Time to Jump Off the Hamster Wheel
We all know that it takes money to live. Most of us need to work many years, over the course of our lives, to support our families and ourselves.
As I was growing up, I was taught that finding a job and making money is the most important factor in taking care of ourselves. Everything else is secondary. If you like your job – great! That is just an added bonus. But just having a job and making money is more important than whether or not we actually like what it is we are doing.
How many can relate to this idea? I think many of us were raised with that mentality. But the good news is, times are changing. I am regularly seeing people leaving their ho-hum, boring jobs – jobs that are literally sucking the life out of them – for careers making money by doing what they actually love!
How fantastic is that!
We are finally embracing the idea that life is meant for living. Living fully and abundantly and happy! Of course, we need money to live but we are finally realizing that there are so many ways to make money. We just have to get creative with our interests and what it is that sets our souls on fire.
So, if you know me at all, you know I LOVE animals. They are so important to our planet and our lives. I also know that many of you feel the same way. So I thought, what if we can combine our love for animals to actually finding a way to using that love to make an abundant living.
Here is what I have decided to do. I am going to spend the next several weeks researching profitable ideas as to how you can make money by doing what you love! Some of these may not necessarily be new ideas but I will be putting my own spin on it.
So without further ado, here is the first installment on how to make money with your love for pets and animals:
Get $100 for Every Mile You Walk
What could be better than being paid for leisure walks? Not only do you get fresh air and a bit of exercise but also get paid for doing it. If you like going for leisure walks, you will really love this business. If you are
not enthusiastic about leisure walks, you will start loving it when you see the green bucks flowing in.
A dog walking service is what we are talking about here. If you love dogs, you will really enjoy running this service.
You don’t need much skill for starting a dog walking service. However, you do need some equipment (i.e. multi-lead dog walking collars and leashes) which can easily be bought for less than $100. Such equipment
will allow you to walk 3-5 dogs at a time without any problem of leads being entangled. This would make dog walking an even more convenient and profitable enterprise.
You can offer a morning ‘dog walking service’ and/or an evening ‘dog walking service’. You can keep flexible timings initially; and as your business grows, you can change up the time slots if you want. You can keep the length of each walking session at one hour and cover 0.5-1 mile (back and forth) during that time.
Tip: Give a ‘gift guide’ on dog care tips to each dog owner who hires your services. This can be a simple sheet (of colored paper) folded in the middle and printed on both sides with tips. Also, do not forget to print your contact details and a synopsis of your dog walking service on the guide.
Need inspiration? You can gift something like this ⇒ – CLICK HERE
Effective marketing/advertising is the key to the success of your dog walking service. Print attractive flyers/ pamphlets on good quality colored paper and stick them to the bulletin boards at kennels and veterinary
clinics. Distribute your pamphlets at dog shows, pet stores, and other dog care facilities. Also, inform your friends about your dog walking service. Stock your customers and friends with enough pamphlets so that they can hand some over to other dog owners and help in spreading the word around.
You can also create a Facebook page where you can share fun and cute photos of your dog clients. Who doesn’t love seeing photos and videos of cute pups and it is a great way to generate buzz around your business.
Tip: Once you have sufficient regular clients, you can also organize dog socialization events where various dog owners come with their dogs and see them participate in group activities/ games. Supply your customers with several event description pamphlets and encourage them to bring along more friends.
You can charge a small registration fee for the event and give away small gifts e.g. dog food packets (do not forget to attach your business card to any gift you distribute). You could also issue a press release of such events and get automatic (and free) propaganda for your service. Do not forget to include pictures of such events with the press release.
You can carry out this dog walking service as a part time job initially. However, you could later take it further and start a dog day-care facility too (a full time job). So, you could operate a dog walking service in the
morning and evenings and a dog day-care facility during the day.
Best part of all, you can make a lot of cash, get exercise and spend your day with sweet pups. Seriously, what could be better?
Another thing 2020 has taught me is you have to be flexible. Think of ways you can generate extra income streams; and there is for sure an extra bonus if you actually LOVE what you are doing!
Want some other ideas to get those creative juices flowing? Check this out ⇒ 25 Easy Dog Tips to Keep you On Track.
’til next time,
