Choose your services
Pick a lane: drop-in visits, dog walking, overnight stays in the client’s home, or boarding in your home. Each has different demands. Drop-ins are the easiest start; boarding pays more but requires space and, in many Florida communities, HOA or zoning approval for animals in your home.
Check your county and municipality for a business tax receipt, and if you plan to board animals at your address, confirm zoning and HOA rules first. Florida business registration resources.
Decide which animals you accept and be honest about limits. A sitter who does dogs and cats well beats one who takes everything badly.
Set policies before the first booking
Write the rules once and reuse them: a required meet-and-greet before the first booking, vaccination records on file, a vet authorization form naming the emergency clinic, cancellation terms, and holiday surcharges.
The meet-and-greet is also your screening tool. A difficult animal or a chaotic household at the meet-and-greet only gets harder when the owner is gone. It is fine to decline.
Use simple written service agreements even for friends. Memory differs; paper does not.
Price per visit and per night
Price drop-in visits per visit and overnights per night, with clear add-ons: extra pets, medication administration, and holidays. Publish the rates so quoting takes seconds.
Require deposits or full prepayment for holiday periods and new clients. Chasing payment after a trip ruins the economics of a trust business.
Raise rates as you fill up rather than taking every booking at starter prices. A waitlist is the signal to charge more, not work more.
Handle trust, keys, and insurance
Pet sitter liability insurance exists specifically for this work: animal injury, lost keys, and property damage. It is inexpensive and it answers the question every careful client asks.
Run key handling like a protocol: labeled, secured, never photographed with the address visible, returned or securely stored between bookings. Tell clients the protocol; the professionalism itself sells.
Get a background check done voluntarily and mention it. In a business built on entering empty homes, anything that lowers the trust barrier pays for itself.
Fill the calendar
Start with platforms like Rover to get initial reviews, but move repeat clients to direct booking as soon as trust is established. Platform fees on every visit forever are a tax on your best customers.
Ask for reviews after the second booking, not the first: by then the client knows you are reliable and the praise is specific.
Florida’s snowbird season is your annual windfall. Confirm holiday availability with regulars early, price holidays at a premium, and keep a short waitlist instead of overbooking. One bad holiday experience costs a year of trust.
Find your next step
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General information for planning your business. Confirm legal, tax, and licensing decisions with the relevant agency or qualified professional. Examples are illustrative, not market rates or earnings promises. Any compensated recommendation will be disclosed where it appears. Affiliate disclosure.