Having to take care of another living being is no easy task. Be it a senior, baby, or a pet, caretakers just need some take to themselves or someone to help at any given time.
With 39.8 million adults requiring caregiving, 66.1 million Americans having kids, and 85 million owning a pet, the demand for sitters keeps growing. This has made becoming a sitter a profitable side hustle that kids or adults can take advantage of.
If you are in need of some extra money and you are someone with the right skills to become a sitter, you are in luck. Becoming a sitter is now easier than ever as platforms make it safe and simple to connect with those looking for one.
Technology also makes it super easy to run background checks, which provides safety to users of the service.
In this article, we will be talking about 6 reasons why becoming a sitter might be a side hustle you should consider. Let’s jump right to it!
What Does a Sitter Do?
When talking about sitters, most people will immediately think about babysitting. While this is one of the most popular types of sitting, it is far from the only one. Pet, house, senior, special needs, and patient sitting are only some of the types of sitting there are.
Sitter jobs can vary in a lot of ways. From the person or thing you will be taking care of, to the expectations you will have to fulfill, no two sitting jobs are the same.
There is usually an expectation about sitters either being young people or professionals who do it full time. This can be true in a lot of cases but is not a rule. The truth is that due to how varied the expectations are, no matter who you are you might be a perfect fit to be a sitter, as long as you have the necessary skills.
As a sitter, your main responsibility will be taking care on behalf of another person. What or who, and how you take care of them will vary. If you are taking care of a kid you might be responsible for picking them up, cooking, helping with homework, etc.
On the other hand, house sitting might involve collecting and organizing mail, monitoring security, cleaning, and other home-related tasks.
The nature of the sitting job makes it essential for the sitter to be a person who can deal with responsibility. While doing a list of the skills is hard due to how varied each job will be, you can be sure that patience, problem-solving, multitasking, and communication skills are a must.
Why Should You Consider Becoming a Sitter?
There are many benefits to becoming a sitter. While earning extra money is probably what you are looking for, there is so much more to it.
From learning new skills to knowing you are having a positive impact on someone’s life, there are many perks to being a sitter. Let’s look at some of them.
1. Being a Sitter Can Be Profitable
The first, and most obvious reason to become a sitter is: money. A sitter can make anywhere from $10 dollars to $50 per hour, depending on skills, experience, and many more factors.
It is important to remember that as a sitter, your schedules will be flexible, and you can choose to look for more clients. This means you can decide how much money you are looking to make and also adapt your workload accordingly.
As you will work as your own boss after becoming a sitter, it is up to you to set your prices. While it is likely that you will need to charge a lower value when you start, these prices won’t be set in stone.
Don’t be afraid to renegotiate or increase them as you gain more experience and grow your network!
2. Customers Are Everywhere
As a sitter, your potential customers are everywhere. Be it your neighbors, improv classmates, family, or strangers on the internet, demand will always be there. This is especially true now that technology has made it earlier to connect with sitters.
Platforms like Sittercity will allow you to create an account, choose what type of sitter you are, create a profile, and instantly connect with thousands of people looking for sitters just like you.
With no fees being charged, there is literally no financial downside to using such platforms!
After the COVID19 pandemic, virtual sitting has also become a reality. This means that you can also offer your services to someone not even in your same city. As long as you have the responsibility, discipline, and a computer, you can start working as a sitter!
3. Flexible Schedules
One of the most important aspects of any potential side hustle is that it has a flexible schedule. While your schedule as a sitter will be subject to the needs of your customers, most times it will be negotiable.
Even if it isn’t, the demand will always ensure you can find a schedule that fits your needs.
Virtual sitting has also been growing in popularity, which will allow you to save time when commuting. In the case of house and pet sitting, you will even be able to live where you work or work where you live. Saving time and gas money? Count me in!
4. Working as a Sitter Can Be Fun and Relaxing
Having a side hustle should not become stressful or a pain, which makes sitting great. Most sitters love what they do and have fun when doing it.
Do you love animals?
Become a Pet Sitter!
Do you like playing games, teaching, and creativity?
You can be a babysitter!
Do you enjoy spending time by yourself?
Home sitting could be great for you!
The flexibility that comes with being a sitter makes it easy to find personal satisfaction when doing it. Everyone likes having more money, but it is way better to make it while having fun.
5. Becoming a Sitter is Easy
While you might need to earn the trust of your potential customers at first, becoming a sitter is easy. As we said at the beginning of this article, there are millions of potential customers in the sitting industry. This makes it easy to find customers if you can stand apart from the competition.
With no limitations in terms of age or sex, as well as no specific requirements, you can start offering your services as a sitter right now. Sure, it is better if you have some basic qualifications, but any skills that you already have are potential selling points.
Do you speak another language? Do you play music or are good at math? Have you any experience with seniors or pets? Any skill can be great when you are looking to become a sitter!
6. You Can Learn Valuable Skills
Becoming a sitter is a great way to learn valuable life skills. From improving your social skills to learning more specific skills like CPR, cooking, organization, and much more.
One of the most important skills you can learn when sitting, especially if you are young, are negotiation and money management. This is a great way to make the most out of the money you will be making… But as you gain more skills, it will also help you renegotiate your fees!
The great thing about learning new skills is that you can apply them elsewhere. Sure, you will probably make use of some of them in your daily life. However, with time, some of these skills could transition into other side hustles or job opportunities.
More skills, more money!
Sources
https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2020/estimates-families-living-arrangements.html
https://www.caregiver.org/resource/caregiver-statistics-demographics/
https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-pet-ownership-and-insurance
https://www.ziprecruiter.com/e/What-Are-the-Different-Types-of-Sitter-Jobs
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