105- Marissa LeJune from Tail Swaggers
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Summary:
Marissa LeJune, owner of Tail Swaggers, joins the podcast! Marissa shares what her first three years in business have been like, the important role a coach played in her life, and what it’s like running her business with the help of her daughter.
Topics on this episode:
Why she rebranded after three years
The role her coach has played in her life
What does ‘luxury’ mean to her
Her professional dog petter
Lessons she’s learned
Main take away? Know your clients and how to market to them, seek out help if you need.
About our guest:
Marissa LeJune, owner of Tail Swaggers LLC located in Fort Worth Texas has been a full time mom & Petprenuer for a little over 2 years now. Her passion has been providing top luxury pet care day in and day out. She is passionate about providing Tail-wagging happiness to your dog and is a huge believer in learning from your mistakes, and obstacles in your past to help build your confidence to push you to the next level. With the help of her business mentor Joe Winters Jr. she has high hopes for continuing to grow her business in the near future.
Links:
How to reach Tail Swaggers:
Website: www.tailswaggers.org
Insta: @Tail.Swaggers
Facebook: @TailSwaggersLLC
Reach Marissa LeJune
Insta: @MarissaLeJune
My Business Coach:
Joe Winters Jr.
Insta: @JoeWintersJr
E: support@dailypathacademy.com
Easy Busy Pets referral code
Check them out! www.easybusypets.com
Just send me an email at marissalejune@gmail.com stating you're interested in their website and ill be happy to refer you over to them so you can get started!
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A VERY ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE EPISODE
Provided by otter.ai
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
clients, business, people, pet, dogs, Marissa, service, doggy daycare, dog, step, tail, provide, hear, confidence, feel, knew, mentioned, daycare, daughter
SPEAKERS
Collin, Marissa LeJune
Marissa LeJune 00:00
I feel like everybody needs to have a place that they feel like they belong. You know, I think it makes. That's what kind of makes being being an entrepreneur and being your own business owner. So priceless is just like knowing that you have a purpose and that you're living that purpose. And it's, I mean, it's something that that I don't think anybody would want to give up.
00:31
I'm Collin and I'm Meghan, and this is petsitter. confessional, and open and honest discussion about life as a pet sitter,
Collin 00:38
brought to you by time to pet. Well, hello, everybody and welcome back. Today. We are so excited to have Marissa loon on to talk about what her first three years in business have been like. She talks about the importance of having a coach to help her push through some of the barriers that she encountered of one Running her business. She also discusses what it's like running a luxury pet care business and how she communicates that to the clients. And she does all of this with her on staff Professional Dog. Petter. Marissa shares a ton of advice and a lot of great insights. So, let's get started.
Marissa LeJune 01:16
My name is Marissa LeJune and I am a pitcher printer and the owner of tail Swaggers here in the DFW area. So I provide doggy daycare and home boarding and dog walking and dropping visit the
Collin 01:29
name tail Swaggers, where did that name come from?
Marissa LeJune 01:33
So interestingly, that was actually kind of something that I've been working on since I started my business. So a little over two years. And originally, I just wanted something that just felt good to me that was like, when people heard it, it was something catchy. And I did a lot of self reflecting and really kind of, I made a sheet and I wrote down a lot of key terms. My business the that I felt like it described it, happy tails wagging, you know, just stuff like that and I circled things that really stuck out. And one day I just kind of took a step back and looked at my sheet and out came I just kind of whispered tail swagger. A minute. Could you write that down? You know, and I kind of looked at all the other names and I sat on it and just let it kind of marinate and I was like, No, this is it. Like every time I said tail sweaters, I would just smile so big. And it just kind of went with my, my slogan providing tail wagging happiness. So I was just like, wow, you know, it just came from a lot of self reflecting and knowing kind of what my business entailed and how I wanted people to see it. So kind of background on it.
Collin 02:53
No, I I love that because in names and in slogans, we try so hard to communicate as much much as possible about us as a business to our clients. And you mentioned there the name tailwaggers like it, you can't say it and not smile and so it just kind of grin right at the end of that. And so they just it immediately set somebody up at like this Like this good feeling about about the service.
Marissa LeJune 03:20
Absolutely, absolutely. And the more that I kind of am starting to as I've rebranded I've realized that it just the way it works, when you kind of break it down. So the term swag is a term of confidence. It's a style and when you look at any type of dog that you care for that you know, you've owned, they kind of each have their own swag, whether they're Goofy, you know, whether they're shy, they all own who they are, unapologetically. And I just felt like wow, this really goes you know, for the passion that I have for caring for all my clients and their dogs. I was just like, I think tell swag. Really identifies, you know, the love that we have for our pets.
Collin 04:04
And it's also very familiar because it's so close to to wag and wagging but as you said, like that swag like that does give this push of confidence this this air of something different, something unique about that.
Marissa LeJune 04:21
Absolutely, absolutely. Definitely wanted it to, to compete with a lot of as I grow, I wanted to compete with a lot of the bigger brands and you know, like you said, it's a it's a term of confidence, and it's something that you say and it just kind of sticks in your mind like okay, I'll remember that you know,
Collin 04:36
and and you mentioned there that you went through this process of of rebranding. So after being in business for three years, why did you decide to rebrand and what was that like?
Marissa LeJune 04:50
So my initial thought in why I wanted to rebrand was I want to start growing it more now that we're Coming out of COVID and stuff like that. And the originally so my original name was Marissa’s pet service. That's what I started my career as independent Street. And I loved it. And you know, I love my logo. But I felt like as I start hiring people, I wanted them to be excited about, you know, who they work for the company they work for, and I felt like taking my name out of it was something it was a good choice. And then the whole aspect of rebranding right now, I had actually talked with my business mentor, Joe Anderson, Jr. And it was smart in a sense of because I'm still early on in my business. Financially, it was good because there weren't a lot of aspects that I would like money wise that I would have to put into rebranding new shirts and things like that. So and the clients that I have, I felt like they would transition easily into the new name into the rebranding. So that was kind of the reason why I have right now and the reason for why I changed
Collin 06:00
That first aspect that you mentioned is you if you're looking to bring on people having not the owner's name in it, it allows them to have maybe a little bit it's easier to see their their ownership in in in the company and see how they can get excited for it and see their place in it. And you know, I so that's interesting how that was the first thing that you mentioned as to why you want to rebrand so that as you hire people, they would be excited to
Marissa LeJune 06:27
I can another why behind rebranding, when you're talking about hiring on people, like you said, I felt like having my name it kind of maybe it put the shine on me too much instead of my business. So I felt like changing it to tell Swaggers allowed it to just, you know, like you said, allow my staff for future to be proud of it and to take me out of it. And it helped me kind of separate myself from the business and in that aspect, too. So
Collin 06:56
that's really interesting because sometimes when owners bring on staff, they may have a hard time giving up their own personal clients because they have such ownership in the ones that they are caring for. But it looks like you're already setting yourself up to avoid that by building something bigger than yourself and already removing the spotlight off of you and into the business. So that when it comes time to hand off clients, to staff, that process is going to be easier for you.
Marissa LeJune 07:26
Yes, absolutely. And I've actually learned that reading some of Kristin Morrison's books, she has pet care. It's it is it's hard for a lot of people, especially when you are the sole person caring for a lot of clients to just step back and allow you know, your staff members to do it. It has been something I've been marinating on for the last year. It's not something that I just kind of decided. And I've gone through that anxiety of like, Oh my goodness, you know, they're not going to be able to provide what I can provide, you know, the love and the care and I've had to like step back and like Yes, when you find the right people, they're going to be able to love each and every single one of your clients just as you would want, you know, and it's, it's taken that leap of faith and I know it's hard, but I'm just like you said, I'm preparing for that step. So it'll make it a smooth transition.
Collin 08:16
Thinking back to when you first started back in 2018. Why did you decide that pet sitting and dog walking was where you wanted to start a business.
Marissa LeJune 08:26
The the truth behind that was actually, my business mentor who just now you know, now as a business mentor, but at the time was my life coach. I was really trying to find what I was passionate about. At the time, I was just working, you know, just a waitressing job. And I but I knew, you know, I just I didn't exactly have what I want to do and I was fresh out of college finishing my master's and, you know, I just was trying to provide the time and he allowed me to see you know, what is it that you love what Can you see yourself doing whether you get paid or not? And, you know, I was just like, dogs, I love them, I could do it, you know, any day anytime. And you know, he kind of pushed me which I'm grateful for, but he pushed me in that direction to do it. And so I think in 2018 that was the reason why I did go full time was because although I was scared, I was, I had so much anxiety of like, what people would think because at the time, I never, I never knew you could do this full time. I never I never heard of Kristin Morrison. And you know that people actually made this a career. And so I was terrified to people looking at me like, I mean, that's not really a job. And I just had to jump over that fear. And when I did, it was I mean, I've I haven't looked back so that was why until 19, though, that I decided to go full time into the pet industry.
Collin 09:51
And what do you think was that got you over that fear of second guessing yourself and maybe thinking about what other people were thinking about your career? choices.
Marissa LeJune 10:00
I think the biggest thing was having the support of my coach to know that like, hey, someone has you and they believe in you. And I think I just needed that, that small little voice of like, you can do this, for me to really hear my inner voice of like, yes, Marissa, you can do this. And I think also what helped me was I just to see 2018 Yes, my daughter was when being born, she was born as an 18. So I think when having her it was like, I knew I needed to provide and she definitely gave me the confidence to like, you know, I've got someone relying on me. So that was that was also another another why behind that. Right.
Collin 10:44
And you've mentioned your your coach a few times now. And I'm struck by that because I feel like not many people have that in their lives. Why did you decide that that was something you needed, and how has that helped you? Over the past several years,
Marissa LeJune 11:02
so the reason why was because I definitely went through a spurt of depression. And I knew that to get out of it, I needed to seek help. And so that was the reason why I decided to get a coach and it was actually someone that I knew prior being in college and I just we had built a great friendship and I believe that he could help me in that aspect. It has built my confidence in myself so outside of my business, I don't necessarily care too are just really marinate on the on the thoughts of what other people think about me so myself image has improved, and then looking into my business, it has helped me guide into the right decisions that I want to make. So instead of just making rash decisions, you kind of think about what you want to do and then you bring it to your business coach and you know, you just kind of strategize to where You're not jumping into things too fast.
Collin 12:01
It is kind of this, this check system that's right with you, at each step of Is this okay? like is this what is how does this sound just just that relationship of having the ability to bounce ideas off of somebody, and then to have that, that almost that cheerleader by your side who's got you that's going to support you through the rough times through those scary times and to to help you build your own confidence. You know, you mentioned that if like, that was one of the big things for you was it allowed this this confidence building to get you to the point where now when it comes time to make those decisions, you trust yourself to make those and really sets you on this amazing path moving forward?
Marissa LeJune 12:44
Absolutely. I think you definitely nailed that. Absolutely. It's it's like you said, it's just like a safety net and someone you can bounce things off of, especially if you are, you know, fairly new to the industry, that you're in. They're they're just helpful to guide you and and because when you're looking at going to a business you've got to have a sense of confidence you know when you're going to get new clients and you meet people at the dog park and stuff like that you know you need to have that confidence in yourself and in your business to know that I'm looking at that person yeah I can provide this care for the you know for you and for your dog and at times when you're nervous that can that can definitely be a struggle.
Collin 13:25
Absolutely, I think the number of times walking up to me to client and just those those that that voice of doubt deep in my stomach going they're not gonna pick you like why would what what you're not good at this when we do like it and to have somebody that comes alongside you and is like, no, don't trust that voice. Look at all the stuff that you've done. Look at all the processes you have in place. You've got this, go get it.
Marissa LeJune 13:48
Absolutely, absolutely. Yes.
Collin 13:53
I love hearing about that because I I feel like that is an aspect and listening to how it's in To your life and how it's really it feels like accelerated your growth in the business and your understanding of both the industry and your confidence in it as a place where you do belong and you feel legitimate being there. But that has just been so you couldn't put a price on that, or what it's giving you.
Marissa LeJune 14:20
Absolutely. And I feel like everybody needs to have a place that they feel like they belong, you know, I think it makes sense. That's what kind of makes being being an entrepreneur and being your own business owner. So priceless is just like knowing that you have a purpose and that you're living that purpose. And it's, I mean, it's something that that I don't think anybody would want to give up.
Collin 14:42
No, absolutely not. And to be able to work through that and again, to to have this that support is just something that you know, I wish everybody everybody had it, no matter how long you've been in the business.
Marissa LeJune 14:57
No, absolutely. And the one thing that he has said before is when you're looking at, it's good to learn from your mistakes. And it's even greater to learn from other people's mistakes. So I think also having coaches like they can, you know, you don't always have to go with what they say. But if you're, it's another ear to hear where it's like, hey, this might have worked this time where they can kind of keep you accountable to like, you've done this before, you know, let's let's try something new. And it's just, when you're looking at other people and other businesses, I think that's, that's key because you don't, you know, you want to make sure that you're taking the right steps in the right direction. And if you can accelerate that process by learning from other people, that just makes it 10 times better.
Collin 15:42
Now you are branded as a luxury pet care service. What does that mean to you?
Marissa LeJune 15:49
Being luxury to me is basically just providing you're the top notch quality that you could that you could dream of, so I I like to think of my business. As you know, when you go to Disney World, everything there is exceptional all the time year round. So for me when I'm looking at luxury, I want this to be a seven star service that you're getting day in and day out, no matter you know what time of year. And I think I, I think I've done a great job of showing my clients that every time that they need me, I'm reliable and tell Swaggers is reliable? And I really do take pride in that.
Collin 16:30
So you might my follow up there was how do you telegraph? How do you market luxury to your potential clients?
Marissa LeJune 16:37
So the biggest thing is just with with your language, it's making sure that you've got luxury that you've got, you know, pet concierge, or just those small key words that really catch people's attention. And then secondly, when you are with your client, you're just making sure to vocalize those. Not only those Words, but also your actions like a lot of your clients and you can have, you know, the best set of website with the best words and, and things. But if you're not providing that quality care all the time, they're not really going to feel that luxury service. So I would say first, it's language and second interactions. Actions always speak louder than words. So that's those would be the two keys for me.
Collin 17:24
And what I hear there is the is on top of that is this consistency of care of you know, you get a great example of Disney World of it doesn't matter what time of day you go, what day of the year you go, what year you go. It's going to be amazing every single time. Absolutely. And to take that and go now. Let's do my business. How do you right now how do I give my clients that? That that just takes it to a whole nother level?
17:53
Absolutely, yeah, absolutely.
Collin 17:55
On your services, you offer a monthly membership. package for daycares? What's the thinking behind that? And what is the response been from your clients?
Marissa LeJune 18:07
So the thinking behind my membership is I wanted to give people a sense of VIP. And when you're looking at daycare for me, I do I work out of my home. So I already knew off top, I wouldn't I have to keep my numbers small one to provide that luxury care, as we mentioned, but also because I'm not able to hold 100 dogs at my house. And so for me, looking at wanting my clients to really dive in and be interested in my daycare, I wanted to be able to put together a package of something that they would they would enjoy. So that's, you know, doggy daycare, that's bass like everything is included in this membership, instead of paying, you know, separate fees for this and that it's like they look at it, it's like, oh, wow, all included. That's That's great. You know, it's, it's you're paying one time a month, which makes it super easy. And then like I said, it just makes them feel included. When you're looking at, as I mentioned, you know, Disney World, they've got the VIP pass, you know, they've got just things that makes them people feel like they are just in have that experience that like top notch experience and that yeah, that's really the meaning behind my membership and for people, my clients. My clients have actually so far they've reacted very well. I've got two or three of them that have spoke interest in it. They're interested probably starting in the fall just because of whole COVID and they're still home, which is absolutely understandable. So I'm excited to really see how it takes off. And I can keep you updated as it goes. It's fairly new, so I haven't really just promoted it too much yet.
Collin 19:49
Okay. No, I would love to hear what kind of traction you get on that. And yeah, I I, that idea of making something that's all inclusive If I mean people love all inclusive resorts for a reason because it gives them this feeling of money's no object I get to live like royalty for a day it's just whatever I want for just one price and then I forget about it. Yeah, and you're going now Now let's do dogs right now if everything's included in this and I can see how it would be very attractive where somebody just doesn't they don't have to worry about the multiple bookings they don't have to worry about multiple payments going out. They just when they need service, they know they're going to get it and that peace of mind that you give to an owner is huge.
Marissa LeJune 20:35
Absolutely. It's um, if if anything, the one thing that I can say when you're looking at owners, it's given them that peace of mind. So it's, you know, how can I make things automated? How can I just make this the most simple, one button click and we're good to go. So
Collin 20:51
yeah, well, and I'm sure for for you running your business having that kind of income. Come every month, that's a little bit more predictable than and so you it's a little bit easier to plan and look at growth and look down the road then if you're doing these multiple individual bookings or all these single clients every single day,
Marissa LeJune 21:16
yeah, definitely sustainability in your businesses is very, very key and looking at where the vision what I see from my business, and that was also just a behind the scenes thought of my doggy daycare was, for me, I'm looking to kind of step back from my business business and do more operating. So if I was going to do that, what's a way that I can still, you know, have dogs in my home still interact with them, you know, me and my daughter, but then also still having my staff who's out and working and doing the day to day things. And I think having that doggy daycare, like you said is sustainable, you know, every month, okay, I have, you know, these five dogs coming in. I look forward to it. Great, and then I can delegate the rest of my services to my staff.
Collin 22:00
Yeah, that sustainability and that scalability is when you start having predictable projections. And that foundation, it gives you the confidence to make some of those big steps.
22:12
Yes, absolutely.
Collin 22:13
Another service that you offer are called tuck in visits. How did those get started?
Marissa LeJune 22:18
So those actually was something that my, a few of my clients had actually mentioned. So I offer drop in visits. So they're 30 minutes to an hour, visits to where these are most of the times it's just, you know, if you're at work or gone, you know, just little potty breaks here and there for your dog. But there are some of my clients whose their dog prefers to stay home when they travel. And they just wanted something more of Is there any way you could stay longer? And looking at my tuck ins that idea came from that it was like, Okay, how can I find a way to help my clients and their dogs, you know, at nighttime when it's bedtime just to kind of stay with them longer. So my tokens, basically It's two hours visits in the evening and then one hour in the morning. And that just kind of has the dog if you have anxiety, or if they just like to snuggle longer, you know, then at 30 minutes, that helps them and I think they're, they're excited about it. It's also when I looked at doing the pricing wise, it's actually cheaper to do the tuck ins for a longer amount of times, and it would be just scheduling like an hour visit at night, and then an hour in the morning so that I mean those that was kind of the reason behind that.
Collin 23:29
Yeah. Now is that just because of like travel costs and transitions and ability to fit in number of clients during that slaughter? or How did the pricing thought go into that?
Marissa LeJune 23:39
I think it was kind of both it was Yes, in the sense of Okay, looking at the number of clients that I have, I need to make sure that it's still sustainable to be at that house for that long and if I am good, because typically I would only do that with one client two hours at night because I'm looking at probably doing from like eight to 10 but then the price wise I knew That I wanted my tokens to still be something enticing to my customers. So it's like, if you look at my dropins, I won. I basically just based the price on how could I make this work, but also make it cheaper.
Collin 24:13
Right? And that two sided coin of like, if I'm going to offer the service, I've got to make it worth my time. Yeah. But people still have to be willing to buy it.
Marissa LeJune 24:23
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.
24:28
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Collin 24:51
software for your business, give time to pet a try. As a listener of pet sitter confessional you'll get 50% off your first three months. When you sign up at time to pat.com, slash confessional. And then I think I know the answer to this question kind of what you've alluded to earlier, but you also provide access to a mobile app through your website. Why was it important for you to have that and make that available.
Marissa LeJune 25:21
So the importance behind that was just to compete with other companies. This is actually something that I recently just finished, like, I just launched that like this past week, and I'm so excited about it. Um, but when you look at you know, big companies like wag and stuff like that, they literally allow your client to log on and put the information and then book a book a walker instantly, you know, within less than five minutes. So for me to have that mobile app and just really stay on top of the competition was was key. It's crucial.
Collin 25:51
Maybe it's somebody who's listening going, Oh, my gosh, you've got a mobile app. That must be a lot of work. What was that process, like bringing that On and how did you get access to that? You know, maybe some of those ground level details.
Marissa LeJune 26:04
Yeah, absolutely. So I actually got access to it by I mean, by chance I was listening to Christian Morrison's podcast and she had just mentioned, hey, if you're looking for, you know, a mobile app, just you know, email me, you know, email me at this email and I'm like, Okay, cool. So I emailed her not really thinking much of it, and she replied back and said, hey, there's this company called Easy peasy pets, and you should check them out. So I'm like, okay, so I you know, I kind of check out their website set up a meeting and I mean, they've made everything super easy. And I mean, for me for what they provide with the mobile app with their the website setup and everything that it can do. I was I mean, I was sold I, I think it's affordable. And for anybody out there interested in this company, please feel free to let me know I can give you a referral link that they've provided me and I'd be happy to share I think anybody really trying to stay you know, like compete with the competition, this is something that you definitely want to look into.
Collin 27:04
And that note of it really wasn't that much. Like, you weren't programming, you weren't developing the layout for that on your end, because there's this company that's already handling all of those back end services. And you're able to just kind of plug it right into where you need it. And now you are directly competing with the big the big companies.
Marissa LeJune 27:23
Yes, absolutely. And I think that's key when you're looking at something at something that you don't know how to do. It's finding another company that already knows what it's doing and and really just looking like okay, how can I utilize this and how can they help me and they're definitely a company that's, I think they've been around for a while, but I think they've been doing a lot of developing, like you said, like, behind the scenes with their website and stuff. Just
Collin 27:48
how easy that that process was to get it included. It wasn't all these big hurdles that you had to overcome.
Marissa LeJune 27:55
No, no, no big hurdles at all. They they take care of everything. Once you tell them the things, the services that you want, they easily allow you and help you set it up and get things running. I mean, I got mine done in let's see, it was like maybe two and a half hours I got my website up. Oh my god. Yeah, everything literally done. I was very eager to get started though. So I you know, once they showed me how it was done, I was like, okay, have my forums ready? My information ready, you know, and he was the my sales rep was like, wow, we're done. Okay, great. Let's get go, you know, I'm gonna, I'm gonna, you know, go get my first client. So, but yeah, definitely they make it easy
Collin 28:35
to offer it. Yeah. Well, that's good. I just want to be assured of some of the fears that people think when they start thinking mobile apps and one click booking and that kind of thing. That sounds very complicated. But there are services like this that are out there to help smooth that out. So you don't have to worry about it and you can start providing fast this luxury is service you know that I know you're after here to make this I don't want any speed bumps, I don't want any roadblocks for clients, I want them to be able to get in easy, make it fast and make it understandable and then move on to actually providing the service.
Marissa LeJune 29:09
Yeah, definitely. And I think anytime you're stepping out of your comfort zone, it can be scary. But like I said, I think it's just you know, being strategic about what you're doing. And just believing that like I'm making the right choice and just for me, with this mobile app, I just did a lot of research behind it so I knew Okay, starting out once I have my first client on here and I transition my current clients to their even if they have questions, I would easily be able to help them through it.
Collin 29:37
I know a lot of the steps that you're taking right now or to set yourself up for a higher down the road but you currently have an on staff Professional Dog Petter that you work with a lot of days. What's it like working with your daughter?
Marissa LeJune 29:51
Oh, it's it's amazing and I feel so blessed to be able to work with her. So yes, my professional dog pet or you can see her on my way. She's my daughter, she's two years old. And she's actually been with me a lot. 2018. So she was about three to four months, she started her entrepreneurship career. But it's been wonderful for anybody out there that that is a parent and that wants to do this in the pet industry, you know, I definitely encourage it, you have to be aware that, you know, you always have to be safe, take those safety precautions. And for me, I've I've been blessed that I've been open and honest with my clients about it. And they've been so loving and so welcoming with her. And I just, I mean, I couldn't think the more for it.
Collin 30:34
Well, yeah, that's so that was one of the questions I had was about the safety around DOCSIS. That's many people may hear Oh, you're bringing your daughter around these dogs? What safety like so how are you teaching her safety and what kind of processes do you have in place when you do have her around dogs?
Marissa LeJune 30:54
So the first thing is how I'm teaching her. A lot of it is I'm making sure that I am always showing teaching by example, because kids do a lot of learning by watching and the second thing is I just make sure no matter what I'm doing, if it's something that's not it doesn't involve the dogs running around or anything I'm including here so I'll letters, the dog food and stuff like that and just teacher like, here's the way to do it. And then I always teach her distance so when dogs are eating Okay, we step back and let them have their space it's always about spacing you know, even when dogs even with dogs that love You know, you petting them and stuff like that you still have to give them their distance. So with her being so young, I really focus on Okay, like we can pet them but let's let them have their space and then you know, we can come back and do that though for me when she's around other dogs. I when she was really little, she would always be in the in the harness the front chest harness, so she was never on the ground or near them. She was always up safe next to me. And then now that she's older, and she's able to Walk I always keep a right next to me and holding my hand so for walking, you know, some dogs just get so excited and they wag their tail or might, you know, booty bump or something she you know, I'm right there to pick her up and stuff like that. But those would be like the safety precautions when we're like outside and stuff, just making sure that I always have an eye on her. And that I'm aware because with dogs things can escalate quickly. So I always want to make sure that I'm there to either like you know, pick her up or tell her Hey, step back, and then you know, I can control the situation.
Collin 32:31
I know with with our two kids around dogs, I feel like it makes Megan and I more observant and even better than maybe we were if we didn't have kids around dogs like we are constantly I know I'm better at reading body language around dogs now. With not with kids than I was before we had kids just because I have to be more into much more observant and much more reading, trying to think several steps ahead and this You know, going through these screening processes and all that, but it's, I know it's I feel like it's gonna heightened these the senses and awareness just of whenever everybody's around.
Marissa LeJune 33:09
No, absolutely, absolutely. I think parents naturally have that sense of awareness like in heightened awareness that you that you mentioned and I agree with you i think prior to me going full time to pet care, I did do it part time throughout college when I wasn't, you know, playing games or anything and I can look back and say now like you said, I can read dogleg which is way better I feel like I can tell like okay, someone's about to get upset. Let me you know, come situation down. Because my daughter's there and I think she is something that is is a big benefit to that because it's like you're always on your P's and Q's you're always like okay, you know is everything in check everything in order and I think that's a big bonus like you mentioned.
Collin 33:52
Now another part of that is balancing business and personal life with with your daughter. How How have you made to work that out if it for you. And and I know you're kind of transitioning to wanting to step back more to spend time with family and grow your business from more administrative side, but how have you worked out a balance right now.
Marissa LeJune 34:13
So right now I can say it's being super organized with my schedule and to knowing when or my my business hours and one of my personal hours that is so crucial and I had to learn the hard way with that, you know, feeling like I'm always on the go. But I would say, you know, I've got this time for my daycare, I've got this time for my walking, okay, this time, it's time for her to eat it, you know, it's having that balance, it's being organized. And I think it's having a lot of patience. Because when she was really little, I had to make sure that okay, every two to four hours you got to eat, you know, we've got to take a break, we got to take a bathroom break and you know, here and there. So now that she's older, it's a lot easier because you know, she can feed herself and things like that, but definitely pays In organization are keys to keeping a balance when you're working with your kid and in your business.
Collin 35:08
And you mentioned setting business hours and personal hours there. And that's a boundary that oh my gosh, that's so hard to keep intact because it's easy just to slip in and go, Oh, this email came in late at night. Let me just answer it real quick or Oh, let me just do this one thing. Really quick. So having those set up and going, Nope, that's, you know, normal businesses have business hours where they would lock the door and walk away and trying to emulate that as much as possible in this industry where you could work 24 seven, it feels like
Marissa LeJune 35:40
it's just it's hard. Yes, it is. It's so hard and I struggle with that. Early on in my business. I'm probably year one in year two that I just was okay. Yes, I'll say yes to everything. And, you know, and I felt like she in that aspect. She wasn't benefiting because she was like, okay, mom, I just want one on one time. You know, we, we don't need to go to this house and I'm like, Okay, how can I make this more balanced schedule for both of us that we both benefit as well as our clients because you got to understand that, especially when when you just work when it's just you working by yourself and your business, like, when you get burnt out your the clients that you have, they they can feel that, you know, those dogs don't feel that energy that you bring in, because you don't have any energy, you're not bringing that, you know, that consistent quality care. So I think having those business hours and it is hard when you work from home too, because it's like, Okay, I've got these dogs here, you know, but now I got a BA now I'm tired. So it's like, how do I how do I keep that and it's like, implementing those business hours is the way to go. Because you know, okay, this is time for work. And this is time for relaxation, or for anything else that you need to do for sure.
Collin 36:52
Yeah. And you also mentioned patience, and that's patience for the people around you. I'm sure it's patience for your daughter and I It's pay, I don't make payments for yourself to give yourself the permission to learn, and that grace when you mess up and try again another day.
Marissa LeJune 37:10
Yeah, yeah, it's learning from mistakes. It's hard and, and I take it hard, you know, when I've, I've messed up or just something happens. It's like, oh, man, you know, I should have known better but it's it's understanding not to be too hard on yourself. And it's looking like, Okay, how can I make sure this doesn't happen again? I think that's that's the biggest thing when it comes to learning and having patience with yourself. Because, I mean, you're learning new things every day. You can't always get everything right, you know, the first time or even second time So,
Collin 37:40
or for me the fourth sixth time I feel like some days.
Marissa LeJune 37:44
Oh, yeah, for sure. But like you said, I just got it. You gotta always give yourself that grace and that paint and then just, oh, take that breath and like, okay, let's let's try this again.
Collin 37:54
Yeah. And so what kind of advice would you give to Other people who are running their pet care business and also have small kids or maybe want them involved in the business in day to day operations.
Marissa LeJune 38:08
Oh, yeah. So firstly, one I would say, if you want to do it, go ahead, absolutely do it, you know, it is scary it is and you will definitely you probably might lose some clients because you know, whether their dog doesn't do good with kids, you know, you have to be aware of that. Or maybe they're just not comfortable. The owner is not comfortable with your kid being there. But you just kind of have to take that and just Okay, no problem and move on. Because with every closed door, there's going to be more than more of doors that open. And so I would really just say get over that fear go and do it. Don't listen to what people have to say you know, if you if you believe you can, I believe you can do. And then second, you need to make sure that going into your business, you're going to have to be very accountable with yourself and with your kid but also you're going to have to have an open communication with your clients. So For me, you know, whether it's a new client or my current clients they know Okay, they're if Lee's you know, she's working with me, so there's a chance that she's going to come on that Walker, you know, she's going to be in that visit. And I think when you're open and you're honest with your clients, that allows them and it just allows the process to be much smoother, because they know what they're expecting.
Collin 39:20
Yeah, that communication is just so critical there of will will my kids be around and then you know, that first step of going, is this dog even a good fit for me if my kids going to be here? I know when when Megan and I board in our home, that's the first question it doesn't matter if there we can deal with dogs doesn't get a if it's not friendly with other dogs. We know how to deal with that. And we can put stuff in place. But if that screening question goes back, No, we're not. There's no second question. If the dog is not okay, around small kids. It's like okay, well, we're not a good fit for you and we're okay we're okay with that. Because you know, when I I kind of love my kids more than I love your dog.
Marissa LeJune 40:00
No, absolutely absolutely and it's just you never want to put your kid in that harm you know and you never want to put that owner their dog in harm either you know, they're going to be so uncomfortable you so it's like don't even try to overstep that boundary. If you know beforehand that they're not good with kids.
Collin 40:17
Yeah it's it's a no harm no foul kind of thing. It's yeah as you said like that you want the dog to be in the best place possible and if the best place possible for them is a place without small kids. They need to go there and we're not going to try and make that work here. And and safety above all else.
Marissa LeJune 40:33
Yeah. And that's where other you know, cat businesses come in handy. I think that's the great thing about our industry. I know you know, we've I think the pet industry is still growing today but it's, it's great to have like when you if you know you can't take care of that dog. There's some other business or force out there that that is going to be a great fit for them
Collin 40:52
being of the pet care industry. At kind of at a large scale. What is the the pet care industry in the market, been liking in Fort Worth area through COVID.
Marissa LeJune 41:01
So I can only speak on, you know, my experiences and for me, it's been fairly decent I've, I can say that the current clients that I have I feel very blessed to care for their pets because there are still some of them that were home and they were still willing to pay like I still want you to come walk my dog. You know, of course we took the steps you know, I wore gloves, more mass sanitize everything all the time. But I also had clients that even though they weren't using my services during the COVID, lockdown and everything, they were still willing to just send me just a little bit here and there just like hey, like this will help you. You know, I know it's not much but it's just one to kind of help you and your family out. So for me, I can say that it's been a huge blessing and thankfully I've been able to, you know, my business has been running through COVID and now it's picking back up now that we are slowly you know, coming out The in home procedures. But yeah, so for me that's, I just feel so blessed that I know a lot, not a lot of business had to shut down. And it's, you know, for me that thankfully that wasn't the case.
Collin 42:14
Right. And you were still able, as you mentioned, to provide some services to people who still recognize that it provided value to them. And they still needed that even though it may have looked a little different.
Marissa LeJune 42:25
Yeah, absolutely. And I know some of some people they were, you know, they weren't even offering dock services. They were like, hey, telling their clients, I can go grocery shopping for you. I can, you know, do this and do that. And I think that that's awesome. I think people's ability to adapt is was very crucial during COVID. And still is.
Collin 42:43
Oh, yeah, absolutely. It's, it's really cool to see the creativity that pet sitters were able to turn on it seemed like at a moment's notice of Oh, there's problems, flip the switch, what are we going to do and just kind of just did a to z, all kind of business ideas. and services that they were able to come up with to meet new needs of their customers.
43:06
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.
Collin 43:08
And so, thinking about COVID maybe what are some lessons that you've learned through experiencing that in your, in your third year of business? And, and how has that shaped your eye towards the future and growth and that kind of thing?
Marissa LeJune 43:23
So I think first, it's always expecting unexpectable. And then second, like you said, adaptability, no matter you know what time of year, whether it's your first year or your 10th year. If you're able to adapt to what's going on to meet the needs of your clients, I think you will always succeed no matter what and I think COVID has definitely shown every every business that you need to be willing to adapt, you know, whether it's getting a new technology or changing you know, your services are adding a new service, you know, whatever it is that's going to keep you afloat and keep you going I think you got to be willing to really take that chance
Collin 44:03
that really is huge. And so that that may play into my follow up question to that is what would be your biggest piece of advice to other pet care providers.
Marissa LeJune 44:12
So I would say for me and just looking back at the shows that I've had, um, my advice would be really find what you're passionate about. And if you're looking at the pet industry, try your best to allow that passion for animals for for dogs, cats, any type of reptiles like let your passion show and what you do, no matter what service it is that you provide walking, you know, job in visits, daycare, you know, I've heard of some that do dog running, instead of just walking. So just whatever it is, make sure you're you're pushing that passion, that love that you have through your services through your social media and your websites and anything even when you meet your clients like allow them to see who you are, and be unapologetic about it. I think you find You know, the best clients, the best people even, you know, not even just clients, you find the best relationships, whether it's with other pet businesses, I think that's the best way, that's the best thing to do. That's my best advice. I guess I'll have to
Collin 45:12
give, so not be ashamed of your passion, and to let it seep through and bleed out of everything that you do. And so that you're doing it well, right. And you're doing it with excellence. And you can do it consistently, which is, you know, stuff that you have, you have been doing, you've been talking about this this whole time.
Marissa LeJune 45:32
Absolutely. And I also think it helps when you're looking at the longer in this business, I think it helps you not get to the point of burnout too, because if you're waking up every morning and you're loving what you're doing, there's no way that you can get tired of that. And, you know, I'm looking at the longevity of having my business here for years and years, you know, maybe one day my daughter and take over and run so it's it's something that I definitely hold close to my heart and I hope that you know, a lot People do as well.
Collin 46:02
Marissa, I want to thank you so much for taking time out of your day to day and coming on to share about your story and your experiences. As you've started, you're looking at growing and the wonderful example that you're setting for your daughter and just the the footpath to success that both you and her are on through what you're doing right now. Thank you so much. If people want to get in touch, follow along with all that you've got going on. How can they do that?
Marissa LeJune 46:28
Absolutely. So if you're looking for luxury Pet Care Service and the fortex area, you can visit our website at www. Tail swaggers.org and I'm sure I can give you the link to that so they can have if you would like to follow us on social media on Instagram, we are tail dot Swaggers. And then if you're looking to reach out to me personally, my Instagram is my first and last name so it's Marisa legit And then you can also email me at Marisela june@gmail.com.
Collin 47:05
And I'll include make sure those are, those are included in the show notes and on the website as well so people can click right to them when they're ready. So, Marissa, it's been a real pleasure, a real joy. Thank you so much.
Marissa LeJune 47:16
Oh, thank you so much for having me. I had a wonderful time, speaking with you and just sharing, you know, just insights and what we've learned and how we can possibly help someone else I had fun.
Collin 47:27
Marissa has an entrepreneurial attitude and spirit really shine through in all that she does. Whether it's planning for the future, or how she structures her day around her ability to care for her daughter. Everything she does shines with passion and excellence. It's a real example for making sure that we are all plugged into and understand our why in business. We'd like to thank our friends over at time to pet for making this week's show possible. If you'd like to get connected with us, you can find us on Instagram and Facebook at pet sitter confessional check out our website for Have a ton of information related to pet care, extended show notes and a lot of other stuff as well. You can email us at feedback at pet sitter confessional.com. We'd love to hear your story. Thank you so much for listening
