What’s Next?

Existing Market

1. What I think is next would be being able to provide daily check ins for neighboring cities. Currently, I can’t do that because I work full-time, and I cannot afford to exceed my 30-minute break. At my current rate, it wouldn’t be worth my time and it would cost me more in gas.

2. I interviewed potential customers I was able to connect with through my current customers. Some of the feedback I was given was to be able to devote more time to pets during the day. The reason being is that these pets are used to their retired owners being home all day. I suggested that I should eventually hire employees to help cover dates that I can’t commit to, and they agreed it was a good idea if the pet owner was okay with it.

3. What makes the most sense for my venture would be to get the word out that I’m looking for more clients. I would need to offer my services to new clients. I could do this by carrying business cards and keeping them on me while I walk dogs. But this would take time away from my current repeat clients and some pet owners require their dog be let out more often, which would require me to leave work more than besides my lunch break. This isn’t something realistic for me right now.

To help with this, I could team up with someone, like my friend who has pet sitting experience and is trustworthy. To profit from this, I would need to charge more.

New Market

1. A radically different market for me would have to be people who don't have pets, don't travel, or don't mind leaving their pet(s) home alone.

2. I interviewed my coworker who has two cats but doesn’t have a need for a pet sitter. She does travel annually, but she said she leaves enough food and water out for her cats and puts several litter boxes out. If she is gone for longer periods of time, then her mom checks on the cats. I also interviewed my coworker who likes dogs but does not have a dog. Her daughters play volleyball, so they travel annually for competitions. They all want a dog, and she’s mentioned before that she would ask me to pet sit. She is a single mom, so I know she’d appreciate more affordable pricing. I think an adaptation I could make to my product/service mix would be to offer a bundled price. For example, three visits will be $20 instead of $60 for cats if spread out once a day. I could also offer discounted pricing at my own discretion if I wanted to help someone and I thought they needed it.

3. What I learned about this new market is that some people are okay with leaving their pet(s) at home alone with minimal care. I checked on my coworker’s cats before and offered to do it for free because we are friends. I expect she doesn’t want to pay anyone or ask me to do it because she knows I’m busy or really doesn’t care that they are alone. This market isn’t attractive as my existing market because my existing market is willing to pay what I ask for.

The other market, non-pet owners, is not attractive either; I cannot offer anything to them. If I knew them well, I could convince them that I would pet sit for them if they adopted a pet, so in a way I could turn them into an existing customer one day.