Simple Solutions - Making Money #4

Well, I started with dogs and thought I might as well stay with them for the time being.

Do you love dogs? Enjoy having them around? Do you need some extra money coming in? Start a small doggy day care at home in your yard. Won't work if you live in an apartment or condo. But, if you have a yard, a place where you can make the dogs comfortable, some shade or shelter, and love to see happy dogs, this one could be for you.

It only takes a few dogs - you don't want a whole herd of them on hand. Say four or five which can translate to the equivalent of $15 per hour. Price will depend on where you live, what other locations charge, the services you provide, etc. If you train dogs, great - you can charge more if you really train them. You can charge extra for dog washing and grooming. If you don't know how to groom a dog, find someone who does and who will come to your home.

Remember, though, if you do decide to run a doggy day care, you have to be at home with them at all times - they become your responsibility and do not take that lightly.

Start by finding articles on the web and read them.  Next, see if books are available at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.  (I already know they are available.)

Visit other people who have doggy day care centers to see what they have done - don't be afraid to steal ideas to make your operation better.  Need to find them?  Look on the Internet or look in (gasp!) your phone book.

Make a list of who you know who has dogs. Let them know you are starting an exclusive doggy day care center.

Make sure you like the dog and have the dog and owner over to see how the dog interacts with others - make sure they all get along if you have multiple dogs. If the new dog does not get along with the existing dogs - don't care for the dog.

Make sure the dog has had all shots and they are current.

Lunch for the dog should be packed by their 'guardian.' You should not have to purchase food, but do make sure each dog has an area they can think of as their own like  kennel or even a pad.

Keep your yard clean and free of fleas. Make sure the guardians are using something on their dog to control fleas.

Have emergency contact information for every dog including vet's name, number and location. Make sure you know the shortest way to get to the vet's office - just in case. 

This is not intended to be a full list of what to do to start a doggy day care. Do the research and know that you can start to make money very soon - target about $25.00 per day, per dog, or whatever your area will support comfortably. You could easily be earning several hundred dollars per week by taking care of animals you love.  Do your research!  I recently found prices on the Internet for my area that shocked me for in-home doggy day care.

And...get this...you can extend day care into over night care and make even more money! 

Easy Extra Money

Need a little easy extra money?  Just a few more dollars a month, maybe?  You are not alone.

You know, unemployment is still up around 10 or 11% - probably higher since so many have become ineligible to collect benefits.  If you include 'under-employment' - those folks who are working but earning much less than they once did,or are working in a job for which they are way over qualified, and the number gets to be somewhere around 17% - at the low end.  Truthfully, nobody really knows how many are unemployed or under-employed.

From time to time I am going to offer easy ways to make the bit extra you need.  And, the great thing is that almost any idea I offer can be expanded into full-time.  Be your own boss.  Build your own business and you can never be laid-off.  Wow!

My oldest son has several dogs.  He might even be called a rancher.  And, while he loves his dogs; he does not love picking up after them.  Which means there's an opportunity for you!

There's gold in that poop!

Yep, you got it.  Picking up dog poop in someone's yard can mean real money.  Look, a lot of people are working 10 to 12 hours a day and really don't want to come home to clean-up after their dog, or dogs.  So,what do they do? They leave it until the weekend.  Just think of the job they are confronted with.  A week's worth of dog poop.  I just can't think of a thing I would rather be doing on a Saturday than cleaning-up after my dog.  Even little dogs can poop in prodigious amounts!

Do you like dogs?  Do you want to make folks' lives a little better?  Do you want to earn a little easy extra money?  Well, start a neighborhood poop patrol.

What will you need?  Gloves, scooper (obvious, huh?), bags for poop, and a keen eye.  Let your friends know what you are doing and put out flyers in your neighborhood - make sure you give it a chance and hand out several hundred.  More on flyers in some future blog - just keep them simple for now.  The service you offer. Your name. Contact information.

How much to charge for this service?  Find out what the national companies are charging.  (Yes, there are franchises available for this service so you have to know there is money in it.)  Charge less than they do.  In fact, give your first customers a real break in price - the are going to become your best advertisers if you serve them and their dog(s) well.

You want a little easy extra money?  This is as easy as...well, poop.