u/Decent_Green183

I switched to business hours over a year ago after getting burnt out and wanted to share my process and experience in case it helps anyone improve their work-life balance.

I sent an email blast with my work hours to my existing clients and have a doc with my schedule and policies that I share with new/potential clients before we book.

My schedule is as follows:

— Routine updates and general inquiries are handled between 8 AM and 5 PM Monday through Friday, unless I’m doing a walk or a drop-in during my offline time (I usually send updates after each walk/drop-in no matter when I’m doing them if the owner is not home) or if it’s an emergency.

— Drop-offs and pick-ups can be scheduled for between 8 AM and 7 PM. If their appointment is between 5 and 7 PM, they’re welcome to message me any time before 7 PM on the day of the appointment, including weekends.

I also have an intake form that all of my clients are required to fill out. It keeps everything organized in a single spreadsheet and helps avoid unnecessary back and forth.

Besides collecting info, I use my intake form as an opportunity to set expectations for my clients and have them sign off on my policies.

Most of my existing clients were very understanding of my boundaries.

Now, new/potential clients are a different animal. At first I was worried this would turn away a lot of people, so I decided to make exceptions for first-time bookings with weekend drop-offs to help alleviate anxiety. To my surprise, not a lot of people took me up on it.

I don’t know how many pet parents chose not to hire me because of my policies, but I haven’t noticed it affecting my income.

I’m sharing this because it has been working very well for me and I really regret not doing this sooner. While there are a lot of perks to running your own business, as sitters, we work weekends, don’t get a lot of time off, and burnout is a real thing. Protecting our mental health is extremely important in this profession.