NYC engineer’s side hustle as a luxury dog walker brings in $6,000 a month — and lots of love from furry friends

Goodhart told People magazine the side gig brings in $6,000 a month and “north of six figures” a year. How does he balance a full-time engineering job with his doggy side hustle?

“It’s a lot, but I genuinely love it,” he said.

He walks dogs in the early morning before his day job starts, walks more on his lunch break and hits the pavement in the evening to do more. He also walks dogs on weekends.

Goodhart hired another walker to assist while he’s “on the clock.” Together, they walk up to 20 dogs a day.

Here’s how he’s grown his business into a six-figure success story.

Building a reputation as a luxury dog walker

As with his engineering job, Goodhart works with an exclusive clientele — in this case, dogs in Lower Manhattan. Like Winston, a Yorkshire Terrier featured in his Instagram feed.

He charges different prices based on dog size and behavior as well as location and when the dogs are to be walked.

“It’s a luxury service, so I price accordingly and make sure every client feels that in the experience,” Goodhart told People.

He promotes his business on social media and face to face on his walks, handing out business cards to doormen.

“They know everyone in the building and are incredibly well-connected.”

As a result, he’s built a positive word-of-mouth reputation as well. His clear love of the dog-walking job and his luxury marketing have helped contribute to his financial success.

According to the New York Times, quite a few dog walkers in New York earn over six figures, like Bethany Lane, owner of Whistle and Wag, who charges clients more than $35 an hour and walks dogs full time.

“If I would have told my younger self I can make a living caring for dogs, I never would have believed it,” Lane told the Times.

Still, these wealthy dog walkers are an exception to the rule. According to Indeed, the average dog walker makes $19.89 an hour.

And turning dog-walking into a full-time, six-figure job requires a big commitment — in terms of hours spent walking dogs and managing the business