275: Putting Your Value First with Heidi Lewis
Time to Pet. Go to timetopet.com/confessional for 50% off your first 3 months.
Pet Perennials. Go to https://petperennials.com/pages/gps. Enter ‘PSC’ at registration to get $2.00 off of any packages sent in your 1st 90 Days.
Summary:
The lessons from the pandemic continue to highlight the importance of self reflection and knowing your ‘why’. The last couple of years have taught Heidi Lewis that she wanted to run a different kind of business. As the owner of Heidi and Hope Pet Services, she set about defining her boundaries and understanding what she didn’t want to do anymore. She has focused on converting clients from overnight to drop-in services and hiring staff so she can have more breathing room in her life. Heidi shares how she’s building relationships with local businesses and why she will always put her value first.
Topics on this episode:
Recovering from the pandemic
Learning to set boundaries
Valuing yourself
Partnering with local businesses
What clients are looking for
Main take away: Know what you want so you know what you’re working towards.
About our guest:
Throughout my childhood, the running joke was always, “Where’s Heidi? She’s probably with the dogs.” In 4th grade, my family adopted our Welsh Corgi, Angel - the light of my life all the way into college. When she passed away, I was devastated. Luckily for me, 4 months later, we brought another Corgi into the family. I named her Hope, because she was doing exactly that, bringing hope to our family. Thus...Heidi & Hope Pet Services!
Growing up, my family and I would vacation in Naples, and I volunteered with the local animal shelter and received training with vaccinations, veterinary exams, blood draws, baths, cleaning, etc. After college, I worked as a veterinary assistant in a veterinary hospital and at the Humane Society in Columbus, where I was able to work for extended periods of time with abused and abandoned animals to prepare them for adoption. Here I learned the level of patience and love I have for working with shy pets.
My true passion came when I began pet sitting on the weekends. Pet sitting showed me the rewards of getting to work with animals one-on-one. I LOVE being the only one to care for people’s pets and being relied upon to do so. I finally made the full-time move to Naples in 2016, where I feel lucky every day getting to live in the place that I vacationed all the time growing up. I immediately got into pet sitting upon my move and the rest is history!
Links:
Mikaela Pet Marketing Unleashed
Get website templates from Mikaela! Using the code ‘PSC10"‘ gets your 10% off the templates and included courses.
Give us a call! (636) 364-8260
Follow us on: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter
Subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, & TuneIn
Email us at: feedback@petsitterconfessional.com
A VERY ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE EPISODE
Provided by otter.ai
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
clients, pet, people, business, hiring, naples, overnights, service, dog, community, setting, life, person, gift, visit, day, professional, pet sitters, feel, included
SPEAKERS
Meghan, Collin, Heidi
Meghan 00:10
Hello, I'm Meghan
Collin 00:11
I'm Collin.
Meghan 00:12
And this is Pet Sitter professional and open and honest discussion about life as a pet sitter
Collin Funkhouser 00:17
brought to you by tide pet and pet perennials.
Collin 00:21
Sometimes events happen in our lives that continue to teach us lesson after lesson and COVID in the pandemic has definitely been one of those from learning to set boundaries to limiting the services that we offer and learning to say no, we continue to see the impacts of that moving forward. And today, Heidi Lewis, owner of Heidi and hope Pet Services joins us again. She was previously back on episode 73. She joins us to share how she continues to grow and learn from her experiences of the pandemic, how she converts clients to new services, and what she sees her clients looking for in a pet sitter. Let's get started.
Heidi 01:01
Absolutely. Thank you so much, Collin for having me on. Again. It's an honor to be here. Like Colin said, I am Heidi Lewis, the owner of Heidi and hope Pet Services in Naples, Florida. My company is named after myself and my business partners like I like to call her her name is Hope my almost nine year old Corgi
Collin Funkhouser 01:19
now, I can't not see a corgi and think of you and hope these days. Every single time.
Heidi 01:26
Yeah, me too. I'm one of those crazy people that if I see a corgi in public, I literally like pull over my car and talk to the people.
Collin Funkhouser 01:34
That's why you have to have an app to find your tribe. Right? You're gonna find? Yes. So we last spoke, I said back in June of 2020. And that's, it's crazy to think it's been that long. And there's been so much that's happened since then we spoke to you last in the middle of the pandemic, and COVID in everything. So catch us up on how it's been since then,
Heidi 01:57
oh, my goodness, Colin, if you would have told me in June 2020, that I wouldn't be where I am today, I don't think I would have been as nervous as I was the last time we spoke, I have had an incredible growth and new clients. And even my current clients, just the demand has been overwhelming. It's just people are traveling so much, taking a lot of like weekend trips, and then just having a lot of new clients move into the area and getting established with a new pet sitter. So I've just seen a tremendous amount of growth in the pet industry, the demand is absolutely insane here in Naples, and a lot of the other pet sitters that I've connected with are having the same exact, you know, good problem to have. But they're also feeling the same
Collin Funkhouser 02:39
kind of thing. You've had this incredible growth for you. How have you managed that? How has that been for you to see that growth? And I think especially as you mentioned, like back in June, there was a lot of fear going on. So what was that like to process this and still experiences growth and these good things that you've had?
Heidi 02:56
Yeah, so and so 2021. Last year, I was definitely in work mode all the time, I think there was this this kind of guilty feeling that if I wasn't working, then you know, it was kind of like a failure, because like I didn't work a lot in 2020. So if I wasn't working, I just kind of felt guilty that I wasn't. So I just was constantly in work mode all the time. And then once September of last year hit, I kind of was reevaluating and talking to some friends and realized that I could count on one hand how many days I had taken off the entire year. And that was in September. So I kind of had to do some reevaluating and some personal growth work as far as you know, where do I where am I getting this feeling that I need to work all the time to be successful? And you know, where is this coming from, I was asked to be an early reader for Kristen Morrison's latest book, How to recover from pet business burnout. And I absolutely love Chris Morrison. And it kind of I reread it and after, you know being asked to read it the first time and I just really set some boundaries, especially for the holiday season of 2021 and then going forward into this year. So I really just kind of evaluate like, hey, like what's going on here and I just didn't want to get to that point of burnout. And then I wouldn't be in that I wouldn't be able to do this anymore. So that's really included as limiting my overnight stays I do offer overnight stays in my clients homes, from 8pm to 8am. And since people were traveling all of the time, it was I was I was doing maybe two weeks worth of overnight stays per month. So I was never home. And just a side note that's not pet related. I just got engaged in December. Yeah, so you know if I can be home with my fiance and my dog, I want to be home now. So you know, kind of setting those boundaries as far as limiting how many overnights I do per month and how many I do like in the year and that's really been putting into place with expectations with new clients. So if I have new clients coming in and They're wanting that overnight service, kind of talking with them seeing what their pet needs is that, you know, senior animals and animal with special medical needs, like why are they needing the overnight stay? Why do they feel like they need someone in their home, in most of the cases, it's, it's to make them feel better. And then they kind of realize, oh, you can actually just do multiple visits a day, you can stay later at night, and they really don't need someone overnight. So that kind of allows me to be able to still do what I love, but be in my own home at the end of the day. Yeah, so that's, that's really helped a lot just setting like those boundaries, and kind of getting clear on what I wasn't comfortable doing, like what was overwhelming me what was making this job, not fun. And that and a lot of that was overnights, late, you know, super late night visits, and then not having any weekends off. So just kind of reevaluating the schedule and setting those boundaries in place has made this year although still, you know, I don't want to say busy but you know, very full the schedule is very full, but it's not as overwhelming as it was last year, so it's not going to get out of control.
Collin Funkhouser 06:05
Yeah, I think I just on that, understanding our terms, and how we use them is really important, you know, not saying busy, because busy means it's out of control. And we didn't have influence on it, I really like saying we're time constrained, right? Because that means we're we're setting those boundaries, which are we're full, because that means we're exerting some pressure on what this is going to look like. And you started off by talking about how you were constantly in work mode. And so I think that, as business owners and solopreneurs, or entrepreneurs, we have to be do some self reflection to recognize the modes that we're in throughout the day, and that we have a lot of things that we need to feed and invest in. And so recognizing, oh, if I'm always in work mode, if I'm always doing something that means I'm not addressing my other needs, you're just you're unable to do that. So for you, what other modes, did you decide that were important for you? How would you describe other modes as a person that you needed to invest in?
Heidi 07:04
I just needed to invest in I think more of myself and my free time. I mean, I was even even if I wasn't necessarily on visits or driving when I was home just sitting on the couch, I was you know, responding to emails doing the schedule, like I wasn't setting time for work mode. And then for me time, or family time, and I felt like I was kind of losing myself because again, there's this there was this guilt here where I'm like, Oh, well, I didn't work at all in 2020, like I made like, almost nothing. So I need to make up for that by working all the time and being available all the time. And, you know, not staying, saying yes to everything. So it just kind of gotten to this like unhealthy. This unhealthy thing where I just I felt like, again, if I wasn't working, then there was a problem. So it was really just doing a lot of self reflection and seeing again, like what was making this job not fun. And what did I needed to do from here to solve it. And one of those big things was finally, hiring. That has been like one of the like, the saving graces of of this job, because I mean, it's fine. If you want to be a solopreneur. And you want to have a set amount of clients. That's completely fine. And for a while. That's what I wanted to do. But once I started seeing the demand and seeing like where my company could go, there was there was no choice but but to hire. Yeah.
Collin Funkhouser 08:27
Well, so hiring I know, it's been it's been difficult for a lot of people. And we were all in that position of going. Maybe I never thought about hiring but I recognize that there's a need so I can have some time off. Or I may be oh, there's a possibility for this business to grow and do something beyond myself. So when you decided I need to hire. What was that process like for you? And I know you're in Florida. So the market, the job market, things are a little bit different there than some other places but walk us through how it was for you bringing on somebody when that was never in the cards for you before.
Heidi 09:01
Right. So I started looking for health in the summer of last year of 2021. I did everything according to Christians, more Christian Marsden's hiring handbook, literally read that and did every single thing. According to her book, I purchase her hiring kit, which includes an application packet and a welcome form. Once you do hire someone in their onboarding process, I feel like that really helped weed out some of the people that weren't necessarily seeing this as an important job. They just kind of like wanted to walk dogs kind of, you know, just do this as a side gig instead of saying like, Oh, like I'm actually like a staff member with this team. And you know, it's important for me to make those client connections and all the safety procedures like it really weeded out those clients that are really out those potential candidates that just didn't really see this as like a super important job, if that makes sense. I did post a lot as far as the job goes on indeed. And then I did post on social media Yeah. And I mean, I hired three different women and they all quit before they even started. And just talking with different businesses locally in Naples, everyone's having this same exact problem where there's a lot of interest. And a lot of people are completing the application. You know, they you meet up with them, you start, like the training and the observation process. And then like, they either just don't show up, or they ghost you, or they just completely quit altogether after putting in all of that work for the onboarding process.
Collin Funkhouser 10:31
Yeah, that is really frustrating. That actually happened to Megan and I, with one of our first hires, she came on, and we were super excited about everything we were in the like, this is the first day we're reviewing the handbook. And we did everything. And then after that, she sent us a message and was like, I don't think this is going to work out. And it was like, Okay, it's kind of it's kind of defeating to have that. Because you're so excited. You have all this momentum, you've invested all this time and energy into this process. And to have somebody walk out like it, it hurts a lot more than I thought it would just just as a personal on a personal level.
Heidi 11:07
Yeah, exactly. And, like I said, I just feel like it's people not necessarily understanding what the job includes. And even if that even if they read the handbook, even though they've agreed to the terms, and they've seen all the conditions that they need for this job, I think once they get into it, it's more overwhelming than they think it's going to be, it's not just walking dogs and petting puppies and playing all day, although that is certainly part of it. And that's a fun part. But it's also you know, communicating with clients, it's scheduling, it's a lot, it's a lot. So thankfully, I was able to find my first she's an independent contractor for now, her name is Amy and I found her in July of last year. And she has honestly been a blessing. I don't I wish I had three or four more Aedes on board. Eventually, I would like to convert her into an employee, but she has a full time job at a spa and Naples in downtown Naples. And but she's had over 10 years of experience with ruing. So she's really had that hands on experience that I was looking for. And kind of like you and Megan, I'd really wanted someone that had had hands on experience taking care of pets, not just, you know, a great college student that really loves walking dogs, like I wanted someone that's like had experience with pet setting or some kind of pet industry. And that's who I found.
Collin Funkhouser 12:23
Well, and having those expectations of who you want, like from the get go really helps you as you start parsing through everybody, because it can get kind of overwhelming as you get all these applications in to sit there and go, Well, how do I how do I compare this? Right? I don't know how to wait one thing over another. And for us, we kind of developed a little bit more of an idea of what we wanted the person to look like as we started to parse through some of the applications because we had written down what we had thought we wanted and then as we started to get people was like, oh, no, actually, that'd be really cool. Somebody had that. So that's a good idea. And you kind of want to grow into it a little bit to find that person and especially if it's your first time or even your fifth time or whatever like you kind of are growing with the needs of your clients and stuff. Absolutely. Have you heard of time to pet Dan from NYC pooch has this to say
13:09
I'm Tibet has been a total game changer for us is helped us streamline many aspects of our operation from scheduling and communication to billing and customer management. We actually tested other pet sitting software's in the past, but these other solutions were clunky and riddled with problems. Everything in terms of pet has been so well thought out. It's intuitive feature rich, and it's always
Collin Funkhouser 13:29
improving. If you are looking for new pet sitting software, give time to pet a try listeners of our show can save 50% off your first three months by visiting time to pet.com Ford slash and fashion. So when you brought her on, what was that? What was that process like introducing her to your existing clients? Because I know that's a big fear of people have have okay, I I have built this relationship I've gotten now but I'm really busy. How much do I introduce or not introduce or make this transition?
Heidi 14:01
Right. So with Amy, it was a lot smoother than I thought it was gonna be since she's had that hands on experience. And she she's a manager at a spa. So she has that client one on one interaction a lot, which is super helpful. So I didn't really have to do a lot of explaining and you also have to be careful because she's considered an independent contractor right now. And thankfully, she has been an independent contractor before for a tech company so she knows kind of how that relationship works. Yeah, so you can't really call it Training when you're bringing her in it's I call it an observation day. Yeah, so like when I brought her in, if clients wanted to meet her like face to face before she would help me with any kind of visits we would do a separate Meet and Greet so even though it's not like the financially best for me and it takes time out of my day. It I feel like it was a lot. It was very beneficial in the end because it got her meeting the client and the client meeting her and meeting the animals face to face before services began and it made them a lot more comfortable. Having someone else take care of their pet, I actually have some clients that were like, we don't really need to meet her, we trust your judgment, I'm sure she's lovely. And she, I would just go with her to the first visit and kind of watch how she does things. And then she would watch me how I do things. And then she would take over from there. So I did let my clients know, pretty, pretty much after like a month of her kind of observing and getting her on board, I sent out an email in my newsletter to all of my clients, just informing them, who Amy was, and all her background experience and what kind of availability she was gonna have. So I really assured my clients that this was actually better for them, because it makes it as far as availability goes, you know, it'll be my availability, and Amy's availability. So the chances of us being able to help you, especially for last minute requests goes up, because we have another person here. And they have a whole nother person to love on their pets besides me. Like they have a whole nother person that that their pets can make a connection with and love on them.
Collin Funkhouser 16:00
Which is great. Trying to do that introduction in a good way. Right? I think we, when we did went through that process, we had one person that was kind of a little iffy about it, but they're, they're a special case client, right where they're like, I don't know about letting somebody new into my house anyway. So we'll we'll work on them, right you but you can go, that's a big fear. I know a lot of people have of like, oh, I can't introduce somebody new, because my clients are gonna love me, and they just want me and the way I do things. But whenever you start thinking about all the benefits that this brings, right, that clients can't get that right, they want predictability, they want reliability, they want somebody to be there, especially somebody who's being trained under you, or has you as an example, right of the example that you're setting and they trust you, right, they trust you to make those decisions. And that's something that we forget, an awful lot is that our clients really trust us to make wise decisions for the care of their pets, including who we bring into that client pet care relationship to help continue that care.
Heidi 17:00
Exactly. And, you know, not putting like everything on Amy. But it really relieves a lot of pressure of all of these requests and vacation sets that I was getting on a daily basis that really were like, kind of removed that pressure of OH, I have another person that I can ask, or, you know, someone texts me in the middle of the day and says, Hey, like I need an evening visit, you know, we're, you know, we're planes delayed, or whatever it is. And I can say, oh, like I don't have to interrupt my dinner with my family, I can ask Amy and see if she's available. And chances are she is. So she really has a lot availability, and during the evening and on weekends, which is exactly what I needed help with. So she's really been a blessing in that way. And then also, she's really shown me, I have a couple couple of clients that actually mistreated her, or something that was not on her at all. So she, if anything, she's also been beneficial, and showing me that these clients were not treating me very well. And I didn't see it. And the fact that they also mistreated her for not a value, you know, not a valid reason, was easy for me to cut them off and accept other clients who appreciated both of us. And so then that way, she's also really helped. It's really, I mean, it's one thing to not really stick up for myself. But if you're gonna mess with my staff for something that they didn't even do that is not, you know, not a valid reason to be mad at them, then like mama bear is gonna come out. So she's really she she's really shown me, you know, to value myself and to have clients who also value me and her. So that's also been really helpful.
Collin 18:33
Yeah, that's a really interesting take. Because I don't think many people think about that I have, I now have somebody over here, and they act as a really good mirror. And I'm able to see a lot of those interactions and see something from the outside, right of like, usually I'm the one doing the interaction. And so it's hard for me to pull back and say, Oh, that was a weird tone, or that's a weird text or that was a weird interaction. Because we're busy and we're doing everything we're like, okay, that's a person is, but all of a sudden, it happens to somebody else who like you value you trust, who's part of your, you know, who you've brought on. And it's like you said, you get it's, it's offensive at that point and be like, Oh, they did like, so using that as kind of a way to go, do a little bit more self reflection about what we're willing to accept and not accept. I think that that's, that's really interesting to hear how you were able to see that in the interactions that you had with with her. Yeah, and I
Heidi 19:27
personally set an affirmation for myself every year like I have a word that I pick every year and I create that into kind of like a like a mantra that I say every day, which is also a Christian Morris thing, sorry to like, keep putting her out there but she's amazing, like Christian horseman. But my word for this year was value. So my my mantra is, I will always put my value first. So that's really been reflected in how I'm communicating with clients, how clients are treating me and just really setting those boundaries, both in my work and personal life.
Collin Funkhouser 20:00
That's beautiful. That's beautiful as a way to keep that focused in first of mind as you're making decisions. And I know part of that, that you said earlier was not doing overnights anymore, because that was something that sounds like that wasn't something that that brought you value or that brought you to the other things that you valued in life, how would you encourage people to pick their own word or to start putting something like that in their life to help them get a little bit more finer focus in their busy times,
Heidi 20:27
I would just encourage people to really reflect on what they think is not going well in their life currently. For 2020, my phrase was, I will find someone who knows my worth, it was all about the word worthiness and 2020. You know, really putting myself first seeing that I deserved the best. And I found my future husband in 2020. Last year, it was I can do hard things. So it was all about just, you know, putting boundaries in place working a lot and knowing that I could get through any kind of struggle that was thrown my way hiring included. And so it just, I just really encourage people to kind of reflect and see what's not going great in their life, and then kind of choosing a word that can help them through that. And anytime they're going through that struggle that keeps popping up, just saying that sentence over and over, even if you feel really stupid saying it, it's, it's always in your head. So you can always reflect and go back to that when things aren't going right. Or there's, you know, whatever the situation is,
Collin Funkhouser 21:31
yeah, well, it's a little bit different than like a yearly resolution or something like that, because it's a lot more it sounds like it's a lot more encompassing, and a lot more holistic approach to my life and my values and what I actually want versus a oh, this is the one thing I'm trying to get from point A to point B on its, you can really start applying that to everything else. And like you said, some of these the phrases or the mantras that we come up with, sure, they may sound a little silly, but what they do is they help keep us focused, right? It's one of those things. It's kind of like the, the fidget toys that everybody has, you know, things like that, like, Okay, this can bring me in centromere here right now. So I can remind myself of what's happening and why I'm doing this and what I want out of this eventually.
Heidi 22:16
Exactly. So like, when those negative situations pop up, or the negative self talk pops up, you can just keep reflecting back on that, like, you know, for example, in business, if a client is giving you a hard time about something and you just don't think you're gonna be able to meet that expectation. Just reflect on for example, my, my value word, like no, we're gonna value myself first, I'm gonna put myself first. And, you know, that's how you kind of react to that situation?
Collin Funkhouser 22:40
Well, I did want to touch on the overnights because I think that that is a big problem that a lot of people are having of, I know we get requests like that all the time of I want an overnight wants me to be here overnight overnight. And you said you had a process of kind of figuring out what exactly their needs were what's been the response of trying to conversely convert people from overnights to drop it
Heidi 23:02
right so I care I'm currently not taking in any new clients who need overnight services, but I still have quite a bit of people have like established clients that want overnights and a lot of the situations are their dogs are older and they do have the new medications at certain times are they have kind of separation anxiety, so it does make them feel better. And it's, you know, medically makes sense for someone to be there overnight. So I do have I'm trying to have a handful of clients that I still will do overnights for, but again, limiting how many I do so if they need to go somewhere for like two weeks, I'm not going to be able to do that because I set my limit at you know, this amount of overnights I'm doing per month. So it's really just trying to figure out if there actually needs that or if it's just something that they just would rather have someone there but you know, in my early 20s When I started this business, I love doing overnights when I lived by myself and was paying all my own bills on my own It was great to kind of like shut down my place and just live in people's house all the time. Like this is awesome. Like you know, I don't have to you know, I don't have to be at the house alone. Like I can take care of people's pets and let's stay in a nice houses. But, you know, I recently just turned 30 I'm engaged my dogs getting older, like I just want to be home with my family and 2020 really showed me that that being home with my family is a priority. So it's really just putting those expectations up front in place like I've been doing with new clients saying like, hey, I really can't do overnights so I can either refer you to someone else who does overnights or we can kind of break down a visit schedule that makes you comfortable and makes your pet feel comfortable. So it's really just been trying to like transition people from that kind of thinking but again, if it is something that it medically makes sense. I don't mind doing those overnights and the clients that I've had for almost four years now there's no way I would there's just certain ones probably top five clients that I would not say no to because I love their animals like they're my family's so or and I've even offered just to take them to my house. I've even just like looked into my insurance and seeing like what it would take Jeff wants a dog at my house because it really is, it's not about that taking care of the animal part, it's not being able to sleep in my own bed after a really busy day of visits. And if that means, you know, taking a pet with me, that I've known for four years, and I know it's a great animal, like, that's what I got to do. But, yeah, so it's really just kind of like, reflecting on, again, like, what makes the job difficult and overnights is a huge thing. And I feel like, you know, doing overnights straight for four years, every single month, it was just something that was really heavy on me, and kind of re evaluating with my clients what they need. And putting that expectation upfront has really been helpful.
Collin Funkhouser 25:42
Yeah, it's a really great reminder that just because there's a demand for it doesn't mean you don't that you have to do it, right. Like, we think about a lot of like, Oh, what am I client's needs? What are people needing? And maybe how would a business do I adapted meet those, but as you've shown as you've found your way through this, like, just because people are asking for it doesn't mean that I'm the one to fill that need, because it doesn't meet what I want. With my business with my personal life with my family. Like, that's not something that's worth it, Megan and I started out doing overnights basically, exclusively. When we were when 10 years ago, at this point, where we were many times we weren't didn't go back to our apartment for a week or so at a time. And we were doing them separately and independently. And now it's just like, I can't even imagine trying to do that and accommodate people with everything else that we're doing. It's not something that we want out of our with for our lives, either. So having that conversation with people and just being honest about what you're willing to do what you're not. And then that education part, that's huge, because a lot of people don't know what they don't know, they've never not had somebody stay at their house. So when we can come alongside them and go, I know, this is what you have done in the past. But this is the service that we offer. And this is how it can meet your needs. In this way, is this an option? A lot of times people go, Oh, yeah, no, that's fine. Actually, I actually want that. Because they didn't know that they could, they could have that. So just having that conversation. One of the things that also happened to you recently was you were featured in a local publication online featuring local business owners, and I wanted to talk to you about that experience, how that came about, and what that's done for you and your business. Well, so
Heidi 27:21
I actually have a really good friend who owns her own photography business in Naples, she's actually going to be taking our wedding photos. And she's, I'm actually met her at my first job I had down here I worked at Barnes and Noble. And she trained me but now we've both kind of followed our dreams and own our own businesses. So she actually was reached out to by this publication, and then she was able to nominate other women that she felt would be a good fit for this article. It was called, it's called Shout Out Miami. And it's a publication, they mostly feature small business owners in the south Florida area, but they do interview kind of all across the globe as well. And they really tried to promote people so they can show them to support local businesses within their community and local entrepreneurs. So it was a very humbling experience. Because, you know, when you're working all the time, and you kind of like nose to the grindstone all the time, you kind of forget how far you've come. I mean, if you would have told 2018 Heidi, when she was just opening up her, you know, business for the first time that I was gonna be featured in a in a business publication, I probably would not have believed you. But it was a very humbling experience. Because again, like it's, it's good to reflect on how far you've come and what you know, what you can do for the community as well.
Collin Funkhouser 28:40
Yeah, have those reminders in our lives of Oh, I did something. Right. Like I this is something that I my passion was I did this, and it kind of validates a lot of those, those fears, anxieties, the stress, but also those dreams and those goals that we have to have just somebody go, Hey, tell us about your business, right? Like just first, first off hearing somebody say, Tell me about your business. You're like, oh, yeah, I am a business owner. That's right. This is this is, this is what I do. And it can be kind of weird. But to then be able to go, yeah, like, this is something that I'm proud of. And we don't take that time very often. Like you said, Heidi to just take that step back and go, Well, this is really something like this is maybe not what I expected, or I could never have dreamed to have been here. But whether we get featured in a local publication or not having that time in our lives to step back and go wow, look at all these accomplishments that I've had that I've maybe I don't notice. It really is a game changer for us and can really help us keep moving forward and really just again, look at what we've done. And say yeah, I'm proud of myself.
Heidi 29:46
Yeah, especially when you're you know hard on yourself things aren't you know, something's not going well and you're not understanding things you can say like, Hey, like someone is recognizing me for my accomplishments, accomplishments that I you know, I've made and this business I have established I mean, it's a big deal to be a business owner. Like, I just don't think people really even realize that, you know, not just like a business owner, but just like being a business owner, like starting from the ground up, like, that's a huge accomplishment. So anytime, you know, you're able to, you know, be recognized for that, you should definitely take advantage of it.
Collin Funkhouser 30:19
Oh, yeah. Especially because we know that it's not in a vacuum, right? Like, we're not just a business owner, we have personal lives with personal struggles with personal anxiety with other things going on around us with fears that that aren't related to the business at all. And to see in spite of everything else that I have going on, this is being recognized, this is being viewed as important and as an asset, because we, you know, they don't see all that struggle, they don't see the personal side of it, you know, whether that's, you know, people deal with a lot of medical injuries, or they deal with personal loss, they do have grief and all this stuff that's going on, in addition to the small business that we're running. And yet, the business continues to move forward, like that is your right, like, it really just helps you take that step back and go, okay, like this is I see what's happening, you're in Naples, and you service the Naples area. And I feel like that's an it's an interesting market to be in, because it's pretty, vacation heavy, especially has a big seasonality of people coming in and going. So how, how are you servicing? Or are you servicing those vacation clients? Or how are you finding that new people are finding you as they're coming to the area.
Heidi 31:33
As of right now, if it's someone that just needs like a visit that's coming in just for a visit for like a weekend and need help with their pet, I'm not able to accommodate that right now, just because it's a lot of work to set up a meet and greet prior to services, and then get them on board with my pet sitting software and then doing the visit, it's just a lot of work on my end, for a client that may or may not return. And that's on top of having the majority of my clients are seasonal, so they're here for six months out of the year, and then they leave to go back up north. So you know, just taking on another like area of clients where they're just coming in just temporarily. It's just a lot. And maybe if I had some more staff members, and hopefully that's in the works for the future, we could accommodate that. Because I do it is hard to come in to an area where you have your pet and you don't know any of you don't know what local pets that are like it's a completely new area, and you're not sure who to trust, I would like to accommodate those clients. But right now, it's just not feasible for me. However, as far as people finding me, I do keep track of all of my marketing strategies. So I love spreadsheets. And I keep track of all the different ways people are finding me. And thanks to my amazing web designer, Makayla with pet market, pet marketing unleashed. She actually created my website a few years ago, and I've done some, like, you know, updates with it with her as well. My number one marketing strategy is Google. So people are finding me on Google, whether they search for pet sitters in Naples, you know, dogs that are dog walker in Naples, that's how people are finding me, followed closely just with client recommendations, and then just the connection with the local businesses that I have. That's also another way that people find me.
Collin Funkhouser 33:15
So how are you fostering those those relationships with businesses in your area? I know one thing that both Mike and I really enjoy seeing is when you do a shout out to a local like brewery or place like that, how's it been building those relationships?
Heidi 33:31
Yeah, mostly build the relationships on social media. So I do a lot of like, feature Friday posts where I feature a pet friendly business and Naples, I actually just started a blog finally, and I've been trying to do feature some pet friendly businesses in Naples, because at the end of the day, our How do you hope that services, like our biggest thing is that pets are family, and we see your pets as our family as well. So if you can include your pet, and with daily fun activities, why not. So I'm always searching for, you know, activities and pet friendly places that you can take with your pet. It's also just attending pet friendly events in the community. And then even just like visiting these other businesses, and you can connections with them. And again, like just engaging on their social media, promoting them, and you know, even if they're non pet related, just all the different things that you enjoy in your community. And when promoting them as well. That's kind of how we've kind of fostered relationships.
Collin Funkhouser 34:27
Again, like that idea of going well, they might not be pet related, but I as a business, I as a person really enjoy what they're doing. So why not? Why not just go and take a picture of you, you know, eating there or enjoying that time with them and again, help elevating what other people are doing especially if it's cool things or again, if it's in line with your beliefs or things that you value or just what you enjoy doing like it doesn't have to be this big in depth multi point marketing advertising campaign event thing it's no this is what we enjoy. So here we are.
Heidi 34:58
Yeah, it's just you know, people all sharing the same likes, you know, people loving the Naples community or loving pets, you know if that connection is well, and I'm originally from Ohio, and I've used to vacation in Naples several times a year, and now I get to live where I vacation, which is incredible. And I love the Naples community, like I absolutely love being here, I love working here, it's given me so much opportunity in my life. And you know, just celebrating that with other local businesses who are doing the same thing who have worked their entire lives to be here and do what they love. I think, you know, that's also a, you know, an important part of it too. And, you know, I try to partner with different pet supply stores, veterinarians, photographers, and even like apartment complexes, and this is mostly through just visiting these places on like, my everyday needs, like, oh, I need to go get some toys for my dog, I'm gonna go to this local pet boutique and then connecting with that owner, or, like I said, social media, that's like the easiest way to connect and say, Hey, and reach out, say, Hey, I'm so and so with this company. And I want to say I really enjoy your posts. Like if there's anything we can do to help you and your business in the community. I think, you know, if we can feature you, I have an entire Naples Favorites page on my website where I just teach her all these different amazing local businesses where you can take your pet. So I just think it's the community aspect is really important. Yeah,
Collin Funkhouser 36:20
well, and it kind of gets this business he term there as this becomes part of our, our brand, right of who we are, where our beliefs are things that we enjoy, that becomes part of our brand as the business. You know, you said, you know, I'm at this place, and I just let them know, hey, I really appreciate this. We were doing interviews in our new service area, and I do them at coffee shops for the in person. And I'm sitting there and the guy's like, Oh, what are you doing here, I said, I'm doing interviews for my pet care company, he goes, Oh, you picked an appropriate place, I was completely oblivious. Because what I didn't know is this place had actually undergone a new ownership change. And I didn't even look at the name of the company before he walked in. There are black lab coffee, and they're all about dogs and stuff. So I was like, We need to talk just finding those opportunities and just introducing yourself like it's really basically all it is is like hey, this is me, this is what I do, what you do is cool, just want to say hi and starting there.
Heidi 37:19
Right? And it's just you know, fostering those relationships, and then they can recommend you to other people that come in their store or, you know, eat their food or drink their coffee, they know you personally and can recommend you to others as well, which, you know, it's again, it's not always about the business aspect, but that's just like a perk of making these relationships is being just, you know, kind of like the go to person in your community. That's what they think of right
Collin Funkhouser 37:42
away. Well, it kind of gets do a little bit of the, the the avatar for your client. It's like okay, well if I'm here and I enjoy this, I'd probably like other people who were coming to the same kind of establishment so I can build a relationship with them as you said whether they are pet related or not. And start that you know, those referrals are just started that again, that community of people who are supporting each other to
Collin 38:06
our friends at pepper O'Neill, make it easy as 123 to send a heartfelt condolence gift directly to someone with a broken heart. They have this awesome direct client gift service that takes the effort off of us and ensures a thoughtful, personalized something gift reaches your client or employee. All gift packages include a handwritten card, colorful gift wrap and shipping fees across the US and Canada. They also have an array of milestone gifts and greeting cards that can be sent to celebrate birthdays, extinct, get well wishes and welcome new and rescued pets. Additionally, there are gift choices in case you need to send a sympathy gift a memory of a special human client, or celebrate pregnancy engagement or wedding of a pet lover. If you're interested register for a free business account to unlock the all inclusive discounted package prices. The service is leveraged on an as needed basis. So there are no monthly or annual obligation or minimum purchases. To learn more, go to pet perennials.com/pages/g P S, and use the referral code P S C registration to get a unique coupon code to save $2 off any package you said in your first 90 days.
Collin Funkhouser 39:10
One of the services that you offer is pet transportation. And this is another service where I see a lot of people interested in or it's growing in popularity. It used to be kind of a nice thing but I don't feel like it's going to be nice for very long. So how has the pet transportation been for you? What are really what are clients really looking for when they're looking for that offers pet transportation,
Heidi 39:31
transportation hasn't really been my most popular service. I do have a couple of older senior clients who can't really get around but they still want their dog to get some kind of socialization with their best at the dog park or at like a dog you know playdates or something like something like that, or even just taking their dog to the vet I bought a senior clients that it's a lot for them to get their dog loaded up in the car, take them to the vet appointment, absorb all that information and then take them home. So I just I just have a few clients that kind of use that service. It's not my most popular service, it is included in my insurance, but not really that popular of a service. But I mean, I like it because I like driving around with dogs in my backseat. So
Collin Funkhouser 40:18
I definitely think it's something that people like we can look into and go is this something like maybe I don't do it full time, or maybe it's not a big thing, but to the clients that want it, it can be extremely valuable to them. And they really, it's really needed service for very particular set of clients, especially if they the clients themselves are older, or if they are busy professionals, and you can really find a need for that and make that decision of whether it's something that you can do, I always say when I tell Megan about when we're adding services or thinking about stuff, it's like, it's free for me to add it to my website, right I can, that doesn't that, I can just throw it out there. And we can see where it goes at least, and then kind of make some determinations about whether we're going to keep it around
Heidi 41:00
or not. Right. And I would say the majority of my clients, they're, you know, middle age professionals or senior clients. So you know, most of them are like super tech friendly, they love my software time to pet they, you know, they really love having they, they see a professional, another professional using a software for their business. And they really liked that. So, you know, for the majority of my clients, you know, they really do want to get to know me, and they want to get to know my services. And they're doing a lot of research and a lot of reading on my website and appreciate my experience. So it is just nice to have that service on there. That's something that, you know, it's easy for me to put it on there. And it's easy for me to incorporate it in my schedule since I'm driving around anyway. So I'm hopefully the you know, the service will kind of take off here. But you know, it is just nice to have that on there for the majority of my clients who might need
Collin Funkhouser 41:49
it. Yeah. Well, you mentioned that your a lot of your clients are doing a lot of research about is that about you? Is that pet care in general? Or are they just trying to educate themselves to make the best decision possible?
Heidi 42:02
I think, at least in my experience, they're giving a lot of research on me, it's, you know, we don't really live in like a super big busy city where, you know, people are working all the time. And they just want to find someone to walk their dog really quick. And they just want to sign up on an app. And, you know, and it's taken care of like, they really want to meet me as a person and read about my experience and what I do. And you know, and that really kind of opens the door for education as well, because they're seeing like, Oh, like this is an actual business that she does full time. She's licensed, bonded and insured. She has all these credentials, she she's pet CPR and First Aid certified, which a lot of my clients don't even know what that is, or that was even a thing. So, you know, it's really it's kind of a combination of both are, they're you know, they're they're trying to learn more about me. And in the process. They're discovering all these other things of the professional typesetting profession.
Collin 42:47
There is so much education there. You mentioned the pet first aid and CPR training. You know, we'll have that listed in some clients will ask like, is that for people are like, Why do you have that, like, we're not going to be home because they think it's for them. And it's, it's pet specific. It just those kinds of things just do open up a lot of doors for continuing conversations, and helping them understand just exactly how seriously, we take this. It's a it's a weird, weird industry, weird service for a lot of reasons. But the basic services that we offer, there's a they're very light, they're very cheerful. They're very joyful. There's a levity to them. But we as professionals take them, definitely seriously. And we are constantly, you know, we worry about things we stress out about doing well, and improving our skills, and knowledge. And that's hard sometimes to communicate not just to the general public, but sometimes to potential staff and hires that we're trying to bring on to just exactly kind of this weird balance that we're in.
Heidi 43:47
Right. And I think having all those credentials, and kind of educating our clients about what this profession is, it's really hiring the standard for professional pet setting. Like, this isn't a hobby job, you know, we're not doing this on the side, we have experienced, like hands on experience with your most important person in your family. So you know, it's a big deal. And I think, again, like it's really hiring the standard of this profession, and people can see it as a real job. It's not as I feel like people always think that this isn't a real job, you know, like, oh, that's feel like you walk dogs like, no, it's, we're running a business here. And you know, we have all of these certifications. And we've worked. We're continuing education every year. You know, we're connected with other people in our community of their pet sitters around the world. You know, this is this is a big deal. And this is a big profession. So you know, really just educating your clients that as well as
Collin Funkhouser 44:36
is really important. Yeah. Well, so beyond educating clients about that, as it as an industry, what do you think we could do better to continue to raise that professionalism as as a whole?
Heidi 44:50
I think, at least at least for me, and my community, it's been kind of connecting with other local pet sitters. So this progression is just like growing and growing. and growing because the demand is needed people are traveling people are, you know, working all the time. So like, this is the pet care profession, it's needed and developing some of these groups like within your local community, you know, we meet quarterly, so every like three or four months, it's just like a group of professional pet sitters, that we all come together. And we kind of discuss, you know, what's, what's different in the industry and our community updates, you know, we recommend each other to other clients. And that way, we can kind of spread the word about, you know, this professional service. So it's kind of just like, continuing to spread that education and making those connections either, you know, with other business owners or with the same people in your profession. So we can kind of spread that around. And then also, like, with social media, too, it's really, you know, putting some educational posts out there about what a professional pet sitter does, and you know, what, what is what it's like on a daily basis, because we're literally like living breathing this every day. And, you know, just kind of, again, just making those connections with other professionals is really, it's been not only beneficial to me, but I think it's really important to get the word out there to other people and educating them.
Collin Funkhouser 46:07
And recognizing that it's not a ship that's going to turn overnight, right, there are a lot of preconceived notions biases, past experiences that we have to, as an industry help people overcome. And it helps start seeing the industry in a new light, because for years and years or years, it really hasn't been. And that starts, like you said, with talking with other people, and then sharing our experiences and letting people know exactly what's possible. Because again, they don't know what they don't know. And if they've never had an experience or an encounter with a professional pet sitter, they don't know what that even means. So we that's, that's on us to tell them. You started in 2018, and you survived a global pandemic, and you are growing and busier than ever, but what, what's on the future, what's the future hold for, for height and hope?
Heidi 46:57
Yeah, so I definitely want to keep my process of hiring, you know, not giving up on that, like still trying to get the information out there and hire, you know, at least one or two more people right now, and eventually kind of convert them into employees, I feel like that's really important. And it's also really beneficial when you are hiring someone with all the perks that they can have as an employee. So I'm hoping that this will kind of gain more clients and some of the prime neighborhoods that I really love. So as you can kind of be, you know, convenient for all of us if we have multiple clients in the same community. And then hopefully, this will kind of decrease my workload by having more health, because I really want to open an online store that's been like my dream for years now is you know, creating some products for an online store, I just really want to be that kind of one stop shop for pet care and the community. So you know, we have we can take care of your pet we do overnights, you know, we do pet transportation, and we also have pet products for you and your pet. So that's really been a goal, really would love to work with Taylor with Doc's design, because I think her work is amazing. So hopefully, that will be in in the works. In the future, just, you know, really focusing on that online store, because that's something I really wanted to do.
Collin Funkhouser 48:13
Kind of again, centering yourself in the world of the pet and the pet owner of going my business can meet all of your needs. And we can have little touch points all through this process. But you know, maybe you don't need Heidi and hope for the dog walks, but we have these products, or maybe you don't use for the products, but we can do pet transportation, and just trying to see a little bit. You know, from a business perspective, it's adding diversity to your income into things that your business does. But from the more community aspect, you're able to get have these touch points and impact more people
Heidi 48:42
on a broader scale. Alright, and I think just Naples overall, is super pet friendly and very pet oriented. I mean, we we have people here, I feel like everybody has a dog or some pet, it's an insane, but it's uh, you know, it's great. And I feel like, you know, Naples is super pet friendly, and, you know, anything that the pandemic taught me, besides, you know, having more downtime and spending, you know, more valuable time with my family, it's having, you know, other sources of income, and I feel like having an online store would be, you know, another great resource to have, and, you know, maybe possibly in the future, taking a step back from the business and letting other people run it for me, and that way I can focus on other things and maybe, you know, teach other pet sitters in the future. But that's, you know, way down the road.
Collin Funkhouser 49:32
Okay, maybe next year No, I'm kidding. I think that's it's a good point to always be thinking about where you want to go in the future. And that as it's, you know, that includes looking back in the past and, and in recognizing that what I'm getting out of my business right now, is probably not what I originally thought I wanted out of my business when I first started, right like my purpose for the business. It changes it maybe Still to provide pet care, but then it's Wow, this can actually do something for me Give me this, my business can now give me more time for family, my business can now give me more opportunities to do other things. And we, again, when we think about reflecting and looking at how far we've come looking at, oh, my business is doing more for me now than I ever thought possible. And, and yeah, I that's something that we don't often think about. Well, Heidi, I want to thank you so much, so, so much for coming back on the show, and for sharing all of your updates, and all the exciting, really fun stuff that you've got going on and for encouraging us to get out there in the community and continue to make those investments and look at our businesses as something that can do more for us. But if people want to follow along with all the cute Corgi photos, and read more of the blogs that you're putting out there, how best can they do that? Yeah,
Heidi 50:57
so I'm on Facebook and Instagram under Heidi and hope Pet Services. My email is Heidi at h and h Pet Services and is spelled out. So it kind of looks like hand each pet services. But that's what was available at the time. So if he wants to follow me or message me or direct message me, please feel free to do that I am open to getting more friends and helping anybody out that needs any kind of help. And if you just want to like all my quirky photos, that's fine, too.
Collin Funkhouser 51:27
There's a lot of course, there is a photo shoot. That's awesome, Heidi, and I'll have all those in the show notes on the website, and really encourage people to go check out all the awesome stuff that you're doing. Again, this is it's always fun, super glad to have you back on the show.
Heidi 51:43
Thank you so much, Colin. And again, just you and Megan have, again have just really up to standard for the pet industry. And I just appreciate everything that you guys do. And I would not be here today if it wasn't for you and the connections that have have allowed me with other pet sitters and to grow my business. So I really appreciate everything that I do.
Collin 51:59
You're very, very, very welcome, Heidi, thank you, that means a lot. I always put my value first, I always put my value. First. It looks different for every single one of us. We have different priorities, we view our value differently. And we are in all different situations. But at the end of the day, it means that we say yes to things that are in line with our value. And we say no to things that aren't. And this is the meshing of the personal side. And the business. Too often we think that the business is totally separate from the personal and that my personal life can't ever get involved with my business. But the fact of the matter is, is that they are enmeshed. Because you are running your business, it's your business, you have a personal life, you have fears, struggles, anxieties, you have a life outside of the business, whether you recognize it or not. So do you have your value there? Do you recognize that you have inherent value as a person? And do you let your business align with that or not? These are tough questions. These are hard. And these are not the kind of questions that we thought we'd be getting into when we started petsitting whenever that was, but we have to ask them because if we don't, we go into burnout, and we start having a business and having a life that isn't anywhere close to what we thought we wanted. And we end up letting the business run our lives and our clients want our lives instead of us being at the helm. We really want to thank our sponsors time to pet and pet perennials for making today's show possible. And we really want to thank you for listening. We hope you have a wonderful rest of your week and we'll be back again soon.
