092- Beth Stultz-Hairston with PSI
Summary:
Beth Stultz-Hairston, President of Pet Sitters International (PSI), joins us on the podcast! Beth discusses the long history of virtual learning provided by PSI and how they’ve adapted their full conference to a new format. She also gives us great tips for how to prepare for their online content, with a reminder of everything they’re offering this year. We then talk about all of the things PSI has been working on for pet sitters and the resources they have available. Beth and PSI are optimistic about the future of the pet care industry and believe there are a lot of opportunities and new services to look forward to.
Topics on this episode:
Shift to virtual conference
History of education focus of PSI
Conference programming
Preparing for the virtual conference
Adapting to the new needs of their members
How pet sitters are adapting to new client needs
How do we put ourselves into a great position for the future
Main take away? Take advantage of the amazing resources that PSI has available. The future of the industry looks promising. Remember that self care is the hallmark of professionalism.
About our guest:
In my position, I'm very fortunate to get to wear many hats at PSI as I oversee the day-to-day operations, including the association's marketing, communications and educational campaigns and programs. This gives me a chance to work closely with fellow PSI staffers, our wonderful members, PSI partners and sponsors and the media on various projects, including PSI's Certification, Professional Pet Sitters Week, Take Your Dog To Work Day®, Hungry Bowl, Pet Sitter of the Year, the Get a Real Pet Sitter® campaign and more. I'm passionate about educating pet sitters (through our magazine, e-Newsletter, blog, website, social media and most recently PSI's latest book, The Professional Pet Sitter's Startup Guide) and about educating pet owners on the importance of using professional pet sitters (through media announcements, press releases, advertisements and articles, etc.). I also manage PSI's social media accounts and plan the annual Pet Sitter World Educational Conference & Expo.
Links:
Learn more about PSI member benefits here. https://www.petsit.com/pet-sitter-membership-benefits
To join PSI, visit www.petsit.com/join. Use promo code psc15 at checkout for $15 off your first-year membership.
Register for PSI’s 2020 Virtual Pet Sitter World Educational Conference atwww.petsit.com/2020-virtual-conference. Use promo code confessional at checkout for $10 off your registration fee.
Download a free copy of PSI’s Ultimate COVID-19 Resource Guide for Professional Pet Sitters & Dog Walkers here: https://www.petsit.com/covid-19-resource-guide-for-pet-sitters-and-dog-walkers
Give us a call! (636) 364-8260
Check out our Covid-19 resources
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Email us at: feedback@petsitterconfessional.com
A VERY ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE EPISODE
Provided by otter.ai
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
business, members, conference, pandemic, pet sitters, session, pet, dog walkers, virtual, pitzer, psi, clients, services, offer, started, industry, hear, people, pet sitter, specific
SPEAKERS
Beth, Collin
Beth Stultz-Hairston
I've always said that, you know, pet sitting is not for the faint of heart. It's a rewarding profession, but it's difficult. It's not easy. And so I think that that grit and determination that I think most pet sitting and dog walking business owners have, and they've already possessed and has been really important during this time.
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 Funkhouser
Well, hello, everybody and welcome back to another Friday episode in our continued series looking at how conferences have changed in 2020. Today, we have Beth Stoltz Harrison, president of pet sitters international on to discuss how they've adapted their material to an online format, though it's not necessarily a new move for them and then we discuss some things about the
Collin
industry, how people are adapting and the outlook that Beth and psi have for the future of the pet care industry. Let's dive right in.
Beth
I am Beth saltair. Center president of pet sitters International. psi is the world's leading Educational Association for professional pet sitting and dog walking business owners. We have members in the US Canada and in many other countries as well. MPs eyes focus is on providing business tools and educational resources and the support of the pet sitters and dog walkers need at every stage of their careers.
Collin
The last time we had you on was to talk about your in person conference, but some things have changed since then, and you have made some some big shifts to the conference that you have coming up. Could you tell us a little bit about those changes to the conference and what that's going to look like this year?
Beth
Definitely a lot of changes since we last spoke. And of course, as you know, we did have to transition They're in person conference that was originally scheduled for this October in St. Louis, to avoid a virtual conference. You know, fortunately, I think for psi online learning has been a significant part of our educational offerings for for several years now. And then we've also had an online conference for the past two years, in addition to our in person conference, so we were really comfortable and we didn't want to make that change. We love seeing our members in person. But of course, we want everyone to be safe. Fortunately, on our end, all my learning was not a huge transition for us. But we did have a really wonderful lineup of speakers and session topics plan for St. Louis. So we're excited that we were able to keep virtually all of those sessions the same as we transitioned to a virtual conference. We've actually added an additional speaker, but we were we got in touch immediately with our speakers and all of them were on board and able to participate in the virtual conference instead of the in person event. And then we just had a look at how to make that transition happen. And so we know that now there are various virtual conference platforms, a definitely meeting now more than ever, but we've intentionally opted to stick with this time, but platforms that are members and attendees are already familiar with. And so we want to make the virtual conference as accessible and as stress free as possible. And so for us, that means using the combination of GoToWebinar, zoom in a private Facebook group to make this virtual conference happen.
Collin
And as you've mentioned, you have a long history with online learning and have even offered some online conferences in the past. So how is this one maybe similar or different if somebody has attended one of the previous styles that you've had?
Beth
Yeah, that's a great question. It's actually one that we had to answer ourselves when we made the decision to go virtual this year. Our virtual conference will look different than our typical online conference. But the great news for attendees is that it will still have Have some of those perks they're accustomed to with our online conference. So it's going to be easy to access, and then all the sessions will be recorded. So they can go back later and view the session recordings. If they happen to miss a session, or if they want to do something again later on in our online conference has been so popular these past two years. And the format has been really well received. But we don't want this conference to follow that exact same format, as our online conference did in March. So I don't want to give all of our secrets away. I can tell you that we're making plans to really virtually replicate some of the favorite parts of our in person conference, or other than the sessions themselves. And that includes our opening ceremony in the petsitter, the year crowning our trade show. There's a charitable component that we have in each year's conference. And then of course, the networking opportunities.
Collin
Yeah, and I actually do want to hear more about those because that's such a big thing for attending in person. In conferences is the ability to network see people face to face. So what kind of opportunities are you guys being able to provide with the online conference this year?
Beth
Absolutely. We agree that one of the most important parts of conference attendance of any conference is the networking and the ability to make connections with fellow attendees and even vendors. So we really have committed to making sure that the virtual format doesn't hinder that. So the participants of this virtual conference in October, they'll have access to the attendee list by location in advance, which is something that we typically do for our in person conference as well. So they'll be able to know in advance who's going to also participate, who they may want to connect with based on maybe their location or that type of thing. And then we'll be using both Facebook and zoom for both structured and informal networking opportunities. I mean, we're excited about the agenda. But we've always said for our in person meetings that while the sessions are are so important, and we always carefully select those that we think some of the most I mean, business changing and life changing connections happen outside of those session times. And so we want to make sure that we're really able to curate that in the virtual event as well.
Collin
It's really good to hear that there's been a focus on maintaining those as best possible. And I know that'll be a little bit different experience for people who are attending. But those opportunities are still there to get connected with people in that list. As you said, it's just so powerful to see Oh, wow, these people are also in my area. Let's you know, I never knew that. Let's get in touch and see what they're doing.
Beth
Exactly. Some of my favorite stories from our in person events. You know, we hear year after year, people will say, you know, I learned a lot this session that I made the specific changes. But you know, what's most important to me is I met this pet sitter, who I was not familiar with, was maybe the next town over and now we're meeting regularly for coffee. We're discussing our issues. And just having that local support system has just changed the trajectory of my business. And so even though we won't have people meet in person this year, Hear, we still want to facilitate those types of connections, because they're so important for small businesses.
Collin
Yeah, especially in these times where you may feel very isolated or not know what's going on or who to reach out to. So still having those those opportunities and as you said, those connections becomes really powerful and really necessary. Exactly. So as a reminder, because that's been It feels like it's been 10 years since we last spoke. Could you give us a breakdown of kind of what to expect maybe some topics or the breakout, so those kind of things for this year's conference,
Beth
we're covering a variety of topics of this year. And so these were the topics that were playing pre pandemic, but we talked to our speakers and said they're going to really be catered to what is going on in our industry now. But we have some of the topics we have are getting with the puppy program, which is how to address the special needs of puppies and introduce that as a new service into your company. We have sessions on pricing and how to make sure you're setting profitable pricing for your business. We, one of the, I'd say most ask for sessions at every conference, it seems your pet sitters and dog walkers can never get enough of information about the pet sitter insurance. And there are so many misconceptions about what is covered and what is not covered. And so at the virtual conference this year, a David Piersol from business insurers, we'll be talking about coverage at every stage so that businesses can make sure that they have the specific coverage they need, depending on how their business is structured. At this moment, we have sessions from an HR expert on how to delegate so that your business can grow. We have sessions on performing obscene a petsitter website, an advanced cat challenges session. We are keynote speakers, Kristin Lee, who is going to be talking about brand disruption and how to really lead through authenticity. I'm really excited about that session. And then we also have a session of this really a case study and so I'm really excited for this because it was again played previous pandemic and now the sessions have been updated. But we have a member who was presenting a session on how they created a local dog walking club with an accompanying Facebook page and how much it increased their community connections and boosted business. But now because of what's happened in the last few months, she's going to be able to also share her session how she was able to pivot and turn her dog walking club into an online event that still promoted her business and helped her make community connections.
Collin
Wow, it's it's crazy to listen to those topics and think that they were all planned pre pandemic because of just how insanely relevant they are two things that are happening right now, you know, you mentioned the the puppy program. I know that's a really big topic and a lot of people are discussing that because of all of the puppies that were either adopted or bought or, you know, acquired to families as the lockdown started and now trying to figure out how do we meet those needs? How do we take care of them? How do we ensure that they don't end either back for adoption Or go somewhere. And and so that's really cool to hear that you guys are still offering that.
Beth
It's really it's really sad serendipitous, because as we of course, once we understood that it was gonna have to decisions that have to be made to go virtual. We sat down, we wanted to work with these speakers, but we really sat down to examine each session to say, okay, is this still relevant? And it was even funny for us as a staff to go, Wow, we know Who would have known last year when we handpick the speakers and the sessions, how relevant they really would be. And so we're certainly happy that that's worked out that way. And we're just excited that you know, even though we're not meeting in person, you know, attendees will still be able to, you know, have those top notch educational sessions. And also a lot of fun and that's something I think I want to point out. I think we definitely need some some fun right now. It's been a difficult year. And so we want to work that into our virtual conference, a schedule as well.
Collin
Not necessarily just to say it's a distraction time, but is the time to focus on neat things in the industry and neat things that we can be doing in our business and make it relevant and make it worthwhile and so that we can be really well prepared for, you know what, what's to come? Absolutely. And also Last time, we talked about preparing for the in person conference. So wondering how you would suggest people prepare for a virtual one.
Beth
You do. What's funny is that even though we've transitioned to virtual, a lot of the same tips that I would have shared previously, for an in person conference, you still apply. I would say, whether you're attending an in person conference or a virtual event, I always encourage attendees to go in with very specific goals in mind, what you want to learn what specific connections you may want to make, because that's going to give you focus and purpose for your participation. I also always tell attendees, you know, don't be shy look to connect with other attendees and vendors, jump into conversations, ask questions, share advice, and I think that interestingly, something that will be a benefit of the virtual conference is it for our team who may have typically been more shy or anxious in a larger crowd setting, they may feel more comfortable participating in the virtual event. And then also, let's say you're not only do you go into the conference with specific goals, but you want to come out of the conference. And again, this goes for in person or virtual, but come out of the conference, but basically a to do list of some very specific action items you want to take, and then set a timeline for that, because you don't want to lose momentum after the conference. But specifically for the virtual conference, what I'm recommending to our attendees is that you know, even though it's a virtual format, you still want to be very careful to remove distractions. And in person events sort of automatically does that for you, you you travel to the conference location, you're away from home, you're away from your business. So the virtual event you're really gonna have to make sure that you carve out time you remove distractions, and you still set this time aside to focus on the conference. Again, the sessions will be available in the recordings will be available later. But I think if possible, if you can dedicate the time to participate in the conference in real time, it'll be the most valuable.
Collin
Having those recordings available is so powerful, because a lot of times we find ourselves going, Oh, I really wish I could have attended this one, or, Oh, this one isn't the exact fit that I would have wanted. And so with these recordings, not only can you go and basically see all of it, you can refer these right? These, these become part of your reference of materials to go back to and having that timeline is is really neat, because you can say, Okay, now I can take these in, chunk away at them little by little over the course of the next coming weeks or months, so that I can be learning all of this stuff and because it is available and recorded. You don't have to feel like there's this rush or this panic that you're missing out on something.
Beth
Exactly. You know, the other thing I think that's so useful about the recordings because I'm guilty of this myself at live events, I have this I guess urge or this habit of trying to, you know, take notes, just your notes, very detailed notes. And sometimes I can get so caught up in that. And I'm not able to absorb what I'm learning in the moment. And so that takes that pressure off. You don't have to take down every note in the actual session, you can go back and watch it you multiple times if you need to, to make sure you get those nuggets of information. So certainly for those who like to take notes, we still encourage that immediate the sessions have workbooks that accompany them, but it does relieve some of that pressure, because you don't think I have to get this all right now, or I'm going to miss it.
Collin
Yeah, I know, I am definitely guilty of that as well being so caught up in trying to get down not necessarily a verbatim transcript of what somebody's saying, but I don't want to miss anything because I don't have access to it later that you're right. I miss broader discussions or larger points and not processing it while it's coming in. And those recordings allow you to Yeah, as you mentioned, to really do that. Okay. So when is the conference and how can people get registered
Beth
our virtual Pitsea Educational conference will be a two day event. So it's October 7, and eighth. The agenda for both days runs from 10am to approximately 5pm. Eastern Time, and there's a break in the middle of the day. To view the agenda or to learn more about the speakers and sessions or to register, you just visit our website@petsitter.com slash p SW. 2020. And what also I would like to do if it's okay with you is I can give a promo code to you that you can share with listeners, we've made the conference very affordable, because we know it's been difficult year. So we think it's a great value. But But who doesn't love a discount? So I can give you a discount code to help your listeners share on the registration fee, if any of them would like to attend?
Collin
Yeah, absolutely. And we'll include that it links to the in the show notes as well as the website for this episode, too. Sounds great. Yeah. Thank you so much. When we're thinking about the big changes that have happened in 2020. You've made this big shift to virtual conference. What other stuff has BSI been working on? Maybe even behind the scenes or front page stuff for its for its members.
Beth
Oh my that's how can I give a shorter answer today? It's been a year. I'm sure that you've been talking to other organizations, you've probably heard the same, but you're really in the last several months, our focus has been almost entirely on the pandemic and providing the resources to our members. Really, since I would say late February, it's just been full speed ahead. You as an association PSF focuses exclusively on pet sitters and dog walkers. So we've been able to really, I think, focus our resources to address their specific needs. Because we do know that you know, many pet sitters and dog walkers have been impacted differently. And in in many ways, I would say more significantly than some other business types in the pet care space. So since late February, we've adapted to our members needs and we really try to evolve and really tailor The resources that we provided, we started out in the very beginning, in February, when we will outside we thought we knew what was coming. I don't know if anyone was prepared for what March and April brawl, but we started in February providing tips to our members. Okay, here's some steps you can take now to prepare. And then we said, set up some dedicated discussion threads in our private Facebook group to start facilitating those discussions. So we had private specific threads that focus that were categorized, so they were focused on your impact on your business, the types of communications they were sharing with clients and staff, ideas for a boosting business, and then also financial resources for support. And then as the pinjaman progress, we set up additional discussion threads to specifically talk about the process of applying for pandemic unemployment assistance, and then also on business loans and grants. So we started those initial conversations and really helped facilitate that which those discussions are still going on and really an organized way in our group that was important to us because we wanted to make sure that members could get that information easily. Throughout the Pentagon. We've also done outreach to federal, state and local officials regarding deeming petsitting as essential and then also in considering pet care businesses and financial aid packages, we've provided members a template to do the same. I think one of the things the resources that we are really, really proud of and definitely if someone asked me in January if I thought I'll be doing this, the answer will be no. But based on a member request members request we created a COVID-19 certification for pet sitters and dog walkers. And so that course walks pet sitters and dog walkers, through the process of determining safety protocols and how to work with clients during this time. The course has an assessment and then there's a they pass that successfully. There's a certificate of completion to the pet sitters or dog walkers to show that to clients. And we receive some such great feedback on that. We hear from our head Or she say, I feel so much more competent now making some decisions for our business and implement meeting protocols going forward. They've also told us that they knew they shared that certificate online, and then started getting service requests because clients felt more comfortable knowing that they had taken some dedicated steps to educate themselves on this topic and safety protocols. And then we've also had news coverage for local members who obtained that took that course. And so we wanted to make this available to as many pet sitters and dog lovers. And so that was that we always have some publicly available resources, but typically a lot of our specific courses, our member benefits and focused on members. But we made this course available to the non members and members alike, and we made it available for just $5. And that's just to cover basically the administrative fees of the learning platform and assessment tool that we use. Because we wanted as many pet sitters and dog walkers to access that is possible. webinars and online learning have always been a part or at least for Many, many years have been a part of our educational offerings. But I'm really jumped into gear really quickly to offer some webinar series to members to address what's going on right now. So an additional two in addition to the standard webinars that we offer, we've hosted two free member webinar series during the pandemic so far. So the first one in March really focused on COVID-19. And its impact on our businesses. And so those sessions were one was on boosting business during the pandemic, we had an attorney speak on employer obligations in light of COVID-19. We had an accountant speak on the tax implications, and what pet sitters need to know about their taxes and accounting in light of COVID-19 we had an SEO expert. Talk about what you needed to do right now to boost your business. And then we hosted a second webinar series on later. Well, early in the summer, that we call preparing for your comeback. Because we know that's coming. And so that included a session to really help members focus on, we have the tips now of how we're going to navigate to this pandemic. But what should we be doing to prepare our business for when we start getting more and more client requests again, and so that focused on petsitter liability coverage, a feline enrichment for better cat sitting visits, how many work session to become financial practices in place of some pet first aid, and then also additional understanding the post code stress for dogs and how pet sitters
Collin
can help busy year for you guys? Oh, my goodness.
Beth
Stop there. There are a lot. One thing I did when I mentioned we did release as far as they're publicly available. We did also publish a special COVID edition of our member magazine pet sitters world, that's typically just a print publication for our members. But we did publish a special digital COVID edition that we made available publicly. And then we're also going to be releasing very soon. What we're calling the ultimate COVID-19 resource guide. for professional pet sitters and dog walkers, and that will be made available free of charge to the public.
Collin
Wow. And I'm really hearing two major themes here. It's you're building confidence. And you are growing community confidence through these education, these outreach, these webinars, all of this material, and then that community in the Facebook groups and facilitating those conversations and how that just impacts the broader dog walker pet sitting pet care community is is huge. You see those ripple effects as as business owners become more confident in being able to handle and understand what's going on, whether that's through the COVID-19 certification course, or maybe one of those online learning opportunities that they took, that allows them to take that confidence back into their business and know with surety that they understand what's going on and can operate from a position of understanding as opposed to confusion. Or unknowing?
Beth
Exactly, no. Since psi was founded in 1994. Our motto has always been petsitting excellence through education. And that's remain true to this whole pandemic. We just want to look at Let's become educated. Let's educate ourselves as an association. Let's help our members get the education that they need, so that they can succeed and offer the best possible care throughout the situation and also sustain their businesses throughout the pandemic.
Collin
The more you know, the better decisions you're going to make the the more likely you are to engage in certain or other or avoid other activities, and start making some really smart moves. Not just for you personally, but also the business that you're trying to run.
Beth
Exactly. You know, we've always remind members, there's no one size fits all. For every business. Each business is unique. And so what we strive to do is to give our members as much information as possible about best practices, but also all the possible possible options. Were able to connect with fellow pet care professionals in their area. Also around the world to see what's working for them. And then they can take all that information and really channel it into what's going to work best for them in their business. Yeah,
Collin
yeah. You mentioned right at the beginning there of that your goal was to try and address their specific needs. And you do that as you as you guys have done of facilitating these conversations and providing as much information as possible so that people can take that digest it and see how it fits or, you know, sometimes more importantly, how it doesn't fit with, with what they're trying to do, or maybe even the goals that they have for their business.
Beth
Exactly. You know, one of the reasons I think that the community aspect of him and psi we were we were so really proud, I guess you'd say that we were able to jump in quickly and offer, you know, certain online sessions and certain support, but it's that community aspect that's been so important, because even now, situations, certainly not over, but we have members at different stages. So we have some members who are still struggling with getting financial assistance, but others have that and They're navigating, navigating in which new services are going to best suit my business. And we have others who have businesses almost back to their pre pandemic revenue rates. So they're able to reach out to other people to different stages to say, Hey, I'm surely with this. Now, I see you've already gone through this. What advice can you offer?
Collin
Yeah, that and that is a big part of the discussion and it makes it hard to just make these broad general statements because it is so different geographically or, again, even if one region is is open back up or their their business is booming. Some are choosing to not to or or are unable to for various reasons. And so really knowing each specific need and providing that information is just really powerful because it it helps you know what's going on, but it also helps you feel not alone. Exactly. Let's continue this conversation with the industry as you are talking with members. And as you're looking around what are some of the biggest maybe short term impacts that you're seeing or hearing about,
Beth
you know, as I mentioned earlier, I think we've seen that pet sitting and dog walking businesses, generally speaking, have been some of the hardest hit within the pet care space. You know, pet parents pretty early on, were still able to go ahead and take advantage of you taking their pet to the groomer, trainers were able to transition to offering training sessions through zoom or that type of thing. Virtual petsitting is not going to work that we didn't have those options. it you know, the specific the specific part of our industry. And so the biggest impact that we saw and really almost overnight, I would say in March is that your travel came to really a virtual halt. Many pet parents and mature clients that are members have started working from home. And so traveling pet parents and pet pet parents working long hours away from home are really the top clients of pet sitters and dog walkers. So many of our members saw their schedules just just dwindle to virtually nothing in a matter of few days. And so that was the the first major impact that really happens. So is that and tasty that we saw. But I do think that you understandably, in the first month, I would say, you know, many pet sitters and dog walkers, just for lack of a better description, just a human freaked out in freakout mode. Yeah, it was overwhelming. It's completely understandable. But what we've seen even in the short term, I think everyone needs at least a few weeks to freak out a little bit. But what we saw almost immediately after that, where am PSM members here regrouping and refocusing, and getting really creative with the ways that they're able to generate business even during the pandemic? You know, the great thing is that professionals are adaptable. You have to be in this profession. And I think that adaptability has really served served us well during this time. And then also I've always said that, you know, petsitting is not for the faint of heart. It's a rewarding profession, but it's difficult. It's not easy. And so I think that that grit and determination, but I think most pet sitting and dog walking business owners have and they've already possessed it has been really important during this time. So definitely in the short term, we saw that immediate impact of canceled visits and and in business virtually coming to a halt, and still meaning are seeing that huge impact while others are seeing their state open up and are having more business. But again, the the bright spot, and all of that is that we sell pits, there's really rally together and say, Okay, this is a difficult time. But what can we do now in the short term to make sure that we sustain our business, because we know this is going to get better and we want to just stay strong and make it through this so that we're ready when business does pick back up.
Collin
Side note here if you haven't made the phrase petsitting is not for the faint of heart into a T shirt or hat. I think that definitely needs to be on the discussion because I love that phrase.
Beth
That may be your next t shirt. I think I've said that it's funny because I don't I'm not sure that we have blog posts from years ago where I was saying that so I'm gonna go ahead trademark that shirt. Thank you.
Can we make it Oh,
that'd be awesome. Yeah, cuz it really is and in that creativity that you mentioned is that has been really cool to see and to watch just in real time. People gather around, start throwing out ideas and go, what can we do? How can we make this work? And a lot of the shifts and things that people started moving into, you know, maybe they had always thought about, it would be nice if, or maybe they thought, Oh, I could never go there. So what this did was it took us in it, it made us into a really uncomfortable position that forced us really to start thinking outside the box. And to start, as you mentioned, adapting to new things. It's really been a difficult time, of course, but I have just been so inspired over the last several months. I mean, psi, I mean, the psi step in general, we're just idea people, Petey Moran and our founder, she's definitely she is the supreme idea person. I mean, she started the industry. And so we sort of had that culture here of having these what may seem like huge ideas and trying to implement them. And so that's part of our nature here at the association. But I think just seeing this in real time with our members. And how quickly they just said, Hey, we're gonna make this happen. Let's find ways to do it. That's just been so inspiring to me to really see that in action.
is such a big timeframe.
Collin
Yeah. So what are some of the creative ways maybe out of the box things that you were seeing your members doing to adjust to this, this new world that we're in?
Beth
Now, I think that's really been one of the silver linings in all of this, because there has been so much creativity and new ideas that have come out of this, you know, we've always encouraged members to diversify their businesses. And that would include not only their services, but also in the clientele that they reached out to. I think that naturally when business is booming, and they were already, you know, getting more dog walking or pitting requests they could handle, you know, diversifying was not a top priority, right. Um, so during the pandemic, that we've been able to work with members and say, Hey, what about these ideas, and then we're able to really crowdsource with all of our members, about the services and maybe the new markets, they were reaching out to them that were really working During the pandemic, I think one of the first things we saw, really in terms of diversifying was first and the clientele that they reached out to. What we did see a really early on was that businesses who already had a large number of medical professionals or other types of first responders in their client base, have typically been able to generate more business during the pandemic. So what we're seeing now is other pet sitters take note and say, Okay, I need to take a closer look at how I market my services, who I'm marketing my services to, and make sure that I have a really, you know, diverse client base. And so they're looking for ways to reach out to those specific professions. But then, in terms of services, we're definitely seeing I think, which is to be expected to increase in demand for pet transportation. Many business already technically offer pet transportation as part of their services, but they didn't actively promote that. But now with many clients, and I think especially those who may be in the older demographic, or maybe have health concerns they're trying to limit limit their exposure as much as possible. And so the demand for pet transportation to grooming appointments or better day visits have has definitely increased. One of the things that I I bet I should say most excited about it. I know initially, we have some businesses that focus exclusively on cats. And I think that there was that initial concern of, Okay, what do I do my clients, you know, when I get businesses only from vacationing clients who have cats, and so you dog walkers may be able to still try to promote their services in this way. But what do we do? And so we've seen a lot of cat sitters have some real success by offering new services such as deep litter box cleans, or enrichment visits, and so they're saying, you know, you may still be at home, but let's have scheduled this visit where we're really, really focused on enrichment for your cat, and we also offer a session on that during one of our webinar series. But then, I think the last thing that I've seen in terms of it which is not necessarily a new market or new service, but even for common service, Such as dog walking, businesses have really had to adapt and learn new ways to market new services. Traditionally, those that offered midday dog walking, they would promote that to pet parents who worked long hours, or couldn't come home on their lunch breaks you to let the dog out. But now they've had to learn, okay, how do I promote this service and show the value of it to clients who may not be working from home, and they don't see the immediate need for a dog walker. And so I just think that, you know, not to minimize the difficulty that businesses are going through. But I just think that the the diversification of the services and the clients that we're seeing, really be forced to mate now, this is going to straight from the businesses even more and they're gonna be stronger when things return to a more normal state.
Collin
It's really flex our creative muscles here, you know that that point you mentioned of about marketing is how do I market my services? If you've spent 10 years saying, well, when you're at work, we'll come and walk your dog. Well now if everybody At home, it's it's forced us to go. Okay. Why is this still good for you? I know it is. But how can I verbalize that? How can I put that in an infographic so that you, the owner will understand that as well. So they continue to see that benefit?
Beth
Exactly. And what I've told a lot of members and this can seem frustrating at first I know, especially for established businesses, they've been really hit it hard. But it's really such a unique opportunity is that it's easy to get discouraged. But really in times like these, you'd have to go back and think when I was first starting my business, how did I start boosting business? And so much of that comes from really striving to make strong connections in your community and with pet parents, and also just actively marketing your services, any chance you get? And so for businesses who really weren't even have to really market or advertise anymore, because they had such a steady client base, be able to go back to that beginning and think, Okay, what are the things that have worked, what do I need to do? I think it really reminded them of that excitement that They first had when they started their businesses.
Collin
And many people did have that just in a very real way where they had to completely shut down for a month or more. And so it was kind of this, hey, it's almost like we're starting from zero again. So how can we market differently? How are you going to maybe they spent that time rebranding or you know, removing or changing the services that they offer. So it really was in a very real sense, this kind of Phoenix moment of a lot of businesses coming out and going, Hey, this is different. We're still here, but this is how we're going to be operating. Absolutely. I know you have a crystal ball there in your office, and you've been hiding it this whole time. So what are your thoughts on the long term impacts on the industry looking forward?
Beth
First, I really do wish I had that crystal ball for a lot of things outside of it. But let's use usually for the pitsee industry. And I think it may seem a little bit odd to say this right now because I think many are still struggling but at psi we are really excited about what's in store for our industry in our industry. Heck, I mean, it's our whole world. You know, we're definitely in a storm right now. But the thing is, storms don't last forever. And so we've been focused now on preparing members for what we'll call you their comeback. And although I would note, most of our members we fail never completely shut down their business. Obviously, requests were very limited, although some have, but either way, whether it's you know, completely reopening their business or just getting back to those pre pandemic levels, it really is a comeback. So, as it becomes safer to travel and clients return to work, what we're envisioning really is a large uptick in the demand for pet sitting and dog walking. I think that people's eagerness just to go somewhere, again, once we've been cooped up for so long, and then combined into something you mentioned earlier with a large number of pits that have been adopted throughout the pandemic. I think we're going to see that result in just an influx request from both our members, previous clients and also new clients. And you know, I also think that our industry is going to come out of the stronger I know firsthand. Many of our members, they've taken advantage of this unexpected downtime and extra time to really focus in on their continuing education and their training. We've seen so many members earn their Certified Professional Pitzer designation, or they take advantage of PIP first aid. And they also just really taken this time to, you know, look at their business from a very like foundational level, their business processes, they diversify their services that we've talked about. And I think they'll be prepared for this upcoming wave of business with a stronger and more prepared company. Another long term effect that I think we're really going to see and I really haven't heard people talking about it. And that is that what I really hope that I do have this will occur. And that's an increased focus on pet sitters and dog walkers, and taking care of themselves taking better care of themselves, and finding a better work life balance. And I have heard from so many PSM members over the last few months, and you're they share that obviously this current situation is not ideal. And it was obviously Force they own time. But now that they've had time to really slow down a little bit, it's made, many of them realize that wow, I think I was really on the verge of burnout. Or really, I've missed so much in my personal life, because I've been so overwhelmed by business. And so I think that and I know that from pictures I've talked with, they're making some specific plans now, or when business does fully rebound, to go ahead and have more boundaries in place, and to organize their schedules to allow them the downtime they need. So I think this would be another positive outcome of the situation.
Collin
It really is, as you mentioned, it was forced upon us nobody really asked for this to happen. But that really that silver lining of going, oh, wow, whenever I have these quiet moments, I actually wake up feeling better or more refreshed. And then that next step of going, how can I build this into my schedule? Where can I set these boundaries, maybe I had boundaries in place, but I never really enforced them. Or maybe I never had boundaries and now I need to figure out what where that line in the sand is we talk
Beth
a lot about burnout and compassion, fatigue and psi. Oh, we have our Pitzer life campaign that focuses on work life balance. And so it's a really important issue to us. And so I do think we're going to see that come out of this situation and Pitzer saying, No, when I did have that downtime, again, I don't want that much downtime in the future. But now that I've had, I really realized the importance of you some of you said, you know, I'm eating at home more because obviously, we're not going out and just having time to breathe, relax, to you know, eat at home and prepare, prepare more healthy meals at home, to you know, get exercise myself, they're feeling so much better. I think those are some lessons they're going to take with them. It's going to strengthen their business because you really do have to take we tell members of your self care as a hallmark of professionalism, you have to take care of yourself, but you can offer the best service to your clients. And so I'm happy to see a refocus on that.
Collin
It really has been of going, Okay, I don't have my business to direct all of my attention to and eat up my time. I just have me or my immediate family now, okay, what can I be doing with this and starting to maybe flex those muscles that we've never flexed before of taking care of ourselves and investing back into ourselves that that's a skill that will pay dividends for years to come. As we think about the future and where things are going. I know you guys are very excited at psi for what the outlook looks like, right now, what are some things or maybe some advice that you could give to business owners and pet care providers about moves they could be making to put themselves on a good foot moving forward?
Beth
That's a good question. I think the first thing that comes to mind I really, you know, already alluded to this before, but I would say you know, make the most of this downtime to better your business. I mentioned earlier members taking courses becoming certified. We're also encouraging members to just get back to the basics. Take a close look at their finances, go over their business policies with a fine tooth comb. Look at your service area, your service offerings, your ideal client, your pricing of your 70 business owners struggle Typically with having time to work on their business and not just in it, and so now is that time is going to strengthen you for the future. The other thing I have been telling pet sitters, and we've really seen this and just hearing stories from 70 pet sitters for this pandemic, is that you really need to never underestimate the value of learning from other pet sitters of the pandemic. What we found is that while there have been certainly impacts that affected all pets, even dog walkers, but the pandemic still has not impacted every pet sitting and dog walking business equally, you know, now in a lot of those cases, I think it was due to location. But that was a big factor. But there are also many reasons that we've seen that some businesses have fared better than others that often included their financial planning prior to the pandemic, their target clients have mentioned earlier in the processes they had in place. So now it's time for other pet sitters to learn from fellow pet care professionals and say, Why were they better prepared for this downturn? And what can I do? Well, because there was never, you know, Don't expect another pandemic, but what can I do to prepare for hard times that could come in the future so my business could be better prepared if it wasn't this time, and nothing. Lastly, I would say, Don't defeat yourself. It is a tough time for a lot of businesses. We're actually seeing a lot of businesses report back to us, a lot of members report back to us, that business is starting to go significantly, as some of you who said it's back to their pre pandemic or even above their pre pandemic levels, but others are still struggling to even generate minimal revenue. But I'll say I would say you know, don't throw in the towel. The action that helps you start your business I mentioned earlier, you know, the connecting with pet parents, and to actively actively marketing your services. Those are the same steps you should be taking now to weather this crisis. You know, we have members that have been in business 510 15 2025 years. And this is a storm right now, but it's temporary. And so while I think as I mentioned earlier, everyone had that freakout period, now is the time to really just dig deep and say What can I do now? What can I do now to invest services? Are there specific ideas I can implement to boost business? Because members of spirit and professors and dog walkers in general, have spent, you know, blood sweat and tears and money to build up their businesses. And we want to maintain those businesses so that they can take advantage of the new business that's going to be coming
Collin
soon. Making sure that yes, that they're taken care of, and I love that looking at their business and going, where are the leaks? Where are things that need to be tightened down, whether that's the insurance that I have, whether that's other operating expenses, and the policies, procedures, all of that really taking a fine tooth comb to that and going okay, let's get this No, I maybe I wanted to do this for the past five years, but I just never really had time. Well, I've got a lot of time right now. You know, some people do to continue to work through those so that when business picks back up, or maybe you need to reassess and see how you need to pivot and going through those will really help you to make the Those kind of decisions.
Beth
Exactly, you know, it's not good time to reveal weaknesses, right? The bad times, unfortunately works that way. But I don't know what it does an opportunity, right, have identified some weaknesses in your business, you say, should have been better prepared, I should have had this in place. Well, there's no better time than now to start that process of strictly your business, which will be prepared in the future.
Collin
So if somebody isn't a member of psi, why should they consider it and how can they become a member,
Beth
I would invite any professional pet sitter dog walker, who's not already a member to join psi, even that's because I really believe that psi members have access to just the best business tools and education and support they need to thrive an industry. And I would say that even if I didn't work for psi, but you know there for those who may not be familiar with psi, there are so many benefits, members have access to a discounted group rate petsitter insurance and bonding. And actually the saving on the insurance more than pays for your membership fee of members get access Custom business profile with a unique SEO optimized URL or Pitzer locator members receive a subscription to pet sitters World Magazine, which is a print magazine that's mailed to you six times per year. We have three live member webinars and a library of on demand webinars. customizable downloadable petsitter forms such as daily report cards, client invoices, templates for promotional materials press releases. I think one of my favorite benefits is our monthly member toolkit. And so each month our members take advantage of the monthly member toolkit. And so that includes an email with training articles that they can share with clients through email or personal social media. Each month there's a featured online article with a bonus resource and a special offer just for members. There's also a featured member resource each month is often a pet sitter, a form template, a client handout or a webinar. And then we also host a live Facebook q&a in our private Facebook group each month. But I would say In addition to all of that, and I know we've talked about this a few times during this conversation, but I think that community is so important for all petting dog walking business owners. And I really believe that the, you know, the opportunities for networking community through psi are just unmatched. And members have the opportunity to connect with fellow poker professionals. In our private Facebook group. We also share member stories and tips and resources in our print publication in our online resources, and you please cannot put a price on that, but your psi and we were talking about this in the office recently, but among our staff, but psi has always talked about strengthen numbers. But this pandemic has just really truly submitted for I think all of us the importance of having a professional groups rely on. I can't say it enough, but I have been so proud and in all of our members in their willingness to help one another this year. It was It really actually makes me emotional. But you know whether that was just helping a fellow member in their same area and navigate the process for applying for the pandemic unemployment assistance, or whether they were willing to you know, have a conversation you know, a phone call with a fellow member to talk about, like maybe revenue generating I did that was working for them. I just I know that that kind of support has literally saved businesses during this time, and we want all pet sitters and dog walkers to have access to that same level of support. So if anyone is not a member, it is really easy to join our membership. Again, just focus on pet sitters and dog walkers. Do you do have to offer pet sitting or dog walking to qualify for membership, but you can join psi anytime online at Pitzer comm slash join. Also for those who may prefer to register by phone Our staff is available by phone Monday through Thursday. I would also say you know our members are small business owners so we do work keep our annual membership dues a very affordable and we Look forward to welcoming new members. But I'll also say just want to mention that even for those who may be listening, who aren't ready to be a member yet, if you have any questions about psi membership, or just pitsee questions in general, psi is here to help. So you can reach us through the contact forms on our website, by email at info at Pitzer comm or you can reach us by phone. And we're happy to help whether you are a member or not. We do have someone listening today who is not a member, and they're interested in joining. I'll give you a special promo code that you can provide on your website with this episode to give them a discount on first year membership. I know that Tom's right now very difficult for me, and every dollar counts. So we'll make a promo code available for your listeners if they are interested in joining.
Collin
Yeah, and thank you so much. And we'll have that as well as the links that we've discussed and the code for the conference as well in the show notes on our website too. And so there are just so many exciting things going on right now. At CSI and everything in the industry as well. And I want to thank you so much for all that you're doing for your members and the industry at large. And thank you so much for coming on today and sharing all that work and all the optimism that you guys have moving in the future and where you think the industry stands.
Beth
Thank you so much. I appreciate the opportunity to talk with you again.
Collin
petsitting is definitely not for the faint of heart. And so if you haven't been told this recently, or maybe you haven't said it to yourself, please hear this from both Megan and i, you are killing it. You are doing such a great job, especially considering everything that's going on in 2020. Literally everything is that against us. And yet, we all keep fighting. It's hard some days it's really hard some days, but as Beth mentioned, that grit that determination that is inherent in what it takes to be a pet sitter is paying dividends in years like 2020. So if you are interested in joining pet sitters international Head on over to pet sit.com slash join and when you're ready to check out, use the promo code PSC 15 for $15 off your first year membership. If you're interested in attending the virtual conference, head on over to pets att.com slash 2020 dash virtual dash conference. And when you check out there use the promo code confessional for $10 off your conference fee.
