335: Valuable Skills with Ashley Carr
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Summary:
Do you recognize the value of the skills you have? Most people get into a pet care because they find it ‘easy’ and are predisposed to excel. Ashley Carr, owner of Ashley’s Pawsome Pets, shares how she turned a natural skill into a business that has served clients with excellence sine 2014. Ashley gives her perspective on taking on challenges from regulations, and how she uses her community to adapt and strengthen her business. From hiring to training, Ashley walks through how she grows her team.
Main topics
Finding her talents
Training staff
Hiring a manager
Facing challenges
Main takeaway: Your skill, talents, and passion are highly valuable and should never be discounted.
About our guest
Ashley, the founder of Ashley's Pawsome Petsitting, is a pet care professional with over 20 years of experience providing high quality, reliable care to pets and the people who love them. Ashley's background is in caring for rescue animals, specifically fearful animals and animals with special needs. Ashley splits her time between working on her business, working as a Chief Administrative Officer at The UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, caring for her family, and running Pet Assistance League of Northern California, a small animal rescue.
Links:
https://ashleyspawsomepets.com
email: info@ashleyspawsomepets.com
https://www.facebook.com/ashleyspawsomepets
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A VERY ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE EPISODE
Provided by otter.ai
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
people, pet, clients, business, animals, sitter, hiring, key, services, staff, dog, work, find, town, connected, website, resource, pet sitter, company, davis
SPEAKERS
Meghan, Collin, Ashley C.
Meghan 00:10
Hello, I'm Meghan. I'm Collin. And this is a confessional and open and honest discussion about life as a pet sitter brought to you by type two pet and pet perennials.
Collin 00:20
When you bring on staff, how do you make sure and train them well and train them in your talents to make sure that they are providing a consistent high quality service today and Ashley car owner of Ashley's possum petsitting joins the show to share how she has grown her business while still working a full time job she shares her experience in hiring college students, and why going to lunch with another senator is sometimes the best thing you can do. Let's get started.
Ashley C. 00:44
Hi, my name is Ashley Carr. I'm the owner of Ashley's possum petsitting. We've been in business since 2014. And we are based in Davis, California. So it's the town with the one of the top veterinary schools in the country. And so it is very animal centered. And that's been a great, great aspect of the town for us. And I've been I used to when I first started, it was just me. And now I have a staff and they do a lot of the sitting and I'm kind of out of it, for the most part and I just do boarding in my home and I let them do all the visits, which has been really nice. It's I've been able to actually work on the business instead of in the business for a while. And that's that's been good.
Collin 01:32
So why was that important to you to be able to do that aspect of to kind of pull back, it was it sounds like you pulled back pretty quickly and started delegating it to others pretty pretty quickly in the process.
Ashley C. 01:45
So I've been doing this a lot longer than the official business. I got my start when I for about 20 years, I worked in Animal Rescue. And my full time job was working for the local SPCA. So I was pet sitting a lot already because I would adopt out animals that weren't necessarily the easiest animals to care for. They were the scared chihuahuas, the, you know, fearful little terriers, things like that. And people were coming back to me and asking me for pet care, because it was hard to find a sitter that was able to deal with those types of behaviors. And so I was already pet sitting. And so I officially started the business in 2014. And then I got pregnant in 2015. And so I knew at that time that I was going to need to outsource some things because I was not going to have the same time. And I already had a pretty big client base. So I needed I knew I needed to do something for them. So I started hiring. Starting out, I actually got really lucky, I was able to hire the daughter of a really good friend, and she was in college and going to school online. So she had full availability and was very flexible. And so that was really, really helpful. From there, I actually hired a couple of students, one of which has become my sitter manager, and I couldn't run my business without her. She's now graduated from UC Davis and is actually in grad school. And she doesn't do actual sitting for me anywhere. But she is my center manager and she manages all the staff, she makes sure that she's kind of the first point of contact contact. So if they just have a question or something easy, she answers it. If it's a problem, then it comes to me, but she can kind of filter those things out the initial issues. And that was a big step for making her a manager because I was able to kind of step back a little bit because my full time job was becoming a lot busier. So I wasn't able to do as much day to day stuff. So she's been a godsend. And then in addition, I hired a client manager who is used to be another one of my sitters. That's been a great source of managers as people that used to be centers. And she manages all the client contacts. So she is the one who answers the phone. She's the one who calls the clients back who does all the scheduling, things like that. So she is the one who has that that one on one relationship with the clients and they really enjoy having that because I was finding that I couldn't answer the phone during the day. And I felt like that's something that the clients deserved. So I tried to provide them with that.
Collin 04:28
It's interesting how those things that we've are so passionate about really direct and guide how we structure our business, you know, something as simple as I want the phone answered, right when they call right so okay, well what does that what does that mean? Okay, that we start going through those, those decisions are going to if that's true, let me back up a couple steps here and figure out how I make that work and hiring a client manager and a sitter manager from an existing staff. How did you know that those were going to be good fits for those people in your mind? Because I know some people have staff that are exist thing and they're going through, how do I know if this person is ready to do more,
Ashley C. 05:03
I think these two people really stood out in my staff, they were always going above and beyond the call of duty, they were always very reliable. And just in everything that they did, they were very committed. And so I really felt like they could do that. And because they were some of my very first employees, they had been with me and really understood the business. And that helped a lot to they, they understand the business, you know, because they were there almost when it first started. And so they can, you know, really know what, even when I'm thinking because they've been with me that long. So it's been really helpful.
Collin 05:43
And so for you, hiring those positions, how are those structured? Are those full time manager position, I guess you said the sitter manager is is as a full time she doesn't do any of the other visits. But how did you work out what was going to be, like a still profitable as far as hours for those people to work on?
Ashley C. 06:03
So that was the hardest part when I was first deciding if I could get a manager was figuring out can I afford to have a manager? Because and how do I do that? Because it's is it going to be full time? And how? How do I determine what how many hours it would take. And I really got very lucky in that situation. The sitter manager, she has, she's in school, she also teaches horseback riding lessons. So she's kind of got other things going on. But she's available to be there to communicate, you know, so she doesn't, it doesn't have to be her full time job, which was great. So I was able to I pay her based on the number of hours she does, sometimes it's a lot of hours, sometimes it's you know, more like 10 hours a week, it just really varies on kind of how our weeks go in that spin. I mean, I think it would be really hard to find that. But I just got really lucky in finding that so that she knows the business better than I do almost. And I think that without her, I tell her every day without her, we couldn't we would not still be in business because it just I don't have the time to put towards the things that she does. And so I would have had to close down because I wouldn't feel like I was doing right by clients, and sitters if I didn't have someone in that position.
Collin 07:21
Yeah, sounds like being really opportunistic about the people that you have in front of you and going, Okay, what's their set of skills? What's their current situation in life? And then okay, how do we work together to make sure this works for both parties, and they were able to get out of it, what we really want at the end,
Ashley C. 07:37
right, and what happened was, she told me, I'm not gonna be able to sit anymore. And I, I'm sorry to do that. And I'm not gonna, it's just not a job I can do anymore. And I said, Well, I cannot lose you, what can I do? What can I come up with that will still allow you to work in my business, because you're so valuable, but we'll work with your schedule. And that that was the key because she just, she exemplifies those things that you're looking for in any staff member, she's very committed, she's very reliable. She's very caring about all the animals. She's spent her life dedicated to animals. And I just, I knew that I had to find a place to fit her in, even though she wasn't able to do what she had previously been doing. And that's kind of how it started.
Collin 08:21
Yeah, those kind of people are just so special to you in your business. It's like, I cannot lose you. And I think that's always an option of when somebody says because people, people's lives change all the time, or they go into different season, they do other things and going okay, I don't want to lose you. Because part of it Yes, is, you know, I've, we've poured in a lot of resources and money into training and onboarding and nurturing you. But also, you're just an amazing person, and and you make our company better. What can we do and just kind of feeling out that conversation? Because sometimes they may go, yeah, no, no, I need to just really step back. And that's fine. Okay, at least we have that conversation. Because sometimes they'll say, You know what, it'd be really great. If I could just do a couple hours of XYZ a week, like, perfect, yes, let's do that. And you can still have them and make make them a part
Ashley C. 09:11
of the team. Definitely. And what I've found over the years, with hiring staff, there really are those special people and they're hard to find. So when you do find them, you fit them in however you can fit them in. And so you know, I've definitely had plenty of people that haven't worked out or that don't have that same dedication and drive. And so when you do find those people, those are the people to hold on to in any way you can because they they are what shape your business. Yeah,
Collin 09:39
they are. And I know people will say, Oh, employees, they cost me so much money and it's all this other stuff. But we really had to take a step back and go no, my business can't do can't complete its mission can't serve the clients without these people. And just Period End of story. And where's the vision there? Is it is it. So is it too small and myopic or are we thinking bigger here and having more people involved.
Ashley C. 10:02
Yes. And that's actually something that I learned from Colleen Sedgwick. So everything that I do started out based on learn things that I learned from her in her masterminding program. And when I first started the program, I was like, Oh, this is a lot of money to spend on a program. But I feel like I've done all I know how to do. So I want to know what the next steps are. And she really taught me that I need to put that extra money and time and just work into the business in order to get a return. And I did, I sent out a return right away. And so I was all these things that I was afraid to switch to, because I was like, oh, that's gonna cost money. And you know, things like that. And it's amazing the return and the value, like just having someone answer the phone during the day, the number of people that haven't moved on to the next pet sitting company, because someone didn't answer the phone, that mean that just that return alone has more than paid for itself. And so I had to learn that I always you know, I consider myself a fairly smart person. But that was a lesson that I really had to learn because I just, it didn't click in my head until I actually saw it happen that yes, this will, there will be a return on this investment, you just have to put the money and the time in.
Collin 11:22
Absolutely, there's only free will only take you so far. And sometimes it takes you really really far. But kind of like you have going, I've done everything. Now what now what do I do, and that's where we start investing in other things. Maybe it's a course it's coaching, maybe it's better software, maybe it's better training materials, maybe it's better gear, maybe it's we start investing in our company. And that return comes back to us as our reputation gets better our brand becomes solidified our, you know, people start associating us with high quality and with professionalism, and all these little things start tying together when we realize, okay, I and that's not to say everyone has to go out and dump you know, 10 grand or business immediately or whatever, it's, it's you do this as you need it. But it's to not be afraid to make that jump, because it does come back.
Ashley C. 12:12
It definitely does. And, you know, I have to say the things that I learned from Colleen were so valuable. And if you're looking for a business coach, she's one I highly recommend, it was really valuable to be able to work with someone who actually works in the business, and actually understands what you're trying to do. And so when I had a challenge, it was something usually that she had already had that challenge and had come up with a strategy to solve it. Or if she hadn't, she could very easily picture it and come up with a strategy. And that was invaluable. And so I think a business coach that is in the business that you're working in, not just coaching people, that's really important. And also Colleen was fantastic about being willing to share all her information there was never like, Oh, well I have that information. But that's gonna be like an upcharge or something like that. It was, this is all part of the deal. I am sharing my everything with you. And I felt like that was so amazing that she was willing to I mean, the, even just the documentation she provides for you to, you know, just to work off of, okay, great. So now I have a starting point. And I can put in my information. And I mean, that was it was a lot of great resources that I think really made me take it to the next level and it did it she what she guaranteed happened and has grown from there.
Collin 13:37
Now, how many years into your running your business, you officially launched in 2014? Well, how many years into that? Did you decide, okay, I need to do something about this.
Ashley C. 13:47
So it was 2019 that I decided to start the mastermind program. And I think that that the reason that I started at that point was we had done really, really well because we're very lucky in the community that we live in. But I kind of felt like okay, what what can I do next, because I know there's more staff out there that's willing to work with me, but I need to bring in that business. And I just wasn't sure how to necessarily do that marketing part of it. That was not a skill that I had, I worked in business, but I didn't work in marketing. So I felt like I needed some help in that area.
Collin 14:24
And we all we find all those little pain points, whether it's marketing, whether it's, you know, whether it's the hiring process, whether it's the SOPs, whether we find pain points, and we have to go out and find those the solutions wherever that wherever that may be in our business. And so you had mentioned that you had been working in animals and adoption laws for many, many years. What what tripped over in 2014 to say, this is the time where I need to start this business.
Ashley C. 14:48
To be fully honest, I had to pay for a wedding. I had always been doing it and I had kind of been doing it for free for a lot of people and my fiance said, Well, you know You do this a lot, maybe you could start charging people. And this was a way we could work towards paying for the wedding because we were not young, it wasn't like my parents were gonna pay for our wedding. It was, you know, we, we had to come up with our own thing. And so it really it's something I should have thought of years before, but it took him saying it to really just have that light bulb go off. I don't know why, but it really, it was like, Why didn't I do this in the past? And even now, some I have a sister who she lives in another town, but she pets, it's a lot. And she's, you know, and I think about her age where she doesn't have family commitments, I really should have done that when I was that age, because it really was the perfect opportunity. And so, you know, it's sometimes it just takes someone else mentioning it to make that kind of light bulb go off and be like, yeah, it's a brilliant idea. But don't tell him I said that. Oh, of
Collin 15:54
course not. No, this will never error, this, edit that whole thing out. What it is, we do these things, I think many of again, many of us are in business. And then we kind of look up and find ourselves running a business. And now all of a sudden, it's like, okay, what do I, what do I need? How do I do this. And same thing with prices and things like that people go, Well, I'm already doing this, or this is something that I'm already passionate about, I do this for free. And then that then there's that realization of, or I could get paid for this. Like there's, at some point, whether somebody tells you that or you think of it on your own, or you listen to something or you read something, that light bulb goes off going, Oh, this could be a legitimate thing. This could be something that makes it makes it real and and we can we start going from there. And then that's where we, you know, we problem solve, and we just continue to grow.
Ashley C. 16:40
Right. And I realized that I had a valuable talent that people really needed. We because we're so we're in a big veterinary community, we have a lot of people with animals, both students and just residents of the town. And a lot of them have special needs. So my experience is with special needs animals, I have a lot of experience with dogs with neurological disorders, I have a lot of experience with animals that need fluids, animals that you know, need injections, fearful animals is a real specialty of mine. And these are things that the community needed, because there were people willing to pet sit, but not people that are really dedicated their lives to animals. So you know, if you if you have an easy pet, that's, you know, you can get maybe the kid down the street, and that might not be a problem for you. But if your animal has some special needs, one way or the other, you need to find that person with that talent. And I, what I discovered was that that was really a need in our community, because we had all these amazing people that loved animals, so they all had animals, but they also wanted to go out of town or had long days and things like that.
Collin 17:48
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17:52
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Collin 18:13
If you're looking for new pet, same software, give time to try listeners of our show can save 50% off your first three months by visiting time to pet.com/confessional. That was a, you know, a talent and a specialization that you had, how have you worked to train staff and kind of pass along that knowledge to them.
Ashley C. 18:34
So a lot of what I do with the staff is really trying to teach them just about animal behavior. And really understanding that the animal does have special needs in a sense that, you know, with a fearful animal, my biggest thing and this comes from my work and rescue is how you hold a leash, you You better have that leash, you better have hold on to it with it wrapped around your wrist, I don't want that leash ever coming out of your hand no matter what that dog runs after. And that comes from my experience with fearful rescue animals that don't know, you know, that are not going to come back if they get loose. And so you know, things like that. I really, those are the first things that I teach my staff, you know, I tend to hire people that already have a little bit of basic animal knowledge, but I really focus on the behavior and working with that animal to be able to give it the care it needs in the way that it needs it because they're not all the same. And you know, especially those, you know, rescue animals especially they really need you know, a special person because they don't know what's going on and things have been kind of crazy and you know, maybe they just got adopted. That's happened a lot with the pandemic and everything. Oh, they just became part of the family. So now there's a new person coming in and is this new person going to be my new owner? Why You know, they've got lots of questions. So I really try to train everybody on that mindset that they need to really think about those things, not just this is an animal, and this is what I need to do, but to think about where they're coming from and what they might be going through.
Collin 20:16
Are you doing that through videos? Are you doing hands on shadowing with your staff at times,
Ashley C. 20:21
so I do a lot of, I do have a lot of videos that I have them watch, just to get, you know, YouTube has been wonderful. And I don't have anyone specific that I can recommend, I just kind of go through and watch some things until I find one that that kind of displays what I'm trying to show them. But I also do it a lot with you know, we have our staff meetings where we talk about these types of things. And we'll do examples. And then we do shadow for two weeks, we do shadowing with another sitter, and usually it's one of our more experienced sitters, and we try to vary the animal that, you know, the different animals that are being cared for, and things like that. And just, you know, I, I always tell my staff, if you're not sure, then let me know. And so there's been a couple of times where, you know, either this is a really rambunctious, Pitbull, we had recently, and the staff was concerned, I think, because it was a pitfall they just weren't, they weren't sure about it. And I went in, and I, you know, and he was the sweetest boy ever. And he just needed, you know, someone to be kind of in charge of him because he was exuberant. And he wanted to jump around and leap around instead of just going on his walk. And so you know, and I just went in, and I took charge, and I said, See, look, if you do this, he's gonna walk Great. Yeah. And, you know, sometimes I think they just need that reassurance. And I don't mind stepping in when that happens. And showing them this is, this is what I would do. And you know, I'll do a first visit with them, if that's a animal they're not sure about, or we had a client that had a dog that when the client was there, the dog wants wanted to eat everybody. And this is a dog that I mean, I wasn't even positive, I was going to work out. But once I had the client go away, the dog was wonderful. And so you know, I always do the meet and greets with new sitters with them in, you know, I have the client go away, and then I meet there with them so that there's someone that knows the dog to introduce them. But it's not the client, because the dog does not do well with that. And so it's kind of just finding those things, there's usually ways to work with an animal, but it's finding what works for them. And understanding that that's, that's the key is that it works for them. Not that it works for us necessarily.
Collin 22:29
Yeah, and being okay with that being right. And what's great about those, all those techniques, actually is, you know, the like the leash holding thing like that was born out of your interaction with fearful skittish pets, and they had a lot of anxiety. That way you hold the leash works well for any and all pets for moving forward. So a lot of these things are, this is to this is to mitigate the worst case scenario. But it is also still both workable and realistic in better scenarios, but it's just a better safety precaution. So you don't have to learn seven different ways to hold a leash, you learn one solid, good way, and that's going to work and then you can adapt and change approaches. And you know, he said, like, okay, having the owner be there or not be there, and all these other things that comes with it, and working as a team to make that work.
Ashley C. 23:14
Definitely. And we've also, you know, we're lucky enough to have this amazing vet school. So we have a lot of pre vet, students that want to work with us. And one of the things that I found about vet students is they don't always have enough hands on animal experience. And they really need that. And I'm really glad when I have a pre vet student come and work with me, and that they're willing to learn these things. Because I think that that's an aspect of the vet school that I think sometimes they forget about is that these are scared animals. And sometimes you have to handle them a little bit differently. And you know, some work with rescue animals might help out a little bit in your future career. And so I think that I feel really honored that they're willing to work with me, but also that I can show them these things and hopefully, you know, better their career in the future.
Collin 24:04
Yeah, again, looking at these mutual benefits, I'm sure they also get benefits of of, you know, Client Relations and communication and teamwork and all this other these quote unquote, soft skills that actually kind of make or break people in their profession, like that is able to be contribute to those people, and then you can go, man, I know that person is going to be an amazing vet technician or veterinarian, because of what they've had exposure to working with us. Definitely. I know, you've talked about the vet school and the pet friendliness of Davis and the surrounding area, but what are some of the challenges that you face in the area that you work in?
Ashley C. 24:40
Um, I think there's two challenges really, that I faced one of them is that there is a lot of that students that people will ask to pets it and when I first started doing this, I would get offended when somebody would want to go with somebody like that and not, you know, hire me or specifically or just a company in general and then I realized we Do you live in a community where there are a lot of people willing to pet sit who are great pet owners. And so that's just not where it's gonna work for us. And that's fine, they can provide some services, we can, for example, we don't do overnights anymore. And that's something that they can provide. And so I've learned to kind of realize that I don't have to be the end all be all, there are, you know, other options in town, but that, I just need to know that I have my client base and that they're, they're still coming, they're coming so much, sometimes that I would wish they would slow down. So it's not you No, I don't have to worry, they will be there. So there was, that was more just, I think a personal need to personally kind of come to terms with it. The other thing is always the hiring, I mean, we do hire students mainly. And so they do come and go. So there's always that it has changed a lot since the pandemic, the the students that are willing to work and also just, it seems like there's a different mentality around I feel like working in general, in either the newer generation or the post pandemic kind of generation. That's, that's in, you know, college right now. And so I definitely found some challenges finding people that are committed to working in the last few years. And I hope that that, you know, continues to improve. But we've also it's allowed us to really hone our interview questions and, you know, be more specific on what we ask or learn more techniques on how to evaluate people. So I think it's always a learning experience. So we, we try to take it as one and just realize that, you know, we, there's always the next time we can, we can still, luckily, there's still a lot of people that want to work with us. So we just have to kind of go back to the drawing board and find someone who will fit in with our staff.
Collin 26:54
Now, you finding the issue with getting people in the door to interview or in staying around in the company for longer periods of time, or both.
Ashley C. 27:02
I'm staying around in the company or just wanting to actually work, I find that a lot of students think they want to work. And then once they're hired, they don't actually want to work so much. So it's you know, it seems like a good idea. But then, and then I think that's hard, too, if they're newer students, they're not sure what their workload is going to be, and things like that. So they're still learning about that. And so, you know, we kind of just have to find that sweet spot where they've already been here long enough to understand what their workload is. But they're also you know, they know that they have the time that they could put into this. And, you know, so it's just, it's us honing kind of where the sweet spot is. And then also, I think they're learning about themselves, too.
Collin 27:43
So how do you how do you manage that? You said, you've kind of always improving? What kind of things have you changed? Or kind of, did you have any aha moments of like, okay, doing this thing, or doing these couple things helped make sure that the, the, my higher stick around, you know, for three months or longer?
Ashley C. 27:59
I think for us, a big thing is just the type of interview questions we ask. So we tried to ask really situational interview questions that will give us an insight into how they would react in situations. But also, just sometimes it's just tweaking the wording on a question. So for example, we always ask, do you have an insured vehicle? And most recently, we had someone answer, yes. And then found out that they plan to only use their bike, which doesn't really work in our community, it is a bike town, I will say everybody loves to bike, but it's just hard to get from visit to visit in time to be able to get things done. And so I discovered that I have to be more specific and say, do you plan to use your insured vehicle to pet CES? And so you know, it's I think it's always kind of looking at what you've done and saying, Okay, how could I have changed this so that it will be improved for next time? And I think that's, that's something to always be doing no matter what you do in your life is to be looking at you know, okay, maybe that didn't work out great, but I can grow from it.
Collin 29:02
Yeah, that is that is critical with running a business is not a set it and forget it kind of thing, especially whenever we are hiring because the hiring pool changes people's perceptions change as people, everything goes different. And we have to we have to adapt to that. And I think that does it doesn't happen all at once all overnight. It's taste these little things, you know, you'll maybe this time you change that wording that for that one question. And then the next one, we're going to change a different wording and you just this iterative processes is how we ensure that we are always getting better and meeting needs of people that are each time. Absolutely. Now on your on your website, you're using a lead magnet. And for those listening who might not know this is where you go to a website and there's a little pop up that offers something or a little window that says hey, if you would like this thing, enter your email and you'll get it you go to download. It's actually is that does that working for you or kind of what's your experience been with having out
Ashley C. 30:00
there. I think it's definitely providing my clients with a service. So the popup that I have is it's for a coupon, but it's also for an informational packet about our company, it tells them a little bit more about me and why I started, it tells them a bunch of answers to questions that we get frequently. So I feel like it gives them a lot more information, it also gives them some information about you know, hiring a pet sitter and what they should be looking for. And so I think it starts to build my relationship with them. And I think that's kind of the key. And so even if they don't book off of that lead magnet, they're also added to my mailing list, we send out reminders for holidays. And that's usually when people will say, Oh, because these people still have pets, they may not decide to book you right then. But they still have pets that need care. So maybe they use someone else for Thanksgiving. But now it's Christmas. And they didn't really like that experience. So they want to try something different. And they're gonna get that email from me that says, hey, it's time to book your Christmas travel, you know, we have limited availability. So you want to get in there. And that's when they will say, That's right. There's this company, and why don't I try them out?
Collin 31:11
Yeah. So it's really about having that kind of long term view of having, you know, whether another touch point with this client in the future, so you're sending out emails, do you send those out monthly or kind of What's that process like?
Ashley C. 31:23
So I use Active Campaign for I have a full calendar of dates that I send out different updates for different holidays, kind of any booking times that are really busy for us. So we are absolutely jam packed in the summer and absolutely JAM PACKED at Christmas. So I make sure people start booking very far ahead of time. It's currently October, and I am booked for the holidays already for my boarding, we're not booked for visits. But if you want to board at my house for holidays, you need to book about six months in advance. So I'm sending out those messages that early so that people know, this is the time if you want to get in there or, for example, you know, it's going to be spring break, our spring break is a little bit different than lower education schools, because we have a college spring break. But it's also a very busy time. So everybody needs to get in. They can't wait till the week before two weeks before they need to get in a month before if they want to be able to get care on those dates.
Collin 32:25
And what are your if you don't mind sharing? What are your open rates for those? Or do they kind of fluctuate around as far as how many people are opening those.
Ashley C. 32:34
Um, it's about 50%. And I figure you know, there are over 500 people on the mailing list. So I'm happy with 50%. And even if they're not opening it, they're kind of seeing our name. So it's just a reminder, and it's, you know, they might not maybe their pet has passed away now and they don't have it anymore, but they might get a new one or maybe their friend ask them, hey, who did you used to do for us for dog sitting and the person they used wasn't available? But hey, I have this company that seems like they're great. Why don't you give them a try? And so I'm okay with not them not opening them necessarily. I very few people opt to not receive them. And that's the key to me, if I'm not getting a lot of unsubscribes from it, I feel like it's useful.
Collin 33:18
Yeah. And I can that's the important part of going this is this is just another way for me to connect with my clients and 50% Yeah, sure, that doesn't, but what other way do you have direct access to 250 people immediately, right, that is huge. You have no control over the algorithms of social media, you know, searching and all that stuff. But this is a way you can get in front of people's eyes and let them know. And again, they might not open it, we've had clients who have opened it or have not opened it. And then several weeks later, they go and they dig out that email. And that's what they use to book for their next day. Because you know, it's like a fine or whatever, it's a resource for you at that point. You know, it's just, it's, it's there. And that's just another thing that we can do.
Ashley C. 34:01
Right? And I've been I've had people that have used me, and then maybe we don't hear from them for a year or two. And then they say, Oh, I totally forgot. But I got this email, and I definitely need your service, we got a new puppy and you know, XYZ. And so I think that it's just always kind of being present in their mind is what's really helpful with the emails. And, you know, I try not to flood people's inboxes. So I don't send a ton of messages. Mainly, it's just the heavy booking times and things like that. And if there's a really big change, like for example, I'm moving my home in two weeks. And so for the boarding clients, they're all going to get a message that just says, you will be going to a different address. But for the most part, I don't you know, I try not to bother them so that they don't feel like I don't want these coming into my inbox. And so when they do get them they're just you know, helpful reminders.
Collin 34:54
Again, we have to sit down and figure out what's the purpose of this that I'm putting it out what's it not bombarding them with? As I know, I all set up for a newsletter. And at first, it's like, oh, here's one. And then it's just like every day, you get something like, nevermind, unsubscribe. And it's like, I wish I could keep this keep this thing, but it's just, it's too bothersome. So keeping it high value, keeping it really like, I'm only going to bother you when it's necessary kind of thing helps helps maintain a lot of the Okay, I'm definitely have to open that because every time she sends it, it's full of really good stuff. Right? Exactly. And also on your website, you have detailed out a really cool service areas page for each pay area that you service, where you serve as three or four different areas, and you have a dedicated page for every single one of those. Why did you decide to do this?
Ashley C. 35:45
So my website was actually, um, it's a template that came from an organization called Pet Sitter 365. And they're actually based in California, but they do petsitting companies all over the country, and the template itself I absolutely love. So they started with some basic information. And then they asked for some locations from me, you know, pet friendly businesses or, you know, where do you take your pets, things like that. And it's just, you know, it's kind of just a fun place for people to see if maybe you just moved to town. And so you're looking for a pet sitter, because you just moved here, then you can also get some more information about about town. And so, you know, it's, it's I've actually, recently been looking for services for some different reasons. And finding out people's service areas seems like a really hard thing on a lot of websites. And I'm very surprised how many people don't have these things on their websites. But I think it's really valuable. Because how do you I go to a website, and I can't figure out if you're close to me, or if you're going to service me, but I'm gonna move on to the next one.
Collin 36:48
That's super key as people are looking for that information. And I'm not I see the exact same thing. I'll scroll endlessly. It's just like days of scrolling and clicking and digging. It's like, where is this in? What state? Are you even in? I have no idea like. And I think that may just come from the fact that we as pet sitters are like no, I must tell you exactly where I am, right. And these kinds of pages are super helpful. Like you said, it's not just an SEO kind of thing, which it does help with that. But it is also a resource to clients of like, Hey, you're new to town, hey, go to this website, you can get connected with a lot of other things or, or they just stumble upon it by happenstance and go, Wow, look at all these other things I didn't know about. So I kind of like earlier, you said that the lead magnet was an additional service that you can offer them, it's things that you can do. And this is yet another thing of like I can help people, even if they don't decide to use my services, because these are more connections that they have than they would have had before.
Ashley C. 37:44
One thing I've actually really considered doing and it's kind of on my when I have time list is creating a website for Davis because there are so many pet friendly things to do. There's so many pet businesses, there's so many different things that I think having a place where all of those could be on one website would be really helpful to pet owners. It's something that I have not had time for, but I'm I'm offering it up. So if somebody wants to do that, and you know, in my town or yours, I think that would be a really valuable resource. And you know, it's definitely a way to get your name a place for you to put your name as well.
Collin 38:19
Yeah, again, it's not a coming at it from that coming at it from that angle of how can I help people? Right, what are they looking for? What problems are they having? And you're right, some of it is because I we are connected to in several local Facebook groups for the town that finance that we service. And I see all the time people go, Hey, wait, Who's Who do you recommend as a groomer, Hey, who do you and part of me goes? Well, you could just Google that. But whatever. But they're, they're actively needing help and resources? And how wonderful would it be to have a place that you can curate, that you can put together that sits there that can be referred and shared out? That's going to help the pet parents because we we as pet sitters I talk about a lot of like, I kind of see ourselves at the center of that hub of the pet care life of we have the time energy resources and connections to provide resources to pet parents. They're busy, they love their pets, they need help. And now we can come alongside them and do that for them.
Ashley C. 39:15
Absolutely. I get tons of questions about grooming and training and who's your veterinarian and you know, all of those things. And I think they're, I may have my one name that I give, but there's so many other ones. And having those resources all in one place would make it a lot easier for pet parents and the community we live in is full of pet parents. So whatever we can do for them is is a plus.
Collin 39:39
Yeah, it is. And sometimes we may be hesitant to give them one name or the name because we don't know what their priorities are, what their exact needs are. So it is kind of nice. She says have here's an unranked list of of people right who you can need to check in and if you have questions about what kind of questions to ask, let me know and I'd be more than happy to help you like that. That is so sample. And I think it's something that that more of us should be should be doing.
Ashley C. 40:05
Definitely. And I think it also, you know, around that could be built things, for example, like a Facebook group for pet parents specifically or, you know, there's other ways to kind of, and that just gets your name in front of people more. And the more that happens, the more they're like, oh, that's what I'm going to I want to book because they seem really knowledgeable or now I remember that name, because I've seen it so many times, even if that's the reason that you remember it. That's fine.
Collin 40:30
Yeah, we can't be offended of several hours why people remember us or decide to go with us. I think I have that sometimes to have like, Oh, I was the second person you called man. Like I want why wasn't it first? Well, you know what I picked up, I answered. And here we are, and we're talking, you know, it doesn't matter. We're putting ourselves out there. We're an open book, we're open access for people, we should welcome the kinds of interactions that we get from them. Definitely. Pepperoni meals recently sent Megan in AI a set of their brand new line of car air fresheners, integrating long lasting car filling scents and adorable animal designs, and clever expressions that deliver a little inspiration while you drive. These are adorable to have in the car, order a whole case for $1.95 a hanger or send a personalized gift for 1275. That does include a handwritten card and gift wrap. These are perfect for birthdays, holidays, or even new client gifts, check them out at pepper nails.com. And be sure to register for that free business account to unlock the all inclusive discounted package pricing, you only pay for what you ordered. Now you have a whole slew of of services that you offer as well. And I was curious, you kind of line item and differentiate between dog sitting and just general pet sitting services? How do you how do you communicate and differentiate these two clients when they approach you for help.
Ashley C. 41:48
So for us, we it's the differentiation is actually dog walking. So that's like, you want to take your dog for a walk because you're at work during the day or because you're at home and you need them to leave the house for a little while, whatever the reason is, and pet sitting is more on going out of town and you are going to be responsible for my pet while I'm out of town. And so we kind of have, we have the two different services just because I really wanted to be able to track the difference. You know, I know some people really like to say they're, you know, they have those daily dog walking clients, that's not as big for us, we're much more vacation sitters, and I'm fine with that, because my students are much more available on the weekends than they are in the middle of the week. So, um, you know, I, I don't necessarily need that daily dog walking clientele. But I know for a lot of people, that's their bread and butter. And so being able to track that separately, I think is important. And also you just want those extra words, as many extra words as you can put on your website, that seems to be the key. So if I want to put dog walking dog sitting, pet sitting cat sitting, I want all of those words on my website. So it may be that the services are very similar, but at least I've gotten those buzzwords in.
Collin 43:06
Yeah, and the tracking part there is just really key, I'm glad that you brought that up. Because when we have these differentiations, when we have these specific terms that we're using, it means that we can go back and look out at our historical records. Right? Go, how much has my something I love to do, but how much has our business changed over the past year, and you can go look and you can dig down and go okay, in January of last year, I was x percent dog walking and I was x percent pet sitting and I was x percent, you know, how sitting or whatever that is for you. And then you can just see how it changes from month to month, year over year and decide? Well, I'm because sometimes you may look up and go, I'm running a very different business than I thought. You know, I know for us, we are the gap between our dog walking and our pet services has really closed to where we used to be very heavily vacation pet sitting. But sometime over the past three months that dog walking has really come in close that gap. Now all of a sudden, well managing a dog walking company is just a little bit different than a pet sitting company for vacation clients. So I need to make sure that we stay on and have our finger on the pulse of what's going on.
Ashley C. 44:15
Exactly. And one of my favorite things, I use precise Petcare, I really enjoy that system. But my favorite things is on the dashboard, I can see my monthly received payments, it's always compared to last year, I love every month I get to look and make sure that it's a little higher than it was last year. And they do that. And that's every year and that's that's my my favorite thing to look at. And so I think just having those things right in front of you is super helpful too. Because it it just reminds you hey, this you're doing better this year, or, Hey, this month wasn't great compared to last year, what's different, or you know, it's all of those metrics are ways for you to kind of answer those questions. You know, maybe you didn't notice something was different until you saw that on a actual chart and said, I wonder what the difference is this year? Is there a new pet sitting company in town? Or is there you know, a new event that I didn't know about? And that's why we're so much busier what you know what is going on that's different that maybe I can utilize to my benefit.
Collin 45:14
Yeah, I know, for us here in Missouri, when the Chiefs make it to the playoffs or the Super Bowl all of a sudden, that's whenever things get really insane. And so I also we also have our pulse on watching football and saying, like, Okay, how are they doing this year? Because that's gonna dictate how busy we are later, later in the year. But but you don't know that unless you're tracking it. And you have those kinds of metrics. Actually, when you look at that kind of information, do you see changes in client demand or needs? You know, since you've since you've started,
Ashley C. 45:44
I've definitely seen a change in demand. I think because so many people got pets during the pandemic, the number of new clients we're getting just on a weekly basis is insane. And, you know, we had a great client base before, so it wasn't necessarily a problem. But now it's just so much more. And I'm surprised at how much it's changed. Another key thing that has happened that is happening over the next few months is a local pet sitter that's been here for a lot of years that we've actually developed a relationship with isn't going to be taking vacation clients anymore. So we've connected with each other. And she's been referring people to me, and then I refer to her for the things that we don't do, for example, she also bored so when I'm full, or she can do the daily walks a little bit easier than we can and things like that. So we we basically tried to find a way that we can help each other. And we can, you know, it's great to have that relationship, I'll tell you that we we go to lunch, it is so nice to be able to know that you're not crazy. It's just the little things like this happened, and is it just me and then someone says it's not just you. And so it's really nice to have that because I think petsitting is a very different business. So it's hard to have that convert those conversations with people that are not involved in it. But also it's it's just been good to have that resource. You know, we can refer to each other we can be we can be collaborative, rather than competitive. There's, there's a way to do that. And you can find your, you know, what you can do to help each other and we've kind of worked to find that with each other.
Collin 47:22
How did you develop that relationship? Because I know many people are hesitant to approach others, they get concerned about you, as you make competition or alive. This is awkward. How do I? How would you encourage people to do that? And kind of where do we start?
Ashley C. 47:38
I think for both of us that it was for the same reason we were looking for someone to refer clients to when we couldn't help them. Because I think it's it's important to be able to do that, but really wanted to know it was someone we could trust and someone that we valued their work and knew that they would do a good job. And, you know, that's a difficult relationship to form. And so with this person, we kind of we tried to connect a couple times, and it didn't work the very first few years I was in business, but now that we've developed the relationship, it's really just a great resource to have. Because I can say, hey, you know, I know you referred this client to me, and the dog does not want to let us near it when the owners there is when you're able to do visits, where were you able to do it? How did you combat that? And that's how I found out, have the owner leave the house and the dog will change? And you know, so it's a great resource, even to just have ideas, you know, hey, I have this idea about how to help this dog. What do you think? Or do you have any other ideas about how to help this dog? It's just a really good resource to have and again, just to sometimes commiserate sometimes say, is it just me that this is happening to you know, things like that? I think it is really important. And granted, not all the pet sitters in the area, want to have that collaborative relationship with us. But I think that it's too it's a benefit to the people that do because you can only help each other.
Collin 49:02
Yeah, and I think very, very importantly, you talked most of the time about bouncing ideas off each other and actually developing a friendship more and above just referrals. Right? It's more than just a simple referral network. It's a, I'm actually needing some help here. I have some ideas and you talk to somebody about with and you're right, it's hard to do that with friends and family and normal people, right, we'd have to find our pet sitting crazies and commiserate with them. And because otherwise, you know, who are we going to connect with? And who's going to be able to relate or have experiences that they can share back to us and I think that is so important to have, because otherwise we miss out on those conversations.
Ashley C. 49:44
Definitely. I think, you know, one of the things when I did the Mastermind course was it was really nice to connect with a couple of the other students on Facebook. So we have that. And then having a local person was just so great because it's so someone who understands our community as well. And so we're coming From exactly the same space, and we can kind of connect on those things. And I just think that whenever you put your head together with someone else, you're going to have better ideas than you do by yourself. That's just, that's the nature of life. And I think it's a great resource to kind of have for each other. And who doesn't want to be able to say to someone, you know, is it just my imagination? Or is this happening? You know, someone that would understand? And so I think that's important. Sometimes it isn't,
Collin 50:31
I think one thing that that especially you and other pet sitters are facing in California is you have a lot of regulations, you have a lot of guidelines that you have to follow for, for hiring and split shifts, and all sorts of things like that. And, and one of the newer things that's come out of California has been a new bill to stop selling new gas cars by 2035. And I'm actually really curious to to pick your brain on this. Is that something that you have churning in the back of your mind of how are we going to make this work? What does that look like going all electric? Or is that something you haven't kind of gotten to quite yet?
Ashley C. 51:05
It's something that Davis has kind of been on top of since day one. I mean, Prius is the most common car in Davis. And it's Prius or Tesla, they're, they're everywhere, it's very eco friendly town. And so they want it, they kind of went to electric cars a lot earlier, I think, then a lot of communities because of the things it does for the environment. And so, you know, we're, it's, I don't see it affecting us a whole lot, because Davis is also a really small town, it's not like I have to go super far to get to a client. So an electric vehicle is going to do the same thing for me as a gas vehicle, and there is a lot of charging stations in town. So I think it really will depend on if your community is ready for that, you know, if if you're in a community that does not have those charging stations, or there isn't options, and that's going to be a challenge, but if you're in a community that's ready for that transition, then then you're going to be set. And it's kind of
Collin 52:03
one of those things that come up of going, you know, back in 2014, did you ever think that that was something that's gonna have to, you're gonna have to problem solve and think around? It's like, probably not. But that's just part of business of going, Okay, here's a new thing. I've got to sit down, and my job is being the head of the company and the leader here is going, how does it how does this impact us? What are we going to do about it? What does that look like? What are we have to do for policies and procedures? And then move forward?
Ashley C. 52:29
Definitely. And you know, that I mean, the same thing happened when they made the kind of the big decisions about independent contractors and things, you know, how can we look at how our business structure is structured? How can we make sure it works for what the current regulations are, and my other life is in accounting and tax accounting me mainly, so I was very, you know, I really understood the issues, but also had to understand them from a different side, because I was then seeing the side of Oh, but this is what my needs are. And this is what the laws are now how can I make those things meet together? And so I think that, you know, we just always have to be ready to find ways to make it work, it may not be exactly how we want to make it work. Because, you know, in a perfect world, we could in California, there would be less restrictions on absolutely everything. But that's not the way it is. And so we just have to find a way to make it work for us.
Collin 53:22
When we're running the business. That's our job again, what does the law say? What are the regulations? Okay, how is my business supposed to operate? And sometimes those rules and regulations and laws are written without ever thinking about dog walking or pet sitting business, right? They're not thinking of you. And now you're stuck going Hmm, now I have to make it work for me. And that just takes some creativity that's why those networks and being connected to other business owners and the dog walking passing world is so important. So you can have that feedback and can do some trial and error to make sure everything's being lined out.
Ashley C. 53:54
Definitely we actually have some California specific Facebook pages that for pet sitters, and that's really helpful because we can talk about those things with people that understand what our laws are. And it also helps sometimes because you don't know all the laws and someone else might know something you don't and vice versa and you know you can you can share that information with each other and it's only going to make things better
Collin 54:17
one policy that I did want to pick your brain on that you have around your lockbox policies. Is this something that you had from the very beginning or or when did you start implementing this and why?
Ashley C. 54:27
Oh, absolutely not. I started out with all those keys. And it was Colleen that recommended it and I have to say it has been a game changer. I remember the fear of when you think you might have lost a key and you're searching everywhere and yeah, you find it but that initial like oh my God, where is it? And am I going to have to tell the client that I lost their key or, or I can't locate the key right now and I need to go there or whatever the reason is, I mean, I had bought I had two big boxes in my house with all these keys with all these numbers on them and everything you know It was it was insanity. And Coleen suggested this. And at first I said, my clients aren't going to go for that I there was a lot of things. I'll say that Coleen suggested that I said, they're not going to do that. But you know what they did. And, you know, it's now it's like second nature, we, we always have locked boxes on us for them to buy, they're welcome to buy their own if they want to, but if they want to buy it from us, it's available, it's ready for them. We let them know the reasons behind it that, you know, we want the key to be left with your residence, we do not want to take the key away, we don't want to risk losing it, we don't want to risk it getting mixed up with everyone else's keys. And you know that there's positive things around this. And there are still a few clients that are holdouts, and that's fine. But we just asked them to pay for the senators time to go there to pick up the key and to return it because we are not going to hold it. And then you know, that's the key, just really letting them know, you don't want us to lose your key when you don't book us for six months, either. So, you know, this is this is a benefit to you. And this is this is how we can make it work
Collin 56:06
focusing on all those positives, because you're right, like, that's where you need to push, like, Hey, look at all these benefits that you get, like this is where we need to focus, don't focus on the negatives, or you know, we're not going to struggle, you know, it's just, it's just positive, positive, positive when you push that, and you release that and, and you said that there are people, you know, you thought people weren't going to go with it, but they most of them did was that because they they saw the benefit, or they went well, I still want to work with Ashley's possum. So I need to follow along with their policies.
Ashley C. 56:34
I think it was probably a little bit of both. But I think that people are just realized how, at least for myself, I got a lockbox at home, and I realized how often I could use something, you know, oh, hey, I need someone to run in my house to pick something up, there's a key there for them, I could give them the code of a lockbox, oh, you know, my parents need to go get something for my son out of the house or whatever it is, you know, it's it's nice to have that available to be able to have a secure key that you can have available for someone that you trust to go into your house. And, you know, people clients are using it now for other things, too. You know, there'll be like, Oh, it'll be there, I just have to make sure that, you know, the housekeeper puts it back. And you know, they're, they're using it for multiple reasons. And so they're seeing the benefit of having a lockbox available at their home. Anyways. And I think that, you know, there's companies like wag and that's what they do, you know, so they're, they're realizing that this is just kind of the new way to do it. And it's, it makes it so much easier, because the hardest part for me was as I got more staff, how do I get those keys to all the people when they need them? And what if one staff was backing up another staff? And then how do I get the keys from that staff to get to the other staff, and it was just, it was such a circus that this made it so much easier? I am so thankful for this policy.
Collin 57:57
Now, you mentioned that you do a lot of mostly vacation clients, do you require them to have it out all all the time? Or do they set it up and take it down when they don't need your services,
Ashley C. 58:08
we let them decide. And so you know, we let them know that if they do want to have it out all the time, that way if they need us to just stop by and take you know, spot out for a walk or something like that it is available. But it's not a requirement there. You know, they can put it out as they see fit. But I do remind them that it is a great option if they do need some all the sudden some backup services that they didn't know they were going to need.
Collin 58:30
Ashley, I want to thank you so much for your time talking with us today and walking us through your why and and how you got started and why it's so important to you to work with these good high quality students and problem solving get connected to a broader community of pet sitters to help make yourself better. And I really, really appreciate your time today. I know that you do a lot and that it's more. You've got a lot on your plate. But how can people get connected to you a follow along and maybe pick your brain on questions that they may have.
Ashley C. 59:02
So my website is Ashley's possum. pets.com. We're also on Facebook, Ashley's possum pets, and we're on Instagram as doggie rescue girl, which is kind of a holdover from my previous work. Yeah, you're welcome to contact me. And if I can answer a question. I'm happy to do that. Or if you just want to have another resource to bounce ideas off in the future, then happy to be that for you.
Collin 59:27
Awesome. Thank you so much, Ashley. I'll have links to those in our show notes on our website so people can click through those. This has just been such a pleasure, Ashley, I can't thank you enough.
Ashley C. 59:36
Thank you very much. Ashley said
Collin 59:38
she started pet sitting for very particular reason. And then she realized she had a valuable talent. And I think this is exceptionally common in the pet care industry. We start doing this we get involved in pet care for one reason or another. And then we find out we actually are really good at it and we really, really enjoy it. And then we have to backfill all All the other things that it takes to have that business and run it the way that we want to and need to run it. But at the core of it is a talent is a passion that we have to keep alive and we have to flame from time to time to make sure it doesn't burn out. And however that looks that could be growing and expanding continually that could be culturing and much closer knit group of clients or adding different surfaces or making sure that you get those good breaks in whatever that is focus back on that talent. focus back on that passion that you have. It's at the core of everything you do, and make sure that you are nurturing and that you are feeding that every single day. I want to thank our sponsors, thyme, pet and pet perennials for making today's show possible. And we really want to thank you so much for listening for sharing for giving feedback on the show. We we really can't tell you how much it means to us. We hope you have a wonderful rest of your week and we'll be back again soon.
