651: How to Move From Surviving to Scaling with Wayne Hartley Jr.
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How do you protect your passion while running a growing pet care business? In this episode, Wayne Hartley Jr. of Happy Hearts Pet Care and PETLANTA shares the realities of entrepreneurship, including the hustle, the overwhelm, and the habits that help keep you grounded. He discusses the role of community and education in sustainable growth, and why posting imperfect content is often better than not posting at all. Wayne opens up about learning from mistakes, setting boundaries, and shifting from surviving to scaling. His insights will inspire pet pros to lead with intention, not exhaustion.
Main topics:
Social media strategy and mindset
Client education and trust-building
Delegation and team development
Managing overwhelm and time
Hustle vs. sustainable growth
Main takeaway: “I have to get out of the ‘I have to’ mindset and into the ‘I get to’ mindset.”
This shift changes everything. Instead of dreading tasks or feeling buried under responsibilities, Wayne Hartley Jr. reminds us to view our work as an opportunity. You get to grow a business. You get to care for pets. You get to make a difference. When we lead with gratitude and purpose, we show up better for our clients, our teams, and ourselves. Let’s not forget—we built this on purpose. Now let’s enjoy the privilege of doing the work.
About our guest:
Wayne Hartley Jr. is the owner of Happy Hearts Pet Care in Atlanta, Georgia, offering grooming, boarding, daycare, training, and retail services. He’s also the founder of PETLANTA, a nonprofit that connects pet professionals through education, events, and fundraising. Through the Pet X Network, Wayne shares resources and conversations to uplift the pet care industry. Passionate about community building and professional growth, Wayne leads with the belief that better businesses are built together.
Links:
Happy Hearts Pet Care: https://www.instagram.com/happyheartspetcareatl
PETLANTA (Nonprofit): https://www.instagram.com/petlanta.inc
Pet X Network & Podcast: https://www.thepetxnetwork.com
PetLanta: https://www.petlanta.org
Previously on
375: https://www.petsitterconfessional.com/episodes/375
224: https://www.petsitterconfessional.com/episodes/224
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by our guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Pet Sitter Confessional, its hosts, or sponsors. We interview individuals based on their experience and expertise within the pet care industry. Any statements made outside of this platform, or unrelated to the topic discussed, are solely the responsibility of the guest.
A VERY ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE EPISODE
Provided by otter.ai
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
Entrepreneurship, business growth, social media, branding, client engagement, pet care, networking, community building, personal development, time management, goal setting, team building, client education, business operations, passion
SPEAKERS
Collin, Wayne
Collin Funkhouser 00:02
How do you balance your business growth with staying passionate? This is Pet Sitter confessional, an open and honest discussion about life as a pet sitter. Today, we're brought to you by time to pet and pet perennials. We're really excited to have Wayne Hartley, Jr, of happy hearts pet care and petlanta. He shares the realities of entrepreneurship, including the hustle, yeah, the overwhelm and the habits that help keep us grounded. I'm really excited to have Wayne back on the show. Let's get started. Always love watching your videos and stuff that you put out there, too. It's always thank you. Good See, you're really cranking those out.
Wayne 00:39
That is another job in itself. You know, I'd say because, because you're trying to figure out, how do I get what I'm trying to say across in a way that's going to be accepted, right? And people understand what I'm trying to say, but still meet them halfway in their how they understand things, and how they understand, you know how to get the message right. So it's still fun at the end of the day, like I still I tell people, try not to make it another job. Because when you try to make it another job, when you try to make social media like this thing is just like, all right, I'm looking at it more on a whims of, I'm waiting for it to be perfect. I'm waiting for it to, you know, really align with what the trends are going, you know, the trends are going on these days and things like that. So it stops me from really getting my business out there and me, I'm just like, look, just post it. You know, we try to come up with something entertaining, but, you know, it still reels people in, because we're like, just post it, because that's how people get to see our business. You know, what we built? You know, rather than waiting, oh, I didn't say this correctly, or oh, this caption isn't perfect, or this the hashtags aren't perfect, or anything like that. Or you have to wait to, like, a specific time to post. I'm just just post, you know, the people are going to see it just post, you know. But I'm just like, that's, that's the only way that we really get our message out and grow our clientele, yeah?
Collin Funkhouser 02:13
Well, I have to remind myself too, of no, there are, there are businesses who have somebody who does nothing but this one thing of social media and content, and it can become an all consuming job. And if I allow myself to go that well, then I've just taken on the social media coordinator role, and I've left the running of my business role over here. And I can't do that, right? Like that. That has to be my primary focus.
Wayne 02:42
Yeah, no. 100% you can't do both. You know, it's, I mean, you can dedicate some time to it. But like you said, I still have another I have the business to run, you know, I have to make sure that the business operations and everything that I put forth in in the standard there, doesn't go down because I'm trying to focus on this one thing. So at that point now we're delegating work, and we're bringing on more people that whose social media is literally, that's their thing. Yeah. So I have my trainer. She doubles as my social media manager, and she is, I mean, clearly she's doing really really well, right? We're just making sure that we stick to a good schedule. We're getting content out, but that, you know, you have to be intentional about what type of content you put out to so, like, I tell, you know the pet professionals, I'm like, Look, you know what? Like, like, we went through branding all of July, July, July's theme was branding. And with that, we were trying to just really communicate that the brand that you're building is more than the esthetics of it and how pretty things look and things like that, right? It's what people feel when they associate with your brand, when they look at your logo or your slogan or your motto and things like that, is like, how do you portray that? So a lot of that, you know, what we're intentionally putting out is okay. We can teach you about proper pet health care, you know, but we're still going to have fun at the same time, and then end with some type of call to action, to where it's like, hey, book your next appointment, or Hey, join our community, or hey, do this, buy our book, or something like that, to where it gets people to want more information rather than just putting out a post, it's like, no, we want you to book your next appointment. You know, we want you to support what we have going on and things like that. So you just got to be, you just got to understand how the psychology of the cell of selling works too, you know, because you're, I mean, we're all literally sales people. We're, we're selling our business to try to get people to. Spending money with us. Yeah, well, that that's
Collin Funkhouser 05:04
something I know I have struggled with, because I being a salesperson, I always have equated to like the sleazy used car salesman or the door to door or whatever. And so I feel like when in my bones, as we're crafting a social media post, I feel the ick coming on. I'm like, no, no, I get
Speaker 2 05:23
it. I get it 100%
Collin Funkhouser 05:29
and so it's that's that's been hard too. And I know we've struggled with, like, the like, the brand voice. That's something that we've really had to work on too, of like, how does our business sound? And especially as we've learned that our business sounds different than both Megan and myself, like we, we are trying to to reach people that are not necessarily who I am. And so there's this line between, well, I still need to be authentic, but also if there's some way to attract people and that the brand can be positioned well, then I do need to follow where the market is leading and so that, I mean, that's a balance that we've had to strike. Definitely, as we've thought about, what does it mean for our business to connect with our clients?
Wayne 06:17
I think it does fall along with the boundaries that we set for our business too, you know, like, yeah, we can share certain things and connect with people on their level, and, you know, meet them halfway and things like that. But we also have to make sure that one, the intentionality of what we post comes out, but then also, like boundaries, because I don't want to overdo it and overwhelm myself and everything like that. But as far as the voice is just staying true to, you know, what the mission and the vision is at the end of the day? You know, like, what are our slogans? What are we constantly trying to preach like mine? You know, we're really on combing and brushing right now, right? Because a lot of people need somebody to tell you to comb and brush often. So we're always telling you comb and brush your dogs, right? So with that, it's like, Okay, now that I'm telling you to comb and brush, it's my job to teach you, like, what brushes to use, how to use it, how to comb, how to you know, brush properly, how to detangle what products to use, things like that. So that's part of the voice that's coming along with you know, now you get top quality service, and we have minimal choices to where it makes sense to what you're what you're getting, and what packages you have available, and things like that, because we also want to provide that convenience of what we're selling. But then also you get the educational factor too, because we're building up a relationship with you. So now the voice is, they really care about pet care, and, you know, making sure that the coat health and skin health is proper. And we're here. We're part of your team, as opposed to just your service provider, you know. So it's, it's stepping out of keeping it 100 Well, I mean, still, all 100% professional, but in a way, you, you have more you're more personable. You know, it's not like, Oh, you, you're a number where you go into, like, corporate, and you get your service, and that's it. Like, no, we're building a relationship with you, because we take the time to really teach you and educate you and provide you resources and things like that. So I think a lot of it really does have to, you know, figure out now, all right, what? What is my voice? You know? What are we saying? What are we portraying? And then just really, just like, harp on that, and just really go into detail and dive deep.
Collin Funkhouser 08:49
Do you ever worry, like, when you're posting that educational content about how to do the groom and how to do the brush and what brushes do you use? Do you ever worry that you're kind of working yourself out of a job and that your clients will go, oh, I don't need that. I don't need their services because I can do this
Wayne 09:05
on my own. No, they still need me. I would say, I think about it in a sense of, I hope I don't have to charge you more because you did what you needed to do, you know, like, extra time to detangle, extra time to be mad and, you know, getting them in on on a proper schedule to where. And I was talking to another groomer about it too. It's like we are literally undoing the last five to six weeks in two hours. So it's a lot that goes into it, but if you just take the time to do it while you're at home, I don't have to charge you for that extra time it took me to do it because you didn't do it right. So it's like, hey, hopefully instead of thinking about it as, oh, they're they're going to figure out they don't need me. But it's like. Hey, it's something that we work together on as a team, you know? Because this is a, this is a team effort here, like this is not just me doing the work that you could have been helping me on doing for the past few weeks, right? So, yeah, I just think about it as a team. I hope, you know, I hope people don't say, Oh, well, since I brushed and combed my dog out, now I can do the haircut. And now they go on tick tock and buy, like, the kits and stuff. And now the dog has patches everywhere, and now I have to fix it, yeah. So, so it is like, well, you needed me, or I didn't tell you to go to Step C, B, E, F, I said, stay on a and b and we'll be good to
10:43
go. Do not pass. Go right
Wayne 10:47
this line right here. Don't pass this. Okay, you can do everything over here, but do not pass. This is me. This is my area over
Collin Funkhouser 10:56
here. Well, I think that just means that, like you're really you know what your service is, and if you can be more efficient in that service and get a better end product by teaching them the prep work where they get in front of you, I know with like a little like dog walkers, they'll be, well, I don't want to teach my clients how to do leash manners or how to do these sits that, you know, this stuff or that, because then they don't need me. I'm going to work myself out of a job. But what we're actually doing is, how many other times am I walking a dog going, oh my gosh, the owner obviously doesn't walk them. And if the owner would just walk them, then I would be able to do a better job where I am right now, instead of breaking, you know, pulling a dislocating a shoulder or something like that going, so it's when we can equip the tools with the to the client. We go, Well, what I'm actually providing is the convenience and the professionalism when they can't and when they need extra help. Like, Oh, okay, now I'm feeling I'm actually the service here, not the actual technical skills, and that that's really where, like, a sweet spot is, because now, like you said, Wayne, like, we've got that partner, and my goodness, how we also desperately want to have clients who are partners with us in the care of their pet, for sure.
Wayne 12:11
And instead of, like, yeah, instead of looking at it as there's just that simple exchange of money for service, but it's like money for experience and education and service and a team, and, you know, just a relationship, because you're investing into the care of your pet. So that's why I like teaching pet professionals to say, like, go out and learn as much as you can, because it's not so much as, oh, I'm learning, and then I teach, and then I lose my clients, but no, like, they already look to you as an expert, and they want to be taught how to do this. Like I still, I think of myself still as, you know, even though I groom dogs majority, like, majority, majority of the time I'm grooming dogs, but I'm still teaching them, and I'm training pets on how to stand on the table properly, you know, be able to get their nails clipped and manipulate their faces and things like that, getting them desensitized and teaching them social skills. And even though, yes, I'm grooming them, but I'm also teaching them too. So it's like when people understand, when pet professionals understand you're also a trainer, and you're a teacher. At the same time, you have to accept that role so that people will want to come back to you because you treat them, you treat them like a number, you treat them insignificant. Then they're going to feel that way, right? And they're going to go find somewhere else where there is a connection. So in order for you as the service provider to really build your clientele and build people that trust your word, and, you know, look to you as an expert and want to build loyalty with your business, you not only have to educate yourself, but you have to be understanding enough to say, Hey, I'm going to educate my pet parents too. So then that way, we're all on the same page, because even with something as simple as Leash training, look, if you least drink, you're paying me to walk your dog during the inconvenient times that you can't walk your dog. Yeah, right, so during the other times that you have to walk your dog, I want to make sure that you have it as easy as possible, because when now, when it's my time to walk, then I don't want to have to worry about a dislocated wrist or shoulder or joint joint issues, things like that. Or when a squirrel runs by, your dog is going to take off, and now we're both dragging down the street right after this squirrel or his cat. So it's like, I need you as my teammate, as opposed to just the client, and it's my job to learn and teach you how to do that well. And it
Collin Funkhouser 14:46
cuts so many things off, like before they can become an issue. I know, like in our local Facebook groups, I see a lot from, like, the grooming world. I see a lot of pet owners go. I just took my, you know, Sophie, to XYZ groomer, and she came back shaking. I don't know what happened, and I need a new groomer. And I'm going, well, I have, like, from my perspective, I got a lot of questions, like, did the groomer explain to you what was going on? Was this your first time there at the groomer? What was the history of this pet? And that's where a lot of that education can come up. Of like, Hey, this is your first time here. Here's what we're going to do, here's what we've seen happen, like, a lot of those behavior issues, or even from like pet sitting, I know that we do going, Hey, we haven't seen your dog in a year and a half, right before I even get through the door. Here's five things you need to know, and here's what a successful visit is going to look like, so that on the back end, there's no question, like the client has been prepared and knows what to expect, and we set those proper expectations too,
Wayne 15:42
and that's important. That's that's very much important, because you want to make sure that they understand. One, you've taken the time to learn all that you can. And again, you're the you're the expert in it. But then two, the pets are getting the care that they need, because if nobody is teaching them how to walk properly or socialize properly, or, you know, build up their confidence and things like that, then it doesn't make for a good environment or experience. Because again, like you said, if I come, if I go to the group and I say, you know, this happened at the groomer, more 10 times out of 10, the groomer did not take the time to explain anything to them, you know, like, okay, although fluffy is shaking this time because fluffy was around a few pets and or we had to shave fluffy down, or fluffy was in a crate or something the whole time, or something whatever. Right now we're explaining, okay, these are some of the things that we can try next time. And even just saying that, here are some things that we can try next time that already gets the person in the mindset of they're coming back here, right? So then now there, here's something that we can try next time. And then you go into how education goes into socialization skills or desensitizing them to the dryer or loud noises or the clippers or anything, or nail trims, whatever the case was. So there is a lot of factors that go into it, but if nobody's taking the time to explain things to you, now, you're just left with the experience of what your dog looks like or feels like, or how their mannerisms are after the room or the experience. So you, as a pet professional, you have to make sure that you're having those conversations with people to where it's like look, although we may not have had 100% positive experience. Here's some things that you can do at home to better prepare them next time, because more than likely it was their first time there. You know, sometimes you do get those older dogs that are just shaking when they get on the table, but as soon as they get down, they're running around like nothing ever happened. You know, you get those younger dogs too, because this is not something that's they're used to, so you have to get them used to it and make it a positive experience for everybody.
Collin Funkhouser 18:05
Well, wait, I realized I should probably take a moment here to introduce our listeners to who. Wait, I'm really excited to talk to you today. I it's been, man, a couple years now, and so I'll have links to episodes 375, and 224, in the show notes so listeners can go back to list. So stop listening to this. Go back and listen to both of those and then come back here. But for those, for those who aren't familiar with you, Wayne, please tell us a little bit more about kind of what you do and all that you're involved in.
Wayne 18:40
Gotcha so again, one. Thank you again, Collin, I truly appreciate it. And just being back, yes, go back and listen to the other episode. But my name is Wayne. I own happy hearts. Pet Care Services in Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia, we offer grooming services, daycare, boarding and training. We do have, like, some retail products that we recommend to pet parents as well. I also have a nonprofit pet Lana, which brings pet professionals together, and we provide like, different educational resources. We put on events for networking, fundraisers and just to be able to bring the community in the pet industry together, we we try to localize, you know, just bring bringing pet professionals together so that we can build up our community. The pedex network is our media part of it to where we have the podcast. We have a segment I call the pet pro Power Hour. And then we also have our network in which those, those resources that we're building through pet Lana is often shared within the network. So then that way, you know, pet professionals have resources, and we're able to really just build up our community. They're both. Really big on community, so that we can just change the narrative, and then also provide pet parents with that confidence and that education and that, you know, the social skills, so that we can try to make our businesses better. Our slogan is making making better pet businesses together. So it's really pet professionals coming together and working together so that those questions are answered and those resources are found, and everybody is moving in the right direction with their businesses. So those are, those are the big three.
Collin Funkhouser 20:37
Have you heard of tying to pet? Chris Ann from raining cats and dogs. Has this to say,
Speaker 3 20:42
becoming a time to pet client has been a game changer for us. We can give our pet services clients real time, cloud based information they never imagined they'd be interested in. And most importantly, to me personally, I can better manage my company and look forward to more and not a small thing. Time to pet is responsive to my request for new features and modifications to existing ones.
Collin Funkhouser 21:08
If you're looking for new pet sitting software, give time to pet a try. Listeners of our show will save 50% off your first three months by visiting time to pet.com/confessional you're busy. Wayne,
Wayne 21:25
and it keeps me busy. I have a few other ventures that I'm working on too, and it's just a blessing. You know? It is truly a blessing, because you see the you see the need for bringing those like minded, especially they may be new in the industry or older in the industry, but they don't tend to reach out or talk or be vulnerable or share their story, and, you know, questions or find help and things like that. And we're just like, No, it's okay for you to say, I don't have it all and but our purpose is to really find the answers for you, or at least give you a different point of view. So then that way it's like it's easier, like you don't feel like I'm going through all of this alone. But there are 1000s of other pet professionals that have gone through the same thing, and it's just a matter of opening your mouth and just saying, I need help.
Collin Funkhouser 22:17
Yeah, and and not. It's finding that you know that space where you feel vulnerable enough, or you can be vulnerable enough, right to do that, because I'll tell you, social media and online is a terrible place to be vulnerable. A lot of times it's like this double edged sword. So easy, let me just post a question into Facebook, and then you check back in, 15 people have piled on, and you're like, Well, I feel I feel dumb now for asking, like, what? Never mind. I'll just learn my lesson. I'll never do that again. So having some place to go, where you can go like these are trusted people, especially finding people who are rooting for you. When you find that group where you walk into a room and everybody in there is like, you got like, we want you to succeed, that totally changes the kind of questions you ask, the kind of things that you do, and the really potential that you have,
Wayne 23:09
yeah, and that's why, that's why I love what we're doing and what we're building, because of that, right? You like you said, you post something on Facebook, and you're asking a simple yes or no question, and that yes or no question then turns into everybody giving their opinions, and just like you said, piling on to where it makes you feel reserved. Now, like, yeah, why did I even ask that, you know? And then now you're looking at yourself like, I don't even want to say anything else to anybody you know, because it's like they basically just shot down everything that I you know, I wanted constructive criticism on, right? And so now it's like we get to totally change the mindset of that, right? And vulnerability is a good thing, especially around those who have walked through the steps that you're taking, and they've been there, and they've grown through it, and they've learned so much from it. And it's important like so with what we do is we'll meet weekly on Wednesdays, every Wednesdays at eight, every Wednesday at eight, and we'll start off with, Hey, does anybody have like anything that we want to celebrate any wins that they want to share. You know? How can we encourage you things like that? Because you need to understand, like, we don't tend to celebrate ourselves, right? We're just like, okay, cool. We made it another year. We made it through this month. Let's keep going. What's next month? You know, let's figure this out. You know, you're still looking at the future when you need to slow down and just say, Hey, I have come like, just hearing you said, you said episode 375
24:53
was the last one that you were on. Yeah,
Wayne 24:56
so and where are we at now? Oh, this will be about 650 Be right around exactly like do you ever sit and just say, wow, we really have gone 600 episodes in, yeah, like that. That is amazing, right? Being just being able to say that, you know, just small things, but we're constantly like, Okay, what's next? Who's next? How do we formulate this? What do we need to do? But we have to make sure that we are celebrating ourselves too. So that's what we do, you know, and then we'll tie it into different different themes and talks that we'll go through or post a question or something like that for the community to answer. So like, this month we're talking about strategy. Last month we talked about brands. So this month we're talking about strategy and how to promote that, and how to go big on, you know, just building a strategy that worked. So, yeah, it's just, you know, it's just, it's really just us being able to utilize our platforms and what we've learned to inspire others on how to grow their businesses and do
Collin Funkhouser 25:58
better. How do you balance the what you're talking about here is this, like this, the daily my daily responsibilities. I've got stuff to do, I'm very busy, but I also have these long term things that I'm working on, and I've got these things to celebrate. How do we make sure we stay and balance that well as we go, you know, from day to day? You don't thank Wayne, thanks for coming on.
Wayne 26:29
I mean, you try, you try your best. You know, a lot entrepreneurship is figuring it out as you go, so you can have certain things thought out, you know, strategize, properly written down, the timeline, the calendar. Everything looks great, but when you try to balance it at all, you tend to get a little overwhelmed, in a sense, and that in itself, can be a little stressful. And, you know, I say it's manageable stress because we we asked for this, you know, we asked, we didn't ask for a less than successful business. You know, we didn't ask for a business that doesn't make money or makes connections or does what it needs to do. We wanted a successful business. And this is what comes with a successful business is really trying to balance, you know, your personal life with your professional life, while still growing both simultaneously and not trying to pull your hair out and be stressed out all the time, you know. But there's I think when you I think, but when you have habits, you know, positive habits. You read, you do something for yourself, you set a hard boundary that you don't do any work on Sundays. Or, you know, you spend time with family and like this is just family, only time type of thing that helps you create that balance. So I think you have to be intentional with you know, how you you know your time management, you know, and things like that. It's just a matter of sitting down and just thinking about it and just making it like this is what I'm sticking to type thing. And in that way, you have time for business, but you also have time for life too.
Collin Funkhouser 28:17
Megan is really good at reminding me to be thankful when things like, when the bookings come in, especially because I can get to the point where I'm working on so many other things, and then a booking request comes in, and my first reaction is, oh, now I've got to, oh, I've got to stop what I'm doing. I got to go approve this visit. I got to schedule it. I got to check the notes. Like, I've got to, I've got to, I've got to, and Megan's really good at always saying, like this, like, we're thankful for this. So getting like, for me, it's this, it's this practice of, whenever that booking request comes in, I say a brief Thank you. Thank you for this, because this is my business. Like you said, I asked to be successful. Wouldn't you know, people want to use us. Oh, woe is like, yeah, built
Wayne 29:03
the platform right now. I got, why did, why are we booking with me? I built it like, yeah, no,
Collin Funkhouser 29:11
just being like, being grateful and thankful when that comes in and going, okay, they trust us. They like us. I that's what I need to carry forward. Whenever I get that request come through and just checking myself too, of like, what am I? What was happening in that moment? Am I super burned out? Am I? Am I really, like with my emotions, and make sure that I'm regulating myself too, so that I don't carry that forward through everything that happens that day?
Wayne 29:40
No, and that's absolutely important, because you you'll bring that energy into whatever you're doing, you know, like, like, for All right, so, like you said, when a booking comes in, you feel like, here we go, you know, I gotta, I have to do all. These steps to prepare for this booking, right? Same thing when we have a full day on the schedule, I'm like, Yeah, you know, having 456, Dog Days, cool. I can coast like everything is cool, you know. But then when you have those days where you have 10 and 11 dogs and you really have to put, you know, boots to the ground and just say, Look, I need to put my big boy pants on and get this done, you know. So because you can that already in itself, looks stressful, you know, and it looks overwhelming, and it looks like it's going to be a long day, and everything like that. And granted, again, this is how your lights stay on. This is how you build your business. This is how you build a successful brand that people want to come to. Why, you know, why complain about what we've built? You know, because we need people to come through the door, unless we're charging people $300 per groom and can only take on three grooms per day. You know, then at that point, cool, but until we get there, we have to do what we have to do in order to make it work and makes it make it successful. So, yeah, and I tell them, like, Look, you have to get out of that. I have to, I have to and be like, I get to, you know, I get to do this. I get to wake up every morning to groom dogs. I get to wake up and build this business and build a brand and teach people and inspire others. I get to do all of that, and in that way, you have more of a gratitude for the work that you've done. And not to say that you know, not you, but like people don't. It's just in order for you your work to always look like you're given the best of it and you're showing up and doing your best, it's like, all right, I'm gonna give you that those two seconds to be like, Oh, here we go. But then right after that, let's get it. Let's get let's get this working, you know. Let's do it, you know. But I definitely look, trust me, I get it. I get it 100% especially when I have a call out, or, like, one of my bathers calls out, or one of my groomers call out, and then that's more work on me. And I'm just like, here we go. I gotta do but they, you know, I'm never like, I guess, outward with it, to where it's like, I don't, why can't they just show up to work, or why I'm paying everybody, and why can't they like, no that, that look, just get in there and go bathe and drive these dogs and call it a day. Let's just get this day me complaining about it and and spreading that, then spreads the negativity through the environment, and I want all of us to work well together and be positive, right, especially as their leader. So if they see me, just get up and just go do it, then they're more inclined to just, all right, let me just get up and go do it. Or can I come in and help? Or, you know, anything like that. But we're getting it done, and I'm rewarding at that point, because I'm like, Thank you, you know, thank you for your help. Thank you for assisting me. Now, who wants what for lunch, you know? And I'm like, All right, you know that you didn't have to help me, but you helped me, and I'm appreciative of it, you know?
Collin Funkhouser 33:13
Well, that's the you hear a lot about, like, oh, the life of an entrepreneur, the life of a small business owner. It's the hustle, it's the grind, it's the, you know, this daily stuff. How do you view that? As far as you know that that term, the grind, the hustle, like do you is that a positive or a negative thing to
Wayne 33:29
you? It's positive. It's positive because I take it as a positive thing, because it I'm still hustling, you know, and the grind is every day. You know, it's like, if I go through the list of all of the ventures and ideas and my to do list and everything, like, like, that's a hustle. That's the grind right there, right because eventually, like, right now, we're still in that stage of hustle, because we're not booked out every day. You know, my bills aren't paid early for six months. You know, we're still trying to figure out budgeting. I have to hire people. I got to figure out schedules. I have, you know, there's so many different things that are going on, so many different factors to where it's like we're still hustling, like we're still making sure that we have the lights on, we have the right supplies. We have enough money for taxes, enough money for, you know, the employees, retail products, the light, you know, it's clean in here, like everything like that. So there's so many different factors that aren't automated, you know, to being taken care of, to where it's like, we're still making sure that each day I'm gonna wake up and I'm gonna give my best and do my best, because one day it's all gonna pay off, right? So now it's a matter of understanding that and asking yourself, How do we get out of that? You know, what are the next steps? You know, to make sure, like, hey. Say some of these things can get taken off of my plate, because I don't want to hustle, but I like the work ethic is there. The mentality is there, the work ethic is there. But stepping out of the hustle part, you know, because when you think of hustle, you do think like, I don't have any time for anything else. I just have time for this. So like some people can take it negatively, but I take it positively because that means that I'm putting the work in to get what I'm asking for and everything where I want things to go right. But when you get to a point where you can delegate more and you can give more tasks to other people, and everything is automated. Then at that point, you're stepping out of the hustle mentality and you're really scaling, you know your business, or whatever you know your next step is. But right now, it's like, all right, I just have to do what I have to do to figure out what's not working, because there are things that are not working that I need to make sure are taken care of before I start focusing on other or bigger more things.
Collin Funkhouser 36:07
Keep keeping hustle to a short sprint, right? I think is what is really what you're talking about there. Wayne, I'm going, okay, yeah, we're going to go through periods of hustle. It could be faster growth. It could be, you know, maybe staff turnover. It could be whatever it is, new initiative, new service, new whatever ideas we got going on, there's going to be that period of hustle, but it's for a purpose. It's for something greater, to push forward, to move forward, to meet the next goal. And then we reassess, right? And then we do have that skill and that operations, and we have things that are moving and then we go through another hustle. I think that trap that often we fall in is, well, I just gotta, if I don't start, if I stop hustling, then things all fall apart. And I think that's more of a sign of we don't have those scaled systems in place that for sure, if I'm not exuding, and I think that a lot, if I'm not exuding 300% effort every day, everything's going to collapse. Well, I got to be smarter about what I'm doing in my business, and really ask some serious questions about the foundations that I built it on, 100%
Wayne 37:10
so I feel like at some point we have to get out of just surviving, you know, and really get to scaling, yeah, so, and then, like you said, there are different levels of hustle, you know, like your your hustle as a new business owner is, well, going to be different as your hustle 10 years in, you know, so you're still going to hustle in some sense of the word is, just Depending on how much work you're putting in at that point in time, and going back to creating that balance in the beginning, there really isn't going to be balance, because you're trying to do everything that you can to get this brand and business off the ground, you know. But over time, you you start to you start to pay for that time, you know, you start to be able to afford that time. You start to be able to, you know, afford the being able to delegate that work so it's off your plate, so that you can have more time, right? So eventually, there's going to be balance eventually, but right now, it's like a matter of this, this particular hustle is new business owner ownership hustle, right where you're saying yes to everybody, you're building up your clientele. You're figuring out what works, what doesn't work, the type of clientele that you have versus the clientele that you need, the type of business relationships that you have versus the type of business relationships that you need. So you're still figuring a lot of the things out when it comes down to the new hustle. But for like, I mean, we're always going to hustle is like, alright, am I hustling to scale? Am I hustling to grow? Am I hustling to maintain? Am I hustling to, you know, just make it till tomorrow? Like, What am I, you know, what am I doing? But it really just depends on how you use the word and how you see it, because it can be a good thing, because I feel like it also depicts your work ethic and how hard you're working, you know, for your business. Because I could say I want to be a millionaire, but if I'm not willing to put in any work to get there and build myself up. I don't expect it to happen. You know,
Collin Funkhouser 39:27
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Wayne 40:14
Wayne, I feel like it fuels it in a sense, because because the passion part of it is the the passion part is the field that you see, like the you know, you see the rainbows and the unicorns, and you see, you know, the end goal, and how beautiful things are, and how amazing life could be, and all of that stuff, right? That's the passion that that's what you you want. That's the goal, like, you know, but in a sense, like, reality tends to take over, and then it's like, oh, okay, I have a $450 light bill, or I have a $200 you know, internet bill, I have this water bill I have to get, I have to get this, and I have to get shampoo, I have to get conditioner. I have to get the, you know, maintenance things. I have to pay payroll. You know, there are so many different things that happens in the reality that makes people feel overwhelmed, and things like, you know, when it comes down to business ownership. So, like, in a sense, like, when you feel like, you know you're overwhelmed, your passion tends to take a dip, because it's like, I'm working so hard and I'm doing so many things. But for me, I'm like, I already, you know that's why your your why comes into place. And like, why are you working as hard as you are to get there? But then you also have to make sure that even though your passion in it never really changes, it really just gets overshadowed by a lot of reality. You know, because I still I love working with animals. My passion is to work with animals and teach pet parents and teach pet professionals and things like that and connect however. The reality of it is, sometimes they're not receptive to the information, or you have to work harder to teach professionals that there's value in connection and network. You know, you have to get those people and you'll get those no's and stuff. And everybody talks about the nose that you get in entrepreneurship, but you when you get those yeses, you start to feel, you know, empowered by it. And it's just a matter of understanding that, yeah, it might be overshadowed, but I'm still going to do everything that I can today to make it, you know. So it's, you know, it's like, one of those things where I may not always be, oh, the quote is, like, I may not always be, like, motivated, but that's where discipline comes into play. And you got to be disciplined to just keep pushing forward and just keep going and just making sure, like, Hey, today wasn't an amazing day, or was a not so great day, but tomorrow could be better, and it's just a matter of wanting to see what tomorrow looks like, and putting that work in today,
Collin Funkhouser 43:10
that being that eternal optimist is really kind of role of what we are. And it's like, it's not necessarily looking at the everything through the world with rose colored glasses, but I think it's more like, well, tomorrow is another opportunity, or next phone call is another opportunity. Let's see what happens. And I think that's really a difference there. Of, we're not blind to a lot of the realities or the reality of what's going on, but we're always optimistic about the what's around the next corner that keeps us moving forward. And that's where that discipline comes in. Of like, well, I've got to walk up to the door and knock and talk to that person. I've got to make that phone call, even though the previous five said, no, like, that's really where you find out, is my why? Motivating me enough or not?
Wayne 43:50
Yeah, no, 100% and you have to, you have to set like the that those negative thoughts and those negative voices, you have to say, You know what, I'm a go somewhere else, you know, go somewhere else with that and figure out what works to bring more of a positive light in your life, too. So that's why, you know, I like having different habits, or, you know, hobbies or something that allows you to step out of work, essentially, so that you really find what centers you and what helps you and what puts a smile on your face. So then that way it recharges you when you have to go back in and lock in and be like, All right, I could give, you know, I could give some more of myself to this, you know, rather than, like, harping all over, you know, just the bad experiences and everything that happened in the past, like tomorrow is going to be better, next week is going to be better, next month is going to be better, and set it to a goal so that now, if my goal was, for example, if the goal is all right, this month, I'm going to make 10. $1,000 you have to have that goal already set, and then now you're like, all right, what do I need to do in order to make that and I feel like that's a guiding light which helps, you know, a lot of people, because if you don't have a goal in something, then you get lost in the reality of it. But if you have a goal, then it's like, okay, now I can do everything and take all of the steps that I need to take in order to reach that goal. And it keeps you accountable, because you're just like, well, if I'm not making 10,000 $1 a month daily actions, then I'm not going to get there. And the only person that can really keep me accountable is me, because I set those goals for myself. So your action have to set, you know, the goal your actions have to reflect the goals that you have set for yourself as well.
Collin Funkhouser 45:53
I love how you mentioned the habits of what we build around ourselves to make sure that we're recharged and taking care of it. And as you mentioned it, I realized that totally unintentionally, I've done that. Where, if I'm going out doing networking, and I'm meeting new business owners, and I'm knocking on doors, going to talk to boutiques and groomers and vets, all that stuff, I found myself previously, where, when I got the no and the no or no, we don't have a community board, no, I won't take your flyers. No, that's okay. We're working with somebody else that in between the drives, I just sit there in silence and sulk. By the end, like, the sixth one, I was just like, like, I was a horrible person to be around. And so now, now I have a playlist. It's it's eclectic, it's like 90s, country hits and early 2000s like punk rock. And that's what I listened to basically on max volume as I'm driving in between everything. And that's my like, this is my therapy. We're gonna sing, but I'm sitting at the top of my Lux in between business,
46:46
and that's okay,
Collin Funkhouser 46:48
keeping the energy up in between. Yeah, you
Wayne 46:51
have to. You have to, because it's all an energy exchange too. You know, like just working in this in this industry, I've definitely noticed that it is a industry. Oh, excuse me, it is a energy exchange when it comes down to networking and trying to get people to see the value in what you're building and things like that, right? And they don't get it. So it makes you feel the type of way, but you have to just, you know, it just wasn't for you, you know. And honestly, I take it as a as a motive, motivational point to being like, all right. Well, now I have to show you that it's worth your time, you know, rather than like, I tried to tell you, but now I have to show you that it's worth your time, you know. I tried to get you to see the vision ahead of time, but now I gotta show you, you know, and that's what I you know, that's what I'm gonna do, yeah, and just keep pushing forward. Well, that's part
Collin Funkhouser 47:49
of that, again, that entrepreneur of what we're doing, of you mentioned setting those goals of, okay, my first 10,000 month, my first 20,000 month, or maybe it's my first 1000 month, if I'm just starting out and going, what we are doing is we're creating a new reality, where we are right? I'm creating something that 13 seconds ago did not exist, and I continue to push and make that happen where, who knows, I believe it's possible. And that's what's pushing this forward of well, six months to now. We've only made $5,000 a month? Well, I have a goal, and I'm going to make a plan. That's what you're talking about. Wayne of like, does everything align into this towards that goal, so that I can basically manifest this thing that had previously never existed in the world before? And that's, I mean, that's a superpower. When you think about it like that takes that's a lot to get done.
Wayne 48:41
And I think that's what overwhelms a lot of business owners, too, is the planning part. You know, we are, we're essentially, I mean, we are executioner like we we make it work. We know how to make money. We know how to, you know, come up with the goal of making money. We know how to come up with a plan and ways to do it, and at some point we do it, you know, but all of the operational strategies and the, you know, the back end stuff, the back of the, you know, back of the room, back of the storage you know, type of thing that people don't see, all of the small steps you know that people don't see. That's what overwhelms a lot of pet professionals, or me entrepreneurs, in a sense, anyway. But we have to learn how to compartmentalize all of those tasks and things and hats and put everything in a place that it just makes sense, so then that way it's not overwhelming, you know, when we're trying to figure out, because, let me tell you, especially owning a brick and mortar, you know, you you think that the light bill and rent. Which is all you're going to be paying for. But it's not, you know? You have to, you have to definitely budget for so many different things when it comes down to it, you know. So it's like you can't look at things for the surface or just the surface area of it. You have to really dig deep and figure out how to compartmentalize and put strategies into place, and how to, you know, plan your days to correctly, time management, money management, you know, and that's, that's where you get, like mentors, and you get, you know, you network with others. Because if it's not your strong suit, just find somebody who enjoys doing it. Yeah, and then now you're building a team around yourself with people that can help guide you in the right direction, like we know how to groom dogs, you know? So if you know how to groom dogs, you may not know how to budget, you may not know how to run a business, you may not know how to communicate. You may not know how to market yourself and brand yourself correctly. You may not know how to do these things. If you're not actively learning how to do it, just find somebody whose strong suit is in it, and then now figure out. You know, how can you afford this extra care and you can delegate these tasks so that your brand and your business, your company, your team grows, you know, and don't be afraid to do that until, I mean, you can learn all that you can learn, but you have somebody who does this all the time. It's easier. It's way easier on you.
Collin Funkhouser 51:39
I can definitely bring bang my head against a brick wall for years and to learn that a jackhammer would be better. But what I need to do is go talk to somebody who demolishes brick walls. Right?
Wayne 51:49
That's Yes, yes. Who knows what to look for. Who knows what the proper tools to use everything?
Collin Funkhouser 51:58
Yeah. You know Wayne, you're coming up on almost 10 years in business now, right? Nine?
Wayne 52:07
Nine? Yes. Almost nine, yes. So it'll be our ninth year. Starts, September 16. Cool.
Collin Funkhouser 52:15
Wow. What I mean that's almost a decade. I'm gonna go say you're almost a decade. It's Mike, my daughter. She's almost 10, and she walks around she's like, I'm a decade old. Like, stop saying that. I don't like the way it sounds. But you know you're approaching this what looking back? What's something that you wish you would have known earlier?
Wayne 52:41
I let me see it's important. It's definitely important to find people who are doing the things that you want to do, you know, like when I first started doing mobile grooming, the goal was to have multiple vans, you know, all over the city. So I should have, you know, networked with people or businesses that have multiple vans. Like, how do you handle this? What do you do? You know, answer some of these questions, things like that. So I will say, like, in the beginning, just network with people on the level that you know, if they're doing something that you can see yourself doing, network with them, you know, ask questions, get on their nerves, things like that, because you have to learn how to do the thing instead of trying to figure it out yourself. You know, make sure you have the proper team around you. So like, you know, somebody who handles strategies, somebody who handles finances, somebody who handles media, somebody who handles, you know, communications, you know, things like that. And you know, just ask questions until you can afford people and add people onto your team, you know, and things like that. But education is education networking is always going to be on personal development is always going to be the most important things as you go through this journey.
Collin Funkhouser 54:09
It really isn't valuable who you seek after and who you model after, and the influences that you have, and even in subtle ways, like you mentioned, it's not just like business operations. That's, that's a word I never thought I'd be talking a lot about in my life, whenever I was younger. Like, yeah, I'm just gonna, I just do business operations a lot. That's fun, but, but also, you mentioned the personal side, like, what, how am I changing? Where Am I growing? What am I learning? Not just, you know, directly applied to the business, but in my attitudes, how I handle things, how I work through scenarios, like all of that, is that that slow growth over time, where each layer you don't really notice. I think at least for me, I noticed, like, man, but all of a sudden, you look back and you go, wow, I've I've grown so much, and it
Wayne 54:55
teaches you a lot. Yeah, it's crazy. It's crazy. Yeah, it it's. Teaches you a lot, because you you figure out what works and what doesn't work daily, right? And it teaches you a whole lot. And you just have to be humble enough to sit there and listen, you know, because you have to be a student to the game from day one. And everybody, you know, you have to be you can't be a teacher all the time. You have to be a student. You have to learn. You have to understand, like some of these obstacles and things like that, they are, they're there to teach you, and instead of break you down. And it's rough, it's tough, it's rough, conversations you have to have with yourself. But you know, it's one of those things where, again, you wanted to be an entrepreneur, or you wanted to be a business owner, you're going to have to go through these things in order to be the best version of yourself. So, you know, make sure that you're you're reading, you touch grass, you take time for yourself, you sit in the sun, you know, go swimming, put something, do something that makes you happy, you know, yeah, listen to podcasts, travel, you know, whatever you can do to help
Speaker 2 56:14
increase your better self. Do it because you have to show up for your business.
Collin Funkhouser 56:23
Wayne, I love that. I'm so thankful for you coming back on the show and sharing that with us, and it's so cool to see all that you've got going on. And again, congratulations on coming up on nine years and all the hard work and growth that you've had and the influence that you're having as well. So for those who want to get connected. Follow along, check out pet Lana and everything that you've got going on. How best can they do that?
Wayne 56:46
Of course. So I mean, for happy hearts on Instagram, Facebook, it is happy hearts, pet care, ATL, Tiktok, it is happy hearts, ATL, for pet Lana and the pet X network, simply just go to the pet X network com, and it'll have all of the links and everything on there as well. And you could always follow either of those pages on Instagram, at Pet Lana dot INC and the pet X network. So you'll see the nonprofit page, pet Lana dot INC and our network page, the pedex network from there, awesome.
Collin Funkhouser 57:24
Well, I will have links to all that in the show notes so people can get connected, start learning and growing and finding the people that can help motivate them to the next level and do what they need to do. Wayne, again, this is such a pleasure. I'm so thankful for you and your time. It's been wonderful getting caught up. Thank you. Thank you. Wayne.
Wayne 57:40
Oh no, no problem. Collin, I truly appreciate it, and I look forward to being in another episode 300 episodes later,
Collin Funkhouser 57:47
my biggest takeaway from my conversation with Wayne was when he said, I've got to get out of the I have to mindset and get into the I get to mindset. This shift really changes everything. Instead of dreading the tasks or feeling buried under responsibilities, this reminds us to view our work as an opportunity. We get to grow the business. We get to care for pets. We get to make a difference. When we lead with gratitude and purpose, we show up better for our clients, our teams, and importantly, and most importantly, really, ourselves, we really cannot forget that we've built this on purpose. We should enjoy the privilege of doing the work. We want to thank our sponsors, tying to pet and pet perennials for making this show possible, and we really want to thank you for listening. Thank you so much for being here. We hope you have a wonderful rest of your week, and we'll be back again soon.
