I Quit Pet Sitting and Dog Walking on Rover and Wag - Here is What You Need To Know
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 31 ก.ค. 2021
- In this video, I share why I quit Rover and Wag for my dog walking business after 1 year on Wag and 5 years on Rover.
If you would like to join Rover, here is a referral link:
www.rover.com/ambas-refer-a-f...
I am not a financial advisor or attorney. None of the advice here is financial or legal advice. Please consult a professional for legal, financial, or tax advice.
This video may contain affiliate links for products that I earn a small commission when you purchase them using my links.
This video is made for entertainment purposes.
#smallbusiness #startup #entreprenuer #savemoney #workfromhom - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
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Well done! 👍 I have been doing dog walking & dog sitting for approx 12 years. In the beginning I got most of my customers through friends, family and neighbors. Then it evolved into lots of referrals. I stopped taking on new customers several years ago, as one can only walk so much, in a day. One thought I have for your viewers who are looking to grow their pet services business, is to target (advertise in) a very tight geographic location - and as close to your residence as possible. The biggest problem I had when my business really started growing, was all the driving around time, from customer to customer. I would recommend targeting (advertising in) several subdivisions - or high rise apartments/condos, within a 5 minute drive of your residence. There are many benefits to this strategy. Cheers!
I agree. I try to keep my service area as close to home as possible. It just doesn’t make sense to drive 30 minutes for a 30 minute walk. You don’t get paid for the time in between clients or driving. So, minimizing that time is critical -especially with gas prices being as high as they are now. I have had terrible results with advertising though. Where did you have the best luck? Facebook ads and Google ads haven’t brought me a single new customer. My best advertising has been word of mouth from happy clients.
@@MryCEnterprises I built a basic website with tons of pictures and indicating the neighborhood I was available for, then ran a Kijiji ad with pictures & link to website. Also did 50 - 4" X 6" business card style flyers, with thick Lamination & Heavy duty magnet on the back & put them up all over the neighborhood I was looking for customers in. Mainly on Post office boxes, and other permanent metal objects. Even these efforts did not yield many customers, but it got me enough to get started. Overall, the # 1 source of new customers came from people pulling over, in their vehicle, while I was walking dogs, inquiring if I was a dog walker. If I had to start over, I would get t-shirts & apparel, printed up, with "Dog Walker For hire" on them.
@@JM-Unleashed I agree. My website and paid ads have yielded only 1 or 2 new customers. But being out saying hi to neighbors while walking dogs has gotten me the most business other than customer referrals. That is why I haven't made a video about ads. Paid ads just haven't worked for me. But maybe a video about what does work would be helpful. Thanks for the input.
@@MryCEnterprises Yes, personal contacts & good referrals will most certainly be the most effective, for this industry, as most people consider their pets to be "FAMILY", and are not about to trust someone, just because they have a nice website or flyer. Another good strategy would be volunteering at a dog training school or groomer, as they usually have customers who are looking for dog walkers.
I volunteer at a local rescue group (Best Friends). Haven't had time to help out much lately though. That is a good ideas though.
Watched about 5 videos full of blather before I came across yours that has real details. And obviously you've put some effort into editing. Helped me make a decision to tell my daughter to avoid WAG within seconds. Thanks!
I’m glad it was useful for you.
Ooof. Honest and accurate. Thanks for posting.
You're welcome
Thank you for your real honesty about your experiences with Rover and wags.
You're welcome
I appreciate the succinct and transparent review.
You’re welcome
wow mry this video was absolutely amazing. I am considering starting an all in one petcaring mobile business with my transit van but at the begining of my research i knew nothing about dog sitting /walking or any of the mainstream apps people use for dog sitting gigs. Your video gave me soo much valueble information. Thank you soo much you instantly made me a fan.
You’re welcome! Glad it helped
This is really solid, transparent and clear advice. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful! Full disclosure though… I went back to Rover when I needed more customers. I hate that they take such a big cut. But if you need customers, it’s better to have them and pay the fees than to not have enough clients.
I really appreciate this video! Thank you for the sincere experience. I wish success to everyone who is starting something new or who “works” with what makes their heart beat faster for love.
Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
aww man so bummed you decided to move on from rover. i'm on the other end of the spectrum i guess! It became me and my husband's full time job! I logged my 1 year update on my youtube channel. we made over 230k on rover in one calendar year!! Super duper crazy. i'm just so grateful for the platform
That is great! I have recently activated my Rover account again and they are sending me a ton of good business. I need to make an updated video soon.
@@MryCEnterprises Why did you need to use the app again ? Did you stop getting referrals ? Because the economy is slowing ? Inflation ?
@@newlifeeveryday1821 probably a combination of things. I’m not great at marketing or asking for referrals. I’ve had a customer get sick and need chemotherapy. She put visits on hold for a while until she was done with treatment. I had a couple other clients that worked from home more. Another clients pet passed away from heart disease. I wasn’t actively working on gaining new clients and that is a mistake. It’s a balancing act to have the right amount of work -not so much that you get burned out and enough to keep cash flow healthy.
40% charge? I can understand 20%. But 40% is very unethical. And with that much percentage to think they dont even provide any insurance to you is very upsetting
It wasn't worth it to me.
Absolutely awesome review. Thank you for making video
My pleasure! Thank you for watching.
Thank you so much for this video. I recently joined Rover, because I didn’t know how to get customers, however, a couple of people , so far, have chosen to deal with me directly, and I find it easier. Great advice!
Glad it helped
This was so helpful! Thank you so much!
Glad it was helpful!
Excellent info! Thank you
Glad it was helpful!
Excellent advice! Thanks 🙏
You’re welcome
I'm at this point. I didn't bother with WAG because it ended up being $12 per walk and if a client hired you outside of WAG they charged you $500+ so read the fine print. In the beginning I built my business through Rover but have my own insurance and now that I pay $50 per
month to google for local ads I get so much more business. I do have to have my own website. Wow I didn't realize the reputation of Rover was bad! I will be seriously considering this for the new year.
Rover walkers and sitters make the news pretty regularly, unfortunately. Sounds like you have the basics covered.
Rovers ‘bad reputation’ I don’t see as a huge deal.
Those are isolated incidents, the pet care providers on Rover are well diversified.
Very insightful video! We're thinking about making such a platform and are indeed seeing what you mention.
Thank you. Glad it helped.
We've had two Rover experiences, both were unsatisfactory. The first sitter agreed to stay, visited us, arrived at 6:30am, and after we left for a memorial service in LA, 400 miles away, got a text that she wasn't coming back after saying, "I'm going to get some food for the weekend."
The second pet sitting three months later, and she left several days into a 4 day pet sitting, saying, "I'm not feeling well." We discovered she never stayed overnight as agreed, and wasn't there much for the dogs. She apparently was doing 2-3 sits, rather than just our agreed sit. Fortunately, we had a tenant who provided some assistance until we returned.
Conclusions are: Hire a sitter who is more mature in age where values of integrity, honesty and commitment are more often to be counted upon. Second, install some nanny cams to see when the sitter is coming and going, how they are or are not treating the pets. Remember, you're trusting a total stranger to be in your home unsupervised. Will they keep agreements, do their job as agreed? You don't know and can't hold them accountable without verification. Protect yourself.
I recommend asking people you know and trust for referrals. Most of my clients come from referrals.
Wow that's so unprofessional. I hope you reported them so others don't have the same experience. I would never think of doing such a thing and take my customer's and their needs very seriously.
I appreciate this vid! I'm currently employed by a dog-walking company in my city. They do all the work of scheduling, meeting clients, advertising, etc--they just tell me when and where to show up to walk the dogs and I get a flat hourly rate pay. It's almost always the same schedule/same dogs too, which is nice. For now I like this arrangement, but I sometimes think about doing Rover because I can probably make more money hourly.
It is always scary venturing out on your own. With Rover, you are competing against other walkers that have reviews. Reviews are critical to getting bookings with Rover. It took a few months before I got my first bookings. That was why I joined Wag. With Wag, it matters how fast you can respond to requests. They get snapped up in seconds.
Give Rover a shot, what’s the worst that can happen. Low risk, high reward.
Thank you for this honest review. Need more transparency with a lot of jobs/careers. Hope the biz is going strong still! 😀
It is. I took a couple months off from TH-cam to focus on health and work. I'm back now though (and 30 pounds lighter too).
@@MryCEnterprises Wow! Congrats🎉
@@jenniferressmannwriter thank you!
Thanks for sharing!!
My pleasure!!
Wonderful content!
Glad you enjoyed it
Thank you! So helpful
Glad it was helpful!
thanks a lot for the video!
You are welcome!
This was very helpful!
I'm so glad!
I just started Rover about a month ago and Wag this week. This video is still so relevant and I appreciate it
I still have a full time at the moment
How often do you have people requesting?
@@tylershaymorace1654 I get requests on Rover everyday now
Glad it was useful
Great video
Glad you enjoyed it
Great video i did not know they take 25% to 40% of our money ... this is too much!
Thank you for watching!
The customer contact section at 6:00, since you have to see the customer in person to transfer the dog, that right there means the customer can choose to contact you personally any time.
...Or at least as long as Rover or Wag allows contact. They can put a hold on your account for a variety of reasons.
@@MryCEnterprises I am confused....the owner has to see the petsitter in person in order to drop off their dog at your house. Rover & Wag would only know of any conversations if they used a satellite to spy on you. Customer who likes you as petsitter & wants to use you regularly in future can talk to you about payment while cutting the middle man, Rover & WAG.
@@sevencostanza3931 You are thinking of boarding where the owner drops off the dog at the sitter's home. Petsitting is usually done in the owner's home where the pet sitter comes to them. All communication is initially done through the app and is encouraged. Both apps do not want the communication to leave the apps. If Rover or Wag find out that you have given out your personal number and are communicating off the app, they can close your account without warning.
@@sevencostanza3931 Also if you are ever caught taking payments directly, Rover and Wag can close your account. Sure, if everything goes well, you can take a chance that the customer won't ever mention it to Rover or Wag. But if for any reason, they ever decide to mention it, you are done on the app. That is a big risk to take if you are fully booked on either app.
@@MryCEnterprises OH I only want to petsit at my own home. So Rover & Wag is not for me.
I started pet sitting first and then I started dog walking. I started walking a family friends dog and I'm pet sitting her too. She is a good dog. I hope to get more clients. I put flyers in vets and grooming places. I'm hoping to pet sit and dog walking full time.
Keep at it. I started with pet sitting first too when I had only one easy friendly dog of my own. The nice thing about working for yourself is that you decide what works for you. Keep at it and don't give up. Any new business takes a while to get going. Referrals from happy customers are the best way to grow and advertise. Make sure your neighbors and friends know what you are doing. I live in a condo, and I pick up new clients regularly from neighbors seeing me walk other neighbors dogs and talking to each other. An added bonus is that I have met so many more of my neighbors this way. I'm that "neighbor that walks dogs". Eight of my clients live steps away from me.
I love Rover. The 25% is worth the marketing they provide.
😀
Agree
It is good but I think Going private will eventually be better I agree with the person who made this video
Just wait until a guest overstays their booking and Rover refuses to make payment for it.
@@MryCEnterprises should I use these two or independent companies as a newbie?
Watching your video and listening to your words it was like I made it. I am going through exactly what you are describing. I am grateful for Rover, totally hate Wag and I am directing my customers to book me off the app. Unfortunately as my business is growing I am in the mist of deciding what app to use for getting contract signed, getting payments and choosing which organization to join and which insurance to get. Everything looks very expensive though. Between a pet sitter app, insurance and professional organization we are talking $ 200/300 plus a month and that is before all other expenses. I have joined many FB groups, I have been scouring the net but so far I have not found what I am looking for.
My ideal app would be a combination of DocuSign, Legal Zoom, Stripe, professional development and insurance all in one place for one flat fee. If you have any insight pls share. Thank you for the video. Cheers Davide
There isn’t one app that does it all yet and all of them have increased their pricing quite a bit in the last year. I use Time to Pet for a lot, quick books, and Next for insurance.
I currently live in Dallas and the app has been more difficult to use than before. It doesn’t give you exact distance have to put it or eyeball it and then you have to accept the walk BeFoRE knowing expectations etc. it’s so hard to even get a hold of wag customer support
The app was often a problem when I used it too. At least now, I have customers numbers and if the booking app I currently use is down, which is rare, I can still message customers directly. Plus my day is full of repeat customers that I have had for years now. They trust me and everything is just easier.
Question: When you went off on your own did your fees reflect the total amount of fees charged the client on the apps? Or did your fees deduct their portion? I am on one of the apps and charge lets say 23. for 30 min walk but I priced it at a cost that after the app fees leaves me with the 23.00. If I start getting private clients should I keep the higher cost knowing that they will pay it? Or should I deduct the fees that the app was taking? What did you do? Thank you!
I lowered the rates on my own website by a couple of dollars to help incentivize my clients to book with me and to use my booking software instead of the Rover or Wag sites. This wouldn't have worked if I didn't build trust first though.
Hi🐱,
Thanks for that nice video👍🏼😺, then I don't know what to do, in the next few days I'll be starting my petsitting business in Paris, France, do u think I should go for Rover please? After watching your video I hesitate now.
What's the best way to have clients except talking about it around u please?
Thanks and have a nice day🐈,
David
I have no idea what the Paris market is like. Can’t hurt to try Rover or whatever is popular there. I recently started back with Rover and I’ve been very busy. I’m in Los Angeles.
@@MryCEnterprises Cheers🙏🏼😻
What insurance company would you recommend? Thank you for the info
I’m using Next insurance for my general business liability insurance.
What is your business entity?
Do you have liability insurance?
How do you advertise or is it more repeat customers and word of mouth at this point, after 5 years on Rover?
I want to get off rover soon but idk how to go independent? I just discovered square though a friend who is a part time esthetician independently. She recommended the app but it’s obviously different business for pet sitters. To go independent do you get certifications? Permits? What insurance did you use for your business?
Yes. I got certified in pet cpr and first aid to start. You will also need to register with your local city and state to get the required licenses and registrations. It varies by location. For insurance, I am using Next currently. I’m would price shop insurance in your area too. It will also vary. I use the time to pet app which has a payment processor. You won’t need square as well.
@@MryCEnterprises thank you so much! I’ve been really thinking about this as I have a big amount of clients. As a college student, I’ve been wanting to leave my full time job to support myself with pet sitting as I love it and have experienced already. Also was your CPR and first aid online? Sorry for so many questions. Very thankful to have found your video!!
I did an in-person class the first time and renewed it online for subsequent certifications.
Hello, I was wondering if you started your own business what kind of pet insurance/ liability? For your own business?
I use Pet Care insurance from PetSitllc.com. They were the best value I could find. I have filed one claim with them for a locksmith when an interior door got locked and no one had a key. They were easy and fast to process the claim.
Omg how does one contacting customer service for WAG, I spent money on the wrong email address and won’t allow to fix it
I don’t have the app on my phone anymore but there was a customer service button back when I used the app
I’d be interested to know what insurance you got on your own.
I use petsitllc.com for my dog walking business and USAA for all my personal I surance
Insurance
On Rover, do you apply to pet parents or pet parents book you off your profile?
They book you
There isn’t liability coverage and they really lead people on that it’s safe. The dog I was watching attacked the neighbor’s dog and they said they couldn’t provide any protection for me. The investigation was a joke because all they did was ask for a statement and then figure out how Rover can use it as a verbal warning to other sitters. However I am not the first person who has ever experienced a dog biting attack. Stay off the app.
👍
I started rover this mid Jan 2023 and have been paid a little over 500$ on the app doing boarding services. I have got 2 clients that preferred to go off the app and I've made about 400$ from those clients and charging my pickup fee in person. I'm coming to being 3 weeks into it i have not got a request in about 4 days but I have 11 reviews now.
I have business cards made up and a facebook business page. after hearing how unsuccefull your website and business promotion went im not sure i should invest to much energy and money at first into that. I was going to get a sign for the house and I'm in a pretty dense area with houses and on a busy corner street. I just need to figure out how to advertise the best way i can figure out to the local people in a couple mile radius from my house/Doggy day care and dog walking of course!
My question is did you advertise your website in any way for those 5 years besides blogging on it?
If I linked it with my business facebook and promoted it through facebook ads I feel like it could be greatly beneficial.
Watch out with booking off the app on rover. They deactivated my account for doing business outside of rover. I was reactivated because I promised not to do it again then they deactivated me again because somebody reported I have a criminal background. It's crazy because rover never had an issue with me and i had nothing but 5 star reviews. Alot of them!
I did try google ads and Facebook ads. Neither got me any clients though.
Can you use it to meet people at first ? And then sit pay over Venmo ?
If you get caught, they will kick you off
Good content but 360p?
I struggle with storage
What insurance do you suggest?
I use NEXT
If you have carpet I would recommend only older dogs above 2 years since the younger ones 💩 on carpet.
If tile or hardwood then it will be easier
Had to laugh...so true! I've had a pet business (boarding) for 12 years and I learned early on to get rid of ALL carpet! No fabric couches either!!
Exactly
It’s all ages when they are in a new place!
rover takes 20%
Imagine the profit on these apps!
Why you quit pet sitting?
I have two senior dogs of my own that I can’t leave alone at night. I still do dog walking for my own business. I don’t use Rover or Wag anymore because of the fees. I explain more in the video.