7 Real Examples of Pet Sitters Taking Time Off:

Army Wife Who Visits Friends:

Robin Brown I have left my business a few times now, but the most recent time was this past February. I left for two weeks and went home to NC to visit with family and friends (my husband is in the Army and we are currently stationed in KS). I was able to step away because I have a salaried manager who already runs the majority of the day-to-day operations. I also do not have any regularly scheduled walks, so there was no adjusting of employee schedules. I will be stepping away long-term this winter when the Army moves our family across country to GA. I will remain as the owner and will continue to handle strategic planning, but my physical absence will be a non-issue.

Disney World Fanatic:

Linda Kay Taylor We first left for 6 days for a beach vacation with the family. 1 month before I trained one of our great employees to be our office manager. She gets better as time goes on. After 8 months of the office manager running the business Monday through Friday, we took another family vacation to Disney World for 5 days in March for Spring Break. We left her in charge of the business again in May for 5 days so my husband and I could go to Disney World for our Anniversary. In 3 weeks our present office manager and our soon to be week end manager will take over running the business as our family returns again to Disney World for 10 days ?. Yes if you couldn’t tell I love Disney World. I’m their guest. I don’t clean or cook. I just enjoy being a child at heart. The business runs with our awesome manager and great employees!

Loves To Travel All Over The World!

Krista Cugno Lofquist I “Work hard, play harder”, and love to travel. Full time Office Managers and Assistants for over 15 years have enabled me to travel all over the world! In fact, I leave this Friday am for a 10 day trip to Disney World. It is our annual trip, sometimes we visit 2-3x a year from CT to FL to see the Mouse, while 5 Managers run the show back home. We were married there in 2005, took 2 weeks away from the business for our destination wedding, and decided to return annually in Oct to celebrate our anniversary, my birthday and our daughter’s bday, and again in Dec for holiday celebrations and family trips. Then my husband and I try to take a week alone together each year, in Feb or March, to a tropical island destination (but this year we decided to take the kids too, on a cruise). We also take about 5 weeks off in the summer to do some boating trips to NE islands, Cape Cod, Nantucket, Marthas Vineyard, Block Island, Newport. I have to say that our best trip EVER was our 3 week honeymoon to Bora Bora and Tahiti…paradise…overwater bungalows that you never had to leave, and walked down deck stairs into the ocean, meals delivered by canoe, swimming with sharks. Our bungalow had glass coffee tables, and nightstands that opened up to feed, and view the fish below. Amazing, private, breathtaking and worth the very long travel time from CT. We stopped in CA first, at Disneyland to break up the trip, and then on to the French Polynesian islands. We have said we would like to return for our 15th anniversary. Europe – the Italian Tuscan countryside in the Fall, is a close second favorite, and our pirate adventures chartering a boat in the USVI and BVIs, (the Soggy Dollar Bar!) and hopping thru the Bahamian outer islands…Tiamo Resort on South Andros…are some of our favorite trips! I love to travel, almost as much as I love animals…and that is one of the reasons why I started this business…I knew there are many others who want both! But I quickly learned that I had to delegate responsibility, relinquish some control and let go, in order to be able to enjoy BOTH animals at home, and traveling. I must say that it has gotten easier…remember that in 1995, when I started, no cell phones!, no internet! and communication with the office was by long distance calling cards on pay phones!!! So I truly had to learn to leave the business behind and literally, vacate, to go on vacation. Now, although internet, texts, and smart phones make it easier to communicate with the business while we are gone, it is nearly impossible for many to “unplug” and truly vacate. Having well trained, experienced staff that are an extension of yourself certainly makes stepping away a breeze!

Lives 120 Miles Away From Her Business!

Kim Ottone Tank I left for three weeks to go to Europe in 2007, with an employee acting as office manager, and things went well. But it had been so much work, I didn’t have the drive (or the finances when the economic downturn hit) to do again for a while. Fast forward to 2014 when I would be going into the hospital for a month to have a stem cell transplant (almost interchangeable with the term bone marrow transplant). We got an employee up and ready to handle the office and along with my hubby’s help, they pulled it off! I actually enjoyed my stay at Stanford as it was the first “real” vacation I had had in a while, no phones, no e mails, just ‘me’ time. This taught me a lot. In 2015, as I bounced back, in a big way, I took no less than 10 trips of 1-7 nights away. (Some of the trips were to run marathons) And craziest of all, this year, I moved 120 miles away from my business. I still work on admin each day, but I only do visits 2-3 days a week when I commute down to the bay area. And I am just one new hire away from having real days off from the admin work too. That’s going to happen. I’m loving life. You can have a pet sitting business and free time too.

This Pet Sitter Takes Annual Trips

Christy Sparks Castro I have left several times. I have gone to Hawaii for 3 weeks, gone to numerous family functions and tons of days here and there when needed. As well, annually I go to Texas for 2-3 weeks. I take my senior walker (who also trains dog walkers) and put him in charge. While I am gone I take 2 hours per week to check in on things and that is all.

Oversea’s Traveling!

Amy Schiek Leaving tomorrow for my second 12 day vacation this year! Heading to Paris, then Ireland. I have a fantastic team that handles all of the daily operations while I’m away.

Do You Believe Me Now?

I brought in these incredible business owners for “back up” to prove that you CAN take time away from your business. All of these ladies have outstanding businesses that are not dependent upon them being there in order for it to work. They have all stepped outside of their pet sitting business and still made money while out having fun.

If you can’t possibly understand how you can get yourself there too, I already have a class and an office manual outline that you can follow to get you started. Don’t struggle. I will show you how you can be added to this long list of traveling pet sitters!  I, too, have been to Europe twice for 2-4 weeks at a time, been in NICU (baby ICU) with my daughter for 10hrs a day for six months, and traveled all over the USA while running my growing pet sitting business.