Ummm, you charge HOW MUCH?

I had someone recently question why I was willing to stay overnight at their house for $95 for 12 hours (2 dogs) but if they wanted only four 60 minute visits throughout the day, it would cost them $200....

I was annoyed about my pricing being questioned, but I'll explain, in case anyone else doesn't think paying for a Professional Pet Sitter is worth it.

When I'm staying at a client's house overnight - I drive to the house once, I stay for 12 hours, and I'm *hopefully* sleeping for at least half of the time that I'm there. The price also includes one visit the following day, so it's actually an incredible deal, coming in at under $10 an hour for my time. (And now that I've realized that, I need to consider raising my prices)

Edited ***Overnight visits no longer include an afternoon visit.

That schedule also allows me to see other clients during the day, to be able to increase my income (which is, like, necessary to be able to afford life)

If I do 4 visits a day, I have to drive to the house 4 times a day, I have to be physically active for the duration of the visit (walks, playtime, feedings, clean-ups) and all of the drive time going back and forth is time that I can't be making money anywhere else.

When looking for someone to come take care of your pets, you could get a kid from the neighborhood, a friend or family member, maybe even someone off of Rover (who, in many, MANY cases that I've heard of, are just people looking for *extra* money; they aren't necessarily animal lovers, like myself)

You'll probably find someone cheaper than me, and that's fine - but let me tell you - I had over a dozen requests over the past couple of months from people desperate to find a last minute pet sitter because the person that said they would do it backed out on them. And those people that backed out - they were..... you guessed it! A neighbor, a friend, a family member, or a person from Rover.

Also, I pay taxes on every dollar earned, so that $95 or $200 isn't all going in my pocket. With what's left, I pay for my business insurance and car insurance, and since I'm self-employed, I also pay my health insurance. I pay for animal health and first aid education classes when I'm able to, so I can continue to offer you the best care for your pets. I pay for my website hosting, and do I need to mention how expensive gas is?

That's way more information than I would have ever naturally shared, but I feel like my integrity was being questioned, along with my pricing.

Thank you to everyone that has supported me without question. I appreciate you more than you know.