.00 per half hour walk (rising to between £10-£14 per full hour), £0.35 per mile travelled.  These rates were set on the basis that my area is rural and incurs a fair amount of travel and dependent upon the number of days per week I work for each client.  How regular is the work, Monday-Friday or less than 4 days per week? Charging your customers – in advance; weekly; monthly.  We invoice most of my regular clients 4 weekly, this works for me as we can plan a “pay day”.  Irregular clients are invoiced on a weekly basis and ad-hoc clients are invoiced upon completion of the contract. Be specific about what payment methods are acceptable to you – Cash, cheque, bank transfer, relatively low cost from a banking point of view.  You may wish to provide a card payment facility such as Paypal, for which fees apply. Initially, you could provide a “Free Trial” or special offer 2 walks for price of 1 to help kick start your business.     Documentation  I found that the following information has been helpful: Client registration form – the client provides their personal details, relevant pet information, service required, rate charged etc... Terms and Conditions – set out your terms service, invoice procedure / payment details, working days / hours and any other relevant information. Daily report – provide a diary and leave with your clients.  A handy transfer of non-urgent information.  Keeps your client informed of what their beloved dog has been up to that day.  My clients love this!  If you have the time, digital camera and inclination, set up a private Blog... Again in this age of electronic information transfer, your clients will thoroughly enjoy this.      Competition Upon your initial research, don’t be disheartened if there appears to be several businesses offering similar services in your area.  This may mean that there is opportunity.  You could offer a new and unique service.  The competition can help you determine your rates. Developing a good relationship with one or more may prove mutually helpful e.g., by the provision of cover for one another’s holidays.  You could advertise that you provide a 365 day per year service!  Keep your customers informed of your plans, they may not wish their house keys transferred to a third party.
Additional information: Hopefully, the information above has provided a small insight into how to set up a dog walking business and should you decide to go ahead then we wish you every success in your new venture.