Alright last section! This is the space where we will cover a little bit of the payment and legal stuff. Let’s start with the more fun topic. How much are you going to get paid? Writing it all in paragraph form is boring, so here are the highlights:
Cost: The base cost for a flock sitting visit is $25. This is the amount most people are expecting to pay. There may be instances where you want to increase that price if the person lives further away from you than seems prudent for $25, and that’s ok. You just need to be clear about that ahead of time.
Add-On Services: We typically offer add-on services like watering gardens and supervised playtime for an additional $5/visit. Watering gardens is self-explanatory, but supervised playtime means that we let the chickens/ducks out for the duration of our visit (usually around 15 minutes), then we also stay about 10 minutes longer to make sure the flock has time to stretch their wings.
Fees: These amount to about 18%. Payment processors usually take about 3% and we collect 15%. That means on one $25 visit, your net amount would be about $20.50.
What does the 15% go towards?: Right now the fee goes towards website costs, advertising, software, education and onboarding, legal fees, and all the time that goes into creating and maintaining these functions.
What do we hope the fee will go towards in the future?: We hope that one day we can get to the point where we can afford liability insurance for flock sitters, an app, more streamlined logistics (payments/invoices), better communication for flock sitters, and honestly, whatever ideas you might have for us! Our goal is to provide for the health and safety for as many backyard flocks as possible, and we appreciate the work that YOU do to make that happen.
Submitting an Invoice Ticket: After completing your final visit for a flock sitting engagement, submit an ‘Invoice Ticket’. The button for this is located on the main ‘Flying V’ homepage. These tickets are what we use to invoice customers. Once customers have paid their invoice, you will receive your net amount (plus any tips).
Lastly, we wanted to say THANK YOU for your willingness to help backyard fowl owners. We started this business after one of our ducks got sick while we were on vacation. We tried to find a well-educated chicken/duck sitter but were unable to track anyone down, and unfortunately, Anka (Swedish for ‘duck’) passed away. We wish there would have been someone we could count on to catch her symptoms and intervene. Now we are working on building a network of flock sitters to help others benefit from the expertise and care of chicken and duck owners like yourself and to provide owners peace of mind while traveling. And, while we hope you don’t find yourself in a similar situation, you may be the person that helps save someone else’s Anka, and for that we are truly grateful.
When you have read all the above information and completed all sections of ‘Flock U’, fill out the below Flock Sitter Agreement and send it to flocksittingmn@gmail.com