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I decided to run a marathon and needed to spend quite a bit of time training, but I was also a poor college student and needed all the extra money I could get. I wondered if there was a way to earn some extra money while I trained. That is when a friend of mine asked me if I would take his dog while I ran to give him some exercise.
I figured if my friend wanted me to run his dog, there had to be other people. So I placed up some fliers and let the word out that I was a dog walker / runner. As new clients came aboard, I adjusted my training path to be able to pick up the dog and deliver him back...that was probably the most difficult part of the job. It wasn't finding customers, it was lining everything up so I could do my training. I charged $5 back then for a 30 to 45 minute walk, but I'm sure you could charge more today.
With my training, the most dogs I could manage at a time was three, although 2 was preferable, I was making better than $15 an hour while training for my marathon (by the way, I did manage to finish it and will never run another one again in my life!) If I wasn't training, I'm sure I could have walked even more.
I figured if my friend wanted me to run his dog, there had to be other people. So I placed up some fliers and let the word out that I was a dog walker / runner. As new clients came aboard, I adjusted my training path to be able to pick up the dog and deliver him back...that was probably the most difficult part of the job. It wasn't finding customers, it was lining everything up so I could do my training. I charged $5 back then for a 30 to 45 minute walk, but I'm sure you could charge more today.
With my training, the most dogs I could manage at a time was three, although 2 was preferable, I was making better than $15 an hour while training for my marathon (by the way, I did manage to finish it and will never run another one again in my life!) If I wasn't training, I'm sure I could have walked even more.