Book excerpt: Book & CD-ROM. This guide provides readers with an understanding of the basic concepts of starting their own service business. This book offers a comprehensive and detailed study of the business side of pet sitting. You will learn everything from the initial start-up decisions to working with clients. If you are investigating opportunities in this type of business, you should begin by reading this book. You can build a highly successful business using your talent and understanding of animals while providing a much needed service to their owners. If you enjoy working with people and animals, this may be the perfect business for you. Keep in mind that this business looks easy but, as with any business, looks can be deceiving. This complete manual will arm you with everything you need, including sample business forms; contracts; worksheets and checklists for planning, opening, and running day-to-day operations; setting up your office; and dozens of other valuable, timesaving tools of the trade that no business should be without. While providing detailed instruction and examples, the author leads you through every detail that will bring success. You will learn how to draw up a winning business plan (the companion CD-ROM has the actual business plan you can use in Microsoft Word) and about choosing a name; getting started; the who, what, when, why, and how of pet sitting; equipment; selling your other services to your present customers, such as pet walking, training, nutritional items, photography and portraiture; pet accessories; how to attract and bid on new jobs; contracts and billing procedures; advertising; insurance; legal matters; basic cost control systems; market research; getting new clients; tax laws; zoning laws; pricing; leads; sales and marketing techniques; and pricing formulas. You will learn how to set up computer systems to save time and money, how to hire and keep a qualified professional staff if necessary, how to meet IRS requirements, how to manage and train employees, how to generate high profile public relations and publicity, and how to implement low cost internal marketing ideas. You will learn how to build your business by using low and no cost ways to satisfy customers, as well as ways to increase sales and have customers refer others to you.