038- Miguel Rodriguez
What's life like for a dog walker at the epicenter of the Covid-19 outbreak in the US? On this episode, we talk with Miguel Rodriguez about what business is like in New York City and the lessons he's learning while serving his community.
Topics in the episode:
How he is spending his time
What his business looks like right now
What it’s like in NYC
What lessons he’s learning
How will the industry be changed moving forward
What can we be doing right now to prepare for the upswing
Words of encouragement
The takeaway? Just. Help. People.
About our guest:
As a child, Miguel Rodriguez was a passionate dog lover and at the age of 14, he began to read every dog training book and watch every dog training video he could get his hands on. After graduating high school, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps where he patrolled with bomb sniffing dogs while serving a combat tour in Iraq in 2007. Miguel has volunteered in animal shelters and rescue organizations and is certified as a master dog trainer. He also has a bachelors degree in criminal justice and a minor in business from St. John's University.
City Dog Pack was established in 2010 when Miguel Rodriguez retired from the United States Marine Corps. When he started the business, he intended to offer dog training and walking as a service only to support himself while attending college to become a K9 handler in a police department. When people in NYC started to hear about the amazing work he was doing with dogs, the business grew rapidly and is now one of New York City's premier dog walking and dog training service.
City Dog Pack specializes in private in home dog training sessions to train your dog in dog obedience and advance dog obedience. They can also help fix behavior problems with your dog such as excessive barking, leash pulling, aggressive behavior, separation anxiety and house breaking to name a few. Their dog walking sessions consist of small dog groups of no more than three dogs and they match the groups by the dog's personality and energy levels. They also offer dog field trips where we take our dogs on half day trips to hiking trails, parks, and beaches in and around New York City and teach free dog agility classes for everyone.
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A VERY ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE EPISODE
Provided by otter.ai
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
people, business, dog, customers, dog walkers, pet sitters, pet, walk, dog trainers, stay, home, contaminated, industry, hurting, situation, important, service, new york city, care, good
SPEAKERS
Collin, Miguel
Meghan 00:17
I'm Collin and I'm Meghan. And this is pet sitter confessional. An open and honest discussion about life as a pet sitter.
Collin 00:26
everybody welcome back to our Friday episode. We are recording this, this interview on May 31. So a lot could probably change by the time you're hearing this as it stands right now. New York and especially New York City is really an epicenter of the Cova 19 outbreak here in the United States with close to 80,000 cases in the state being told to shelter in place until at least April 15. Businesses have literally been ground to a halt. Today we have Miguel Rodriguez on today owner of city dog pack and we By the way, have another interview with him. Coming out a full interview, talking about his business and his background. So today we wanted to let Miguel fill us in on what it's like being a dog walker and pet sitter in New York in New York City right now. So Miguel, thank you for coming on today. And we genuinely hope that you and your family are doing well.
Miguel 01:19
Thanks for having me. It's a it's always a pleasure to talk with you. And we're doing okay, uh, you know, just trying to stay positive, trying to keep myself productive as well and just trying to provide value for whoever can use it at this time.
Collin 01:34
Right. So So how are you? How are you handling and doing with this right now.
Miguel 01:42
Uh, once again, just trying to be positive. I'm still going to work every day. Monday through Friday, I go into the city and I'm walking all over. And I don't have I lost quite a few customers throughout this whole process. But what I'm doing now is have a few customers. Just don't They may have some customers or doctors, nurses that actually work in covert units. And they have pets and they still need to get out and have a small percentage of customers who are still supporting me just to support me, they don't need the service, which is great. It's definitely helping me stay afloat. And other than that, I'm just trying to document everything that's going on in the city that I see through my eyes as a dog walker, on my Instagram account. And if there's anyone in New York City that needs a walk, if it's a person that's elderly, or someone with a compromised immune system, I'm trying to help them out as much as possible as well.
Collin 02:36
So you mentioned that you're still doing quite a bit of work with doctors and nurses, and they're especially busy right now. And that's a big topic in the pet sitting world is how do you And should you care for those people? And I'm curious how how you are handling that.
Miguel 02:53
So as far as it should you, it depends on your situation. So me myself. I'm pretty young. I'm happy Healthy, so is my wife and I do have a 19 and 19 month old daughter at home as well. But I don't live with anyone that's elderly. And I'm being very careful. So. So if you're in my situation, if you do have customers that still need service, you can kind of like try to weigh the risks and see if it's worth it for me, I still want to be able to be there for my customers that need me. And I want to be there for my community as well, because my community provides my livelihood, throughout throughout my life. So now that the community needs me, I just want to make myself available. But that being said, I'm taking every precautionary measure to make sure that I'm staying safe. And also that I'm not spreading any germs to anyone. So whether or not you should or shouldn't be operating at this time that's really up to you and your situation, and also the area that you operate in as well. So those are all things that you should take into consideration.
Collin 03:56
Yeah, it's all about that risk assessment. What are you hearing and seeing from from other dog sitters and dog walkers in New York City these days?
Miguel 04:05
So it's crazy. Usually before this, this whole coronavirus thing kicked off. You can't walk a city block without seeing the dog walker. Now since this whole thing started and we had the mandatory quarantine the last two weeks I've seen maybe two dog walkers that I recognized since then. So I'm not really seeing any dog walkers operating right now. And as far as the ones that I've been in contact with that had you a dog walking and pet sitting companies in your city have contacted me through social media asking you know what my situation was like just trying to see kind of gauge if this is happening with all with everyone within the industry. And they're asking for advice as well and they asked me for extra customers extra business that I may have to push over their way. But right now there isn't much to go around. On but I hadn't really for the most part haven't really talked to any pet sitters.
05:03
Ever. But slow is for everybody. It sounds like.
05:07
Absolutely, definitely, yeah.
Collin 05:11
You've been pretty vocal on on your Instagram account, talking about lessons that you've taken away from this. So I would love for you to kind of tell us and expand on lessons that you've learned, personally and how and what running a business looks like having experienced this.
Miguel 05:32
So personally, I've learned a lot. I've learned to watch really important or what should be my number one priority and I think that's my family first. I can be I have a reputation of being quite a workaholic. So just you know, taking this time to spend more time with my family appreciate them is really put that into perspective. Also, it's really show me that Because I'm a super independent person, and I like to be as self sufficient as possible. So having a business that I've been running for over 10 years, with my blood, sweat and tears and having that taken away from me in a matter of 72 hours, it's really showed, it's been a really humbling experience. And it just shows me how important community is. Because the 15% of customers that are still using my services, whether it's because they need me, or they just want to support me, that's what's keeping me afloat right now. So it just shows me how important community is. And after this is all done, I want to I want to get involved in my community and I want to do something and dedicate a part of my time and my income to give back to people. So personally, that's how that's some lessons that I've learned and business wise. It's taught me that it's really important when things are normal to scale and grow your business as much as possible because a lot of the pet pet sitters and dog walkers in New York City right now. If they don't have any customers to fall back on right now, and they have no income coming in, on, so the time that I took and the extra effort to scale and grow my business is really paying dividends for me now, because I do have some income coming in to help me stay afloat. So there's that. And also, before this whole thing happened last 12 months or so my business was really growing a lot, I was really starting to scale it and I was getting a bit worn out. But sometimes when I do get a bit worn out, I kind of like, ignore the signs that just keep pushing forward and keep going after the next goal. And sometimes I just ignore the science but I feel like the universe just put me in a position where it gave me no choice but to kind of step back and you know, look at my business and try to operate it in a way that it doesn't control me, but I control my business. So I'm going to take this time as well to you know, work on the systems in my business better. So Everything is not so dependent on me. And I need to learn to delegate more, which will help everyone it will help my staff to help me and to help my customers as well.
Collin 08:10
Something you said there really struck me when you said you been running this business for over 10 years and you had it taken away from you in 72 hours. That's the you know, that's that happened to people across the country. And that's such a, that feeling is, is almost paralyzing when you realize how quickly everything was taken from you. And I love I love that you're using this time to to invest in yourself and to work on that burnout that you had creeping up on you and because that's honestly, where we're most of us are and about the only thing that we have control over at this point as business owners is what we can do for ourselves and our family.
Miguel 08:59
Absolutely. That's the reason why I became an entrepreneur. Because I want to be able to control as much as I can on my own. I don't want to depend on a paycheck from from a boss and I want to just forge my own path. And just, you know, the way this just happens so dramatically and so quickly. It's just, it's crazy. And it's just I never thought that this could never happen. But it is and you know, this is also going to teach us a lot as a country, I think. I mean, we had it pretty good. The last, you know, say 100 years or so, we, us as a country, we haven't faced much adversity. So now we're facing adversity, I think a lot of good is gonna come out of this as well as some negative things as well.
Collin 09:44
So looking forward, about you know, kind of in that same vein of, of, when you when you think of when this is all over, how do you think this is going to change dog walking the pet sitting industry as a whole.
Miguel 09:59
So I think it is Some good things and some bad things that's, that's going to occur from this whole situation. One being I think dog owners are going to be a lot more selective as to who they choose to walk their dogs every day and who they choose to care for their dogs in their homes if they do have someone staying in their homes. So I think even after we figured this whole coronavirus thing out, and we have a vaccine or we have some reliable treatment, people are still going to be very spooked for at least a year, I think. So we're really gonna add us as a pet to the industry, we're really going to have to figure out how to put our customers at ease and show them the different precautions we're taking to keep everything as sanitary as possible and keep everything as clean as possible. And also, negative thing that may occur is that I think that a lot of people are going to figure out that they can work out of home a lot more and not go into work. Every day, so that's what that what that's gonna mean it's gonna, it's probably going to mean less business to go around. However, I do think because the, since this whole thing happened, I think probably about a large percentage of pet sitters out there are probably not going to make it and not going to be able to recover from this. So there's going to be a surplus of available dogs to work with when once everything is back to normal. So for the good pet sitters and dog walkers and dog trainers, dog groomers, whatever the case may be in the pet care industry, the good ones that are actually staying connected with their customers. So trying to provide value that are passionate about the industry. Those are the ones that are really going to rise from this whole situation. And I think that if you were if you fall into the category of a pet sitters really passionate about the industry, and passionate about dogs, I think you're probably gonna be even better off after this is all done then you work buyers have grown a buyer. Mm hmm. Yeah, you
Collin 12:04
you touched on something there of people being a lot more selective about allowing people to take care for their dogs. And I think part of that is right now the unknown is strangers or people around you, they have this invisible thing that could kill you. So strangers are now being equated to bad and so when when you mentioned it, of investing in your community, and really being visible and really being a part of where you are and where you work and where you are taking care of pets is going to be super important going forward. Because if they don't know you, you that's gonna be really difficult to get your foot in that door.
Miguel 12:45
Absolutely. It's funny because people in the pet care industry. Prior to this whole coronavirus thing, there's so many a big issue with a lot of dog walkers and people who care for dogs is they use the excuse of working with dogs as As a way to look like crap and not have to, like take care of their hearing somebody don't walk or that I see even prize or coronavirus I wouldn't want them within 60 feet in front of me anyway. I mean, like, you see these dog walkers were like hurt. Their clothes is just completely covered with dog hair holes in their pants. It's like, you know, a full on beard and the hair is just out of control. That's the you know, if this whole coronavirus thing is over and done with what I don't know if it's ever gonna be over and done with but once is under control. dog owners are not going to want people coming to their home looking like that. So you're really gonna have to Clean up, clean up after yourself and really think about your appearance because appearance is everything when you don't know someone. So that's something we're gonna have to consider as a pet care industry.
Collin 13:48
Yeah, absolutely. I think that's that's just spot on and something that we should all be really mindful of moving forward of just just how cautious clients and people are going to be from this point for the foreseeable future.
Miguel 14:06
Also for for dog walkers and pet sitters that are still willing to operate now if they did have customers available, you got to keep in mind there there is a percentage of customers now that still want the dogs walk and still want to perhaps have their dog boarded. Because maybe they're at home they have a lot of work to do and they can't give their dog the attention it needs to and the dogs are probably being a pain their butts while they're sitting in front of the computer. They actually would like to send their dogs off to a walk or to be boarded for like a weekend or something. But they're, they're afraid. So if you're in contact with your customers and find out what it is that they're concerned about, if it's germs and you know, possibly being contaminated. Let them know the precautions that you're willing to take to make sure that you keep their apartments or their homes germ free. If you look at my Instagram account, one of the recent posts I made was, I showed everyone exactly what I'm doing to make sure that my customers stay safe and clean. And you know, I wrote down in this form, you know, I'm cleaning up after the dogs, I'm wiping that I'm wearing a mask, I'm wearing gloves, I'm cleaning my protective equipment every time I enter or leave a building. And that posts alone, that cause a couple of my customers to call me and say, Hey, y'all, you know, I actually do want my dog walk, but I was just kind of afraid of getting contaminated. But it's since you're doing all that, you know, maybe you can walk my dog two days a week. And that makes a difference and, and their concern is money that they're trying to save money. And if you're willing to go off and work perhaps you'll offer them a discount throughout this time. But there are just know that there are some customers that still want your service. They just want peace of mind. Yeah,
Collin 15:50
I think you I I'm not sure if that was the same post where you gave it as the analogy of fighting a war on the virus and how you compare it to when you were in the military. And that now it's that same mentality and same mindset. So what's your thinking and some of your feelings about viewing this and our responsibility as pet sitters and dog walkers being involved in that war?
Miguel 16:15
Yeah, so I want to be careful with that post because you know, if there are a combat veterans that saw that post or listened to this podcast, I don't want them to think that I'm saying that combat is comparable to you know, operating a dog walking business in during a coronavirus pandemic. It's different, it's a lot more intense. Obviously, if you're in combat, however, it is kind of, you know, putting me in that same state of mind. When I was in Iraq. One of the biggest issue in the scariest thing was not so much getting into engagements and firefights because we were so good and we were so well trained, who was so prepared for that. The scary part was not knowing who the enemy was also IDs which was these roadside bombs and surgeons were planned to blow us up. That was our our major threat was IDs and not knowing who the enemy was. And it's kind of similar with the corona virus, you know, as I'm walking around New York City, which is considered the epicenter of the coronavirus right now, I don't know who's contaminated enough. So every time I'm walking by someone, I try to keep more than six feet away from them, I try to stay away from them. If I'm walking down the street, and someone's in front of me and I try to be aware with which way the wind is blowing, is going from their direction to me if I know if they call and there's a droplet that gets blown from their mouth. To me, I can get contaminated so I don't walk behind. So I'm just hyper vigilant at this time and it just reminds me of when I was in the Marines also surfaces I don't know what surfaces are contaminated or not. So I'm just so careful with what I touch on who I'm around and I Just in this hyper state of alertness that reminds me of that time. And when I get home from day's work now I'm just so exhausted because while I'm working less and have less books perfect is the mental, the mental part of just being in that constant state of awareness? It's just so exhausting. So when I get home, I can finally relax. It feels very good.
Collin 18:22
Right? How are you finding that you're able to relax and, and basically, you know, take care of yourself and that's kind of self care in at this moment.
Miguel 18:34
When I get home, I just kind of before this whole thing started, when I would get home, it was just straight to my computer. You know, send emails, reply to requests from customers. You know, go on social media and reply to people who contact me via DMS. So there was always worth after work. Now is different. When I get home from work. I'm just I spend time with my wife. I spend time with my daughter cooking a lot more with my wife watching a lot more documentaries on netflix, which I never had time to do. I'm reading a lot more books. And I'm doing things that I that I didn't do before which which feels good and definitely helps charge the battery. So when I wake up the next day, I feel good. Yeah, I'm ready to go into the city. I'm ready to walk dogs. before. I was just so worried that some days I'll wake up and I'll just wake up with anxiety, knowing that I'm going to go through another grueling day of work. But this definitely, and also what I noticed. Now, this whole situation has helped me fall in love with caring for dogs again, because like I said before, prior to this happening the last year or so I'll be growing so much, which is great. That's definitely what I want to do. But when I would go to pick up a dog, it was just like, yeah, I'm happy to see you but I need to get an other dog so I need to hurry up to pick up the other dogs so I can make time. Now. there's so little dogs available to work with When I when I knock on someone's door and they open the door and I see that one of my pack members wagging his tail like crazy, she's excited to see me he Sprint's over to me, it reminds me, this is why I did this. This is why I got into the pet care industry against the pet care industry become rich. Although it's important to grow your business and be financially stable. I got into this because I didn't want to be stuck in an office. You know, I did this because I love dogs. I love everything about them. I'm a dog nerd. And this whole situation is really reminding me of that
Collin 20:34
really gives you time to sit and think and remember what you're thankful for. And absolutely in love that have reminds you of why why you started in the first place.
Miguel 20:45
We all need that every once in a while. Definitely and this one is just letting us know at a large scale like not only our nation on the entire planet is letting us know that what's important and What we should be prioritizing? Definitely.
Collin 21:03
Now because even two months ago, most of the globe was saying six months ago, mostly global saying we're too busy, we don't have time for anything. I wish I had time for this. I wish I had time for that. And now we literally legally can't do anything else. But spend time with our family if you know if they're available and in really sit back and look around and go, Okay, well, what do I need to do? What can I be doing now?
Miguel 21:29
Exactly. And also, just think about all the other crap that we used to complain about prior to this whole thing. If I went to work and went to Starbucks and I ordered my latte and and and the barista didn't get it, right, just ruin my day for the next three hours. Now, now I'm happy to find a place that she opened her coffee, you know, so? Yeah, like, all those ridiculous things that we complained about before. It's just it's not even existed in our heads now. And also if you look at social media, Look at the news. I mean, that weird things that society complained about, like, like, identity politics and those types of things. No one even no one's even talking about that stuff. Right now we're in a state of survival now. And you know, everyone's coming together to figure this whole thing out and each other safe. It's a lot of good comes out of these situations. Definitely. You know, that's the way I'm trying to look at it myself, you know, in a positive state of mind. Right.
Collin 22:28
And that's hard. That's not easy. Most most days. You know, that's, that's a struggle to remember that bigger picture and to remember, oh, gosh, you know, six months ago, I would have done anything to have this kind of time with my family, so I could have cooked with them. And now, now I have that so I'm here and being present in the moment and being thankful for that. Yeah.
22:48
Yeah. Definitely. Yes.
Collin 22:52
As as a business owner, right now we've got it seems like we've got a lot of time on our hands as we just talked about. What are some things We can be doing right now, to put ourselves in a good position for whenever things start to pick back up.
Miguel 23:07
So first thing I would recommend anyone to do, especially in the service industry and pet care industry, is stay in contact with your clients. Everyone, like about once a week or so you want to send everyone an email say, Hey, I just checking in on you guys see how you doing this anything that you need, whether it's dog related or not, just you know, just know that I'm here and I'm willing to help you. And so that's the first thing I want you to stay in contact with your customers to you should be learning as much as possible right now. You should be reading a book a week, whether it's on you know, dog training, dog behavior, a business book or self improvement show, you should be taking this opportunity to improve as much as possible. You're just going to stay you know, binge watching Netflix and playing video games. You're not going to be ready, or there's going to be a lot of other pet sitters outfit like me more ready than you and the Little bit of customers you had prior to this are going to go over to them. So you want to be prepared in that way you want to educate yourself, improve yourself. Also, you want to kind of reflect back to your business and and look at the three major functions of a business, which is marketing and sales, fulfillment, which is the actual operations of a business, whether you're a dog walker, provide pet sitting or dog train, whatever the case may be. And the last part is the administrative side, which is all the finances, how do you collect payments, and all the numbers of your business? You know, those three component components, you want to reflect back and see where do you need help with? You know, what, where, where can you improve you improve your fulfillment? How can you make your service better? can you improve your marketing and your sales? You only need to work on that no matter how good we are? See how you can do that, you know, look at your social media, look at your website, how can you How can you improve those things and not learn sales? People think that because we're in a service business that we don't have to sell That's very incorrect to have to sell and the way you sell is different from selling a product you sell by gaining people's potential customers trust and you and you sell by letting your customers know what sets you apart from other people to learn about that read books on that on. And as far as the administrative side, that's my least favorite side of business. And what I'm going to do when this is, you know, when the whole coronavirus is under control, I'm going to delegate as much as as possible. So I could just pour all my energy and effort into marketing and sales and fulfillment, because I'm not good with the administrative side and I read there's people that actually like doing that stuff. So I'm going to just delegate that as much as possible. So that's an example of what I'm going to work on my business with you and not your particular anyone else listening to this. Maybe your marketing and sales need to work maybe you're filming these work on so that's what you should be doing. Also, we should be doing is providing service to people right now. Anyway, you can so If you have a social media and you're a doctrine you have knowledge on on doctrine and other people don't have after a while, but you know, right now you should be posting videos on Facebook on YouTube on Instagram tutorial videos and how to care for dogs on how to train dogs how to groom dogs because right now people they still need dog grooming but they are afraid to get the dog room but do a tutorial video on YouTube and show people how to groom their dogs properly. Of course of course when things are back to normal they rather have someone else to that helper right now providing that service someone I mean I'm sorry providing that tutorial to someone when things get back to normal who they're gonna call when needed. They gonna call you So yeah, that's why you should be stayed active as possible and provide as much value to everyone as possible.
Collin 26:49
It's It's funny, you should mention the dog grooming because just today I had somebody a client reach out and ask if we did dog grooming because all the dog groomers in our town have closed And they're only providing like self groom stations. They're not they're not touching anybody's dogs. And I thought for a moment, like, should I offer? No, you don't want to see my dog you don't want to see you wouldn't want your dog back after I'm done grooming, but it made me think and go okay that may be a service we can add once we you know, we can get some training and we can get practice and you know we can that may be something we can work on during this time so that we can offer that when things open back up, but it just, it just hit me of like, wow, like there is so much to still add and learn and to be doing right now.
Miguel 27:38
That's true and think about it. If you're always say this on my Instagram on my dog, this TV page and I've mentioned it to you before from chats that we've had in the past. Whether or not you're a dog trainer or not. If you're in a pet care industry, it is so essential to know about dog training and know about dog behavior. Because it. If you do, you can provide so much more value for your customer than any other business. It doesn't have that knowledge. So let's just say this whole coronavirus thing goes on and it affects the pet care industry and service industry for the next three months. before things get better again, do you know how much you can learn about dog training and dog behavior in three months, if you really immerse yourself into it, and there's so many amazing books, great dog trainers from around the world. You can be reading there online webinars that you can take that are not that expensive on their YouTube videos from a lot of different dog trainers that you'll be checking out right now. So at the end of the spring months when the summertime comes and, and hopefully by then, at least by then, hopefully things are back to normal. You now had this valuable skill that people are willing to pay for and you don't have to be certified. You can get certified, you know online, brought this time to you don't have to be certified if you just know your stuff and you can help someone With their dog that has like, severe behavior issues, and you could turn that around, that's a very valuable service that people are willing to pay a lot of money for. So you can use this time to gain skills help your business to help you earn more money later on.
Collin 29:14
Thinking about the pet sitters and dog walkers across the country right now who, who maybe are
29:21
there,
Collin 29:22
obviously businesses is basically zero for all basically almost all of us and they may be in not sure what the future looks like. I was curious if you have any words of encouragement that you would give to them or for others are listening.
Miguel 29:37
Uh, well, one, if you're so worried about all the business that you lost, and all these customers that you lost throughout this whole coronavirus pandemic, just understand that your customer, they want things to go back to normal as much as you do. So, the moment that that that things are under control, they're gonna call you back. However, once again They don't keep harping on this. You have to be prepared for that and where to be prepared to stay in contact, and setting yourself up and your business up to be ready for those customers whenever they do come back. And like I said before, because so many people in the dog care industry are going to, I think die off after this is can be a surplus of business available to you if you're a good pet sitter. So you also have to recruit people to help you run your business, you're gonna have to hire pet sitters, you're gonna have to hire dog walkers to start networking now. So if you there are people in your community that are pet sitters, and you see on social media that they're struggling, it'd be a good opportunity to collaborate and work together so that when things get back to normal, maybe you could have other other entrepreneur people that have an entrepreneurial spirit that had the same goal that you had and you combined powers and work with them. You'll be ready for that. Whatever comes at you when things are back to normal. That's it Something that I'm that I want to do, because in New York City, I mean that the pet care dog walking business has just been absolutely decimated. So there, there are a lot of dog walkers out there and pet sitters and dog trainers that are hurting right now. And they're very good at their job, but they're not very good entrepreneurs, they don't know how to grow and scale a business I have that knowledge. So I would like to kind of join forces with all of them. So once things are back to normal, we can do something great together.
31:31
Yeah, I
Collin 31:33
working together to get through this. And and everybody has skills and ideas and expertise to contribute and leaning into those is, is is really essential right now. So because as you mentioned, everyone's struggling so we're we're better together. That sounds so cliche, but it really is true of you know, I don't know how to grow and market but that's something you're Amazing at so let's team up and let's do exactly get this and continue to serve the community that we all love so much.
Miguel 32:07
Absolutely. And also, if you're a pet sitter, and you know you lost 90% 100% whatever the case may be of your business, I just don't fall into depression and in and you know, sadness and don't start to feel sorry for yourself because everyone is is hurting right now. You know, whether it's financially, you know, businesses all over America just shut down, whether it's financially whether it's health wise people who actually contracted the virus and have family members who have people have lost family members, they're hurting that way. Think about people's mental state right now people are being isolated in quarantine in their homes. Think about the depression anxiety that people are going through so everyone is hurting right now. It's not just you. So, it when you you when you understand and you put that into perspective, and instead of just staying home, being The Press try try to help people you even if it's not, don't even think about business right now. Think about your neighbor. Think about the old lady neighbor that lives down the block and you never see people visit her. Perhaps you need someone to go to supermarket. And when you do that you help someone. It feels good. Like for example, there was a lady in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. She wasn't one of my customers but she's a 92 years old, has little Maltese and she doesn't have any family but a neighbor of hers contact me on an Instagram and said hey, can you possibly stop buying give this lady you start to walk a couple days a week and you know I stopped by picked up her dog, very careful not to touch anything and it was just so rewarding. Just seeing her a big smile on her face. She was just so happy that someone was able to walk her dog but she was also happy to see someone who's happy to have someone actually cared if they came to check in on her. You know I'm that's one warning as well. So if you're feeling depressed I always tell people whenever you're feeling depressed, you're feeling down. Hope other people that always helps me feel better.
Collin 34:06
I love that so much that people need to really hear that and let that sit and rattle around in their brains just help people. Right. It's that's where we're where we are. All right now. I'm Miguel, thank you for coming on today and sharing with us and giving us so much encouragement. How can people get in touch with you and follow along and get your Instagram and all of that stuff right now?
Miguel 34:35
Sure. So if anyone in the pet care industry, we're all hurting right now. If you needed some advice, you need help, you're in a bad place mentally, business wise, whatever the case may be. You can send me an email city dog pack@gmail.com. Or you can find me on Instagram under city dog pack or dog this TV, which is my business advice channel. And you can find me on Facebook as well. I think city.com That's it.
Collin 35:02
Awesome. Well, well, Miguel again, I'm glad that you and your family are doing well. And we'll continue to to stay in touch. And we wish you guys all the best and really mean that from the bottom of our hearts.
Miguel 35:14
Thank you very much. I just want to say you guys are doing an amazing job with the podcast. I've been listening. This past week, I listen to a few episodes. You guys do an amazing job. And I think that you guys are going to be the next big, big thing when it comes to podcasts about the pet sitting industry.
Collin 35:30
Thank you very much, Miguel, that means an awful lot. Thank you very
Miguel 35:32
welcome. Have a good night to you,
Collin 35:34
but not much. I'm going to try and add to that just help people I think is the single takeaway that we all need to be considering as we move forward through kovat 19 and the impact that it's having, not just on our businesses, but on the people in our community around us. Megan and I are doing several episodes each week, so to make sure you don't miss a new one. Make sure that you are subscribed in whatever podcast app you're listening, or visit our website pet sitter confessional.com to get all the latest updates there. Also, if you're struggling right now, mentally, emotionally or with your business or anything going on, we want to hear from you. We've set up a voicemail that you can call 636-364-8260. Let us know how you are doing. Until next time
