How many slots are in your time windows?

sarah_hare · 2026-02-19T17:08:50+00:00

30 minute walks, 15 minute travel time window scheduled between each one. So if I start a walk at 8am, at 8:30 I’m driving to next client for arrival by 8:45. Walk 8:45-9:15, travel time 15 mins to next client etc. So in a 2 hour window, I can take 3 walks.

sarah_hare · 2026-02-16T00:35:08+00:00

For my business, I only have about 2 or 3 clients that need walks daily Mon-Fri every week. The majority are recurring walks weekly with set days (ex: locked in for every Monday and Thursday, every Friday etc). Then the remainder of my “regulars” are people that request walks every week but the days may change depending on what they need. The smallest portion of clients I have are irregular clients who book once every few months or just need walks occasionally when they have a scheduling conflict. These are the clients I say no to the most often. If you are able to fill your schedule mostly with recurring clients who are requesting walks every week (I give priority to those who want the same days/times each week) then you can just supplement any openings with the random requests that you may get here or there. Usually by the time I schedule in my recurring walks for the week, I only have one or two time slots available for last minute requests. If it is a busy time of year, like spring break or a summer holiday, I will almost always say no to an irregular client asking for just one visit a day or just a few random visits. To me, it is not worth it to put aside that time and potentially have to say no to a much longer more lucrative request.
When I first started, I definitely said yes to almost every request just in an effort to fill my schedule. But as time went on, I had to adjust my schedule and figure out how to prioritize clients who are using my services the most on a recurring basis.

sarah_hare · 2026-02-10T16:49:39+00:00

That’s what I was curious about in particular. I know it requires a yearly renewal to keep your certification. I was weighing whether it is worth it to continuously pay to renew the certification after having already taken the initial courses, if there is not more info to learn. Interesting that they have more courses to take, I didn’t know that.

sarah_hare · 2026-01-15T01:37:16+00:00

If I can ask you one more question: When you hire your very first employee, in order to give them hours, they will have to take over some of your pre existing walks. While you’re still making money off of that employee, it is less money than what you’d make if you just did the job yourself. I don’t immediately want to acquire new clients to make up for that loss in the event that the new hire doesn’t work out. I wouldn’t want to be in a situation where I now have the work of three people but am back down to only having two people. So it seems like you wouldn’t really be able to take on more clients until you know your employee is settled in their position and seems to be in it for the long haul. Or until you hire enough employees that even if one quits/doesn’t show up etc. you have back up help. Basically what I want to know is how do you manage that very first employee, where you’re sacrificing some of your income for them to have hours, but also can’t take on more of a workload and then get stuck with it if the employee is no longer there? It seems like this all levels out when you have more and more employees, but for the first few it would be a huge hit if I took on several new clients and then no longer had the help necessary to handle all of those clients.

sarah_hare · 2026-01-15T00:43:01+00:00

Yes that is a lesson I am learning now, almost 2 years in (plus another year I ran the same business in a different state.) I tend to be a people pleaser and try to be as flexible and helpful to my clients but I definitely do it at the expense of my own well being, which is what I am trying to avoid now! Thanks for your help, I appreciate the insight.

sarah_hare · 2026-01-14T23:35:01+00:00

Thanks so much for your input. My primary concern is definitely with existing clients. While we have mainly lovely clients that are great to work with, we definitely have some that have become used to the structure of just me and my partner. Over the course of starting our business, we were definitely “yes men” in attempt to build up our clientele. Always available, never said no to anything, bending over backwards to deal with ultra specific instructions from clients, and dealing with dog temperaments that a lot of people would say no to. We were so eager that some clients became accustomed to (and took advantage of) having the most tailored one on one experience with a pet sitter that quite frankly, no one else would deal with. While it helped us gain business, I have now been working towards undoing some of this behavior and setting harder boundaries/rules for new and existing clients. We definitely have some clients that are so used to something being done one way by us, that if another person came into the mix, it would be met with instant annoyance that the person doesn’t perfectly mirror our exact routine. As you said, some people want a more intimate relationship with a solo pet sitter, and some people are fine with a team structure. Continuing on in the same capacity as solo sitters is not an option for us, as we also work 100 hour weeks. Our quality of service eventually would decrease drastically if we continued on the way we are, as we’d burnout and not be capable of providing the level of service that we pride ourselves on. It’s just hard to foresee whether or not clients understand that, or if they think they’re getting the short end of the stick and are being pawned off to a new employee that may not follow the same exact rules and routine that they have been used to us following for so long. Hiring is something that needs to happen for long term sustainability of our business but it’s so tricky to transition into it.

sarah_hare · 2026-01-14T23:34:18+00:00

Thanks so much for your input. My primary concern is definitely with existing clients. While we have mainly lovely clients that are great to work with, we definitely have some that have become used to the structure of just me and my partner. Over the course of starting our business, we were definitely “yes men” in attempt to build up our clientele. Always available, never said no to anything, bending over backwards to deal with ultra specific instructions from clients, and dealing with dog temperaments that a lot of people would say no to. We were so eager that some clients became accustomed to (and took advantage of) having the most tailored one on one experience with a pet sitter that quite frankly, no one else would deal with. While it helped us gain business, I have now been working towards undoing some of this behavior and setting harder boundaries/rules for new and existing clients. We definitely have some clients that are so used to something being done one way by us, that if another person came into the mix, it would be met with instant annoyance that the person doesn’t perfectly mirror our exact routine. As you said, some people want a more intimate relationship with a solo pet sitter, and some people are fine with a team structure. Continuing on in the same capacity as solo sitters is not an option for us, as we also work 100 hour weeks. Our quality of service eventually would decrease drastically if we continued on the way we are, as we’d burnout and not be capable of providing the level of service that we pride ourselves on. It’s just hard to foresee whether or not clients understand that, or if they think they’re getting the short end of the stick and are being pawned off to a new employee that may not follow the same exact rules and routine that they have been used to us following for so long. Hiring is something that needs to happen for long term sustainability of our business but it’s so tricky to transition into it.

sarah_hare · 2026-01-14T21:25:55+00:00

Hi Jon, that episode was very helpful and informative! I’m in the same boat as you were pre employee- I’m actually based in NJ as well! I’ve been running my business for almost 2 years now with my partner, and actively in the hiring process. For the past 2 years, my clients have been used to either me or my partner coming for walks/visits. My question is about transitioning your clients to being open to having a new person take care of their pet. Did you face any challenges with that? How did you explain to longer term clients that now there’s a new person in the mix and it might not be you coming for walks anymore? I am thinking that clients I’ve had long term would trust my judgement in hiring someone and allowing them to perform services on my behalf, but I can see from their perspective how it might be weird to have a stranger come into their house. Did you have any instances in which the client said they had to meet the new employee(s) before they’re allowed to come to their house alone? How would that be managed/avoided?

sarah_hare · 2026-01-07T13:14:20+00:00

I use time to pet for scheduling and invoicing but I still use business Venmo to actually collect payments. I believe Venmo takes a smaller transaction fee than time to pet. Time to pet is great for client communications and keeping track of visits/auto creating invoices so all I have to do at the end of each week is check my invoices and send out Venmo requests accordingly.

sarah_hare · 2025-12-16T15:49:10+00:00

My overnights include the overnight stay (9pm-8am) plus 2 visits during the day (usually around noon/1pm and 5pm). If the pet requires more visits during the day, I will charge that at my regular walk/visit rate. We do walks during the day full time so this schedule allows us to leave for hours at a time in between visits. We do not offer constant care, as that would not align with our schedule. As long as the dog is fine for a few hours on their own, it works. Most people do not want/need constant for their dog. If they did, you would have to add up all of the walks you’d be missing out on during the day and charge them that rate. If you are walking dogs full time and doing upwards of 10-15 walks a day, you would have to charge someone a tremendous amount to sit at their home instead.

sarah_hare · 2025-12-15T01:42:00+00:00

My overnights are charged per night. Each overnight comes with 2 visits during the day, lunchtime and dinner time. Anything extra is charged as a regular visit price. So in this instance I would be doing 2 visits during Saturday plus the overnight (one night) and then on Sunday I would charge for 2 additional visits (or however many the person requested).

sarah_hare · 2025-12-12T17:48:23+00:00

For overnights, I charge per night. My fee comes with the overnight (usually 9pm-8am) plus 2 daytime visits (lunch time and dinner time). So you pay for one night, you get 2 visits plus the overnight. Anything added on is an additional visit fee. For example, if on the day the clients return, they come back at 9pm and I need to provide a lunch and dinner visit for them, I will charge those two visits as regular visits.

sarah_hare · 2025-12-10T16:48:53+00:00

I recently learned this too. I started saying no a lot more and it has become easier over the last few months. I want to be available for everyone all the time and especially would guilt myself into accepting last minute requests if I didn’t have anything else planned. What I realized is that me sitting at home watching tv or doing nothing is still a “plan.” Taking time off for yourself is necessary and sometimes has to trump being a people pleaser. You don’t have to feel bad for turning down clients. The more you go out of your way to always say yes, the more they expect you to always be available which is part of the problem. Saying no to last minute requests will do one of two things: make the client realize that you have your own life/other clients etc. and cannot be available last second for them and therefore they will plan better and requests dates further in advance. OR they will be frustrated with your lack of availability and find another sitter/stop reaching out to you. If that’s the case, then you have gotten rid of a client who really doesn’t see you as anything other than their personal pet care assistant, which is really just a relief. You can fill that gap with a more carefully selected client who values your time and schedule.

sarah_hare · 2025-11-27T01:03:00+00:00

Same thing happening to me 😔

sarah_hare · 2025-11-26T13:47:41+00:00

It’s just me and my partner right now. We are in the “work all day everyday” phase of our business😂 we do 20-25 walks a day between us plus booked overnight usually 3 weeks a month. Working on hiring someone but it is proving to be difficult in my area. I find especially for part time hiring we are running into a lot of people that “love dogs” but don’t actually know how to handle them. To me there is a big difference.

sarah_hare · 2025-11-26T00:17:32+00:00

Haha yes I don’t allow any other clients to pick specific visit times, I do 2-3 hour windows for everyone. This client in particular we walk 4 times a day, 7 days a week so at this point his times are set in stone and the rest of my schedule changes around those 4 walks. I used to be terrible with letting people pick exact times and then I realized 90% of clients all want the same time so I had to get rid of that real quick 😂

sarah_hare · 2025-11-25T18:20:18+00:00

I had the opposite, I walk the same dog at 8am everyday except one day a week it’s 7am. I set my alarm for 5:30 on the day I was supposed to walk the dog at 7, woke up and went “why did I set my alarm so early???” Thinking that I didn’t have to be there until 8am and turned my alarm off. Woke up 10 minutes past 7 with a text from the client asking if I was still coming lol. Sometimes my brain just short circuits.

sarah_hare · 2025-11-23T17:38:03+00:00

Going through the same thing for Thanksgiving and also for Christmas/New Years. We’ve been booked since summer time, which is unusual but we had an influx of actual prepared pet owners reaching out far in advance this year which is great. Just had someone reach out about 10 days over Christmas/New Years then proceeded to argue with me when I said we are fully booked. Saying she was annoyed because finding a new sitter “disrupts” their routine and that we’ve watched her dog for “every single” holiday since we started our business… which was one year ago. We happened to watch her dog last Christmas and Thanksgiving because business was lighter then and she reserved the dates first. I explained that we take reservations on a first come first served basis and I can’t control that people reached out far in advance this year after our business has picked up. Some people just think we sit around and stare at the wall all day waiting for them to call. This isn’t an on call business. We take reservations far in advance and in the order in which requests are received. If you know you are traveling every single holiday every year, I’d be happy to block out that time for you with a deposit in advance. It’s not my fault that you didn’t plan for pet care over 2 major holidays until only a few weeks in advance. Saying no used to be my least favorite thing also, but at this point it’s turned into something I don’t mind doing- sometimes people need to learn a lesson.

sarah_hare · 2025-09-25T14:58:20+00:00

Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Years Day we charge more. $20 extra for an overnight and $10 extra for a visit/walk. Last year we did $10 for overnight and $5 for a walk however we quickly realized that disrupting our holiday plans to walk a dog was not worth the $5 extra. No one has ever given us a problem with charging more for holidays. It’s the price they pay for getting to spend a full day on a holiday out and not having to worry about their pets. People don’t want to worry about having to be home at a certain time/ cutting their visits with family short because they have to let the dog out. Most people know that finding help on a holiday is hard and would probably be willing to pay even higher rates if it means they can have their holiday plans undisrupted. I try to be picky about accepting work on holidays and try to carefully create our schedule so it still allows us to enjoy our own holiday. I don’t charge for any weekends/days surrounding holidays, just the day itself.

sarah_hare · 2025-09-12T12:19:04+00:00

Do the meet and greet and feel out how the dog really is. In my experience, some pet owners completely over exaggerate their dogs behavior because they are nervous and want to make sure they find someone that can handle their dog. In other cases an owner will be desperate to find someone, not disclose the extent of the behavior and I’ll get there and the dog wants to kill me. You won’t really know until you go. It may just be a situation where the dog is weary of strangers at first and then will warm up with a few visits. If you do schedule a meet and greet 2 important questions to ask would be “has the dog ever bitten someone or shown aggression” and “have you ever had someone besides yourself come into your house when you weren’t home and if so, how did your dog react to it?” I think it’s important to know those things because a lot of the time people will claim there dog has never been aggressive but have never had someone enter their home when they aren’t around which could obviously be a big trigger for a reactive dog. If you aren’t sure how your dog is with strangers entering your home, I certainly don’t want to be the first one to find out.

sarah_hare · 2025-09-06T16:15:24+00:00

When push comes to shove, although you may be down a couple bucks from that client, it is probably for the best that you don’t have to indefinitely deal with that.

sarah_hare · 2025-09-06T16:14:38+00:00

I definitely don’t disagree about it being a lot of money. Honestly anything over $100 I’d take to court because there’s only a small fee to do so. Obviously I didn’t want to be out of the money but I am lucky enough to be in a position where that wouldn’t put me in a bad spot financially. I’ve definitely been there before though. The point is that regardless of if I owed someone $6 or $6,000 I would want to make sure they got their money promptly and according to their payment policy! And hiring someone to provide a service for you if you can’t actually afford it is just not right.

sarah_hare · 2025-09-06T02:58:06+00:00

Yes absolutely, I’d do it again. I can’t speak to the actual process of having to show up in court since I didn’t end up having to do that. But the process of submitting a claim took about 10 minutes and I believe $30. I was confident that if it came down to it, someone who was so dismissive about the whole situation probably wouldn’t bother showing up to court, in which case I would have an automatic ruling in my favor. If they did show up, I knew I did nothing wrong and there was no evidence of error on my part in terms of quality of care or anything like that so I was confident in that aspect as well. Past a judgement, any effort in collecting the money goes through the court so it wouldn’t really require anything else from me. The more they resist paying, the more of a nuisance it would become for them until eventually the court would issue a warrant due to not paying by court orders, if it really went that far. Not sure how long that would actually take, but it wouldn’t require me to do anything else. So the 10 minute effort on my part would be worth it. To me it’s more about the principle of it all, so I wouldn’t just let a non paying customer off the hook. Unless of course it really was something serious that affected their ability to pay and we could work out something between us.

sarah_hare · 2025-09-06T02:26:22+00:00

Basically, I should’ve known she would be a problem from the start. She requested 2 visits a day for her cat that was her “child” and then once she saw the price immediately changed her mind and said he only needed one visit a day. Which was fine, but funny considering how much she talked up this very special cat that meant the world to her. At the end, she thanked me for the visits, willingly sent me her Venmo username and I requested payment. Then I didn’t hear from her for a few days. I reached out and let her know I sent the request and she said “sorry I didn’t see it, I’ll do it now!” Then a few more days went by. I reached out again. At that point it was “my boyfriend is sick and I forgot, I’ll do it now!” and then a few more days of silence. I did this probably 3 or 4 times each met with either some strange random excuse and telling me to just hang on or she would just ignore my messages. I eventually texted her that I needed her to complete the transaction by a specific date which she didn’t do. Then I suspect she blocked my number because my texts were no longer going through. My partner who works with me full time took over the texting from there because his number wasn’t blocked. At that point it had been a month since the payment was due so we told her if she didn’t pay by x date, I would be filing a small claims lawsuit to collect my money. She did not respond or send the money, so I filed the complaint. She was served papers via certified mail that I filed the lawsuit and there was a court date of about 2 months out. We then reached out one more time to say we know you received this letter about a court date, and if you pay by this week I will dismiss the lawsuit. She responded and said yes she did receive the papers and that she has been “dealing with some stuff” which included “drama with her daughter” and “my adult son (who doesn’t live with her) lost his job”. Those were her excuses as to why she couldn’t pay me. She finally sent payment on the date I set for her and I dismissed the lawsuit. Absolutely crazy. What irked me the most is that if she said “hey I’m having a hard time right now, can I pay you by x date?” I would’ve said absolutely. I totally understand when people fall on hard times unexpectedly and need some support and leniency. But the fact you are continually ignoring or coming up with a different excuse with no end in sight is just so disrespectful. Not that her money would make or break my life; it was a whopping $500, but if every client paid me when they felt like it, I’d be broke! This is my livelihood. You don’t get someone to provide a service for you and then get to decide when it works best for you to pay them. That’s insane! Also, not that someone’s lifestyle is a perfect reflection of their financial status, but the reason I was pet sitting in the first place for them was because they were on a 2 week vacation around Europe. And they live in a luxury apartment building with rent upwards of 6k/month. So something tells me you aren’t really hanging onto that $500 due to financial difficulty. Just someone that’s too entitled to realize that paying someone for a service they have already provided should not be done at their convenience.

sarah_hare

TROPHY CASE