Pet Sitting--Beyond A Side Job?

KING, N.C., July 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Are you sick of sitting in a cube farm staring at a computer screen, frustrated with your lack of professional flexibility in the corporate world? You're not alone! With an average annual revenue of more than $49,000 and increasing, leaving the rat race to spend time with a different pack of animals is proving to be a profitable career move.

With pet ownership at an all-time high, it's the perfect time to enter the professional pet-care industry. Pet Sitters International (PSI), the world's largest educational association for professional pet sitters, was founded by Patti J. Moran in 1994. PSI has helped thousands of pet lovers start their own professional pet-sitting services by offering access to pet-sitter specific business and educational resources.

"In the last two decades we've made great strides—as an association and an industry—to raise awareness of the valuable services professional pet sitters provide," Moran said. "A career that was once seen as a mere hobby has now gained recognition as a viable, valuable career and PSI pet sitters are leading the way—offering their clients peace of mind by being insured, bonded, Certified and providing proof of clear criminal history."

The American Pet Products Association (APPA) reports that $55.7 billion was spent on U.S. pets alone in 2013. The APPA also reported that services like pet sitting are among the strongest growing segments of the industry. Climate, culture and continuing opportunities are the "3 C's" that make pet sitting a sustainable career.     

1. Climate: With 68% of U.S. households owning a pet (82.5 million homes), the need for professional pet sitters and dog walkers is at an all-time high. According to the USA Today analysis of the 2010 Census, there are now more households with dogs (43 million) than children (38 million). The increase in pet ownership, combined with the increase in ownership of a variety of types of pets, equals an increased need for professional pet-care providers, including those who specialize in specific pets ("cats only" pet sitting, for example).
2. Culture: With an average annual revenue of more than $49,000 and increasing, professional pet-care as a career has proven to be a stable, profitable career option. Demographic information on the average pet-sitting client combined with recent U.S. Census data on households with pets demonstrates that there is a substantial client base to support the growing industry.
3. Continuing opportunities: The increased educational and marketing resources available to professional pet sitters have served to increase the professionalism and success of the industry at-large. The low start-up costs –including training and marketing expenses—are not prohibitive as they are in some other small businesses. Virtually all tools and resources needed to successfully start a professional pet-care business are free, inexpensive or included in the cost of a pet-sitting association membership, like Pet Sitters International. Today, pet-sitting newcomers can enter the industry with the knowledge that they are entering a profitable, professional and fulfilling career path without overstretching their budgets.

To learn more about PSI, pet sitting as a career or to find a local a professional pet sitter in your area, visit http://www.petsit.com.

About Pet Sitters International
Founded by pet-sitting industry pioneer and author of Pet Sitting for Profit Patti J. Moran, Pet Sitters International (PSI) is the world's largest, most-trusted educational association for professional pet sitters. For more information, please visit www.petsit.com or connect with us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/PetSittersInternational) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/petsittersintl).

SOURCE Pet Sitters International