Just fifteen years ago, “pet sitter” meant the kid down the street who helped feed pets when the neighbors traveled. Today, this fledgling field is fast becoming an established profession. Combining the appeal of working with animals, a viable customer base, and truly low start-up costs, it is for many people the ideal home-based business. And yet its “fun” aspects are often overshadowed by the daunting tasks of registering the business, purchasing insurance, and knowing what first steps to take and how to continue from there. With a simple, step-by-step format, How to Start a Home-Based Pet Sitting Business guides aspiring pet sitters from the dreaming stage to the doing stage more clearly and comprehensively than any such book to date. Everything you need to know to run a profitable pet-sitting and dog-walking business from your home Have you ever dreamed of starting your own home-based pet-sitting and dog-walking business? There is no better time to do so than now. This fledgling field--which combines the appeal of working with animals, a viable customer base, and truly low start-up costs--is fast becoming an established profession for many. And yet its fun aspects are often overshadowed by daunting tasks. With a simple, step-by-step format, How to Start a Home-Based Pet-Sitting and Dog-Walking Business guides you from dreaming to doing more clearly and comprehensively than any such book to date. Leading pet-care company owner Cathy Vaughan shares her experiences and advice on every aspect of the field, providing a gold mine of tools and success strategies. She shows you how to register your business with the proper authorities, purchase specific insurance for a pet-sitting business, market your services, expand your business--and how to become and stay profitable. Use these handy worksheets, checklists, and sample forms: Revenue TableIncome LogProfit and Loss StatementPreservice ChecklistService Agreement Cathy Vaughan established Cathy’s Critter Care as a one-client start-up in 1998 and today her business employs sixteen part-time pet sitters and a full-time office manager. She has been a Goodwill Ambassador for Pet Sitters International, spoken at conventions, and published articles in World of Professional Pet Sitting . In 2010 Cathy co-established Bluebonnet Bunk’n Biscuit, a comprehensive pet-care facility.