As a small business owner, I have long been aware of the importance of referrals in building a client base and a successful business. Our recent experiences in the world of house sitting have proven that the same principle applies.

In April of this year, we successfully applied for a short sit in Pátzcuaro, one of our favorite cities and one of Mexico’s first Pueblos Mágicos. A few days later we applied for another position in Pátzcuaro and mentioned that we would be there for the other house sit. They happened to be friends with the first owner, so we were immediately accepted.

A few months later, thanks to recommendations from our initial clients, we found ourselves walking three dogs along a misty country trail in Erongariquaro, a quiet pueblo nearby. Word-of-mouth also brought us to a beautiful adobe home and lush garden a few blocks from the Plaza Vasco de Quiroga, where we had the great pleasure to witness the Day of the Dead traditions, for which Pátzcuaro and the surrounding area are world renowned.

All of our house sit hosts have invited us back, so our calendar is pretty full. That means we haven’t been available to apply for the new assignments that arrive in our inbox from HouseSitMexico, and haven’t yet fulfilled our initial dream of getting to know our adopted country one house sit at a time.

There is still much to explore and experience in Pátzcuaro and Michoacán, but we look forward to getting to know different parts of this amazing country. Through HouseSitMexico we hope to get an assignment that serves as a “first contact” in an area, and see if the power of word-of-mouth will work for us again.