Two summers ago, recent law school graduate Alison Chan was told she needed to quit her full-time job if she wanted to pass the bar exam.
But forgoing an income wasn’t an option. In fact, she needed to make more money to pay her monthly expenses: a car payment, rent for her one-bedroom Chicago apartment and food and vet bills for Addy, her adopted papillon chihuahua mix.
Chan, who was already paying other people to walk Addy through pet care platform Rover, realized she could make extra money boarding dogs in her South Loop home while she studied for the bar. She created a profile on the app, and began watching strangers’ canines.
Chan has been caring for dogs for three years now, and made $32,000 on Rover in 2022, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. This year, she’s on track to earn an average of $3,750 per month.
Some of that money, about $250 per month, goes toward stocking dog food, treats and beds, but Chan says offering those amenities is part of the reason she’s able to charge more than her South Loop competitors.
The side hustle also let Chan keep her full-time job and create another stream of income while studying for the bar. Now, she works full-time as a remote paralegal, uses her Rover earnings to pay her monthly bills and deposits her paychecks from her salaried role directly into her savings account.
“When I did my taxes last year, I realized [my side hustle] was like a second salary,” Chan, 29, tells CNBC Make It.
But her dog-sitting gig didn’t become lucrative overnight. Here’s how she built a reputation and clientele on Rover, and how she juggles the side hustle with a full-time job.
Setting boundaries
Chan, who grew up around dogs and cats, says it took about a year and a half to figure out a business model. At first, she charged owners about $35 for overnight stays, but quickly realized her prices were lower than nearby competitors.
Most of that money didn’t even end up as profit, either. She had to pay out of pocket to cover things…
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