491: Continuously Evolving with Debbie Solis
How are you evolving as a business owner? Debbie Solis, owner of Personal Pet and Home Care, shares her 28-year journey in the pet care industry, starting with her deep-rooted caregiving spirit and balancing roles as a mother and entrepreneur. She discusses the challenges she faced, including burnout and the need for personal growth, which led her to seek counseling and start delegating. By adopting new technologies and building a supportive team, Debbie transformed her business practices and achieved a more balanced life. She emphasizes the importance of self-care, adaptability, and continuous learning for long-term success.
486: Living Up to Your Own Standards
Can you meet the promises you make to your clients? Our goal should be to truly embody values like professionalism, dependability, and transparency. Whatever you promise your clients, these should not merely be marketing terms but actual practices, supported by robust systems. There can be significant repercussions if we fail to meet the standards we set for ourselves, and we should be prepared to defend our practices when clients hold us accountable. Ultimately, we should strive to align our practices with our core values and maintain consistency in all interactions to build and sustain trust with clients.
452: Keeping the Momentum After a Difficult Year
What was your 2023 like? If you’re like many, it was a very successful, but very difficult year. Running a business means tackling the ups, and working through the downs. The difficulties we face will be as unique as the businesses we run. We break down four challenges we worked through in our business this year, how they’re not all solved yet, and how we’re growing from each of them.
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.
393: Working From Your Passion with Stephanie Brown
How do you know it's time to bite down and go 110% to make your dream a reality? We all find our own motivating forces in our lives. For Stephanie Brown, owner of Happy Trail's Pet Sitting & Dog Walking Services, she found her motivation in her family. She shares how her business has evolved and how it wasn't always easy to leave services behind. Stephanie focuses on client education and fostering relationships through a personal touch. She also gives great advice around implementing a power hour to stay organized in your business and how she's navigated bringing on a manager in her business.
356: Using A.I. in Your Business
Are you using A.I. in your business? Artificial Intelligence is a growing area of research and development. A.I. can seem overwhelming, but holds many promising tools to give clients more peace of mind. We break down what A.I. is and how it can help your business. We give examples of existing programs and also how we’re currently implementing it in our own business.
340: Tech Hacks for Your Business
What kind of technology do you use in your business? The world of tech is almost endless, with new things being developed all of the time. Today, we break down some of the most underutilized technology business owners should be taking advantage of. In pursuit of saving time, money, and providing better quality services, technology can provide a lot, but we have to make sure we know why we’re adding it.
290: Creating an Exceptional New Client Experience
Do new client’s enjoy the onboarding experience with you and your business? The benefit of focusing on the details is that existing clients also benefit from any improvements you make. As a business, we should make the experience of interacting with our company as magical as possible. Collin shares a recent experience of having routine lab work run, and how not to handle new clients. Plus, Natasha O’Banion answers, “How do I hold myself more accountable?”
283: Merging Companies with Therese Villemure and Lindsay Licata
What does it take to merge two pet sitting and dog walking companies? Therese Villemure and Lindsay Licata believe it takes passion and sacrifice. Owners of Suburban Pets, they share their individual journeys into pet care and what prompted them to merge in 2018. From policies to software, there is a lot to consider! Therese and Lindsay give advice for how to make the most out of the relationships in our lives and why you should pick your battles.
165: The Many Hats of a Business Owner
On this episode we discuss the different types of hats you may wear, and the ones you shouldn’t. From being an IT manager to a marketer and CFO, there are a lot of things to do. The key is determining which hat you should be wearing versus finding a way to have someone else, or software, wear it. Natasha O’Banion answers the question, “How do I fire an employee in a healthy way?”
122: Selling your business with Becky Eberly
What does moving on the next phase of your life mean? How do you know when it’s time to make a big shift? Becky Eberly grew her business to over 35 employees in 17 years. Then decided she needed a change. Becky shares what that decision process was like and how she sold her business.
074- Having Tough Conversations with Clients
We break down 10 things to consider when having a hard conversation with a client. Unfortunately, we’ve all been there. Whether it’s a lost pet, a dog that won’t eat, or a service you forgot to render, tough conversations happen in this business. We discuss ways to help make them just a little bit less difficult. Natasha O’Banion is back for another “Ask a Pet Business Coach” segment where she answers the question “What are the basics needed for a successful business?”
022- Taxes with Mike
Taxes can be a major headache, but they dont have to be! Listen in as the founder of JETRO and Associates discusses simple steps you can take to make tax time a LOT easier.