All tagged decision
Have you ever been frustrated by one more thing being added to your plate? There come times when our personal life impacts our ability to run our business and show up at our best. Whether it’s a personal loss, a new venture opportunity, or even moving to a new home, the pressure to continue to perform increases beyond our capacity sometimes. It’s in these moments where we have to carve out space we need to take that pressure off so we can focus on the right priorities.
How do you know when it’s time to walk away from a dream? As a business owner and entrepreneur, we are driven by our passions to our goals we set for ourselves. However, sometimes we have to quit and start over. Pivoting (quit by a different name) means course correcting due to either external, or internal factors. Wayne Hartley Jr., owner and founder of Happy Hearts Pet Care ATL, joins the show to share how he quit his dream of mobile grooming to start a brick and mortar business. Wayne sacrificed a lot to make it happen, but it was all because he recognized he needed the change to better connect with his mission. He gives advice on how to keep moving forward, even when you’re exhausted, and how to innovate well in your business.
What does it mean to be empathetic in our business? Showing empathy allows you to connect with nervous clients. It also helps both clients and staff feel like they are understood and are not alone. Stephanie Castro, owner of Stay Home Pet Sitting, joins the show to share why the words we use help clients see the value in our business. She also explains how she’s growing her company culture, and what it means to make hard decisions.
Just as we work to educate clients, when we bring on staff, it’s our role to educate and mentor them in the career of pet care. Cassidy LeMair, owner of Cassidys Custom Pet Services, shares how she builds lasting relationships and partnerships with both staff and clients through her open and straightforward style. Cassidy details how she creates consistent customizable services and gives her insights into how she learns from her mistakes.
Have you ever wanted to give up on your business? Challenges happen, no matter how long you’ve been in business. Facing challenges means assessing how we are doing, so we can handle it appropriately. When we start feeling like quitting and giving up on our business, there are things we can walk through to gain clarity. We break down six things to ask yourself and work through and why you should not isolate yourself in times of struggle.
What does it take to stay ambitious in business? Zach Shearer, owner of Zach's Pet Services, rejoins the show to share how much has changed since we last had him on. Zach talks about tackling large projects in the face of uncertainty and why surrounding yourself with experts is critical to your success. From his expanding kennel services to now grooming, Zach gives us some insight into the challenges they're facing and what he's doing to overcome them.
What motivates you? We don’t operate in a vacuum and there are both intrinsic and extrinsic motivating factors that influence and drive our decisions. Jane Torok, owner of Paw Prints Pet Services, joins the show to explain how her motivating factors drive her to keep working through tough times. As a one woman show, she also shares how to stay content in your business and be thankful for the opportunity and balance in your life. Jane is also extremely passionate about community in pet care and helps operate the largest Facebook group for dog walkers. She talks about why community is so critical and how to avoid fears of rejection and competition.
After only providing nail trims to meet the needs of her community, Gricel Arroyo has experienced rapid growth and is about to make the leap to full-time. As such, she’s caught between knowing she wants to grow and expand, but also trying to run the business she has. Gricel balances the growth and social media by keeping it in perspective and working towards her goals. She shares with us what her growth has been like, and how she stays transparent with her clients about her business.
How do you know if you’re meeting your business goals? What do you do when you’re facing a tough decision? A mission statement isn’t just something to attract clients, it’s mostly used as a guardrail during decision making and for making sure all of your staff are on the same page (if you have them). A mission statement helps give your work purpose and remind us that we are working towards something larger. It also gives us a standard to hold ourselves against and to continually strive towards.
2020 has been a year of change for many of us. For Isabel Alvarez Arata, it meant closing down after 12 years in business and 100,000+ visits. Isabel shares how she grew her business and the big transition for The Wag Pack in 2020. From communicating to clients, to how it’s impacted her emotionally, she encourages us to embrace change and the challenges.
We covered saying ‘no’ and setting clear boundaries, but what about saying ‘yes’? Today, we break down every facet of saying ‘yes’. From overcoming the fear of the unknown, to the right reasons to say ‘yes’, we share some of our learned experiences. Natasha O’Banion joins the show to answer “How do you keep you and your staff organized?”
