Start a Dog Walking Business at 12

What you actually do

You show up at the same time every day, clip a leash on a dog that is very happy to see you, and walk for half an hour. Then you bring it home, top up the water bowl, and text the owner a photo. That's the job.

The part people pay for isn't the walking. It's not having to worry. A dog left alone from eight in the morning until six at night is a problem for the owner, and a kid who turns up every single day at four o'clock solves it. If you're the kind of person who hates being late, you'll be good at this.

What it costs to start

You need almost nothing, and most of it may already be in your house.

• A spare leash, in case the owner's breaks. About $10.
• A roll of poop bags. About $5.
• A small bag of treats, once you've asked the owner what the dog is allowed. About $8.
• A phone with a charged battery, so a parent and the owner can reach you.

Call it $20 to $40 all in. You don't need business cards or a website. A handwritten note through a letterbox has started more dog walking businesses than any app.

Find your first customer this weekend

Don't start with strangers. Start with dogs you already know.

1. Write down every dog on your street or in your building, and who owns it. Most kids can name four or five without trying.
2. Pick the two owners you know best. Knock, or ask a parent to text them, and say something like: "I'm starting to walk dogs after school. Would you want a walk for Rex on Tuesday and Thursday? I'd charge $15."
3. If they say yes, do the walk on time and send the photo. If they say no, ask what would make it a yes. Sometimes it's a different time. Sometimes they just don't need it, and that's useful to know too.

If you get one yes out of five asks, you have a business. If you get zero, you've learned something for the price of a Saturday afternoon, which is the cheapest lesson in business there is.

What to charge

Work out your costs first, then your time. A walk uses about one poop bag and a couple of treats, so your cost per walk is under a dollar. Everything else is your time.

Say you charge $15 a walk and land three dogs, two walks a week each. That's six walks and $90 a week, or roughly $360 a month during the school year. Some owners would rather pay $60 for a week of walks up front, which is easier for you to plan around.

What people pay near you might be higher or lower than $15. The way to find out is to ask two or three owners what they'd expect, not to guess. That's market research, and Module 4 of the course spends a whole section on it.

Rules and staying safe

This is the part to show a parent.

• Tell a parent your route and your times, every day. If a walk runs long, message them.
• Never go inside a customer's house alone on the first visit. Meet the dog with the owner there, and with your parent there if you're under 14.
• Ask about the dog before you agree. Does it pull? Is it good with other dogs? Has it ever bitten? A big, strong dog isn't a starter dog.
• Leash rules are set by your city or town, and so are the parks where dogs can run loose. Check with a parent which ones apply where you walk.
• Take payment in person, in cash, or by e-transfer to a parent's account. Don't chase money by text.

On taxes: a business doesn't have to register for GST/HST until it sells more than $30,000 in a year, which a dog walker in Grade 8 isn't going to. If you ever get near that, you'll have bigger things to decide.

What Jacob would do

Jacob is 15 and lives in Toronto, in a building where at least a dozen dogs share one elevator. He doesn't need to knock on doors. He needs to stand by the elevator at 5 p.m. with a sign that says "Walks, $15, ask me". Then he talks to the people coming out with a leash in one hand and groceries in the other.

His first customer is probably the person who looks the most tired. His second is the person that customer tells. He'd keep a list in his phone of every dog, its owner's number, and what it's allowed to eat, because he knows he'll forget otherwise.

When it stops being fun

It rains. It's minus twenty in January. The dog rolls in something. You have a test the next day and Rex still needs his walk at four. Owners cancel on you at the last minute and expect you to be fine with it.

None of that is a reason not to start. It's a reason to start with two dogs, not six, and to decide now what you'll do on the day you can't make it. Having a friend who can cover for you is worth more than a second leash.