The gas pumps are guzzling my money!

OK, I was born and raised in Southern California. Why I choose to stay here is a mystery. I was at the gas station today and saw that the most expensive gas is now at $4 a gallon. It is now $4.25 per gallon for diesel. Pretty soon I am going to have to buy a bus pass or get a scooter to take care of errands for my clients. I think I might just stand at the side of the road with a sign that says "Will work for gas money!" As an industry that requires us to drive, drive, drive, there has got to be a way to not gouge our clients, but still make a profit. Here are a few tips to help you out:

1. I work in a square. I use my office as my starting point and work my way in a square. Because my service area is split into four quadrants, I can have four people take care of my entire service area at once. This way no one is going back and forth and wasting gas or time. You can also split your service area into several zones. Each zone would have a specific radius.

2. Schedule as many clients as possible in the same area for the same day. For example, I have one staff member who completes five dog walks in the same neighborhood on the same day. She drives out to the first house, parks, takes care of all of the dogs, walks back to her car, and then drives home. One drive to and from. This same method can include taking care of several employees at once at a particular office to provide a similar type of service. For example, I took three cars to a local car wash in one afternoon.

3. Charge a temporary fuel surcharge. I received a newsletter from my travel agency I am associated with and several cruise lines are increasing their fuel supplements. All of the courier companies, including FedEx and UPS have a fuel surcharge in effect. FedEx is charging a 20% increase for the month of April for their Express service and UPS is charging a 20% increase for their international services.

Whatever you choose to do to help you out in your business, make sure that it is right for your customers and your business. After all, we all go in to business to make a profit.