birdy business

* here is a pic of a "new client" a blue headed pionus named "Sweet".
This parrot is aptly named "Sweet" because he is very sweet, calm and quiet.

Owning your own business has it's challenges. One thing you can't do is be complacent. Clients come and go and you need to be "on the ball" as far as promoting your business to keep it alive.
I donated a Christmas basket with "kitty" items to a local fund-raiser in order to promote some business gearing to cat customers. 80% of my customers are bird boarding customers but I do home visits for people with cats as well. Cats for the most part are (and should) be easy to care for. I have on occasion have deal with some "challenging" situations in regards to cats and their (sometimes) neurotic owners.

I will be visiting other Chamber of commerce groups to pass out my business cards. Sometimes you need to expand to new territories.
I've joined a private chat group exclusively of professional pet sitters. Some of the stories people share are hilarious. They are hilarious because you've either been there and or you know this stuff can't be made up! Other sitters sometimes will ask for advice. And sometime sitters will just post adorable photos of some of their charges.

And of course, we ALL have stories. I once had to pet sit a turtle that required at night to say the Lord's prayer to him before he went to bed. I've had to care for a household that had multiple cats that were ALL "special needs'. I had one dog that needed stories to be read to him at night. I've had dogs that would leap over their gates to crap on the new rug. There was this one crazy lady who wanted me to put her cat's left over uneaten rotten food in a cup in the refrigerator (God know why).
Ah, the list goes on.

I prefer taking care of birds as neurotic as they are because that is my specialty. I guess I could say I'm a little neurotic myself so it is a good fit.
Right now I have a cute new budgie boarder named "Freebird" staying with me. My mission is to get him to "step up" on my finger. So I have been working with him using a yummy millet spray to coax him. This trick worked when I was training "Charlie" my cockatiel but there is no magic formula.Like everything else it takes time and patience.
Well that is all for now I need to go and check on the birds now. It's lunch time and I make sure everyone has clean water, snacks and clean perches.