All tagged person

477: Turning Over A New Leaf with Kirsten Kruska

477: Turning Over A New Leaf with Kirsten Kruska

Collin

What does it mean to reinvent yourself? Kirsten Kruska, co-owner of Pet and Plant Pal, explores the journey of career reinvention after a pivotal health challenge forced her out of dog grooming. Kirsten shares how she transformed her expertise in pet care and horticulture into a flourishing business. Emphasizing health & wellness, Kirsten shares how her commitment to physical fitness and overcoming injury shaped her approach to business and life. She also discusses ethical entrepreneurship, highlighting her dedication to ethical practices rooted in Buddhist principles, and how these values distinguish her services. Lastly, Kirsten discusses the importance of knowledge sharing, from grooming advice to plant care tips, illustrating her belief in education as a cornerstone of her business model.

474: Pitfalls to Productivity

474: Pitfalls to Productivity

Collin

Why is it so challenging to implement productivity tips into our lives? Amazon has over 10,000 books on the subject of ‘productivity’, so there certainly isn’t a universal solution for everyone. One of the major stumbling blocks to actually being more productive is a lack of understanding of how we work, and the nature of the work we need to get done. We break down common misconceptions to being more productive, along with several things to take into consideration when assessing a new productivity method, tool, or technique.

445: When Life Happens with Jessica and Chris Milam

445: When Life Happens with Jessica and Chris Milam

Collin

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.

423: Building Trust with Clients from the Start with Kimberly Layman

423: Building Trust with Clients from the Start with Kimberly Layman

Collin

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.

416: How to Become Irreplaceable

416: How to Become Irreplaceable

Collin

Are you irreplaceable to your clients? Today, we dive into the concept of becoming "irreplaceable" and how to stand out so your clients stick with you. We stumbled upon a great quote by the legendary Coco Chanel, which we use to dissect what makes a brand or service not only unique but also indispensable. We break down our three elements of differentiation – Expectations, Experience, and Expertise – and provide some actionable steps on how to make your business truly unforgettable.

373: Embracing Change and Growth with Gricel Arroyo

373: Embracing Change and Growth with Gricel Arroyo

Collin

How do you handle transformation and change? Gricel Arroyo, owner of Arroyo Pets, shares her journey of transforming her business over the past year. Starting with a focus on nail trims, she gradually expanded her services, with grooming now accounting for half of her business. She emphasizes the importance of up-selling services as a solution for clients. She highlights the need of being open-minded and learning from one another's experiences within the team. Becoming an employer has been a learning experience for Gricel, as she considers herself more of a team leader and mentor than a boss. Her primary goal is to create a better workplace where people feel heard and can grow within the team. She also delves into how she has changed as a person, learning to cope when things don't go as planned and understanding that she cannot control everything.

351: Mentoring Your Team with Cassidy LaMair

351: Mentoring Your Team with Cassidy LaMair

Collin

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.

348: Staffing Struggles

348: Staffing Struggles

Collin

Have you had issues with staffing? 2022 may very well be defined by the labor market flipping to empowering employees. This has meant hiring and retaining staff has been difficult, especially as a small business. From competing on wages, to connecting with mission, job applicants are able to be very picky. We break down how we’ve changed our processes and have been investing in existing staff. Having staff will continue to be a major issue into the new year, and we have to prepare for it. 

341: Making Wolfie's Wish with Erica Messer

341: Making Wolfie's Wish with Erica Messer

Collin

What inspires you to try new things? The loss of pet is an earth shattering moment in the life of a pet owner. Erica Messer, owner of Wolfie’s Wish, took the tragedy and turned it into her inspiration to help others. Erica started a product line to help pet parents grieve the loss of their pet. Erica breaks down how she dove into product development, found a manufacturer, and works on her marketing. She also shares how she makes the most out of trade shows and is focused on building a community of resources for everyone.

334: The Power of a Lead Magnet

334: The Power of a Lead Magnet

Collin

What is a lead magnet and why should we be using them? Lead magnets are a way of getting information from your client, or potential client, in exchange for something valuable to them. There are best practices to be mindful of when implementing one, and things to avoid doing. We walk through the different types of lead magnets, how to promote them, and how to assess if they’re working for you or not. We also break down 5 easy to implement ideas for a lead magnet you can start using today!

331: Strengths of Solo Pet Sitting with Alicia Obando

331: Strengths of Solo Pet Sitting with Alicia Obando

Collin

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

319: Sales Psychology of the Affluent Client

Collin

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

318: One Year Hiring Retrospective

Collin

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?”

313: Troubleshooting Cat Behavior Issues with Molly Kelsey

313: Troubleshooting Cat Behavior Issues with Molly Kelsey

Collin

How do we empower our clients to live better lives with their cats? As cat care becomes a larger part of pet services, more clients are looking for help. Molly Kelsey, The Cat Counsellor, joins the show to give us insights into feline behavior. Cat communication is all about body language, so not only must we understand it, but we also must be willing to teach out client’s about it. Molly has advice for troubleshooting common cat issues but ultimately, we have to realize it’s up to the owner to decide how much work they’ll put into it.

298: How to Answer Client Questions

298: How to Answer Client Questions

Collin

How do you handle answering questions from clients? As a business owner, we field hundreds of questions every week about our business. From policies and procedures, to situation specific details, we never know what the next question will be. Today, we discuss 5 things it takes to answer questions well and to make your client’s feel like they’re valued and heard. Natasha O’Banion, from Automated CEO, answers, “What does building client loyalty look like?”

293: Decide to be the Leader with Julie Fredrick

293: Decide to be the Leader with Julie Fredrick

Collin

Julie Fredrick, owner of The Pet Sitter of Boise, has been running her pet sitting business since 2003, while still holding down a full time job. With a team of over 35 employees, she spends her time focusing on giving the best possible service to the right clients. Julie shares how her background in operations and process improvement helps her run her business better and why more growth isn't always better. She also encourages us to start being a leader in the industry.

275: Putting Your Value First with Heidi Lewis

275: Putting Your Value First with Heidi Lewis

Collin

The lessons from the pandemic continue to highlight the importance of self reflection and knowing your ‘why’. The last couple of years have taught Heidi Lewis that she wanted to run a different kind of business. As the owner of Heidi and Hope Pet Services, she set about defining her boundaries and understanding what she didn’t want to do anymore. She has focused on converting clients from overnight to drop-in services and hiring staff so she can have more breathing room in her life. Heidi shares how she’s building relationships with local businesses and why she will always put her value first.

273: Finding Hope in Pet Care with Abagail Giordano

273: Finding Hope in Pet Care with Abagail Giordano

Collin

Abagail Girordano was given hope when she started as a dog walker for a company, but several years later found herself taking over ownership of it. She now runs Pack Pals NY and talks about her experience of growing into a management role and what it means to see change in yourself, without losing yourself. She shares what it means to fight for legitimacy in pet care and why we need to set appropriate boundaries. She gives advice on how our businesses can help others, instead of only thinking about what they do for us.

271: Equipping Your Clients with Tami Guy

271: Equipping Your Clients with Tami Guy

Collin

Tami Guy, owner of Creatures Pet Care in Kalamazoo, uses her background in zookeeping, and educating, to teach her clients all things pet care. Tami shares how she continues to learn from her staff when it comes to running her business. From equipping them with knowledge to providing membership opportunities, she dives into what it means to help pet parents live their best life with their pets.

262: You Should Attend a Conference

262: You Should Attend a Conference

Collin

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?”

Load More