265: Finding What Motivates You with Jane Torok
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Summary:
What motivates you? We don’t operate in a vacuum and there are both intrinsic and extrinsic motivating factors that influence and drive our decisions. Jane Torok, owner of Paw Prints Pet Services, joins the show to explain how her motivating factors drive her to keep working through tough times. As a one woman show, she also shares how to stay content in your business and be thankful for the opportunity and balance in your life. Jane is also extremely passionate about community in pet care and helps operate the largest Facebook group for dog walkers. She talks about why community is so critical and how to avoid fears of rejection and competition.
Topics on this episode:
Staying content in business
Weight of the responsibility
Sticking to your values
Keeping everything organized
Importance of community
Main take away? Part of our motivation can be the supportive community of other pet sitters and business owners around us.
About our guest:
Hello, my name is Jane Torok! I was born and raised in northern Virginia so I've stayed local to the area in Falls Church. Growing up, I cherished our menagerie of pets ranging from horses, dogs, cats, goats, bunnies, chickens and other birds, and even a pet crow plus a few other exotics. So, I've always loved animals. I graduated with a Business Management degree from James Madison University and went on to a career in customer service, sales, office and team management. After we started our family, it was time for a career change, and starting a dog walking business was a perfect choice. Paw Prints Pet Services has been providing reliable, trusted, and skilled care for cherished pets since 2008, specializing in dog walking and in our home dog boarding for the Falls Church area.
Links:
pawprintpets@verizon.net
https://pawprintsva.com
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A VERY ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE EPISODE
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SUMMARY KEYWORDS
dog, client, business, walking, pet, people, important, paid, helps, balance, industry, day, grew, moving, decision, life, easy, house, point, years
SPEAKERS
Collin, Jane T.
Collin 00:10
Hello, 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 our friends time to pet and pet sitters International. How do you keep going year after year? If you are solo? Why isn't it always the right answer to just hire somebody else. Jane Torok, owner of pawprints Pet Services has been in business for 14 years, and remains a one woman show. She joins us today to talk about what it means to be content in business and finding balance in our lives. She also talks about motivating factors and how to push through in those times where we really don't feel like it.
Jane T. 00:50
Let's get started. Hi, Colin, I'm really happy to be here. I have a business in Falls Church, Virginia. And it's called paw prints Pet Services. And it's pretty much just a one woman show except my husband helps as well. So I like keeping it small. And just in my control. I know that one day I'm going to need to hire but right now I'm really happy having it just be me.
Collin 01:18
I think that's a really important kind of mindset and approach to have about our businesses is that it's okay to be content with where we are, I know sometimes we can get caught up in the what's next, what's next, what's next and good, all the trying to always change it, but being appreciative of what we have with us right now. And again, being content with how we're operating. I think that's a really, really healthy way in place to be in business. really agree
Jane T. 01:45
with that when I was first starting, I was feeling a little competitive, like I need to get bigger and more clients. And then I got to a point where I'm like, Okay, let's just stop and breathe, and let's just enjoy what we have. And then I realized, I've got a really good balance of my work life and being able to manage my clients, and let's just, let's just be content and happy with where we are.
Collin 02:14
And that is again, it's it's tough, because we are constantly driven, or we constantly see what other people are doing around that. But to be able to look around and go, I think what you said they're going, I have balance in my life. That's something that I really, really want. And I don't want to I don't want to ruin that or change that. And sometimes it's so
Jane T. 02:35
true. And I come from a management background, and I managed a large team of customer service reps. I'm happy to have just me talking about right now.
Collin 02:52
With with a background in customer service and management of teams, how do you feel like that plays into how you run your business?
Jane T. 03:02
I think one thing that really helped me is that I did get a business degree from college. And so that gave me sort of a foundation of what a business should look like, and how you should stay on track of your accounting and take good care of customers. And I really think that my customer service background helps me take good care of my clients and know the importance of customer service and keeping them happy, and how it's so much better to keep the current hat quite happy than lose them and have to go out and get a new client.
Collin Funkhouser 03:43
I think that's a really good point to bring up here about it. We talked about your business is talking about customer acquisition, and how that's really, as you said, That's really expensive. I mean, that is just it's time intensive. It's also lost revenue, because there are currently no bookings in that spot. And so for you, how do you how do you balance that, that keeping a current client and they're happy? Versus I guess I should ask, have you ever had to fire a client or get rid of a client? And how did you balance that that desire to move away from a client because of something and know that there was going to be this acquisition cost that should be coming? That would be coming
Jane T. 04:24
up? Right? I haven't had the fire many clients I have fired some. And mostly though, it sort of happened naturally. So we both sort of realized that it just wasn't a good fit whether the dog was not a good fit for, for me. I've had so aggressive dogs and I just don't have the patience. Patience isn't the right word, but There are so many other dogs out there that I prefer to have ones that are less maintenance and less worry. And so those those kinds of dogs just sort of naturally fell off the schedule just there haven't been very many times that I've actually had to write a letter to a client and say, We're just not a good fit.
Collin 05:23
Yeah, it is really hard. But it is important to remember that there are better options out there. And that even though we may have, we may be looking at this acquisition cost of a new client. Sometimes it's just not worth keeping a bad client around, or a difficult client, either the human or the pet. And going, You know what, I'd rather not have this on my stress and this on my calendar, and try and find someone better, because as you said, there's plenty of other people out there, who you can bring into your business.
Jane T. 05:55
It's true, I mean, one of the advantages I've been in business for 14 years, just about and through that experience of of time, you really start to get an understanding of who your ideal client is, and how you prefer to have that kind of client. And it's okay to walk away from the ones that don't fit in that mold. And that you're going to have a much happier life in general, I mean, if you have a client, that's not a good fit for you, you bring that home with you. And then you are unhappy when you get home. And you're thinking about how you don't like working with that dog or that client, and so is too short for that you just want to cultivate the ones that are a good fit. And say no to the ones that aren't.
Collin 06:50
No, it's all about keeping that kind of decision in perspective of that, yes, we are running a business, but it's a business that that we are running, so we get to make those kinds of decisions. And if we're not happy if that balance is off, if something isn't working, it's 100%. Okay to move on. And keep in mind, as you said, life's too short, we can we can walk away from this, and we're gonna go find greener pastures.
Jane T. 07:15
Yes, and it's a really personal business do I mean, we are caring for people's family members, and we're in their house. So if there's something that's just not a comfortable fit, then it's, it's a personal client, I mean, they really, you have to have a trust and good relationship for both of you.
Collin 07:39
And that's, that's the key that I think many of us, including myself get caught up of is that we forget that it's a two sided relationship, it's a two sided transaction. And that too often, we put all of the power and all the decision making in the clients hands, and forget that we have agency over that same interaction. And so whenever we started to view, meet and greets, as also we're interviewing the client. And we're going through that process to have like, Hey, this is for us to make sure that this is going to be a good fit, that we think you know, that we think you're going to follow our policies and that this isn't going to go somewhere south, like all of a sudden was like, Yeah, you know what, this, that's why that's one of the major reasons why we think the meet and greet so important is so that we can determine a physically good fit, not if the client likes us or not.
Jane T. 08:29
It's great. But it is important, it really is important.
Collin 08:37
So you've been in business almost 14 years at this point. What right, what moves you away from your business background and customer service into dog walking?
Jane T. 08:49
Well, actually, it was done for me. I might come company did a restructuring and they laid off the customer service managers. But it turned out to be a really wonderful blessing. So it was scary at the time I had a newborn baby. So that actually was a real benefit to me that I was able to spend some time at home with my new baby and then figure out sort of what was next. And I wasn't sure what was next. And I started looking for a job and just nothing was feeling comfortable. And then I was looking for something part time. And I found an ad on Craigslist for dog walking and I thought oh, wow, that could be really perfect for me. I've always had animals I grew up on a small farm and we had every animal under the sun. And so I am used to animal care and I've always had dogs and cats and so I went on the interview and I really liked it. And they offered me the job. And I said, I need to go interview someplace else just to, you know, get a feel for this. That also was a good interview, and I liked it, it sounded perfect. But then I thought, You know what, I went to business school, I can do this, this is not a hard business to start. So I decided that I was gonna start my own business. And I'm really glad that I took the plunge. And on top of my business background, my husband, I had set up his terrible, were sort of an entrepreneurial family. So I had set up several of his businesses, so I knew what was involved with getting your license and taxes and all those things. So it wasn't something so scary for me because I'd already done it. Well, I
Collin Funkhouser 10:56
think those pieces are sometimes the absolute scariest I've we've got this passion and this desire to do something, walk dogs and care for pets. But in the middle is all of this red tape and bureaucracy and forms. And we don't quite know sometimes how to navigate through that. So how you having that experience of like, okay, I can overcome this, I can do this, I can definitely see how that was just a okay, this is the path we're going and this is how we're going to move forward with
Jane T. 11:23
this. Yes. And for me, I started out small, it was just for dogs, every day that I would walk. And that was just perfect for me. But then it it sorry naturally grew over time, and really all through word of mouth. And eventually, probably by about year five, it had moved into being my full time job. It was a full day of dog walks. And then eventually, by night, I don't know maybe years, six or seven, it was the primary source of income for our whole family. So it was enough to support our whole family.
Collin 12:03
Have you heard of time to bed, Claire from acting critter sitters has this to say
12:08
time to pet has honestly revolutionized how we do business, my sitters can work much more independently, because they have ongoing access to customer and pet information without relying on me, I save hours upon hours of administrative time on billing, processing payments and generating paychecks
Collin 12:24
if you were looking for new petsitting software in the new year, give time to pet a try listeners of our show can save 50% off your first three months by visiting town pet.com/confessions. You making that transition of being laid off growing this business? And then now here six or seven? You're that's the primary source of income for the family. Did Did that ever weigh on you as as just at the personal level?
Jane T. 12:51
Oh, so much. Because I had kids at home, and I would rather be taking them to the park. But it we had our family had this wonderful opportunity of the perfect business for our family. And since it was a good fit, you know, I just had to step up and just keep on walking. And I got to the point where I would at that point, just say yes to everybody because like, oh, I need the income. So yes, I will walk your dog. And then over time, I was able to sort of really understand my, my core business values and understand what was important to me and my client base and, and not to overextend myself. And that includes with my walking area, I live in a suburban area, just outside of Washington, DC. And so there's a lot of dogs and I'm able to just travel two and a half miles from my house. That's my service territory. And if somebody calls three miles away, I tell them no at this point, because I just don't have time in my schedule. And I think that the time over time, it's really helped me to figure out what's important to have a strong business and my joy in the business
Collin 14:29
too often we forget that this is a joy. This is something we get to do on a daily basis. I know there are there are tough days and they're their stress and strain and worry. But it is something that we get to do we can approach it with that joy sometimes that gets overshadowed with that stress and that worry and by some a lot of times with stuff we do ourselves by you know who said by taking that someone who is three miles away when you drew the line at two and a half. So free for you. How do you make that balance? How do you make Make sure that you you're you stick to that mission and those those values that you have.
Jane T. 15:07
It's really hard in the beginning, especially because like most of the people in the industry, I'm a really kind hearted, soft person. And so I want to help everybody. I want to say yes to everybody and no is so hard. And really, it has just been a lesson that I've had to teach myself over the years. And, you know, you all have, we have our self talk. And so you take that client, that's a little too far away, and then you think that really wasn't a good decision. So then, I mean, I have been fortunate in that when somebody has not been a good fit for the most part, as I mentioned, before, they just sort of matriculated off on their own. So I haven't had to say to a client, oh, I'm sorry, I've changed my service region. You're too far away. Now. I, I haven't had to make a lot of those hard conversations with clients. But but as I said, over the experience of time, has allowed me to be more firm with what's important.
Collin 16:28
I do think it takes time it takes experience, because you're right, most of us are in this business, because we have this passion because we believe that this is something that we we get to do that there's this that we sometimes we feel like Oh, I feel guilty charging for this, why aren't they paying me to come walk their dog, this is weird. To even have any, any boundaries can sometimes feel antithetical to reasons why we're in this. But I think, as you said, remembering that there are these balances these other things that you want out of life. And those those also need to help direct and guide some of these decisions so that you don't end up in a place where you're not able to have that balance. You're not able to spend time with your kids, you're not able to travel or these things that that you may want to do. You know, you can it's very easy to overload our plates.
Jane T. 17:19
And, yes, sort of the nature of the business. We do I miss out on some personal things like my sister came to town this weekend, I couldn't go out to dinner with her because I had pet visits that I had to do. It's also Yeah, this is what feeds my family. So I have to keep that in balance. And no, I called her on the phone and said, Oh, it was fine. I'm, I'm lucky though, that my family gets it and they they really support my livelihood.
Collin Funkhouser 17:54
It's a free for you. You mentioned a couple times of you know, this is this is the primary this is what is feeding the family. This is what allows you to make a living. So other than this kind of external motivation. What about other motivating factors for you for because you mean you, you've got a tight service area, but you're, you're doing a lot of walking, and you're really busy in there. So how do you what else keeps you moving on?
Jane T. 18:22
Well, you know, when things first started getting busy around the fifth year, so I really had I had to really struggle with my motivation because it would be cold and raining. Or I would be walking a dog past somebody's house and I could smell their dinner inside. And yet, I hadn't had dinner and I was hungry. And it was dark and cold. And you Yeah, really have to have that. Talk with yourself have what I rather be doing this and caring for animals, which really is my passion? Or would I want to sit in an office and have office politics and have to commute and all the things that aren't so great about an office job. And so, on those days when it was really hard to keep me motivated, I would have that self talk with myself and say, Okay, let's, let's do the pros and cons and that did become ingrained for me so that that is now a part of my mindset and it's not as hard. Even though I I really I walk 12 miles a day i It's a full time job. I work pretty much eight to 10 hours every day without a break. And that's hard. Especially right now it's cold and rainy, but I've got a trunk full of gear So I'm ready for the day. I've got everything I'm going to need, whether it's my rain pants and boots. You just you have to talk to yourself and have that hard conversation with yourself on why you're doing this, why is this what you want to do with your life, and I got to the point where I, I came to terms with that, and you're gonna have hard things in any job. And you just sort of have to realize that the golden rainy days aren't so much fun. But I also get the beautiful blue sky days when somebody else is in an office. So it balances out and as long as you can motivate yourself to get through those hard days. Like the days when you walk in and you immediately or it was a swelling dog diarrhea, and you're like, oh, boy
Collin 21:06
it really is, you know, I was I was struck with a very similar thought, pretty recently, as we are moving in to winter, and I was standing in a backyard, the porch light was completely broken, it was very cold. And I'm sitting there in the dark at like, you know, six, seven o'clock at night waiting for a dog to pee. And I was like, Man, this isn't right. Now, this isn't a whole lot of fun. Right? And this is part of the job that, Mike that clients have no idea that we do because I only post nice bright, shiny, sunshiny photos on Instagram, and I only share those. I can't share a pitch black photo. It's but as you said, this, the self talk kicked in of like, okay, yeah, but like, yeah, right now, okay. It's not the most fun. But, you know, I'll be back here tomorrow, and it will be beautiful weather and then go on these walks, and I get to be outside and I don't. And sometimes that may. I know if people may hear that and go, Well, you're just you know, you're denying reality or whatever. But what you're actually doing is you're putting everything into context of like water scheme of this and refocusing again, on making those pro con lists. I think that's huge to to be able to do in certain situations to help move you through them.
Jane T. 22:25
And it helps to shape a more positive mindset, which is just going to make your day easier if you can focus on the good things. And even if you have the bad things happening, right, then remember the good things. And I think that's what helps me get through when I'm tired. And I still have two more walk to get everybody else's home eating dinner, but I'm still walking. But I also I mean, it may sound crass, but I will remind myself that this is what pays the mortgage and keep the lights on and feeds my family and that. So yes, I love taking care of people's pets. And there are you're right there are times when I'm like, gosh, I get paid for this. Oh, awesome. But you also have the days when I saved the really bad days of the days I earned like eight and so if I can keep that as a reason, when it's snowing outside, that's the reason that I am walking their dogs so that they don't have to and I'm grateful that they're paying me for it. Because I can now pay my mortgage bill
Collin 23:56
it is this weird, weird balance of what we do has such a a levity to it. It is such a joyful thing at times when there's not diarrhea everywhere. Oh. But at the same time it is it's definitely serious what we do impacts not just the people and their pets but also impacts us in our families our ability to earn a living so it's this it is this very odd of like the tasks the service themselves are, are very, they're supposed to be joy filled and they are you know, like I said this is the levity to them because of the joy that we bring to them. But then the we have to remind yourself this there is this is a business right this there is a money exchange here there is expectations here. And my ability to pay for things is dependent on me doing an executing this well. Yes. Right. You mentioned earlier that your your husband helps out in the business some and I was curious what that relationship is like of working together on the business but also being a husband and wife
Jane T. 25:01
We actually make a really good team, it's. So I'm primarily the dog walking person. So he does do some it, he's my backup, which is wonderful. So one of the great things that he does for me, the gift he gives for me is that I go to the beach every summer with my whole family. And he stays home and walks all my dogs for me. And so he's a fantastic backup for me, if I need to go to doctors or something, he can cover a walkway. But the other part of what he does is so my business model is sort of at this point, it's 5050. With dog walks, I don't do very much pet sitting because my dog walking day is so long, that adding in early morning or evening visits for pet sitting where somebody's out of town. That's, that's just makes my day too long. Yeah. And so then the other part of our business is in our home dog boarding. And so Tom is the one that's at home during the day. And so he manages the dogs in the house. And onboarding has really been very successful. I love being able to just have such a happy environment for dogs, it, it gives me so much satisfaction.
Collin 26:26
Now the dogs that you are reporting, are they existing walk clients? Or do you accept clients that aren't repeat clients?
Jane T. 26:34
That's how it started out. It started out with just my dog walking clients where they needed to travel. And they said, Hey, do you think you could keep my dog at your house. And so that's how it started. And then it has just organically grown over time. And now it's still with it, I My business is mostly through referral. And I like it that way, especially with the boarding business because my clients aren't going to recommend a dog that they wouldn't their, they wouldn't want their dog to interact with. So to me, that helps keep good social dogs coming to my house. And ones that don't have aggression problems. And the meet and greet is crucial for the dog boarding business, especially because they're in my house. And I have to see how they're going to interact. So that I can keep it fun for everyone and keep everybody safe. It is a balance
Collin 27:42
to have of wanting to make sure that it's a good mix. But also wanting to be open up to other people who might not need those walk services. So that you do have a good mix of dogs that are together because it is a very, very intimate setting.
Jane T. 27:58
When when you have a great mix of dogs that are playing and having fun, so much fun to watch. It just it makes me happy.
Collin 28:09
It is it is it absolutely is. And so you know, you're out walking dogs during the day, all day long. And then you come home and there are client dogs there. Where do you find time to separate out from from the business a little bit?
Jane T. 28:24
Oh, that's a really good question. Because I do have I have overtime had some clients that work seven days a week. And that's a whole lot of dogs in your life. Yeah. But I'm really lucky we actually have a farm. And so we go there on weekends. And I bring all the boarding dogs with us so I'm still working but it's a mental getaway. And so that's when it's really awesome because I get paid to hike with dogs so I'm doing what I want to do and oh by the way these dogs get to come with me
Collin 29:13
nice
Jane T. 29:16
so that's sort of how I it's not a break from dogs because there is never a day in my life where there's not a dog in it. Well with all
Collin 29:26
all of that that you have, you know you've got how do you how do you keep it all organized and and moving forward.
Jane T. 29:35
I am so glad that I am naturally a very organized person. And so that's one of my core principles is managing my skip my schedule is like my a number one priority. So every morning I have an hour time block that I set aside every morning to work on my business and so and that's about that's important that is in my calendar, it is literally written on my calendar as like an appointment. And so that is a time block where I am doing any of the marketing, I am lucky that I don't have to do a lot of marketing because mine is primarily all through word of mouth. But that's where I'm doing my bookkeeping, managing my schedule. I'm very detail oriented. And so I that is so important to me to make sure that I have everything organized and laid out. So I have had, I've walked in on a dog emergency before and I had the clients phone numbers at my fingertips and I knew who their vet was at there at my fingertips. And being organized, really, I think helps make me more professional makes me more effective, and gives clients a sense of confidence that I've, I've got it covered that I can handle whatever you throw my way because it's organized, and I am regular with Mike, I send out invoices, and we have contracts, and I have pet business insurance and things that make me a professional business. And then I also I use QuickBooks for my bookkeeping. And at some point, I will be implementing time to pet. And I know that it's gonna save a lot of time for me,
Collin 31:37
but I love how it starts with an hour in the morning. Right, I've let this is time for me to do all of these things. Things. I'm sure you don't get to everything every single day. But you know, you've got that hour tomorrow, and you've got the next day. And it starts with something so simple as just going this this is this is my time for the business. This is where I'm working on the business, not in the business. And that is so critical. Because I think I know, early on, and still sometimes this day, Megan, I try and work on the business while we're working in it. And that's good. Those are two different hats that you need to be wearing while you're doing this. There's the planning the manager, the operations, and then there's the execution. And if you can't take a step back to work on the operations part and work on the billing and work on all that stuff. Because you're out walking, you're like, well, I'll just do all of that while I'm walking because it's time it's No, you're wrong mindsets to be in that space
Jane T. 32:41
to be able to do them well. Right? Yes. And I, I did come to that realization, at some point in my business journey that I needed to have that time I was trying to, as you say, I was trying to reply to emails and phone calls while I'm walking a dog, which isn't fair to my client. It isn't fair to me, it isn't fair to the dog, it's because you need to stay focused. And so it's really important that I have that hour every morning.
Collin 33:14
Yeah, that focus is what helps us make really good decisions, it makes sure that we're not rushing through that we are fully understanding what's going on. And that we're giving our full attention to the task at hand again, this this operations and this execution hats that we're wearing, like when I'm executing, when I'm doing the walks, I need to be fully focused on that and not worried about this other stuff in and just knowing. Okay, I'm worried about this, but I can't focus on it now. Tomorrow, I'll be able to focus on it like that gives relief to right. Now, I know also in your business, you don't charge extra for for additional pets, if it's somebody's house. Right? How did that decision come about?
Jane T. 34:02
Well, so to be clear that if if it's a dog walking or pet sitting client, I so I charged by my time and I am I think it's important for my business model. To keep it simple. I really appreciate that in my pricing structure. For instance, last night, I went to walk a dog and one of the dogs it's a two dog household and one of the dogs is sick by only walked one dog does that mean that I have to would have to remember to not not charge the extra dog fee for that day. i i prefer just to keep a simple pricing structure that clients can understand and that is easy for me. Especially because I am the only I wear all the hats so I need it to be something easy for me at a billing time. I was there for 30 minutes so I also like the client, I like to encourage people to have extra dogs to me. I like it when they rescue another dog. And so my I'm going to be doing the same things, whether I'm doing it for one dog or five dogs, it's the amount of time that I budget for that client. That dictates what I charge them. The other part of that is that if I do have two dogs coming from for boarding, if I have two dogs coming from the same household, they do get paid, they get charged per dog. Yeah. Well, I think I
Collin 35:44
think the desire to have it as simple and straightforward as possible is, is something that we need to remind ourselves when we are in our business, you know, I do see people every now and then post their price sheet, and it's like, three pages long, right? It's in nine point font, and I'm like, I don't I'm overwhelmed. I can't imagine a stressed out or nervous client trying to parse through all of that, and try and understand it, and then have them make
Jane T. 36:15
the decision. I went through an exercise of pricing comparison, and I actually took 20 different dog businesses that are in my area. And I did a whole spreadsheet of what they charge, or some that, like, wow, this this is like reading a menu
Collin 36:40
it is it is and I I think that that's a natural way to do this at times of will I'll just add all these things under the sun. And at some point, it's like, well, it doesn't cost me anything to put on my website that I offer the six different varieties. But I think from a customer experience, aspect and mindset, it does impact their ability to make a good decision and understand exactly what they're getting.
Jane T. 37:08
Yes. And I also think it's important for having clients all pay the same price. And so I I appreciate my pricing structure in that if somebody calls me and says, so I need a 30 minute dog walk, how much does it cost? I can just answer that. I don't have to say, Oh, well, let me give you an estimate. Everybody's got the same price. And that to me is fair. And if somebody calls up and said, Oh, well, could I have a discount, because you're gonna do two walks a day. I don't think that's fair to my other clients that are paying my normal price. So everybody's the same price for me just to keep it fair and consistent.
Collin 37:54
Right? And easy for you. I get I think even after we do like a price increase or price change, it's like, I've got to have my sheet in front of me. I can't imagine having to do that if I had 30 different things on there. It makes it so simple. I had that same experience where somebody said, Hey, what's the cost of one service? And I told them and then they were like, Okay, well, if I wanted three a day, it was easy. I just multiplied it by three. There you go. They, we get what I think that language of can you give me an estimate? And and it's like, I don't estimate I know exactly. It's going to be yes. Building a profitable pet sitting business on your own can feel overwhelming. Since 1994, pet sitters International has helped over 40,000 people just like you start and grow their business. From Access to group rate, pet sitter insurance and discounts on background checks to free client handouts and a monthly member toolkit. VSI provides you with their credentials, continuing education, and community you need to grow your pet sitting business. You'll also be invited to join a private online network of other pets and business owners from around the world. Save $15 off your first year membership by using promo code PS C 15. At checkout, visit pets it.com/pse to learn your false church and you have a really small, tight service area. I'm sure that there is a tight knit community in there especially after being in there for for so many years. What What is your connection to the community and how your business operates?
Jane T. 39:37
Oh, I love networking. I love my other dog people care people. In fact, that's on my to do list right now is I am planning a networking, lunch or event coffee, whatever. And so I have a list of all of the dog keeps saying dog with the pet care people In my area that I'd like to invite, so I have trainers on the list. And I have a doggy daycare because I want us all to be able to get together and know each other. I especially because I am a solo business, I rely on my other professional friends to cover me if I go on vacation or something. And it also really helps. Because this can be a lonely business. I rely on other people in our industry, sort of, for my sanity and for my helping me work through situations because they get it. So I to me, having a positive network of other professionals in the same industry is really important. And it makes it a lot more fun to to know that somebody out there is doing the same thing you're doing. And they can help you with advice, or they can help you with backup. And I really think a network is very important.
Collin 41:14
Now, as I totally agree that your network does, there's so many benefits to it, not just the I can refer out if it's not a good fit, or they're outside my service area. But this this immense, like mental and emotional support when you need it, that especially local who are experiencing a lot of the same stresses and strains and frustrations at times too. Do you ever do you ever worry? Or when you send out those invites? Do you ever worry of somebody rejecting you or thinking or being worried about competition when during those interactions?
Jane T. 41:51
So when I first started, there is a woman in my neighborhood, who is a professional dog walker, and she was sort of the fixture in the neighborhood. And when I first started, I actually went and talked to her and said, Look, I'm starting a dog walking business. Like, I want us to do this together and not as a competition. And we work in great harmony. And so when you say that I'm worried about somebody rejecting sort of an olive branch of networking, well, those aren't my people anyway, so I don't want to work with them. Though, no, I am not worried about that. And I have been so amazed at how friendly all of the other people in the same business in my little area. Guys, I have found a really great network of just other professionals and we together we're stronger. I think you're
Collin 43:00
right, because now you have that support, you have somebody who you can go to for help, and not just you go to help, but they can come to you for help. And when when those ideas start being shared around, people start behaving differently. And I think one of the biggest impacts that I mean, we've just seen from interacting with our local community is just how gradually everybody's prices actually started to go up because they started interacting with others and knowing what was going on. It was kind of cool to see like, okay, yeah, look what look what the community is doing. And now we're all taking similar trainings are going to different classes or or having that supportive like, hey, you know, this, this, this event is happening locally, how do you think it's going to impact the pet care that people need, like that is invaluable to us business
Jane T. 43:49
owner? It is it really is. And it expands your resources also, so that you have other people to rely on and pick their brains and get help and just talk to Yeah,
Collin 44:07
in addition to your local community, you also run an in manage largest Facebook group for dog walkers as if you didn't have enough on your plate. So where did where did that? Where did that come from? And why is that important to you to maintain and to have there?
Jane T. 44:27
Oh boy years ago in the potter created the Facebook group called dog walker to dog walker. And it is a great group and I learned so much from everybody in there I really is a great resource Do I just learn from other people? So Cindy created this group and Cindy walls and I all actually know each other from a rescue group. So we Are all active with lab rescue. And that's where I got my dog. Whoa, that's where we all got all our dogs from. So that's how we started to know each other. And then, as Cindy's group grew, she asked me if I could help her. Cindy and Walt do a lot more than I do. I just, it's because it's a volunteer position. It's hard to always have the time when you've got a busy schedule. But it's a great resource. And I think it's so important to have that, for others to just learn and use it as a resource. It's a real, real benefit to share. So it is important that it be really hard sometimes, I mean, it's an online community. So some people aren't always so nice. And then you got to deal with that. A lot of people get offended, did and then you got to deal with that. It's a volunteer position, so you don't get paid for it.
Collin 46:19
But that to have going, Okay, this is a volunteer, I'm sure that you've kind of helped weigh these cost benefits he had, again, he's pros and cons of how much you're gonna stress out about this, because it is a volunteer position, it is something you're deciding you want to do and spend time on. And keeping all those unbalanced to where
Collin Funkhouser 46:39
it is, it is a really great, great community, there's always so many good questions. And I love all the feedback from people. And that's really the power of that kind of group. So you have your local group where you're talking about specific issues where you're working together, you're networking you're sharing you're referring out to, and then being able to be plugged into such a large group like this, you really start to see a lot of very interesting questions or situations where you're like, Wow, I never would have thought of that, or that's never how I kind of fat, it's so true, it kind of fast tracks your ability to learn. So you don't have to go through all that.
Jane T. 47:20
It's so true. I mean, it really is i i It's an important resource to it. And that's why I do volunteer my time for it, because I really do think it's an important resource. And I like to give back and I like to be a part of a bigger community. And I think, from my years of experience, that I can help others make their their road a little bit easier by sharing some of my knowledge. And so I like that part of it. And it's nice to be able to help others with something that I have already experienced the answer to. Yeah,
Collin 48:05
it really is to be able to go, Oh, hi, I've gone through this, this is going to be okay. In being plugged into that group, and kind of seeing everything that goes on, I did, I did want to know, I don't know, how, looking thinking about the industry, and maybe where it's headed, you know, what are some what are some challenges that you see us needing to either overcome or just that you think more people need to be paying attention to?
Jane T. 48:39
I think that sort of the professionalism of the industry is very important, because you see on the news, horror stories about somebody that trashes a house when they're staying there. And there are so many negative things that negative stories that sort of can bring down our industry as a whole. And I think that and that is one of the things that's important with the resources, like the groups and your podcast is sort of sharing how we can make our industry better and stronger and more knowledgeable and keep the pets in our care day for and how we handle the clients and just all of the different aspects of owning a business. And so as far as the challenges that I see with the industry, I it's just maintaining a level of professionalism I think is very important to keep us from being dragged into the mud by some bad news stories. I think also with some of the current issues is COVID dogs that so many dogs are used to being home with people all day or they've been adopted and they've never even had people in the house. And so our one of our current situations is dealing with dogs, that when people start going back to work more that it's a changing landscape and, and that can actually create some dangers for us as pet care providers that the dogs aren't used to having someone in the house, they're gonna react differently when nobody's home. And now there's this new person walking in,
Collin 50:29
I think it's those two aspects of not only are they not used to being alone, but they're not used to strangers coming into their house, or, and they don't know how to regulate that they don't know how to communicate those frustrations. They don't know what's going on. And so you're right we as an industry, through our through the professionalism that we're bringing to it we are, there's a lot of education there, there's a lot of resources that we need to be bringing to bear on not just our clients, but our community at large to kind of head off some of those concerns. Because I know for us, we're already getting clients who are booking summer and you know, even some more Christmas vacations. But there's a lot of work to do between now and then yeah, get their dog ready for that.
Jane T. 51:10
It's true. And in a lot of clients, it just doesn't even they don't have to think about it, it doesn't occur to them. That, oh, my dog isn't used to having a stranger come in the house. And we need to start preparing them now before the vacation starts. So that it's important to have that person come in and do some dog walks before they head out of town.
Collin 51:36
There is work that we can do that we get to do to help our clients and equip them to be better. And that's just something that that we get to bring through our processes and through our social media or through our meet and greets too.
Jane T. 51:49
Right? Yes. Oh, good.
Collin Funkhouser 51:52
Jane, I can't tell you how enough about how much I've appreciated you taking your time out of your busy schedule to come and talk to us today and share your insights over the years and your your encouragement to do those self talks and to weigh those pros and cons and to remember that there is joy in this industry, even in the even in the tough times. But I know there's an awful lot here that we've just barely scratched the surface on. So how can people get in touch with you follow along and and get connected?
Jane T. 52:22
Sure. So thank you very much for having me on. First off, that was, this was great fun. I just love your podcast. And I'm just honored to be a part of it. So the way people can get in touch with me again, my business name is pawprints Pet Services. I've got a Facebook account. I do have Twitter and everything, but I don't do that as much. And so and one other way you could get in touch with me is through my website, which is pawprints va.com. And I would love to help anybody that has questions.
Collin Funkhouser 53:02
Perfect. And I will have all those in the show notes for people to click right to and to their, to the dog walker to dog walker Facebook page to if nobody if they're not a part member of that, too. They need to join. And hopefully, yes, learning and picking your brain
Jane T. 53:19
on another group as well, which is the homestyle dog boarding business owners. So that's another good one to join to
Collin 53:25
added to the list. Perfect. That'll be in there as well, Jane.
Jane T. 53:28
Okay. Thank you so very much.
Collin 53:31
How do you motivate yourself? What does it take to keep you moving forward? The great thing about that question is, it's all up to you. There's no right or wrong answer, we will find both intrinsic and extrinsic, motivating factors in our lives. And for our business. It could be that this is your sole income. So needing money is a primary motivating factor for you. It could be that you just can't bear the thought of a pet going without the best possible care for them. And so you continue to show up every single day, whatever that is, I encourage you to start listing out both intrinsic and extrinsic, motivating factors in your life, and know that they will change over time. And that's perfectly fine. We are in different life stages as we get older, as our business grows as our clientele change. So add this to your quarterly or annual review process. What is motivating me today? How has it changed since I last looked at this? And what does that mean for the decisions that I will make in my business moving forward? We want to thank our friends at time to pet and pet sitters international for making today's show possible. And we really want to thank you so much for listening today. We hope you have a wonderful rest of your week and we'll be back again soon.
