713: Leadership, Legacy, and the Next Chapter of PSI with Adam & Rachel Foster
Critter to turn insights into action. Use ‘PSC20’ for 20% off your first three months
Time to Pet. Go totimetopet.com/confessional for 50% off your first 3 months.
What happens when the leadership of one of the pet care industry’s most influential organizations changes hands? In this episode, Collin sits down with Adam and Rachel Foster, the new owners of Pet Sitters International, to discuss their backgrounds in technology, entrepreneurship, and pet care. They explore how technology is reshaping the industry, why relationships remain at the heart of professional pet sitting, and the challenges of competing in an increasingly app-driven marketplace. The conversation also dives into succession planning, the future of independent pet care businesses, and the importance of preserving industry standards. Adam and Rachel share their vision for honoring PSI’s legacy while helping it evolve for the next generation of pet care professionals.
Main topics:
Technology and pet care
Independent business advantages
PSI leadership transition
Industry growth and maturity
Succession planning strategies
Main takeaway: “I think the independent business owners are the ones who are going to win.”
That’s a bold statement in an industry filled with apps, automation, and growing competition. But Adam and Rachel Foster, the new owners of PSI, believe that what separates independent pet care businesses isn’t technology—it’s trust, relationships, and genuine expertise. While apps can make booking convenient, they can’t replace the peace of mind that comes from knowing a professional is caring for your pet. As the pet care industry continues to mature, the businesses that invest in professionalism, education, and exceptional client relationships will be well positioned for the future.
About our guests: Adam and Rachel Foster are the new owners of Pet Sitters International (PSI), the world’s largest educational association for professional pet sitters. Adam brings extensive experience in customer success, business operations, and entrepreneurship through acquisition, while Rachel has a background in software development, project management, and pet technology. Together, they combine expertise in technology, leadership, and small business growth with a shared passion for pets and professional pet care. Their goal is to honor PSI’s legacy while helping prepare the organization and its members for the future.
Links:
Give us a call!(636) 364-8260
Follow us on: Instagram and Facebook
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
Email us at: feedback@petsitterconfessional.com
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
Pet Sitters International, Adam Foster, Rachel Foster, pet care industry, technology adoption, independent business owners, professionalism, client relationships, succession planning, pet care education, commoditization, pet tech, business growth, industry maturity, customer advocacy.
SPEAKERS
Adam Foster, Collin, Rachel Foster
Collin 00:02
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 Critter. Today, we're interviewing the new owners and CEOs of Pet Sitters International, Adam and Rachel Foster. Before we get started here, I do want to note that PSI was a past sponsor, and is a current sponsor of the podcast. However, this conversation with them is outside of that sponsorship, and just getting to know and understand who the new owners of PSI are, and the vision that they have moving forward. The future of the pet care industry, and how the industry is maturing, is a topic of conversation that a lot of business owners are focused on these days, particularly when it contains to how our businesses are functioning and the health of people coming into the industry and the education that we have in all of that stuff, and one of the institutions of the industry is Pet Sitters International, long loved and beloved industry focal point, and there's been a recent change over at Pet Sitters International, and so today I am thrilled to have Adam and Rachel Foster, new CEOs of Pet Sitters International, on the show to talk about their entrance into the industry and what they're excited about, and where things are headed, because they brought their magic eight ball with them today. So I'm really excited to hear about that, but so for those who are listening and haven't heard the news, or aren't familiar with both of you, could you please tell us a little more about who you are and a little bit about your backgrounds?
Adam Foster 01:29
Yeah, so thanks for answer, Collin. So, I'm Adam. I have a decade plus career, really working in servicing customers and really being super focused on if I'm working with customers who are using products of mine and they need it really to run their business, how can I make sure that they are getting the most out of it, and when they are being kind of reliant on us to run their business, how can I make sure to get the most out of it. How can I make sure that I'm advocating for customers and getting them the things that they need, and really managing just some of those complex business relationships? That's really the core of my professional background. And you know, about almost two years ago now, that's crazy. Decided to make a shift into entrepreneurship, and you know, as I'm sure a lot of people can relate, as this pet sitters is just sick of corporate America and W-2 life, and just thought we're, we're in California, so we worked in Silicon Valley, and just dealing with a lot of the stuff there, just thinking, you know, I think there's something else, and I think I can use my talents elsewhere. I knew I didn't want to start something, and it just that didn't even know what I would kind of for starting, but I knew that there had to be some type of career pivot, and that's when I learned about, oh, entrepreneurship through acquisition, which is for people who are buying businesses and running them, and that's something that was seemed really intriguing to me, so I've been spending the last couple of years really focused on on that, and that's what led us to the wonderful organization that's Pet Centers International.
Collin 03:32
Nice. And Rachel, what's a little bit about your background? Hi,
Rachel Foster 03:37
yeah, so my background is a little different. I was previously a pet sitter for a few years, and absolutely loved it. And in addition, I have been a project manager and program manager in tech for the last six seven years, and was a programmer before that. So I absolutely love working with people, and that's really who I am, and leading some strategic growth, and making sure processes go well, and helping things be more efficient. So that's really where I am, and I love pets more than anything in the world. I am one of the most dogs assessed people that have ever existed.
Adam Foster 04:19
I give, if we, if we have walking directions somewhere, and I pull up Google Maps, actually Apple Maps, no, but I use that, I pull up Apple Maps, and it says it's going to take like 10 minutes to walk somewhere, I will budget 20 minutes, because any dog,
Rachel Foster 04:36
we have to say hi, that we,
Adam Foster 04:37
yeah, exactly,
Rachel Foster 04:39
hi to every dog, give me, they get enough love to their lab.
Collin 04:44
There's there's that meme where it shows the people standing on a busy street corner, and there's that golden doodle, like covering a person who's just laying on the sidewalk, and there's an arrow that's like me, and I'm like, yeah, okay, this is making a lot of sense now, like I'll just attract all the dogs.
Rachel Foster 05:00
Yes, please. Yeah, that's a little bit about
Collin 05:04
us. So, you both came out of Silicon Valley. I am curious, because that's a, that's a different culture in and of itself, like so many great businesses, great mindsets, great great way of operating have come out of Silicon Valley. How does that kind of shaped your view on business and running a business,
Adam Foster 05:25
that's a really good question, you know, and we're still trying to find exactly what that is, right, because you know we're in, we're in week five here, week six, so it's, you know, we're still evolving and we're still learning, but in general, you know, while, yeah, some of the best innovators have come out of Silicon Valley, some of the most successful businesses in the world, and having lived in San Francisco for some time, I mean, in a way, the heart of innovation, what it has helped with so far is to look to see things in a way that can look for ways to have efficiencies and look for ways to help businesses help our business, and then our customers be whatever the best version of themselves are that they desire to be, because people have different aspirations, and but one thing that has been just an incredible surprise for us, especially compared to some of the industries that we come from, is how much people genuinely want to help each other to drive an industry forward, and we have noticed that in the short period of time since we have stepped in to PSIs as PSI owners and talking to different some of our members, just some other players in the space. How much everybody really genuinely wants to help each other versus what you can tend to see in a lot of industries. Silicon Valley too is can be more cutthroat, as a lot of big businesses can be, and it's something that has just been really amazing to see, and so I think that's something that has made a lasting impression on us as well, but in general, you know, we do try to think of things from a technology standpoint, of course, on, hey, you know, how can we, you know, modernize to stay with the changes, because it's true in some ways, you know. Hey, if you fall behind, you know, others, if you don't do something, someone else is going to do it. But each business is different, and so that's something that I think is important for us, is like, hey, how can we help our members be at the forefront of things that they want to adopt, but also understand that, like, people have different, as I said earlier, people have different aspirations, people have different strengths and weaknesses, and I think there's a best way to apply different things that we've learned in Silicon Valley when it comes to technology innovation and trying to bring some of those practices, and again, in a way that's not uniform but unique for each individual.
Collin 08:06
Yeah, I was curious to get your assessment. What decade would you say the pet care industry is in when it comes to technology usage? Let me have a better insight on that. Yeah,
Rachel Foster 08:20
that's my answer, not this one. It's we're getting there, and it will get there, but it's slow, and it needs updating. There's just things that need updating, and people need to learn new, might want to learn new things, and that needs to be available, and we'll get there, and we want to help bring that forward.
Collin 08:45
I like that. Right, we can learn, and what's basically like what's out there. What are even the options? You know, I can imagine for you guys that was kind of an interesting shift from being probably sounds like at the bleeding edge of tech, and I mean, coming from that heart into, you know, our industry, which may be a little bit, may struggle some, some of that to adopt those that technology, especially because it is so relationship focused, right? A lot of people say, well, my business is based off of my relationship with people, they know me as a person, as opposed to I'm technology forward in how I operate,
Rachel Foster 09:21
that's part of the way we bring a different view, and that it's going to be really useful is that we, we understand that it's relationship driven, and we feel that's really important, but we can also bring in the how can we make help make your life easier, because that's the whole goal as a pet sitter through technology.
Adam Foster 09:40
Yeah, it's an emotional business, and it's emotionally driven, and you know, in where we live in an instant world of instant gratification and an on-demand lifestyle, people want to be able to get what they want like that, and we've. Seen that even in this industry too, with with app platforms, you, you go in and you book something, and then it's done. What is lost from that relationships and building trust, and especially when you're dealing with someone's family member, right? Like, I mean, our dog is, we joke, she's our firstborn, right? I mean, that's someone's family, and so you know, of course, the apps are very technology forward, but you know, some of the trends that we're seeing, and this is just, does not even within the pet sitting space, just in the world, people are craving human interaction more, it, and that's, I mean, we're seeing that even in Silicon Valley, but in general, too, people want the human to human interaction, where people are done with everything just being technology forward, and I think that's where a lot of our members and the real professionals have a real chance to shine
Collin 11:06
to highlight that, right. And I think that there is still that important use of tech that can make parts of your life easier, more accessible, kind of thing. I mean, I was, I actually was sitting in a housing development presentation, because that's what I get to do that sometimes, and they were talking about the involvement of tech from in housing, like all the way from the intake of a new renter to the how the maintenance crew is interacting with people, and it's just this all this this tech stack, but what they realized was that face to face interaction with the groundskeepers and the maintenance crews and the people like that's what keeps their residents in that apartment, and when we think about our clients, it's that connection, knowing that a human is performing the work that they know they can trust, that they can go to, they're an expert in things, they're a connective point to the resources that they need. That's really where our clients go. Yeah, so it took me three three steps to book versus one step to book. An amazing person showed up at my door, like that's that's really what we're trying to get to, of like who's the person on the other end of the leash.
Rachel Foster 12:12
Yeah, definitely.
Adam Foster 12:15
And now you know, you're both of your histories are intact. I just, I find this fascinating. Were you both in like development? Were you doing more back in like server kind of things in your professions? I was more on the sales and relationship driven side, so I was more working with customers and who are using the technology and making sure that they're getting the most out of the technology and making sure that if they're using the technology for their businesses, like, how can I make sure that, okay, not only are we using it, are we continue to use it, but also to service the voice of the customer internally when I'm working with, you know, with others, you're more on the on the other side of it, I'm
Rachel Foster 12:58
on the front end development,
Collin 13:00
ah, okay, well, that's fascinating. Okay,
Rachel Foster 13:03
some back end, but my bread and butter was front end development and project management for front end and back end development. So,
Collin 13:09
yeah, okay, that's what. Yeah, you know, I always think, you know, so Adam, it sounds like it was more of like an kind of an enterprise kind of software interaction of, you know, making sure that they had their a lot. I'm sure a lot of that was just like education of like, hey, what is my.. I'm paying a lot of money for this software. What does it even do?
Adam Foster 13:25
Correct. Yeah, very much educational focused.
Collin 13:28
Yeah,
Adam Foster 13:28
and relationship focused too. You know, my mantra in business always been that people do business with people that they trust, and that's true in any industry, it's especially true in this industry, so that it's always having that mindset that it served me well.
Collin 13:50
Yeah, well, and then Rachel, with you in the front end, like you're dealing with, like, what are people like you're like interacting with on a daily basis, and whether it's useful and helpful to what, there's quite a lot of philosophies that go into front-end development. Where did you fall out in kind of how you liked to present things to people?
Rachel Foster 14:09
We like, I really like A/B testing, so being able to show them two different options, have a big group of people, have them try different things, and just see where they land. See, also a lot of times we're as part of the development team, sitting in this every day, so we're gonna think something's an amazing solution when other people are like, this is awful, we don't know this as well as you do, because we don't do this every day, and so just listening, that's part of the reason one of my favorite leadership strategies is to listen first, because you'll learn so much more from listening than talking.
Collin 14:47
That is really true, because that you a lot of, a lot of spoken both with words, but also in between the spaces, right? Where people leave gaps, you're like, ah, okay, I know a lot now. You see, you're coming out of tech in. Into the pet care space. Why specifically talking about PSI? I am curious, like from your perspective, why is PSI important to the pet care industry?
Adam Foster 15:14
You know, I think when an industry explodes, you need a standard bearer, right, and as a PSI, I think needs to really be that anchor that keeps pet care from being 100% commoditized by tech platforms, and that as there are just information, there's information overload out there in any type of industry, in any type of space, there's, you know, we live in a people call a post-truth era, and no one's really sure of, like, is this real, you know, is this AI like, what's actually correct, you need, like, having a source of authority that you can trust when it comes to delivering information being the source for education, you'd need something like that more than more than ever, and that's where we see psi is it has been as a phenomenal testament to Patty being able, who built this from the ground up and making this really the world's authority when it comes to the educational resources on pet sitting that we need that more than ever, and so that's where we really see how PSI fits in, and we're going to ensure that we carry that forward.
Collin 16:40
Have you heard of Time to Pet? Susan, the Pet Gal, has this to say:
Susan M. 16:44
Time to Pet has helped us grow exponentially. We believe the platform's features make us by far more professional than other companies who use conventional dashboards. They are the software gurus constantly developing and improving the platform based on user feedback. This decision was a good one.
Collin 17:01
If you're looking for new pet sitting software, give Tyne to Pet a try. Listeners of our show will save 50% off your first three months by visiting Tyne to pet.com/confessional People may be listening to this, they may be members of PSI. A lot of people are not members of PSI listening to this, and so what does this mean to them? How does this impact them in their life and their business?
Adam Foster 17:28
Yeah, it's a good question, you know. And we're, I think, pet sitting really.. it's had some waves. If you look at the history, it used to just be, hey, you know, go knock on your next door neighbor's house. Can you know, can you watch, watch my dog? And then someone by the name of Patty Moran thought of this as, like, hey, you know what, this could be an industry, this could be a profession. And then that looked to be able to build what we have now, and then the tech boom happens, and now it's mostly done by people who just want something to do to have extra money on the weekends, and you know what I think this means is, regardless if you are a PSI member, whether you're not, whether you are just watching, you're sitting for animals and on the weekends, part time, whether you're doing this part time or full time, that having the resources and having the education on what to do in certain situations and how to best care for the animals deeply matters, and we think that it is incredibly important for everyone who is caring for animals to be as well educated as possible. Those who really take this, and not everyone's going to want to be a PSI member, and that's okay, but for those who really want to take to have that element of professionalism. The ones who really want to elevate their businesses, we can be a resource for you to make sure that you are well equipped to handle any situation that you may arise.
Collin 19:13
Do you, do you see that as one of the bulwarks we can have against the commoditization trap in the industry of everybody just spiraling down to the lowest price, or what other ways do you see professionals being able to kind of pull back against that? Because you mentioned commoditization, I was like, oh well, like I mean, for you guys coming out of the tech industry, like commoditization is everything, I mean, with software it's zero marginal cost, right? I need to make another thing. Well, that's just $0 but I make all that money on the back end that goes to zero so quickly. Versus, you know, how we're operating, it's like it's labor intensive, right? It's one on one care, it's it's high, it's more of a high end premium kind of touch and feel, and yet we. Are still struggling with this commoditization, you know, frustration that I see a lot of people express
Adam Foster 20:06
100% and well, one, so the pet parents, right, and so are pet parents, and you know, we have as pet parents ourselves, and but you know, with yes, coming out of tech monetization, everyone's just chasing, you know, margins. Your overhead is, you know, what your AWS bill, right? But one pet sitting still going, it still requires human labor, no matter what. And regardless of whatever business you're in, you get what you pay for, and I think that's something where you know there are some people who, regardless of industry, they're only going to be motivated by price, and that's true in everything, and there's nothing that we can do about that, you know, there are ways I think for those who do put in that time and do have the, and really those put in the time and the effort to be the best pets that are possible, as opposed to again just, you know, someone down the street, there's for those who truly care, that's going to stand out, and I think what's really important is, and you know, we don't have all the answers to this right now, but we're trying to think ourselves of, well, how do we get our message out there? How do we get the pet parents to better educate them on what are the things of what things you should really be looking for, and you know, there are there are wonderful people still on those app platforms. It's, it's not there, there's people who are just doing this, you know, randomly, and there's people who are great, like, so we're not, we don't want to generalize on every single person, but there's just a different level of expertise when you're doing this full time and you dedicate yourself to learning the resources, and you know when it's really in a this is an emotional space, we're in a relationship driven, it's emotional. How do we have those conversations with pet parents of, hey, this is someone who's looking after your family member, like, who do you want to do that, the person who's going to be the best at it, or the person is going to be the cheapest, and you almost no one is going to say the cheapest when you put it in those words. Now that's one thing to have a one on one conversation with somebody, it's another thing to educate the masses, and we don't know how to best do that, then we know we don't have the answers, but how can we best equip PSI members to have those conversations and to best position themselves when there are going to be cheaper alternatives out there? You know, that's a problem that we're looking to solve and help them thrive in this in a kind of a tech app driven era.
Collin 23:02
Rachel, I can imagine from your project management days, you've got that triangle, right, of quality, time, and cost, right, that you're always thinking about. I'm just imagining, like, where does that fit in pet care, right? How does that get communicated effectively to pet owners without being like, we've, you know, like, without being demeaning to other people, I think that's always just a line that you know have to communicate, like, here's just the reality of what this is. Yeah,
Rachel Foster 23:30
plus, we're a small business, some of these are giant corporations, we aren't going to be able to compete with that, but we can get the word out there the best we can of what this is and why it matters. I
Collin 23:44
mean, there's.. it's a lot of, you know, maybe not, not headwinds to this to the industry, but again, I mean, you're you're stepping into an industry institution, as I, as I talked about at the, at the beginning of the show here. What's that been like for you to think about, you know, how do you manage this changing of hands, still preserving what made it amazing, and is, you know, the reason you stepped in and bought it, while also still keeping, like, forward thinking and mind on changes.
Adam Foster 24:17
Yeah, it's a great question, you know, when you're in, when you're looking to buy a small business, and I help a lot of people with this. Now, there's some things that you look for, and I, our PSI members who joined our town hall, have heard us say this is, there's a few things that you really want to look for, beyond, of course, you know, P L's, you want to look for, hey, does the owner person selling this, do they really care about who's the next successor, like, does that something that really matters to them, are there tenure. Employees are there longstanding customers. Is it mission driven? It is really rare to find a small business that has two of those. It's exceptionally rare to find one that has all of them, and PSI is that, and that's something that really drew us to that, because that's something that we just found to be so remarkable, and you know, as my mom always told me, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, and there's a lot of things about psi and how it was, how it's been built, which are phenomenal, and it's it's our job to preserve that as best as we can, and you know, you don't walk into a 30 year old institution and start tearing down walls, right? Like you have to honor the foundation of what's there. You listen to the community, which is something that we've been actively focused on, and then you know, hey, you upgrade the plumbing, you get a new HVAC, right? So that the house can continue to stand, and so that's how we think of it. And you know it's why it's been so important for us to, as our first order of business is after retaining our team, is how can what can we do to listen to customers, so we can understand, like, hey, what are the things that have made this place so special, and you know, what are the areas that, hey, we can do more, and that's that, I think that's the best way you continue to honor a legacy and make sure that for something that is such an institution, when it does change hands, to ensure that, yeah, it continues to stay true to what it is and bring it to the next chapter,
Collin 26:45
like it's back to Rachel, what you're talking about, like you learn more from listening, right, and how I'm paying attention, and I like how it's the I'm not just listening for where the cracks are, so that I can fill it's also like, well, I know what makes this place special, at least I think I do, but from your perspective, having been a member, because I mean, you guys have members who have been here for 30 years, are you like that? Must be like, I don't know, that's pretty wild.
Rachel Foster 27:10
Yeah, it's pretty amazing how much knowledge they have to share with us. And we've really enjoyed talking to people who've been here all different level amounts of time, and with different sized businesses, big, small, so we can kind of see what is needed, but also what to honor and what to continue, and what maybe we need to dive deeper on, where hey, we already do this fantastically, but we could do it more, so yeah, it's really been the focus,
Adam Foster 27:38
yeah, I mean, everyone's asked, like, what are, where it says this going? Like, what are the growth plans? And the honest answer is we don't know, but like, right, because we need to listen, like we don't come in with thoughts, but that's all they are until you listen.
Collin 27:57
Yeah, well, I was curious, you know, psi, what about it? And you mentioned, like, the fundamentals, like sound is an amazing institution and an amazing business that was operating. Was it was it the fundamentals? Was it the pet care? Was it the education aspect that really kind of drew you into it? Was a mix, it
Adam Foster 28:17
was a mix. Yeah, I mean, I think it was a little bit of it was a mix of different things, I mean, you know, hey, we are typical millennials, and we're all about our, you know, passion and doing things that really excite us. So
Rachel Foster 28:33
I have experience in the pet tech industry, specifically, and so that also I'm pet obsessed, as I said before, and always have been, and also having the pet tech experience has also shown me even more that this is something I want to do. I want to stay in the pet-related businesses, and how I can best do that is help with some sort of tech, of course. But yeah, so that's for me. That was part of it.
Adam Foster 29:00
It was, I mean, it was that for me too, of just, I mean, we're both, no one can compete with kind of the pet obsession here. I very much love dogs and animals, not, you know, that this is this the queen here, but regardless, it's still a passion of mine as well, but we, you know, thinking, you know, from the two of us together, of, you know, what are the things where we can best apply our strengths in an area that excites us, and that we found in a lot of different ways.
Collin 29:43
Rachel, you mentioned Pet Tech a couple times. I was curious, what, like, what area was that, and what, what is, how, what's that through line to your involvement with PSI? Now,
Rachel Foster 29:53
yeah, so I worked for a subsidiary of Mars, Mars Petcare, I. Specifically working on some apps for them, vet tech apps, and also article websites and things like that. I did that for a few years. Absolutely loved getting another, getting to help pep care in yet another way, but also, then you see the corporate side of it, and it's very corporate, and it's, I, it's not as much of my thing as you know, I love the small businesses, I love the personality, where you know it was a business, it was more
Collin 30:40
growing a pet care business isn't just about great visits, it's about everything that happens in between, following up with new leads, checking in with clients who haven't booked in a while, you know, actually staying in touch instead of meaning to, and then forgetting. That's where Critter comes in. Critter is software built specifically for pet care businesses, and it helps you manage those relationships with tools designed to keep a small business feel even at a bigger scale. It tracks where your clients are, whether they're brand new, active, or starting to drift, and importantly, it helps you stay connected and re-engaged when needed. So, instead of juggling the spreadsheets or sticky notes and just trying to desperately remember who to message next. You've got a system doing it for you that doesn't rely on constant manual updates or imports, because it's using your actual data straight from your favorite scheduling software. If you're trying to grow without dropping the ball on the people you already serve, Critter is worth a look. Learn more and sign up for a free trial today at Critter dot Pet. And after that, as a listener of our show, you get 20% off your first three months when you use the code PSC 20. You've now become small business owners yourselves, and it's a very independent kind of business in a very independent business-driven industry, and yet we've got this tech app forward focus that kind of garners all the tension. So, from your perspective, like, what's the role of the independent business owner in the pet care space?
Adam Foster 32:15
I mean, I think it's still going to be the backbone in a lot of ways, I think it's still going to be where things - this is a hope, right? Of I hope that as continued frustrations boil over, and people want to look for alternatives that the it's going to be the independence, it's going to be the ones who have stayed the course, the ones who have put all their time and resources, and who are the best of the best are going to come out. Now that's not to say that commoditization and apps are going to go away, they never will, because you're always going to have, you think of who the customers are, you're always going to have different type of buyers, right, and so, but I think still, as things boil over, our hope is, hey, are people going to just go to the same source, or are they going to look to see, like, what are the other alternatives out there? And
Rachel Foster 33:32
really finding an independent, independent people are really independent businesses, are really the ones that can make those connections and be that touch point for someone who is terrified to leave their pet and finally feels comfortable with someone else taking care of their pet, so they can have a vacation or whatever they want to do, having that breath of fresh air of, okay, trust this person with my family member, and I know that everything's going to be okay, and if it's not, they know what to do.
Adam Foster 34:06
Yeah, I mean, you know, an app is good for matching a coupon to a customer, right? But it can't replicate peace of mind. Yeah, and so that's something that, to your point, of, hey, Who do I trust? The independent business owners, I believe, are the ones who are going to win.
Rachel Foster 34:29
Yeah, they know all the dogs' quirks, they know the dogs that like to drink out of the toilet, and the ones that like to steal things off counters. Are
Adam Foster 34:34
you describing our dogs?
Collin 34:35
Taking notes, that goes in the profile, because she just
Adam Foster 34:42
discovered she just, we've been in her house for like almost three years, she just discovered that there's a little like hole in the fence to the neighbors, and so we were out at Father's Day brunch, and we get a call of like, hey, we have your dog, and we're like. How, like, we literally block our side gate,
Collin 35:03
yeah,
Adam Foster 35:03
and just, oh yeah, found out there's, there's a hole over there, and all she wants to do
Rachel Foster 35:12
is, is escape.
Collin 35:14
Oh no, yep, there's a, there's a place in the notes for that. Of is your dog talk to me about your feds, not that perspective is something Megan and I talk about, of like the industry as a whole, of like three different tiers, like there's the there's the tier of like it's never going to be, it's where it's existed, the friends, families, neighbors, acquaintances, that's kind of locked away in the it's like free and ultra trust, because it's my brother, right, or if you don't trust your brother, like whoever, like that's locked away there, and then for a long time it was professionals sitting above that, and this other tier, and I think I feel like a lot of what kind of the apps that has done is is actually broken open that one section of the industry of the friends, families, neighbors, and acquaintances to let them know, hey, there's something else, right, so it's like kind of pulling them up into and then that's whenever they have the opportunity to see what are my other options, like you mentioned, Adam, of like, okay, I'm here, maybe I wasn't happy, maybe I need more, maybe I'm looking for something else, where is this, and it's that point where it's like I can capture that attention, I can now really get in here and help educate people on what their options are, because trying to talk to somebody who relies on their brother or sister, just, it's hard to pull them out and say, no, now you need to pay for this. It comes from a business owner's perspective, but sure, if they've, if they've discovered one option that's kind of a stair step up into that, and now I can take them and help educate them on even the other possibilities, like it's just this, what are.. so that's got always a big question of like how big is the industry, because some of it's locked away permanently, some is over here, so it's like different silos in that
Adam Foster 36:48
there, yeah, and that's going to be the case with a lot of different industries, but you know at the end of the day what those apps are are marketplaces,
Collin 36:57
yeah, yeah,
Adam Foster 36:58
right, and you know, whether folks choose to advertise on said marketplaces, that's neither here or there, but what, that's still what I think it could hope, and again, we don't have the answers for it today, but you know, for, hey, people are looking,
Collin 37:16
yeah,
Adam Foster 37:16
when people are looking, how can we join that conversation,
Collin 37:22
yeah. Another aspect of your, your transition coming into the industry that I thought was interesting was, you know, for years we've been hearing about the ownership transfer, the silver tsunami, right, something like that, and, and in a very real sense, I mean, you guys took part in that yourselves into into psi and and I was curious, like, a like, what maybe it's just like your overall thoughts on the impact that that's going to have on the pet care space in the industry, because we know a large chunk of of the professionals, they've been doing this for 20 years, they've been doing this for 30 years, there are a lot of people like that. How do you see that playing into the next several years in the industry?
Adam Foster 38:07
You know, it's, it's a great question, Collin, and I think for most business owners and those who are stepping into retirement now, of course, it's different if you're just a solopreneur versus you have a team, and I think, but for a lot of business owners, especially those with a team, people have a legacy, and people will also may want that, and they want that legacy to continue and for a lot of people, they look for that, and Patty was incredibly delicate on, like, who's going to continue that legacy, and I think when it comes to, and I, we've, I've talked to some members who've actually sold their pet sitting business and started another one when they relocated, so we've seen, we've already seen some of that in the space, and I think it's super important, just as folks are starting to think of retirement, that you don't necessarily just have to fold, because some people think that's all it is, or, hey, you know, I don't have a family member to take this on, that there are other ways that you can continue your legacy and the reputation that you built of incredible care for the animals in your market that can continue, and it's important, I think, also, as well, just as we want to ensure and kind of fight back against kind of commoditization that we keep these independent pet businesses in independent hands, and so that's what I encourage for anyone who's thinking of going into retirement and they want their legacy to continue, is look for other ways for. Where you can continue that legacy and who can honor that and move it forward for the betterment of also one for the animals, but also your employees and the people who rely on your businesses and your clients, exactly. So it's it's something that I think a lot of people in our industry are not aware of as an option, and a lot of industries I talked to people who are like, "Oh, I just actually at the dog park and was talking to someone, and they're like, oh yeah, just, you know, had a parking lot business, and you know, I just retired and just shut it down, and I'm like, "Why? Like, well, you like, you know, I mean, there's a way to continue that forward, so I think that's just something that is really important, and I, again, I've seen, I've talked to some who've gone through that, where they were able to have it exchange hands, and that's what I would encourage for anybody, that if that's something that they want to do, is ensure that it has the business has a good succession plan,
Rachel Foster 41:07
and as people that are helping take care of a business's legacy, we take that really seriously, and we really help psi keep being what it is, and get better and better as the years go on and be just as trustworthy.
Collin 41:24
I think it's really important. I mean, the fact that we're even talking about, oh, success in planning and the pet care space is like, what a beautiful sign of the continuing maturity of the industry, right? Like, you mentioned that, like, most people don't know this is even possibility in all sorts of industries, you know, and ours, especially, of you had the kind of the beginning stages, the professionalization, and this continuing maturity of now, like this, the industry is so many functions are going on at the industry level of the transitions, the mergers, the acquisitions, these kind of things. It's like that's a wonderful sign of the health of the industry, the possibilities that are out there that people can really start thinking about what can I actually do with this, and I think that is one of the most, I think, encouraging aspects of the industry. If there are so many possibilities, and they're just, they're growing on the daily.
Adam Foster 42:13
Yeah, I mean, and we see when we have our, with our own survey data, we can see just what the average income is for pet sitters, and how that's gone up year over year sans the year that should not be named, but I mean, and we're starting to see pet care businesses reach seven figures, even despite the element, even despite apps and gig economies, so it's a this is a resilient bunch, and just as it continues to move forward. Yes, there's ways where, as you said, it's pretty remarkable that we can even think about these things, but it's true, and just continues to chart for
Collin 42:59
it. I know you're only six weeks into the job, but I am curious. You've got an eight month old son. How does this change your thoughts on succession planning for yourself and what your future looks like?
Adam Foster 43:12
You got that one.
Rachel Foster 43:14
I was telling you, start.
Adam Foster 43:15
Okay. You know, I'll say this, do Of course, I don't, I don't have, never. We're six weeks in, like the last thing that we're thinking about is, you know, selling. We just bought it, but in general, I think, because we have other, we have other ventures as well, and in general, just when we're with our, with our son, we're just with, you know, with the baby, of course, everything is, you know, you, any parent wants their kids to be in a better place than they had themselves, and you know, we're so very fortunate thanks to our own parents, but you know how for us, of just, we want to make sure I don't, I'm not, we're not the type of parents where it's like they have to do what we do, and they need to do, you know, carry on our legacy, like no, we want, we want our son, and you know, hopefully children in the future to be whatever the best version of themselves is, and you know, when it comes to succession planning, it's just how can we help them do that and help them feel secure,
Rachel Foster 44:35
and how can we show them with what we do that hey, you can do what you want to do, and as long as you work hard, and you can succeed, and you'll be able to make a legacy for yourself.
Collin 44:48
Yeah, the single best legacy I know, with our two kids, it's, it's regardless of whether there's a business there or not. Like, what's our mindset around it? What's our mindset about what, quote unquote, success is? And what now they can do, and what they believe is possible, and that's such a wonderful thing to be able to give, you know, if you're listening to this, if you don't have kids, it's what can you give to friends and family, and what can you give to your employees if you have them, that's such a beautiful thing to be able to pass on, is the possibility, right,
Adam Foster 45:18
I think you said it best, and yeah, you're.. I knew you're gonna get like some of the words that I was going for. Why should I wait?
Collin 45:28
No,
Rachel Foster 45:30
summarize a little.
Collin 45:32
Adam and Rachel, I really want to thank you for coming on the show today, for sharing with us kind of your vision, your thoughts, and your perspective on, you know, your station in life, where you are, and the industry as a whole, and things that you're excited about. I know there's a whole lot here, and you've got a lot on your plate right now, but for those who want to get connected, learn more, follow up, ask questions, you know that kind of stuff. How best can people do that?
Adam Foster 45:57
You know, we're open, we have an open door policy, one, if you're, if you're not a PSI member, and you're listening to this, we'd love to have you in our, in our wonderful community, and that's to be a part of pet sitters who are just like you and looking to grow businesses and share best practices and resources, if that's something that you're craving, we have a wonderful community for that for you. So, for those who are PSI members, you know exactly where to find us. For anyone else who just wants to have a conversation, I mean, adam@petsit.comrachel@petsit.com we are open books, we want to be able to have more conversations.
Collin 46:41
Okay. Well, I will have links to that, and a link to join PSI as well, in our show notes, and on our website, so people can click right to that, and your emails as well. Again, Adam and Rachel, this has just been an absolutely wonderful conversation. Thank you so much for your time today.
Rachel Foster 46:55
Thank you so much.
Adam Foster 46:56
Thank you, Collin.
Collin 46:57
My favorite part of my conversation with Adam and Rachel was when they said that they think independent business owners are the ones who are going to win. Gotta be honest, a pretty bold statement in an industry and in a field filled with apps, automation, and increasing competition from all sides. And I'm encouraged by that, not just because I'm an independent business owner, and I hope that we're the ones that win, and I know with PSI being one of the largest organizations of independent business owners, there is a mission there that he and Rachel have to maintain and sustain. I'm encouraged by it, though, with my conversation with them, because of the vision that they have, the plans, the excitement that they have for the industry, the recognition of the true treasure that the industry really, really is, that it's not just about convenience and making things as fast and as simple and as easy as possible, it is and always will be about that trust, about the relationships, about the genuine expertise and care that only comes from the kind of businesses that we are building. Technology certainly has a place and a role in the modernization and maturing of our industry, and we should look to see how we can best implement that, use it wisely and use it sustainably, but never should we ever forget to invest in our professionalism and our team's professionalism, our ongoing education, but more importantly, we should never forget to invest in the exceptional client relationships, when we do those, when we focus on the relationships with the people around us, and make sure that we are serving them well and actually solving real problems, we are positioned well to win. We want to thank our sponsors today, Time to pet and critter for making this 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. Bye.
