659: Giving Back Through Your Business with Cheyenne Williams
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How can you use your pet care business to make a bigger impact? Cheyenne Williams returns to share how community involvement has transformed her life and her business. From leading suicide prevention walks to supporting foster care initiatives, Cheyenne explains how giving back is not just about writing checks—it’s about connection, purpose, and passion. She shares the challenges of balancing business demands with emotional nonprofit work, and how boundaries and clarity of purpose keep her grounded. This conversation is a powerful reminder that we were whole people before our businesses, and we’ll be whole people long after.
Main topics:
Volunteering through your pet business
Suicide prevention advocacy
Building client relationships through shared values
Balancing burnout and service
Setting boundaries with community involvement
Main takeaway: “What is the point of having a business without giving back?”
As pet sitters and dog walkers, we’re already deeply connected to our communities—but what if we went a step further? Giving back doesn’t always mean writing a big check. It can look like sponsoring a school event, volunteering with a local rescue, or using your newsletter to highlight important causes. When we give back, we’re not just running a business—we’re becoming part of something bigger. And the ripple effect is real: stronger client relationships, deeper personal fulfillment, and a lasting impact beyond the leash.
What’s one way your business is giving back this season?
About our guest:
Cheyenne Williams is a dynamic entrepreneur, dedicated wife, and proud mom of two incredible daughters. As the owner of Shiney Day Specialized Pet Care, she leads a multi-award-winning business, most recently honored with the SRQ Best Of Bronze Award for 2025. Cheyenne is also a devoted pet mom to a lively household that includes three dogs, four cats, and a hedgehog.
With a degree in Veterinary Nursing, Cheyenne’s expertise and compassion shine through in both her professional and personal life. She was recognized with the prestigious Women That Roar Award in 2024 for her leadership and impact in the community.
Beyond her business, Cheyenne serves as Board Chair for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and plays a key role as Walk Chair for three of their major events, attends legislative meetings in Washington DC and attends the annual Leadership Conference. She is also PTO President for her daughter's K–8 charter school, and a passionate advocate for vulnerable communities through her work with Guard Against Trafficking (where she is a pending board member), Foster the Family Florida as a community partner, and serves on the Fundraising Committee for Satchel’s Last Resort.
Cheyenne’s life is a testament to compassion, advocacy, and service—both in the lives of animals and the people in her community.
Links:
NAMI help lines: https://www.nami.org/support-education/nami-helpline/
988 crisis line
https://shineydaypetsitting.com
https://www.facebook.com/ShineyDayPetCare
https://www.instagram.com/shineydaypetcare/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/shiney-day-specialized-pet-care/
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP)- www.afsp.org
FB & Insta: @afspswfl
Foster the Family- fosterthefamily.org
FB: https://www.facebook.com/fosterthefamilyus
Guard Against Trafficking- guardagainsttrafficking.org.
Linktree to all platforms linktr.ee/guardagainsttrafficking
Satchels Last Resort- satchelslastresort.org/
FB- https://www.facebook.com/satchelslastresort
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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
Community involvement, pet care business, nonprofit organizations, suicide prevention, foster care initiatives, volunteer roles, mental health, client connections, leadership conferences, social media, donation drives, bipartisan initiatives, personal growth, business culture, emotional support.
SPEAKERS
Cheyenne, Collin
Collin 00:01
Chee, how can you use your business to make a bigger impact today, Cheyenne Williams joins us again to share how community involvement has transformed her life and her business from leading suicide prevention walks to supporting foster care initiatives. She explains how giving back is not just about writing checks. It's about connections. It's about her purpose, and it's about fulfilling a passion. Welcome to pet sitter confessional, an open and honest discussion about life as a pet sitter. Today, we're brought to you by our friends at time to pet and pet perennials. Let's get started.
Cheyenne 00:39
Yeah, absolutely. My name is Cheyenne Williams, and I own shiny day specialized pet care in Sarasota, Florida. I started as a veterinary technician, and my business just kind of accidentally happened, and then I went full time in 2019 after doing it on the side for four years, we focus on animals who have medical conditions, chronic medical conditions, or older pets with a lot of times older parents who can't necessarily manage their pets care. So that's a little bit about about our business. I'm personally involved in a lot of nonprofits and volunteer positions. I work heavily with a rescue here called satchels last resort. Who is amazing. I have been the PTO president of my daughter's school since 2017 I am now the board chair for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, our Southwest Florida chapter, and recently, I just joined a nonprofit called guard against trafficking, which focuses heavily on anti human trafficking efforts.
Collin 01:58
Now you know that's you're involved in a lot of things, and why is that important to you?
Cheyenne 02:04
Cheyenne, yeah, absolutely. So. I'll start with the easiest one. First, animal rescues. Obviously, you know, with my degrading and veterinary nursing and the the pet care business, it's just a natural passion of mine to be involved in rescues and satchels. Last Resort is really the last resort. They take a lot of animals that become residents there. So they're not necessarily, they say every every animal is adoptable, but they're not necessarily the pets that people are looking to adopt. So they get a lot of pets with behavioral issues and medical conditions, and that's just where my heart is the PTO I'm involved because I love being a part of my children's life. I didn't have parents who were actively involved in what I was doing growing up, which we can definitely talk a little more about. So I just, I want to be involved in everything that my kids are doing, and really nurture how they grow up, and then with the guard against trafficking. Of course, because I have children. Kids are a very, very soft spot in my heart. And one of my best friends who created the organization, just she needed a little extra help, and she knew that I was involved in all these nonprofits, so she asked, and I said, Yes. And then the last one, which is the one I'm really the most heavily involved in, is the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. And I lost my mom to suicide in 2016 so I attended my first out of the darkness walk in 2019 actually, a week before, I took my business full time, and they I filled out one of the little forms at the walk I'm like, Oh, they're never going to call me. And they called me the next year, and they were like, we would love to have you be on our walk committee. And of course, that was 2020, so everything looked a lot different. We had to do a virtual walk, and it was heavily reliant on online. We did virtual so we filmed an opening ceremony. We had a what is it called a fitness club. They recorded a warm up, sent it to us, we added it. It was, it was really cool, but it was definitely a challenge, with it being my first year with the organization, for sure.
Collin 04:52
Yeah, hey that we've done this for many, many years, but none of that experience counts or helps right now. Go figure it out.
Cheyenne 04:58
Right? Yeah. Exactly, exactly. And then the day that we were filming our opening ceremony, it was my husband and I and the walk chair, who who is also on the board with me now, and he showed up for filming with his wife, and he had been like, watering his plants or something, and he touched a cactus that I guess has like, some oil on it, and rubbed his eyes so he's like filming and like crying. And it was, it was the craziest thing. 2020. Was just a wild time
Collin 05:38
for a lot of reasons. Oh, yeah, you know that. I mean, that is a lot of involvement, and I know those are very, very close and personal to you. How do you absolutely, you know, that's that focus, though, because running a business is not an easy thing and can be an all consuming task. So how do you use, you know, split your time between those and and I don't want to say the word justify, because they don't that doesn't do I don't think that's appropriate here. Of like, hey, I need to spend time on these things and not growing my business. But it is a when you're focusing on one thing, it means you have to necessarily turn your attention and time away from something else. What's that like for you?
Cheyenne 06:18
Balancing that? It is something that is really a struggle from a personal perspective, because it's like, I have business things I need to do, but there might be something that's time sensitive with, you know, AFSP, or with the PTO, like, last week, we had three PTO meetings that were all about two hours long, and what we did was we planned our entire year in those three meetings. So in the long run, I'm going to be spending less time planning and coordinating these events, because we have them all pre planned. But I think what's been the easiest for me is I ask ahead of time, like, what the time commitment is going to be before I can say yes to anything. If it's something where somebody needs 30 hours of my time a week, it's very difficult to do that. Or I go to an organization and I pitch to them, this is what I'm able to get you. And I think it's important to for people to understand that community involvement doesn't necessarily mean your time. It could be, you know, bringing a bag of dog food to a shelter. Or it could be, you know, an in kind donation of a gift basket to a school. There's a lot of different ways that we can get involved in the community, and I really believe, like, what, what is the point of having a business without giving back. You're doing it for your community. And you know, the purpose of your business is not just taking from it. We have to really nurture, nurture our community, because it's, it's where we live, it's, you know, the people around us, the animals around us. And I just feel like, not only does it help your business grow, but it also helps you grow as a person.
Collin 08:25
Well, it definitely takes you outside of your comfort zone, and that's definitely it's a different mindset too, especially when you think of, I think that's just different stages of business. But you can ingrain, you can build these things into from the very beginning of, hey, here's something I'm really passionate about. And to go, how can I help? But then also going, Hey, how can my business help? And I think that's just a very natural progression of, well, look at this thing over here that I have. And then I also run, how can I be involved? So, I mean, is your business involved in these things as well, or is it just, you know, are you showing up as a representative for you personally?
Cheyenne 09:05
Yeah, absolutely. So the one thing, the one that my business is not necessarily involved in, is the guard against trafficking as of yet, just because it's super new, however, all of the other ones my clients know that those go hand in hand with my business. Yeah, I might be sending you the shiny day newsletter, but I might also be sending you, you know, what's new going on with suicide prevention in the community, what initiatives we're working on? So I do keep my clients informed about all of the things I'm involved in, and the amount of support and the amount of really, like unique client connections I have from these things has been incredible for the last. Last three years, I've been the top fundraising team for AFSP, because I send out those emails to my client, and I'm like, you know, they all know my story, so I'll send them out an email. Hey, here's our walk. I've had clients come to the walks. I have had them, you know, send me articles that they've found. So it's really, it's been amazing, because not only am I bringing awareness to like the organizations I work with, but my clients are wanting to be involved. We did a donation drive for foster the family, which is one I didn't talk about. That's another new one that we've really been fostering. Literally, our daughters are involved in 4h and their 4h leader, she works for foster the family, and she asked if we would do a donation drive for them. So we did, and I sent out an email, and I can send you guys the picture of that. We got so many donations for foster the family, water bottles, baby bottles, pajamas, undergarments, I mean, just a giant box full of items that they needed. So clients, clients want to be involved. They want to know what you're doing. And you know, I've had clients reach out to me about personal losses that they've had, whether it be to suicide or a dog with a behavioral issue in the past, so it's really fostered amazing connections with my clients beyond the pet care.
Collin 11:51
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Collin 12:13
If you're looking for new pet sitting software, give time to put a try. Listeners of our show will save 50% off your first three months by visiting tied to calm slash confessional one, as you mentioned, it's a really good reminder that when we talk about being involved in organizations or things like that, it's not, it's not just, oh gosh, okay, let me write a check so I can sponsor something Sure. Money, money. Money does help, right? They do need financial resources, but a lot of times, what they're really just needing is attention to an issue, to a topic. And if you, I love how you you're using your newsletter to help share about these things that are going on, educating your clients about this instead. And right? Because I know we send out a weekly newsletter, and sometimes it's like, well, how many times can I say, Please scrub your bowls Right? Like this is, how can I so going? I need to. I'm not just looking for more content, but I'm looking for a better connection with my clients on something. I'm looking to have more of an impact and to go, what am I passionate about? How do I make this connection? But that is hard too, because when you, when you partner with an organization, it is a stamp of, like, where our beliefs are. Was that absolutely, was that ever a struggle for you, of like, really putting yourself out there in these different initiatives?
Cheyenne 13:35
So I will, I will say that all of the initiatives that I am involved in. They are bipartisan. So especially when one of the big things that I do with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is I meet with legislators twice a year, once in Tallahassee, that's typically in February. It's it's it's really either February or October, it's whenever we can get sponsored to go up there, and I go to Capitol Hill, and I meet with our federal senators and our house of representatives about bills and stuff that we support or that we're looking to get co sponsored. And I've kind of, it hasn't been on purpose, but it seems to be that the initiatives that I work with are by bipartisan across the board. Yeah. So, I mean, everybody wants to do something to prevent suicide. One in four people are affected by it. So, you know, it's, it's not something that only affects one side or the other. Foster Care is a huge thing that affects everybody. I know, several people who have grown up in foster care and with, I mean, with the. Eto who doesn't love like school dances and kids stuff, you know, bounce houses and all of that. Yeah, and and then with guard against trafficking, that's another one that's very non partisan. However, you know that one has kind of toed that line with the political plot, the political landscape of everything where it is. It is a topic that is highly bipartisan, that sometimes, you know, can be seen certain ways, depending on what subject you're talking about with it, but it is the thing that affects a lot of people that that's not talked about. Yeah, well, and
Collin 15:47
it's just a good reminder to go like, look, I'm I'm passionate about what I'm passionate about and be and I'm going to get connected with what I want to get connected with to make the influence that I want to make an influence with. And that will necessarily sometimes turn certain people off and attract other people. That's just part of it, being opinionated and knowing that going into it, when we choose to step out and have that kind of connection in our broader community, outside of running our business like that is an implication of what we're doing. What other challenges would you talk about for people to expect when committing to a cause or partnership, especially in the long term, when you're looking, you know, not just for a one off event, but looking to enter into these No, this is always going to be here, and this is part of what I and my business do.
Cheyenne 16:37
Yeah, absolutely. So I think the hardest part about it, at least from at least on the outside of it, is that it was just, I just signed up to be on a walk committee, and that went really, really good. And then I was asked, Hey, do you want to be trained in our programs? And I was like, Yeah, let's do that. So then I got trained in the programs and started presenting programs to, you know, teachers, churches, schools, or, like, students. I mean, yeah. And then after I was trained in the programs it was, we would really like to have you join our board. So the more you do get involved in, you know, these organizations and initiatives and stuff, there might always be another Ask. And I think that would be the most important thing for people to be prepared for when they're, you know, looking for these volunteer opportunities and giving back to the community is that, you know, if, if you're really passionate about something, there's always work to do, and you may be asked to do more than what you signed up for, and you really you need to be prepared to either take on that role or to say no. And if you say no, it's not necessarily the end of your journey with that organization or that nonprofit. It's just making sure that you're setting up your own boundaries before you get into it. That that would be probably the biggest challenge I can think of. And I struggled with that for a very long time. I was, I was a big yes man for a lot of things, um, but the beauty of it, too, though, is that I was a solo sitter when I started getting involved in these organizations and attending leadership conferences and doing all of that has actually helped me be become a better business owner. I now have three employees, and it's easier for me to take lessons that I've learned from these organizations on leadership and being on a board and stuff, and bring them into the sphere of the business.
Collin 19:13
Do you talk about the business involvement with these outside organizations to your employees or during that hiring process, as far as, like, what, what the business initiatives are.
Cheyenne 19:24
Oh, yeah, absolutely, absolutely. And, you know, I let them know that, like, I'm involved in all of these things, the businesses involved in most of them, as far as, you know, with the PTO and stuff we sponsor, we give baskets. That's not really anything that like affects my employees, but one of my employees actually lost their father to suicide, many, many years ago, so she wanted to be involved in that as well. So it is kind of creating that business culture, and I do that. People know ahead of time, because it it will affect my schedule sometimes, like when I'm going to Tallahassee, or when I'm going to Washington, DC, or the leadership conference every January I'm out of town, so they have an idea that, you know, the business is really heavily involved in this stuff, but I also give them a choice. Like, if you want to, you know, come to the walk and man a table, you're more than welcome to. But, like, I don't expect my employees to take on volunteer roles, right?
Collin 20:40
Yeah, yeah. And I it gives. It gives, when you look talk about that company culture, like, what to what end are we here for? And to go? Yeah, sure. Peace of mind, high quality pet care, also giving back to our community. And again, this wonderful mission that people can get attracted to from, from such a personal level like that we're bringing I'm like, No, this is important to me. And like you said, I'm not saying, okay, it must be the number one priority for you as well. Live, sleep, eat, breathe this thing, yeah? But here are ways to get involved, and what a beautiful way to, again, bring more people and more attention to some things that are really important.
Cheyenne 21:20
Yeah, absolutely. And I've listened to my employees too. Like, if there's something that they're passionate about and they bring it to me, I'll be like, okay, yeah, let's do it. Like, let's sponsor this event, or let's, you know, go see how we can help with things. So I'm always looking for ways to get involved in the community as well. So, and it's not necessary, you know, it's not something that it's, you know, this is what I want to support. It's like, if there's something where there's a need for support somewhere, if I can throw up a Facebook post or share something, send it an email to my clients, I would be happy to do it.
Collin 22:02
Well, you know, how do you You've talked a little bit about this, but there's this balance, again, of giving back, but also making sure you're paying attention to your own your own health, especially mental health, because, I mean, the topics that you're involved in, you're giving back to, they're not exactly the most light hearted ones and easiest ones. So what's that like? And I know many initiatives are like that. When we talk about nonprofits, about giving back, they're very emotionally taxing. It's also something we're extremely passionate about. How do you balance and make sure that you're taking care of yourself as well as so you can give 100% to each of these things?
Cheyenne 22:37
Yeah, absolutely. So that that has been a learning curve, for sure, because I was a yes yes man for a really, really long time, and I feel like I kind of habit stacked my nonprofit so it wasn't like I took all of them on at one time. It was, you know, the PTO since 2017 then AFSP since 2020 and then fostered the family since 2024 and now this year, guard against trafficking. So I feel like once I got into more of a routine with one. I was comfortable adding on another, because I already knew my limits with things. But there was a point in 2021 where I was having some health scares, which was causing panic attacks, and I had to completely step back from everything. And I think at that point in time, because I had been involved with the suicide prevention initiatives, and I knew about mental health, and I knew, you know, warning signs or coping mechanisms, like I was equipped with all the tools I needed to really deal with my panic attacks and get them under control. And they lasted for about six months, and I was doing all of the things that I had been taught to do in crisis, and I was able to pull out of it. So again, it was just something that helped me in the long run, but definitely taking care of yourself first. It's cliche, but you can't pour from an empty cup. So, you know, really setting boundaries with yourself and saying, Okay, I can only commit X amount of time, or I can only commit to doing this one event and just really being honest with yourself, you can't be everything for everyone. There's a like even, even doing one small thing for one organization is is a lot. It's a big deal to them. And. And you know, you don't, you don't have to take on everything, is, I guess, what I'm trying to say,
Collin 25:06
well, and you had mentioned earlier too, of even coming to them and saying, like, hey, well, this is what I can do, and that that's a skill that I am really bad at, because I assume that if somebody asks me to do something, I either need to take on everything or nothing and leave instead of coming back and going, you know, Hey, I can't coach Little League three times a week for the next three months, but I can do every Monday. That's what I can commit to, is that, does that work? And then you're, you're able to, you're being honest at that point what's manageable, and then also remembering that, like, if it's no longer manageable for me, we're all adults, I can say I can't do this anymore and it's going to be okay. And that's just from a personality perspective. I know that's really hard for me, because I'm like, No, I committed. I have to. It's 110%
Collin 26:01
or bust, but backing off and going no, like, if I'm not okay, I can't show up on just Monday, even just Mondays. If I'm really struggling and things are falling apart elsewhere, I have to make sure that I'm dedicating my time and attention to what's really important and the necessary things in my life, my family, right, making sure my business is running. And then go back out from there as I can, and I'm
Cheyenne 26:22
able, yeah, absolutely. And I mean, it is really important for you to be able to identify those, and I know it can, especially for us, because we're caretakers naturally. That's why we're in this business. We want to make sure everything is taken care of and identifying that is really the first step to being able to set a boundary with yourself. And I keep saying set a boundary with yourself, because if you don't have the boundaries with yourself, you're not going to have boundaries with these organizations or with other people. So just being really, really honest with yourself about what you can do, what you would like to do. And again, it doesn't necessarily have to be like all or nothing, like with guard against trafficking. We're only doing social media for them right now because that that's something that we're good at, that we can do. You know, they are going to different countries, like Brazil and all of these things, doing research and awareness that I don't have to do that. I can. They can send me the pictures, and I can just upload them to the social media page. So it's, it's really all about like, knowing your limits with things, because our our job in general, is very physically demanding and very time consuming. So you know, being able to look at your schedule and say, Well, what can I do with the time that I have available for myself, but also for this organization. So the biggest thing is setting the boundaries and having like, a clear goal of what you are able to offer the community.
Collin 28:17
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Cheyenne 29:00
I would say, really, look at your life experience and what, what is something that you needed growing up that wasn't available to you? And start there. So, you know, like I said, I lost my mom in 2016 to suicide. I was an adult at that time. However, I did not know that my mom struggled with mental health while I was growing up, and I identified Well, if we had had those resources, would something have been different? So that is, that is kind of how I went with that. And then, of course, looking at my life experience where, you know, my mom was very physically and mentally ill, I didn't have a lot of parent. Involvement, because my father was really focused on taking care of her. So I wanted to be involved in, like my kids childhood. I wanted to see what was going on at the school. I wanted to make those events happen, because those were events that I didn't necessarily get to attend. So that's why I got involved with the PTO. And it's really identifying your why with everything, with your business. Why am I doing the business with your volunteer opportunities? Why do I want to be involved with this organization? I have found that when you are passionate about something, that's really the journey you're supposed to go down, and it's going to be different for everybody.
Collin 30:49
Yeah, and I, you know, this conversation is like, again, like, what am I passionate about? The question is not, what's going to get me the most exposure to the most people with pets? I think that's really important. Because I think too often we view involvement again as I'm going to write a check and I'm going to sponsor that event, and that we, Meg and I have certainly had sat down. We've been approached to sponsor certain events, and we have to make that determination of, like, okay, is this in alignment with who we are, what our business is, and kind of, at the tail end as a Oh, are pet people going to be there? And most time, it doesn't matter if I'm passionate about it, it's something important that we're going to do and to trust and understand that like the more I'm giving back and out to my community, the more I'm helping others, the more that changes people's views of who we are, what we do, and they they see us differently, right? They know, oh yeah, man, those are those people you do become known and man, if I'm known for the best dog walks or the most passionate sponsor to you know for whatever, I'm still known, and that's still a benefit to us on the back end,
Cheyenne 32:00
yeah, and I will say too, that there are certain things are, like, certain people that I have met with walking with these organizations that have no idea I run a pet care business. They really only know me for these volunteer things. And there have been a few times where, like, I'll be in conversation with somebody, and they'll happen to overhear it, and they'll be like, Oh, you run a pet care business. Uncle Joe is looking for a dog walker, like, so it is something where you know your name is out there, but I still have people that have no idea what my business like about my business, and that's fine, because when, when I'm working with these organizations, I'm not necessarily promoting my business, but I'm promoting these organizations to the clients of my business, so they know what I'm involved in, and other people that are in a different realm, they might not necessarily know anything about the business, and again, I'm not there to promote it. I'm there for that specific reason, unless it's like a sponsoring event or something like that. But I just think, as business owners, we just we have a really amazing and unique opportunity to be able to give back, to be able to, you know, go to these events, sponsor these events, or really bring our passion into our field. And you know, we're talking about pouring into our cup, like I found that since I have kind of diversified all of the things, I'm putting my time and attention to, my burnout rate, it has almost completely diminished because I'm not 24/7 pet care. It's like, okay, I did all of my visits for today. My dogs are happy and fed. I can now focus on planning, you know, this walk, or reaching out to sponsor other sponsors for something. It really, I don't know, it gives your your brain something else to focus on, other than, you know, just the business. Yeah, yeah, if that makes sense,
Collin 34:23
it does because it's it does because our too often, we get wrapped in this, this mindset of that my business is my whole life, and therefore I am my my business. And the circle, gets drawn real tight around us, and it's just we're bound there, and everything is the business and there are certain that is certainly important through periods and times of our business, where I need to focus 100% on this. But, yes, but we are whole human beings. We I'll say this. We were whole human beings before. We started our business, and we will continue to be whole human beings after our business is long gone. And so what else is there about me that needs to be fed, that that I can and should be involved in, to nurture me as a whole person, like you said, to fill my cup. And as we find these it's more than just and because many times we're like, hey, find a hobby, right? Like, read a book,
Collin 35:26
take a bubble bath, okay, sure, but where can I pour more passion? What's going to feed me? Where am I going to see more results? And things like that around me, like, how can I make more of an impact? And when we step outside, it's also part of being self less as we're helping others something what name me one thing that's more gratifying than being able to help, genuinely help somebody with nothing else, like, right, nothing and so exactly now we have all these little outlets that come back to us tenfold because of of the of the feelings that we have around those
Cheyenne 36:04
Absolutely and it is too another really, really great benefit of it is just the word community, right? So especially as pet sitters and dog walkers, we're dealing with wonderful living creatures that can't necessarily have a conversation with us. I mean, they can, for those who know how to hear it and how to listen to them, but a lot of times, human interaction and in this field is very, very limited and it's very isolating, and that does really affect your mental health, whether we want to believe it or not, so having these outlets of community with these different organizations, or, you know, just people you you meet, doing these volunteer roles really, really helps to fill your cup. Yeah?
Collin 36:58
Absolutely, yeah. I mean, as a as an elder millennial, I often think of many times it's like, Man, where am I able to make new friends? Like, let's just talk about that. Like, like, where am I able to make more like, have connections with other humans? Well, running my business, it's like, okay, well, I've got my employees, well, that's a different kind of relationship. And my clients, yeah, I can have that connection there. But where else in my world do I see other human beings? Well, yeah, you know, if we're looking for connection, something bigger and better, greater than ourselves, let me get involved with community to help, and then I am, in turn, helped through that. And that is, you know, I think that gets to a little bit about, like, why this is so powerful for
Cheyenne 37:37
everybody involved. Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, there is this wonderful gentleman that I met. He he actually lives in Washington State, and I met him through the organization. He's at leadership conference every single year, and like him and I are just like, so, so tight when we see each other like, we always have conversations. We make it a point to, like, meet up and talk. I actually, I should be posting it soon. It's it's gotten away from me a little bit, but I interviewed him for our social media page for the suicide prevention and and he's just one of the greatest people I've ever met, so that that'll be up on the social soon. But the connections you meet with people that you would otherwise never have are just amazing. Like, I know people in Orlando. I know people from Phoenix, Arizona, Washington State, like it. A lot of these organizations, especially ones that are national, just have a reach That's so great. And you get to meet people that you never would if you weren't involved, right? Yeah, around
Collin 39:00
with, many things, with sometimes nothing in common except for the one thing that you're there for, but that's enough. And what a wonderful unifying thing to have to show up and go, Hey, we're all in this together to help and encourage other people, or, you know, work with pets and other whatever. That is right to come with one focus around other people and go, regardless of anything else, I know we've got this in common. Let's work together on this.
Cheyenne 39:24
Yeah, absolutely. And it's, I mean, it's the same thing with the PTO. It's, you know, those are people who are immediately in your community, their kids go to school with your kids. And some of these parents, I wouldn't know who they are if we were in the grocery store, if I wasn't involved with the PTO and these, I mean, some of them live three streets over, and we had no idea. And our kids have gone to school together for years. So, you know, it really it opens up. Up your world to different people with different experiences. I actually met at one of our walks in Charlotte County. I was chairing that, and I was there and talking to somebody, and she actually owns a pet treat business. She makes homemade pet treats. So like that was another connection that I got. We had, we had something in common with having a loss, and we're both in the pet industry. So it really you never know who you're going to meet with these things, and it does. It really expands your world.
Collin 40:43
Well, okay, so somebody's listening to this. This can seem daunting, right? Because you're really heavily involved. You're really far into this process of working with, you know, some ins and outs. You've been connected with these, these, you've been connected with these organizations for quite a while now, what would, what's something that somebody could do this week to start building that community and make these connections around them?
Cheyenne 41:07
Yeah, absolutely, I would say, really. I mean, like everything we do with business, with everyday life, figure out what your why is, and then just do a quick Google search. I mean, there's events for everything. You know, we have walks for diabetes. We have walks for cancer. You know, different types of social events like that. Look at what is available in your area, and see if there is an organization that is already doing awareness or research, and just shoot them an email. Ask what volunteer opportunities they have or what needs they have. Another thing like for us, being involved with the church. The church has a lot of different opportunities for volunteering, whether it be a food bank or, you know, tutoring a student after school. There are so many different things, if we just think a little outside the box, that we could get involved in, right? So I would say, just figure out your Why throw it into Google, see
Collin 42:27
what you come up with. Yes and be and I guarantee you, if you make contact, saying, Hi, I'm I'm interested in this, and I want to help nobody, no one's going to turn that away, right? You have an automatic right? They that is one of the biggest needs of these organizations, of nonprofits, is getting people to help and that are passionate about that, to see that through. And I guarantee you, you're going to get a yes, can we? Can you start today? Right? It's good get
Cheyenne 42:59
on that phone call real quick, I will say, though it was really interesting, and it might have just been the timing of it, because it was back in 2020 and things were very slow. I reached out to 22 or 23 different animal rescues in 2020 and I only heard back from one, yeah, and that, that was satchels. Satchels reached back out to me, and they were like, Oh my gosh, you would align perfectly with our mission. Yes, come in and we can figure out how we can partner. So there, there is, and there was one other organization that I had reached out to that never wrote me back, that wasn't involved in the pet industry. So there are going to be times where you don't hear back, and that's fine. Don't be discouraged about it. Just keep reaching out to other places, or, you know, follow back up with them. I mean, a lot of times these organizations, because they are volunteer based, they might not have somebody that's checking the emails every day. If it's something where you don't hear back, you can give them a call and see if anybody saw the email. Or, you know, if they have a location, go into the location, right?
Collin 44:25
So, well, Cheyenne, I want, I want to also, you know, given that your relationship with the AFSP and that pet sitting and dog walking is a an industry that really struggles with, with mental health, with that loneliness, with that lack of connection with other people. I did want to also just ask you listeners who are here, what are some things that they should be aware of, what resources are around them for help if they need that, and how can they maybe help a friend who's in the situation that they're concerned or worried?
Cheyenne 45:00
About, yeah, okay, so especially, like, like you said, with us being isolated and not a lot of human interaction and stuff if somebody is struggling with their mental health, there are a lot of great organizations. Of course, my organization only focuses on the suicide prevention part of it, which really encompasses mental health. But there is a nonprofit called Nami n a m i, they are national, and they have a lot of good resources as far as help lines, if it's just talking to somebody, of course, if it is something where you're more into, you know, a deeper depression and very on the edge, there is the 988, crisis line. That was actually a bill that I helped get passed back in 2020, and the crisis line is 988, and then I will connect you with a trained counselor to get you through whatever crisis you're going through. Awesome.
Collin 46:06
Thank you. Thank you very much, Cheyenne. And I'll have those links in the show notes for those who want to get connected with you. Pick your brain on more of this and how to walk that balance, and you know a little bit more of the intricate details here. How can they get connected and follow along with everything that you're involved in?
Cheyenne 46:21
Yeah, absolutely. So I have a contact form on my website that anybody can use, and it's shiny day pet sitting.com, on all the social media sites, Facebook, Instagram, it's at shiny day pet care. Awesome.
Collin 46:40
Well, again, I will have those links as well so people can get connected and follow along and see all the cool stuff that you're doing. Cheyenne, thank you so much for coming on today, encouraging us to flex that superpower that we have as a business, to do more and help more, and then to to make a big impact in our communities. I'm so appreciative of this, and it's a very good reminder to be looking for those things. So thank you, Cheyenne, absolutely.
Cheyenne 47:06
Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be on I
Collin 47:09
love when Cheyenne asked the question, what is the point of having a business without giving back as pet care professionals, we're already deeply connected to our communities. But what if we went a step further? Giving back here doesn't always mean writing a huge check. It can look like sponsoring a school event, volunteering with a local rescue, or using your newsletter to highlight important causes. When when we give back, we're not just running a business, we're becoming part of something bigger, and that ripple effect is real, stronger client relationships, deeper personal fulfillment and a lasting impact. As we approach this holiday and Christmas season, what's one way your business is giving back? We want to thank today's sponsors, time to pet and pet perennials for making the show possible, and we really want to thank you so much for listening. We hope you have a very Merry Christmas and we'll be back again soon. Oh,
