505: The Importance of Empathy in Pet Care with Lori Holt
How do you transition from a corporate job into full-time pet care? Lori Holt shares her journey from working in customer service to founding Stow Road Pet Sitters. She discusses the challenges of administrative tasks, the importance of empathy and trust in client relationships, and how her family plays a crucial role in her business. Lori also highlights the lessons learned from a dog bite incident that led to stricter client screening processes. Join us as we explore Lori's inspiring story of passion, growth, and dedication to exceptional pet care.
470: Don’t Just Learn: DO!
What are you learning right now? Are you doing anything with it? We’re reflecting on the overwhelming abundance of information available to us, especially in running a pet care business. There is a crucial difference between endlessly acquiring knowledge and actually applying it to make tangible progress in our business. Something that is a hard balance to walk. We want to encourage you to prioritize action over consumption of new information!
468: The Best Way to Meet Lots of Pet Sitter Friends
Have you been to a conference? In a first for us, we were LIVE all weekend at the 2024 Texas Pet Sitters Association Conference! It was a jammed packed weekend filled with amazing people and great information. Listen in to get a little taste of what it's like to attend a conference, and check out our resource pages to see which one you can attend!
445: When Life Happens with Jessica and Chris Milam
What do you do when life happens? The fact is, things happen that are out of our control, and our only roll is in how we respond. When running a business, we set policies that match the flexibility many clients need, or adapt to their requests if we want. In our personal lives, we respond by stepping up and showing our true character. Jessica and Chris Milam, owners of Fur Services Fur Pets, discuss what it means to live a life full of the right amount of crazy, love, and passion.
385: Promoting Professionalism with the Florida Pet Services Association
Today, we’re joined by the Board of Directors of the Florida Pet Services Association. Savanna Westwood, Doug Keeling, Amber Van Denzen Suarez, and Heidi Lewis-Pracko explain why it was important to have a local organization and how it helps the industry be better. From setting the standard, to providing locally relevant educational and networking opportunities, they share about their upcoming Summit as well.
368: Conferences and Professional Pet Sitters Week
March started with a bang! Spring conference season just wrapped up and Professional Pet Sitters week concluded as well. We share our experiences attending the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters conference. We talk through what to consider when determining if you should go to a conference or not. We also give an overview of Professional Pet Sitters week, and why customer service is central to what we do.
277: Pet Sitting in South Africa with Alexiane Arcens
Pet sitting is a global community, with different flavors and markets across countries. Alexiane Arcens joins us to share what being a pet sitter is like in South Africa. She shares what challenges she and other sitters face in Johannesburg. Alexiane encourages others to price according to their skills and why client education is a big hurdle. She has endeavored to raise the bar in South Africa and has put together the very first pet sitters conference for Johannesburg.
262: You Should Attend a Conference
Have you attended a pet sitting conference? We just went to our first in-person conference, the Texas Pet Sitters Conference. Attending, especially in person, brings a ton of benefits, if you’ve prepared and are ready to take advantage of them. We share our experience and why we think you should go to one too! Plus, Natasha answers, “How do I make my life about more than my business?”
214: Success One Step at a Time with Becky O'Neil
Becky O’Neil, owner of Becky’s Pet Care, left the medical field to pursue a career in pet care so she could spend more time with her child. After 20+ years in the industry, she has over 150 employees and has had to adapt, and adopt, new technology and business planning to continue to thrive and meet the needs of her clients. Becky shares what her definition of success is, and why it's so important to be running the business you want. We also discuss the upcoming NAPPS 2021 conference and what to expect from the speakers.
133: Texas Pet Sitters Conference with Jessica Milam
Jessica Milam, co-organizer of the Texas Pet Sitters Conference, joins us to talk about how the conference has changed over the years, what their 2021 conference has in store, and why they started the Texas Pet Sitters Association. We talk about the importance of preparing for online conferences and why being part of an association brings value to you and your business.
129: Patience and Perseverance with Jay Pattiz
Jay Pattiz has been taking care of pets professionally for the last 23 years. From reading Patti Moran's groundbreaking book to today, Jay's passion for taking care of pets has been the core of his business. Jay shares his 7 P's for success and why knowing your own finances is key to making solid business decisions. He talks about getting involved in the community in more than just pet sitting, and how important fostering local relationships and connections is to your business surviving.
095- Jessica Abernathy with NAPPS
Jessica Abernathy, President of NAPPS, comes on the show to share about their 2020 conference and her encouragement and excitement for the future of the industry. Jessica also describes the importance of taking time right now to dig into your business and where opportunities are opening up.
092- Beth Stultz-Hairston with PSI
Beth Stultz, President of Pet Sitters International (PSI), joins us on the podcast to discuss their move to a virtual conference. Beth shares how to prepare for an online conference format and what kind of talks to expect. We also discuss how PSI has supported its members, and the industry at large, though education and training opportunities throughout the pandemic.
089- Carmen Rustenbeck with IBPSA
Carmen Rustenbeck, CEO of the International Boarding and Pet Services Association (IBPSA), talks about how IBPSA has adapted their upcoming conference to a virtual format, the state of the pet care industry, and what the road forward looks like. Carmen also shares how IBPSA has supported and fought for their members this year, and how that helps the entire industry.
056- All things cats, with Stacy LeBaron
Cats can sometimes get a bad wrap, especially with those who don't care for them regularly. Stacy LeBaron, host of the Community Cats podcast, joins us to cover why that is, how to care for different temperments of cats, and so much more.
026- 2020 Conferences
Have you thought about attending a pet care conference this year? Or maybe you don't even know where to begin. On this week's bonus episode, we bring on the CEOs and organizers from three of the largest conferences taking place this year. We can't wait for you to hear from them and what they have in store.