This is a rapidly growing industry. ChristineL has already given you useful links for more information. I have a question for you? Will you develop your business as a home/web based or start it through a shop/small office. I suggest you start marketing yourself and your services now. Use Facebook, younoodle, and Twitter for this. They'll help you generate business leads.

This is a good question because I was thinking about doing this too. You have to think about how and where to advertise your service. You'll need a business license, an invoice book and receipt book. Probably insurance and bonding. Think about what to do when you grow too big to do it all yourself. You may have to hire someone else. I heard an interview on NPR, National Public Radio (I believe) and this dog walker said that he or she made about $100,000 a year!

There is quite a bit of information on-line about pet sitting businesses, including insurance issues. There is even a national pet sitters association, which you can find at petsitters.org/ ---This post was edited to remove a commercial link. Read our discussion policies for more Community best practices.

lkw60 wrote: I am interested in starting a pet sitting business where I would go to the clients home to walk their dog or dogs, or clean cat box and feed and water. What all do I need to know wbout setting this up? Thanks, Lisa To add to the above post, you'll most likely want to consider insuring your buisness. You'll need insurance to protect yourself and your clients. Image the financially responsiblity you would have if you lost or caused harm to someones prize show pet? You'll want to make sure your covered, and consider creating a LLC so you can remove your personal assets from any liability that may arise.

Hi lkw60, In which state will you be starting your business? Check out our state guide to learn about how to start a business in your state. I'm assuming that this will be a home-based business, so feel free to take a look at our Home Based Business Guide. Also, you can use our Permit Me Tool to see which licenses and permits you need to register for in order to start your business.