488: Networking with Purpose
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Ever wondered how to effectively network and forge meaningful connections within the industry? We share the importance of setting clear goals and aligning expectations in your networking endeavors. We consider the four main reasons for connecting with industry peers. When connecting, it's crucial to freely share information while respecting boundaries, and also understand the nuances between formal and informal referral networks. Ultimately, we offer practical advice for cultivating meaningful connections and robust support networks to navigate the challenges of the industry.
Main topics:
Why network
Know your (and their) reasons
Share freely
Follow-up is critical
Main takeaway: Building a network of fellow pet sitters is not just about referrals; it's about finding camaraderie and support in a sometimes lonely industry.
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A VERY ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE EPISODE
Provided by otter.ai
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
business, pet, pet sitter, sitter, relationship, clients, reach, people, network, meeting, breakfast, support, confessional, industry, dog walker, refer, schedule, person, burnout, share
SPEAKERS
Meghan, Collin
Collin 00:04
Hi, I'm Collin.
Meghan 00:05
And I'm Meghan.
Collin 00:06
And we're the hosts of pet sitter confessional. Thank you so much for listening today. And thank you to our sponsor, pet sitters associates and our wonderful Patreon people like you find Wendy Tracy Teresa, Stephanie Savannah potty wagon. Marcy lucky pause, and Lori, thank you all so much for finding value in the show and contributing to it to keep it going. If you're listening and you'd like to learn more about what it means to be a Patreon member, or all the ways to support the show, go to petsitter confessional.com/support.
Meghan 00:33
We are inching closer and closer to that magical 500 Episode number and we are super excited. But we don't know what to do. We would love your help in figuring it out. What would you like to hear during that 500th episode, you can email us at feedback at Pet Sitter confessional.com. or look us up on Facebook and Instagram at Pet Sitter confessional.
Collin 00:52
This past week, I had the great opportunity of meeting up with some local pet business owners over breakfast actually master they run pet businesses just outside of our service area. And they reached out with some questions and we're wanting to network together. So over breakfast at a local restaurant, we talked all things pet sitting and what it meant to be a business owner, it was really cathartic to take that timeout and talk with him and commiserate on what it's like running a business in the industry that we do. We've
Meghan 01:20
talked before on the podcast about how to go about setting up a network of fellow pet sitters in your area. But we haven't really discussed what to do or what to talk about during a one on one conversation. And so at first you need to decide what your goal is for this, what do you want the relationship to be? You have to decide why you are meeting with them? Is it just for fun? Is it to like Colin said commiserate? Is it for networking, where you're going to refer back and forth to each other? Is it just for educational, let's get to know each other's businesses and see if there's things that we can do to make them better. What is the end goal that's going to help drive the conversation and future meetings, when you decide what you want out of it, make sure that it's the same thing that the other person wants, because if one of you thinks that this is a relationship based off of referrals, but the other one just wants to trade business tips and tricks, that's going to be a little bit of a mismatch. So you want to make sure that those expectations are outlined beforehand. And that's a simple
Collin 02:19
phrase such as, hey, I'm really glad to meet up today. And finally, get a face to face conversation with you, you know, I'm really looking for somebody to refer out to when people are outside of my service radius. So getting to know you and how you operate your business is really helpful. Or maybe it's something like, I'm really glad to get to meet another dog walking and pet sitting business owner because this industry, it can be really lonely at times, it's just just having a friend to reach out and commiserate will be really helpful to
Meghan 02:45
me, we really see the need connecting sitters in one of four areas, professional network support, friendship and mentorship,
Collin 02:53
professional networking would look like reaching out to people so that you know who to refer out your clients or potential clients if you can't take them on, or if they're not a good fit, or if they're not in your service area. Or maybe you are just full and you can't take on anybody right now. building out a professional network of other pet sitters, other dog walkers in your general service area will help you have the peace of mind of knowing that you are referring and giving people to a trusted person, somebody who abides by your own standards and who you would use as your pet sitter for your pets. If you were able to, you may
Meghan 03:28
also go to another center for support, or they may come to you for support. Maybe you're in the general same life stage, you're about to be a first time mom, or you are growing your business or having employees for the first time or you're both dealing with the same issue in your community, that camaraderie can really be beneficial to keep going through those tough times. Same thing with friendship, if you're going to another sitter to reach out and say, Hey, I'd like to be your friend. You seem like a really cool person. And we do the same profession. Maybe I don't need support right now in terms of how did you work through this in your business, but maybe I just need a friend. It's
Collin 04:04
especially important in this industry that is so lonely, that is so isolating. And it's hard for our friends and family to understand exactly what we do and why it's difficult, why we may reach mental burnout or physical burnout faster than they would think as possible given the kind of work that we do. Having somebody who's in the same industry that you can really like can commiserate with that you can build a friendship with that you enjoy spending time with that person will help you on those days that are tough or help you whenever you need somebody to lend you a listening ear that can encourage you as you both walk through your businesses and your own lives together
Meghan 04:41
well and to know that it doesn't have to be a sitter in the same city as you. We know two sisters one that lives in Ohio, and the other one lives in South Carolina. They are best friends and they drive up and see each other all the time and go support each other. That is awesome. We need more of that in our industry. You
Collin 04:58
may also reach out to another that are a dog walker for mentorship. So in this particular relationship, you're reaching out to somebody because they are in a position in their business that you want to attain, or they are doing something in their business that you want to learn how to do, you are inspired by this person, and you want to reach out and have them take you under their wing and show you how they have done what they have done in learn from them directly in the business, in managing the balance that they have in their life and walking through their own story. And then you applying those lessons to your business. A
Meghan 05:33
lot of times we think of this as a business consultant or business coach, but it doesn't necessarily have to be maybe you just want to pour into somebody who is new to the business, or maybe somebody who is very seasoned and been doing this a while wants to pour into you. And it can be mutually beneficial for both.
Collin 05:50
And so understanding one of those four reasons is really important, as you said earlier, Meghan, why are we here at breakfast? Because if you showed up anticipating to be friends with somebody, and they showed up to be you have you mentor them? Well, you're gonna get really annoyed that they keep talking about business and asking business related question and asking about advertising and budgeting and routes and all these things and scheduling, while you just want to shoot the breeze and talk about the weather and relax together for a little bit. That kind of relationship isn't going to last very long. And so really outlining that from the get go will help make sure that both of you who are coming together are on the same page, or at least can work towards the same page. Because in many times things like a professional network where you start off only going okay, I'll refer to you when I'm busy or referred to you when they're not a good fit, that can actually develop into a friendship that you then begin to support one another that you can reach out and grow this circle of people in the industry that now you're mentoring each other and encouraging one another throughout each step of your business and your own life. You'll also
Meghan 06:51
be able to know is this just a one time meeting? Or is this an ongoing every month? We're going to check in for support and see what how we can help each other this month and more of a camaraderie type thing? Or is this going to be a friendship a long term, we're going to visit each other and celebrate each other's wins, knowing the length of this commitment is going to make sure that everybody is on the same page. Yeah,
Collin 07:12
because if you show up and you go, Okay, well, breakfast was great fun times we'll catch up with next time when we can and they bust out their calot calendar and they go, No, we're gonna schedule this, this is a standing meeting every two weeks, right, we're gonna meet together for breakfast, that might not be something that you are either able a to commit to or be interested in getting involved in. So knowing Oh, okay, that's what that person's expectations were I understand how to walk through this now. But from our conversation, we had four big takeaways about one on one networking and working with a local business owner. And the first one is don't wait, don't wait for time to open up to do these kinds of meetings and networking. When this person reached out, we scheduled it immediately at the first available opening that we had in our schedule, because we knew that if we delayed, it was just going to get bumped. And if we were scheduled out too far, it would never actually happen, because so many things come up and are scheduled day to day and we can't predict out that far. And if we wait for the right time, right where you go, Okay, I'm going to wait for there to be an opening in my schedule, and then that's when I'll let them know, well, it's never going to happen, then because your two schedules are never going to match to take advantage of that first opening that you have available for this, once you've met all of your other obligations, and you still have that time for yourself, that you're not cramming everything into your schedule. But as soon as you see that opening, and you have that opportunity, take that. So you don't miss this because otherwise it may not happen. It's just
Meghan 08:35
like when we want to go on vacation, we block out this certain weekend on a month in the summer. And inevitably, tons of people want that exact same weekend. It always happens that way. So be intentional about the time that you have, also share freely the information that you know, the tips that you have learned over the years. If you have an answer to a question, give it people can tell if you're obfuscating, maybe you genuinely don't know the answer to the question. But if you do, and you just don't want to answer it, what are you really trying to do? Are you trying to send them to Google where they may get a very bizarre answer? You know, one of the questions that Colin answered was regarding ICS versus employees. And this is a very hot topic, particularly these days. And it is very pertinent to the exact city that we live in. So we weren't going to beat around the bush and say, it doesn't really matter. Whatever works for your business or whatever you want to know the government is is clearly defining what the rules for this and what you should and should not do. So when you meet with a fellow pet sitter or dog walker, why not foster a relationship based on respect instead of hiding from them? If you are worried or if you are afraid of sharing things with them, ask yourself why a lot of times we can be afraid of people stealing our business, especially if they're you serve the same service area and there aren't a ton of clients. Well, we may want to hold back information but what good does that do? You may also be afraid of them doing it better than you well or rising tide lifts all boats, so why not have an awesome pet business that's similar to yours doing the same things. If you guys refer to each other, that's a great relationship. Now, I'm not saying that you need to give away your secret sauce and to just lay it all out on the table and bring your SOPs and all your policies and say this is what we do and feel free to take any of this, you may choose to do that. So you need to share what you are comfortable with. One topic that came up during the meeting was insurance. As pet care professionals, your clients trust you to care for their furry family members. And that's why pet sitters Associates is here to help for over 20 years, they've provided 1000s of members with quality pet care insurance. Because you work in the pet care industry, you can take your career to the next level, the flexible coverage options, plant connections and complete freedom in running your business. Learn why pet sitters Associates is the perfect fit for you and get a free quote at pets@llc.com. You can get a discount when you join by clicking membership Pet Sitter confessional and use the discount code confessional when you go to checkout, check out the benefits of membership and insurance once again at pets@llc.com.
Collin 11:01
And again, this comes down to understanding why both of you are at the table. Why are you both having breakfast and having coffee right now is one person really needing information and really needing help to get off the ground? Are you looking for a referral network and for a partner in the industry, making sure that those aligned will help when you have these conversations and when topics come up so that you know exactly how much information that person is needing and how much comfort comfortable you are in sharing. If you've worked really hard to build out a network of apartment complexes and vet clinics and all of this stuff, it is definitely hard to now tell people to go and do that within your network or to link that person into something that you've built for years and years. But the thing is, if you're at the table, if you're talking with somebody for a purpose, make sure that is in alignment with that and that you can help support other people in a myriad of ways. That's getting them connected to resources, whether that's online or in person in your local community, or you being able to share. But once you start sharing that information, make sure and ask yourself, if you are really wanting to get into a kind of mentorship program, do you have that kind of time? Are you able to set aside an hour every week to talk with somebody and coach them into their business. If that's not something that interests you at all, make sure that this person knows that going into it or as you share, you can say hey, look, I can tell you a little bit about this. But I'm not a coach, I don't really feel comfortable doing this, here's some that you can go seek out or go look at this blog or read this paper or get in this Facebook group that would really help you because that's not really my jam right now. That will help make sure that that person doesn't get offended if later down the line, you say, hey, I really can't do that right now. Or, Hey, I'm too busy, upfront and honest communication, as you share freely, will really help that relationship, foster and grow for years to come. If
Meghan 12:58
you are meeting to be friends with each other, then definitely take time to encourage one another. Here are the struggles share your own laugh together, this business can be lonely. And if you have a fellow petsitter that's down the street or in the next city be each other's cheerleaders, because we all need that.
Collin 13:14
And that laughing is really important. This industry is really hard running a business is not easy. So while we were waiting for our breakfast to arrive, we spent time sharing and swapping stories of some of our worst case scenarios or our funny clients that had happened or the scenarios that had come up over time. And then we also spent a long time talking about mental health boundaries and burnout, she had a lot of questions about how to set those and what it meant to actually implement those in our experience in saying no to people. And we in turn, were able to be encouraged by what she was learning and how she was connecting with her clients and what she was implementing in her business to impact her pets and serve her clients. Well,
Meghan 13:56
our last takeaway was to stay connected, do not be satisfied with just a Facebook or social media connection, go deeper than that, get their personal phone number, have it in your calendar to set a reminder for two weeks from now just to follow up and see how everything is going if they've made any progress on what you've talked about. Or maybe you need to make progress on things that you talked about.
Collin 14:16
Or just remember to follow up and stay connected with that person. It's really easy to say, Oh yeah, I will definitely call you as soon as I get home or yeah, I'll text you once I get over this hump and I get through this busy period. But then we forget right? It's easy to say these things. It's actually harder to follow through on that. Just like we do with our clients where we promise something well, you have to have systems and processes in place to support you it actually following through on that. Same thing with this when we are building relationships and fostering these with other pet professionals. Set a reminder for two weeks from now where every after you meet with somebody, do a two week follow up to say Hey, just wanted to check in and see how you were doing. Really appreciate that comment that we had a couple weeks ago. We need to do that again soon. And actually go back to our first takeaway of scheduling that as soon as you can. because when we don't have an intentionality around these things, things are really not likely to happen, especially with our busy and crazy and hectic schedules. But that's also the wonderful thing about this of networking with other professionals. They get it, they understand the crazy, busy, hectic lifestyle, they may even have to cancel or move things around with because of what happening for them. And we can be understanding. And that's again, another thing that we can do to support one another. When changes come up, when we aren't able to follow through on that breakfast or on that on that mid afternoon lunch, we can support one another and let them know that it's okay that we understand and that we hope that their business is doing well.
Meghan 15:39
If you're meeting with someone because you want to do a referral network, there are two different types of those formal and informal a formal would be where you sign documents that give a percentage of each booking for the referral that you give, this could be just a one time thing or every time the client books, the pros of this or that you don't have to feel like you lose out on a bunch of money. But it can make it feel like a more of a business transaction than a partnership.
Collin 16:06
One of the hardest parts of referring out to another sitter is the little dialogue that we have going in the back of our head of I've just lost income, right? I've just lost that client, and they're never coming back to me and I'm not going to actually make that money. So formalizing this relationship can be beneficial if that's something that you struggle with, or if you really intend on helping to boost and grow that other person's business through these kinds of referrals. So that you are more likely to do that and clear your plate of people that come on so that you don't have to feel like you have to take everybody on and you fill up your schedule. But again, like Meghan, like you said, it can make this relationship feel really clunky, and really way too rigid in its structure. And it's structure of tracking down payment and all these things. But if
Meghan 16:51
you want to be compensated for this, then that this is the way to go. Because the other type of referral is an informal network, you just send people to them. And if it doesn't work out, it's okay, no hard feelings, you can't ever guarantee that a client is going to go to another business anyway, a pro of this, it's super easy to do. You don't have to track anything or take payment. You just give them their contact information and you're done. But it may feel like you're losing out on a bunch of money. If that's something that you care about. If you're going to be constantly sending people to this other business and you want compensated for that, then you may lean more towards a formal agreement. So think about who is one pet sitting business owner or dog walking business owner that you can meet with this week or next. Who would you like to reach out to? Is it somebody that you've kind of emulated and looked up to when starting your business and running it for a long time? Or is it a newcomer that you've noticed that has come on the scene recently and may need a little bit of help? Or maybe it's just up here you both have run your businesses for 17 years and you tangentially know each other from being out in the community. But you really want to get to know that person on a deeper level. Think about who you can reach out to and start working together. Let us know how you work with other pet care professionals in your area. You can email us at feedback at Pet Sitter confessional.com or look us up on Facebook and Instagram at Pet Sitter confessional. We appreciate you joining us today. And thank you also to pet sitters associates for sponsoring today's episode. We will talk with you next time. Bye
