697: From Isolation to Industry with the Florida Pet Services Association
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What happens when pet sitters come together to shape the future of their industry? In this episode, Collin talks with Savanna Westwood and Charan Favazza from the Florida Pet Services Association about professionalism, education, and advocacy in pet care. They discuss why small business owners must think beyond daily tasks and understand legal, operational, and industry-wide responsibilities. The conversation highlights the power of community in overcoming isolation and raising standards. They also share insights into their upcoming summit and how it equips pet care professionals with real, actionable tools.
Main topics:
Industry professionalism and standards
Small business legal responsibilities
Hiring and employee challenges
Value of networking community
Actionable conference takeaways
Main takeaway: “We are not just pet sitters and dog walkers—we are small business owners.”
This should change how we approach everything we do. It means understanding your numbers, your legal responsibilities, and your role in the industry.
It means stepping up, not just showing up.
Because when you start thinking like a business owner, you stop reacting—and start building.
And that’s where real growth happens.
About our guests:
Savanna Westwood is the owner of The Savvy Sitter Pet Sitting and Dog Walking in Orlando, Florida, and serves as President and co-founder of the Florida Pet Services Association. She is passionate about raising industry standards through education, professionalism, and advocacy.
Charan Favazza is the owner of Rusty’s Furry Companions in Lutz, Florida, and serves as Secretary of the Florida Pet Services Association. With nearly a decade in business, she is deeply committed to networking, education, and helping other pet care professionals avoid common mistakes and grow sustainably.
Links:
Florida Pet Services Association: https://flpetassociation.org
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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
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
Florida Pet Services Association, pet sitting, dog walking, professionalism, education, networking, small business, industry standards, PAM rock law, business operations, summit, action items, client trust, business growth, pet care industry.
SPEAKERS
Collin, Charan Favazza, Savanna
Collin 00:00
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 Ty and pet and pet marketing unleashed, connection and professionalism continue to be one of the key distinguishing factors of our industry and are important to us as a business, because it impacts our clients, it impacts us, and also impacts our employees, if we have those as well. And at the center of this just makes the entire industry so much better. And one of the one of the amazing organizations that we have, and we're actually talking to with him right now. We're talking with the president Savannah Westwood and the Secretary Sharon favaza from the Florida Pet Services Association are on the call today to talk about the association, where they've come since they've started, where they're headed, and a little bit about their summit coming up later this year. I am so excited to be speaking with both of you, Savannah, I know you've been on the podcast a couple times. I'm gonna have links in the show notes to those episodes. People can listen to more about that and the association as a whole. But for those who aren't familiar, could you please tell us a little bit more about who you are and what
Savanna 01:05
you do? Sure, thank you for having us again. Collin, it's always a pleasure. My name is Savannah Westwood. I am the owner and operator of the savvy sitter pet sitting and dog walking LLC in beautiful Orlando, Florida, and I am the current president and one of the co founders of the Florida Pet Services Association,
Collin 01:22
awesome and Sharon.
Charan Favazza 01:26
Charan favaza,
Collin 01:28
there you go. And sure. And Charan, tell us about who who you are and what you do. Absolutely.
Charan Favazza 01:35
I'm Charan favaza, and I am the owner and operator of Rosie's career companions located in the lutes area. We've been in business for almost 10 years, and I just recently found the association a couple of years ago through a friend, and I honestly have just dived right into it, because the mission of it is phenomenal. I love it.
Collin 02:02
Why
Collin 02:02
was it important for you to be involved in this
Charan Favazza 02:05
one being is, I'm a big networker. I believe in networking and building a community with business owners, people who are also in this industry. And that's honestly what has helped build my business, is building those connections, and I love also educating and telling people don't do this, because that's really not going to work for you. Trust me, I've already done it and it failed miserably, so don't do it for your business. So I love that kind of interaction as well.
Collin 02:42
Savannah, you were one of the original founders of this. How many years has the service, the Florida Services Association, been around?
Savanna 02:48
Technically, about five. I think we all started creating it in 2021, so just after covid, and this year for Jacksonville, will be summit number four for us. So how, how how has it changed over the years? I really hasn't changed that much, honestly, other than, like, the mission, I think, no, not the mission. But, you know, the mission has been the same, like, we're wanting to promote education, professionalism, raising the bar, you know, as far as professional pet care in the industry, and especially for the state of Florida. I mean, that's, you know, one of our goals is to make it, you know, accessible to all businesses in the state of Florida. But also, you know, people are welcome to come and visit the great state and the Sunshine State of Florida.
Collin 03:37
Sharon, I know that one of the things that you're really passionate about is that the pet industry is built on two things, consistency and heart. How do you see your role in the association helping further those two things?
Charan Favazza 03:51
Well, the heart is is huge. And one being is because we do put everything into our business, and I mean the blood, sweat, the tears and the additional crying because you're so exhausted and learning how to I don't want to say balance, because when you're a business owner in this there's Really no actual balance. It's more of a you need to make it happen, not find the balance, but make it happen. And having that heart for yourself and also for your family and your friends, but also your staff and understanding that is really big, and this association does help you kind of maneuver that and figure out how that is important for your business, for your staff, and also, obviously, for your family and friends.
Savanna 04:51
And I'll add on to what Charan is saying as well is, you know, I think we've all acknowledged that being in this industry can be kind of quite isolating. So it's always good to kind of connect with people who understand the struggles, and speaking of heart as well is kind of compared to other Association. We are a 501, c3, so a nonprofit, so we are putting our time and efforts, and you know, financial money into, you know, making this happen. And you know, our connections and contacts and seeing how they can help us, you know, continue with the the summits and growing the platform for fpsa
Collin 05:31
Well, and that's that, you know, that's an interesting part of this, in that a lot of people may have complaints or may have issues with the industry at large, but you and your organization, like you people gather together, focus behind this mission, like actually doing something about that. Like, why? Why you? Like, why not just wait for somebody else to take and lead this and push this and, you know, work on this. Why was it important for both of you to be doing this?
Savanna 05:57
You want to answer Charan, or should I?
Charan Favazza 06:00
Well, for for me, I am impatient, um, and I am glad that this organization actually started when it did, because we did need to really figure out a lot of things, especially in the state of Florida, and knowing the changes that are happening rapidly, and because of me, you know, wanting to gather that information and then sharing it with others is is huge, because, again, there's enough business for everybody, and if everybody is on the same page and understands what's happening, we all flourish.
Savanna 06:48
Yeah, and adding on to that, I think you guys mentioned this in one of your podcasts, was the march 11 Congress meeting that the basically governments and, you know, businesses are stepping up and saying, Hey, these are some of our problems. And one of the big goals for us, and things that we want to try to focus on is like, if we don't govern ourselves, who will, and we don't want a government entity coming in and say, These are the policies and procedures you need to have, you know, if, especially they don't know the pet care industry like, I guess we're a unique industry. And, you know, not everyone has to follow the same model, but there should be some like, at least standards, like psi standard, global standards, that they just released, I think, late last year, beginning of this year. So we are seeing it definitely a progression of, you know, here are some best practices, standards, you know, we think, I read that the industry as a whole is a little over a 500 billion with a B industry, we see a lot of private entities like Blackstone and whatnot coming in and investing in the pet care industry, purchasing vet practices, other small pet sitting and dog walking companies, boarding facilities, so the you know, money talks, yeah,
Collin 08:18
yeah. And for any who are not familiar, I'm going to have a link to that Senate hearing that we're talking about here, because basically it was about the pet industry. But here are the people that were invited, somebody who manufactured treats, a veterinarian and a boarding and daycare facility. We weren't at the table for that. And while it's, you know, take a step back and Okay, well, who would have been what they would have said? What standard standards would they have upheld? Like, there's a lot of conversation there to be asking. But on the other hand, it's going if we're not at the table, if nobody's looking or talking to us, we do get lumped in, right? And there's a misunderstanding. And so having opinions about the industry is really important, and sure, and I love how you said that you're impatient, right? It's this, like we got to do, like, it's, it's part of doing something now. And because when, when I spent a little bit of time working at the state level in the government, and when they had an issue, they would, they would try and find who is the expert on this topic, like they try and do their due diligence. And if they didn't, if they didn't find anybody, they just made it up. And if we don't show up in something as a Google search, then they're just going to make it up, or say, well, they must just be like, like, XYZ. And this is, I think it's important to note too, that when we talk about these qualities and standards, it's not just about saying, okay, these are exclusionary. No, no. We're not saying, Okay, here's the cut off, and nobody else can come up here. We're making we want them, so that everybody can rise into that, and everybody can can has a chance to meet those so that, so that pets and the people are cared for like we all want.
Charan Favazza 09:56
Yeah, yeah. And that's, that's what's. Really important also with this organization, is really bringing all of that information to to people like us, because, again, we're so just, we gotta go take care of that animal. Oh, I've my my staff just called out now I'm I've gotta do this and the finding the time to make sure that we're aware of being known and being able to understand what is happening. You know, in in government, you know just all those things that they're throwing at us, and that's, again, why I love this organization, is because they really do help us do that as not just owners, but just being in the industry, and that's really important for us, that we need to make time to do
Savanna 10:51
we did. I think we must acknowledge the thing in the room, that we are not just pet sitters and dog walkers, we are small business owners. So that's we have a small business owners, whether you have employees or ICS. And I, I have to say, I've seen a big transition from ICS to employees that run businesses that, you know, we have to follow the labor laws and, you know, workman's comp and things of that nature. So we're not just pet sitters and dog walkers and solopreneurs, most of us without our small business owners, with employees and policies and procedures and insurance, and what laws do we have to follow, either on a county, town or state level, that we have to do to make sure that we are protected, our staffs protected, you Know, and you know, the our clients. So
Collin 11:42
no, I'm really glad you brought that up, Savannah, because oftentimes we can focus on, okay, are there laws that regulate how I walk a dog?
Savanna 11:49
No,
Collin 11:49
no. Okay, good. I'm not needed here. Okay, fine. I don't need to worry about this. And and there's also, there's that next step of going, no no. But let me talk to you about a business license, right? It's not a license to walk dogs. It's a license to operate a business. What's required for that, and the confusion around that, and then, like you said, the taxes and at what level, you know, I hired my first employee. Am I required to have workers compensation with them? Or, or is my area one where I can have five before that triggers? Or what's that trigger for me? And and all those, those are actually, those are regular regulations around business operations, not just dog walking pets. Well, to answer
Savanna 12:25
your question, it's five for the state of Florida, five you have to have five employees, or throw that out there for workman's compensation. So
Collin 12:37
yeah, but it's things like that, that that like Charan you were talking about, hey, I'm so busy doing I just filled in this thing. Or I'm going from networking to network, or I'm doing the stock walking. I've got to do an overnight, and then I got to get up early. I'm taking this phone call, and I've got to get this thing out, and I'm trying to order this. That's the kind of stuff that falls to the wayside because, oh, it's not important, quote, unquote, not important right now it is until it isn't sorry. It isn't until it is where suddenly somebody's injured, or suddenly my county is talking to me because or my city's talking to me because they see me operating, or they post it online and they don't see XYZ on their paperwork. Like, we don't think that kind of stuff happens, but it does, and then there's also just this, okay, well, there's the best practices for dog walking and pet sitting or groomers or overnights or, you know, or trainers, there's all that stuff. But what are the best practices just to operate a business and that that's a conversation that we need to be more open to having than just the how do i pill a cat? Right? That's, that's a different kind of conversation.
Charan Favazza 13:45
Yes, yeah, it absolutely. And the thing is, is that I'm noticing more as I'm learning more. I mean, again, business and all of this. And when people are asking, you know, on Facebook, hey, I need a dog walker for my dog. And it's kind of like, okay, this is where, instead of just promoting my business, I'm going to actually help this person and educate them on the difference of what you're looking for, the kind of questions you need to ask and why there's going to be a price difference versus the kid down the block that's going to do it for $10 versus the professional that's going to charge 30, $35 and then additional pet, you know what I mean, and knowing how to say that comes from learning from others, by networking and learning that, which is, again, why it's just so important to build that community.
Savanna 14:40
What's that saying all tie all ties, raise all boats. So
Collin 14:45
rising tide, lift all boats. Yeah.
Savanna 14:47
So
Collin 14:49
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Collin 15:10
If you're looking for new pet setting software, give time to pet a try. Listeners of our show will save 50% off your first three months by visiting tie into pet.com/confessional well, and I love on your you guys have a phrase on your website where you say that you know you saw space and you wanted to vibe off each other, right, to support one another, to learn from one another. But that's that can be scary, because when you have that kind of conversation, you're putting yourself in a position of the I don't know, or I might not be I have an opinion, but it might not be right. How do you encourage people to show up to the association, willing to learn and maybe put their guard down a little bit?
Savanna 15:52
I i My stance on business practice and in life is you should always be open minded and willing to learn. And I think coming into any type of association, you you don't know everything, and with our industry, it is constantly changing. It's not set in stone. So great example of this is last year, in July, we had the PAM rock law passed, which basically advises, you know, if your dog has a bite history, or, you know, has any type of aggressive tendencies to where it's harmed a person or an animal that you know, the business owner, not business pet owner, has have insurance policy training. The the animal has to be spayed or neutered, microchipped. There have to be warning signs on the fence line that Beware of Dog. You know, circumstances are kind of looked at as far as what the situation occurred. You know, was this outside the home? Was this inside the home? Was the dog running loose? Now, in this case situation, what the where the law was named after Pam rock was she was a mail carrier that got attacked by two pit bulls and killed so, like, where does that fall for us as business owners? I know, you know my policy is, we don't have a we don't take dogs with a bite history, you know, that's just dangerous for anybody involved. So I'm not sure, and I'm not sure what your policy in that regard. I know you and I were talking about behavioral things, you know,
Collin 17:18
long
Savanna 17:18
ago. So you know, it's one of those things where you have to come in with an open mind, because things are constantly changing. And, you know, I think, you know, as a nonprofit, we can't have a certain stance on what is right, what's wrong is wrong, but we can provide you with the education to make that decision for your business. So,
Charan Favazza 17:39
yeah, my policy is a little bit different, just because my my business is more geared towards behavior modifications and all that. Because my staff has degrees, we've got certificates and behavior I mean, we have a lot of things, and that's how I've learned with what that means. So when somebody says, my dog bit somebody, we go in a little bit more and go, do we need to change this more into a behavior consultation, or is this definitely not going to work for us because of the situation? So we dive a little bit more into that, and then I make a decision whether it's safe or not
Collin 18:24
well, and that also now that law, now it changes the kind of questions that you would have to ask, right? Okay, you have my history? Is that registered? Do you have that insurance? Do you have the signs? Do I know what to look for? How am I going to have that conversation with that client? Now me knowing the law and what the requirements are for here and how to keep them safe and make sure that they are educated, because that, you know, and that's just one of those, those things of man, I just wanted to walk dogs. I didn't, didn't expect I'd be here in this position trying to interpret state law and state statutes and how it applies to me. And I was
Savanna 18:59
thinking to myself, like, how does this affect a dog walker? Like, what happens if the dog gets loose? You know, are you responsible as the business owner to have that insurance, or is it the pet owner? You know, that's a great question. I mean,
Collin 19:13
yeah,
Collin 19:14
yeah. And that's why, you know an association, especially at the state level, is so critical, because these are, there's national implications, there's state implications, there's County, there's city, all the way down to like, imagine this giant funnel of regulation coming down and sitting right on top of me and my little bitty business. And I have to understand how that impacts me and and that's that is the role of the business owner, of it, not not saying, Well, I don't think it applies to me, so I'll be fine. Instead going, let me actually understand this. Let me ask some questions, and importantly, where I think about this more and more every day, what room do I need to be in to get this answered? What? P. People need to be lined up against the wall so I can have a conversation and and now I need to get in that room. I need to find those people.
Savanna 20:06
Yeah, you need to find the people first, and you may get a different answer from each person as well. So
Collin 20:14
yeah, yeah, but that allows you to at least start that conversation and know that you're looking and know that you're trying,
Savanna 20:20
trying. Yes.
Collin 20:21
I mean, how So, how do you as an association, balance the like, the national perspective with the state perspective? Because you are a state level organization, and there are big national conversations and but also, you know, state level conversations, how do you walk through balancing how you cover what you cover, who you invite to the conference, and that all those decisions,
Collin 20:47
you might
Savanna 20:49
want to rephrase that question. That was a big that was a big question,
Collin 20:55
how do you balance what to address as an Association, the National versus, like, the state level stuff Well, and, and how you stay, how you know what you stick to when you're talking about various topics.
Savanna 21:08
Well, I think that's a, it's an open door policy. Or, you know, we always have to be open to taking in information, you know what, but also looking at what one state is doing versus another, you know. And definitely like we were saying, like we are a state level entity, you know, and we have to focus on what the state of Florida requires, both, you know, by law, by business, and you know what, and the struggles that we face here, you know, with weather for a great example. But it's you. We're still young, but and also looking at the aspect of we are, the industry itself is constantly changing. So like I said, the PAM rock law passed in July, the March 11 conference or Congress meeting happened, or in this year, March 11. So I think it's, you know, watching and observing as far as what, what entities are moving, what laws are passing, like, I hate, I jokingly call the industry. It's a little bit of the wild, wild west. You know, we don't have a lot of laws and things in place. You know, as a pet business, as far as, like, how to walk a dog, as you so kindly point out, Collin, but you know, who do we need to talk to to kind of get these things in place? So, I mean, we can, we can mold it, like you were saying, like if we the entities, does not exist, who they go to, you know, as far as on a government level. Like you, you go, you kind of make, I hate saying, like you pull it out of your pull it out of the air, basically, and stick together and see if it works. But,
Charan Favazza 22:50
and I would definitely like to add to that, is how we also start, you know, going off of what people have said at previous conferences, and listening to some of those conversations when we've done that open networking at the last summit here in Tampa, and then the one in Naples. And I can only speak on this because those are the two that I've been to. Is listening to those conversations. And the struggles that they're dealing with, and then bringing that into into this organization, going like, you know, maybe this is something that we really need to start focusing on for, whether that be Florida or nationally, is we really take into what is also what we've also gone through, because some of us have been in business for, you know, over 10 years, and it's I really want to help that person who is starting out right now and help them and educate them, and provide these webinars that the organization is doing, or the newsletters that we're that we're doing, and really making sure that we're giving them that information for them, so that they can have all of that and then go based on what works for their business. And again, that's where that heart comes in, is making sure we're giving them all that information and and figuring out what type of topics we should have for the summit, to make sure that we are providing those answers for them.
Savanna 24:31
And on top of that, like education is important for obviously, you know anybody, but if I think we were talking about this before we started recording, is we're educating our clients, you know, if you So, great example, because I just had this conversation with somebody, is, you know, overnights. You know, minimum rate for Florida, as far as for hourly, minimum rate is $15 will be coming up to $15 an hour, yeah, if you have employees, you have to pay them. Minimum $15 an hour. If they're doing an overnight stay, obviously 40 hours, you know, is the time that you can they can work within that range, and then they hit overtime. So if you're doing a 12 hour stent, that's what, $180 for $15 an hour. And that's not including anything that the company adds on for taxes and insurance purposes. So, like, we see people that are charging like, 75 $100 $30 for an overnight, and you can get in trouble for that, you know, potentially. So it
Collin 25:34
just takes one complaint to the Department of Labor, right? And that's where inquiries start. Hey, I don't think this is actually appropriate. What's that? What's I actually
Savanna 25:41
did a little bit of research, and I'm going to follow up on this, is if you hire somebody independently, you know, as an independent contractor or whatnot, and you're telling them what to do, how to do it, when to do it, you know, you are technically an employee of the household, so the household owner is now responsible for making sure that your taxes are potentially done. You're paying paid fairly. Again, we're approaching $15 per minimum for the state of Florida, because if someone files their taxes and say, I worked for this person for X amount of dollars and hours, and they're underpaid the minimum wage. You know, the government want their pound of flesh. Yeah. So
Collin 26:36
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Savanna 27:42
I think this year is, I think, a little bit more of a standout year, because we have more than half of our speakers are, you know, small business focus, not just pet care industry people. So I don't recall any previous conferences that have had, for a great example, an attorney present or speaking. So that, I think, is a big standout for us, because we have someone that is familiar in contract and the law. And you know that, you know, besides having your own personal attorney, I don't know where else you can get access to an attorney at a conference.
Collin 28:24
So yeah,
Savanna 28:27
but we, we want to provide, you know, like how I was saying earlier, like, yes, we're pet sitting and dog walking companies, but we also are a small business. So we want to provide, I think, more small business focused speakers, which I know we have somebody talking about AI and how to work with that, with your small business PR and media relations as well. Again, an attorney. What else am I missing? Charan,
Charan Favazza 28:58
Oh, gosh. I mean, honestly, the lineup for this summit is amazing because, again, it is more focused on that small business which we we were really wanting to hit, that for people in this industry is get out of the I'm just walking a dog. I'm just taking care of the cat, or, you know, here's the hamster I'm taking care of. You are a business, and with that comes a lot of weight on the shoulders, and understanding what that is. Having a small business is really important. And honestly, when I first started my business, I wish the summit that is happening in August, what happened when I started my business, because that would have set me a lot. I would have been already on like Cloud Nine in year three, versus the hair pulling and the crown. And why didn't I know this, I just wasted three grand on this marketing, and it was a waste, you know, kind of thing. So I am. I'm loving the lineup we have for August
Collin 30:14
well, and one of the goals that I know you have for every summit has been you want to basically make sure that people leave with something that they can like that action item, right? The thing that, how? How do you? How do you do that? How do you, because I've been to so many conferences over the years and walking away with this action item or something already done like that's a pretty big goal to have as a conference. So how do you work and make sure people actually accomplish that?
Savanna 30:45
We try to ask the speakers to come with, you know, some sort of, like tangible, like worksheet, or like next steps. So, you know, we always ask the speakers as well to make it relative to the audience, especially in the state of Florida, one of the requirements we've asked, or one of our speakers, is, can you relate this to the landscape of Florida businesses? So make it very applicable, like we do provide journals. So you know, if people don't want to bring a laptop and do the the handwriting and, you know, take the notes and all that fun stuff to you can pick and choose what you want to do, obviously, as a business owner and but we're also providing you with the knowledge that, you know, these are things that you can do and can come away with. But you know, we do ask the speakers to potentially provide some sort of, you know, informational sheet, like action steps, as you would say, you know, that's one of our goals as the association is like, we want you to come away with these are some things that you want to do for your business, and here's how you do it, you know?
Collin 31:51
Yeah, well, I think that's top down, but also people showing up ready to do that, that this is not a and it's an approach that we should have always for our our businesses is and conferences and information. Basically, it's a how, how is this going to impact me? Okay, I pay 1000s of dollars to make this happen, whether that was in travel or whatever, right? I know you guys work to keep it as affordable as possible. And I paid money to be here. Said no to stuff. I had to decline things. It was a, you know, I sacrificed to be here. I need to make sure that I am ready to actually implement what I'm here for, because otherwise, then it's kind of like it is kind of a waste to us. And not saying that everything has to be actionable immediately, but I need to find something to make this worth my time.
Charan Favazza 32:39
And I also think the other reason why that's such a huge mission for us as the organization is we are you, and we want to make sure that it's within that realm of we understand exactly what you're going through. We're not just sitting here and thinking, we know what you're going through. It's no, we've done it. We did it. We have now, here's where we are, and that's why, again, I'm I'm an action person. How can I be better? Help me to understand so I can take it away because I am declining work. I'm taking the time to come here. I'm paying money out give me what I need to then go and implement into my business. And I think again, that's where it comes into WE ARE YOU? We get it and having that tangible understanding and taking it, because it is a lot of information that you get being able to then go home. And I always tell people when you come back from a conference, take some time to just obviously get things together, but put it on your calendar couple of days after the conference to really look at the information that you learned, so that you can focus on the notes that you took, and then figure out where I start, what's number one, what's number two, and so on.
Savanna 34:14
And I have to acknowledge Charan, like something very unique about her is she was an attendee for two summits, and now she's on the board. So this is somebody who's attended the conference, seen the value, and wants to provide, you know, education for others, you know, I think. And as Charan was saying, like we are you. This is a nonprofit run by pet sitting and dog walking, or pet small pet business owners, you know, for small pet business owners, yeah, so,
Collin 34:45
yeah, yeah, it's finding that, hey, you know this is beneficial to us too. And finding, finding this, this, this, this information is, is important. And I think that just speaks to the so. Not kind of the ubiquity of a lot of the problems and concerns that we have of of hey, if one person is experiencing this, or if one person has thought this, or if one person has asked this question, it's, it's, it's worth it to us to take this on. It's worth it to to continue finding these resources for people
Savanna 35:21
you don't know what you don't
Collin 35:23
know well, so tell us about the conference. When is it? What? Where do we where do we go to learn more information? And who's the, who's, one of the speakers that's going to be there that you're like, really, really excited about.
Savanna 35:43
Okay, the summit itself is August 13 through the 15th in Jacksonville, Florida. We are actually doing another Humane Society visit. We did that for Tampa last year, and it was a big success, I would say, because we got the chance to volunteer with some of the animals as well, which people adored. We have people working with dogs and cats. You can find, you know, information on the speakers and the summit itself, and tickets will be on there as well at the Florida pet association.org and that is FL pet association.org I'm sure Collin, you will have the links in the summary you always do. I think so some of the speakers we're actually speaking with someone right now. Collin, was that? Was that the hook for you? Collin, yes,
Collin 36:41
hi, yeah. No, I am very excited to be there speaking about niching in businesses and the importance that that plays in the industry, and kind of how that has changed even over the last five years. So I think that it's going to be very exciting topic as always.
Savanna 36:56
And you're going to also be our MC as well. So,
Collin 37:00
ah, yes, I am as well. So I that I am also equally as excited about getting to take part and talk more. I know you guys were like, Who do we? Who can we have to fill room or stop talking? Love it.
Savanna 37:21
Charan, is there a speaker that you are excited to see or learn from? So
Charan Favazza 37:26
speaking on the whole niche, and really figuring that out, I've been playing with possibly doing something along those lines and or at least helping me bring in more business, and I want to bring in more cats, because I love cats, and I'm actually very excited to hear what Shannon and Grace have to say about cats and having a cat business, and whether you want to niche into that or just bringing in more cat clients. So I'm actually very interested in what they have to say.
Collin 38:03
No, it's a great lineup. You guys did a fantastic job getting getting everybody in together. It's going to be in beautiful, sunny Florida. So
Collin 38:12
do
Savanna 38:12
you have a favorite speaker that you're looking forward to hearing? Collin,
Collin 38:16
oh, man. Well, I actually am very excited about the lawyer who's going to be speaking, but I know Maris talking about, you know, social media, marketing, advertising stuff, that's going to be fantastic as well. So that's going to
Collin 38:28
be great. Yeah, yeah.
Collin 38:31
All of them, all
Charan Favazza 38:34
of them, all of them in their own is going to be amazing. Yeah?
Collin 38:38
Was the right answer. That
Savanna 38:40
I would have to say, like, this is, I think, a very diverse group of people. So we have everything from PR, attorney, sales, social media, AI and all that fun stuff. So and we do have some other prominent speakers. Speaking of that, you do have the opportunity to upgrade your ticket and have a kind of a private session, or a smaller group session with Doug Keeling, with positive hiring Academy. So if you're looking to hire and retain employees like this, is the opportunity to kind of get that accessibility to Doug during that time. So I think that would be a great opportunity. You know, I think we all are struggling with hiring and retaining employees at some point or another, so I think that's a good opportunity to get your money's worth. So yeah,
Collin 39:30
yes, Yep, absolutely. I know that happens that kicks off kind of in the beginning there for that, for that before that kind of a pre conference thing. So lots of exciting stuff that you guys have going on with this.
Savanna 39:43
Yeah, and I'm excited. I know this was popular for Naples Beth from PFI coming down, and they did that survey as far as what's going on in the industry. And we specifically asked her, I'm like, can you get the Florida data for us? And everyone ate it up. So,
Charan Favazza 39:59
yeah. Yeah, that was great information.
Collin 40:02
Well, Savannah Charan, I so thankful for both of you for coming on the show today, sharing about the association the current conference, but also the things that you are working on behind the scenes and supporting the industry and everything that you do. I just can't thank you enough. I'll have links in the show notes people can get, check out the summit, check out the everything that the association does, and get connected that way. This has been an absolute, absolute pleasure for speaking with both of you today. Thank you so much.
Charan Favazza 40:32
Thanks for having us. Collin, thank you, Collin, thanks for having us.
Collin 40:36
I really love the reminder during our conversation that we are not just pet sitters and dog walkers. We are small business owners, and what does that change? How does that change? How we interact with our clients, how we approach our business, how we hire, how we structure our services, how we price, what we get involved in, and how we professionalize our business. Well, the fact is, is that it changes everything business is business, and as we look to grow, expand our knowledge, our expertise, our experience, or maybe grow our business and scale our operations, be about doing business and learn what it means to be a business owner and take that and apply it to your dog walking, your pet sitting, your exotic animal care, whatever that is, apply it to your business. It's one of the fastest ways to actually earn trust from clients. Is when they see professionalism executed at the business level. Gives them a lot of peace of mind. We want to thank today's sponsors, time to pet and pet marketing Unleashed for making the show possible, and we really want to thank you so much for listening. We hope you have a wonderful rest of your week, and we'll be back again soon. Foreign.
