018- Bad to the Bone
We are very excited to have Doug, owner of Bad to the Bone Pet Care, on this week. Doug tells us his story of growing and expanding his business and what sets his team apart from others.
"Over the past five years, I have built an award winning team of in-home pet care professionals across Northeast and Central Florida. Bad to the Bone Pet Care is currently a team of 30 pet sitters and dog walkers offering fully customizable personable care and is constantly growing. It is my goal to show the pet care community and the world that through compassion and love we can truly make a difference. Be sure to follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and my blog to follow my teams progress as we continue to expand. Feel free to email me any questions you may have about starting and growing a pet care business."
https://badtothebonepetcare.com/
https://www.facebook.com/BadtotheBonePetCare/
Instagram: @badtothebonepetcare & @thewanderingpetsitter
Follow us on: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook
Subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, & TuneIn
Email us at: feedback@petsitterconfessional.com
A VERY ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE EPISODE
Provided by otter.ai
0:16
I'm Collin and I'm Megan. And this
0:18
is pet sitter confessional. An open and honest discussion about life as a pet sitter. This week, we're interviewing Doug Keeling of bad to the bone pet care based out of Florida. Now Doug is on a mission to provide the most personable, reliable and professional in home pet care possible. You will definitely hear that passion come through as we talk through his story, how he got started, and how he's grown and maintained that level of care and reliability for his clients. Doug has a lot of great stories and experiences to share and I know you guys are going to benefit from hearing this. So buckle up and get Ready for an awesome ride?
1:02
Alright, so I'm Doug Keeling I own bad to the bone pet care here in Florida. I started pet shitting after moving to Jacksonville back in late 2013, early 2014. And it's something I just kind of fell into. I moved here to go to college and I had a jack Russell my whole whole life growing up, and I had to leave them at home when I moved here to go to college. And I was coming home from school and my retail job just missing my body. And I didn't think that I really had the resources or the time to get a dog of my own. So I just got on Microsoft Word and typed up this little flyer that said, Doug, the dog guy, give me 20 bucks. I'll do whatever you need me to do. And I started passing them out at the library at school and at the bars at night and within six months I was actually able to quit my retail job And was at sitting and dog walking full time.
2:03
Oh my gosh.
2:05
Yeah, I literally just wanted to hang out with dogs because I missed skip. And it grew into a whole business and it's been amazing. You know, here I am five and a half years later and I have a team of 30 pet sitters covering six counties in northeast and Central Florida. And my team's been voted best pet sitting service in Northeast Florida twice and we actually got best dog walking company this year. So it's been a dream come true for a dream that I didn't even know that I had. I truly just kind of fell into it. And I've I've ran with it, and I've loved every second.
2:47
Yeah, so so so you really got into this because you missed you missed a skip and wanted to be around dogs. I'm always interested to learn why people chose to be a pet care professional as opposed to something else. And for you, it really was to be just to be around animals.
3:06
Right? Exactly, exactly. I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would be able to do this full time, let alone build a team and a business out of it. All of that just kind of happened down the line. And like I said, I've ran with it and just kind of followed my gut. And it's been such an amazing ride so far and, and still a long ways to go. Sure.
3:33
So when you were starting out, did you ever think of joining a platform company like rover or wag and why or why not?
3:43
Yeah. So when I first started out, I actually I knew that I wanted help with payments and scheduling and all of that kind of stuff that bigger platforms like that handle for you. But when I started this was before rovere before wag I mean before any of that, sure. But after I had been pet sitting maybe six or nine months is actually when rover hit the scene. And I made an account on there and for the first year after that I was the number one sitter in the Jacksonville area on rover. Right, right. But I I ended up actually getting kicked off of the rover platform because they found out that I was getting business outside of prover. Yeah, okay. Yeah. They they found out and they sent me a letter in the mail saying we're deactivating your account. Thank you for providing great pet care while you are here. And yeah, that was that was a pretty big hurdle for me because at that point, I'd actually transitioned all of my clients that had not found me on rover over to that platform that
5:07
way they would have.
5:09
Yeah, I insisted that they booked me through their, whether they found me there and not that we would have some kind of coverage and that I wouldn't have to deal with the payments and everything would just be easier on the admin side for me, after I was kicked off the rover, I had to kind of sit back and look in the mirror and figure out, you know, is this something that I wanted to do full time and it was I had the clients, but I just didn't really want to deal with the business side. And now I was being forced to do that. Yes, I had to figure out what my future was with pet sitting and pet care in general. And at the by that point, I knew just deep down that I was made to do this. Oh, there's nothing else that I could imagine doing. I I truly love everything about pet care, specifically in home pet care, you know, getting to see the impact that you're making on the pets lives and on their owners lives. It's it's not comparable to anything that I've ever done before and it it gives me so much joy and gratitude and satisfaction. So far beyond money or anything like that, that this this is what I want to do with my life.
6:34
Yeah, and having that kind of crucible moment where you're, you're on a platform. And the good thing about the platform is they do take care of the business side because a lot of times we that's, that's not the fun part. Nobody wants to deal with that. And so to have somebody take care of that is really nice. But you have to load a lot of people don't realize is unfortunately like you experienced is they control everything and they want you they want you And when they don't, you get kicked off. And you really took that as a moment to Gird your loins and continue to march forward. And you had, you know, you had this thing that you just love doing, but and you had all that other paperwork and stuff had to go along with it. So that's, um, that's a really interesting experience to hear that. You. You had that time where you had to go, Okay, if this is something I really want to do. It's time to really get serious about this. And I've got some decisions to make.
7:35
Right, right. Yeah. And it was by the end of that week that I got that paper in the mail. I knew nothing about starting a business to I mean, I was never around anything like that both for and I was going to school to be a pilot, actually. Oh, really? And so completely unrelated. Yeah. But by the end of the week, I had figured out how to read your is a business with the state I done research and applied for pets to the insurance. And I had set up a little spreadsheet to keep track of my clients information. And I know within a week I kind of put it together just the and at that point, still, even with applying for a business license and insurance, it never crossed my mind that I was actually starting a business. I was just doing I was literally doing whatever I had to to keep me with the path. It never went through my mind what I was actually doing. I kind of look back on that now and I laugh but I wouldn't be where I am now without that crucial moment and I had no idea how important all of that would be. Sure. Yeah.
8:57
So how how would you define a pet care patient
9:02
You know, I really think of a pet care professional as anyone that truly dedicates their life, a portion of their life to the betterment of, of animals and of people's pets. And that could be a wide variety of thing, whether you're a pet sitter or a groomer or a trainer, you know, they all kind of fall under the pet care professional category. In my mind, that's how I think of it. And, yeah, yeah, I think.
9:37
Yeah, yeah, I mean, there's that there is that dedication, and that that devotion to the well being of the animals, not just in your own personal life, but into those around you as you go into becoming a business or a side job. It's it's that dedication, that level of care and concern for them and so I, I totally 100% agree with you on that. That it's, it's Not a matter of you know who you are, who you're with or not with, or, you know, whether you are on a platform or not a platform. It's it's that that level of dedication and service that you're wanting to provide. Right, right. Do you remember your first client?
10:20
I do. I do. I'll never forget her.
10:26
So I had been passing out these papers everywhere that I went at the grocery store at the library at school everywhere. And I got a call late one Friday night in this guy said, Hey, I have an opportunity to go to Disney tomorrow, but I need someone to take care of my dog. One of my friends got your paper at school. Would you mind if I showed up in the morning and dropped my dog so via offi your house and I could pick her up when I get back on Sunday. I was like, Oh my God. Yes, my first client anytime Yeah, I thought I had it made. And, man, I was right. I was right. I could not have asked for a better first client. I mean Sophia. She was a lab pit mix. And she was perfectly trained. I mean, we went on walks together and went to the park and it everything was so ideal. I mean, the client showed up on time to drop off and pick up and for me to have no idea what I was actually doing.
11:38
It could not have worked out any better. Sure.
11:42
Yeah. No, that's man to have your first client go off with with without it without a hitch and to be so smooth. You know? It makes you think Yeah. Oh man, if everyone you know if everyone could be like that.
11:57
Oh, exactly,
11:58
exactly. But it was Actually my very next client about two weeks later, it was my second client was the worst experience I've had in six years of pet sitting home.
12:12
Yeah, so it immediately flip flopped on
12:14
me. Gosh.
12:17
Yeah. And it, it was such a crazy scenario is same thing. These people had gotten my phone number from someone that I had given the paper to, and they called me and said that they were actually going through a divorce and that they didn't want the dogs at their house. While the movers were moving things out and everything else they thought it would be stressful for the dogs. So they actually told me that they wanted me to keep the dogs at my house for at least a month. And then they would pay me by the month. Oh my god in check. And this now I warn anyone that You get a phone call like that. alarm bells should immediately start ringing on a lot of different levels. At this point, I had no idea what I was doing though and I thought, holy crap, they're basically going to pay my rent. What more could I asked for sure. And the people showed up to drop off the dogs sofa and sweet potato. And they were beautiful. They were such great dogs that I mean, I love them. The people seemed normal. But then by the time they got out of my driveway, their phones were shut off and I never heard from them ever again.
13:39
No.
13:41
Yep. Yeah. Of course the check did not clear. Of course. Oh, yeah. So here I am with these 250 pound pit mixes in my house. No, I don't know any history behind them. All. I have is a bag of dog food and hope at that point.
14:06
So how long into that? Did you suddenly realize that they were going to be with you for a long time?
14:13
You know, it took me longer than it should have to put it together. Because I of course that evening I was sending them photos and updates and not hearing back. Don't think anything of it. I figured Oh, they're busy. Yeah, it was probably week two was probably 14 or 15 days into it by the time I realized I will never hear from these people. This is these dogs are mine now. No.
14:40
Yeah. Oh my gosh. Yeah, that's that's kind of one of the horror stories that you hear that you hear about and to have it actually happened to you so early on. That's Yeah, shocking.
14:55
Yeah. But I I made Facebook post and I actually was able to find out where the people had been living. They had moved in the landlord didn't know where they had moved to. But so I went over and I talked to all of their neighbors and all of the neighbors actually told me that the people were crazy and had always been been like this. Oh, wow. So I contacted animal control and the local Humane Society and basically anyone and everyone that you could think of, and it took me three months to actually rehome the dogs. I kept dogs at my home for three months before I found the perfect home for them. I didn't want them to be separated. And I knew they had always grown up together and I kept them for three months trying to find the perfect omen. Thankfully, I finally did, but it was a hell of an experience for my second pet sitting. For sure for
15:55
sure, you know, but it's kind of one of those things. I'm glad you Got that out early on, you know, because what what kind of, you know, what did you take from that as an experience that you implement these days?
16:11
I think I really learned how to read people in a different way, and what phrases and just specific things to watch out for. So one thing was immediately after that I never accepted check again. Yeah, it had to be cash up front. Well, and now we take credit card and debit card and everything else, but it has to be payment up front. And it has actually require payment 72 hours in advance, before the first visit now that when the money has time to transfer into my bank account, and I can see it there, yeah, I ever show up. Gotcha. Yeah, but really just being able to read people and pay Attention to does this does this make sense or not? And you know that these people call them their whole story about their divorce and moving and different things about their story looking back on it just didn't add up.
17:15
Sure. Yeah, we, we had a client pretty recently contact us. And the story was that she had just moved to the area. She used to be a teacher, but she was looking for a new job. And she had this dog and she was going out of town for a while. And she didn't have a bank and she didn't have checks and she wanted to pay us afterwards and just like Yeah, all those alarm bells are just flaring up and going off. Oh, yeah, it was like, Well, if you can pay us in cash, but you know, when you drop her off tomorrow, we will take her and and she did and that was and that was a more legitimate one. She ended up having some issues but it was just Yeah, all those things those warning bells of. I didn't expect to be a pet city, pet sitter, how much you had to be a people person. Oh, yes. You know how important that is into being able to relate and read people like that is just is a much bigger aspect than I ever thought.
18:21
I could not agree more. I could not agree more. You know, I when I got into pet sitting and especially when I quit my retail job to do this full time, I was so happy I thought oh my god, I'll never have to do customer service again.
18:40
Little did I know. It's all customers. It is the customer is not happy. No one's happy. Yeah,
18:47
that's really true. And there are and as you know, do few people are more passionate about something than pet owners caring about their pet. Exactly. So it's a very, very demanding clientele for sure.
19:00
Right. It's made me so much better at like I said, reading people and just getting out of my own comfort zone in my own bubble. Before this, I was so shy and reserved and quiet. And this is really forced me to ask people questions and to really communicate in a different way that I didn't know how before that way, so that I can avoid scenarios like that term.
19:32
So you started off with Doug, the dog guy, and now you're bad to the bone Petcare. How did you come up with those names? And
19:44
so it was I was I'd probably been pet sitting a little over a year and I had actually, I started with boarding dogs in my home, and I only did that for the first few months. Really just didn't like how all that played out and I immediately started transitioning to drop in visits at client's homes. And I would get I would get calls from clients saying, you know, that they wanted to board at my home and I had kind of came up with a little sales pitch on why it would be better to go to their home. Sure, little did I know I was actually correct. And I was just making stuff up at that point. But it's actually true. They keeping keeping pets in their natural environment and on their normal routine and not exposing them to outside risks generally does work out better for everyone. And I didn't even know that at that point. I Yeah, a little over a year. I started doing that. And I was driving home. I remember I was on the interstate. I had been doing back to back visits for Like 14 hours straight, and I was so tired, I couldn't think straight I hadn't eaten all day. And I'm driving down the interstate going home. It's past 11 at night, and bad to the bone by George Thorogood just clicked. It was one of those aha moments, I literally pulled over on the side of the road and I called my best friend and I said, I have it. This is it. This is it. And the very next morning, I got up and registered the name and the rest is history.
21:33
Wow, that's moments like that, you know, they only happen once. So in to hear that. It was so you know, foundational in where you are going. It's just
21:45
Yeah.
21:47
It's it's great to hear where people get their their names from for sure. So yeah, so you've got your name now. And where do you how do you see how when I go with this Tell us about your your current business, how you operate. I know you mentioned you're in six counties and you have 30 employees you know how what does all that look like keeping that mayhem in check?
22:14
Oh, it's it's a whirlwind and every day is different. So I, I have 30 pet sitters and we cover the whole the greater Jacksonville area, Tampa lakelyn, Plant City, and then all of the small towns in between there. And all of my sitters work as independent contractors. Currently, I will be transitioning them to employees in 2020. Okay. But for the time being, they're independent contractors. And basically what I do is they'll put out a hiring ad on our Facebook page or I use indeed sometimes and I do two interviews. I do the first one at a coffee shop or somewhere across the table. A little more formal. And then my second interview is always at a dog park so that I can see the person interact with new and unfamiliar dogs and you and unfamiliar people, right. And then once once I feel comfortable with them there I of course front a full federal background check. And then I also have a client here that screen some of the sitters for me and she kind of gives me the okay and yeah, yeah, so then I've I have it structured as a tiered system. So you start as a pet sitter or a dog walker. And once you have really proven yourself over time to always go above and beyond and be excellent with all of your clients. They have the option to become what I call a pack leader. And the tech leader is basically acts as the emergency backup for the The other centers within their area. And if they want to grow their pack larger, they have the ability to go higher centers underneath them. And they help me with some of this scheduling and invoicing for the sitters that operate underneath them. Okay. Yeah, so and then so the pack leader goes to every meet and greet with the sitter that way, they're already introduced and they know the instructions and the client should an emergency arise. That way, there's always backup and there's always layers of protection that way, and it really gets our team to to work together. You know, with a lot of platforms like rover and wag, its, its individual sitters that know nothing about the other sitters in their area and drunk sharing it this way really gets our whole team to work together and Just get to know each other and it creates much more of a family feeling all the way around. Yeah. And that just creating that feeling alone makes running the business so much easier on so many different levels.
25:18
Yeah, I can really see how having the interconnectedness and that that communication and that oversight really helps make sure that keep problems to a minimum, keep the managed well and keep things running smoothly whenever you have everybody involved in the the total care of animals in an area versus just as you mentioned, one person trying to do it all by themselves.
25:42
Right, right. Yeah. And so about six months ago, it's actually gotten to the point where we, we have so many clients and so many sitters, that one of the pack leaders came to me and said that she wanted to take on a larger role. So she is our operations. Manager now and she gets a monthly salary to to manage basically the day to day business. So it's basically the the pet sitters report to their pack leaders and then all of the pack leaders report to the operations manager and then she comes to me.
26:19
Wow. Yeah. Wow. That's, that's quite the operation.
26:25
Yeah, it blows my mind every morning.
26:29
I get up and
26:30
look in the mirror. Holy crap. This is my life.
26:34
It's constantly growing too. I mean, I sometimes I can't even keep up with how many new clients were taking on and new centers and it Wow, it's crazy. It's such an amazing thing.
26:48
So So how did you get there from from on the side of the road at at 11pm listening to bad to the bone to you all These years later, managing and running this, this this amazing operation and pet care business, what what's, you know, what are some of the dots in between major milestones that you had along the way?
27:13
Yeah. So I guess I had been pet sitting 11 months from my first client, and I kept getting more and more requests, and I was having to turn people away. And I genuinely just felt bad that they were going to have to use someone that they wouldn't love their pets as much as I would. And I had a friend that was actually moving to Jacksonville and I knew she was going to be needing a job. So I said, Why don't you come help me just being my backup for my clients and we can get you some of your clients of your own and just kind of see what happens. And again, at this point, she was technically working as an independent contractor, but I do I didn't know anything about anything. I didn't know what a W nine was or anything like that. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, we were truly winging it. And but thank God it worked out. Amazingly. She ended up helping me for over two years, until she moved away. And I think she was she was really the catalyst that showed me that this could be a business and it couldn't be something bigger. It was about six months after she started helping me. We were both fully booked and having to turn people away. And we kind of looked at each other and just said, what what is the next step? You know, do we hire more people? Do we just turn people away? What are what are we doing with all of this? And I like I said earlier, I knew by that point, that This is what I wanted to do. And it just made me so happy. So I put out an announcement on my Facebook page, just addressing my clients saying, hey, if we were to bring on a third person to help us, what would your reaction be? And immediately one of our very regular clients messaged me and said, pick me, I want to do it.
29:25
Whoa.
29:27
Yeah. And it was one of our regular clients. So I figured this is amazing. She knows the business. She knows how things should be done. And so I hired her and man, it again, that one worked out amazing. And it just kind of kept going from there. Every time we would get to a point where we had so many requests that we were turning people away that we would just bring on another person and another person and yeah, yeah, it's just totally grown natural. It's all been word of mouth and referrals. And it's just been a very natural ride over the last few years, just bringing on one person here, one person there, wherever the need is, and it's been great. Yeah.
30:18
So some questions that a lot of people have about starting a business is trying to understand what market they're in and what the need and desire is for Petcare. Obviously, it sounds like you are in at some place that there's not the upper limit to pick your services is really, really high. So could you could you talk about kind of what you know of your market and where you know, how that's helped. You grow as much as you have?
30:50
Oh, yeah, I would say you know, every market is entirely different. And now that we have centers in different towns and different counties, I can say You that the market here in Jacksonville is nothing like the market where we have centers and like, for example, and if if you're interested in starting a business like this, or just being a solo ad sitter, it's you should start, I would recommend starting by by reaching out to the other businesses that are already operate. You know, there's nothing wrong with calling the other local pet sitter and saying, Hey, I'm thinking about being a pet sitter myself, you know, what kind of clients are you getting? Where are they coming from and nine times out of 10 they're happy to talk, they're happy to help help you. You know, contact the groomers in your area and say, Hey, do you have someone that's that's looking for pet sitting or a dog walker, contact a local veterinarians and say, Hey, you know, I see that you offer boarding at your Your bed office but do you have people that need visits during the day at home or anything like that and get it that's a really good way to get a feel before you jump in. I know for example here in Jacksonville it's it's growing rapidly. I mean the whole city is is transforming every day. And you have a really an urban core here that's full of condos and high rises and people that need daily dog walking and drop in visits and things like that. But then you go 15 minutes outside of the core and you have some cattle farms and you have a completely different type of clientele. That's going to need a completely different type of service. So you need you need to know your area and figure out What you're willing and able to provide and how that coincides with our needs. And yeah, we have some ciders that specialize in farm care. We have some ciders that specialized in just daily dog walking, and then they're in the urban core and everything in between.
33:23
Wow. Now I really love that idea of doing some, you know, people are busy building business would call it market research, sending get a feel for the area, and then calling the other people in pet and the pet care community is something that I think can be really intimidating, especially for someone starting out where you might not want to step on their toes or feel like you're getting up in their business. But understanding that the pet care community is very open and welcoming to people and that it is that there are people like you and like us who are who get booked in We feel bad that we don't have someone to refer someone else to, that we might not know. And so to just start making those points of contact to build up that that system to build up those backup centers, and that that larger community, so that all of a sudden that word of mouth starts to circulate of, well, you know, if you contact that groomer, they might not have anybody that day, but the next day, they may have somebody walk in and and they know who to contact because you did that. So that's, that's all kind of wrapped up in that knowing your market and starting to get your name out there and marketing to those people.
34:34
Right, exactly, exactly. And just communicating with the other pet businesses in your area can go so so far, even outside of just a client referral basis, and over the past two years that that's something that has really stuck out to me is how interconnected everything is and that we can all help each other And give each other a hand up. And I actually started an organization here earlier this year called Northeast Florida pet professionals and I organize monthly meetups where a lot of the local business owners as we get together and we just talk shop, we share crazy client stories. We talk about what's working in our marketing and what's not working, what, what sicknesses going around and what's not. And just get to know each other on a more personal level like that, right? Yeah, I started this organization about six months ago, and there's over 80 members and now and steadily growing.
35:47
Wow. And what just a great resource to have. You know, I think back to when we first started if there had been something like that in the area. Oh my gosh, how many headaches could have been avoided and and how How much faster we would have been able to learn and be able to bounce ideas off of people it just that's such a wonderful thing to start
36:08
Yeah, yeah it's it's been really fun it's doing doing this organization and getting to know the ins and outs of the other businesses and seeing how interconnected everything already is then how much more it can be. It's it's really a beautiful thing and it's it's really changed the way that I think about a lot of things in life. How how one decision and one person can affect so many things. It's, it's a trickle effect,
36:39
right? Right. And I love the idea of a lot of people may look around and around in their area and go well there's nothing like that here. to just go Well, why don't you start it Why don't you do it? You know, there's nothing stopping you from from doing it yourself. If that's if that's a need and the resource you'd like to have. Put it out there and see what happens.
36:59
Yeah, Absolutely, absolutely.
37:03
So when you're when you've got this these 30 independent contractors moving throughout these six counties, I know you have somebody that's in charge of operations. So So how do you manage those schedules? Is there a central point of contact? Or a central calendar that people work off of? Or how does that Yeah.
37:24
Yeah. So we actually switched to time to pet this past summer. We had used pet check for a couple of years before that, and I used I think it was least time before pet check. So I've used a couple different platforms and not to sound like a salesman for time to pet but I would recommend them to anyone and everyone I, I love the system. And so clients start by signing up on our website, and our Our Operations Manager talks to the pack leaders and finds a pet sitter that would truly be the best fit for the family, not just who's readily available. And then once we've done that, we set them up with an account on time to pet. And they can download the app and make scheduling requests make payments, we actually keep all of our communications through the app now is it has an instant messaging feature that works really well. And by by keeping the sitters and the clients conversations on there, our operations manager is kind of able to monitor everything and make sure that nothing's falling through the cracks, that everything's being done correctly. And when sitters arrive to a visit, they they scan in and it starts a timer and starts tracking their GPS until they scan out at the end of the visit. That way, we and the clients know that Everything is perfect it's just it's it's a really life saving system. It saves us so much time and effort on so many different levels.
39:12
Yeah and give give us peace of mind to you that you know, what your your contractors are doing in the field and the owners to know that the services are being rendered. So it's open communication, transparency and time saver on your end too.
39:28
Right? Absolutely. Like I said, I've used several different systems and and several different platforms and I like time to pet the best but they all have great pros, and they all have some cons. So to anyone getting started, I would really recommend just doing your research and again, reaching out to other pet care businesses. If you like the way that pet sitter plus looks on their website, Google, which healthcare businesses are using that that soft Where and give them a call and say, Hey, I live a town over from you, I see that you're using this software. I'm thinking about it. What do you like about it? What do you not like about it? Yeah. And just staying connected with people and doing your research before you jump off on a system is really important.
40:23
Another big question that comes up quite a bit is, what to charge for people's services and and how to come up with those. Now, I think you've got some pretty interesting names for some pet care packages that you offer. So where did those come from? And how do you structure some of your pricing?
40:46
Yeah, so we have package deals listed on our website. So smaller packages, which means less time is they have small dog names, like the Chihuahua Or the Pomeranian and or if you want a lot of time, so a larger package, you get the Great Dane pack, or the Husky. And I can't take credit for those one of my sitters actually thought of the names, we we had been offering these services this way for a long time, without any names or any real thought behind that side of it. And she called me one evening and say, how cute would it be if we just made these little packages and named them after dogs and I love the idea and the clients have loved it. It's it's really worked out well. And actually, a couple of the other local pet care businesses have stolen the idea and have their own packages listed under similar name. But yeah, I put together these packages Though just based off of what most people have requested over the past few years, so like our basset hound package, for example, it's one of our most requested. It has a sitter in the home from bed times through breakfast the next morning, and then a 30 minute midday visit. Hmm. It's very popular with all of our clients. And it's something that's good for, you know, younger dogs that are still in training. They're not alone very long, and it's good for older dogs that are in a similar boat. But everything we offer is completely customizable. And I that is that is one of the keys to I think our success and what we do is I tell people, you know, I've been doing this so long and I've I've dealt with so many clients that I know what you likely need. And it's listed right here as this package. But every family is different. Every pets needs are different. And so you, you tell us what you need, and I can work with a sitter to make it happen, whatever that may be, right? Yeah, that's that's how I've kind of structured the packages and the services that we offer. As far as pricing goes, um, I have a spreadsheet that I update once a month. And it I keep track of every pet sitters prices, within really about an hour's radius of everywhere that we serve. So I have over 50 pet sitting companies on this spreadsheet, and I check their website just routinely updating all of their prices as they update them. And I always just set our prices a little bit higher than average. Sure.
43:59
Yeah. Yeah, I aim for that. It's a sweet spot in pricing, because it's an It's enough of a bump to, we kind of use pricing to try and differentiate ourselves from people as well of, of, so that they know that the price is going to match the service. But we're not way out on the right end of that bell curve to where it's just obscenely expensive and you would never get contacted because somebody you know, is never going to pay that. Versus right. I know when we first started, we were we were way on the cheap end of the market, because we were just trying to get anybody and everybody to try and use us at first and then and then prices came up over time so that we could remain competitive and and shoot for a different market in our area.
44:49
Right, right. Absolutely. Maintain is maintaining the right place on that bell curve is so important. And just like you when I first started out stayed very cheap and just like it get any and every client that I can get. But I think one thing that most pet sitters learned after doing this for a little while is sometimes it's better to have one good client than 10. Okay, clients.
45:18
Oh, my goodness. Yes, yes.
45:22
Yeah. So then that all comes down to pricing, just maintaining the right place on that bell curve and knowing what your competitors are charging. And sure. One, one big thing that I deal with is when I bring on a new sitter, and then we send them a new client requests, they'll say, Oh, you know, if they're iffy about the prices or anything, I'll do it for this price. And I have to sit them down and say, you know, I appreciate that and I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I can tell you, I've dealt with over 400 families personally, over the past six, six Yours and you're just not making the right call you right,
46:04
you would be much better off mentally to have one good client than 10 if you want, and that is so hard to try and break out of, because as a pet sitter, you're making money, you make money whenever you're busy and to only look at the book and say, I only have one client, but to realize that they're paying a price, you know that someone else tried to pay you a quarter of and just the headaches involved in that and the time consuming and the driving and the wear and tear and all of a sudden you realize that's just that's not an okay decision to make for yourself and time wise.
46:44
Right, exactly, exactly. You have to think about your health and your, your your own mental well being and all of those other factors. You can't just look at the $20 for a dog walk. There's so much more that goes into to it, right?
47:01
Yeah. So you've mentioned a little before about you've, you've won some awards in your area, what is it that sets you apart from the other pet care services?
47:13
I think again, going back to being fully customizable and staying flexible, and, you know, for, for me and my team, that means truly working with the clients and finding out exactly what their needs are. We don't show up and say, you know, our our morning visits are at this time and our evening visits are at this time and you can contact us between these hours. We don't say any of that. We say, we're here to be a member of your family. And if you want to 3am dog walk, I'll be here at 3am no questions asked and being able to provide that kind of service and truly meet exactly what the clients want that better Just goes and goes and goes forever, that that will always set you apart from from everyone.
48:08
Right? Yeah. And and knowing that you're going to go above and beyond and meet those needs and exceed those client expectations and doing it time in time and time again, you know, day in and day out. So that you, you do get those great clients and you you can continue to grow by that word of mouth referral to
48:31
Oh, yes, absolutely. I mean, you can't just say that you'll show up at 3am you scanned in communing with kading with the client at 255. Yeah, there's, there's a lot of of that that goes into it.
48:47
Yeah. And I, on your website, bad to the bone petcare.com you you have a blog and you also have a YouTube channel there to where you kind of relate some of this information and you did a really good one that I really enjoyed watching the day in the life of a pet sitter on YouTube? And we'll link to that in the show notes. You know, what made you kind of, you know, want to want to show that and what was some of the inspiration behind it?
49:16
You know, I'm doing this I constantly get questions from my family and old friends and neighbors. And, you know, when you tell someone that you're a full time pet sitter, you sometimes get a side look, you know, you do what, you you went to college and you have an education and you're a pet sitter. That doesn't make sense. I wanted to show people what it is that we actually do, how much time and effort and dedication truly does go into all of this. And I kept struggling with how to show that with two people. I was kept saying the same things over and over again to my friends and my family and you know, Showing them other people's Instagrams and everything else. And I finally said, you know, I'm going to buy a GoPro and just take videos as I go around to my business that way people can see how amazing this really is. Yeah,
50:15
yeah. No, I it was it was, I really enjoyed seeing that. It's kind of like those. Okay, I'm not the only one with a crazy schedule, or I'm not the only one who does this kind of thing. It's, it's nice to see those insights. What kind of stuff you know, when you go to drop ins will get asked, what do you do while you're at the drop in? And I know from my family will say, Oh, do you just sit on the couch and watch TV? Or, you know, so how do you how do you spend your time when you're at the client's house?
50:46
Yeah, that's one reason a meet and greet is so so important. You know, to people that are starting out, never forgo a meet and greet. It's you need to meet the client and ask them How they would like you to spend that time and how they would spend that time with their pets themselves. And I truly follow whatever the client's instructions are and every meeting every visit is completely different. You know, some visits you will be sitting on the couch cuddling and watching TV but with the dogs or the cats and some visits you will be going on a walk around the neighborhood or some the everything in between. and getting to know the client and know exactly how they spend their time with the pets is so important that way, you know how how to spend your time.
51:44
Yeah, because if you don't meet those expectations, or if you just think, oh, I don't need to play ball with the dog. And they usually do that in the middle of the day are they like that when the dog is, you know, to get worn out or to get exercise and you You can have some angry clients on your hand if you're not caring for their bet the way they expect them to.
52:06
Oh, absolutely, absolutely. I would follow that up with just saying, never make assumptions. Yeah, that's one thing I see with managing a team of pet sitters is, sometimes it's easy to think, Oh, well, so and so has a 12 year old lab and they like this. So this 12 year old lab over here, he must like the same thing, they must want the same thing. And that's just not the case. Nine times out of 10 Sure. That just never make assumptions. And it's, if you don't know what questions to ask and a meet and greet, you know, listening to your podcast is a great, great way to start. I loved your episode on on me. Yeah, I mean, I really love the way that you explained everything in that episode and You get something you get more comfortable with, the more that you do. It's it is an awkward interaction. You're a stranger in a stranger's home and you're going to be taking care of their baby and you you're nervous because you want to do everything correctly and but it gets easier over time. That's the you have to remember that is the more of these that you do, the more you'll know what to ask what to watch out for. And it you'll come out of your bubble and get more comfortable with
53:31
it as you go. Yeah, absolutely. It's one of the it's, you know, I like to call it it's an awkward version of speed dating, because you only you only have 15 minutes, maybe half an hour to try and get to know everything there. But you also have to take us to do have to take comfort in they asked you to come in and they reached out to you first and so there should be to those just starting out. Know that you should take confidence That fact of the day will ask you to come in and to take care of their dog into make sure that that they're well cared for. And so that that should be something that is is in your front forefront, that it's not. Oh, absolutely, yeah. Another one of your blog posts that you have is and yet you had a video associated with it as well was things every pet sitter should know. And what I think you had you had 1010 things that every pet pet sitter should know.
54:32
Right, you know, hopefully they know more than those.
54:38
Was that was that was that written to, to your, you know, your contractors that you hire? It was that written, you know, again, what, you know, I really enjoyed that. And you can feel free to give a give a few of those that you'd like.
54:54
Yeah, I appreciate it. I actually did write that with my team and mom And actually now, I actually require that potential new sitters read that posts before I interview them. And then I question them on each of those 10 things within the inner. It's my number one thing is knowing how to communicate. It does not matter if you are the best pet sitter in the world, and you always go above and beyond if your clients don't know it, you have to know how to communicate with them, whether it's via text or photos or phone call or Skype, you know, getting that message across that you are loving their baby and that you are doing everything that they expected you to do. And then some, you have to relay that message to people. Yeah. But a few other things that you know, hopefully people will go read all 10 but just to name a couple you You have to be able to recognize normal pet behaviors. There's some things that are just there, they're telltale signs with all dogs, whether it's licking their ears back, or the, the hair on their back, standing up, you need to be able to recognize those cues and know what they mean. And if you don't know basic dog body language, you're not ready for your first client. You know, go volunteer at the Humane Society and have them coach you on things, watch YouTube videos, listen to these podcasts and make sure that you're educated on just basic pet body language and needs. You know, you you need to know things that are going that could potentially harm your dogs. For example, if I'm in Florida, so we have palm fronds everywhere and those can be very toxic to dogs. You need to know you can't let dogs eat them well, while you're on there your walk little things like that can make or break your entire business.
57:13
Yeah, it's and, and seeking out those resources because like, like the plant thing I that's something that is, is not on many people's radars, pet owners it's not even on their radars of what pants plants at home and out in their yard could potentially, you know, make ill or kill their their animal and and that's that's one of those things of it's this when we when we talk about being a pet care professional that that's it that's an aspect to of learning about these these all inclusive aspects of what it takes to to care for and maintain the health and well being of not just your animal but somebody else's.
57:58
Right Absolutely. salutely Yeah, another another really important thing for me is all I think all pet sitters should have a backup plan should an emergency arise. And that's why I've structured bad to the bone to have pack leaders and an operations manager and these tiers of protection. But even if you're a solo pet sitter, you should have a file somewhere easily accessible with all of your clients contact information, should you know you be in a car accident or knock on wood, something happened to you, and you're not able to fulfill your duties. You know, you have to have some kind of backup plan. These families there, they're relying on you and they could be out of the country and not know what's going on and if something happens to you that their pets still have to be cared for.
58:55
Right? Yeah, that's, I can keep you awake at night when you start thinking About that, but, but having having that well thought out plan, having those backup centers having emergency contacts, not just for the owners, you know, do they have somebody local that you could call if they're out of contact but also for yourself if the owner can't get in contact with you? Who could they call to figure out what's going on? And just but right but sitting down to think through all that, it takes time, and a lot of times it's something that gets pushed to the back end the back burner, because it's there's not an emergency right now, though. I'll figure that out later. But it's, but when the emergency happening is not the time to figure out what your emergency plan is.
59:41
Exactly, yep. Yeah.
59:45
So after all these years of being in the pet care, industry, what's been the most rewarding part of your job?
59:54
Without a doubt it is seeing seeing the puppies smile and knowing bed I made a difference in their life whether it was just playing ball with them for a few minutes or going on a walk or just showing up whatever it may be knowing that I made a difference in their life I made their their existence better for them short amount of time that's worth more than anything to me and always will be.
1:00:24
Do you have a particular client that's had a really big impact on you? I know you mentioned your very first client that really kind of set the bar for pet care Have there been anything else any other client whether she you know, human interaction or pet?
1:00:39
Yeah, there's been there's been several You know, I've, I have really became very close friends with several of my clients that is has led to life changing relationships on a lot of different levels. The main thing for me is I was a I was I was a dog. I was a daily dog walker for this man for about two years. And he had moved here from Germany and he didn't have any family or friends in town. And he got a job offer overseas for two years. And he called me up one night and said, Hey, I can't take my dogs with me. But I really want to do this job for two years. What if you moved into my house and took care of my dogs while I was gone for two years? Whoa, and I did it. I did that I actually, yeah, I sold my condo. I sold all of my furniture. Everything that Yeah. Everything that wouldn't fit in the trunk of my car. And I moved into this man's house and he actually ended up getting extended and I lived there for three years. Oh my god. And I'm I can't tell you that was obviously so life changing on so many different levels and your it, him, him offering this opportunity to me. Not only did it allow me to live in a house that I could have never otherwise afforded the most amazing dogs I mean, I already love these two dogs before I moved in, but after having living there, you know, he he's retired now and doesn't need me as a dog walker. But I still go over every two or three days just because I have to have my Nessie and take your time. Yeah, and not only was it life changing on those aspects, but because he offered me a free place to live. I was able to go back to school and finish my degree and do several things on a personal basis that I otherwise would not have been able to do.
1:03:01
Yeah.
1:03:02
It's amazing how those different relationships with different clients can impact your life on so many different levels. And I just, I would really tell people to keep that in mind that you never know when you show up to a meet and greet. You never know what it could lead to and to just always keep your mind open about the possibilities and and just stay positive about it and let those opportunities come to you. You have to be open to those those things like that, otherwise they won't come.
1:03:40
Right. Right. So with that in mind, where do you see yourself in 10 years.
1:03:48
I I have a bit of a crazy goal. I this is something I've concocted in the last year and I've been putting a lot of thought and Planning into it that that could be a whole nother episode. Okay, okay. My My goal is to rival rover and wag. Right? Right. Okay want bad to the bone to be the shining example of how in home pet care should be, you know, you hear these horror stories come out of these larger platforms about things not going right or thing pets going missing and all of these crazy things and I want to show the world and show these large corporations that if you if you structure your business and interact with your clients with actual love and compassion, instead of just money signs in your eyes, things can go so much differently and you can avoid All of those crazy things and really make an impact in your clients lives and an overtime in your entire unit. Yeah, and yeah, so it within the next three years I would like to have pet sitters and dog walkers in every major area of Florida and be expanding into Georgia. And within 10 years, you know, I would really like to have pet care professionals all over the country.
1:05:30
Wow. Wow, I man I tell you that fire that skipped lit under you when you weren't able to be around him sure is burning bright. I know. That's awesome.
1:05:38
Man. I can't tell you. He was my best friend. He was my buddy for 17 years and I would not be the man I am now without him. And I Oh,
1:05:49
skip
1:05:51
everything
1:05:53
down. That's great. It's the we think we're doing leaving marks on them. But when you look Can you say wow, that's what a mark that they've left on us over time. And it's it's that, you know, that can be hard when you're in the pet care business and with your personal pets to you know that when you're around them day in day out, you're investing in you're pouring into them and then you know that that one day that they're not there that can be that can be really hard. But to know that he's, he's, he's he's continuing to fuel and inspire you is just is just great.
1:06:28
Yeah.
1:06:30
Anyway, you've got a lot going on. So how can people get in contact with you and keep up with all the work that you're doing?
1:06:39
Yeah, so you can find me on Facebook, it's facebook.com slash bad to the bone Petcare. I'm on Instagram at bad to the bone here, or my personal Instagram is the wandering pet sitter. I've started to do some traveling pet sitting gigs within the last year and so I Kind of, you can follow my journey with that on the wandering pet sitter. You can also email me at bad to the bone at here at gmail. com.
1:07:12
Wonderful. Well, thank you so much for coming on and taking time out of your busy schedule to talk to us today. I love hearing your story. It's so inspirational. And definitely love to have you back on to talk more about everything as it evolves and to give more updates on you know, employees and business management to you know, it's it's a big topic, and I know we're able to just talk a little bit about it this time, but definitely like to have you back on so yeah, continue that conversation.
1:07:41
Absolutely. I would love that. I would love that. I just have to say how much I'm loving your podcast so far. I mean, I was I was so excited when I found it a couple weeks ago and I love your episodes. I love the topics that you're covering and you know, just keep at it. Keep at it. We need Someone like you and Megan to, to get this information out there and to show people that we really are all in this together and that Yeah,
1:08:12
yeah. Yeah, that's that's our number one goal. I appreciate that very much. We wanted to let others know that there's other people out there other stories and experiences to learn and grow from, and that to throw those voices out there for everybody to listen to, because that's, we'll all be better when when we're all sharing together. Right, right. Again, thank you very much, Doug.
1:08:39
All right. Thank you.
1:08:40
I hope you guys were able to hear Doug's passion for providing the absolute best pet care possible for every single one of his clients. From communication to fully customizable pet care. Doug is really on a mission to change the way pet care is done. Not just in Florida, but across The United States. Feel free to reach out to him with any other questions or feedback or comments that you have about how he's managed to grow his business and to continually meet and exceed his clients expectations. To follow along with pet sitter confessional, go to our Facebook and Instagram and we are pet sitter confessional. We are on Twitter at PS confessional and any emails of feedback or comments to feedback at pet sitter confessional calm, we get asked every now and then how people can help out the podcast. And honestly, the single best way to help out is to share our episodes. If you found one that has been really beneficial to you, you or you've liked the stories that we've shared, we would really appreciate you sending that along to people that you think would benefit as well. We wouldn't be doing this without you guys, and we can't thank you enough for all the wonderful feedback and reviews that you guys have given.
1:09:54
Again. Thank you so much.
