076- Aunt Mary's Pet Care with Mary Cornelius
Summary:
Mary Cornelius, owner of Aunt Mary’s Pet Sitting, started a pet care business 5 years ago with an extensive background in the hospitality industry. From how she defines who her clients are to how she meets their needs, she brings that expertise into everything she does. Mary discusses the importance of clear communication and setting expectations in her policies, and how she makes clients and their pets feels happy and respected.
Topics on this episode:
Her passion for animals
How she got started
How to make clients and their pets feel safe and at home
Strengths from hospitality background
Her 4 key promises to her clients
Covid and the Nashville community
Main take away? Strive to make people feel happy, warm, listened to, and respected.
About our guest:
Mary Cornelius, owner of Aunt Mary's Pet Sitting LLC and Nashville native has returned home after more than 20 years in the hotel and restaurant industry. This experience was excellent preparation to deliver top-notch customer service. Mary started her business to combine her entrepreneurial spirit with her love of animals.
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A VERY ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE EPISODE
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SUMMARY KEYWORDS
clients, dog, pet, people, business, home, service, stay, pet sitter, nashville, greet, animals, check, calendar, website, mid march, mary, travel, pet sitting business, feel
SPEAKERS
Collin, Mary
00:17
I'm calling and I'm Megan. And this is pet sitter confessional, an open and honest discussion about life as a pet sitter.
Collin 00:28
Well, hello, everybody and welcome back to another episode today. We're so happy and thankful that Barry with Aunt Mary's pet setting is on to join us to talk about her business, her history in pet care and how she's been impacted by COVID and how she sets herself apart from those and the other competition. So Mary, thank you so much for coming on today.
Mary 00:49
Thank you for having me, Collin. I appreciate it.
Collin 00:51
Could you please introduce yourself and tell us about who you are and what you do?
Mary 00:54
So as you said, Mary Cornelius and I am the Owner of aunt Mary's pet setting located in Nashville, Tennessee. We're a licensed and insured pet sitting company. And I've been in business just about five years. For most of that time, I've run the business as a sole proprietor by but I am slowly now bringing on my, my wife, as my business partner, primarily so that we can accommodate our clients more fully and say yes, more than we say no.
Collin 01:33
So where did your passion for animals come from?
Mary 01:36
I guess I would have to pin that on my dad. He grew up here in Nashville in the 20s. And he survived the Great Depression. So that really had a very lasting effect on him and he wanted to expose his kids to self sufficiency as a way of life is kind of an overarching philosophy, personal philosophy of his. And so they on to my parents owned a hobby farm on the outskirts of Nashville that we visited on the weekends. And then later we moved to the suburbs of Nashville and we had a large piece of property that we lit actually lived on full time. And so in addition to a huge organic garden, we had chickens and cows and ponies and horses. And it was a very hands on childhood. And it was in that environment that I kind of learned how to relate to animals how to see animals, certainly the domestic animals that we had domesticated animals we had as reliant upon us. We had a sacred duty to them, to feed them and care for them. And so that really stuck with me for a very long time as a formative experience. Strangely enough, we did not have any dogs or cats at home. And that was really more about my mother's domain. She could not leave a dog or cat outside to fend for itself, she would have had to have had a dog inside and so and we were all my father in particular, very allergic to dogs and cats. And it's strange that I am now in the pet sitting business but this was well before all that over the counter allergy medicines that we have today. But so we didn't have any dogs and cats. We we had the farm animals. It really wasn't until my wife and I got together. We've been together 34 years now. We started adopting dogs on our own and we and I really fell in love and with the company of dogs and began to To kind of decode their language, just their love language really is kind of I know that sounds sappy but that's what I call it. They just want to be loved. They want they are companion animals, we've bred them to be with us. And they love that consistency and just to be with their people. And so I have fallen in love deeply in love with dogs. But I owe all my really my passion and understanding of animals to my dad in those formative years.
Collin 04:31
That sounds like such a wonderful, like you said formative time in your life that's so wonderful. And you mentioned that you know it's hands on and that you really felt such a connection and a duty to your to your to the to the pets and animals in your life. Five years ago when you started what what made that switch into starting at Mary's pet sitting?
Mary 04:53
Well, both my wife and I have a background in the hospitality business. We have lived all over the country, in different cities and states and, you know, working in hotels and some restaurants, but primarily in the hotel business. And we came back to Nashville about six years ago, because my father had passed on and my mother was here, but she wasn't in the greatest of health. And so I needed I mean, she was really my first priority. I am the youngest of five kids, but nobody else lives in this area. And so and I had the most flexibility to return home. So it was a no brainer for us to come back here. And so I looked at kind of the landscape and I said, Well, what sort of job Should I do or what kind of jobs should Could I have and I knew the hotel business well enough to know how demanding it is. I also happen to know a couple of women who I really admire who are in the pet sitting business. And I consulted with them. And I said, What do you think? You know, is there room for for me here in Nashville? And they said, Oh yeah, there's, there's room, there's room for everybody. And you can really carve out the kind of business that you want. So they were instrumental in helping me develop the confidence to do this. And they were generous enough to send some clients my way. So I'll be forever indebted about them. You know, for getting me started
Collin 06:34
with awesome, wonderful mentors and community that you have been supportive. They're
Mary 06:40
Sure. I feel very lucky to have them in my life, and they're still we celebrated Thanksgiving together. We were all on pet sitting jobs. And we came back a couple of years ago. This was came back to our house to my house and Elaine cook. Thanks a full Thanksgiving dinner. We had the pet sitters Thanksgiving, it was great.
Collin 07:04
That's awesome. That's really wonderful. And especially to have that close community and that close connection with other people that you can bounce ideas off and share struggles and successes that you have and just enjoy the company. For sure. So do you have any pets currently,
Mary 07:19
currently, no. Sadly now, our last pop pal, we said goodbye to about four years ago. This time of year, four years ago. He'd been with us he was already a stray that we adopted and he'd been with us for 17 years. So he had a very good run. And we just loved him and he loved us. It was a wonderful, wonderful rapport. But you know, he just one day he told us it's time to go. So we have not replaced pal because I had So many dogs and I care for now that life has changed. The tenor and tone of our lives have changed because of aunt Mary's pet setting in the best possible way I would add and I just don't think right now it would be fair to have our dog because I spend a lot of time away from home now. So,
Collin 08:22
yeah, that's that's one of the hard parts about the business is that if you are spending a lot of time away from home makes it hard to care for your own. That is definitely a right balance for sure. And speaking of that, what kind of services do you offer?
Mary 08:35
Well, the crux of our business is overnight pet care, either in the home of my client or with just the right conditions and the right conditioning. We will use our home for boarding but that's a one on one. It's one one at a time kind of situation. I don't have multiple dogs here. It's Too complicated is too fraught with potential fights and personality conflicts. So we just leave it to one dog at a time when they come here. And that's the crux of our business. But we also pride ourselves on being highly customizable, we all end will do whatever a lot of what the client needs us to do, if they can create, if they can think it in their head, then we can pretty much make it happen. We offer transportation, to and from other daycare, or the groomer or that we offer, drop in walks and comfort breaks for dogs and cats. We offer a service that I like to refer to as a one on one daycare, where we basically would come to your house, pick up your dog and spend the day with your dog doing cool, fun things that are appropriate for your dog based on your dog's personality and your dog's age and physical condition. And that could be anything from Going for a long walk in the park to cuddling on the couch to you know, just going to pet Depot or Home Depot or someplace that's dog friendly. So it's really just about it's a perfect service for young dogs who need to be socialized or desensitize to environment to the environment. It's great to bring them home here to my house so that they can get a sense of the smells and the things that we have here so that later on down the line if they want to board here that they're ready for that and it's not a culture shock for them. And then lastly, the one service that I didn't think was going to be that popular but has turned out that it has been a lifesaver for some of my clients. We offer a check in service for unoccupied homes. So really kind of a property management service, if you will. Some of our clients travel with their pets. From time to time or they go to a second home, and during the winter or really hot, we have a really hot summers here. They just want somebody to come in and check on the house to make sure that all the systems and mechanicals are working properly and that something hasn't sprung a leak or, or or stopped working. And so, you know, we handle that for them or are happy to do so.
Collin 11:26
No, those are those last two are really interesting that one on one daycare service that you provide as far as basically socializing pets, and then I love the angle of and getting them accustomed to your home so that they can come and stay overnight. Like that's just a wonderful thing. Because many people when you talk about socializing your pet might not know exactly what that means or how to do it. And you're basically saying, I'll take them for a day and you know, and we'll we'll just go have the run of the town and have a blast. And there'll be you know, we'll get them accustomed to these things in the long run.
Mary 11:57
Right, exactly cool. Monnet part of my My logo is play cuddle and explore. So it's really about that explore exploration part that I think makes for a happy dog. In the end, when they're right when they're, there's nothing they're afraid of, there's nothing they haven't encountered our experience under the right conditions under which safety always at hand. And, you know, I'm there to make sure they don't get in too deep to a situation but you know, just just to show them the world and they should. It's a big beautiful world and they should know how to navigate it.
Collin 12:37
And then that service that you said, as far as checking in on unoccupied homes, I would love that so much because especially if they're existing pet clients, and they go on vacation, they take their dog to, Hey, I'll still collect your mail. What are your plants, you know, do these kind of just check ins on the home, and that's a that's a huge value add and yet another service that we can be providing the clients that we take care of. That's absolutely
Mary 12:59
Like, absolutely, like, I always am looking for ways to expand what people you know, to meet people's needs. That's what I'm here for. And you know, why not? Yeah,
Collin 13:10
right, exactly why Why not? Right. It's an option and just see where it takes you. So when you do have your one dog in the house, how do you help them and the clients feel at home when they're staying with you?
Mary 13:24
Well, I would say, from the clients perspective, I think the first thing that they want to know is, is my pet safe? Is my pet happy. So sending pictures is definitely step one. I mean, it's so fundamental, in this day and age with cameras and phones as they are let the client check in with their animal. But really, I think the trust factor starts so much earlier in the relationship with the client and that's where The mandatory meet and greet meeting that we have before I ever agreed to provide service. You know, this is where we both have the chance to say no, if something doesn't feel right, and I would say that 99% of my business is through referrals, so clients won't give my name to their friends. If they don't trust me, I won't schedule a one on one visit a meet and greet visit that is with a client who has come to me and asked for my service 24 hours, or 48 hours prior to the need to their need, you know, I have to have time to get to see them to see the pet to analyze the behavior of the pet and the needs of the pet. I want a client who's putting their the care of their animal very high up on the priority list. So if they call me and they say, Hey, you know, I don't even have dates that I need. Service, but I just want to get to know you so that we're ready when the time comes that kind of client I love. You know, I Yes, yes, tell me how I can help when I can meet you and how I can bend over backwards to help you with your situation. But to get back to your question, I would say, you know, from the pets perspective, you asked, how would my pets feel comfortable. And that just comes with time and exposure. And I use that and that's what I'm talking about with that first meet and greet. And I use that as a way to introduce myself not just to the humans, but to the pets and let them see me interacting with mom and dad or mom, you know, half time, their half time answering questions and seeing how do they are they approaching me? are they staying back from me? You know how and asking just tons and tons of questions obviously, but there has been a time when I came back. I had this initial meet and greet and I asked These were big shepherds, big German Shepherds, German shepherds who had been in government service. And so they were and this was a very large home. And they were really trained to protect the people in that house and the house itself. And so I did not feel that one meet and greet was enough. So I called and I said, You know, I really want to just come and spend time in the company of your dogs before you go away. And this was at no additional charge. This was on my time. I just want that dog when they are in when they see me when they're in my presence, to say, Oh, yeah, that's my Aunt Mary. So you know, it's all as well I can put my guard down. I don't have to protect and defend. And that's safer for me and it's better and less stress for the domain, stressful for dogs when they're people go away. So we just want to eliminate that. As much as we can,
Collin 17:01
as I'm hearing you talk, I am curious about your hospitality background and what kind of strengths you have you have a being applied to the care and the services that you give.
Mary 17:12
Yeah, yeah, it's huge. I find myself sort of smiling to myself sometimes about, I'll do something or say something. Or think of something to add to my business or do in my business. And I think, yeah, I owe that to my years of hotel work. I was working with clients, selling hotel services, there are so many comparables, I just I could you know, I could go on and on about that, how to make people happy how to make people feel warm and listened to and respected. All those are qualities that are important in any service industry. Right any any section of service industry?
Collin 18:02
My goodness, yeah, I mean, happy, warm, listened to respected like that's exactly how we should all be treating our clients and if we have employees treating them as well because that just that just speaks to your personal values and that you value the other people and you want to to provide the best possible service get bad thinking through some of your meet and greets and back through the ones that you've had. Have you ever had to decline a client after meet and greet? And how did you handle that?
Mary 18:32
Thankfully, No, I have not had to decline outright. A client. There have been clients who we just simply have not been able to schedule because of their calendar was inflexible and my calendar was so incredibly fall, but I also asked a lot of questions over the phone. Before we even schedule that Pay in person meet and greet. I don't want to waste anybody's time. So I think that answering while I have people on the phone, I should try to use that time efficiently and try to discern, and I'm pretty good at it from experience. If it's going to be a good fit, you know, it can be challenging to book time with me. I do have many repeat clients who travel more than just one week out of the year. So I have to sort of give my energy to maintaining those relationships, the ones that give me you know, many, many pet sets through the year and sometimes, you know, my pet set, some of my clients travel outside the country pretty regularly and I've been on a job, it's not uncommon for me to be on a job for three weeks, four weeks at a time as a sole proprietor. It makes it really hard if a client wants to go I mean, I can't say no to that, that's, that's part of, of this business. And depending on how you want to run your business, you know, I want my business to be profitable. And for me, as a sole proprietor to use my resources, which is my primary resource is time which is finite. I want to use that in the most efficient way possible. So sometimes that means evaluating clients by criteria, that is less emotional and more practical. I cannot possibly sit for everyone who calls me so I do have to say no, on occasion, but I try to do it as gently as possible. And for those clients who you know, that that do use me repeatedly. There tends to be a pattern that I and I keep, try to keep a really good historical record on where I am have been when so that I can look as the year comes up and I books at least six months out. So yeah, so I can look at my records and say okay, this client client a was here was with me had a trip to France and a 2018 so what are they doing over the same time period in 2019 or 2020 or 2021? I guess we'll we'll we'll just chalk up 2020 to yeah last time but I'm well you know, like I said, you know, people are beginning to travel I've got a very I've got a completely full July so Yeah, wow. People are looking into our have been at home have been quarantine and they want to get out of the house and they want to and sometimes as much as they love their pets they want to get away from their pets. And so yeah, so I'm completely booked her July. They don't want to fly necessarily. They're not taking trips to France or to Italy, but they are going down to Florida or somewhere else that Hilton had someplace where they that they can drive to from Nashville. So, so anyway, so that's a bit of a little bit of a rabbit hole. But yeah, I I would say that, that that's pretty much the best answer I can give I that I just can't I know I cannot sit for everybody. So you know, I pick and choose and I try to stay on top of what their needs are.
Collin 22:41
And I know you said part of that is you're in this mode of trying to say more yes than no which is, which is why your wife is coming on and helping you with that. So what has that been like working with your spouse in your business more and more?
Mary 22:56
Well, we're blocky and that we love to work together and spend time together, so we have we're fixed but we wouldn't be together for 34 years if we didn't like to spend time together and we avoid we, and this COVID quarantine has been wonderful. It's been I mean, we're both getting older. I have to pick my words carefully here because I'm sure she'll listen to this. But you know, we're where we are moving out her profession is she's a pastry chef. So, but she is really stepping one, one toe at a time into retirement. And her retirement will be coming to work with me full time. And it's it's a very happy marriage, very happy relationship and we're looking forward to her. She loves dogs and cats as much as I I do, and love spending time with them and is great with them. And she knows a lot of my clients because they stay here. And so you know, she's she's 100% trustworthy. And I have played around with the thought of hiring people or bringing on independent contractors, and I've just never quite been able to go down that road. But with her, I see managing time management and scaling our business as really a possibility. And that's exciting.
Collin 24:40
Sure, yeah. Because you have two people with the passion and drive and double the human hours in a given day now to do those kind of things. And, and when you bring when you have that kind of help, you can really start seeing those that path forward or scaling a little bit easier. Then you're like, oh, if I had to do this all by myself, like no That might be that might be hard,
Mary 25:01
right? And the last thing you want to do, I mean, I started this business to take myself, you know, fully into my own retirement. I'm five years younger than she is. But you know, I want to war I want to continue to do this for as long as I can. And I. So, burnout is something we haven't really talked about, but it's out there. And when you're busy and you're busy like I am, and you're away from your own home, sometimes you can get really it can get lonely, and it can get isolating, and people that's when people burn out and they just say, I can't say more. So I am always aware of what my limits are and my boundaries and try to maintain those as best I can so that I can keep on going.
Collin 25:51
What kind of things do you do when you see those boundaries? How do you step back and maybe disconnect for a while and invest back in yourself.
Mary 25:58
We talked a lot about how My clients have some some times predictable patterns in their travel and their need for my services. So I use that. And basically like, I know that after the first week in January, I am pretty much going to have about three weeks where I don't have much business. So that's when we redline that time in my calendar, and I schedule 1012 days on the beach somewhere and I let my clients know hey, you know and and by now they've worked with me this many years. They know what to expect out this Florida week or, and they're so rich and they're so they are so sweet. They respect me for that they, they look at that as me taking care of myself so that I can better take care of them. These are smart people, they're you know, they see By now, I guess they and they do the same for themselves. So why wouldn't I do it for myself?
Collin 27:05
And I hope that people listening to that really feel what that means of your clients will respect that too. Will there be a few that maybe don't get it? Possibly, possibly, but the vast majority are going to understand that you need time. And that should be that that can be scary to read line three Hold up, hold on. Oh, what do you mean that's that's lost revenue. That's time away. Oh, I don't know. I'm gonna do what if somebody needs me that's all this what is what is what you're on a beach soaking up sun somewhere. And that's wonderful. Right.
Mary 27:37
Right. Yeah. And, and I will say that, you know, I tell I tell them, I mean, communication in situations like this is key. And so I'll tell them hey, remember, I'll be on the beach. If you need me. Shoot me a text. But don't be mad. I might not answer you right away. It may take me but I've been on vacation. And answered a text or tip and just said, hey, yeah, this sounds if somebody needed to know, availability for a date in the future, because they were trying to make their own plans, and I might shoot them a text back and say, yeah, this looks good. we'll confirm everything when I get home by I don't see any reason why we can't move forward with that I'll put on the calendar tentatively, you know, so it's that sort of thing. It's a response. But it doesn't detract from me having my time away.
Collin 28:32
Right. Right, you know, suddenly being pulled off for four or five hours behind a computer solving something or doing that kind of work. It's, oh, I can answer this right now. And I can get back to my day. Exactly. Looking at some of your policies and guidelines. There are I saw that there were four things that you promise your clients during their care, and I would love for you to tell us what those are and why they're so important to you.
Mary 28:54
Yeah, thank you so much for asking this question. So you He looked at my website more. And that's great. I'm glad you did. So when I started my business, I thought, How can I, you know, we've been sitting here talking for, I don't know, half an hour maybe. And I've told you a lot about myself but a client when making a decision about who to hire for pet sitter, or whatever service they need, we don't always have the luxury of having these kinds of long in depth conversations. Those usually come later. So they won't even pick up the I just want them to feel comfortable picking up the phone to call me and they're going to get those that information from my website, a little, a little window, if you will, as to who I am and what's important to me. So I thought about how can I quickly articulate what I am about as a person and what's really important to me as a pet sitter. And I thought about my time in the corporate world and how important mission statements can be as kind of a working document working guide that I can kind of come back to from time to time to refresh my thinking, refresh my priorities. I asked myself, how do I want to be seen by my clients? And what are the components of my character that I really want to show people, people who are trusting me with, you know, the keys to their houses and their beloved pets pets that they consider almost like children. And so, there are four touchdowns on that website that you looked at. And they are we will be gentle. I would hope that this is a no brainer. Riner, but unfortunately, I read the news and I know that it is not always a no brainer. It's not something that people should just take for granted. I say in my website, we will never yell, scream or bright your pet will end we will never, ever hit your pet. This is so fundamental. It's hard to even talk about it. But yeah, I think it's so primary that I couldn't leave it out. So, you know, we are not trainers, but we've learned through the years about training a dog, we know about communicating with dogs, dogs who are scared dogs who are bored dogs and we know how to read all those things and dogs that are just acting out because they're puppies or you know, for whatever reason So we have ways of communicating with dogs who are in all those stages of emotion. And yelling, screaming and hitting are never part of the language that we use to communicate with your dog. The second touchstone is we will be safe. And this kind of touches back to that responsibility that I talked about from my childhood that I learned about from with my dad. It's a sacred responsibility. And I don't know, sacred seems like a little heavy handed but really, I don't think so. These animals look to us for so much. I mean, they have, yeah, they have instincts for survival, but they're always looking to us to make big decisions. So I'm always thinking about what's in the best interest of This animal and not how am I going to get paid for this? Or, you know, that's not that's not a factor. We work those things as I tell my clients, if your dogs in distress like medical distress, I take your dog to the emergency vet or to their vet of record. We don't you're the second person I call the owner is the second person I call. We will work it out between us later, but I want you I want your dog I had a dog that had seizures. And, you know, their their owner was in Israel. I took that dog to the vet, I wasn't you know, it wasn't about at all, should I ask the client Should I call the client. Now the dog went to the bat and we worry about that we worry about all the rest later, but we want what's best in the best interest of the dog. So we will be Safe, touchdown number two, touchdown number three, we won't be honest. And this is really for the humans. And you can be slightly dishonest with dogs and they don't they don't worry about it. But basically what this means is I'm going to tell you about the good and the bad that happens with your dog. You know, because you deserve to know if your dog poops in the house, and you know, because they were nervous, I'm going to clean it up. But I'm also going to tell you, you know, we had a stressful day today. And this is why and this is what we're going to do to resolve that. So honesty, as the third and then the last is we will respect your home and this is a big one. And I could talk about this one all day with you, Collin. This is what I think separates me from a lot of other people who pets it. I say on my website that what this means to me is that I won't use your house as the party pad. I'm not going to have friends over to hang out unless you know about it. And it's usual. I mean, it's extraordinarily rare. But I did have a really close girlfriend come home from the west coast, and for Christmas one year and but, and she wanted to see me but I did not feel comfortable about leaving the dogs. And I knew that she and I were getting engrossed in conversation and the time would slip away. So I called the client I texted the client, actually and I said, Hey, here's the situation. Can you mind in advance? I'm asking you this and you're certainly have the right to say no, but Do you mind if I visit with your old girlfriend? Who's in school? I mean, who's in town? Who I went to school with? And she said, No, absolutely not. Thank you so much for asking. That was really, really great that you asked before you just did it. So so that's what I'm, that's the kind of thing I'm talking about. I won't, I don't drink alcohol. Although I'd love to have a glass of wine after the pet job that sitting jobs are over. I don't drink alcohol, when I'm on duty, because what if I have to rush your pet to the vet in the middle of the night I can't be impaired. But what it doesn't say, but primarily because of the limits of space on my website. I don't want my website to be 40 pages long, is I protect my clients privacy. I protect your personal things, from the opportunity of intrusion by people with curious eyes, including my own I don't care. I don't care about your stuff. And I don't care to look at your stuff. I want your pet to be happy and safe and well cared for. I have not confused your willingness to have me in your home as an invitation into areas that have your home that are not my business. So that's that's I just I take this so seriously. It's a it's a it's a bond of trust. Not only with pets but with the privacy of people's domains. And I just stopped at salon I would never cross.
Collin 37:42
I love how you have these raised as promises and because it just it humanizes it so much and it really immediately speaks to what people are getting and what you value as a person. And in to that you started off by saying this mission state It was something that you could refer back to like viewing a mission statement as something for yourself in addition to your clients reminding yourself what what am I bringing to the table, maybe on those bad days where you're like I don't even know what's going on. I don't know how to make these decisions. I don't know what to do and how that mission statement helps you see sort through those sort of things just keeps that on fresh in your mind of each new client that comes in. I am going to be gentle safe honest. And I'm going to show them respect like just for knock it out of the park statements to know every time you walk in through somebody's door so I I did want to bring those up because I love those so much. I thought they're really really cool.
Mary 38:40
Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Well, a lot of thought and you know, passion went into creating that so thank you.
Collin 38:47
You're welcome. And you like the respect your home thing to say example because it is really tempting to look behind that door that shot or in that drawer in the kitchen that this one's the knives or what what's that one? I don't know what that was like. That's as you said, like the willingness to have me home is not an invitation to go through there off. It's just reminding This is a professional, this is a business and that does separate yourself because you do describe it as that your services as a high end boutique, and I feel like a lot of these speak to, you know, that kind of service.
39:19
Yeah, yeah, I,
Mary 39:22
I use those words because basically, I have a client I have clients that fall into, into two categories. Retired executives, who travel extensively, and like I said before, have second homes, and they want somebody who can stay for an extended period of time. Who will communicate with them about their pets and their house, but not too much. You know, they don't, they don't want to hear from me every day. They're out. They're out there on the beach, you know, they're or they're traveling and touring, and they just But they want to be left alone. They want to know that everything's gonna be okay and if something significant comes up, I let them know about it but other than that, you know, we check in from time to time so I can with those clients, I can coordinate housekeeping staff or housekeepers, maintenance people, as well as of course the pets needs. So that you know, I don't mention picking up the mouse and taking out the garbage because to me that is expected. You know, that's, that is just the price I would never I leave my clients houses as clean if not cleaner than when they left them. So and I often leave little gifts when they come back, like things like, you know, a bouquet of fresh cut flowers. I do. I do a lot of there. If they don't have a yard person. I'll do I'll make sure that everything is watered while I'm while they're away and that things look fresh and alive. I may put, I do have clients who are great gardeners and there's a gardening catalog that seems like everybody loves that I'll I'll put the lightest issue of the gardening catalog out for them to say when they come home. So just little things that I know they like. I make sure that I do those and that they're there when they come home a welcome, handwritten welcome home notes. So those are very typical sorts of extra things I do just to say thanks for your business. The second type of font that I have is a very busy, very active professional thing may have children or they might not. Their travel schedule can is usually based either on the school schedule or going to their work. schedule, they might go for shorter times, but they might also go traditionally go during the holidays. So Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Year's, they might go on and off. Sometimes they go on a cruise, but I'm not so sure how much cruising people are going to be doing. for them. I like to think again, kind of refer back to that history and say, Hey, you know, you guys, they're so they're busy, and they, they don't have time to talk to me for long, extended extended periods and sometimes pet care all by the love. They're, although they love their pets, they don't you know, they've got so many other balls, they're juggling, that they I try to be that reminder. Hey, you guys going to visit Grandma and Grandpa, again, at Thanksgiving. So let me get this you know, let me remind you that as soon as you get those travel dates, let me put you let me get them on my calendar so that we don't i don't book over a date that you want. So these are the this is the level of involvement and personalization and customization that I tried to deliver to my clients again probably really reeks of the hotel business. But that's, you know, that's in my blood. So yeah. So that's the, when I say boutique, that's the kind of personalization that I'm talking about, that I think really sets me apart and you're always looking, you know, there's a lot of people out there that setting and we're always looking as business people for ways to distinguish yourself from somebody else.
Collin 43:40
Right, right. And and it does, it does come down to what are you as the business owner, willing or wanting to do for your clients, and it sounds like you have taken this to a really amazing level of customization and attention to detail and service through and through I'm sure that has affected maybe, you know, how you set your rates or how that plays into, you know, competing quote unquote, with other services in your area.
44:09
Luckily,
Mary 44:12
No, nobody has batted an eye at my rate, I think I am always looking at, you know, I basically I do a wage, or a rate survey from other pet sitters and other pet related businesses in my area, about maybe once a year. So I want to you know, I want to be competitive. I don't want to be so far out there with my rates that people just are turned off. But it it is a little bit of just wait and see. And, you know, let me let me explore, you know, show you what I can do and create and I'm always willing to talk to a client about My right and why I set it the way that I do. And if they're, they're certainly free to, to initiate that conversation with me and I don't shy away from it. You know, I am as I mentioned before I am licensed, I am insured, I do have I do not have an overhead per se I don't have an I don't have employees, but I do kind of operating expenses that come off of, you know, the top of what I have to employ a CPA who does my books, and I do you know, all of the taxes which in Tennessee are not as onerous as in some states, thankfully, but I still have reporting that has to be done on a quarterly basis and taxes that have to be paid. And licensing, you know, LLC fees. So all of those things are business ongoing business expenses, and you know, Still, I feel that it's I have to I have to always look at what's fair for what the client is asking and and just try to operate from a position of you know how what I want to be traded. But yeah, I think once they have once they see my service, they understand they get it and I also don't nickel and dime my clients so I don't you know, I don't do a whole bunch of I don't leave them an invoice with a whole bunch of tacked on charges. So I try to just make it fair from the beginning so that everybody's happy, you know, that they feel like they're getting value and I feel like I'm getting compensated in the way that I think I should
Collin 46:48
wage setting and what to charge is, is is kind of is really hard as a pet sitter, because a lot of us would just do this for free, even if we don't. We get to be with dogs and we just Enjoy it. It's such a passion and so when when I know many of us have come across that statement of, well, I'll just get the neighbor to do it. They'll, you know, they'll do it for free there. They just got out it you know, they're on break for summer so they'll just come over. And like, okay, no, no harm, no foul, I get it, you know, they're getting experience, they're gonna offer that to you. But do they have licensing insuring bonded? Will they you know, bring in this stuff? Do they have this attention to detail and you start going through that list? Most people are going to sit there especially for the clientele that you have are going to go, Ah, there's a value out here that I can't get out of there.
Mary 47:36
Mm hmm. Yeah. I mean, you know, I have a client who, who went down that road. And this is not to say that every every kid down the street, kid down the street is not a wonderful example of responsibility and highly capable of handling a job that you know about. As a kid, I used to babysit for kids and I, I was scared to death that I would that I would mess up. So I was extremely conscientious kid and I hope that that has translated into my adulthood. But you know, so I'm not dissing young people who are trying to make a summer living. I think that's great and I don't want to, I don't want to stand in their way I want there are plenty of people out there for whom this will be a perfectly acceptable way for them to get their needs met and their pets needs met. But if you have a house as that's seven or eight or 10,000 square feet and you want to go to your summer home, and the water heater breaks and floods the first floor is a college kid going To Be prepared now This is, uh, you know, I'm basing this on something that actually happened, right? I mean, sure, for sure. For real I am Yeah. Is a college kid going to have the wherewithal and the life experience to deal with that situation in in home that big, that's a huge responsibility. It's it, we want to set we always want to set people up for success, not failure. So just be you know, just be ready for and if you're only going to go for three or four days, you know, it probably be fun, but have a backup have a better
Collin 49:41
Yeah, and again, not to say that those other services are aren't as genuine or needed or necessary for those people. It's just looking at what's going to work for you, you know, from the clients perspective, what, what, what is going to be the best and then for the for the pet care providers, setting your prices accordingly to the value you know, you bring To, to the service and that you're gonna be bringing to the client. Switching gears a little bit here and we've into things going on in 2020 and COVID-19 and the pandemic, how has that impacted your community and your business and Tennessee?
50:16
Long sigh
Mary 50:20
these have been really difficult times for sure. I started the year with a very, very full calendar. I had planned a trip myself, both my wife and I were due to go out of the country in mid March, so I had blocked off some what normally is very, very busy time for me. But I checked with some clients who would have normally used me over that time and said, Hey, this is kind of a once in a lifetime trip. So I want to schedule And can we work out? Can you work around this opportunity for me to travel. And they were very supportive. And so we, we put our deposits down and we're planning to go out of the country in mid March and I had finished up with a client, like 24 hours before I was going to get on a plane to go. And then the bottom fell out, first of all Nashville, had a tornado that began to was extraordinarily devastating. And took a lot of people out of their homes completely just destroyed businesses and homes. And then COVID all became very, very real. And a country that we were traveling to closed its borders inside. Anyone coming in must be able to show that they can quarantine for two weeks and A private home. So our tour in our chirrup was off, and my wife came home from her job and said,
52:11
going back
Mary 52:14
there closing down everything and her job is a pastry chef is for a facilitate that books, large events of group events, like weddings, corporate meetings. So none of that's coming back anytime soon. So, you know, and then of course, as we as we roll through April, May, everything on the calendar just evaporated. I spoke to my clients and they were fantastic. They offered to pay me anyway.
52:55
And
Mary 52:57
you know, where they work. Coming up with so many creative solutions for my form a wanting to pay me in advance for things or buy gift certificates. And, you know, I felt like that was just kind of a mortgage on the future that I did not want to. I didn't want to have to take out. So I declined grace gracefully and graciously, with lots of thanks to them for their concern. But, you know, Elena and I are getting on and we're all there. We have a very sound financial footing. So we have savings, and we've been able to ride this out just fine. And, you know, but from the perspective of Nashville, that tornado and then all the folks who have not are not as lucky as we are, who, for whom this has been so disruptive and just crippled financially and emotionally our hearts go out, we've tried to, you know, to, to be supportive. We're in a place where, where we can support. So we want to try to do things for our community, we make, you know, additional calls and
54:22
to seniors and
Mary 54:25
to our friends and to people in our broader community, our faith community, all of that. We try to be there to just to support people who are having a tough time right now, but for us are in our business where we have staying power. We're going to be here and we are here and thanks. And I'm just really grateful to say that things are beginning to come back. So
Collin 54:53
right well, yeah, that's that's really good to hear. And, yeah, it has been a time to be reflective and To You know, most importantly is you've done yourself Mary is to reach out to people and just have a listening ear and communicate with them and, and and spend some time with people that maybe you didn't do a whole lot of that before. You know, we've been as pet sitters, we're kind of busy most days, don't really have time to sit and, and carry on into our phone conversation or whatever that looks like, you know, so that I wasn't that that is that has been wonderful to see. And I know we've done it several times our friends and it's been it's been really gratifying and nourishing to Megan to be able to have that with with people and that's something that I hope, you know, doesn't get taken for granted moving forward. And does it doesn't get lost in the shuffle.
Mary 55:43
Right? Right. I mean, I I really tried to stay kind of in a place of gratitude through all of this and, you know, just think about the lessons learned through this. Through this process. I started gardening in my bag yard, because that's something I've always loved. But I haven't had time to do that I haven't had time to tend to a plant. I tend to do many other things on, you know, four leg on four legs into legs. Where how in the world could I actually spend time growing something and making sure something is watered but it's been really a lifesaver for me. You know, just to keep keep my mind active.
Collin 56:26
So did you ever have to officially close down or did just business kind of drive to the point we didn't need to?
Mary 56:33
I don't I did not need to close down and I did not. I mean I I did not have any business for mid March from mid March through basically the end of May. And now I am just now picking up some one on one daycare, a little bit of transportation and then I've got overnight bookings now On on the on the calendar so, and I'm blocked. You know, I have bookings on the calendar for overnight pet setting and in home pet sitting through the end of the year. Now whether or not I would not say I'm booked solid, but I'm I have a fairly good amount of business on the books. Now whether or not that holds true is yet to be saying, you know there's always been talk and the fear that we may have a resurgence of Coronavirus that we may have to go back into quarantine. If we're dealing with Corona virus and the flu for instance, in the fall. I really am hoping beyond hope that that does not happen but we need to be prepared and we're doing things you know now just to shore ourselves up to be ready in case that does happen. So since
Collin 57:57
the bulk of Your business and services that you offer is going into people's homes and doing overnight stays. How have you managed that process in a global pandemic as far as protocols and safety
Mary 58:12
as much as I can I say, like for instance, if I'm picking up a dog for this happened just the other day I was picking up picking up a dog for one on one daycare. That dog knows me and will run to me so the client sees me pull up in her driveway. I can also text the client and say I'm here. They can't see me or not in a place where they can see and I just asked that the client has that dog in its harness if it uses one and almost all my dogs are use harnesses to so that we can protect their tracheas and I use my unleash, so as long as it's safe basically give a cue to the owner to let the dog out and the dog and I'm standing outside and the dog sees me and runs to me and I can leash that dog up. So I never come in contact with the owner. I never use the owner's leash, I don't hope I'm not using you know, handling it or anything like that. And I don't go inside
59:20
the client's home.
Mary 59:23
I can schedule meet, meet and greets on back decks and screens and patios, for new clients. We can do a zoom, meet and greet. That does not bother me at all. It's a little less helpful in me. analyzing what the dog is like, I can certainly ask questions initial questions from the client, but I don't get a sense of what the dog is really like or what the dog's needs are. So we have to you know, I don't mind masking and using disposable gloves. When that is appropriate and we can talk to the client about that in advance and see what their comfort is.
60:09
You know the, the real
Mary 60:12
difficult component of my business with Coronavirus is staying in somebody else's house. And so I'm just going to need to add to the very large kit of things I carry in my car anyway to pet setting jobs, disinfectant and disinfectant wipes and I'm going to need to disinfect beef when I first get there and on the last day of service so that the client comes home to and I also really try to limit my footprint within the house. I I always get Wi Fi password so I can use instead of watching their television In handling their remote, if I can stream a movie on my iPad, rather than using their, their electronics, and I do that in the kitchen again, it's really just all about sanitizing as we go. I always bring my own groceries to a pet set, I don't eat my client's food. So unless I specifically say, Oh, please, you know, eat that eat that soup I made. Then I then I do but I generally stay out of there. I use the refrigerator for storage, but I don't. I'd sat there pantry and places like that. So it's really just about cleaning up behind myself, which I do anyway. Sometimes, almost always, I stay in a guest room. They're very rare occasions when a client wants me to sleep in the master. And that's really only if the dog is just used to sleep. thing there, but I find I can sleep in a guest room and the dog will follow me wherever I go. Yeah. So if it's okay with the client, I just just didn't say in the in the guest room is the master.
Collin 62:11
A lot of these stuff it sounds like you're already doing it's just taking maybe a little bit half step more to do and think through exposure vectors and how best to control that and, and like the idea of, well, I've got a phone, I've got an iPad, I'll just watch on that. Sure. It won't be as nice as their 60 or 70 inch plasma TV or whatever. But you know what, I think I can manage for these few nights, right?
Mary 62:35
Yeah, absolutely. And you know, if it were, if it were one of these pets, it's where and I will have one coming up where I will be there for three weeks. So, you know, clearly, there's some comfort factor involved in that. But I'm trying to stay up on what the CDC is saying as far as The level the risk level and transmission from hard surfaces. And just keeping in mind that it's pretty hard to transmit it. And if I keep my hands clean, and you know, and then just just be meticulous about cleaning up after myself, especially on that last day, and I think we'll be okay.
Collin 63:24
Right. Yeah. I mean, there's, there's, there's paths forward, and there's ways to get around it and make it so that you can still provide service in a safe way for both you and the client. Exactly. Thinking back through how 2020 has been, I was curious what kind of lessons you've taken away or advice you would give to other pets in
Mary 63:41
2020? I mean, who could who could have thought in 2019? Yeah. I mean, I entered 2020 with such wow, you know, it's been a new decade and what what are your of growth and change this, it feels like we're on the cusp of such growth and change. And I know that for some, it feels that the bottom has truly fallen out. I mean, we look at, you know, the civil unrest, the racial strife, none of that can be diminished in its importance or should be diminished in its importance and its impact. And I'm not one of these people that says just because it doesn't affect me that it's not within my you know, it's not within my field of vision because I'm not personally affected by it. We're all personally affected by what if what affects one affects us all in some way, shape or form? So that's where, you know, it just comes back to me standing, like I said before staying in a place of gratitude trying to write notes and encouraging Trying to help my community trying to do what's right. for myself and for other people who are hurting. And, and I have to have I have to believe that things you know, will work out in the end that will make that will be better. I saw something on social media that really struck me in this vein about, you know, when everything looks so broken. Could this be the breaking that we as a society, as a country as a world is this the breaking that we needed to remake ourselves to learn to learn lessons the hard way, unfortunately, and I say this as someone for whom in my own family, we lost someone to COVID who was in the New York area, a family member a cousin of my wives who passed away.
66:04
So,
Mary 66:05
yeah, it's it's real. And it's, you know, it's a tragedy. But sometimes through dark, dark, tragedy comes new. What's that song? There's a crack in everything. And that's how the light gets it. Right, right. So I'm just hoping that the light will come in and show us to something better, stronger than we had in the past that maybe we didn't even know what's possible.
Collin 66:37
Mary, I am so thankful and it's been a real pleasure talking with you today. And I love your story. And I love your passion and I love your resilience that you have and the beautiful look that you have moving forward. If people want to follow along, get in touch, check out your website, all that good stuff. How can they do that?
Mary 66:56
You bet they can reach me by looking up on The great world wide web, www dot aunt Mary's pet setting calm, they can find me on Facebook, there's a link, by the way from the that will you can click on from my website to that will take you to my business web page. And then if you like Instagram and just like pictures of cute puppies and kitties, and you don't wanna, you don't like the format of Facebook, you can follow me on Instagram, and I am at Aunt Mary loves pets and Mary loves pets. That's what the way you can find me on Instagram. So I'm out there on social media and I'm out there on the web and that there's also my phone numbers on my web website as well. So you can reach out to me that way.
Collin 67:48
And we'll have links to all that and more in the show notes and on the website too. So people can check right there for that. Mary again, Real pleasure. Thank you so much.
Mary 67:56
Pleasure to see you too. Column B Wow.
Collin 67:58
You can really tell That Mary's background in the hospitality industry shines through in everything that she does in her business from how she plans and executes her services, to how she has laser like focus on exactly who her clientele are, and how she provides service to them. That's a good reminder that we should all be able to describe exactly who we're marketing to, and how our services help fill their needs in very specific ways. And I love the four things that she has in her policies that she promises to give during her care, to be gentle, that they will be safe, honest, and that they will respect their home. This really does humanize the services and lays it out clear as day as to what those expectations are and the level of service that she brings to the table. That clear communication and upfront honesty about your services, really does lay the foundation for exactly what kind of services you provide and how Your clients know what to expect. You can follow us along on Facebook or Instagram at pet sitter confessional. You can also check out our website for all of the past shows and extensive show notes for every single one. At pet sitter confessional calm. We love being able to share other's experiences to help us all grow closer as a community and greater in knowledge.
