375: Fail, Learn, Improve, & Grow with Wayne Hartley Jr.
Time to Pet. Go to timetopet.com/confessional for 50% off your first 3 months.
Pet Perennials. Go to https://petperennials.com/pages/register-for-a-business-account
How do you know when it’s time to walk away from a dream? As a business owner and entrepreneur, we are driven by our passions to our goals we set for ourselves. However, sometimes we have to quit and start over. Pivoting (quit by a different name) means course correcting due to either external, or internal factors. Wayne Hartley Jr., owner and founder of Happy Hearts Pet Care ATL, joins the show to share how he quit his dream of mobile grooming to start a brick and mortar business. Wayne sacrificed a lot to make it happen, but it was all because he recognized he needed the change to better connect with his mission. He gives advice on how to keep moving forward, even when you’re exhausted, and how to innovate well in your business.
Main topics:
Moving to brick and mortar
Taking risks
FLIG
Beaten down
Innovating
Main takeaway: The difference between acting out of desperation and focused intentionality, is the belief you have in yourself and the goal you’re working towards.
About our guest:
My name is Wayne Hartley Jr. I am a Registered Veterinary Technician. Pet Care has always been a passion of mine. Since I was young I’ve always loved animals — both learning about and taking care of them. I have graduated from THE Fort Valley State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Veterinary Technology. I have worked in various veterinary settings from the largest multi-specialty emergency hospital to general practices, other referral hospitals, and university settings such as the University of Georgia's Veterinary Teaching Hospital. When not working, I have volunteered my time at wildlife conservation centers, adoption agencies, dog daycare, cat sanctuaries, and with the Boys and Girls Club as well as Habitat for Humanity. Giving back and working with the community has always been another passion for me. It makes my heart happy to be able to be a blessing for someone else. (see what I did there). After being a veterinary technician for 7 years, I began Happy Hearts Pet Care as a mobile grooming service in 2016 and moved to a brick and mortar location in 2022. I also founded PETLANTA, a community of pet care professionals in Atlanta that come to support each other, network, teach, and give back to the community. I now have the opportunity to share my love of animals with my clients and pet owners all over the Stone Mountain and Metro Atlanta area.
Links:
https://www.petsitterconfessional.com/episodes/224
Youtube: youtube.com/channel/UC7v4FA7Qs1C3BaVGJ2VB2bQ
Facebook: facebook.com/happyheartspetcareatl
Instagram: instagram.com/happyheartspetcareatl/
PETLANTA: https://petlanta.org
ProTrainings: For 10% off any of their courses, use CPR-petsitterconfessional
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
people, business, pet, work, dogs, clients, goal, gift, grooming, business owners, grow, road, stresses, staff, understand, teaches, mortar, decision, support, literally
SPEAKERS
Collin, Wayne
Collin 00:02
Welcome back to pets that are confessional are brought to you by time to pet and pet perennials today, have you know, it's time to walk away from something. Honestly, making changes like that is one of the hardest things that we can do as a business owner, because we're so committed to something, we thought of the idea, and we are trying to bring it to life. But sometimes, quitting is the best thing that we can do not just for our clients and the services that we offer, but also to ourselves. Today, Wayne Hartley Jr, owner of happy hearts, pet care rejoins the show he has previously back on episode 224. And I'll have that in the show notes for you to go back and listen to pay comes on. And he talks about how and why he transitioned from being a mobile groomer to a brick and mortar, what that meant for him personally, and how that better connected with the goals and purpose and mission that he had for his life. He walks us through the tough choices and decisions that he had to make to make that worthwhile. Also, he discusses the importance of innovating in our business and maintaining a creative mindset. Let's get started.
Wayne 01:08
Absolutely. So first off, thank you, Colin, again, for having me, I truly appreciate it. I can't tell you how much of a blessing this is just to be able to speak to you again and just know, like, even because I was what, two years ago, yeah, and now we're still in business, we're still rocking and roll is still growing. And we're still going so I truly appreciate it. So again, my name is Wayne Hartley are only happy hearts pet care services in Atlanta, Georgia, we offer petsitting grooming training and dog walking to pet parents of Atlanta, we just recently opened up our first location, first brick and mortar right in the heart of downtown Atlanta in Castleberry Hills is right off of Nelson street right around the corner from the Mercedes Benz stadium. So three to seven Nelson Street, if you're in an area, please come by, definitely check us out. Still offering the same services, but at a more elevated and luxurious way. Because we're able to upgrade, you know, we were able to upgrade all of our on all of our products and everything that we're using, and we're in a less, I would say less stressful environment, because we're able to handle pets at a brick and mortar stationary rather than kind of, you know, on the road. And it's like, it has to be in and out trying to things so we're able to, you know, let them you know, kind of relax and actually be at a spot as
Collin 02:36
well. And that we're luxurious, I know that that's a word that appears several times on your website and on your the copy that you have on social media and everything. Is it really? What did you feel like the service that you're offering now? Is it you know, it sounds like it's really a lot different than what you were able to offer previously, because you you had to make a transition from mobile grooming, to the brick and mortar store. Why what led to that decision?
Wayne 03:05
Gotcha. So honestly, I got tired. Just just being tired of, you know, just being on the road, you know, I was away from the family a lot. You know, it was times where I found myself like 12 hours on the road driving around, you know, being stuck in traffic. And then also, I felt like there was a cap on what I can do how many dogs I can service. And you know, just being able to. And also, I mean ultimate goal is to grow the business. So not making enough as well. And granted, like, it was okay, at the time because the goal was just to build up my clientele and do the things on the road and be able to, you know, grow the business. But I also made a pivot, like our goal at that time was to have multiple vans on the road. So, you know, I was putting in the man hours and blood, sweat and tears to even have clientele all over the city. But it got to a point where one I couldn't find people who wanted to man, the vans, and it was very difficult to do that. And also, with the goal of building up your business, I needed to be able to make more I needed to be able to service more pets, I needed to be able to be comfortable, you know, you know, being able to have the conversation with the pet parents. And when you're on the road and when you're doing mobile grooming, you don't really have those interactions that I wanted. So because you're like here's your pet, and I have to go to the next you know the next appointment which may be across town. So now I'm fighting traffic and you know, I may have to put gas in the car I may have to put gas in a generator I got to make sure my fan is clean. And that takes away the time that I can be spending you know educating pet parents about you know, brushing their dogs out getting their teeth, cleaned, nail trims, whatever the case may be. So I found myself in that predict I made it I was like, Well, what can I do to better serve my clients? And the answer was opened up a brick and mortar. And I prayed, I prayed about it. I had my my business coaches and my advisors and they were like, you know, just do it. And it's funny, like the last time we spoke, I was in my house. And I ended up selling the house to find the business. So I was like, let me go ahead. And I was like, What do I need to do? And I was like, alright, so I have to turn that well, at the time, the house was a liability. And I had to turn it into an asset. So I turned it into an asset, I sold it, and just continued to invest in the business and just grow from there. So now we're coming up on our first year. And it's been a wonderful year, it's been a great year to learn, I learned a lot of lessons. And I think it's, it's hilarious. And I love to tell this part of the story too, is like, I just recently well, so I celebrated. Before I got off the road, I was about to turn 30. And so I'm 31 now, and I prayed and I was like, I don't want to be on the road. After 30 I don't want to be on the road next year, my van literally broke down the day before my birthday. It broke down right before my birthday. And it forced me to you because I already had the space, but nothing was in it. And it forced me to use my space. And I just been I haven't been on the road ever since.
Collin 06:25
Wow, that talk about divine intervention.
Wayne 06:31
Exactly.
Collin 06:33
No, wait, that sounds really scary. Just personally like to know, like you sold your house to see this this dream and to push forward in your business. Did you? How did you face that with with knowing that? That was? I mean, that's not a small decision?
Wayne 06:48
No, no. I think I think what a lot of the biggest lesson entrepreneurship told taught me is you have to take risk for the things that you have, you have to be able to say, I don't know what's gonna happen tomorrow. But I know I'm gonna make it through I know, I'm gonna keep pushing forward. I know I have this big goal in mind, I have, you know, my my dreams and my aspirations and the things that I want to accomplish. And I so stress, having a vision board and having just a board, something that has your goals listed out because it's like, this year, I want to accomplish this this year, I want to accomplish this, and being able to look at that every day. And I was like, alright, well, this is a decision that I have to make in order to make that happen. I wasn't eligible, just being transparent. I wasn't eligible to get like different loans from different banks. I wasn't I was eligible to get like private loans. But when it came down to getting the money, they didn't want, you know, they kind of left they ghosted me. So I was like, alright, well, I had all of these decisions and a lot of factors and obstacles in the way. And I was I look back, and I was like, What can I do to make this happen? And my choice was my house. And it was scary. It was 100% scary, because, again, I don't know what's gonna happen tomorrow. I don't know what's gonna happen next week. I don't know what's gonna happen next month. But I need to do what I need to do today, in order to try and make that dream come true.
Collin 08:21
Looking at what, what am I capable of doing today, and in some aspects, I don't know the future. So while I should be concerned in pushing there, I can't really worry about it a whole lot. Because of all of the unknowns that are out there.
Wayne 08:34
The unknowns is gonna make you stopped doing it, you know, some people and again, it's just mental fortitude. Like, you have to be mentally strong, you got to be you know, tough because everybody's not going to be a supporter. Everybody's not everybody thought I was crazy. You know, everybody's not going to, you know, give me the right advice. But you have to stick to your guns and you have to, you know, just be Be careful who you share things with, because at the same time, everybody says that they want you to win, but they may not really want you to win. And it's like, you have to kind of look past all of that, like, yeah, you can get advice you can talk to people you can share your dreams and your goals and everything that you want to accomplish in life. But you can't allow the naysayers you can't allow people who don't really see your vision in a way to to see it. You can't allow them to like, talk you out of it, because then that's and then that feeds into your mentality that feeds into what you think about yourself what you think about your business. And trust me, I had, obviously, so much belief, like in myself that this has to work, like I only have two options. It either has to work or it has to work, and I'm going to make sure that it works. I don't have I don't have a choice. I rely on this for everything. I rely on this to feed my family. I rely on this, you know, to feed myself pay my bills, you know, make sure that I can you know, go and go to different Conferences and go on vacations and things like that. I don't want another job. So I have to make sure that this works, you know.
Collin 10:07
And that's, that's a reality that we as business owners just face every single day going in. And I think some people might hear that and go, you know, I don't? How do I balance between being so focused on the goal versus feeling desperate to make it work? And so how do you how do we how do so how do we walk that line of not acting out of desperation, but a focused intentionality,
Wayne 10:34
belief, it all comes down to belief. Yeah, it all comes down to believing that it's going to work, believing that I am called for a bigger purpose than what my present looks like, you know, and I mean, faith, faith is what you know. So it's like, it's between believing that, you know, I have no choice in this, and having faith that it's going to work. I mean, yeah, that's basically what it is. Yeah.
Collin 11:09
I think that's exactly. Yeah, I think that's exactly going when we are when we're out of desperation, we're acting out of rash in the moment decisions, because we have no forward movement, we're just acting so reactionary early in our day to day, but when we have that focused intentionality, it's because we believe there's a better purpose, there's something beyond that we're working towards that, that's going to make it worth it. And that could be what we focus on. I'm intentionally moving and doing something so that I can pay my bills, support my staff, maybe it's because as you said, this way of like you weren't, you weren't having the connections with the staff that you were with the with the clients that you were wanting to that those interactions, so you were looking for something different. So you were looking for these growing this community, and there was a lot of these driving factors now that are helping you focus that versus this just wild desperation, of doing anything and trying everything without a real plan.
Wayne 12:07
It was. And I think what really got me through I mean, of course, is my support system. Yeah, support is everything. And again, you can have the right support, but you could also have the wrong support. But then understanding that, what support you are getting from people what advice you're getting from people, it all has to align with, your vision has to align with your goals after aligned with your story or looking for it. It has to really just like your intuition, that's sick, right in your spirit, you know what I mean? So it's like, whatever these people say, wherever I'm going in life, like, everything has to align together in order for me to really, like, push forward with it and really just make it come that you know, from the fruition because there's so there's a lot of ambiguity, there's a lot of unknown factors, and, you know, rational rationality, with what decision I'm going to make today and how I'm going to eat tomorrow, things like that. But at the end of the day, again, it all comes down to that word belief, and it's just like, I know that this is going to work, I know that I am on the right path to to, on the right path to making my dreams come true. And I, I laugh about it. Everybody says, you know, you got to fail, you know, to learn and and that's so true. Like you have to be in those those trenches, you have to be in those dark moments where it's like, what am I going to do next? It looks like everything was so difficult. It looks like it's so hard. But what am I going to do next thing got pulled through. And I actually came up with like an anagram. I was telling, like, we use the the first letters of a word, and you create like another word. So like, it's all flick. So is many FL IG. So fail, learn, improve and grow. And that's just like huge amount mentality, they have to fail. And you have to learn from your failures. And then what you use to learn that you have to improve from that and then ultimately just grow from it all. And that's just one thing that just pushes me and gets me through today.
Collin 14:16
Really is because you know for you and your story of saying here going, Okay, you are focused on the mobile grooming, you're building up for multiple vans, this was this was the dream, the design that you had the goal that you were working towards, and it just wasn't clicking, it wasn't working. And I know many people would say, Well, I failed, I'll just close shop. And that's it, that that thing that that didn't work out. And so while it's you know, it's it's okay to fail. It's now what we what we do with that and so I love the flag there because the immediate thing that follows fail is learned like there's a learning aspect to this.
Wayne 14:53
Right? Absolutely. And like I said, you know, it's just the it gets hard on partnership is one of the most craziest decisions and it is absolutely ridiculous Oh, but it is one of those things where you have to be mentally strong for it, you have to understand, like, you know, I'm going to create an environment in which I enjoy working each day, I'm going to do what I love to do, I'm going to teach others, you know, the things that I love, because obviously, it's their passion, if they want to work with me and things like that. But it is a tough business to be in. Because it teaches you so much it teaches you about yourself, it teaches patience, it teaches you mental fortitude, it teaches you you know about personal development, it teaches you about developing your team and teaches you about leadership. And it's not an easy task when you put it all together because you have to wear so many hats. And so when it when it seems like you have to do so much, and it's so easy to be overwhelmed. That's when people call it quits. And I think a lot of people call it quits because of that is because they don't have the right support. They don't have the right people around them. And, you know, the people that actually keep around you is super important, because they're gonna make and break you. And I was just talking to one of my friends yesterday, another Vet Tech, and I was letting her know, I was like, you know, it's so true. When you hear the same like, Okay, you want to be the you want to be the sixth millionaire hang around five other real people, you know, your support, and the people that you hang around is going to really make you make your business. So you really have to be careful with who you share your energy with when you spend your time with. And honestly, I spend a lot of time I do have my friends in business. But I also spend a lot of time by myself as well, because I have to make sure that my mentality was is right for the people that I spend my time. And I have to make sure that I'm good before I can give my energy out to anybody else. And that's important.
Collin 17:09
Yeah, there's that saying your network is your net worth. And sure. And part of that is getting inspiration, getting ideas, getting encouragement from others. And but also in order for us to make the most out of those interactions. You said that way of like, I have to make sure I'm okay first. Because it doesn't matter if I'm around all the billionaires in the world, if I'm not in the right mindset, if I'm struggling, if I'm not receptive to feedback and criticism and implement receiver, you're not going to it's going to be a wasted time and a wasted moment with those people.
Wayne 17:43
Absolutely, absolutely. I, I definitely encourage. So I even started a networking group here in Atlanta. So besides happy hearts, I did start a networking group, and it's called Atlanta. Started Atlanta, and it's just a, it's just, I've seen, I saw the need of pet care entrepreneurs or just people that's in the pet care space, you don't even have to be an entrepreneur, you just there'll be a vet tech, used to have a nine to five, it's just getting those people together to really networking with each other, learn with each other, grow with each other, and encourage each other because I have been to conferences where one they didn't, you know, people didn't realize how many people were literally down the street. You know, you have so many other pet care businesses and pick their entrepreneurs, business leaders, business owners, literally down the street that is doing the same thing you're doing. And you've never reached out, you've never like heard from them. You never, you know, even knew that they were there. And it's like you can learn so much from them. If you just grow your network, if you just, you know, ask questions, I feel like you're by yourself. Because we're we all looking the same things, essentially. And if somebody is farther along in their career, they can teach you to things that they went through in order for you to grow, and you don't make the same mistake. So when I just started and I was like I saw the need of it. And I was like, well, let's go ahead and do it. So now we have like a few members. And it's pretty cool. Because we get to check in each week. We meet in person each month. We encourage we have like meetings in our curriculums. We have like been in meetings. So topics that we talked about, but it's like just a matter of seeing these people on a consistent basis. And then if we need business or we need to refer business, we refer to them. But again, your support system and your network is your net worth because I want to make sure that we're all growing and nobody's left behind essentially.
Collin 19:42
Because you know, rising tide is going to help everybody out when we're doing better. We're doing better when we're better advocates for the pet care services and the pet community where we have educated better educated pet parents, because I know that's an that's an aspect of this too of going oh gosh, I feel like I'm doing all the heavy lift thing, teaching people how to groom or what schedules they have to be on? Or, you know what this what the different brushes are? And? Or how to take care of this dog? Man, it'd be great if I had some help with that. Well, yeah, it would. So getting a network of people who are also educating and talking and on the same page as you really just lifts that load for everybody to make that job easier?
Wayne 20:20
No, it absolutely does. And I mean, an entrepreneur, also in a business owner and teaches you how to be a leader. It teaches you leadership skills, because well, I can't, unless your goal is to really just continuously one person, one man, then you know, one person to, then you don't have to, you know, you're not using the leadership skills to pull it, essentially. But if you have, like, you know, employments, if you have like upfront staff, if you have, you know, support staff, or whatever, you learn how to be a leader amongst people. And that just takes a lot of personal development.
Collin 21:02
It takes a lot of personal discipline, as well, to be able to know what actions to take not be rash, to be able to be disciplined and understanding and reading and educating ourselves, and then taking the time in that patience to then interact with others around us. Have you heard of time to pet dog from Pat to the bone Petcare has this to say,
Doug 21:24
time to pet has made managing my team and clients so much easier, our clients love the easy to use app and scheduling features. And our sitters love being able to have all of their information organized and easily accessible. My favorite feature is the instant messaging by keeping conversations on time to pet, we are able to monitor our team and ensure nothing ever falls through the cracks.
Collin 21:44
If you're looking for new PET scanning 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/confessions.
Wayne 21:54
Emotional Intelligence is key. Emotional Intelligence is key I read. I read and do research on emotional intelligence. So I read about it, I understand it. minuscule, you know, you know, and I tried to exercise as best as I could, but especially when I'm dealing with certain situations, I just like to just refresh myself and like, How can I? How can I exercise my emotional intelligence in this situation, because one, I don't want to come across as mean or angry or upset. And, you know, reflecting when it comes to dealing with certain clients, or dealing with certain employees or dealing with anybody, I don't want to reflect the energy that's coming back, I want to defuse the situation, I want us to grow. And I want us to learn from this and just come up with a piece of compromise. Because at the end of the day, the goal isn't to emotionally react, the goal is to come up with a solution so that everybody's on the same. And it's all on the same page.
Collin 23:01
Well, and that's especially important during times of upheaval, unknowns, uncertainty, and trends in transitions. So when you were when you were making this transition from being mobile to brick and mortar, you had to coordinate staff, clients, scheduling equipment, a lot of things going on there, how did you start talking to your staff and your clients about that new transition and what that would mean for the services that they were receiving and doing?
Wayne 23:30
Not even gonna lie, I lost a whole lot of clients. I lost I lost a whole lot of clients. And ultimately, I lost the staff that I had at the beginning to you know, because, again, being on the road, things are so convenient for clients, things are at a different price points. And of course, everybody was making more everybody was they had their schedules, things like that. So when I had to transition to brick and mortar, the money wasn't coming in. Science was, you know, complaining that now they had to bring their dogs to worse. And then of course, that ultimately affected business to where everybody wasn't getting. They were still getting paid. But they wasn't getting as much as they were getting before on the road. And I asked them I was like, Look by this is the situation I'm very transparent when it comes to this because I mean, transparency, you know, when it comes to dealing with, especially a new business, so I was very transparent with them as like, if you just stick it out for a few weeks, it's gonna be rough. It's gonna be tough right now. You know, we are literally starting a new business even though it's been an old business, but we're starting a new business. We have to grow up our clientele here. We have to get people to understand we have to market we have to go in and we have to get down in the streets. We have to let everybody know that we're here so they're starting to use them. You know, I pay for ads, everything like that. And it just came down to, you know, just not being able to see the vision and not understanding that, you know, and I get it. I'm like, no love Larson, I did it. But it was a tough time in the beginning, making that transition, to get people to actually come here and still want to puncture brick and mortar. Now, my new staff, you know, that we have here is super helpful. Everybody's computer, everybody's handling, you know, everything while we're here, but like, they're still able to do the things that most that we've done, but they also understand like, customer service is, you know, consistency is key, making sure that we follow up with clients making sure that when overland nation, you know, respect, email, just understand that, like, they, we are grateful for them, and we want them to feel appreciated, you want them to feel like, you know, they shouldn't go into violence, because customer service is one, it's one of those times where you have to understand that not everybody is meant to do it on every level with you. Especially those that don't seem to be because everybody didn't see this fishing. Everybody didn't understand what I was doing. Everybody was boring. I thought I was crazy. Like, why are you doing this? Why are you you know, selling your house? Why are you getting off the road? Why are you starting a brick and mortar? Why are you moving downtown, like my shop used to be in Stone Mountain, I mean, my house used to be in Stone Mountain, and I literally moved my whole operation to downtown Atlanta. And so it made a lot of changes, and a lot of people have comfortable, and it took away the convenience. So of course, that made it up about everything. So then it just trickled down from the fires to new employees. But I had to stay in touch with it. And I say, you know, if you're, if you're willing to stick it out with me, if you're willing to try to at least just see a glimpse of this vision, you know, we'll be good. You know, but you have to understand, this is where we're going. And mobile was just a step in business, it was a stepping stone in business, you know, to get us here, because now we have our first more curriculum. Next year, will we want to open up another one, maybe two years after that, we opened up another one, you know, but there's a there's a closing reminder that we're gonna say like, I want to be, I'm going to be I am going to be retired by 40. So I have nine more years to get this done, you know, saying I have a goal to make it happen. And so I can allow myself to slow down. And I can allow myself to be concerned with letters that don't see the vision as clear as I do. Because I mean, everybody's not going to get the same work ethic, but then also everybody's not going to see the same vision. But what you can do as a leader is try to move things as comfortable as possible for them. So that they, they may not see it today. But with enough time, they'll see it eventually. And those are the people who will see it eventually, like granite and breaker for people who see it in the beginning. But the people who see it eventually also sees the hard work that goes into everything that we've grown.
Collin 28:18
Yeah, and so it sounds like you really went through almost an entirely fresh start with staff clients going back out, you know, not not totally from from zero, but pretty, you know, not where you were with the mobile grooming and you really had to, that's that steering and setting that vision and knowing this is this is where we're heading and being comfortable with people not following you. And not not seeing it and going with it as well. And knowing that that's okay, like that we have a way forward and you you're going to get different people on board, you're going to get a new vision. And now now you have staff that that don't really they don't know any different. They don't know what what it was operating like beforehand. They know what's the here and now and what we're what we're working towards now as well. And having that clear communication and honesty about that is really key and helpful for them, I'm
Wayne 29:06
sure. Absolutely. Now we're at this space. And I mean they enjoy working, you know, because, again, being on the road, like you have to deal with the weather, you have to deal with gas, you have to deal with traffic. There's so many different variables. There were times where we had flat tires where the belt one van broke generator didn't want to come on and ran out of water because the water was left on and all of that was in the dirty water tanks. So we had to, you know, either hook up a hose in between appointments, it was tough. It was a lot a lot on the road, so now that I have the brick and mortar like it's a lot easier on people and you know it's better. If you control it a lot better. You control the environment a lot better. You control the work flow a lot better you control, it's essentially a lot more less ambiguity. Now granted, it's at a higher price point. But, you know, it's, it's one of those things where life prepares you for it. Because it's, you know, and again, you're not going to get burned and can't handle, you know, so it's like, life prepared me for this understanding, doing. And I truly appreciate everything that I learned on the road, because it made me a better business owner, a better leader, and a better groomer, as well, because now I'm able to handle more dogs. And throughout the day, like yesterday, we had 11 dogs, and I was able to handle all 11 dogs and be out by five o'clock. Well, faster. Yeah, so 530 just counting. Yeah, yeah, you know, but you know, is it's able, I'm, you know, I've been able to do that. And a lot of people, they can't say that they think that they can do that many dogs. And bring, it takes a lot of experience, it takes, you know, just the repetition of, you know, grooming dogs every day, and moving efficiently. I tell them, I tell my staff all the time, like you have to move efficiently, you have to, you know, make sure that every minute counts. And just like, what our financial advisors teach us, every sit as a job, every second as a job, every minute as a job, you have to be able to do something, or be doing something every second of the day, um, excuse me every second, you know that you're at work, because something always needs to get done. And you have to use that time efficiently. Otherwise, nobody wants their time wasted. And then also, these pet parents, they want their pets to come back home. So we want renewed to make sure that we're doing everything that we can on our end to make sure that they're going home at a decent time. Yeah,
Collin 31:55
yeah, there's that whole operations management that comes into play there, where, where it's like so many different moving pieces. And I'm sure it's one of those one of those things that like now you have a brick and mortar store now it's like, oh, I don't I don't one worry I don't have to have today is where's my grooming table going to be noon, like I it's there. I know, my buildings not going to move. Like that's not stress, I don't have to have anymore.
Wayne 32:18
It's not going anywhere. And you know, I and I, I'd love to tell this to like, God is hilarious. And I so after I sold my house, and I ended up moving downtown, I actually found the place that I live now off of Tik Tok. So, literally I was, I was like, because we, me and my dogs, we packed up all of our stuff. I have my stuff in my van and I had a storage unit. And I was like, Well, where am I going to live? I can't live in these Airbnbs you know, I rented out of Airbnb for a month I was like I have a student, I ended up getting kicked out of the Airbnb because I have two pitfalls. And where we live. They didn't want pupils in their facility. So I was like, Where are we gonna go. So I ended up, I put my dogs at my friend's house. I either had to sleep on a van and night or two. So like it was like, I had to do this. So I ended up finding the place where I live off a tick tock. And then I spoke to my agent because there was a there was vacant storefronts where I live to. And I reached out to him, he reached out to the management company. And the management company says we would love to have a green roof shop right here. It's such a I didn't even know it at the time. Like I didn't know where I was moving. I never moved here before. I didn't know how many pets was in the area. But like I was walking my dogs and I was like, there's so many dogs in there. There's so many dogs. There's not a lot of families, but there's so many like young adults that have dogs here in this area. And it's so like, artsy and it's so alive and vibrant. And I was like, wow, like, like, like divine intervention, like, you know, your steps are ordered. And when you're working in your passion and when you're really like, tapped into where you want to what you want to do in life, like your steps, like the universe is like, here, this is the path that you need to go, this is what you need to do. So literally now that I said, I don't want to be on the road anymore. I've walked to work every day. Like my house is right around the corner from my shop. I lit it takes me five minutes to get here on a good day. You know, so like, you know what, actually Max because it's probably like four minutes and 15 second, who scoured you know I can just come downstairs and walk around the corner I'm at the shop and I don't even have to drive anywhere. And like that was just a big, like pat on the back and thinking like for the service that I've done and it's just like here, you don't even have to go anywhere. You don't even have to rely on driving. You don't even have to do anything. But you know, this is what you wanted in life that she you spoke for yourself and you're manifesting and created and now you have room to grow and have you know A great community that supports you, I can go to one of the restaurants around the corner and they're like, Oh, you're the guy that owns the, the grooming shop around the corner, you know, people know me in the neighborhood. And it's like, that's awesome. You know, like, I'm having more client interactions. And we have different events. And we have, you know, so many things, and I know of all of the other business owners up and down the street. And I'm like, this is a community that really supports you. And it's like, that's what I was looking for, that I wasn't getting while I was on the road, and it's just like, one step after another. And it's just like, now it says, I'm in the, I'm in the network of growth, because all of these other business owners, they want, they either have other locations, or they know people, and they're, you know, we all introduce each other, like, people that we know, and things like that. And if I need support, I can always reach out to them and ask them, like, Hey, how did you do this or anything like that, and it's just like, one step at a time. And it just like, it just all worked out, honestly, you know, and I'm just extremely grateful that, you know, just in all of this them from what if I did not sell my house? What if I did, you know, what, if I was too scared to sell my house, you know, like, I literally need to work. So between, like, my stepdad, he calls me all the time. And he says, you know, the word that he's getting is, for me is balance, you know, it's create a balance for yourself. And then the word that I was getting just from life was sacrifice. So like, I had to sacrifice everything that I had before, in order to create balance for the things that I want in the life that I want. And I literally did, like, friends relationships, my house, my car, like everything I had to leave behind in order to create this life that I have now. And it's just like, I'm still working on the balance part. But it is just one thing after another a and I just, I'm just extremely grateful just that I didn't, I didn't get scared. And I didn't let fear like stop me from just letting go of the house in order to grow the business and it takes that sacrifice to do
Collin 37:14
it. I know you have a lot of new stresses that you didn't have before with it with the with the mobile and things like that, but what are you what are you focusing your your attention and your energy on now that you don't feel like you were able to previously with how you were running your business,
Wayne 37:30
growth, growth, you know, now that I actually have people doing things that I'm I was doing, I can sit, I can have meetings, I can have be on podcasts, I can, you know, grow the business, I can talk to people, I can, you know, run out, and you know, have a meeting with my agent or, you know, go look at a different location if I need to, because I can leave my staff here and do the things that I know that they're capable of doing. And I'm able to do that. So a lot of the a lot of where my mentality now is just broke, like, what services on what extra services can we offer to our clients? You know, you know, where are we looking at, you know, a second location, are we going to get back into transportation, you know, things like that, now, I can really sit down and focus on growing the business because I'm not working so much in the business, but on the business.
Collin 38:30
Yeah, and I know many busy business owners find themselves in the exact same spot of going and I can barely focus on anything else in my life right now. Because I have so much on my plate from my business, my business is demanding all of this energy, all of my focus all of my time, all of me just to get the business done. And really stepping back and going, what, what would I have to do? I think that's just a very personal question, what would I have to do to get a little bit more space in my life? And, you know, when you sold your house, stuff you make Okay, maybe not maybe not that far, but everybody does that. Maybe that's maybe that's I don't take on that extra client this weekend. Or maybe I don't drive that extra mile to that person. There's these little things that we can do to just boundaries, yeah, to great boundaries that we that we we have that focus that mental bandwidth that that time and attention to now focus on things for our business.
Wayne 39:26
When I tell people like when they feel like they're going through when they're going through hard times. Just telling yourself like this is only temporary. This this this moment in time doesn't define, you know, this is just a temporary feeling. And this is a temporary issue that we're dealing with at the moment and this is this this feeling right now. Is not only this is not my today, this is not my everyday This is not who I am, you know, this is just something that you know, I'm here And then I'm gonna feel these human, you know, emotions and I'm gonna feel like you know, things are a little bit difficult or whatever. But, you know, you just got to keep pushing forward and just just keep your eyes on the prize essentially,
Collin 40:13
that Bernie always makes it easy to send a heartfelt condolence gift directly to someone with a broken heart. That is awesome direct to consumer gift model that takes the effort off of us and ensures a thoughtful, personalized, simply gift reaches your client or employee on your behalf. All gift packages include a handwritten card, colorful gift wrap and shipping fees across both the US and Canada. They also offer an array of milestone gifts and greeting cards that can be set to celebrate birthdays, didn't get well wishes, and welcome new and even rescued pets. Additionally, there are gift choices in case you need to send a sympathy gift in memory of a special human client, or celebrate a pregnancy engagement or wedding of a pet lover. If this is interesting to you register for a free business gift perks account to unlock the all inclusive discounted package prices, the service is leveraged on an as needed basis, and there are no monthly or annual obligations or minimum purchases. Learn more by going to pet perennials.com and check out their business programs or register for a free gift box account using the link in the show notes. Well, and I think it is important to be in tune with those emotions so that when we have those down days, we just Yeah, and go okay, like, Okay, I see that I'm not feeling 100% Today, I see that I'm feeling beaten down exhausted. Why? What is that what's going on right now and just be more aware, so that we can make improvements for tomorrow.
Wayne 41:33
Absolutely. So like, when you when you are going through it, I mean, just it's important to have hobbies, it's important to step away for a little bit like you don't when when when times get tough, you know, find something that you can decompress, you know, find out find a hobby or something constructive, like minus fortnight, and then go like, I enjoy playing fortnight, I will play fortnight for a few hours with my friends. And that's a way for me to connect with them, you know, just not have to worry about work, not thinking about work, not thinking about stresses, not you know, being stressed out or anything like that, like I will sit here, talk, I'll text the boys. And I was like, Hey, we're getting on a game tonight. You know, and it's just, we'll sit and just play fortnight and go for it and get try to get the victory crowd you know, and that's fun, you know, and we may not win all the time, but we're at least talking to each other. We're laughing we're joking around. And that's a way to brown, like bring me like grounded back, you know and not have me like feeling overwhelmed, because I feel refreshed. After that I feel good. I feel like okay, now I can have oh, this thing that was probably stressing me out. And then also given me enough time to step away from it really gives me time to think about other other points of views and other ways to attack it.
Collin 42:57
Yeah. Because then you then you can start innovating. That's where you have that space now to do new things. And oh, I never thought of that before. Or maybe it's now having energy so you can reinvigorate to to tackle those problems where before that day where it's, you know, nine o'clock at night, you're just like, I have no energy as you can start having that self talk of, I'm exhausted, I'm never going to get this taken care of nothing's going to happen. I'm never going to get to my goals, taking some time out reading playing some fortnight recharging, getting a stepping away from it. So when you come back to it, you're seeing it with fresh eyes with a renewed energized mind.
Wayne 43:32
For sure I was I was either I was reading or listening to another podcast. And it was those things that you when you feel overwhelmed. Of course everybody has their to do lists. As a business owner, as a leader, you have your To Do lists, but you have to create different columns within your To Do lists, you know, things that you can handle now, things that can be done later. And things that you can do, you can delegate, you know, and I'm always I'm 100% I will give you money to do the things that I don't want to do. And to do it. I literally I spoke to my, my financial advisor last week actually have a meeting with her later on. I spoke to her last week, I was like, Look, do you have like CFO position like capabilities, I don't want to handle the money. Like that's your thing. I want to out that is your thing, you know, and it's fine. Like and you have to understand, like, you're not going to be able to do everything all the time. You know, so be willing to delegate so many things to other people like a lot of our you know, handling budgets and creating forecast and, you know, knowing what the percentages like on retail versus grooming versus petsitting I'm not mathematically savvy savvy that way, you know, but I don't know all of that stuff. I don't know how to create it but I'm willing to invest in somebody that does that also sees my vision and understands this thing. You know, I may not in that same for me, but like, a person may not be like customer service savvy, hire somebody that is hire somebody that has worked in customer service before, hire somebody who can answer the phones and has time to do all of that, you know, be willing to invest in your business that way. So you're not also feeling overwhelmed, because otherwise, you're gonna feel like you are literally wearing a million hats. And that stresses you out. But if you're making enough to hire somebody, because you don't also have to call the money, like, yes, have a savings account, have multiple bank accounts, but then also create a budget to where you can say, hey, if I give you $100 a day, or if I give you $200 A week, are you able to handle this task for me? Like, can I send you, you know, a few things that can just take a few things off of my plate?
Collin 45:57
Yeah, and you said, invest in your business, that's a phrase that we hear a lot of times, invest in your business, invest in your business, and I know, for a long time, I would sit there and go, like, what, like, What do you mean, like, okay, I can buy better equipment, I may advertise, what does that but though this idea of going invest in it by having someone else do some part of the work, and it doesn't have to doesn't have to be full time, it doesn't even have to be part time, it can be whenever, you know, automated as need. And the first one I think of now is like okay, taxes, like, that's, that's not a full time position in my in my company, but it is it is a very necessary aspect of what we do. So that's something that worthwhile that I can invest in, because that investment of going you handle this, I know a it's going to get taken care of it's going to be done well. And be I can see I can be doing other things. Now. I'm not sitting here slaving away, looking at different papers and different documents and filing and messing up and having make corrections, I'm out doing business and making more money for the company,
Wayne 46:58
while the professional that is doing the taxes, your tax professional is handling your taxes, you don't have to worry about it. See, and that that is our goal, our hit our goal is to not work as much. We created this business so that we don't have to work as much, and we reap the benefits from it. So yeah, it's, it's all about having the right team and the right people around you at all times, and just understand, like, you can't do everything, you should have to do everything. Now in the beginning, you will have to, but once you get to a point where you can start bringing people on, like, you have to be able to do it, like you said, every once in your business, you know, there are different things like So creating ad space, you know, you know, finding somebody to handle your social media, finding somebody to answer your phones, finding people to pay them prep the dogs. So now all you have to do is go and finish doing the finishing touches, you know, you know, being able to invest in other people. And that also gets people off the street, that's all also gives them a sense of responsibility that also makes them feel useful that makes them feel, you know, wanted and appreciated. Because they're actually helping you build your brand and build your business. And now you have people who are almost as best invested in your company as you are, because you're also taking care of them the way that they're taking care of you. And that's super important, especially as a, as a business entrepreneur or business owner. Yeah, sure.
Collin 48:29
In recognizing that that community that we're all after is more than just where we live. It's the people that we interact with. It's the people that we hire, it's the people that we touch with our brand as we're out in the community conducting these services, or if we have a location where people are coming to how we act, how we respond, how we how we interact with the people around us is going to speak for us and help either make the place better, or it's not going to improve it. And that's that's where we can focus on our businesses as well that we can do more with our business than just conduct services.
Wayne 49:02
For sure. For sure. Absolutely. And just touching on that too, instead of because especially in the picker industry, a lot of pet parents they are looking for the educational factor in why they stay need to find the right pet sitter and why they need to keep their dog on a roaming schedule, why they need to vet their, you know, veterinarians why they even need to show appreciation to their veterinarians and support staff. You know, there's a lot that a lot of pet parents they are not accustomed to, but then they also they just don't think about it. You know, like they don't consider it like, you know, your veterinary staff would be extremely happy if you just brought in some doughnuts, you know, Is that just the little things, you know, and a lot of people, they they're not accustomed to really recognizing the pet care industry as one that is, like, they just think, you know, we're just playing with animals. No, we're humans as well. You know, we have human days, human emotions, we have good days, bad days, in different days. You know, but we all love to eat. And we want snacks. Oh, we love with Thanksgiving and Christmas comes around, because we get all the fruit baskets into food and, and snacks and stuff like that, you know, and it's just the small things because, you know, we work in so hard, sometimes we don't, we don't take care of ourselves the way that we need to. So it's just, it's nice to have, and really shown that appreciation from, you know, from our clients,
Collin 50:53
it will be seen by other professionals in the industry as well. Right? In so you know, listening to this going, Okay, I as a business owner, yeah, I can, I can go in, buy a dozen donuts and go to the vet around the corner and just say, Hey, I see you all, I see what you're working. I know how hard it is. And I just want to say, first off, thank you for serving our community. So well. And secondly, here's some sugar, right? And then that's all that that's all the interaction has to be is just acknowledging that right.
Wayne 51:23
And that builds your network that builds your especially for business owners, that builds your network right there. Because now when somebody comes in and say, Hey, does anybody here pets it? We may not, but we know somebody that does. So that that's it. You know, it's just as simple as that, as business leaders, as entrepreneurs, when you show other businesses that you appreciate them, like you said, they're willing to go to bat for you, and go the extra mile for you as well. So it's a lot of give and take, but it works out, it works out and especially with the right with the right team with the right support.
Collin 52:00
Wait, I know you're you're constantly reading and listening to stuff, what are some of your favorite resources or things that have really helped support you through this past year or so.
Wayne 52:09
So I've been reading a few books. Let's see, try to remember no one was like, Never Eat Alone, I forget who I forget who wrote the books, but I can see the titles. Never Eat Alone. And that talks about networking, your network. The another really good book is atomic habits. Another really good book is it's like excellence in excellence is in the title and I apologize, the words are escaping is the owner of the Ritz Carlton, he wrote a book. And it's just like, excellence in everything that they do. And, you know, just showing great customer service and showing your supply your staff, you know, appreciation, things like that. I forget the name of the book, but it has excellent, it's in the title. And it's by the owner of the Ritz Carlton, and then just listening to different, you know, personal development, podcasts and audio and just, you know, keeping your mind sharp, it taking time for you to just dream, you know, things like that. And, you know, just just using those resources, I also like to go to different networking events. So, you know, go to different goals, see what's happening in your community, you know, just go to different networking events, see where the entrepreneurs are hanging out, see where, you know, different business leaders and community leaders are hanging out. So that way, you may not need to talk to everybody, but just being in that space can be motivating. It may not be one person who can go out and just have a million conversations and spark conversations with people. And I'm one of those people like to be honest. Like, I took my dog codec. I have a mini Schnauzer, I just recently went to a veterinarian conference in Orlando, and he is my emotional support dog. Like, I would not have spoken to that many people if it weren't for him. And I totally get that. And I'm 100% okay with that, you know, but you may not be that person who can spark conversations with everybody. But it was also motivating just to be in that space and just being in that network. So, you know, sometimes just get out there, get out there, see what's happening in your community, and read really good books about personal development and business development, mindset shifts, things like that. And then also just be up on different podcasts talking about the same thing, if you can't sit and read, but you can also listen to it so that you can hear that other people are going through this like we're human like yeah, we see people on Facebook and Instagram, and Tiktok but to actually hear them have a conversation at all. So helps you because it's like, okay, I can vibe with this person, I can, you know, really see myself and see the situations or I've gone through that situation too. And okay, he's gotten out of that she's gotten out of that. So I can do that, too. So it's just a matter of, you know, just putting yourself out there just understanding that you do have these resources at hand, too.
Collin 55:19
Yeah. And when you if you do struggle with going to networking events, or knowing what to say, and talk to people, just understanding that goal of why am I here? I asked that I find myself asking them that question a lot in my life these days, both in a positive and a negative of like, a, why am I here? Or is it and trying to turn that into? What Why am I here? Right? What is the opportunity that I have before me that I need to be taking advantage of.
Wayne 55:44
And I think that was a good thing that you said soon. So you go to these go to these places, and you may not be as social, but you giving yourself a goal, give yourself a goal or talk to three people, that's it, just talk to three people, you know, just or one person, if it's your first part of your, for your first place, talk to one person, get one person's number, see how you can help that person in business. Or if that person can help you in business, you know, whatever the case is. And then when you go to the next one, talk to to talk to three people set set a goal to these things, because you're there for a reason. You know, I'm here for a reason. I'm here to network, I'm here to, you know, see what other businesses are around. So being that I'm here for a reason, I need to set a goal to be why I'm here,
Collin 56:37
which is a reminder that that we recognize we have a reason we have a purpose in life in business. So there's the personal, there's the business side. And sometimes I think first off recognizing that there is a purpose to the things that we do. And now I might not know exactly what that is at all times. That that's kind of my job sometimes to figure that out. And to work that out and now apply that to what I what I'm
Wayne 57:01
doing here. Absolutely. Completely agree.
Collin 57:07
Agree. Wayne, I'm so thankful for for getting to catch up with you today. And you encouraging us to take those risks and to recognize that we have goals, we have purposes that we can reach for and to keep those focused, and also knowing that not everyone is going to make that journey with us but but that's okay. I know you've got you've got a lot on your plate and there's a lot of things that you're doing and I know people listeners may have questions for how to do it in their lives and what it's been like for you. So how can people get in touch and follow along with everything that you have going on?
Wayne 57:42
Absolutely. So they can always follow us on Instagram at Happy hearts. Pet Care ATL. We are on tick tock at Happy hearts ATO. Facebook is also happy hearts pay per ATO. And then if you want to go to our website, happy hearts pcs.com
Collin 58:00
And if people are in the Atlanta area, is there a way for them to get connected with Atlanta?
Wayne 58:06
For sure. So, um, you can go to atlanta.org or just reach out to me at 404 What's the number 404-433-1181 as they rub it over but but yeah, so atlanta.org Or they can also follow us on Instagram at patlak Petland on Petros and as P et Lanta, Petros, PE, T. P. R. O S. Very good. I'll
Collin 58:36
have those links on the website there on the show notes for people to get connected with you Wayne, I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed our conversation. And I'm very thankful for the time to to get to talk with you today. So thank you. Thank you so much, Wayne.
Wayne 58:49
Thank you. Thank you, Colin, I appreciate it. You're grateful to be here.
Collin 58:53
FLIG, fail, learn, improve, grow, I guess we need to make that into a t shirt for us. But the only way that we can actually end up growing is by failing at something and recognizing that failing is not a four letter word. Instead, it is the first step in most cases to improving ourselves so that we can be better and we can change and adapt to changing situations to changing marketplaces to changing self as we change our perspective and our goals and our values in life over time. flaig is a reminder that it is a process and it is an intentional process, one that we have to purposefully take one step to move ourselves from failure to learning from that failure to making improvements on ourselves businesses, processes and everything else that allows us to then grow but that end result of growth is where we should keep our eyes focused. When things don't go our way or when we think that we night might need to change ain't something focused on growth allows us to embrace change, embrace failure, embrace newness, because we recognize that is going to help us in the long run. How do you embrace failure and move yourself towards growth? We'd love to get your feedback and share that out on our next episode says citizen email at feedback at Pet Sitter confessional.com. We want to thank today's sponsor is tied to pet and pet perennials. So definitely check out those links in the show notes and see how they can help you. And we really want to thank you for listening today for supporting the show for sharing the show or giving your feedback. It all is so helpful and wonderful, and we're so thankful to be a part of this growing community. We wish you all the best and hope you have a wonderful rest of your week and we'll be back again soon.
