Great ‘Bit On The Side’ Hunt

madstef

Hi

I do Usborne books - its dead easy and I take the kids with me wherever I go

Usually do a couple of parties a month and I do other events once or twice a week and really enjoy it. I'm my own boss and can vertually now predict what i'm going to earn a month (although I've surpassed this months target already LOL!)

Let me know via PM if you want any details

Stef

trinity1_2

unixgirluk I've tried doing a search on monster but cant find any ads on the company. I've also had a look at the companys' website but theres no details about being able to apply to any jobs.
Would you be able to give a direct link to the ad you clicked? Thanks

Timbo_Daniels

Annando wrote:

My dog passed away a couple of months ago and I started doing dog sitting. I don't go into people's houses, they bring their dog to my house when they go away on holiday. I do this through a company, but if you advertise in the paper I am pretty sure you can do it on your own and find clients.
The company charges the clients £13 a day per dog (of which I get £9 a day, the other £4 goes to the company to cover for insurance, advertising, costs etc...). You are only allowed to have 2 dogs if they are from the same owner and all the dogs food, treats etc are provided by the owner.

Ever since I joined I have been booked every day! This has worked out at about £270/month! (one of the owner was so happy he even gave me a £30 tip!)

I used to leave my dog with someone when I went away and he was so happy about it that when he passed away I decided to work with this company just to be able to have dogs around without having the emotional (and financial) commitement.

The other thing I've been thinking about is dog walking, although haven't really looked into it yet. I know people charge £5 and hour / a walk. so there is pretty good money to be made.

Hi there,

After spending many hours reading tips, and seeing this message in the moneytips email, it has prompted me to join into the chat forum... with a beware!

My wife is a Veterinary Nurse and Animal Behaviourist and about 4 years ago, we decided to do exactly what is being done here. We started off advertising locally and got a very big response. There is a huge market for this sort of thing. We latter made a small web site "doggyholidayhome" (now removed) and had people travelling for miles for 2 or 3 hours just to leave their dog with us. We live in the country, have a large garden and my wife is obviously very well qualified to look after people's dogs.

We charged £15 per 24 hours, double over bank holidays and took a maximum of 3 dogs. Sounds perfect?

Well, not quite. Firstly we ran (and charged for) a 'trial' night with a new dog to see how they got on. About 75% of the dogs suffered with what is called "Separation Anxiety" and could not be left in the Kitchen overnight (typically would whine, scratch the doors and not settle). So the only solution is to have them in your bedroom and (most) then jump straight on the bed where they are used to being.. .. .. Second problem - how good is the dog with other dogs / children.. My wife spent a good few hours assessing the dog around 'resources' such as food, attention etc. We had one (while the owner was talking to us and handing the food over) jump up and bite her hand because it didn't like my wife getting the attention and food from the owner... enough said (do you have children even visiting and can you take the risk??) Thirdly, beware of noise phobias. Some dogs understandable have a noise phobia around Nov. 5th or New Year.... you can plan for that but we went up the garden once to our deep freeze that's in the garage and a car's exhaust went pop as it drove past... new backdoor required.... Fouthly, and what put an end to what was quite successful if short lived with only a few of the dogs that 'applied' was the council. We received a telephone call from them and without going into too much detail, there is no license for this - so they say you have to have a Kennels license... (thousands) and "Oh under Health and Safety the dogs you have in must not be in an area where food is prepared or in the living areas..." So this license kind of defeats the object. We had 2 other doggy holiday homes call us up asking what to say as they had had calls from their council - one as far as Scotland. The fifth (and I will stop here) Male intact dogs - the first thing some will do is run into your house and !!!! their leg to mark their scent - then the owner will say "OMG he's never ever done that before" stands to reason when he can smell so many other dogs scents in your home. Introduce and greet in the garden then at least the marking is kept outside....

Sorry to put a downer on this idea - it IS great - but you need to be FULLY aware of the problems including the potential Council problem. I'd say do it yourself not through the company you're talking about because: 1. Bookings are EASY and a couple of Post Office adds in the right areas will bring in loads of work. 2. The insurance we had was £120 per year and easiliy recoverable and finally DON'T undercharge. Your house will get damaged over time and there's a heap more Hoovering etc to do if nothing else.

One final final point - if you have a dog of your own be very careful because this will put a huge strain on him / her which can result in their behaviour changing and this is a longer term effect nobody wants.


For a good website to see what is charged etc see dogbasics.co.uk

So, good luck but think whether this really will work for you.

Tim

starlite_2

Timbo you give some really good advise there.
I also think it's not an 'easy job' as many people percieve it to be. My friend did dog walking during university and only walked two at a time, she loved it until one day she was bitten on the shoulder by one of her new dogs. She dropped the leashes and lost one dog and the one that had bitten her attacked another dog nearby.
It caused her massive distress and she was devestated when she heard that the dog would be put down as a result.

tim_wood_2

If you are looking to become involved in mystery shopping then visit https://www.baidata.com and you can register online

just a way of earning some extra cash - it works for me!!!!!

Annando

After Tim's post I thought I should put a word of warning on my post:

1- As I stressed in my OP I only ever have 1 dog at a time, I can only accept 2 dogs if they are from the same owner.

2- The company I work with is registered with the National Association of Petsitters (http://www.dogsit.com) and all the carers have insurance and must abide by their code of conduct.

The dog's welfare is paramount, so this should only be considered by genuine dog lovers that have the time, energy and strength to take care of the dogs. Since I work from home, I am in most of the day, I would have never considered taking in a dog if I was away for more than 2 hours a day and if I hadn't had a good experience of living with dogs before.

Before I accept any dog they come and visit with the owners so that I can assess the dog's behaviour and reactions. The owner has to sign the terms and conditions and answer questions about the dogs behaviour with other dogs, with children, with strangers etc... If in any doubt I can refuse to have the dog (You should check the dog and the owner, some owners tend to let slip things that are a giveaway as to the true nature of their dog - If they come with children, listen carefuly to what the kids say!). Beware as well of people who want to leave their dog with you but are never going to pick him up (it happened to a friend)!

Dogs are wonderful creatures, but they have their own personality and some might have been scared and can be very difficult to handle. You have to know what you are letting yourself into, I have only had good experiences so far but I have heard of very bad experiences too.

And last (yes I know this has been a long rant!) don't forget that the dog is in fact your client so you should treat him with care and rerspect!

twirlypen

I am loving this thread. I got married in June and we want to move next year and I am slowly becoming hooked on MS and earning extra cash to help pay for all major life changes. Have registered with Saros market research and doing my first inetrview for them on Monday £50 for 1/2 hr interview nice.... have been doing yougov for 3 yrs although still to reach my first £50 payout only £33 so far. Have registered with survey savy paid online surveys but still not got anything through thinking it might be a bit rubbish and will try others suggested so thanks :j .

Years ago me and my now husband scanned shopping for TNS which was fun, but we got bored after a while.

Have just started selling clothes and stuff on ebay as we have just invested in a digital camera.

Oh....and claiming back my unfair charges....its another way to get cash see MSE article and consumer action group website.

Oh and nearly forgot thanks to this site I am now using cashback website greasy palm.

Think that's about it folks... again think this a great thread :j

MORPH3US

twirlypen wrote:

Oh and nearly forgot thanks to this site I am now using cashback website greasy palm.

Sounds like you are working hard to earn those extra pennies.

One suggestion that I would make is to dump greasy palm, the only people they make rich are themselves.

Have a look at https://www.quidco.co.uk much better site and double the cashback in most cases!!!

M

attractioncoach

Have been a lurker on the site for ages, love saving and making money .... lots of lovely things to spend it on .... I was prompted to register by this ways of making extra dosh thread - I've recently got involved in a new video email business in the UK (been running very successfully in the US, and Australia, only recently launched over here) where I can earn passive income - okay, I'm in my first month and I'm only earning £1.50 this month but it's going to grow to hundreds, and the great thing for me is I can do it all from my pc, I don't have to go out, it's all legal and it ties in with my existing business, and I've only spent about 6 hours on it so far (which is why I'm only up to £1.50 per month - but that is every month, even if I'm on hols)

Am I allowed to say that if anyone wants more info can they send me a private message??

corris3

Hi all... new to this and having difficulty posting so this may or may not have appeared before.

I go round house clearance sales and auctions and buy boxes of " odds" for between £2 and £5 plus 10% commission. I then sell vi athe free ads in the lcoal paper ( under £20o free) or car boot it.

My last box of " enamel ware" for £4 netted :
£10 selling the enamel in the paper,
a few quid with the rest at a car boot ( 20p box)
and £40 from a local antique shop on two very black objects in the bottom of the box which polished up into hallamarked silver ( jug and victorian salt dish).

Auctions are great fun especially out in the more rural aears of the country but can be addictive.. I have become very discsiplined over the years. You do though need a very understanding OH when the garage is full of junk ( in his eyes!)