u/Kindly_Schedule3928

I used to work as a professional pet sitter for a pet sitting company, but recently I started taking clients on my own again.

I just finished a multi-day booking with several visits each day, and now it’s time to send the invoice. Even though I know I earned it, I can’t help but feel a little guilty.

Part of me wonders if the client is going to think it’s expensive, even though they agreed to my rates beforehand. At the same time, I know I was getting up early, going back out late at night, driving back and forth multiple times a day, sending photo updates after every visit, and planning my entire day around the booking.

Has anyone else felt this way when they first started working for themselves? Does that feeling eventually go away? I’d love to hear how other sitters think about sending invoices.

Update: she tipped me $40! I really need to stop underestimating myself. I do a good job and it obviously shows.

I wanted to get some opinions on something that happened while I was walking my dog today.

I walk my dog in my neighborhood pretty much every day. As we were heading home, a white van drove by, then stopped. The driver rolled down his window and asked if I lived in the neighborhood.

I said, “Why?”

He replied, “Because I see you walking all the time.”

I told him I lived nearby, and then he asked which direction I lived, pointing up and down the street. That made me uncomfortable, so I actually pointed in the opposite direction of where I really live.

He just said, “Okay, I’ll probably see you around,” and drove off.

Now I’m wondering if I was reading too much into it. He looked like he might live in the neighborhood, and he was Hispanic, so I also wondered if maybe there was a language or cultural difference and he didn’t realize how the questions came across.

At the same time, asking a stranger where they live seems kind of odd to me. I don’t think he necessarily had bad intentions, but it definitely made me uneasy.
Would this have made you uncomfortable too, or does it sound like a harmless interaction?

Edit to add: I am a female!