What you just described is exactly what we used Rover for early on — figuring out what works, what doesn’t, and what our safety standards needed to be as we grew In your case, you probably noticed that your calm, structured approach made the biggest difference — even if the owner didn’t fully recognize it The dog did And that matters Also — give yourself credit here You stood out from other sitters that dog had experienced before That’s not small It usually means you’re a natural fit for this kind of work, and there’s real potential in it if you decide to keep going Keep refining your rules and sticking to them — that’s where everything starts to scale safely Really good start, seriously 👍 If you ever want to bounce ideas or sanity check situations, I’m here

Josee — networking events can feel super intimidating at first, but once you realize how many people there have dogs (and how many are always quietly looking for a better person to watch them), it actually becomes really fun. One big thing we learned early on was to have somewhere to send people that isn’t Rover, and a way to capture their contact info that isn’t Rover. Rover tends to pull clients into their ecosystem instead of yours, so if you meet someone out in the real world it’s usually better to connect them directly to your business. Early on it can make sense to run a few people through Rover if you’re trying to build reviews, but once you’ve got some experience and momentum it’s nice to keep those relationships directly so you’re not losing 20–30% between Rover’s cut and the extra fees they charge the client. Congrats on getting out of your comfort zone — that’s honestly the hardest part. A simple website, some business cards, and even a free CRM to keep track of contacts can go a long way.

That’s exciting about someone reaching out to you. Just keep in mind — and I don’t know the full context — to be very careful with paying for advertising at your current scale. It’s surprisingly easy to generate momentum through networking and organic visibility. A lot of paid advertising opportunities can look appealing, and they may produce some results, but often you could achieve the same or better outcomes by putting that effort directly into your own channels. If you’re going to spend money, it’s often more effective to put it into things like direct ads that point straight to your website, or investing in improving the website itself so it converts better and is ready sooner. Those types of investments tend to compound more over time. When we looked closely at it, traditional advertising placements were extremely expensive compared to something like running Google Ads for a few weeks, especially considering how much business those ads actually produced. That said, if it’s more of a partnership and doesn’t involve a significant cost, then it could absolutely be worth exploring. That's exciting also about your followers. Keep it up, close up reels of dogs faces work better than zoomed out for organic. Great job!

Ill check out your profile right away! Thanks for joining the group. Make sure to go through our classroom for insights 🐕

Looks great overall! Your experience is a huge asset and you are doing a great job showcasing that. Of your three services which works best for your schedule? I would market to the one you like the most, more directly. Early on jack of all trades only works if you have lots of capacity. I noticed no boarding which is where we specialize, so our advice isnt the best for how to do the actual work, but I do think based on your reviews you are doing great with your customers. I would also seriously consider raising your rates to near the top of your search in your area. Your profile and reviews scream luxury personalized service. I would lean into that in your profile. Good luck and post any questions here!

@Josée Cyr Great job, and thanks for reading the manual. If you prefer dogs, I would definitely focus your profile on dogs and move away from the cat language. In our experience, cats were very low revenue and much higher risk. They’re escape risks and owners tend to be very sensitive about that. We now only board cats when they come with a dog that already lives with them so we don't lose the business. In your situation, I would lean fully into dogs. Since your capacity is small, you could frame it as one-on-one care — one family at a time so the dog feels like it’s staying in a real home. That’s a strong advantage over traditional boarding where there are many animals and few humans. If you have any questions about the specifics, just let us know anytime. French Super travail, et merci d’avoir lu le manuel. Si vous préférez les chiens, je vous conseillerais de concentrer votre profil uniquement sur les chiens et de retirer le langage autour des chats. Dans notre expérience, les chats génèrent très peu de revenus et présentent plus de risques. Ils peuvent facilement s’échapper et les propriétaires sont souvent très sensibles à cela. De notre côté, nous n’acceptons maintenant les chats que lorsqu’ils viennent avec un chien de la même famille qui s’entend bien avec les chiens. Dans votre situation, je me concentrerais vraiment sur les chiens. Comme votre capacité est limitée, vous pourriez présenter votre service comme des soins un-à-un — une seule famille à la fois pour que le chien se sente comme à la maison. C’est un grand avantage par rapport aux pensions traditionnelles où il y a beaucoup d’animaux et peu d’humains. Si vous avez des questions sur les détails, n’hésitez jamais à nous demander. And you are so very welcome!!!! Keep growing! 2 dogs is life changing money Nothing like 100 bucks extra a day to play with dogs

@Josée Cyr ok. My translator app does it. Ill skip it in the future. Thanks for sharing! I super appreciate it

@Josée Cyr yes please! Its 100% free