079- Our Defining Moments with Asha Olivia
Dadijee and her dog, Punu.
Summary:
Asha Olivia, owner of Hoby Dogy, shares what's shaped her passion and desire to go above and beyond for the safety of pets in her care. From family history, to recent health battles, each moment has shown her what she is capable of. As pet sitters, we all have defining moments in our life and in our business that set the course of how we respond and act in the future.
Topics on this episode:
How she got started and where her passion came from
Her 7-step process for onboarding clients
Her focus on safety
The role of ahimsa is her business
Asha’s story from the past year
How moments shape us
Main take away? Everyone has moments that shape us, don’t let this moment go to waste.
About our guest:
I share my life with Savey and Lovey, who I saved from the streets of Colombia, and my husband Jan.
Savey and Lovey are the most recent of soul mates who happen to be dogs. There was Liza, the Great Dane who used to carry me as a tiny baby on her back and Lika, a puppy on my mother’s Colombian farm who my brother and I worshipped as little children. There was Rusty, the Doberman Pincher and German Shepherd who I loved as a devoted school kid and Trevor, a Cocker Spaniel who was the love of my whole family when I was a teenager. None of us will ever get over his passing. Then, this last decade, there was Livey, the Cocker Spaniel who showed me who I was and continues in my heart.
When I think about why I decided to work with dogs after being in the corporate world so long, it has to be those soul mates and my family. Karma is karma, and my family has a generations-long romance with nature. I strive to be some small part of what they mean to me.
My maternal grandparents and great grandparents, a hodgepodge of adventurers from Spain and indigenous natives from the New World, were pioneers and settlers in Colombia and lived in humble interdependence with animals and plants on the wild savannah.
My paternal grandmother Dadijee, who was from India, was a gentle person and lifelong vegetarian who loved all animals. I share below a precious family heirloom of her sitting next to her dog Punu, or "the one who does good deeds" and also "lover boy". They were inseparable.
My parents carry on those traditions. Dad's always teaching about the importance of kindness or knowledge or sharing a parable of legendary mythology. Mom can be found tending to the yard, helping on a new blossom, and when she’s not doing that, she's caring for others.
That’s it. I could tell you how many years I spent getting an official education or title, but they could never compare to who my real teachers are.
Links:
Asha’s website: https://www.hobydogy.com
Email: hello@hobydogy.com
Give them a call: 877 797 3647
Give us a call! (636) 364-8260
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Email us at: feedback@petsitterconfessional.com
A VERY ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE EPISODE
Provided by otter.ai
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
people, dog, families, clients, safety, business, harness, thinking, id tag, hoboken, cancer, life, care, day, pop, pup, doggy, check, absolutely, world
SPEAKERS
Collin, Asha
00:17
I'm Collin and I'm Meghan. And this is pet sitter confessional,
00:20
an open and honest discussion about life as a pet sitter.
Collin 00:29
You can never really tell how what you're going through today will impact you in the future. For a lot of us, that's bad clients. And that's why we have so many slps and very lengthy policies. It could also be traumatic life events, or misunderstandings, and how we respond and react to those same kind of events in the future. We all have that kind of background. We all have experiences that have shaped the way we respond and react to things that are going on. Today, and that manifests itself in our businesses and in our personal life, too. On today's episode, Asha, owner of hoby doggy joins us to discuss how her previous experiences with pets and with pet care and through her family lineage have impacted how she view safety and how she interacts with pets. Day in and day out. I'll share some of her personal story over the past year and the outlook that she has for the future and shares some hope that we can all take away from that. So let's get started.
Asha 01:31
Hi, my name is Asha Olivia and I am the owner of hoby doggy, which is a pet care company in Hoboken, New Jersey. I started my company in 2012. It came out of a of having gotten a dog a few years earlier and just being completely overwhelmed by this, this incredible love that I thought I was incapable of really feeling for another living beings that didn't look like me, you know. And it hit me really hard. And at that point, we were in the middle of the economic recession. And I've gotten my pop during that during that time. And when I had the opportunity to go back to corporate America, I kind of evaluated my options and said, You know, I just really love this too much to go to go back. Yeah, just everything about being with dogs. And you know, being in the great outdoors. It just spoke to me from such a primal level, that the idea of starting my business didn't come from the perspective of I want to start a business. It came from the perspective of I couldn't imagine myself doing anything else in life. Right. So that is how he was born.
Collin 02:50
And I was curious about the name and how it came about, but it comes from you being in Hoboken, New Jersey, so I think that's a really cool tie in.
Asha 02:58
That's so funny that you say say that because not a lot of people get the name they asked me you know, like what is that? Does that mean like you're you know hobo or you know it's like no Hoboken and it actually came about because my husband which who was then my fiance asked me to come up with a really funny name. And we were just playing back and forth and and he said, I challenge you to come up with a name that's funnier than fuzzy butts which is a
03:30
which is it's a
Asha 03:30
grooming company in Hoboken and I just love the name I don't I still believe to this day that like nothing can top the name fuzzy buts but I've tried really hard to be doggy but I think you can't say he'll be doggy and be like in a bad mood. You know?
Collin 03:46
Yeah, no, you can't say it well, frowning. It's kind of like you can't sit in a hammock while being angry like you just hope the doggy just yeah, smiles. Yeah, totally, totally.
Asha 03:56
I want to do I always dreamed about doing like a live like being on the street video and having like a microphone and asking people to say the name. How many people in Hoboken can actually say it? So, got it the
Collin 04:09
first time. Oh, well, that's awesome. Yeah, I love that name. I love stories like that of how you come up with names cuz that's one of the first things that you, you really have to stretch your creative muscles whenever you start your business of like, okay, I love what I'm doing. I see this vision. What on earth do I call this and so hearing that your husband kind of challenge a little challenge for you and I say you succeeded. You did. That was like,
Asha 04:35
thank you so much. In speaking of my husband, we have kind of a interesting background of how we met. We actually met in church square dog park in 20 2010. And he was walking his friend's dog, his roommates dog. Her name was jazzy. And he was throwing the ball inside the dog park and I think was just like, Who is this dude? Push is so focused on just throwing the ball throwing the ball, like nothing else mattered to him, except this pops joy. And it was it was kind of love at first sight because I was like, this is just like the male version of me, you know. And it's kind of in a in a weird story because that's that's how we met is our love our sheer love of dogs, you know inside of a dog park and just caring for dogs and that that's defined our you know, our friendship and our relationship all these years.
Collin 05:32
I really hear this theme of of passion you have you have a shared passion with your husband, you've had passion for animals, and that's really translated into how you've been able to run and operate your business all this time now.
Asha 05:44
Yeah, completely. I mean, it goes even even further back than that. My grandmother was a huge dog lover, and she was a vegetarian. She was from India. And we have a picture of her that's a family heirloom In 1960 of her sitting on this chair in India, in an all white sari, and with a sari is like a dress that women wear in India. And she has her dog sitting at her feet right on her feet. And her dog's name is Punahou, which means Loverboy. And in I guess, Hindi or in Punjabi, and that picture was always such a strong influence for me to seeing it as I grew up, and it just, the connection just became stronger and stronger when I realized, gosh, this love that I have for dogs and for animals is is something that's probably kind of neat
Collin 06:39
to be able to look back and see this family history of, yeah, we've always been an animal, animal lovers and that helps explain and it helps whenever you are growing up with other animal lovers to just transition into providing excellent care and it makes it a little bit easier whenever that grind hits of like, this is just boring. rid of it, you know, we've just kind of go with the flow.
Asha 07:02
Exactly. I mean connecting to your why, you know, like sometimes like these, you know, this is almost July 2020 and it's you know, the last three months have been a you know, pandemic The world has shut down and and connecting to that why and and is even more important than ever before. So for me that's a that's an easy endeavor. What about you?
Collin 07:23
Megan I grew up with dogs grew up with animals around the house. I had dribbles we had chickens, we had all you know, we lived on a small farm basically and so they were always just just part of it. Of there were dogs in the house, there were dogs outside. And they were just, I think just part of my life growing up. And so it was a question of, well, why wouldn't I take care of a dog? So there's I couldn't come up with anything right? It was just, that's just that's just what you do. Right? You take care of and you love them and you really enjoy it completely. And Megan background was the same way she grew up with with toxins and with a variety of dogs and they just always viewed them as family members. And so when we looked into starting it was, oh, we can grow our family. Right? We can we can have more family members and enjoy it too.
Asha 08:09
Yeah, that's how I see it as well.
Collin 08:11
So I am curious about what kind of services you offer. Well, we
Asha 08:14
are a weekday dog walking company, as well as puppy care company. We used to be in the pet sitting space as well. And over the years, we've we've evolved to be no just a week day, you know, dog walking and puppy care company because we felt like that was where we could add the most value. We we were finding that 99% of our families were weekday commuters into New York City or into different parts of Connecticut and New Jersey. So that's where we we evolved to, and it's been kind of a blessing. And now a little bit of a tough, tough time. Because most of our families are stay at home families, so now because of the pandemic, so, you know, we're we're kind of in the middle of, you know, seeing how we can continue as a company and continue to generate revenue.
Collin 09:18
Have you had a lot of interest expressed from clients of wanting services, but not being able to or what does that balance been like for you?
Asha 09:26
Yeah, it's been it's been a crazy journey. I mean, since March 13 2020, when basically the world fell apart. I think it was it was March 13. That was Friday the 13th. That was when our business dropped by 95%. You know, and that was a time in New York City where we were the center of the Coronavirus pandemic. Hoboken is right across the river from the city of New York. I can see the city skyline the Manhattan skyline from Milan livingroom window. So, you know, it was just Kapow. You know, all of a sudden everybody was staying indoors. Since then we've been able to keep going. And the clients that have been with us have been incredibly loyal and have first I think came it came out of a sense of loyalty where, you know, we want to support small business, we want to support local business. We've, you know, Tokidoki team has been with us, you know, for a long time and we don't want to let them go now or, you know, we want to keep keep the sense of community, but I think now it's, it's more I really need to work. I need to be on zoom calls. And you know, I'm having trouble you know, you know, balancing everything so, I think the families that are with us now, we've we've gained into some clients since then. They're they're more stay at home family work from home families that really just need help.
Collin 10:54
Well, I think that that probably was a little underestimated going into it of people going well. I'll just be here. All day with their dogs and you know what my services are just not needed at all. But as you mentioned, people went, Okay, we need a little bit of a break, and I need the dog to have less energy so that we can be happier or, you know, we can be doing things. So that is good to hear that the clients recognize that too. And did. Were you communicating to them about that need or how did you kind of stay in front of them and stay on their brain?
Asha 11:24
Yeah, I mean, I am. I just wanted to be there as a resource. And as a friend, you know, there was never there was never any marketing campaign as to you know, you should keep us on or, you know, we we wrote a really heartfelt blog post about how we were going to, to try to stay open, you know, through the worst of time to the darkest of times, but it was just more of staying present. We sent out a care packages to all of our families with a was kind of funny actually included cookies, but it also included Tiny little plastic tequila bottle full of tequila. That's open in case of emergency. Oh tag. Yeah, just to kind of keep it real for people, you know, like, we're all human. And, you know, this is just it's a really intense time. And, you know, we we would love to have you back. We don't expect you to be back, you know, right away or maybe not for a while. But hey, you know, we're thinking about you. We're, we're all going through a tough time. And if you need to open this tequila bottle, please do. You know, to just, you know, just emergency supplies. Yeah. Yeah. So,
Collin 12:39
like you said, if it humanized it, it allowed you to just say like, Look, I get it, you get it. Let's stop beating around the bush on this. Yeah, this is not fun for anybody. This is bad. And we're still here. And we want to be helpful and let you know that that we're caring about you that we're thinking about you. And that's it. No asks Nothing as you said, no big marketing campaign or anything like that, it was just Hey, we're all in this together. And you know, that's I feel like, that's probably one of the most used phrase of 2020 we're all in this complete.
Asha 13:13
Now more than ever, never before. Yes, it just keeps on. Yeah. keeps on ringing more and more true. For for sure. Yeah. And I think that I think families really appreciated that, you know, that we were just saying, Hey, we're still here. And we're, we're not going anywhere. You know, and I think that, that really taps into the first part of what we're talking about in the beginning, which is, you know, connecting to your why, you know, why are you really doing this you know, it's it's just serve others and, and in some in the way that they need to be served. So, and it's it's interesting because the people that have come to us that our new the families have come to us they're their emergency, you know, First responders, frontline workers, health care workers, their doctors, we have people that are in the National Guard. So we were there when nobody else was, I remember speaking to a couple of new families and then saying, we've been calling and calling and emailing and texting our dog walking companies, and they're not responding to us. And I found that to be really crazy because, you know, you everybody deserves a response, you know, you know, no matter what, even if you're shut down to say, Hey, you know, FYI, we're not we're not operating right now. And it was all too common for me to, to hear, you know, I didn't even get any type of reply, you know, and this is the 21st century and although we were shut down, you can always take, take an email, you know, respond to an email in you know, and respond to a phone call. So, and we never, we never did that. We were always In fact, we were almost too much there, you know, it's like, Hey, you know, how's it going? You know, we're still we're still in operation, we're still here. You know, and, and, and also, at the same time being incredibly safe, you know, and thinking through what our, our processes and our protocol would be for the families that you know, we're going to be with us.
Collin 15:21
Yeah, it really was kind of these two, two trajectories that you could have taken of, when it hit closed down and disappear and wait, and for whatever reasons, you know, they decided to do that may never know or just keep sending a few emails, right. Keep checking in, you know, and letting them know what you're thinking and where your mind is. And that just helps. helps with your clients at ease. Because Yeah, they know, in the back of mind, okay, I don't need them now, but they're still there. Okay, next week, okay. I don't need them now. But they're still there. Right? And that just that helps that whole process. So nobody gets panicky and everyone, everyone understands what's going on.
Asha 16:00
Yeah, absolutely, you know, and when we were going through that we add a bit kind of out of the fires of all of that, so to speak, we created this process called our seven step, excuse me, seven step safe virtual setup. And we just wanted to be able to serve families in a way that was number one safe for our families, you know, how do we how does one onboard families, you know, in the middle of a global pandemic, you know, and and also to keep our team and our family and ourselves safe. So, that was a weird thing because we're very, you know, every pet care professional dog care professional is extremely touchy feely, right? It's all about like, you know, shaking people's hands and you know, giving people hugs and, and, you know, sitting down with the dog and sitting on the floor and doing a meet and greet talking to the client while on the floor, you know, with the with the pup. And so it was a really You know, it was, it was weird to have to have to do that. But I think, you know, in the end, it was good for us to create a protocol, an onboarding practice that was that was going to address what was going on, you know, that's going on right now.
Collin 17:16
Sure. It could you walk us through what those seven steps are, and kind of what the thought process was behind them.
Asha 17:22
Yeah, absolutely. Well, right now, there are seven steps. I mean, as we move forward, and hopefully we, you know, we things calm down a little bit, we can take away some of those steps. And what we do is we we preface it with new clients or new families by saying, hey, look, we realize this is a little bit of extra upfront work, which isn't typical, because I know you just want to onboard and be done with it. No, but I think that the families that come to us are the ones who recognize, hey, we're known for safety in our community. That's the number one thing that we're known for, and so they appreciate that were more buttoned up on doing you know these these types of checks even before they start with us so the first step is just simply a phone call, you know getting started. And then we have them register as well. We also do a choice of a virtual meet and greet or a an in home or face to face Meet and Greet, observing CDC protocol, which is obviously six feet of distance, you know, masks, hand sanitizing, you know, all of the things that we've heard so often over the last, you know, 90 days, and then we do a, an equipment safety check, where we ask the client to take a really short video of their pup in their harness of choice or their their equipment of choice. And we like to see it on video so that we can check that the harness is indeed secure. The six points will we call it a six point safety tug six points of the body which is the back the chest, on each of the sides, down the belly and across the belly. We've just found over the years that that's those six points are the most critical points and seeing if a piece of equipment is secure. We also ask clients to take a photo of their dog's leash because we are super careful about making sure that leashes are no more than four feet in length. And that's to keep the dogs close to us because we're living in a big city environment. And then lastly, we ask the client to take a picture of their dog's ID tag and make sure that it's attached to the collar and not the harness. So once the client has those, those pieces of media which is just super quick to do, and it's you know, safety for them peace of mind for them as well. Then we, they upload it to a dropbox folder, and we check it the next step is a And enclosure safety check, where we ask the client to take a picture of their pop in their enclosure if their pop is indeed enclosed or their dog is indeed enclosed. So we asked for them to back up. And for them to take kind of like all four corners of the enclosure so that we can check it. And that's to see, you know, how is the enclosure setup? Is there Is it is it a gate that's, you know, in between, to, you know, the, the kitchen counter and the wall is pop inside of the kitchen, inside of a hallway inside of a crate. And we just like to see, you know, how is it set up so that we can check if there's any, there could be any, you know, places where a pup could could get out. You know, there are some crates that are that are one latch crates where sometimes pups can actually get out of one latch crates, because they can just nudge their nose right across and we've seen it on video. You know, so, and then they we asked them to upload that photo again to the same Dropbox folder, super easy to do. Then we asked them for a home safety check. And all that means is, you know what are you you know what's how do we how do we get into your your access your home? Is it you know, keys, is it a concierge? Is it a lockbox? So we take care of all of that upfront. And then the last part of it is a health safety prep. So in the health safety prep, we ask them to think through where are they going to be putting their sanitation supplies for us to make sure that we sanitize any surface that we touch, so they can have a 70% isopropanol alcohol spray bottle, they can just put some as a proper alcohol into a spray bottle and leave it at the front entrance. Or they can create baby wipes and add some isopropanol alcohol to that. And then just also think through you know, where they're putting their pop when we come so if they're still working from home To make sure that maybe their puppies is at the front entrance around the time that we're coming to take them out, so that we're not kind of running all over the apartment trying to, you know, trying to harness them up, or potentially having us having having them meet us at the door. So that we're, you know, taking them right from the door. Right. And then the other part of the last part of this, the health safety PrEP is really asking continuously asking themselves certain health questions, you know, have you had a fever or cough? Or any flu like symptoms in the last 14 days? You know, have you come across anybody that may have had this sentence in the last 14 days. So we really are setting people up for really thinking through their own safety measures during this tough time to keep themselves safe and to keep us safe. So it's a little bit of prep work and it's not so simple as Hey, let me register now and you know, come over to our to our home, but in the end, it's going to make Then so much safer in the end. And I think that we're probably, if I'm not mistaken, the only company in Hoboken that is doing that is thinking so thoroughly through all of that.
Collin 23:10
Yeah, I was gonna say, have a seven step process. four of those are about safety and health. You you get the phone call register the vertical mean Get out of the way. And then there's these four steps. It's all about safety for the pet safety for you safety for the client and everybody's health. I love that so much because it really does speak to all of this for thought and this concern not just for your health, but for the clients in the pet safety as well. And that how would that is just central to everything that you are trying to do with this process.
Asha 23:45
It really is. And I think that families when they come to us, they're so most of them are so new to pet care because they just got a pop. They just rescued a pop or you know that for whatever reason adopted Maybe they, they were one of the people that you know, didn't know about pet stores being you know, puppy mills and got a puppy from a pet store, you know, but through no fault of their own, really because they were not educated. And so they're asking us to be the people to take to really look out for their welfare. And they're not thinking about safety. Really, they're just thinking about, gosh, how do I check this off of my to do list? And how do I, you know, keep focused on my job and balance everything that I have to balance in my life, with family and with friends and with work? So we have to be the ones to say, wait a second, you know, you really should think through this and you really should choose a dog care option that is all about safety. So, you know, so that's what we've been doing that from the very beginning as a company. This is this virtual setup is not something that's new to us except for the health or the health safety prep part. The other parts with the The equipment safety check, the enclosure safety check, and the Home Access check. Those were parts that we already did, but just in person
Collin 25:11
and what's really cool, you mentioned it's kind of like a short educational course on these key aspects for the owner of Okay, maybe you never thought about how a harness is supposed to fit, but we're going to take it we're going to take a video we're going to talk about that fit, right maybe you've never thought about the position of a crate, we're going to talk about that. And it helps this this educational aspect of I know you don't think about this as a pet owner, you don't really care maybe but we're gonna like this is what we care about. And you're gonna end up caring about this by the end.
Asha 25:46
Absolutely. And I think you know, our Google reviews talk about that too. And all all over Google reviews. Like Asha is so much about safety you don't your team is a safety safety. Safety is just all over our reviews, because People really are taken aback at first, you're like, Whoa, you know, and then they're like, wow, you know, you really did think about the fact that the ID tag should really be on that collar and not on the harness because of the pop ever gets out of a harness. You cannot ID that dog immediately, you know, if if they get away from you. Luckily, you know, thank you, you know, I'm just so grateful that we've never had that kind of a problem. We never had a dog escape and hokey pokey history, because we're so so very careful. But we've also thought through the worst case scenario of how are we going to recover that pump? Well, we're going to recover that pump because that ID tag is going to be on that caller.
Collin 26:42
Yeah. Where do you think that level of detail and concern for safety comes from?
Asha 26:48
I'm so glad that you asked me that question. Because I was thinking through that question, too, as I was going through the years, and I'm like, where Why am I such a safety nerd? When really nobody else is because as concerned as I am, and it's because I lost a dog, when, you know, through no fault of our own, we had my parents were traveling around the world, they just recently retired. And we sent our family pup to stay with a cousin of ours. And the the cousin, God bless her heart. She let our dog out without a leash in the middle of a rainstorm, and just to go to the bathroom like the last day of the night, right. And the dog, our pup. Trevor, his name was he he got scared with a flash of lightning or maybe some thunder and he ran across the street at that very second. He just kind of got disoriented and a car came and he was killed. So that was probably the most devastating one of the most devastating experience As of our lives because you're this absolutely innocent creature, who is depending upon the good, good judgment of the people around them to keep to keep them safe, you know, right. And that impacted me so much and and it was kind of unconscious and but now that I keep going back and thinking about why we're, we're such safety nerds and safety geeks at hoby, doggy, I think it's because of that reason is that I never want a family to have to go through what we went through. Never.
Collin 28:31
Right. Yeah, you're right. It just it shakes you to your to your core, and it forces you to start thinking of all those last five justices if you have done and continue to do you know, if I don't want that to happen? What are the steps that I need to have in place to prevent that and that goes all the way back to step zero of just having a conversation about it right? And then building on that and I'm sure sometimes I you know, it may be Like, ah, is it? Is this all worth it? What's going on? You know, this is a lot of work, you know, especially for a client going I don't understand all this. Well, they'll understand they'll understand that real fast that one time they're there, their first child gets out, and they don't come back. Right? It's like that's, that's what we don't want.
Asha 29:17
You never want that to happen ever, ever, ever. That's, that's what drives me that's what keeps me awake at night. thinking through all of these processes is that I don't want that phone call. You know, I don't want to have to make that phone call. You know, and we haven't had to make it you know, and and it just it now that phrase now more than ever before. It just keeps popping up but honestly, you know couple that with the dangers of of pop care in the first place and all the handling that you're doing with with pops and really energetic pops that be innate, built in danger that comes with that and handling, you know, 100 dogs a day. Doing all of that. Now, on top of that, you know, the concerns on COVID. And so it was just a natural extension for me to create this, this setup, so that we can think through all of the rest of it too.
Collin 30:14
Yeah. Well, you mentioned if you're doing that many dogs a day, it's not that you just have to get it right, one time, you have to get it right 100 times a day, times, however many days you're going to have those dogs under your care and doing it repeatedly. And so getting them written down, well laid out and roping in the clients too. Because, you know, you can't do that all by yourself. It does have to be a little bit of a team effort there. And so that's again, why I love that educational aspect of what you're trying what you are doing.
Asha 30:41
Exactly, I think clients, you know, when I when I, I send them an email and I say, well, the harness is a little bit slack. You know, make sure to be sure to take a look at that tonight, you know, and you know, tighten it up in these specific places. I think they kind of shake their heads and they're like there goes Asha again to make sure it's actually Extra, extra snug, you know, I always say snug as a as a bug in a rug, you know, but I think that they in the end really appreciate and know that I, I have my finger on the pulse of, of every single client and in our database in our, just our background files that we keep is what the name of the harness that they have. And I always ask that I research the name of that harness because I want to know, has it had any doesn't have any built in defects? What is the failure rate on the harness? You know, so and then I come back to them and say you know what, there we do have two harnesses that we have a total ban on one of them is the EZ walk harness. The other one is the substation harness. And just over the years I've just taken a look at those harnesses and they do have a defect where they do sag in certain areas, despite having to despite being tightened from you know, continuously or a dog can. If, if spooked enough can back out of them and get out of them. So It's tough to, to say to a family, you know, we really do need you to make sure that you take the ID tag off of the harness and put it on the collar, you know, but we're, we're only doing it because we have our family's best interests at heart.
Collin 32:12
Right. And they do see that, in the end, I mean, that that does come through, I'm sure that can be a little like, I know, you've always put it on the harness, but we need to not do that. And this is why and, you know, they come around and they see that eventually.
Asha 32:28
Yeah, and you know, and we're not we're not such hard hats, you know, if they want to keep it on the harness, fine, but get another ID tag for the color. So, you know, sometimes, you know, it's, it's like overwhelming, whether there's, like there's a call, there's a there's an IT OUT ID tag on the harness, it's an IT tag on the collar, but, you know, that's just because we we want to make sure that we're doing our due diligence, you know, in the event of, you know, we're just thinking of a worst case scenario, which you know, luckily again, we've never had to go through.
Collin 32:57
You also have a two week free trial. How does that work? And what's been the response to the client?
Asha 33:03
It's been great. Firstly, I'd say that people come to us because of our Google reviews, and also because of our safety procedures. And you know, our brand is about safety. And it's about love. And I think that when you look at our website, you can see that it's just that peaceful, Zen loving feeling comes out. But then, you know, it's obviously great when you've got a quality option that is also you know, affordable. So we just found that it's very expensive to have a puppy and to have a dog, you know, you have to worry about getting all of the equipment and the food and then there's the veterinarian. So we like to make it easy, easier for our families to choose pet care in the first place. And not skimp on that. So we give the first week free and we give the eighth week free. It's worked out. Well. I mean, I think the community has been very responsive, but I don't believe it's the reason why people come to us they they see it as an added benefit. But they they know they're coming to us because they like what our brand stands for and what our company stands for.
Collin 34:09
Yeah, absolutely. And you mentioned that maybe we'll get a puppy, they're super excited about it. And then these expenses start kicking in, and then they start going, Oh, right, cuz I'm going to be gone eight hours a day or nine hours a day for work, or, you know, our art I need to travel. How do I count into this? So you're basically saying, like, Look, I don't want care to be a stumbling block or a hurdle for you in this hobby that you just got. So let's, you know what, we still we're still gonna provide care and this is some ways that we can work together on that.
Asha 34:42
Yeah, and that's really important to me, you know, as a member of the middle class. I know how hard it is to keep things going and to keep balancing everything out. You know, and, and you know, paying for, you know, your housing and your food and your family and it's, it is expensive, and I don't take that lightly. Our fees are super competitive because of that, and, you know, people say, Oh, you shouldn't price your services as if you are the client. I mean, I've you know, you hear marketing gurus say that to you. And I've never really been able to do that. Because of the why in my business, you know, like, what it's not, yes, it is a business but at the same time, you know, we are serving human beings, you know, and we are in this business to keep to keep families happy and to keep families safe to keep families being able to afford caring for their families caring for their puppies. So that's really really important to me. You know, I think that's one of the reasons why I have this offer. And on top of that, just we have super competitive pricing on in addition to that,
Collin 35:50
as much as we all love caring for dogs and and cuddling with them and playing with them. I've never had once had a dog open up its wallet and pay me at the end of a walk. If, at the end of the day is that we are caring for our human clients too. And that that does need to be taken into account when you're when you're setting prices or whenever you're putting together these kind of packages.
Asha 36:12
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. It's, you know, again, I keep going back to that why but, you know, as people evaluate this industry, that are maybe listening to this and, you know, thinking, should I start a puppy care company or a dog walking company or a pet sitting company, you know, when they're looking at setting their prices, you know, really think through, you know, being your own client and what what it is that you can, you can pay afford to pay, especially, you know, in today's times with so many families suffering economically, we don't want that to trickle down to choosing pet care and whether or not they can even afford to keep their, their dogs in their families. You just don't want to you don't want to contribute to that, you know, I at least I don't, right?
Collin 36:58
Yeah, I don't want one 1% we all want puppies to be happy, we all want the owners to be happy and we kind of play mediator, I feel like sometimes of providing the care that they need when they need it and how they need it served to them.
Asha 37:13
Yeah, exactly. And, you know, and balancing it out with what you need as well. But, you know, it's it's, it's a two way situation, it's, you know, it's a ripple effect, everybody is impacted, you know, when, you know, when you set your prices, and when you change your prices. So, just thinking through that equation is so, so important,
Collin 37:32
just to yours a little bit, but really kind of on topic here. I would like for you to explain to us what Ahimsa is and how it plays a role in your service.
Asha 37:41
Absolutely. It's a himsa is one of the five yamas why a ma yamas or restraints in the Sanskrit texts and the Sanskrit texts are the ancient texts of, of India of Hinduism and Buddhism. And if you do yoga, you yoga teachers when you're in class are talking about Ahimsa and it means compassion at its very core, but crystallized definition of it is is not is is non violence is the is the absence of violence and everything that you do you say you are even harsh words are considered violence and under the code of Ahimsa. So, but translated to all sentient beings or you know non human animals. It means just always doing right by them and following the karmic code. So, never uttering a harsh word or a harsh sentence or a harsh action against them. If you really go into the tradition of Ahimsa. It's about your own karma. So whatever it is that you exact, or do unto another sentient being is exactly what's going to happen to you in your many lives because Hindus and believe in many lives, so you know, you can turn into a dog in your next life or you can turn into a blade of grass in your next life so and that's where the whole concept of of Ahimsa comes from. And it's also part of vegetarianism and animal rights, etc. So it's, there's a whole perspective on the world that is very unique. So because my grandmother was a vegetarian, she was from India. And that concept was really important to me and putting together my company,
Collin 39:34
I hope people listening to everything we've talked about up until this point really see that that is at the core of all of the concern, the effort, the the forethought, planning, that goes into and that as you've laid out your business and you as you deal with your client to like that, I that it's a it's a simple word, but it's it's complex in in how it applies to everything and even to a business and how you run it and take care of your pets to your clients.
Asha 40:01
Thank you. And I could say the same thing about you calling because, you know, whatever it is that you call it, you can call it a Hamsa. In the eastern tradition, you can call it compassion in the Western tradition, in the Judeo Christian tradition, in the Muslim tradition, whatever it is, you know, in the stoic, you know, stoic atheist tradition, it's just about doing good unto others, whatever that is, you know, I think that you know, what you do for the community all across the world and bringing these stories to people, that is a form of himself, that is a form of doing good, you know, and I think that we all have to think of what it is that we can do that is good to make others you know, other people's lives better.
Collin 40:46
And I really appreciate that it's wanting to do good and by good for others and and help others as much as you can. And it's wonderful to hear stories and to help people to tell them because we all are so candid. A lot more connected than we even realize, oh my gosh, totally.
Asha 41:05
thing happens in China, and
41:09
we're all wearing face masks at Target, right?
Collin 41:11
Well, that's a very real world example of something that was was true even before then. But this just really laid that bare as to how much connection we all have, whether it's globally or maybe even within your own community of maybe I, you know, I didn't know that these people were doing this or that. We all did have the same struggles. But this really just kind of said, Yep, we're all here. This is all all together.
Asha 41:36
And Isn't it ironic that it came through animals? Isn't it ironic tying it all back to the issue of sentient beings and compassion and non violence and Ahimsa, that this all sprung because of the mistreatment of animals. And you know, that point is not lost on me It shouldn't be lost on anybody that's listening today is is really that karmic sequence, and we are all touched by it. And we are all connected by it. And it's going to make us into better human beings and a better civilization, for the future for Mother Earth. Because up until that point, you know, Mother Earth couldn't have kept on going the way she was going, you know, there was so much that was happening with the degradation of the environment and really the unconscious treatment of the world. And I think that everybody has stopped over the last 90 days and gone, hmm, wow, this really does have an impact. And it is really about how we treat one another, you know, to the animal level.
Collin 42:44
Yeah, it really has shown that connection, and I hope taking people a step back or maybe just a step sideways for a moment to rethink and reassess where we were going, what we were doing, how that was coming about. And now during this this pause, doing this, I don't know, reset, going, Okay, what what can we do differently? How can we move forward to do something maybe a little bit better?
Asha 43:08
Exactly. And just drawing on through that to what what we've been saying in some of your podcast is, you know, don't forget this moment because this moment is going to pass. And we are going to be right back to being I know in in normal day to day, but how can you keep the lessons from these times in your lives? Like what is important to you? How do you want to treat other people? How do you want to show up for you for your community? I think that you know, you've you've had such tremendous and terrific things to say about about that, you know, for for for your listeners and for people in our industry. So thank you. Thank you for doing that.
Collin 43:48
You're very very welcome in Yeah, I it is a hope that Megan I have is that these this moment isn't isn't lost, it's not forgotten, and that it will mean something moving forward because It obviously is having a big impact on everybody. And that we don't we don't forget that whenever times get tough or times get harder things change again, because so much good and so much change can come from this, that if that we don't want to lose that down the road.
Asha 44:13
Exactly, exactly. And I'm trying to keep that in my heart as well. You know, the future,
Collin 44:19
for sure. Now is getting a little, a little bit more personal here you've had quite the past two years and to the largest understatement in history. Please tell us about that in in kind of your journey and what you what you and your family have been through.
Asha 44:38
In November of 2018. I was diagnosed with stage four non smokers lung cancer, lung cancer is the deadliest form of cancer and more people die of lung cancer than any other cancer, combined cancers. So that was really the craziest thing. It's like it's Like COVID-19, you know, just came out of nowhere, you know? And what was even crazier was that I, about a month later, I was qualified to receive a medication. Because I had a genetic I had a gene on my cancer that allowed me to take a pill to be able to kill it. So basically your body kills the cancer, your it activates your T cells to be able to find the cancer. And so within a month, I had like a three to six month window, like basically, you know, you've got three to six months to live, and then all of a sudden, you know, you, you know, you live with that and you're thinking, Okay, you know, what am I going to do? I obviously didn't share it with anyone because I wanted to, really, because I'm a fighter, you know, and I never want to be a burden to people around me or to my community, friends and family. And then about a month later, I got the finance Plastic news, you know, which is not common actually to get that to get that kind of news, you know? So since then I am currently cancer negative and cancer free. And it's a it's it's an absolutely wild story an absolute blessing. And I guess what I've taken from it is that I am, it can happen to anybody, you know. And so I think we should all be grateful, you know that we are healthy and happy and to not have that lost on people because it can be taken from you at any moment. But at the same time, you never really know what you're capable of enduring until it actually happens to you. So, over the last, I guess, you know, however many months, you know, I just, I've become like just this warrior, you know, I'm just very, very strong. Nothing can really faze me And that's the lesson. I guess I don't really want to teach anybody anything, you know, I, I guess that's just that is my story that I want to share with people because I want people to, to and your listeners to, to hear that, you know, it could be the darkest of times right now you know you could be you know on unemployment and face you know 95% loss in your, in your business could be going through some really really rough patches in your relationships in every aspect of your life, but you just have to remember that you know, what you're capable of, you know that you can keep on going and that you can you can make it through, you know, and survive.
Collin 47:45
Yeah, I know you. You started your business in the middle of a global recession, survive stage four cancer and now you're just you're staring at COVID and everything coming coming on here. I think I think fighter is definitely an understatement in how you've approached and how you've handled Everything
Asha 48:00
100% and I and everyone's a fighter, you know. And that's, that's the message that I want to leave with people is like, this is not special to me. You know, when you're when your back is up against a wall, what are you going to do? You know, are you going to fight? Or are you going to flee? You know, and, and I would hope that, you know, you would really find a place to dig down deep inside and think through, you know, you know what, I'm going to still be here, I'm going to still show up, I'm going to show up for my family. I'm going to show up for my friends. I'm going to show up for my family's from my community. And so that's really what it's what it's all about. It's never going to be perfect. You know, my mom always said that people never arrive in pretty packages. You know, like when you get a piece of mail, it arrives on your doorstep, you know, beaten up, you know, there's like a crack on one side. There's like a rip on the other. You know, and you just put what's inside of that is so incredibly awesome, you know, because it's been tackled And you open up like, Oh, you know, it's another Amazon package. It's that it's that cream I was looking for, you know, if you're Dude, it's that pair of work gloves I've been wanting Oh, cool is that tool I've been looking for, you know. So I think that, you know, we always have to remember like, what is inside of us is beautiful. What might be on the outside is torn up and beaten up in places, but we have to remember that what is on the inside.
Collin 49:24
When I was growing up. I remember I asked my mom, when she was going through her cancer, I asked do you wish that you didn't have this? You wish that this was new? And she said, No. And it took me years to figure out exactly what she was saying. But she was saying, what you're teaching her about how she was
Asha 49:43
and I think coming from the perspective of where she she was at the time and then being in that same position. I could say to you that part of the reason she said that was that she knows how she would do in the end, you know I'm not saying in the end is like in the end of life, but she would know how she would do, which means that she knows, she knows how she would react. And she would react with fierceness, with boldness, with courage, with love with dynamism. And she wasn't going to give up, you know, she was, she was going to be a blessing through that entire process and and so, you know, I urge people listening to remember, what is the message that you want to be sending to the people around you, you know, how do you want to, to show up? You know, what do you want to be remembered for? Because I think that, that is what that is all about is I wouldn't change this for anything. And here's why. Thank you for sharing that story. By the way,
Collin 50:54
you're welcome. That was simple phrases like that, that at the time are very confusing. Just continue to have these propagating waves throughout your life. And I know we all have those those kind of phrases and we have those kind of interactions with people. And it does make and shape who we end up being. And whether it's whether it's recessions, whether it's survived cancer, whether it's we're all going through a global pandemic, how we're responding now, and how we're reacting now speaks to our character who what we think what we value, for better or worse, or whatever, and just allows us to, to message the world message to our clients, what we want and how we view them and how we want to be treated as well. It is this all encompassing, everybody's tied together. That's the same thing keeps coming back in and that can get a little bit lost in the shuffle when we're like, oh, I just walked dogs. I just, I just I just do this stuff. Right I deal with a lot of dog poop on a given day. There is something bigger and whether that's just How you talk with people, how you interact with people or how you how you the pictures, you post online, those kind of things like all that is messaging something about who you are and what your business is, and and that comes from, from these kind of events.
Asha 52:13
Exactly. I mean, they're, they're tough events, I mean, they're, they're, you know, people that you love that have passed you know and that have have have given you the torch, you know, to keep on going terrible illnesses that people go through, you know, terrible loss of income that people go through, you know, so, it is all connected and it is, it is quite yogic in the end that force that you know that that energy that pervades, you know, the world and what you can't see is just as important is you know, as what you can see.
Collin 52:45
Absolutely, absolutely. And it is something that we're all a part of, and that should give us this should be uplifting when we're going through hard times.
Asha 52:54
Yeah, and I hope that I hope that it is you know, I know we've we've talked about some really tough things today and some sad things But it is, you know, I wouldn't change it for anything. It. It taught me who I am. I mean, I've been through some really hard things before, but this experience has really, you know, really, really shown me who I am as an individual and that I'm fierce. I knew that I was fierce, because I was working so hard for families every single day and I've always been such a hard worker and whatever job that I had in my life, but I just, I never once gave up I never once told our families look, you know, I'm sick and I'm in the hospital, we, we never stopped our operations we just, we kept on going and we showed up every single day and always with the same amount of, of safety in mind and love in mind and and, and just thoroughness and attention to detail. So I never let it impact me ever or our families.
Collin 53:56
Asha, I really appreciate you coming on today and sharing Your story of hope and passion and fierceness with us all. And and I do hope that we can look to this time what we're all experiencing and find that porosity and find that that willingness to fight to move forward. And thank you so much for sharing your message today. If people want to get connected, follow along and reach out of us. Can they do that?
Asha 54:23
Sure, absolutely. I'm glad to talk to anybody that would like to hear my story is even from just a medical perspective, if they've got somebody in their family that's going through this type of cancer, please don't hesitate to reach out to me I'm, I have a lot of information and a lot of knowledge about this particular subject. And secondly, if anybody wants to talk through their safety procedures for their company and have me give them a personal walkthrough of our seven step safe virtual setup, I'm very, very happy to do that as well as a friend free of charge, just as one professional Another in our industry. My email is Hello, h e l l o at hoby. Doggy calm. That's h o B as in boy, why do g y comm or one 800 number is 877797 dogs. Just reach out, just reach out however we
55:19
get on our website.
Collin 55:20
Yeah. And I'll have links to your website into your email in the show notes for this so people can just do do one click access to you too.
Asha 55:27
Yeah, absolutely. I'm glad to talk to people. It's my honor.
Collin 55:30
Well, Josh, again, thank you so much for coming on. And we want to bring you back on again and catch up with you and see how everything's going and uncover some more stuff in more in depth.
Asha 55:38
Thank you so much for having me call and it's been a pleasure and I look forward to to continue listening to all of your many dialogues with people across the world.
Collin 55:46
Thank you very much. Take care. Don't lose track of these moments. These moments are really important to you as an individual to your business. It may not seem like that at the time and These moments really do kind of, well, they're not, they're not a lot of fun. As Asha said, we did cover some really heavy topics in this conversation. The really big takeaway of this is don't let those moments be wasted. Don't forget what it was like to really put the nose to the grindstone and grind away to help your business get through this time to help you get through this time, so that when our times come up again, you already know that you're capable of that you already have those muscles flexed and ready to go. That's good. That's good when we think of the long term view of things that we're going through right now. So if you would like to talk to somebody reach out to Asha, her contact information, like I said, will be in the show notes. Or you could reach out to Megan and I at feedback at pester confessional comm or on any of the social media platforms, that sort of confessional in the end, just remember, you are a whole lot more fierce than you could ever be. possibly imagine
