Running a pet boarding business is often grueling and thankless work—besides those puppy kisses! Those are worth it. As the business owner, you likely have a list of headaches you wish you could eliminate. Do any of these ring a bell?

1. You Don’t Have Enough Time, Energy, or Knowledge to Market Your Business Effectively
You know that social media, blogging, and press releases are great tools to help you reach a wider audience, but you simply don’t have the time to learn how to use them. Unfortunately, this isn’t an area you can afford to overlook, as marketing is what brings new business to your door.

The Solution: It probably takes less time than you’d expect to market your business. If you have a little capital, you can hire a freelancer or marketing firm to write content and manage your social media, or you can DIY. Sign up for a tool like Hootsuite, which lets you update multiple social media profiles from one source. Write several blog posts, and then schedule them for the upcoming weeks. Even spending an hour a week on your marketing can net you fabulous results for your pet boarding company.

2. Providing Stellar Customer Service Is Taxing
It seems like some days, every customer has a complaint. Fido wasn’t fed his special diet. Frou Frou didn’t make friends. You want to keep your customers happy, but with everything else you’ve got going on, it’s a challenge.

The Solution: Make sure every employee or volunteer is properly trained on everything from your intake process (asking the right questions of customers) to pet care. Document everything so that pet parents feel you’ve taken just as good care of their darlings as they would.

3. Scheduling Your Staff is a Nightmare
If you’re still using paper, scheduling probably takes far longer than it should. You’ve got multiple class schedules to juggle as well as days-off requests. And once you set the week’s schedule, you waste time answering the phone as your staff calls in to find out when they work.

The Solution: Invest in employee scheduling software or mobile scheduling apps. It’s cost-effective and can drastically cut down the time you spend on scheduling. With employee scheduling software, you can easily view and approve time off requests and email or text your employees their schedules when they’re updated. Since your young employees are likely glued to their mobile phones, they’ll get the schedule instantly.

4. Your Website Is Outdated or Nonexistent
You’re so busy, focused on the daily activities of your boarding facility, that planning a website has been moved to the back burner. Again, you know there’s value in having a website, but you simply don’t have the time or resources to take care of it.

The Solution: Just like with marketing, you’ve got two options here: DIY or hire a professional. Websites no longer cost thousands of dollars, so you may be able to get a simple one for just a few hundred dollars. You can use a content management system to create your own. WordPress is free and has many customizable templates to choose from.

5. Finding Great Help Is Near Impossible
If you’ve got high staff turnover, you know that finding and hiring people is time-consuming and sometimes seems a waste of time, since people come and go so quickly. You want staff that will stay for years and feel like part of your business family.

The Solution: Rather than posting on job boards or Craigslist, start with referrals. Let your local veterinary offices know that you’re hiring; they may know the perfect candidate. Also put the word out with your clients. Referrals have been proven to result in better hires, so that’s the best place to start.

Certainly, you’re going to come across bumps in the road as you grow your pet boarding business. But sometimes those bumps aren’t as big as you think they are.

Susan Payton is a writer for ScheduleBase, a mobile employee scheduling app that makes it easy for pet boarding owners to schedule their staff. Her Lab-Shepherd rescue dog, Apple, is currently scheduling Susan’s life around her walks.

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