207: Learning from Mistakes with Christina & Jen
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Summary:
Twin sisters in pet care share how they learn and grow together to solve problems and meet their client's need. Jen Adamo, owner of Jen’s Happy Pets, and Christina Ranaldi, owner of Scruffy Puppy Pet Care, discuss their experiences hiring and managing staff, and what it's like learning from mistakes. They talk about giving grace, supporting your team, and understanding that issues will happen. We discuss the importance of learning from others and sibling rivalry.
Topics on this episode:
Being observant
Managing staff
Partnering together
Comparing yourself to others
Main take away: Even the best of pet sitters can make mistakes. Learn and grow from those so they don't happen again.
About our guests:
Christina Ranaldi - Scruffy Puppy Pet Care
My name is Christina, I am the owner of The Scruffy Puppy. I live in Hazlet, NJ. I have loved animals all my life and have devoted many years to caring for pets from horses to hamsters.
I have experience with many dog breeds from tiny fluff balls to larger “bully breeds.” I love them all.
I’ve worked as a groomer for many years and gained invaluable experience dealing with animals of all kinds. In my early years I had a horse, and worked on various horse farms. I currently have a 2 pups whom I love dearly. I love being around animals because they make me happy.
I have a wonderful staff of dedicated, pet loving professionals! We are fully insured and want to provide professional yet personal care for your pets. Let us help you give them the care and attention they need when you can’t be there.
Jen Adamo - Jens Happy Pets
Hi, my name is Jennifer!Jen Profile Pic I have loved animals all my life and I’ve devoted many years to caring for pets from hamsters to horses. In my teen years I owned a horse, and worked on various horse farms. From there, I moved on to work at the SPCA animal shelter and gained invaluable experience in my position as assistant manager. I also worked as a vet tech at Community Animal Hospital. In this position, I was able to assist veterinarians and not only acquire more veterinary skills but increase my understanding of animal husbandry as well. My background in animal care and my incredible love for animals prompted me to open my pet-sitting business. I have experience with many dog breeds from tiny fluff balls to larger “bully breeds.” My animal family presently includes two rescues, “Boomer” the dog and “Mittens” the cat.
Links:
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Email us at: feedback@petsitterconfessional.com
A VERY ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE EPISODE
Provided by otter.ai
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
clients, pet, pet sitters, people, business, dog, care, comparing, sitters, important, advertising, christina, house, walk, hiring, bit, overnight, jen, animals, gift
SPEAKERS
Christina & Jen, Collin,
00:17
Hi, I'm Meghan. I'm Collin. And this is pet sitter confessional and open and honest discussion about life as a pet sitter brought to you by time to pet and pet perennials.
Collin 00:30
Jen Damo and Christina Rinaldi are two twin sisters in pet care. Today we discuss how they've learned in grown together to solve problems and meet their client's needs. Jane and Christina share their experiences, hiring and managing staff and what it's like learning from our own mistakes. To talk about giving grace and understanding issues will happen while supporting your team. We also discussed the importance of learning from others, and a little bit about sibling rivalry. Let's get started.
Christina & Jen 01:00
Thank you so much for having us. My name is Christina, I run this fluffy puppy in Monmouth County. Hi, I'm Jan and I own just happy pets. And I provide care to hunterdon County and just a little bit of Warren County in New Jersey.
01:18
And if people are listening to you going, Oh, your voices sound very similar. It's because both of you are you're in fact twins in pet care. We are we are roommates. So how did you both find yourselves at running pet care and dog walking businesses?
Christina & Jen 01:36
Well, I do believe that we've always had a real passion for animals. Um, from the time that we were small children, we were always playing with the neighborhood cats and, you know, playing with the frogs in the creek and you guys as we grew up around various horse farms, and we did a lot of volunteering at the shelters and, you know, a therapeutic riding with the handicapped, we really had a great ability to learn from other people. And, you know, and we just realized how much we absolutely loved caring for, for animals of all kinds. I mean, we pretty much taken care of anything from goats, ducks, hamsters, horses, yeah, dogs, cats, pretty much everything in between. Yeah, for sure. We've we've done only nurse a lot of sick cat ends, and yeah, little birds and fall on trees. But yeah, both of us have had many different volunteer opportunities or jobs where we have worked with animals of all kinds. So yeah, it just made sense that the two of us both got into the pet care industry. For sure.
Collin Funkhouser 02:41
Jen, I know, you have background and experience in an animal hospital setting. And Christina, you have experience with, with groomers and and have experienced with with that side of the business? How do your backgrounds in those influence how you run your businesses today?
Christina & Jen 02:57
Oh, boy. Well, you know, I would say just the overall experience of having so many years working with animals, whether it be me working, you know, in the veterinary field, as assistant to to any kind of surgeries or emergencies. And, and Chris, doing, you know, grooming and whatever else she was doing, just the many years combined, of doing all these different things, has just allowed us to really be able to read the animals, we can read them, we can anticipate if there's going to be a problem, if the dog is nervous, we can also anticipate any issues that may arise. We know the questions to ask if we go into a client's home, and we're meeting them for the first time, it's not just, Hey, where's the leash? You know, it's those important questions like, you know, is your dog, you know, going to bolt if they see, you know, another dog, you know, do we have to make sure that the collars are tight? Or you know, or is there any issues with these things, or or anything like that. So, so essentially just all of those experiences have allowed us to have such a great understanding under needs of the needs of pet care and the needs of our clients. Yeah, absolutely. Make sure that those animals are well taken care of and preventative measures in ways to you know, prevent any issues or problems from happening.
Collin Funkhouser 04:35
Yeah, I love how you started off by talking about just knowing what to look for. And I think those kinds of skills really go overlooked a lot of times of just being observant of the pets in our care, both during the meet and greets and how they are interacting with their owners. And then whenever we're there, you know, a lot of times we're with the pets every single day or we're with them really frequently and it's on us to be looking for small, subtle changes that an owner may overlook. And then that next step is we've got to communicate with the, with the owner about things that we're seeing and how things are changing?
Christina & Jen 05:10
Absolutely, yeah, there's many times that the owners don't know, that's something that we're noticing and pointing out, like, whether it be a small lump on the dog that may need to be checked out, or, you know, something looks a little funky with the eye. But you know, and because we both have a decent background and experience, we're able to provide a lot of insight to owners, whether or not this is something that's concerning, or it's just maybe an old age type of deal, you know,
Collin Funkhouser 05:40
how do you communicate those things to a client? So you come in you find a dog, a dog, and you notice a lump developing on it? What kind of wording or what kind of way? Do you tell a client that you've seen something that might be off, but you're not sure?
Christina & Jen 05:55
Well, you know, I definitely love to have a phone call with my clients, if it's something that I feel, um, warrants a phone call on. So it really depends upon the situation. And a lot of times, even the client will reach out to me and say, Hey, you know, there's a little lump, can you take a look at it, and even while I'm there at the patent is that I will take a look at it and send pictures and, and let the client know what they can do for right. In my own experience, rather than even taking the animal to the vet for something that I am very well aware will go away on its own or just need a little of this, or a little bit of that. But we do also have the wonderful time to pet software. So ourselves as well as our staff are able to send out, you know, beautiful pictures and, and text message updates to the client, and let the clients know, you know, what's going on with their pets. If their pets be either pooped or, you know, have diarrhea or anything like that, but um, if there's anything concerning, then we will definitely get on a phone call with the client, or I will even packed directly. And my walkers are way too My walkers will know to shoot me attacks or send me a phone call. If they know there's something that's a little bit concerning. And then I will shoot out a phone call or a text to my client, you know, depending on if I know if they're working or not, you know, because I don't want to, you know, mess up their workday with a phone call. But I will shoot them a text at least and tell them to give me a call. And we'll discuss it as totally right. It's totally each individual situation. You don't want to be an alarmist, if you know if it's a scenario where it's an emergency, of course, but if it's something that can wait until a little later that day, then you know, then you wait. just totally depends upon the situation.
Collin Funkhouser 07:40
Yeah, yeah, I've really you can't underestimate or undervalue the power of a simple photo. These days, when it gives you an example of what's going on, it gives a timestamp of when you took it, right, so if any questions start to arise, yes, you've got that to cover you and then to share as well, because a lot of times, we might forget or not remember, oh, was it three was it for that day, let me go back, check the software of them. And I can check the photos and see how things go. It really does help a lot in those situations, especially if you're trying to piece together or communicate something that may be time sensitive, if the dog has is having a reaction to something that could be medication, or maybe they ate something different it those those little things really do help you whenever you're trying to communicate to a client and then they give it to your client because they know what's going on.
Christina & Jen 08:29
And even beyond that the clients love the pictures, you know that that's for the clients have that peace of mind of not just getting a tax letting them know that the dog had a great walk and they did their business and but you know, to see their dog is really like excited and having a great time, like backline and relaxed by the pool size. Or, you know, they might be having a stressful day at work. But my clients will tell me all the time. I love these pictures. I'm having such a rough time at work. And this picture pops up on my phone and puts a smile on my face. They just look forward to it.
09:02
Right? Yeah, it's really heartwarming to go into a client's home and you see the photo that you took and it's framed or it's on the refrigerator. You're like, Oh, yeah,
Christina & Jen 09:10
that happens all the time. I find that a lot of the pictures are like, Hey, I end up on the wall or as the Facebook post. Yeah. Why in the social media, you know, post that their new profile picture? Exactly. It's Yeah, it's very sweet. It's very sweet.
Collin Funkhouser 09:27
So both of you have this background in pets and have lifelong lovers of pet. How did you start a business and why did you decide it was it was time to get into pet care?
Christina & Jen 09:39
Oh, gosh, um, well, I'll speak for myself in saying that. Um, you know, I did take a break for a little bit raise my kids. I was a stay at home mom. So you know, after working on the worst farms in Bloomerang for many years, I did stay home with them and raise them for a while and then and then it was time for me to start making that money again. And this was just the best route from age down, I was kind of just blending back into something that I was very used to doing, I was very comfortable doing, it was just a matter of really just getting myself licensed and insured and making up a business name for myself. Um, you know, and what was great about it is in the beginning, when I first started out, I was able to, you know, pop out, you know, do some walks, pop back home, and check on my daughter's, you know, they were older at the time. So it's not like, I couldn't leave them by and want to leave them for, you know, for the Hour Work Week, plus, you know, plus commuting time. So this was really, there's, there's really awesome, I could take them to school and do a couple walks and, you know, then go back home and have a cup of coffee and go back out for a few more walks out, it was really good because I really had the ability to be there for my kids and take them to their, you know, to their friend's house on the way to, to walk a dog or even just, you know, watch a dog in my home and make some money that way while I was cooking dinner, you know, so, um, you know, it was definitely it made the most sense for me, my answer is gonna mirror Chris, Dino's mind is very much the same. So essentially, I, you know, I was working at the animal hospital animal shelters, you know, and then, you know, took a break for a while while I was raising my family, when everybody was back to school full time, it was like, Okay, now mom has to go back to work. And I did think about going back into working as a veterinary technician for somebody, but I decided that I didn't want that nine to five schedule, I wanted to be there for my kids. So very similar to Chris and in a way that I decided to kind of be my own boss. And that comes with its own challenges. But you can also take the jobs that make sense for you and working around your family. So so there's a very good balance there.
Collin Funkhouser 11:57
Yeah. No, no, Jen, you mentioned the challenges that come with this, what were some of the unexpected challenges when you started that you maybe didn't perceive or you never expected for you to have to overcome?
Christina & Jen 12:09
Well, I was when I first started out, you know, who was just me? I started out small, I would, you know, take some walks, and then you know, those people would tell their friends, hey, Jen is great. And I was so great. And I would be like, okay, I'll take one more. Okay, I'll take one more. And then it got to a point, though, you know, my schedule got very full. And I was working a lot. But as much as I was working, I could never fulfill the amount of hours that my clients would have really liked. So that was definitely a challenge in the beginning before I started hiring, some help to essentially be able to cover more chests and be able to cover more of the the client requests,
Collin Funkhouser 12:56
those days where you start growing, and you start having to say no, or you feel guilty that you're having to turn people away, because you're booked. And that's always a good thing, right? We we like being booked, we like being full, but it means that you're going to have to say no to some people and that, that can absolutely great at you and feel like oh, I'm not actually serving the people I want to and you start to have these kind of questions of, of what's the next step? Or how do I get past this?
Christina & Jen 13:19
Exactly, exactly. I think that really puts you in the position of you know, you have to make a decision one way or the other, you're either going to turn these wonderful clients away, you know, or you are going to step it up and you know, be brave and hire your first pet to them to help you out. And I will say that once I finally decided to hand over the reins, and um, you know, hired my first pet sitter. And she's just awesome. And I never have to worry about her. She's always where she needs to be on then. Yeah, you know why it's a great thing because now I work a little bit, you know, in the business, I work mostly on the business. And, you know, and now my pet sitters, you know, do a fantastic job running around and doing everything that I used to do. Um, actually before I before I hired my first pet sitter, the reason why I ended up hiring so on is I broke two bones, I broke my finger in my shoulder blade. And within two hours, I had walks, I had a lot of walks. So guess what I did, I took some Advil and I ran out and I did those walks and I was just thanking God that I didn't break my ankle. But it was very trying time of you know, a very difficult three months of not healing well because I couldn't have um you know, bad versus like the doctors were there. Um, so you know, after hobbling around, you know, for three months and casks and you know, I finally said this will never happen again. And the next time I break bones I will have I will have patterns but not a single Not a single vendor visit was messed I did all of my patch sets and I was very, very busy. I had like 14 houses The day some of them were, you know, you know, three per die but I had about 14 stops for that it was in the summer vacation care on top of daily door blocks. So it was, you know, it was come to God moments. Yeah, I better make a decision and I wish I had made the decision before I broke the bones but you know, really sometimes sometimes your hands is forced a little back by now you know now I don't say no to anybody unless they're out of our service area or it's our clients that might be a little bit too difficult for our walkers to handle on you know, an aggressive dog we don't take those you know, but other than that, it's it's great. It's great having a staff a team of people that can really help us out and you know, I went to the beach the other day and yes, I still tracked it on my phone you know, periodically I'm a little bit obsessed with tracking but you know, I was on the beach and I had a good time and my staff was running around doing the works for me so there's a it's nice to have a little bit of time for yourself absolutely no, nobody can continue doing working seven days a week and be able to provide great quality care without having some breaks so having having a team essentially being able to cover all those shifts you're you know providing great care to your clients you're not burning out which means you can provide great care to your family and then and then your your walkers instead there's also get a break too because then we have backup sitters for the center's so you know, if they want to, you know, take a day off and go to the beach, we have another great, you know, pet care provider, they'll come in and take care of the pets.
16:38
Christina, did you have what bones did you break to convince you as time to hire? Or did you have a different height?
Christina & Jen 16:46
Well, Chris is the one that broke her bone. Oh, sorry. Okay. Sorry. I didn't break any bones. But I did get to a point of my kids essentially, just Mommy, you know, love us anymore. And you know, it pulled on my heartstrings, right, you know, trying to explain the little ones that you know, working is is loving them, of course, but there's got to be that balance. So yeah, so for me, it was just essentially wanting so badly to provide the, the, the, the amount of visits that my clients wanted. But also, you know, wanting you know, to be with my children and having to take, take a step back and say, I can't always do these weekend's visits, or I may need to take a day off because my kids have a tea party at school that I want to go to. So now instead of having, you know, one or the other, I can have my time with my kids, but the clients can also have their pets cared for. So it's a win win every everybody went
17:53
Have you heard of time to pet Dan from NYC bouge
17:57
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18:18
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Collin Funkhouser 18:29
What makes a good staff member for you when you think it's time to either bring somebody else on or expand it to a different area? What what are some of the characteristics that you look for that fit with how you operate and the are your reasons why you're in business?
Christina & Jen 18:43
Um, well definitely attention to detail. One of the things that I do when I first post out on a health one to the ad, is at the bottom of the description of the job, I will say, um, you know, please call or text and I'll put my phone number to be considered for the position. So to be honest with you, that really leads out about 98% of the applicants and I get a lot of applications. But that weeds, that was a decent amount out Alrighty, so just attention to detail. And all those people just click on apply, and they didn't even read through through my ad enough to see that they had to phone call or tax in order to be in order to be a fan for the position. So that's the first thing that I do. And then obviously in the in the ad, I do state that we walk in all weather conditions, whether it's, you know, sleet or freezing cold or you know, the hottest, you know, summer day, we walk into the wall, and we walk for extended periods of time. So we do try to find somebody who was active, who doesn't mind working in the weather that they liked the dorms well enough that you know, you've been in measurable, whether they're, they're okay with it, then love it, but don't stay on the job. But I think it's easy enough for somebody to walk, you know, 15 year old bagel down the street and the nicest weather on but as soon as they get, you know, German Shepherd puppy jumping up on them in the sleep, you know, that's when them when they might quit. You know, I do definitely try to weed through people just in the in the application process, but then as soon as they sit down, they usually get a pretty good feel for the type of person that they are they warm? Are they engaging? Um, you know, I do look at some physical characteristics, it's as well, and I do feel for myself, you know, if they take care of themselves, you know, where I feel as though they are presentable enough for the meet and greet with me the interview, that then hopefully, they'll be presentable enough for the clients, because ultimately, the clients are hiring us, but they're also hiring our pet sitters. So we do want to make sure that hey, or, you know, they're representing Zara company, and in a good way, for sure, you know, there's, there's definitely those, those lines there, you know, but yeah, just like Chris said, like, you know, you want somebody who is, of course, great with animals, not just dogs and cats, but we get a wide range of different types of pets that people need care. But, you know, they not only have to be loving with the pets, but they have to be people, people because we're breeding with the people first and without essentially getting in their front door and having that good repertoire with the client, that they're not going to want us back to care for their pets, so so having great people skills on top of animal skills is super important. like Chris said, detail oriented, you know, our clients want their pets cared for in a very specific manner. On every single one of our clients have detailed instructions that they want carried out to a tee. And that is the kind of service that we provide. So essentially, if a pet sitter comes in, and they're not reading the details first, and they're giving the wrong medication, that would be a disaster. So having somebody who's really going to take care of the client's pet, they're going to take care of the client's homes, maybe do those extra little things like water, the plants, if you know, if they step inside the home and there's a little mod, make sure they clean it off, wiping off the dog's paws, just all those careful details that that show our clients that we we care about their pets, we care about their home, they didn't like Chris said, it's one of those things, just the smallest detail, I do the same thing. I'll post an ad and I'll say please don't comment questions on this post, whether it's a Facebook post or whatever, please just reach out directly. So when people start commenting on the posts, I immediately say, you know, this person already just started out and they're already not impressing me with their details, you know, it does it give you that first little peek into their personality, or how long it takes them to return a texter phone call is the next step. Before you even sit down for an interview. Um, you know, you can know a lot a lot about a person by how quickly they respond are they are they interested in the job, because it doesn't seem that way if it takes them to two days to respond to a simple tax. So yeah, we try to filter them out a little bit before we sit down and do that meet and greet with them on that first initial interview. And then I you know, then I usually bring them here with my crazy dogs and watch, try to, you know, harness them up and take them for a walk and I walk with them and just make sure that they are comfortable handling the two dogs of different sizes, walking down the street and, you know, gives us an opportunity to chat a little bit more about life and see what they're looking for out of you know, out of valid business and and why they're looking for work and how long they plan on staying. And obviously, we hope that it's a good fit. But if it is something where we feel like they're not the best fit is best to just go off of our first initial gut reaction, I feel that both of us have made the mistake of hiring out of the absolute need, where we felt to ourselves, okay, you know, this person is a nice person, but there's a little something that we just don't like, but we're going to overlook it. Um, I think we both realized that you cannot do that you have to hide off of absolute instinct, on if you really absolutely love the person, you can hire them on the spot. And if there's something just nagging at you or bothering you just let it go because it's going to only brighten when the rear ends afterwards.
Collin Funkhouser 24:47
Well, I think that gets to another aspect of bringing on staff it's not just the need for help in the field and doing the walks and drop ins. It's now on us to be managing them and to have some oversight. So Is that something that that you that you both found came naturally to you? Or did you have to kind of grow into managing people?
Christina & Jen 25:08
I feel like I'm a, I'm a people, people. So I feel like I do pretty well with, I wouldn't say managing people, but reading people and wanting to make people happy and comfortable and comfortable. So So for me, you know, I feel like starting out with having, you know, some new people on and just trying to manage what their wants, and likes and dislikes are because we're all individuals. So you can have a great seller, but you know, they have personality traits that may not be a great fit for a particular client, or, you know, or particular pet So, so really, essentially, just managing where, you know, you want to make sure that everybody's happy. And that's kind of a very, it's a fine balance there. You know, you want your ciders to be happy, you want your clients to be happy and everything. if everybody's happy, then you have a really well run business. But it's a fine balance. To to keep that. going that way,
Collin Funkhouser 26:11
Christina, I know that one of the services that you offer is overnight care in a client's home. And I've noticed a big increase in requests for that, not just in our area, but across, you know, across all the Facebook groups and everything. It's a growing demand. And so, I did want to pick your brain a little bit on how you make that work, and still make sure that it's worth you and your staffs time.
Christina & Jen 26:34
Oh, sure. Absolutely. Um, well, I will say that I seem to be priced a little bit higher than some of my competitors. Um, but that doesn't bother me too much, because I don't have tons of staff. So I have currently two people that will do overnights for me. So they certainly, you know, the client certainly does have to book in advance, because I may not be available, and we will obviously offer other services as well. Um, but you know, with COVID shutdowns, you know, a lot of people have adopted dogs that maybe haven't had dogs in the past me that babies and will have tons of pet experience. And also just the pets have been very used to the client being home all the time. So now there's an anxiety on the part of the client, and an anxiety on the part of the pet to have somebody there almost 24 seven. Now, I would say that most pet care providers do not offer 24 hour care, that would be very, very expensive, and time consuming. So usually it's a few visits per day. And then if someone does offer it is overnight. So we will do 9:30pm to 7:30am overnight care. And that does cover the late night visit and the early morning visit which of course includes fresh water and feeding of me that as well as you know, backyard playtime or, you know, walk up the street on in the evening when you got there and then in the morning before you leave, and then the client can decide how many stops throughout the day, or they want to add to that, um, so that way their pets are comfortable and happy. So I do only have two paths. So there's that do that though it is a it is a tough, it's a tough sell for the pet. So there's so the pet sitters have to make enough money on the house? Um, and you know, it depends. I mean, sometimes they want to be in their own house at night, you know? Um, so I think it does. It's a tough, it's a tough market. But I do think that let me let me let you know, I would, I would say I you know, I have the same issue I have, you know, a few more team members than Chris does right now. But I only have a few that are willing to do overnights and most of that's because, you know, a lot of my sitters are like me, you know, middle aged women with kids, you can't sleep over somebody else's house because you know, you have kids that need you. But the other ones maybe whether they have their own pets that they have to care for, they don't want to leave their own dogs, or they have maybe a sleep issues, you know, sometimes you're just not going to sleep as well in somebody else's home. So it's definitely I see the trend of a lot more people looking for overnight care than they ever have before. But there's definitely it's it's a harder position to sell. And you do have to pay your sitters well enough to make them to make it worth your while. And sometimes in a sense, like for me, I find that I'm doing that I'm actually making less but if I'm gonna make my clients happy by paying my team member a little bit more so that they'll see over the house. I may be making less, but overall everybody's happy. Yes, yes, I would absolutely agree with that.
Collin Funkhouser 29:49
Yeah, it sounds like you're trying to find that that sweet spot between the price that you're charging and the time that you're that you're over there. So the both of you do a 9:30pm to 7am And I think those times are really crucial, right to make sure that we're capturing enough of the overnight but not going into a 12 hour overnight or anything like that,
Christina & Jen 30:10
I think I think the reason why I do I do structure in a way that the client can modify it, you know, obviously, it's going to cost a little bit more, but the client can modify it if they wanted a longer period of time. But this is actually great, a great time frame, because this allows our sitters to also take care of other vacation care clients. So normally, vacation care clients are like three times a day, you know, early morning, later in the evening, and then you know, midday stop. So that way, all pet sitters are able to bounce around, make their money, you know, during the day and and then still make a little bit more money capping now off to basically sleep over the clients home at night. So you can balance the pet sitters schedule a little bit more, because essentially, if you were to stay over for too long, then you would have to compensate your pets in there for all the visits that they couldn't do. somewhere else. Exactly. Oh, yeah, for sure. It's you know, and it is, you know, find balance, most people who do the overnights will also choose, like a midday and dinner visits as well. So we're at the house a lot, the dogs have lots of company. And, you know, they're, they're happy. Yeah. And the clients are usually, you know, willing to pay for great pet care. So, um, you know, we do have clients that, that don't want it all, and it's not in their budget, but that the clients that that do want it, they usually have no problem paying for it. Yeah, absolutely.
Collin Funkhouser 31:39
No, I believe both of you can have both of your businesses set up and structured very similarly. So I am curious, why you didn't decide to go into business together and instead operate two separate businesses?
Christina & Jen 31:53
Well, essentially, it's just a geographical, you know, we both we both live in different areas. So it would, we would have to be humongous, to serve the same area. So, you know, this works out great. And it sounds we each have our own our own business, but we do. The reason why our business is a show of like, is, first of all, like, we grew up the same, our personalities are very similar. But really, between the two of us, we figured out what works and what doesn't, you know, how can we provide the best possible care for our clients, keep the price point, you know, at a reasonable level, where it's competitive with, you know, not just every pet seller out there, because, you know, we don't really compare ourselves with, with like, hobby sellers, and things like that, but competitive with other professional pet care providers, you know, and then tweaking our businesses so that we can find, like you said, those sweet spots where we're, we're doing these things, making everything run smoothly. And, you know, we troubleshoot a lot, you know, things working or not working, you know, follow each other up and say, Hey, listen, what do you think about this? Or Oh, you know, maybe Chris has tried something I haven't tried yet, or vice versa. So, you know, that's, it just kind of worked out that way that through back and forth, back and forth, we just started, you know, making our business structures very similar.
Collin Funkhouser 33:27
Yeah, it sounds like you're able to bounce, you said bounce ideas off of each other. And I think that that is really important in this industry, when we can feel so alone or so disconnected from others, that we should be reaching out for help. And not many of us have a twin sibling to do that with that's in the same industry. But we have, you know, people that are still operating in our town that we should be reaching out to should be building community with as a way to start problem solving. You know, I love how you said that of, well, I have this problem, how have you solved it? Or this thing is going on? How should we price this, like, just having somebody to bounce ideas off of is really powerful for us, because it helps us know that we're not alone and struggling and dealing with those things. And it helps us progress and learn faster when we have someone along our side.
Christina & Jen 34:13
Right? Oh, absolutely. And somebody else who kind of understands that same type of problems that you're having, you know, you can complain to, you know, a spouse or a friend you know about your your day, but nobody besides another, whether it be a pet care provider work, you know, maybe another groomer or somebody that's in some kind of a similar business, where essentially, you're dealing with so many different types of clients personalities impact, or essentially you have to make everybody happy. So so it's not like having one boss. It's like having 500 bosses and everybody, everybody needs something different from you.
Collin Funkhouser 34:50
Well, how do you how do you handle that demand on your attention and your space? When we have so many people that we're trying to placate and satisfy every day
Christina & Jen 35:00
I think I think what's great about it is, especially with the software, we use the time to pack, um, you know, the clients really do a lot of the work for us, when they, when they sign on for pet care on, they do fill out for the detailed profile on as to where everything is kept in the house, I need special instructions of the, you know, the dog or the cat have, you know, sensitive area that they don't like to be touched on. So the software definitely helps us to share information between ourselves and the pet sitters that have gone to the house. Um, so that certainly, that certainly held the ball. Because before we go into the house, we can view the entire profile and say, okay, you know, two scoops of cable and, you know, a half a teaspoon of wet food mixed in with a dollop of water for this particular house. So it's very helpful and useful, because, you know, every client is different. Um, and, you know, for the most part, most houses are relatively similar in the, in the sense that, yes, everybody gets a, you know, fresh bowl of water, we're making sure that, you know, all the gates are properly locked in the houses lock. But, um, you know, definitely, definitely having the software is very, very important for having this many clients and having an active staff running around and, you know, sharing pet sets, and, you know, you certainly couldn't have files on, you know, on all these people bouncing back and forth. So, you know, it's very easy to take care of clients that have specific needs, and wants, um, and, you know, there are times that we will make sure that, you know, a specific client gets, you know, a certain Walker, because I happen to like that Walker, but for the most part, all of our walkers are able to handle all of our client's needs. And, and, um, yeah, I mean, it's essentially what Chris said, you know, the software's a great way to kind of streamline things, I think of the software as like, a mini manager for me, and I had the software, it just that it was struggled to kind of keep on top of everything, so that that cuts down sometimes, but also, I think, just allow it having some boundaries, as well as really important. You know, I do tell my clients, listen, I am here for you, if you need, you can reach me anytime, but but having those boundaries where, you know, clients are not calling and texting you every hour of every day, mainly, like, you know, after business hours, I do ask them, you know, request services through the app or whatnot. And we are here if you really need us for an emergency or something, right. But yeah, definitely, you gotta you gotta have some boundaries with not only your clients, but but your, you know, pet care providers that that work for you, you know, where everybody kind of knows their role, and what is expected of them,
Collin Funkhouser 38:01
those boundaries are so critically important to not just our mental emotional health, but as you said, as our staff as well, if we have staff, making sure that they have proper boundaries set up around them. And that's kind of like, I guess, part of our job as managing and overseeing them is structuring it such that they, they have that they have space in their days, and they they have those levels of communication and support that they need, right. Yeah. And they, they feel supported.
Christina & Jen 38:29
I feel support is very, very important. An example I have like one of my great pet sitters. On the other day, she called me I found that at seven o'clock the other morning, as I you know, I locked my key out of the house, and she was actually an overnight setter. And she was like, I, you know, locked myself out of the house and I know what I'm gonna do, I'm like, you know, and sometimes you just need someone to just like, ground you a little about like, okay, Bri, that's okay. You know, and just, you know, going through everything, okay, you know, did you check this? Did you check that? Okay, let's try, let's try to pull the door handle, you know, as you're turning the case, and you know, and she was in such a frenzy, because you're so upset that she, you know, was maybe a little tired, um, and he missed something, but then she was like, she felt so bothered, she's like, Oh, I didn't think about that. Thank you so much. You know, I was I was so panicked. And and I think it's very important to understand and realize that these pet sitters, you know, are just like you just like you started out, um, you know, there's sometimes we make mistakes, and we hope that those mistakes that we make are, you know, very minimal, and I usually will always tell the pet so there's two, you know, that were from me, don't worry about it. It's okay. You know, um, you know, nobody, I always say this sounds awful like, nobody died. And I say this, I say this kind of further perspective over certain things. When somebody is upset over something, I'm like, nobody died. It's okay, let's let's breathe. Let's think about this. So I do feel that it's important to be there for your pet. So there has to be compassionate and understanding, rather than jumping down their throat if they made a mistake, or if they forgot something, just gently remind them and let them know, you know, it's okay. You know, just remember next time, and let's see how we can fix this with the client. And, you know, maybe, let's just say for an example, you know, the dog, you know, got out of the crate, because, you know, pet sitter forgot to double check that the crate was was locked, and the dog made a mess in the house. Okay, I had our can we fix that? We obviously we apologize. And, you know, we've come through, you know, we've gone, you know, a couple pet visits onto the client and, and clean on. And, you know, obviously, if there's any damages, we go through our insurance. Um, but you know, what, even the best of pets others can make a mistake. Yeah. So I do find that we're just compassionate and human. I'm just like, we would want to be compassionate and human to us. I think that we just have a much better working team. And people that are happier to work for sure. Because they have that they have that support, or the sisterhood between between the walkers to say, okay, you know, I got your back. Yeah, exactly. I got your back, you know, it's okay. Um, yeah. So and, and I, I do find that, you know, if someone were to make a mistake, I do find that they generally don't make that mistake again. Because they themselves have learned from something very small, usually something, something very small. So yeah, something you can definitely overcome and, and on an issue, yeah, you definitely have to support your team, if they don't feel supported, you know, the, you know, team member, pet care provider that feels well compensated for their time, they're given great, they're, you know, they're understood, they're gonna take much better care of your clients, your clients are going to be happy, and you're happy today. And they're gonna stay a lot longer, which is what our clients want. They want consistency with the pet sitters,
Collin Funkhouser 42:07
when we when we look at the mistakes that we make, and I think you do a great job of trying to remember to put that into perspective of either a, what the mistake could have been, or what could have happened or the other mistakes that are, you know, of the of the million and a half mistakes that can happen in any given day. Right, like most of them are, in consequence, or most of them are just a minor inconvenience, as opposed to a major life or death situation. And we have to prepare for those. And we have structures, and we have policies and procedures to prevent those kinds of things. But accidents still happen, you know, we're living, or we're dealing with living and breathing animals that are still unpredictable, a lot of the times and even even clients that can be unpredictable, or
Christina & Jen 42:52
Absolutely, I had, I had a situation once with, which was funny. My regular Walker wasn't available for the job. So I read, you know, because we never miss a visit. And I had just colored my hair. So you know, she saw me on the rain camera. And she's like, texting me. And then she's calling me she's I don't know who's at my house, you know, and she was like, flipping out. Long term clients of mine. Um, I tried to be understanding as she's screaming and hollering over the phone with a stranger at her house. I'm like, it's me. And I'm standing, standing in front of the main camera, like pointing to the phone when I'm speaking to her at the moment. And pointing to my hair and pulling my hair. I'm like, Look, I colored my hair. And I was just like, Oh my gosh, like, I'm so sorry. To break again. But it's like, it's one of those things where to be to be honest with you. Like, she was like, really raw. And I couldn't let that client go like at that moment and say, yeah, I'm sorry. Like, we were I'm not going to be talking to my wife. But you know, you want to understand that people are people and maybe she was going through something difficult. So she apologized, obviously after that. So but yeah, clients can have their bad days too. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, you know it there's, there's a good balance for everything. No.
Collin 44:18
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Collin Funkhouser 45:22
When you're working together, and you're sharing these experiences, and you are kind of partnering together to solve problems, I know how I am with my siblings, right? Is there ever any sibling rivalry or things that come up together whenever you are working this kind of closely in the same field?
Christina & Jen 45:40
Um, no, no. I mean, when we were kids, you know, who had to clean the room. But you know, as we used to share horrors, and there was we would go and clean the barn and, you know, this one was will leave the broom someplace, or, you know, it actually worked out really well for us, I think, because we can bounce ideas off of each other. We have very similar businesses, and everything, but we're not actually in the business together. So, you know, maybe there would be a little more sibling rivalry, if we were actually doing it together? I don't think so. I don't think so I think that we would probably, you know, work very well together, you know, but, um, yeah, so we're, you know, we're kind of too far apart to be rivals on Yeah, I'm not, you know, I'm not, I don't worry about anyone else's business, we have a lot of pet care providers around us. Um, you know, I just work with the clients, I reached out to me, um, and, and I'm happy for the other pet care providers that, um, you know, that work in the area, and people, you know, reach out to them. So whatever works, so good fit for everybody? Yeah.
Collin Funkhouser 46:47
Yeah, I love how you address that. And the reason I bring that up is because one of the dangers that we can get in business and start comparing ourselves to others, and how the other people are doing. And so it's nice to hear that because you're working so closely together, but not in the same business, you are able to bounce ideas off each other like this and work more in this partnership, to what what advice would you give, though, to people who struggle with comparing themselves to others and feel like everybody else is doing it better than they are?
Christina & Jen 47:20
You know, I think focusing on what you do well is most important, you know, I think it's a great idea to look around to see what's working for other people, if you want to implement that in your business or not, but but essentially, it's your business, it's your, it's your baby, in a sense, you know, you have to do what works well for you, because that's your, you're gonna do best at you, um, you know, you try to do how other people are doing it, they're, they're doing it that way, because that's what's best for them, that's what works well for their family life, their family life could be completely different. The structure of their business is a little different, but you're seeing the outside, you're not seeing how they've structured the inside, you're not seeing the vacations maybe that they have missed, or, you know, the way that they're advertising or what they're spending on advertising or whatnot, so, so when you start comparing yourself or your business with, with others around you, without actually seeing in depth, how they're running their business, it's just a bad idea, you know, you're gonna get all these bad feelings. Without even, you know, understanding how, how the differences are going to work for you or work against you, you know, you're better off just being confident in your own abilities working off of that, and you know, people will see your competence, people see that, you know, what you're doing or what you're, you know, doing well is what they want. And if it's not what they want, then they'll go with somebody else. But that other business and you know, isn't what you know, the next person wants and they'll come to you yeah, so yeah, absolutely. I think it's almost like comparing yourself to an Instagram model in a way you know, you see all these beautiful Instagram pictures and and you look at them and you think that they have a fabulous life with a fabulous house and cars and and you wish that you were them. But then you don't see what's behind closed doors. You don't see what what their life is really like. So yeah, that's a that's a very dangerous thing. And I think if you just focus all your energy on your own business, rather than worrying about what everyone else is doing, you'll have a much better time and and you'll grow your business that much faster. Yeah,
Collin Funkhouser 49:42
I think there is a very fine line between looking at what other people are doing so that we can learn and that we can kind of see the state of the industry or how people are pricing or what kind of services people are doing versus you know, that can easily flip into comparing and feeling like we don't belong or We're not enough, or what we're doing everything, we're just kind of making it up as we go along, that we do need to be reaching out to people. And we do need to be building community. And but but viewing people more as community and not competition in that in that say, an excellent getting getting help and being a help to others,
Christina & Jen 50:19
you know, there's a balance for everything, for sure. And you know, you can you can have a good relationship. I know a bunch of other professional pet sitters in my area. Now, are we competition? Sure, we're friendly competition? Now, you know what we all do our own thing. Um, you know, we have we have our boundaries, like, we don't Facebook friend each other, we don't like each other's pages. But you know, what, if I have a client requests come in, and I can't service them, I'll send it to them, you know, and say, Hey, you know what, you can take this client, I can't help them, you know, another bad mouth, another business in my area, even if I don't necessarily agree with their policies, or what they do, because ultimately, I believe that my business will shine out. So I stick with really staying very positive. But yeah, I think you can, you can have a really great balance where you're, you know, you're in a community where there's lots of other pet care for our providers, and incense, they are a competition, but you don't view them that way. You just view them as other people that do the same thing that you do. And they're all trying to feed their family. Yeah, yeah, that was just doing the best that they can do for themselves. Absolutely. I also have other pet sitters in the area that you know, once in a while, if I can't take, you know, a boarding dog, I'll send her away, and vice versa. Um, yeah, we have nice shots on the phone here. And there, we also bounce ideas back and forth. Um, and I think it's nice, it does form a sense of community, and you feel like you are kind of in it with somebody else. Even though, even though you're both in the same industry, but it is one of those things, you know, whoever calls her they're her client, and whoever calls me, they're my client. So it's not really, it's not really something that you even really need to worry about. Um, there's enough work for everything. Exactly. with everybody going back to work on all these COVID dogs. Yeah. Everyone got the whole bit puppy, which, which is wonderful. But now they're going back to work. And it's like, oh, my dog is so so used to having somebody home. They're not getting the same exercise that they were getting. They're not they're destroying the house. They're anxious. So that's where we come in. Yeah.
Collin Funkhouser 52:32
So how are you addressing that? Because I know that is a problem that is really rampant here in the United States, at least and I know globally, too, is people are having to adjust with their pets. Have you changed anything about your marketing to people in your area? Or do they kind of already know they need help?
Christina & Jen 52:51
Oh, you know, I think that you know, that with COVID, just coming out of the COVID shutdowns, I do think that, you know, both of us are trying to market a little bit more than we were just because we lost everybody, you know, all of the pet care industry. lost them. We pretty much have been sitting on our on our rear end. So I think that, you know, we have been definitely advertising. We are definitely seeing a lot more of the vacation care clients coming in and requests are coming in for that. Daily dog walking, we're hoping you know, we're hoping by September when all the kids are back in school full time, and people are getting back to work and the offices. We're hoping to get those daily dog walking clients back. Yeah. But right now we are focusing on those vacation care clients and the people coming out of the COVID lockdowns and they're excited to go you know, go out and use their passports again and yeah, I'm traveling go to you know, go overnight to wherever the golly Yeah, so so that's definitely that's definitely been keeping us busy. Um, so I'm not sure that we would necessarily need to advertise too much because there's definitely a need for and people are looking for you but it's definitely important to you know, to put your name out there so when some of these actually looking they your your name is in front of them, they can pick you from another pet sitter, having great reviews also has Yeah, you know, has a lot to do and you have a great reputation, great reviews, you know, you can advertise a little bit so that you're there but essentially that, yeah, it's gonna bring them in. And yeah, it's word of mouth. Definitely I get a lot of clients through word of mouth. Or if I post on Facebook, I will have you know, 10 clients jumping on board and saying, Oh, you know, Christina, and the squatty potty are excellent. She's got an excellent team. They took such great care of my pets. So that's that in itself is advertisement because even if someone doesn't need you right now, you're going to remember your name and call you in the future and say, Hey, you know, you were you were ever you know, you were advertising on you know, if at the local Facebook page. I saw a lot of Your clients, you know, talking great, great about you, I'd love you to come over and meet my cats and take care of them. So I think just having, you know, a very, you know, high quality of pet care goes a long way. And after a while people recognize that and just pass your name along,
Collin Funkhouser 55:15
it's reminder to that we need to be focused on this delayed gratification when we're thinking about advertising and word of mouth is especially many people I know for at least just from our personal experience, they first came across our name, six, maybe seven, eight months ago. And they just kind of put us in their back pocket because they weren't traveling. And then now all of a sudden, they're there, they're wanting to go places, they're needing us. And so it's this kind of this, these, all these people were finding you in the background and kind of filing you away. And that happens constantly, right? People are constantly looking for these things. And even though they don't need you tomorrow, although that happens, sometimes, these vacation clients, that's a few months down the road. And so it is it may feel like sometimes we're wasting our time when we're putting things out there or advertising. We're asking for these reviews and may not feel like it's going anywhere. But it's all happening in the background, right? And people are are finding you and then they're going to reach out when they need you.
Christina & Jen 56:11
Absolutely. Yeah, we I am seeing a lot of that actually, I always ask a potential client when they call me initially, or they've messaged me, or or email me, hey, how did you find me? Because I want to know what Avenue is working for me. So they'll usually say, Oh, I picked up before the local bakery, or you don't leave my business cards around, or, oh, I met you at a vendor fair that you did, or my neighbor told me so. So I gather that information. Where did you find me, but many times, people will say that they they found me in a lot of weight. One time they maybe saw my sign somewhere, you know, down the street, and then think of it again. And then they saw me again, you know, as affair or they you know, they saw my nice Google Ad so. So essentially, it's like those touch points. You know, they've seen me in a couple of different places. And then now when they've seen that recommendation on Facebook or next door, they're like, Oh, you know what, I have seen her cards around. Yeah, she's, she's an established pet sitter in the area. You know, I've heard her name brought up many times. So so it is, it is one of those things. You're right. It's in some of the you'll hear about her, you can give a card to somebody a year ago, I'm at the gym. And that happened to me recently, I gave somebody at my local gym a car a year ago, they never called me. And then just recently, they're like, Hey, I had your card. You know, you remember me and I did it. But you know, you never know that card sitting on the refrigerator for a year if I didn't have a need before then. Absolutely.
Collin Funkhouser 57:48
Now, you guys have been in business for a while. And so I'm curious, maybe what are some of your your favorite resources or favorite tools that you wish more pet sitters and dog walkers knew about and used?
Christina & Jen 58:02
Hmm, favorite resources and tools? Well, I would say, you know, the internet is great for you know, any kind of, you know, if you have an issue or you know, a problem to solve, you can go read on the internet or go right on Facebook groups, there are a lot of Facebook groups for other pet sitters. So you know, if you don't have an idea, or how to solve a problem, it's there. You know, I think that software for your business, huge thing, like you know, before I was using software was so squeamish about the extra fees, you know, and learning the software and it was learning for but you know, I think if I had started using these tools sooner I you know, my business would have grown even more earlier. So that's something kind of like you know, a tool you know, that I you know, I use but yeah, just different avenues of of advertising and, and whatnot. And, you know, I do feel Yeah, I do feel like Facebook is great because Facebook is a free way to advertise. And really like Jen said like, you know passing cards around always keep cards on you no matter where you go carwash or you know at Costco or wherever you go, because I do pass my cards around and like Jen said, you know, you may not hear from somebody for a month but then they pop up and you're like oh wow, okay, I was disappointed that I didn't hear from them a couple days but here they are, and they could turn into a you know, one of your best paying clients. So it is it is one of those things where you have to be patient and just keep you know watering that garden and and eventually it's going to bloom and and you're going to be very very happy. I'm always just keep a positive attitude. Yeah, sometimes it can get tough, but just keep trucking through and and do a great job with your with your pets and making sure that that you That you don't lower your standards out long, even though when it's tough in and you're rushing around and you know, have a lot of pets to get in, you made sure that you're at that house for the amount of time that you're supposed to be there. And, and doubletrack because, you know, excellent backpack care is where people are gonna recommend. Yeah, yeah. Like I one of the things too is like not just the tools for advertising or getting your name out there. But you know, just tools of the trade things that like, are important to have extra leashes in your car extra equipment, in case you can't find something at a client's house or something breaks, having a medical kit in your car, you know, you never know when the dogs gonna step on a piece of glass or something's gonna happen. So, so those are important things to have, like kind of tools of the trade, just having, you know, medical supplies on hand, in case of an emergency that you can, you know, prepare a wound before you bring the dog to the vet, you know, having extra equipment in your car. You know, those are definitely huge pluses. And, you know, sometimes you just come across a dog running in the road, pretty often actually a nice extra treats in the car. Yeah. And then for me, I you know, I do recommend to the the women that work purveys to have some kind of protection with them, whether they have a, you know, a little, you know, a spray something to spray, you know, or a noise alert or something like that, that they can keep with them when they're walking for safety, because you never know there could be an aggressive dog that comes after you when you're walking or, you know, a person that's maybe dangerous. So, so it is important to have some kind of pepper spray or or some kind of protection that way. So another good tool to to have your pet sitter.
Collin Funkhouser 1:01:47
Yes, Jen and Christina, I have thoroughly enjoyed our conversation, I'm so happy to have you both on to talk about your history and pet care and to encourage us to pay attention to our staffs needs and to continue to learn and give them grace when accidents happen and things go wrong. And that we should be reaching out to others and being involved in them and not comparing ourselves to them, either. I know that there's a lot more here that could be covered. And people are gonna have questions about both of your businesses, though. So how can listeners get in contact with you follow along and pick your brain on questions that they may have?
Christina & Jen 1:02:26
Oh, well, absolutely. We absolutely enjoyed our time here as well. Thank you so much. Yes. If anyone needs to reach me, Christina at the scruffy Poppy, I'm in Monmouth County, um, they can reach me by phone 73252004 or five, four, that's the best way to reach me, I always have my phone on me. Or they go check out my website. And that is scruffy puppy pet care.com. Or just Google the scruffy puppy and hazlet. And you can email me from there, or you can fill out a new client form. And I will get back to you very quickly. All right. And if you want to reach Jen, Jen's happy Pat. Same thing, I always have my phone on me. Not always a good thing, but it is for business. So just give me a call at 9085 to 86253. Or give me a text, or you can always email me, my website is Jen's Happy pets.com. It's Jen's happy pets with one n. So you can find me there, send me a quick email. And you can also fill out a new clients form. And I'll be in touch shortly.
Collin Funkhouser 1:03:39
Wonderful. And I'll have links to all of those and some of the other things that we've talked about in the show notes on our website. The listeners can click right to them. And again, Jen, and Christina, it's been a real pleasure. Thank you so much for coming. Thank you so much for having us. It was fun. Thanks so much. Do you learn well, from your mistakes, I know, it usually takes me about three or four goes before it finally sinks in. What's really important too, is not just realizing that we can learn from our own mistakes, but we can learn from the mistakes of others. And that's why when we have staff when we have people working around us, we can totally learn from them and get their feedback and input. They're going to do things that we would never have thought to do. And then also learning from those other businesses around us. And as we discussed on the episode, there is that insanely fine line that goes from learning from others to comparing ourselves to them. We should never be comparing somebody else's middle or end to our beginning and recognizing that everyone is on their own unique walk in their own unique stage, in life and in business, for their goals and for their reasons in their purposes. And that we should not confuse our own goals and objectives with somebody else's. Learn from them, get their feedback, get input on what you're doing and how you can improve But don't compare. That would be one of the worst things you could do. You're gonna set yourself back you're gonna set yourself up for failure error. start questioning everything that you do. You know your business, trust your instinct, get the help that you can, and then execute and know that it's going to work out. We want to thank today's sponsors, time to pet and pet perennial for making today's show possible. And we really want to thank you for listening and for showing up every single week and sharing the episodes and giving all the wonderful feedback that you do. We'd love to know how you have learned from others and how you have wrestled with learning versus comparing yourself to others. You can send that to feedback at pet sitter confessional talk calm, naked and I hope you have a wonderful rest of your week. And we'll be back again soon.
