If you could....

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chancing

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Looking at setting up my own sort of small business but want to test waters first. Looking at offering a dog walking horse sitting sort of business offering the following:
-dog walking/sitting
-mucking out or 'grooming' for people who are struggling fitting their horses in around work
- or if they are away for a night or holiday etc mucking out and maybe exercising depending on horse
-vet runs for elderly driving their pets to the vets etc

anything generally required. Would this be something any of you would be interested in if something like this existed around you? would be very reasonable with discounts for elderly as if they have problems due to health etc they wouldnt be able to afford to pay someone regularly please let me know what you all think and for those who would be interested im in bridgwater ;)

Thanks sorry its so long
 
Most freelance or even full time/part time grooms on a yard do offer odd services on the side, whether thats house/dog/chicken/cat sitting and errands. I am very busy with looking after children as well as freelance work and house-sit/airport runs or anything really when needed! So I am sure if you get your name out there and a few good references behind you then you will find work. All of my work is word of mouth now and that is the most successful way IMO so good luck :).
 
Great Idea. We now have many people locally offering such services and they all seem to be pretty busy.
Insurance is an absolute must of course.
Reliability and a friendly approach will ensure you gain a large customer base without even having to advertise much. Word of mouth and recommendations are what will make your business a success.
Good luck :)
 
chancing said:
Looking at setting up my own sort of small business but want to test waters first. Looking at offering a dog walking horse sitting sort of business offering the following:
-dog walking/sitting
-mucking out or 'grooming' for people who are struggling fitting their horses in around work
- or if they are away for a night or holiday etc mucking out and maybe exercising depending on horse
-vet runs for elderly driving their pets to the vets etc

anything generally required. Would this be something any of you would be interested in if something like this existed around you? would be very reasonable with discounts for elderly as if they have problems due to health etc they wouldnt be able to afford to pay someone regularly please let me know what you all think and for those who would be interested im in bridgwater ;)

Thanks sorry its so long
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Do you have any qualifications/history with working with animals/own any/open references. These are definitely worth listing if so.

Are you going to have dogs at yours - if so you need to state whether dogs would mix etc, or theirs in which case something like a CRB check might be worth getting.

I think a lot of people will want it however it's definitely not an 'overnight business' as most of your contacts will be word of mouth. Get some ads in local tack shops/ vets etc.

Also look into being self employed properly as it's very easy to become unorganised and be lumped with a tax bill you haven't prepared for at the end of the year. Or to forget to write down etc.

Are you prepared not to go away on key holidays, or to work Christmas? As these will likely be your busy periods!

Pan
 
PandorasJar said:
Also look into being self employed properly as it's very easy to become unorganised and be lumped with a tax bill you haven't prepared for at the end of the year. Or to forget to write down etc.
Click to expand...

^^ This. You need to declare yourself self-employed http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/selfemployed/register-selfemp.htm

The best bit of advice I was given when I first went freelance was to put at least 25% of every invoice aside for tax and not touch it!

I pay my NI by direct debit. For a self-employed person it's c.£12 a month IIRC.
 
When asking if people are interested in services its better if you've worked out prices. When I was thinking of starting a business I asked absolutely everyone I could find. It later turned out they all, without exception, thought they'd get "mates rates" because they "knew" me (even people I'd barely spoken to!). Even random strangers thought I'd be doing it for peanuts since I was only starting out! All my customers came from advertising, as all the people who'd previously shown interest changed their mind on realising they'd have to pay a proper price.
 
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