Guest writer: Sharon Wagner
5 Tips to Help You Welcome a New Pet While Starting a New Business
Welcoming a new pet and starting a new business are both time-consuming activities that can be a challenge to tackle separately. Trying to do both simultaneously can be an even more significant challenge, but these tips from Professional Global Etiquette can help.
1. Get Your Business Squared Away
Take care of as many of the startup tasks for your new business as you can before you bring your new pet home. For example, if you haven’t chosen a business structure yet, consider forming your business as a limited liability company.
Forming your business as an LLC protects your personal assets and provides increased flexibility, less paperwork, and some tax advantages. Some states have specific regulations for starting a business and forming an LLC, so you need to research them yourself, contact an attorney or use a formation service. A formation service will save you time and effort and may cost less than hiring a lawyer.
Next, you’ll need to ensure your accounting is in order – not just to save you a lot of hassle during tax season, but to make sure you’re getting paid! Your best bet is to choose invoicing software that’s affordable and easy to use but also allows you to send out professional-looking invoices in minutes.
2. Prepare Your Home
Whether bringing home a puppy, kitten or adopting an adult animal through Metro Animal, you should prepare your home for the new arrival. It is usually best not to give a new pet too much freedom at the start. Instead, choose a room in the house where you will keep your new pet while it adjusts to your home.
Check for potential hazards or belongings that could get destroyed. For example, remove any cleaning supplies or potentially toxic or dangerous objects from the room and any precious furnishings you don’t want to risk getting destroyed.
Set up a secure area where your new pet can sleep, use the bathroom and eat and drink without being overwhelmed by the rest of the household. For a new dog, this is usually a crate or exercise pen. For a cat, you may want to choose a small room with a bed, scratching post, and litter box set up.
3. Make a Plan for Your Workdays
You need to establish boundaries if you are running your new business from home. If no one else will be at home, consider setting up an enclosed play area near where you work, using an exercise pen or baby gates so that your pet isn’t getting into everything while you work but doesn’t feel isolated. According to experts, new puppies should not be left alone for more than two hours daily. Older dogs may be OK for up to six hours.
4. Avoid Overwhelming Your Pet or Yourself
Don’t try to do too much in the first few weeks. Don’t invite everyone you know over to meet your new pet.
Socializing your pet is essential, but do not force the issue. Give your pet and yourself some time to adjust to your new routine. Set some guidelines with your family members. If you need some uninterrupted time to tend to business, make sure you have a separate workspace, instruct your family members not to interrupt, and assign at least one person the responsibility of taking care of your new pet while you are busy.
5. Enlist Some Help
If you don’t have a family member to look after your pet while you work, consider hiring a pet sitter or taking your pet to a local daycare. This will avoid your business or your pet going too long without attention.
Adjusting to a new pet and a new business simultaneously is not easy. However, the time and effort you put in up front will pay off down the road.
Professional Global Etiquette offers specific business protocol and etiquette training to companies and employees creating successful enterprises. We customize the workshops and presentations for your needs.