529: Giving a Crap with Erica Krupin
What does it take to run a successful dog waste removal business that goes beyond just scooping poop? In this episode, Erica Krupin, owner of Kroopin's Poopin Scoopin, shares the behind-the-scenes realities of managing her growing business. She emphasizes the importance of providing an exceptional customer experience, from building trust through reliability to creating peace of mind with professional services. Erica dives into the challenges of hiring and retaining great employees, explaining how paying well and setting clear expectations helps her maintain a high standard of service. She also talks about the complexities of pricing for quality and managing company vehicles, highlighting how investing in these areas ensures long-term success. With her down-to-earth approach, Erica offers valuable insights into what it truly takes to lead a thriving, people-centered business.
524: Hire the Heart, Train the Skill
Have you ever struggled to find the perfect hire for your pet care business? In this episode, we dive into the importance of hiring for soft skills like empathy, communication, and adaptability, while training the technical aspects later. We discuss the value of a multi-stage hiring process to thoroughly vet candidates and ensure they fit your company culture. While the technical skills are trainable, finding someone with the right heart is key to long-term success. We share our own experiences in building a team that truly connects with both pets and clients.
513: Navigating Client Expectations with Heather Scott
Heather Scott, owner of Heather’s Pet Care, delves into the challenges of managing unrealistic client demands and the impact Covid lockdowns continues to have on their expectations. She shares her journey of phasing out overnight services due to financial and legal constraints, highlighting the importance of setting boundaries and clear communication. Heather also discusses her refined hiring process and the significance of realistic job previews for new staff. Finally, she emphasizes the value of community engagement and local networking in building a loyal client base and adapting to industry changes.
508: From I to We, Fears of Growing A Team
What fears do you have about hiring employees? Many business owners find themselves needing to hire to achieve a better balance, grow their business, or both. However, several fears can prevent them from moving forward. Today, we share the three biggest fears and challenges associated with hiring employees and how to overcome them. It all comes down to having a process that isn't just about getting the right people in the door but also about training and managing the right people well to maintain high standards.
495: From Fired to Flourishing with Joette White
How are you navigating the challenges of business ownership? Joette White, owner of Park Cities Pet Sitter, shares her journey from being fired to successfully owning and growing a pet sitting business. She emphasizes the importance of staff management and trusting employees to foster growth. Joette highlights how personal growth and learning from failures have shaped her leadership style. She discusses adapting to challenges, especially during the pandemic, to strengthen the business foundation. Joette stresses the need for clear leadership and allowing space for staff to develop their strengths and confidence
484: Balancing Your vs Your Company’s Needs
Ever faced a business roadblock that made you question everything? Here's a deep dive into how we handled an unexpected hurdle and the strategies we used to keep afloat. From employee turnover to shifting business goals, we share the ups and downs you could potentially encounter, and the mindset you need to overcome. Balancing personal life and company demands is a constant challenge, requiring flexibility and a clear vision. That balance is critical to navigate obstacles while keeping your business and personal values intact.
465: Building a Team Structure with Anna Rickert
How do you envision your business in the future? If building a team and having employees are on that list, you need to carefully consider your team's structure. Creating a team involves ensuring each person is in the right role, equipped with clear directions to accomplish their tasks. Anna Rickert, the owner of Pup Culture Dog Walking and Pet Sitting, joins us to share her strategies for developing a robust business structure. Aiming for her business to operate independently of her presence, Anna discusses the importance of having a balanced mix of services and a team that excels in delivering them.
457: The Art of Compassionate Leadership with Ruby Ballesteros
What does leadership mean to you? 💪 Ruby Ballesteros, owner of RubyReds Pet Care, discusses her transition from a corporate background to pet sitting. Ruby emphasizes professionalism and leadership, and stresses the importance of viewing and presenting yourself as a business owner first, rather than just being a pet lover. She highlights her military background as influential in shaping her values and practices. Ruby also speaks about the art of building strong, trust-based relationships with clients, going beyond mere services, to ensure their complete peace of mind.
427: Finding Flexibility and Freedom with Shade Long
How much is your time worth to you? As busy business owners, we often get caught up in the grind and hustle of our day-to-day operations. Ultimately, we have to step back and ask what truly matters in our lives. Shade Long, owner of Complete Pet Care, joins the show to share the learning curve she's experienced over the last two years. From managing massive business growth amidst overwhelm, to refining her onboarding process, she's finding ways to strike a better balance. Shade explains why it's not all about bursting at the seams and emphasizes that you can run the business you want while also having a life outside of it.
423: Building Trust with Clients from the Start with Kimberly Layman
Are you running the business you thought you’d be? Kimberly Layman, owner of Kimberly's Kritter Care, shares the process of refocusing her company to better align with her passions after experiencing burnout early on in the pandemic. She outlines her personalized onboarding strategy of phone calls and in-person meetings to set clients at ease. In addition, Kimberly explains how she structures clear expectations around communication preferences upfront to avoid issues down the road. She also details her strategic approach to obtaining reviews through timely and specific follow-up requests.
421: Overcoming the Barriers to Hiring an Employee vs an Independent Contractor with Kim Ottone Tank
Do you struggle with whether to hire an employee or work with an independent contractor? Many of us face wanting to grow, find space in our life, or take a break from the day-to-day work, but then worry about whether an employee or independent contractor is the right fit. Kim Ottone Tank, owner of both Apronstrings and Staffingstrings, joins the show to help us understand what it really means to hire an employee. Kim breaks down what the differences are between an employee and an independent contractor, how that impacts our businesses, and how to understand the true costs of each.
415: Fostering Relationships Through Your Software with Mike Grenier
What drives close relationships in your business? We should view everything we do as an opportunity to foster relationships with our clients, including our software. Mike Grenier, co-founder of Time to Pet, joins the show to share how they prioritize problem-solving. Mike emphasizes the importance of adhering to guiding principles while not being afraid to pivot in response to market changes. He describes the process of building a niche business and how his early days running a pet sitting business with his wife influenced their approach to software.
414: When You’re Paralyzed by Doubt
Have you ever experienced self doubt? It can come from many areas; lack of information, conflicting information, or internal conflicts of beliefs and values. As a business owner, we’re required to do hard things in our business, which means we’re likely to encounter doubt and insecurity more often. We break down the relationship between fear and doubt and how to keep moving forward. Doubt doesn’t have to mean the end of anything. It should act as a trigger to do something different or seek out help.
396: Considerations for Starting a Remote Service Area
What should you consider before expanding to a remote service area? After a few years of trial and error, we've broken down 10 things you should ask yourself before starting in a remote area. We cover everything from planning your logistics to following local licensing and legal requirements. We also share about the biggest struggles we've faced and where you can expect to grow the most as a business owner.
394: How We Expanded to a Remote Service Area
Have you ever wanted to start a remote location for your business? We share our experiences two years into our experiment with our business. We needed a way to grow our business, and found a remote location fit exactly what we needed. From our struggles hiring and training the right staff, to managing an office and learning a brand new city, there was a lot we had to learn. We’ve changed our entire operations and many of our policies to meet the new challenge, and give insights into how that went for us.
357: Empowering Empathy with Stephanie Castro
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.
333: Finding the Voice of Your Business with Katie Kenton
How do you provide personalized care? Katie Kenton, owner of Katie’s Kennel, shares her experience of business growth. Katie is committed to focusing on her community and making connections with her clients. As a new mom, Katie has found a new way to balance her personal life and work, and works hard to stay in tune with what her brand is and the voice of her business.
331: Strengths of Solo Pet Sitting with Alicia Obando
Alicia Obando, owner of Pitter Patter Parenting, joins the show to share why she has stayed unapologetically solo. She walks us through how she markets herself effectively and how she’s set her policies to support being a solo sitter. Living in a society that says we need to always go bigger and “better”, Alicia pushes back by changing her mindset about the kind of services she offers.
319: Sales Psychology of the Affluent Client
What does it mean to market to affluent clients? Sales psychology is all about knowing and understanding the needs of your clients, and providing appropriate solutions to them. Natasha O’Banion, business coach with Automated CEO, shares how to target affluent clients by having a well planned buying journey and being authentic. Natasha gives tips on identifying your ideal client, what their mentality is, and what it means that affluent clients buy with facts.
318: One Year Hiring Retrospective
It’s been one year since we started hiring in our business! A lot has changed in our company since then so we discuss what we’ve learned. We share the importance of trying new things, leaning on your strengths, and what it looks like to grow company culture. Then, Natasha O’Banion answers, “How do I scale as a solo sitter?”