Wag and Whisker Pet Care

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Executive Summary

Wag and Whisker Pet Care is a pet sitting and dog walking service in Arizona. We send vetted, insured sitters to walk dogs, visit cats and small pets, stay overnight in a client's home or host pets in a sitter's home. Clients book and pay online, get photo updates after every visit and know exactly who is caring for their pet.

Why this fits. People treat pets like family, and they worry when they leave them alone. Work hours, travel and the heat of an Arizona summer mean dogs need midday walks and cats need visits. Many people do not want to board a pet in a kennel. A trusted service that screens sitters, keeps backups and communicates builds loyal clients who book every week.

Here is what our numbers show. In Year 1 we plan about 5,200 dog walks (about 100 a week), 3,000 pet sitting visits and overnights and 900 nights of boarding in sitter homes. That brings in sales of $315,400, growing to $1,007,949 by Year 5 as we add sitters and clients. We expect a profit of about $13,500 in Year 1, then a profit of about $79,300 in Year 2, $107,800 in Year 3 and $164,100 by Year 5. Sitter pay is our largest cost, about 62% of sales, and the plan counts all of it.

We need $48,000 in total. Of that, $22,000 is startup costs (booking and payment software, phones, leashes and safety gear, licenses, legal setup, branding, insurance and the first advertising), and the rest is cash for the first months. I am putting in $33,000 of my own savings and asking for a $15,000 small business loan.

I am Jess Calloway, the owner and lead sitter, with seven years in pet care, including four as a veterinary technician assistant and three as a professional pet sitter. These numbers are estimates based on the assumptions listed at the end of this plan, not promises.

Company Description

Wag and Whisker Pet Care is a small, independently owned pet care service in Arizona, planned as a limited liability company (LLC). We serve homes and apartment communities in our city and the nearby suburbs.

Our mission. To give pets safe, loving care at home and give owners peace of mind.

What we believe. A pet's routine matters. Our sitters follow each pet's feeding, medicine and play instructions, send a photo and note after every visit and treat every home with respect. We screen sitters carefully, train them in pet first aid and handle keys and alarm codes securely. We never take on more visits than we can do well.

What we offer:
- Dog walking. Individual and small-group walks, scheduled by the week, with water, a leash check and a report.
- Pet sitting visits and overnights. Visits for cats, small animals and dogs, and overnight stays in the client's home.
- Boarding in sitter homes. A small number of pets stay in an approved sitter's home, with daily updates.
- Meet and greet. A free first visit to meet the pet, see the home and write a care plan.

Who we serve. Working pet owners, travelers, seniors, families with new puppies and owners of cats and small pets.

What we do not do. We do not give medical treatment beyond what a vet has prescribed and shown, take aggressive or sick animals we cannot safely handle, walk pets on hot pavement or board more animals in a home than our policy allows.

How we are run. I am the owner and lead sitter. A scheduling and client care person works with me from Year 1, a second joins in Year 5 and a sitter team lead joins in Year 3. Sitters are paid per visit. We confirm with an attorney and an accountant whether our sitters are employees or contractors under our state's rules. An accountant keeps the books.

Where things stand today. We have a draft client agreement and sitter agreement reviewed by an attorney, quotes for the booking software and insurance, a list of 12 sitters who applied and early interest from 35 clients through neighbors and a veterinarian's office. (Replace this with where you really are.)

Problem & Opportunity

Pet owners often struggle to find reliable care. A neighbor may be busy. Online marketplaces list many sitters, but owners may not know whom to trust. Kennels can be stressful for pets and expensive, and some pets do not do well there. Dogs left alone for ten hours may bark, damage the home or develop health problems.

Sitters face challenges too. They need steady work, fair pay and support if a pet is sick or a client does not pay.

In a desert climate, summer heat makes safe walks harder. Pavement can burn paws, and midday walks need planning.

For a new service, the hard parts are finding and screening sitters, building a base of regular clients, handling scheduling so every visit happens on time and having a plan when a sitter is sick or a pet is hurt.

We want to be clear about what we know and do not know. Pet care is a real and steady business, and owners pay for trust. We do not know how fast clients will come, so our plan starts with a small profit and holds a cushion for the first months. We will use current local numbers on pet owners and competing services in our final plan and will not overstate them.

Products & Services

Wag and Whisker Pet Care will send a trusted sitter, keep the owner informed and have a backup ready.

How it works, step by step:
1. Request. The owner books a meet and greet online or by phone.
2. Meet and greet. The lead sitter meets the owner and pet, sees the home, notes feeding, medicine, routines and emergency contacts and writes a care plan.
3. Match. We match a sitter by location, schedule and the pet's needs, and introduce them before the first visit.
4. Book and pay. The owner books visits in the app, sees the schedule and pays by card.
5. Visit. The sitter follows the care plan, sends a photo and note and locks up securely.
6. Safety. Sitters follow rules for heat, leash use and doors and gates, and call the owner and the vet in an emergency.
7. Backup. If a sitter is sick, we send a backup who has already met the pet when possible.
8. Review. The owner can rate each visit, and we use feedback to coach sitters and update care plans.

Why this approach is strong. Pets are happier at home, and owners trust a service with clear records. A backup plan and photo updates remove the worry.

Market Analysis

Who we serve: pet owners in our city and the nearby suburbs, especially working households, travelers, seniors and families with young pets.

Our primary group is dog owners who work full days and need a midday walk. Our secondary group is owners who travel and need overnight care or a sitter's home. We will use the most recent local numbers on pet owners and competing services in our final plan.

How we sized our plan. We plan about 5,200 dog walks (about 100 a week), 3,000 sitting visits and overnights and 900 boarding nights in Year 1, growing to 13,500, 8,400 and 3,200 by Year 5. Our Year 1 prices are about $28 per walk, $38 per visit and $62 per boarding night, rising about 3% a year.

Demand data. Early interest from 35 clients, a veterinarian's office and a few apartment communities covers part of the first months. We do not count on any one client. Demand is highest around holidays, school breaks and summer travel.

We do not serve every pet. We decline animals that are aggressive or too ill for our sitters to handle safely, and we refer pets with medical needs to a vet or a licensed pet care provider.

Competitive Landscape

Other choices for owners, and what makes us different.

- Online marketplaces for sitters. They offer many choices but leave screening to the owner. We screen, train and manage sitters.
- Kennels and daycare centers. They offer group care. We care for pets at home with one-on-one attention.
- Friends and neighbors. They are free but not always available. We offer a reliable schedule and a backup.
- Other independent sitting companies. Some are very good. We compete on screening, communication and backup.
- Veterinary boarding. It is good for sick pets. We offer home-like care for healthy ones.

What makes us different.
- Every sitter is screened, bonded and trained in pet first aid.
- Photo updates after every visit.
- A backup plan for sick sitters.
- Heat rules for summer walking.

What we do not claim. We are new. Larger companies have more sitters. We plan to earn trust one pet at a time.

Marketing & Sales Strategy

How we will reach customers.

Neighborhoods and apartment communities. We will meet property managers, leave flyers at veterinarians, groomers and pet stores and offer a first walk discount for new residents.

Online. A website with online booking and sitter profiles, a Google business listing, reviews and a modest monthly budget for local search ads.

Veterinarians and groomers. We will ask veterinarians and groomers to recommend us and offer a thank-you for referrals.

Seasonal offers. Holiday and summer travel packages booked early at a small discount.

Clients. Every happy client is asked to leave a review and to refer a friend, with a credit on the next visit.

Pricing. About $28 per walk, $38 per visit or overnight and $62 per boarding night in Year 1, with package discounts for regular clients.

Operations Plan

How the business will run.

Setup (the 6 to 8 weeks before the first visit). We will form the LLC, get an EIN and open a business bank account, get the city business license and any pet care license our city requires, buy insurance and a bond, set up the booking and payment app, interview and screen the first sitters, write the client and sitter agreements and train sitters in pet first aid and safety. We will confirm local rules for boarding in sitter homes before offering it.

Staffing. In Year 1: I serve as owner and lead sitter. A part-time scheduling and client care person, paid $28,000 a year, works with me. A second joins in Year 5. A sitter team lead, paid $34,000 a year, joins in Year 3. Sitters are paid per visit, and their pay is counted in the cost of each service.

Costs. Sitter pay and supplies are about $17.40 per walk, $23.60 per visit and $38.50 per boarding night in Year 1. Marketing and online ads are about $14,000 a year, insurance and bonding about $3,600, booking app and software about $2,400 and sitter background checks and training about $2,400.

Safety. Every sitter passes a background check, reference checks and a meet-and-greet with us. We keep keys in coded lockboxes without addresses on them, require two points of contact for each client, follow a heat plan for summer and keep a written plan for emergencies that includes calling the owner, the vet and 911 when needed.

Payments. Clients pay by card through the app after each visit or by weekly invoice, so about $6,308 is owed to us at the end of Year 1.

Insurance. We carry general liability, bonding and care, custody and control coverage for pets.

Management & Organization

The people who will run Wag and Whisker Pet Care.

Jess Calloway, owner and lead sitter. Seven years in pet care, including four years as a veterinary technician assistant and three years as a professional pet sitter. She leads sitter screening, training, client relations and finance. (Replace this paragraph with your own background.)

Scheduling and client care (part-time, from Year 1). Books visits, answers calls and sends updates. A second joins in Year 5.

Sitter team lead (from Year 3). Coaches sitters and covers backup visits.

Sitters. Screened and trained pet lovers who are paid per visit.

Outside advisors. A veterinarian, an attorney, an accountant, an insurance broker and a free mentor from SCORE or the Small Business Development Center.

Staff pay in this plan is a full year per person: owner and lead sitter $40,000, part-time scheduling and client care $28,000 and sitter team lead $34,000. Replace them with the pay you can offer where you live.

Milestones Narrative

Our goals and when we plan to reach them.
- Before the first visit (6 to 8 weeks ahead): get the business license, insurance and bond, set up the booking app, screen and train at least 6 sitters and book at least 20 first-month clients.
- Year 1: about 100 walks a week, 3,000 visits and overnights and 900 boarding nights; $315,400 in sales and a profit of about $13,500.
- Year 2: about 158 walks a week, a larger sitter team and a profit; $540,750 in sales and a profit of about $79,300.
- Year 3: about 200 walks a week and a sitter team lead; $731,842 in sales and a profit of about $107,800.
- Year 4: about 235 walks a week; $885,347 in sales and a profit of about $151,600.
- Year 5: about 260 walks a week and a second scheduling and client care person; $1,007,949 in sales and a profit of about $164,100.
Growth depends on winning and keeping customers, so treat the later years as goals, not promises.

What we check every week: visits completed, late or missed visits, client reviews, sitter availability, new clients, heat-related changes and cash in the bank.

Funding Request

How much we need and how we will use it. Total we are raising: $48,000.

How we got that number. The Funding Need Calculator in this plan adds up three things:
- Startup costs of $22,000, listed item by item in the Startup Costs section: $3,500 for booking, payment and sitter app setup; $1,800 for phones, tablet and a printer for the office; $2,700 for leashes, harnesses, key lockboxes and pet first aid kits; $800 for business license and sitter background check account; $2,800 for attorney: service agreement, sitter agreement and LLC; $4,200 for branding, uniforms and a website with online booking; $3,200 for insurance down payment (liability, bonding); $3,000 for opening promotion and first advertising.
- The cash the business uses before it breaks even, about $0. Sitters are paid after each visit, but clients pay through the app after about a week, so a small amount of cash is needed before bookings build.
- A cash cushion of about $24,800: three months of Year 1 operating costs.
- Together, the cash used before break even and the cushion come to about $24,800, and the three pieces add up to about $46,750, rounded up to the nearest $500: $47,000.
We are raising $1,000 more than that, $48,000 in all, to cover a slower first season than planned and the sitter team lead added in Year 3. With this funding, the lowest year-end cash balance is about $56,200, at the end of Year 1.

Where the money comes from:
- My own money: $33,000.
- Small business loan: $15,000.

Kind of funding we are looking for. A small business loan from a lender that finances small service businesses, backed by my own savings.

How we will pay it back. We expect a profit of about $13,500 in Year 1, a profit of about $79,300 in Year 2, a profit of about $107,800 in Year 3, a profit of about $151,600 in Year 4 and a profit of about $164,100 in Year 5. With this funding, the business has money in the bank at the end of every year of the plan. Our loan is the small business loan at 11.5% over 5 years, about $330 a month. That payment is already included in our cash flow. We chose these as cautious planning rates; ask the lender for the real rates, which may be lower or higher.

What we are offering the lender: my personal guarantee.

A smaller first step, if needed. If we cannot raise the full amount right away, we can start smaller and grow into this plan:
- Phase 1: start with the owner and four sitters in one part of the city, with no boarding in sitter homes, which lowers startup costs and the loan.
- Phase 2: once bookings are steady, add boarding, the team lead and more sitters and follow this plan.
To plan the smaller start, make a copy of this plan (use Duplicate) and lower the numbers to match.

All numbers in this plan are estimates. We will update them as real results come in.

Appendix Notes

Documents to attach before you send this plan:

- Your resume and a personal financial statement (a list of what you own and what you owe; lenders usually provide a form).
- Business registration papers and your EIN (your business tax number from the IRS, free at irs.gov).
- Your city business license and any pet care license.
- Quotes for booking software, insurance and a bond.
- Your client agreement, sitter agreement and care plan template.
- Your sitter screening and training plan.
- Letters of interest from clients, veterinarians and property managers.
If you don't have any of this yet, no worries - let's continue.

The assumptions behind our numbers (change them in the Financials section to match your own):
- Dog Walks (per walk): about $28 in Year 1, rising to $31.51; about $17.40 in direct costs, rising to $19.58; about 5,200 in Year 1, growing to 13,500.
- Pet Sitting Visits and Overnights (per visit): about $38 in Year 1, rising to $42.77; about $23.60 in direct costs, rising to $26.56; about 3,000 in Year 1, growing to 8,400.
- Boarding in Sitter Homes (per night): about $62 in Year 1, rising to $69.78; about $38.50 in direct costs, rising to $43.33; about 900 in Year 1, growing to 3,200.
- Dog walks are about 5,200 in Year 1, roughly 100 a week. Sitter pay and supplies are about 62% of the price. Prices rise about 3% a year.
- Equipment and software ($8,000 in Year 1) covers booking software, phones, a printer and safety gear, and later years add small items.
- Pay (a full year, per person): owner and lead sitter $40,000; scheduling and client care (part-time) $28,000; sitter team lead $34,000.
- Other yearly costs in Year 1: marketing and online ads $14,000, insurance and bonding $3,600, booking app and software $2,400, sitter background checks and training $2,400, accounting and legal $2,400, phone and mileage $3,000, payroll taxes $3,200. These grow between 5% and 12% a year.
- Startup equipment and later purchases ($8,000 in Year 1, then $1,000, $1,000, $2,000 and $1,000) are spread evenly over five years in the plan's books.
- Customers and payers pay about 7 days after service, so at the end of Year 1 about $6,308 is still owed to us. Income tax at 21%.
- Every dollar amount is an estimate. Replace them with your own quotes and research.

Startup Costs