Third-Party Apps vs Direct Bookings: What’s Best for Your Pet Business?

 Should you use third-party booking apps to grow your pet business, or focus on building direct client relationships? In this episode, we unpack the pros and cons of each approach to help you decide what’s right for you. 

You’ll learn how using apps can help with visibility but might limit your profit and control — and why going direct often leads to stronger client loyalty, higher earnings, and more freedom. We’ll also cover how to make a smooth transition if you want to move away from platforms and build a loyal client base of your own. 

Whether you’re just starting your dog sitting or pet care business or ready to level up, this episode gives you the insight (and confidence) to choose a path that supports your goals and lifestyle. 

Find out more about the program here: https://pawstoprofit.com.au/

Follow on Insta @paws_to_profit https://shorturl.at/VdBRo

Transcript

0:00.89
Tanya williams
Hey, it's Tanya here, Chief Pawson at 3 Sport Dogs and your host of the Pause to Profit podcast. And today we're talking about whether you should be using third-party apps or taking bookings directly and what's best for your pet business.

00:16.97
Tanya williams
Now, you've probably heard of a lot of these apps. I'm not going to name them all. There are quite a few of them out there. um But they are, yeah, and they're normally a third-party style app, which brings together ah the dog sitter and um and the client. So people can go and search for people like that in certain areas or certain, you know, specialties and so forth and find a dog sitter for them.

00:39.27
Tanya williams
So when I first started, I was actually using these apps. This is how I started taking bookings and getting into the business, right? Right. um you know, and that was quite a while ago. So they were quite new.

00:49.67
Tanya williams
um But then I decided in about 2020 when I launched three sport dogs that I was a bit overpaying the big commissions that they asked for. And I was getting clients complaining about them not working or being inconvenient and so forth. So for me, it was like, oh, it's time to to take it up to the next level.

01:05.84
Tanya williams
So there's absolutely nothing wrong with using them ah at all. And they are a great way to get started. I have nothing against them. I actually think I might still be on a couple of um profiles not that I really do um many bookings through them anymore because most of the stuff that I do is is direct through three sport dogs so let's talk a bit more um about them and what's involved so those third-party apps usually are very easy for you to set up which is a great thing right so you know the pros are easy setup so you've got to make sure that you have a great profile and I'm going to cover that in um the pause to profit program I've got a great um template that you can use for that

01:43.53
Tanya williams
um But yeah, they've got to be um you've got to have a great profile. And that includes having things like, you know, what um your experience and what you're specializing in and the type of care that you provide and all that sort of stuff. But more on that in another you know another episode.

01:59.60
Tanya williams
um So yeah, they are great to to set up and easy to set up. um It gives you access to ready-made clients as well, right? So there's already a market there. There's already, um you know, they're putting...

02:10.29
Tanya williams
you in front of people who are searching for a dog sitter. So um there's, you know, there's clients there waiting and looking for you. um It's easy to get reviews as well because typically what happens is um after a dog sitter's finished, ah the platform will send out a thing to say, can you leave a review?

02:26.58
Tanya williams
um And then they will normally leave and leave a review. I've got a bunch of five-star reviews on these and, um you know, it is great to know that you've had such a positive impact on someone's experience.

02:38.20
Tanya williams
Now they also cover... you know, payment protection and insurance as well. So typically how it works is you will do the job and then sometimes you'll get paid two days later. Sometimes it's like five, six days later.

02:50.36
Tanya williams
Um, once the dog has been successfuled successfully handed back and so forth and there's no issues, then you'll get payment less their commission, obviously. Um, So, you know, and they also cover in um insurance as well. So you don't have to worry about any of that. So it's it's a really low entry, low cost way to get started.

03:09.80
Tanya williams
And of course, they handle all the payments, um you know, so they do all of that sort of stuff. So, you know, that's that's great, right? It's like it's an easy way to get in. It's not going to cost you anything. um And, you know, if you're starting out, recommend it, you know, as a great way to get started.

03:25.02
Tanya williams
Now, of course, like anything, there are cons as well. So um what I found was I love to send videos and photos. And look, most of them will let you send photos, but um the ones I was using wouldn't let me send videos.

03:36.90
Tanya williams
um And then often that they were so glitchy that that um photos wouldn't send through or they'd get all all of a sudden get three days worth photos at once or they just weren't working at all. They weren't loading. They were going, I can't see them on my end, which is really annoying when you're trying to communicate and keep parents updated.

03:53.74
Tanya williams
Um, also there's an inconsistent, inconsistent quality. I can't even say it inconsistent quality of pet owners, of course, like some of them have realistic, unrealistic expectations. Like they think you should be doing all of these things, um, and paying you nothing to do it. So you got to remember there are, there are people out there that think, oh, it's on an app. So therefore it must be cheap or it should be cheap.

04:18.20
Tanya williams
And that's not the case. So some people will expect the world and won't want to pay you for those services. So you need to be prepared to deal with that. There's also an inconsistent quality of pet sitters. So, you know, I've found in my experience of, I've actually used them myself to find a new pet sitter.

04:34.93
Tanya williams
And oh my God, like some people were just like, had really bad profiles. They were really, they seemed really dodgy and unprofessional. And I wondered, did they actually have any idea of how to look after a dog?

04:48.67
Tanya williams
um You know, all of that sort of stuff. So you've got to really look at a profile and that's why your profile is so, so important because it's a first impression, right? If you're not making a great first impression, people are going to go, oh no, I don't think so.

05:01.76
Tanya williams
um and that's why reviews are so important. And if you're looking for a pet setter, you obviously want to be validating those as well. so um The other issue, ah as I've mentioned before, is they can be really glitchy and not work properly.

05:13.67
Tanya williams
um Some of them are good at actually the like responding to those issues and getting them sorted. Others, not so much. um And of course, they take a nice big chunk of your fee as well. So usually around 19 to 20%.

05:28.08
Tanya williams
um you know, which is money that you've earned and, and you know and like you know, they've got to take their service fee, understand, but um it is ah as a big service fee. So, you know, great, it's easy to set up and so forth, but beware that you don't have any control over, you know, how they're marketing, um quality, you know, all those types of things as well.

05:47.51
Tanya williams
Now, Pros and cons of doing it for yourself. Now, I am a big fan and believer in taking bookings directly. This is where you really can make good money, okay? Because you have 100% control over everything that happens.

06:00.88
Tanya williams
And of course, you keep 100% of your fee. You don't have to pay anyone else. um You know, you're taking the booking, you're doing the work, you're getting the money in your bank account. It's also an opportunity for you to build a personal brand. So, you know, for people to know you and know your brand. So for me, Three Sport Dogs is a brand and it's a brand that I'm continuing to um grow in lots of different ways. So not just from a pet sitting perspective, but in, you know, products and events and services that we are offering as part of what we do.

06:32.72
Tanya williams
So I see it as being a much bigger picture thing, which you can't do on a third party app. Also, you have greater control of your policies and pricing. So you should have, um you know, policies in place. So you want cancellation policies, you want, um you know, rules around refunds, all of that sort of stuff. So you have control over what that looks like.

06:53.69
Tanya williams
You also have full control over your pricing, whether you have different pricing at different times of the year, um you know, what you charge when, types of services that you want to put up there and so forth. So that is all, um,

07:06.25
Tanya williams
100% controllable by you, which is what I love. ah Upsell services are easy as well. um Really hard, if not impossible, to do upsells through the app.

07:17.26
Tanya williams
um you know, they're normally an add-on type thing. But if you're running your own brand, you can easily um upsell them. So I have a link that I send to people before they come and go, hey, well, you know, we can't wait to see Max this week.

07:30.24
Tanya williams
um Here's, you know, if you want to order anything additional for Max, here's a link and just um pop on, you know, jump in and and just order, you know, any additional services that you'd like. Now that could include things like take-home treats. It could include A bath, it could include. Walking, it could include.

07:48.17
Tanya williams
um You know, getting their eyes and nails trimmed. It could be a gourmet meal. or that There's a whole bunch of stuff on that list. But they have the choice to either do that or not, right? so But it's easy. I'm just sending them a link going, if you need any of this stuff, then we're here for you.

08:02.43
Tanya williams
You can also ah choose your availability, obviously. And like I just have a simple Google calendar set up on my website. And I have blockout dates of when we're available and when we're booked out.

08:13.58
Tanya williams
um And when we're not available, so for around holidays, and I try and have that updated as far in advance as possible because we're here booking so far in advance. um So you can obviously put your availability on on your website really easily.

08:27.49
Tanya williams
um You know, I just think having your own, um you know, website, it's you know, it's direct communication a way that suits you. So it's your tone of voice and your, you know, the colors and the imagery and all that sort of stuff that um that you like. But it also makes direct communication with your clients so much easier. So whether you're emailing them or texting them or, you know, whatever it might be,

08:50.87
Tanya williams
um You don't have to worry about things going through an app or any other sort of technology. You can control, you know, how they want to liaise with you. Some people will WhatsApp me, especially if they're overseas. They'll go, let's WhatsApp.

09:02.14
Tanya williams
you So I'll send them photos and videos and and stuff on WhatsApp. Others prefer text. Others email. A lot of older clients like to call and ask about bookings and so forth. So it's all about making it easy for people to do business with you.

09:16.07
Tanya williams
And really, there are really low running costs, okay? I do not have big costs involved in running my direct business at all. um And of course, there's good profit, which is what you want. So low running costs and and high profit are a really good combo, I think.

09:31.05
Tanya williams
Now, you know, there are some downsides, um you know, if you see them as such. I don't have any issues with these um things at all. I'm very comfortable with dealing with them, but you may not be. So you will need to organize your own insurance, but So, i'm you know, there's a whole episode coming up, I think, about insurance. So we might have covered that the last one. I can't remember who what I've recorded now.

09:51.91
Tanya williams
um But, yeah, so you will need to make sure that you've got public liability insurance and insurance to cover you if something happens to a dog in your care. So you will have to pay that um yourself. So some of them have a yearly fee. I pay a monthly fee.

10:04.76
Tanya williams
um For mine, it's not that high, um you know, and you've got to make sure, obviously, you're abiding by all your local laws and so forth. You're in charge of marketing your services as well. So, um we you know, we talk about free marketing. I cover a bunch of stuff on that in the program.

10:20.19
Tanya williams
And now we're going to talk about that on another episode as well. But, you know, you need to market your business and be comfortable with that. um You know, and it's not about a hard sell type thing. There's lots of places where you can go and share your services in a really nice, um you know, comfortable way.

10:34.82
Tanya williams
But you're going to be in charge of marketing. And there's also going to be more admin because you are doing everything, right? You're taking the bookings, you're taking the payments, you're doing the marketing, you're managing your daily operations, you're doing your meet and greets and your scheduling and there's a whole bunch of admin stuff that goes behind the scenes that no one sees.

10:51.91
Tanya williams
So you're going to be in charge all of that and that is a big part of your job. um you And look, it can be a bit more stressful but, you know, like running any business, you know, you've got responsibilities, okay? so um you know, with risk um comes reward.

11:07.39
Tanya williams
um And, you know, anything that takes more time is is, you know, usually more rewarding. So that's how I look at things. And of course, it's it's all on you. You take full responsibility. You can't blame someone else like the third party app. If something's not working or whatever, you need to go, oh, yep, that's mine. I'll get that fixed or whatever.

11:24.34
Tanya williams
So really, I think at the end of the day, there is no right or wrong, right? um However, if you are serious about doing dog sitting in your business, I would certainly strongly suggest setting up your own business and your own brand because that is when I saw a big shift in revenue, repeat bookings and quality of clients.

11:45.22
Tanya williams
Okay. um You know, it does really make a big difference. I think, you know, I certainly saw that. i know other people have seen that as well because it is seen then as a professional business.

11:58.09
Tanya williams
Whereas I think sometimes the third party apps, people look at it as a bit of a, like it's a side hustle or a hobby. um So you're not really serious about it. So there is really a, um you know, a shift in how people perceive it.

12:10.25
Tanya williams
Now, I also want to touch on realistic setup costs for both of those options, right? So, you know, one of the the great things about setting up a dog bi but a dog sitting side hustle is the small cost to get started. You don't need to spend thousands of dollars to set it up. You don't need to invest in in you know invest in fancy training programs that take months. You don't need to invest in a whole bunch of equipment and so forth. So let's have a look at what you can expect with some of this stuff. So if you, um you know, and of course it's going to vary greatly if you're using a third party app to do your setup or you're going to register your own business and do it that way. So let's look at both options.

12:47.36
Tanya williams
So if you're setting up a business yourself in your own brand, you're going to need to look at things like business name registration, obviously insurance, um I would suggest a basic website setup and you can do those through things like Wix and so forth if you don't want to get a, you know, another website setup.

13:03.85
Tanya williams
I've got a WordPress website, mom which my VA set up and did a fantastic job of it because she's great with all this stuff. And, um you know, it looks great. It functions great. We're always adding and updating and so forth and it didn't cost a huge amount of money. So don't think you have to spend thousands of dollars on a website because you do not.

13:21.86
Tanya williams
um You know, you might want to get some promotional postcards and flies and that sort of thing, which again, creating Canva, send them off to Vistaprint and, you know, a really inexpensive way to get set up.

13:33.19
Tanya williams
And you might want some things like, you know, might want to get some dog treats and some spare bowls, spare bed, um you know, that sort of thing because people always forget dog bowls. So it's always good to have spares or they've forgotten to bring their bed or whatever.

13:45.91
Tanya williams
You know, we have dog beds all over the house. Um, but you could set up all that for, I reckon, less than a thousand dollars, which is a very low cost startup.

13:56.83
Tanya williams
Um, you know, so again, you can go as fancy as you want, um, and you can spend as much money as you want, but if you want to sort of set it up inexpensively, you can do that. And you can always add other things, um, you know, as you go, that there's certain things that we bought a steam mop, um, which was, don't know,

14:14.56
Tanya williams
like $600 or something like that, but I use it all the time, right, to steam the floors and so forth. I didn't buy that when I started it, but as the business has grown and the revenue has grown, I've been able to invest in other tools and other things that help me keep the safe, um our you know, our house safe and clean and um and good for our our dog guests. So again, there'll be things that you need right at the start and things you can add on Now, if you're using a third-party app, it's really going to cost you nothing to set up a pet profile on that, right? You can set it up tomorrow. i Set up your profile,

14:44.65
Tanya williams
you know, you might go and spend, you know, a little bit of money again on a couple of dog bowls and some leads and, you know, beds or whatever. guess it depends on the service that you're offering, um you know, what you want to do initially.

14:56.13
Tanya williams
I don't think we did much of that. We all we had all that with our own dogs. So, um We didn't need to do that. But like you're looking at hardly any money there to do that. um But, you know they're they you know, you've got to look at pros and cons of both.

15:08.43
Tanya williams
I certainly think if you're serious about this, then you want to set it up right and set it up right from the start. And of course, the other thing I forgot to mention as well is if you're going to have a website, you want to register the domain, which is about 20 bucks or something. So again, it's a really inexpensive thing to do.

15:22.49
Tanya williams
um But both of those options, regardless of whether you're going direct or not, you want to probably look at things like a police check um and some of the third-party apps will offer that. um Or if not, you can go to and organize that yourself in you in your own state and also a pet first aid course. Now, again, I did one um through the Pet City app that I um was using.

15:44.16
Tanya williams
um There are a few available online as well now that you can go and do. So, you know, so you pretty much set up really with either very little money um or you know, minimal cost to to actually start your own business and your own brand. Now, if you do it right,

15:59.31
Tanya williams
It's highly profitable and there are big opportunities as your demand grows. so So keep listening to these episodes because I'm sharing all the stuff, okay? The good, the bad, all the messy stuff in between, um you know, mistakes I've made, how to do it better um so you don't have to to make those mistakes as well. So if you want to um if you want help to create or grow your dog sitting business, then reach out to me. Make sure you check out the Paws to Profit program.

16:24.09
Tanya williams
which is a really cost-effective way to learn and make really quick progress in what you're doing. So that's today's episode. I hope you enjoyed it. hope you got a lot of it. Now go and take the time to figure out how it is you want to um structure your dog sitting business. What's going to be the best way for you to do it. Again, as I said, there's no right or wrong.

16:43.40
Tanya williams
It's all about what is right or wrong for you. you've got any questions, reach out to me and don't forget you can follow along on Instagram as well at pause to profit. And, um, Yeah, I will see you on the next episode. And in the meantime, have a truly pawsome day.