399: Running a Multi-Dimensional Business with Susan Morin
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What does it mean to run a multi-dimensional business? Not only do you offer a range of services, but you also have a lot going on every day. Susan Morin, owner of Susan’s Pampered Pet Care, shares how she’s piloted a growing business. She discusses how she highlights the strengths of her business to attract her target clients and walks through the balance of running a business to meet her client’s needs, while also enjoying the day to day operations.
Main topic
Piloting a growing business
Hitting burnout
A multi-dimensional business
Matching your clients needs
Main takeaway: Sometimes you have to make big changes when you learn a hard lesson.
About our guest:
I began by working off of apps like Rover, Wag and the exclusive cat app Meowtel. I quickly realized the limitations these apps offer and became so busy that I decided to officially form Susan's Pampered Pet Care, LLC and tweak my business to what I believe works the best with my clients, Molly and myself in mind. I have completed multiple certifications to help expand my knowledge in pet care and also in case of emergencies! I do things differently than a lot of other pet care companies in order to keep your pet's best interest and safety as a top priority at all times.
As a pet owner myself that has needed pet care, I realized that pet owners need a compassionate and reliable pet sitter. They need someone who could take their fears away. So in May 2020, I decided to dedicate a full time business to my true passion - animals.
I started building my clientele in 2020. I'm so thankful for each and every client I've met since I have formed this company! Even if you only needed me once, I'll never forget your fur babies and the experience each one has taught me. It's been an amazing journey and I look forward to many more years and challenges of what's to come.
I have taken care of blind animals and pets with severe anxieties. I will administer meds as needed. I like to build relationships with animals so even if you are looking to board only one time, I want to ensure your pet is comfortable with me. To ensure your pet's best possible comfort level, I offer several pre-boarding visits, as needed, to get them familiar with my home. This will help them feel safe and less anxious in new surroundings when you are away from them and give them added security in your absence. Pets do get more anxious without their owners and also can behave differently in other's homes, so I try to offer something different then the traditional pet sitting most are used to. That's why I offer free meet and greets as well as boarding trials together with my dog Molly to get your pet comfortable. ❤️
Links
Email: susanmorin1001@gmail.com
Website: https://susanmorin1001.wixsite.com/susanspamperedpets/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083295613432
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A VERY ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE EPISODE
Provided by otter.ai
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
pet, business, clients, dog, booking, visits, people, care, offer, animals, burnout, molly, pet sitter, susan, day, feel, walk, service, boarding, gift
SPEAKERS
Susan M., Collin
Collin 00:02
Welcome to pet sitter confessional. Today, we're brought to you by a time to pet and perennials. What does it mean to run a multi dimensional business? Today, Susan Morin, owner of Susan's pampered pets joins the show to walk through how she matches her client's needs while also remembering to still run a business that she wants to run. Susan also shares how she piloted her growing business through some ups and very turbulent downs, and how she recognized she was hitting burnout and how she's changed her business to avoid that in the future. Let's get started. Hi, good morning, Colin, thanks so much for having me. I really appreciate it. I've been listening to your podcast for since the beginning and quite frequently, more now, as I've gotten busier my own business. So I really appreciate you having me.
Susan M. 00:53
My name is Susan and I started Susan's pampered pet care. Exactly, actually, almost to the date, May 14 of 2022 is actually my one year anniversary coming up. So prior to that, I had started working in pet care. After being laid off from an office job, I wanted to start something different. And I always had a passion for animals. So I started in March, or actually may 2020. And I started working off of apps at that point to build up clientele. And then I got really busy and then I decided to do the my own business LLC. So I do work solo. And that was like I said exactly one year ago today, you might and I have my Molly as my assistant. She's my worker right here, my dog Molly and she's in the background, you might hear her a little bit barking in the background of the trucks driving by the garbage man. Prior to may have started in pet care myself, I needed somebody to come in to my home for four long days a week, I usually had somebody Monday through Thursday, myself a lot when I had long office hours, and didn't want her to be all alone by herself for that long of a time and not have access to go the bathroom or walk. So I had always had dog walkers, myself and pet sitters. So when the pandemic happened in 2020, I started to think what can I do to incorporate doing something I love passion and also incorporate my best friend my best girl barley into into it. And I think coming from a place where I need a peck here myself, I'm just very empathetic understanding to what clients want and pet care, and just very understanding with the different needs that it's not one size fits all for every animal. And so when I started to develop Susan's pampered pet care, I wanted to do something that was more in line to how Molly needs pet care, because Molly would get overwhelmed. in a setting where there's tons of dogs, I want it to offer something that was more one on one with, with dogs, for instance, for boarding. I go drive by local boarding facilities, and I see one person with, say 20 dogs. And Molly would get very overwhelmed in a situation like that. And she personally wouldn't like that. So that's just not something that I would ever look for. So Molly inspired me to offer more of a one on one dog boarding, basically, you know, one on one, just focusing on Molly and the other dog that comes to my home, instead of having multiple all the time. So that's how that's how it basically started for me how she inspired me. You were
Collin 04:04
actually on the other end of the spectrum of looking for pet care. How did your interaction with other dog walkers and other pet sitters shape how you run your business and the services that you offer?
Susan M. 04:16
I feel like when I when I was looking for a pet sitter. I didn't want just a person to do the actions. I wanted basically them to have a relationship with Molly. I felt the more they had a relationship the more she'd have trust, the more she'd be more comfortable when I left her. And all those things would just fall into place and align better. So that is basically what I was looking for. And that's basically what I'm offering to to clients also. So I'm not I'm not one of those Stetter that will somebody reaches out I have a hard time where they just want something Four months from now for a week that they're away. And then, and then that's it. I like to build relationship with an animal. So if that if that makes several visits to lead up to that, I'd rather that than just going in blindly and the dog not being used to me not being afraid. Whatever the case may be, I want them to be at their utmost comfort level, basically, I want them to be because it just makes everything go smoother for everybody. And then it just makes a smoother process when the owners are way, they're naturally going to be a little bit nervous, maybe not want to eat different different signs of, you know, anxieties, at any age. But by them having a relationship built with me, it just makes it much easier for them to have a better time. So that's what I look for when, when I looked for a pet sitter. And that's pretty much what I tried to offer myself.
Collin 06:02
And just from a business perspective, offering those one offs is actually pretty costly to us, it costs a lot to onboard them, it costs our time cost our attention, there's mental fatigue, from learning all of their ins and outs. And if we're training staff, that's a lot for them to take on, as well. And it's also hard. I think, more importantly, it's hard to build relationships with them. Yeah, we can do the tasks, we can fill the water, we can put up the food, we can give medications, we can brush, we can do all that stuff in a vacuum. But building that trust building those relationships with those pets is really hard for the one offs. But I also know it's hard to suggest trial dates to clients, especially when they just I just need you for this weekend. So for you, Susan, how do you walk a client through that recommendation? And have you ever gotten pushback from somebody? And how do you handle that? If you see that there's a need for more trial dates
Susan M. 06:51
before you start your services? Absolutely. That's that's a good question, Kyle, I'm definitely I do. What I do is I tell people, I do offer different types of visits. So I do offer, like I said, boarding one on one in my hall. But I also offer drop in visits to other clients homes to Pending availability, of course, I do up to four hour visits, and other homes. So when somebody reaches out to me, I let them know that we can do with a trial either meet and greet at their house, if they're looking for visits in their home, or we do a boarding trial in my home, if they're looking for if they're looking for only specific boarding. But I basically let them know that we can, we can see at the visit, whether it's the meet and greet or the boarding trial, how the dog reacts, how comfortable the dog is right away. But at the end of the day, the dogs are going to always act different when the owners are away. So I normally require a trial. But I do let people know, I'm going to be very honest with you and let you know, if I think we can automatically go into an overnight day or automatically into the sequence of visits when you're away. But sometimes we need to do more than just that. Sometimes we need to do overnight trials, I basically make a plan based on the assessing the pet when I meet a pet. So I do get some people that are not as willing to want to make make those several visits. But honestly, most of the people reach out to me, because they like my one on one approach and the relationships I build on the animals, which are all on my website that I created. As of January of this year, I started the website. So that explains everything how I do on the process, basically, and usually the people that reach out like that approach. So I don't get too much people not wanting to do these kinds of several visits, because they're looking at me because it is something different. It's not a facility that we're just doing this one time job and that's it it's more of a process that they like their animals to be to be more comfortable with. They feel better about it and more assured with everything. So usually it's I get very positive feedback. I usually kind of I think weed out the people who are not interested in that kind of service, right from the get go. Because because they find more comforting in a service like this.
Collin 09:43
That screening process is absolutely critical because we don't want to be and we should not be for everybody that contacts us. So for you Susan, what do you think it is about your processes, your website, your marketing website or whatever? What do you think it is about what you do that is practing the clients that want to work in you want to work with?
Susan M. 10:03
Well, I think, you know, when I went, when I first built the website, for instance, I want it to was a very intricate and long process. It was very, very, very long, because I want it to be detailed in the way where, when somebody comes on to my website, what is going to set me apart from just getting this service from anyone else? What is going to set apart because there is so many different, like you said, we're not every pet care business is not for everybody, everybody, client's needs are different. Everything's you know, but what is going to set me apart and attract the kind of clients that I'm looking for the kind of pet care that I look for myself. And just basically what is, you know, looking, I looked at people in the area, I looked at other businesses, and I would look at some people's website, competitors. And I would honestly take a look and say to myself, why would I want to reach out to this person? I don't know them at all. And I'm going to have them possibly come in my home, take care of my most precious cargo. What? Why do I want to reach out to them to ask for pet services, some, some websites I looked at, and they weren't inviting, and they did, they just felt very, I don't know, just not inviting. And, and so I wanted to offer something different. And I basically want it to be extremely transparent, and raw, also empathetic and understanding to the client. So basically, I do tell people honest honesty about their pet. You know, everybody likes to just hear the great stuff, everybody, you know, clients, even ourselves, but we sometimes need to hear feedback that is not always 100% Perfect, or, or happy and great, because we have to be able to work on those things that fall short. So basically, when I do a boarding trial, I tell clients, you know, all those commands, for instance, just using an example, that you told me that so and so say fluffy, for example. No, it was at home, well, he didn't know them here, it kind of those kinds of things sometimes go out the window, I am going to be very transparent, and tell a client these things because I don't want them to have these expectations or think that something is happening. That's not so a lot. You know, people don't always realize that the animals do act different when they're in a different home, or just simply by being in their own home vote with their owners away. Just any chain of change will have them, you know, act different. So basically, I like to be very transparent and honest with people. And I also ask for honest feedback myself, too. So basically, that's just that's just kind of how I present my website, where I'm just very honest, on all aspects. There goes, Molly right now. All aspects of how I do things, how I the approach I do. And I think people do appreciate that. And they see that she's not just doing a service. She's not just offering pet care, but she's offering to take care of my animals like they were her own. And she really cares about how they feel how, how things progress. And I think they just see that in, and how I how everything I do. So I think they enjoy, they enjoy that.
Collin 14:09
We think a lot about how we are going to differentiate ourselves from others. And that's, that's really key there. It's about being transparent. It's about being inviting. Those are amazing ways to do that. Because we all offer basically the same kind of services, but it's in how we offer it. It's in our customer service, our client relations, are we making them feel welcome? Are we making them feel warm and invited into our business? If you want to talk about special sauce? It's how we approach how we handle how we deal with the human aspect of the business that we're running that yes, how we make the pets feel while we are caring for them.
Susan M. 14:50
You know, people do see that. That we're inviting them into our home and we're being warm. I like to say they're part of now once they're installed Wash clients, that they're part of the pampered pet care family. And I just kind of like that to be all around and everything that I do. And I think people just just see that I mean, anybody can simply, you know, take a leash, put a dog on a leash, take them for a walk, but it's more of there's, there's so much more to it than that. And I say, in any business, but specifically the pet care business, since we're talking about, you really have to brand yourself. So what sets you apart from using somebody else, there's so many say 10 Other companies, they can use what sets you apart from, from somebody else. And, and you brand yourself, you have to do little things that that just set you apart from from anything that just a normal, you know, service that can just come in and do all the motion. But the people see more than that. And they, they want to be part of that that family that that you that you give all the comforting aspects of that. Because again, like I said, I know from leading pet care myself that my dog is my most precious cargo. And that's how I know other people feel that reach out to me. It's a big deal. So after
Collin 16:24
about one year in business, how have you been marketing? What's been working best for you? And what are some things that you've tried out along the way?
Susan M. 16:31
I have done, basically social media, mostly Instagram, and Facebook. Basically, I find Facebook is very, very helpful. I started exactly one year ago, last May, I started the Facebook business page. So I keep that up mostly daily, or even every other day, I do post in there quite frequently. And I'm also have, keep trying to get into other Facebook groups, local groups, different businesses, and try to give my information, also share their information kind of marketing that way, that helps a lot of the local town groups. So basically, I kind of have gotten by really just by social media from this point. And then also, Google creating Google page that's helped me a lot as well, where people could just type in pet setting or cat care in the area, basically different words like that. That's dog walking, and I pop up as one of the first top ones in the, in the local area.
Collin 17:42
I know social media can be kind of a big bugbear for a lot of people in running their business. So how have you been using it? What kind of things have you been posting?
Susan M. 17:49
I have basically trying to think as time goes on, how I could expand that. But basically what I have done, the last year that I've had the Facebook business page is I will share different animals on there, one of my I guess Nishi would say is I do create, I do create little photos of pets, during different seasons, different holidays, I will, whenever I see a pet during that time, I will make a photo with them with a little quote their name, and maybe some you know different like a cat with a little flower crown on her head or sun in the background. Whatever the case may be, I make these these little memes and stuff for for the owners. And then I also use that for my pet setting pages as well. So that's helpful for marketing. And I just think it's a nice little idea just kind of looks nice on the photo. So I make those for my page as well as every time I see a pet during a specific season, I send that to the owners well, they appreciate that. So I put those on there. Sometimes I put a little description of the specific animal, and whatever, whatever they do, or their specific personality, I'll put that on there. Or what we've done, I will give specific scenarios about working with a high anxiety dog and how we've gotten better with through all visits, basically, and how the dog is much more comfortable over here after so many visits. So I kind of go based off exactly what the needs are of that client and then I put that on my story. And then sometimes I also like to share different things especially around specific holidays. Like say Fourth of July, different foods that animals should stay away from you shouldn't let them get a hold of I like to give less of that or different different posts about extreme weather. Like we deal with in New England, the real extreme cold below zero, or the over 100 degree weather on what you should do tips about being outside with the animals. So I like to share different things like that. And then also different things that during the years that I've been doing pet care and also I've had Molly, she's she's nine and a half now. So I've been doing taking care of her way longer than I've been doing pet care. So the things that have worked for her healthy treats, different things like that. So I'll I'll post off different variety of things I do.
Collin 20:37
I love that you post those kinds of success stories. And I think that's something that we can all be doing a little bit more of, because it allows others to see that process. And for you to go, yeah, here's what this progress looks like, here's how we handle these situations, someone's going to find you and immediately connect, because they go, that's my problem. That's what I'm experiencing with my cat. Oh, my goodness, I never thought there was something out there for me, they see themselves in that post, and they'll start to go, Well, this will this work for me. And it makes them the hero because they have discovered this solution. And more importantly, just extremely critical here. They feel seen and part of a community and they know immediately who to connect with.
Susan M. 21:22
Thank you. I do definitely agree, I think, basically and this business so one thing that is definitely true, is you have to be relatable to other people. And that is definitely something when I think somebody sees what another animal is going through or that I'm working with them and we've succeeded. It's relating to them. And that's what makes it just very comfort comforting and appealing to them to want to use the service.
Collin 21:55
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Collin 22:19
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Susan M. 22:30
Sometimes to me, you try to make everything light and airy and happy and fun on the Facebook page. But sometimes I do will post stories that are not as great as that. Like, for instance, even personally for Molly we went through, she had high anxiety out of nowhere. It just came out of nowhere, we thought it was senior, bad senior anxiety this past winter. So I did figure it out what it was, basically, but it was a definitely long process. And I had to adjust my business to that too, because I didn't have her me any new any new dogs during that time, because I didn't want to stress her out further. During the time that we had, we're going with this anxiety this past January, this high anxiety that came on very onset all of a sudden, but I did, I did post about that. And dog depression, I did post about that and shared a lot of information on that and the signs to look at because sometimes you could just be going through the motions with your own pet, and not really realize that these are signs of depression and you want to you want to get your animal help right away, make them feel better, you know, they can't speak to us like we can speak to each other as humans. So you have to really be in tune and cute and that that's always what I've tried to be as a dog owner myself. And so I try also trickle that down on my clients too. So, for instance, you know, if I'm with a dog weekly, and then all of a sudden, I see they're acting a little bit different, I'm going to tell that's something I want to tell the client as well, to make them be aware and make sure it's not anything more than just an off day because they do have off days like us to of course, they're not always going to be you know, it's always the same every single day. They do have their off days. But when it becomes something that's becoming a little bit more concerned about, I like to let them know. And so basically it's not always just say or sharing, you know, great photos and it's such a beautiful day and the dog is so happy and greeted me with a toy. It's not always about that there. There gets to be other aspects of the business that are a lot harder or more challenging, but that's what Um, I think people like to see that it's not just always perfect. So you know, because then you when you work through those issues,
Collin 25:08
unfortunately, that is part of running a business. That's part of the things that we get to take on. But that's really hard on us that causes a lot of stress and strain. Have you ever experienced anything like burnout or mental fatigue from running your business? And how have you handled that?
Susan M. 25:24
I have to laugh. Because yes, yes, yes, yes. When I first reached out to you, and we were emailing back and forth, that is actually when I hit my burnout at the fourth, fourth, and not just for second or third time. But literally, I mean, who's counting right before time, I hit major, major burnout and basically, burnout, you don't realize that you're there pull, it's already past tense. It's too it's too late to to fix it at that moment when you've already hit it. So yes, I unfortunately have. But I have learned from that so so much. And I think that that is just makes me stronger in the business now that I don't regret anything that I've done. But it was definitely definitely hard. Yes, I hit it, I realized that there's different levels, I guess you could say, a burnout. So the first, second, third time, but then the fourth, okay, we need to make some real major changes to make sure that doesn't happen again, which is very, very challenging, as you know, in this kind of business, because you're pulled in so many directions. 24/7. So, as I've listened to your other podcasts before, and I've known people to touch base, other centers on the same subject, it's very, very, too easy to fall in to that pattern of burnout and this kind of business. So you really have to have things in place to not allow yourself to get to that point again,
Collin 26:57
what is what does it look like for you? What are what are your signs that you're experiencing burnout, and that you're not in a good place?
Susan M. 27:04
Well, I had the mindset when I first started the business that I guess like a lot of other sitters in the beginning, you keep taking on everything that you are asked for, as far as bookings, because you're newer, and you're trying to build a clientele. So you're, you're taking on a lot. But then that seven day booking goes into another 14 day booking. And then that 14 Day booking goes into another five day booking and that five day booking goes into a three week booking. Where does it end. So I got to the point where last year at this time, when I started the business, I got so busy immediately that I literally had about four days off, and four months. And that just was not enough because I forced myself for those four days off, only or they could have been booked as well. And I didn't think anything of it at first when when I did that, and I did experience burnout. But I kept kind of letting it go, I still had the mind. I was still had the mind, thinking that, that I had to that I was I was worried that I was going to lose a booking, if I didn't book the three weeks that they want it straight every single day, then I was worried that I was going to lose the booking basically back then. So that was a struggle I potentially dealt with. But I realized that at the end of the day, especially working so low and have nobody to cover for me working by myself, that if I don't take care of myself, then I'm not good for taking care of any of the animals. Or if I get ill, then there's no point of not having a day off and a day of rest when I need to take two or three weeks off because I get sick. And then I do have to cancel everybody. So that's not worth it. It's more worth it on the business, aspect, and personal and all aspects of it to take scheduled time off for yourself to feel healthy to feel well to feel re energized to be able to do your business, then where yourself so then that you end up being sick and then then you're forced to you're basically forced to take time off for a longer chunk of time. So it's definitely been it's definitely been a process
Collin 29:47
that is so critical to remember that if we don't intentionally set that time aside, our bodies will set that time aside for us and I guarantee you it will not be at a convenient time. The sickness is will come, the fatigue will come, the pains will come in and you will be left grappling with that, you will be forced to set that time aside whether you would like it or not even whether you're able to take that time or not.
Susan M. 30:13
Yes, that's exactly what happened to me. Last year after the four days off in four months, I decided, Okay, after a very busy summer, I'm going to take off the end of September leading and leading up into my birthday and anniversary week, which is October 1. So at the end of September, I was taking a week off, but I was so beyond burnt out. It's one of those things, you know how you're just like running on adrenaline, because you're so busy, and you're loving what you do you have a passion for it, but then you have some time off. And you just crash, and you can't even do anything and enjoy having time off because you're so tired. Right? So basically, that's what happened. Oh, yeah, let's, let's have a week off. And we're gonna schedule all these plans that have nothing to do with the business plans with friends, things that you haven't been able to do all summer because I was so booked. And I was too tired to do anything. And then I got very, very sick. I basically tried to go back to work the day after my week off. And I got so ill that I had to cancel three weeks of clients. I got so so I, I learned. Well, I didn't even learn that. Yeah, Colin, I thought I learned. But then the bookings just kept coming in again. And, and I started to book myself. And basically, that was number three, burnout by the time so winter was when I let number four and I real. Luckily, I didn't get sick this time. But it was more the mental fatigue that really, really, that really was draining. And I learned this time, okay. I can't do this to myself anymore for longevity, this is not going to work at this level, if I allow myself to keep doing this. So it finally took me the fourth time, and not even being physically sick. But it was it was all a mental burden. And how I felt, then to finally realize I can't allow myself to take on 35 day bookings straight or things like that, like that's just not humanly possible. When a person in the business alone, it's just, I'm not I don't have superpowers. I realized,
Collin 32:38
well, yeah, because we go Well, right now I feel okay about this. And we tend to not really pay a whole lot of attention about our future selves and ask what Well, yeah, how am I going to feel after 32 days straight of booking? Hmm, you know, probably not well, so it just takes putting in a little bit of thought and asking ourselves, Am I personally going to be able to be consistently running at this level, at the level that I hold myself to the expectations that I have, and being brutally honest with ourselves and going it is okay, for me to say that is not something that I am physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually ready able to do. And also recognizing that whether you are physically and emotionally able to do it or not, is a completely different part of the conversation of whether you even want to do it and going, you know, actually, I really do enjoy my quiet time, I really do enjoy these other aspects, but I'm not running at 120%. In my business. Susan, you mentioned that you hit that burnout, and you made some big changes in your business. What were some of those changes?
Susan M. 33:37
Basically, I go through my schedule now and block off days of times. And yes, I'm going to be honest, that doesn't always 100% work out. Because you know, in fact care, pet care, how's the business has a lot of ups and downs. So and nothing at the end of the day is guaranteed. And I guess that's why basically, people in our business do get burnt out so much, because nothing is a definite, somebody can put a deposit on something six months from now. But that doesn't mean that can't change. That doesn't mean their plans aren't going to change. That doesn't mean that they're going to not push that trip out three months later a month and let you know, a month ahead of time even though they booked it six months ahead of time, things change all the time. So you have to be ready to adapt to those changes. But that's what makes it in our profession so hard because you look at your schedule, and you see, okay, this this these weeks are these weeks are sparse. But now I'm getting all these bookings coming at once, two months ahead of time. So you've tried to go around bookings basically to take time off, but then boom, now everybody's requesting this time that you're taking off, but now you have cancellations for this busy time. And so it's a constant tweak and constant adjustment, looking at your schedule saying, Okay, what's going to work out better for time off better for the business kind of like constant tweaking, constant adjusting as people book or cancel. So basic, but I do I know how important it is for booking time for myself, and self care. So basically, weekly, I kind of look at my schedule out a month or so and say, Okay, this bookings ending here and I have a couple days, I can take time off before I get really busy again, so I block off the time. But then if a cancellation comes in, or if somebody and then somebody requests a date that I had, I tweaked that as I go, but I still make sure that I have time off, I won't allow myself anymore to go more than, say, two weeks, basically, without a day off anymore. And when I say that, I'm not working eight to 12 hours every single day for two weeks, I'll have maybe only a couple hours, on one day, or maybe a few hours, another day, maybe only an hour, one day where I have to lose the house. But as a business owner, you know, it's not just working with the pets, you have so many more aspects of the business that keep you busy. 24/7. So even if somebody thinks, Oh, she's only going to this one hour dog walk for the whole day, my business has me doing so many other things, with bookkeeping, with social media, with talking to new clients, there's so many things outside of being with the pets that you're that you're asked to do. So that's why I think the burnout could come so, so easily, unfortunately, because you're pulled in so many different directions, and have so many tasks to perform. It's not just being with the pets.
Collin 37:08
Well, yeah, I've started to say that my full time job is the running of the business of the business see things and that my part time job is actually getting to walk the dogs and pet the cat. Absolutely. I
Susan M. 37:18
love that you say that? Yes, because that's exactly how it's become we, we started this because we love the animals, and we and we just love taking care of them and being with the animals. But there's so much more to the business. And honestly, we listen to all the motivational we want all the podcasts, everything, but you don't realize what you're actually getting into until you physically do it yourself and end up having all these things fall on your lap, you don't realize until you're already into it, what it's going to entail. When I had overbooked myself so much. And during the time, I knew I had to finish the bookings and, and plug through and just get through it. But I realized that by booking so many straight without a day off. It just it was just not it was just not good. I had such a lack of energy. And it was just such a feeling of fatigue and I just don't want to be in that place again. So basically just making sure I scheduled time off and I'm true to that time off i i have to be true. I'm very reliable for clients and making sure that I don't cancel bookings or that I'm always there in any kind of weather, any kind of anything that they need, like a last minute emergency things like that. But you have to realize you have to do that for yourself, too. You have to be there for yourself in that same way to be able to perform 100% for the clients. So it works both ways. Basically, you have to stay true to yourself as well, not just not just to the client.
Collin 38:58
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Susan M. 40:07
Sure, yes. multi-dimensional when the business, basically, I feel that with a business with pet care. Again, like I said, before we start, we start by doing this because we have a love for the animals all up for the pet. But it becomes so much more. When you have to have customer service, you have to speak to the person, obviously, the pets aren't going to make the bookings or reach out to you or do the payments. So you have to have a business aspect of it, you have to be empathetic to the pet parents and how they're feeling and all their insecurities, maybe leaving their animals, all the different things that they're feeling. So you have to be able to be empathetic to the people, you have to be able to do the not fun stuff. Like the bookkeeping, the paperwork, the you know, tax season that we all dread, of course, all those different things. The not so fun things like being on top of your you know, car insurance and how that goes up. For instance, having a pet care business or your own liability insurance for pet care, all those different things and go through the different scenarios basically, of things that potentially could happen or good go could go wrong, you have to be prepared for those. So when I say multi-dimensional, it just goes from so many different things, whether it's recording bookkeeping, or just being empathetic to a client, or maybe their something happened to their pet, all those different things. And then also being ready for the dog walk, the driving the long hours, maybe on the road. So just so many different avenues that that we'd wear different hats at any given moment.
Collin 42:06
Well, and I like to think of it as well of going, Okay, let's say we just offer we only offer one service, we say okay, just do dog walking. But I guarantee you that each one of those dog walks is conducted in a slightly different way in a slightly unique manner for that breed that client that time of year, that that needs that that person and that pet have everything that we do actually has a an extremely high amount of variation from one to another, given all of the things that we have to take into account. And because it's our business, that's something that we have to keep track of, we have to keep on top of and keep notes and records and be consistent in how we offer that variation. And that's on top of the business aspects, the filing taxes, the keeping up with the licenses, keeping up with your trainings, and then a client their pet dies and now we are thrust into the position of being a counselor and helping them through the grieving process, or turning into an educator when they get a brand new puppy. And all of this when the majority of us started because we just wanted to work with pets right we just wanted to do the pet things and now look at all the facets that we cover. Just think of a day you can go from counseling a client because they have just recently lost a pet to a New Client Onboarding brand new puppy and oh we have to file these receipts to make sure that we keep our our status board and our dashboards up to date and we're keeping track of all of these new inquiries and then we still have to have time for our personal lives as well.
Susan M. 43:29
Yes and that that's why I like to always say again, not one size fits all so just like you said on a dog walks people before you're in this business you even even as pet care myself I knew what Molly needed on a on a dog walk which was not much Molly is very very easy and low key she's not she doesn't require that much. She really does not so when I had my own dog walkers I've had I had a few I when I had when I had them I always said you know she she hates the rain for instance. So do you don't have to do much just let her go out potty quick and come back in and play with her the rest of the time or just sit with her. She just rest she's she's not going to want to be out in that rain much which you know, a lot of animals are like that, but some have no no care in the world how cold it is, or icy or rainy. Some dogs do not care my like Molly definitely does. She's going to curl up in a ball and she's not going to want to be bothered. She will do her potties. She'll make sure she does her potty. She's not going to be you know, she won't stay out there forever and take forever to do it. She will do it quickly. But she's going to let you know I really don't want to get going today. I don't really want to move. And she was like that as a puppy and she's still like that nine and a half years later. So but every dog is different. And the fact where I know you can relate, for instance a dog walk for for a bigger dog. But like a Great Dane for instance is going to be totally different. And then a walk for a smaller Yorkie, so a five pound Yorkie. So it's just going to be totally two different things and how quick they get tired out, or how quickly, you know, they want to walk and be done, or be carried back the rest of the way when they're a little pup and they don't want to even be outside in the first place. There's just so many different factors that come into play. So even when I asked for pet care myself with Molly, I mean, I knew other dogs require a lot more than her. I didn't know that. But I didn't think much about it, because she was my only one. And I was, you know, requesting for her. But now I realized that there's just so many variations of the different needs and of the past. And what also what clients are looking forward to as well. And that's why I try to offer a different variety of services. Some people love just coming in for the home for a quick walk and potty break for a half hour and others rather have you come in for a longer period of time so that their dog isn't alone. So like, for instance, this afternoon, when I got off with you, I'll be going to a three hour drop in. So some people, like, you know, visits more like that, depending on what they're looking for.
Collin 46:19
Oh, that's key, right? What depending on what they're looking for, you know, many times clients contact us with services that maybe we're not interested in offering or aren't up our alley, or maybe we just have zero interest in. And so there comes a time where we have client requests client needs that don't match up with the kind of business that we want to run. So for you, have you ever had to walk through that kind of juxtaposition of client needs versus business you want to run? And what does that look like for you as you process that?
Susan M. 46:49
Yes, I absolutely have struggled with it. When when I first started the business I was offering overnight and clients homes. And that was before I I've gotten a lot busier, I was offering still one on one board boarding here in my home. And then I was asked, you know, offering the overnights in client's homes and then also drop in visits. And I realized that as time went on, of course, it's the need of in your area and the demand of what people want. But I realized how absolutely exhausting and draining it was for me to stay in other clients homes, because for me personally, I would have to my husband would leave for work very early, like 5am. And Miss Molly is not one an early bird, she's not one of those early birds. So she, she would not want to go potty out early like that and eat early like that. So basically, I would come when I would stay to other clients home, I had to schedule a visit, basically to get home in tamale, before I did other drop in visits for clients, and it just became it just started to become way too much to try to schedule off time to get home Tamale and then start other drop in visits for the day. And then also get back to that client that I was staying over, over night with and their home. So what I've learned for my business personally, that I my business, the most I get requested for is boardings, or drop in visits. So I ended up deciding last fall to drop overnight and clients homes but I struggled with that because people clients had known me to do that. And a few clients liked that service. So I did struggle with not offering the service anymore to clients that wanted it but then it wasn't working out for me. But I tried to do a happy medium where I tried to do I know a lot of people, a lot of sitters are using this term more frequently now, but it's called like almost overnight, basically. So I tried to offer that with it. But again, it gets tricky being so low and not having any employees because when I say I offer these services, I always say pending availability. Because if I have a boarding dog hair, I'm not going to do a late night visit and somebody else's home even though I'm not doing overnight, I'm not going to do that late night visit there. Because I already have a dog I'm caring for my home. So it gets tricky, because I can't overlap myself and be in two places that wants
Collin 49:49
Yeah, it's a great reminder that just because somebody wants the service doesn't mean that you you have to be the one to fill it which is which is hard, even if we've been in business for several years. There's still this urge. We want to serve people. We want to serve them, well want to make sure that they and their pets are taken care of that drawl really never goes away, we have to remind ourselves, no, this is my business. I'm running this business because I want to be here. I chose to be doing this. And of course, the client demands may change, the market may change. But you you We were the business owners get the opportunity to at each step at each flexion point go, is that the direction that I want to go in? Is that how I want to serve people? Is that the business that I want to run, and being perfectly okay with going Nope, that actually, that's not something that I would like to offer, or that's not something that I'm able to offer right now, it is perfectly okay for us to recognize our limits, and not be afraid or not be ashamed of admitting where those are, because that's really where we're operating in the best possibility for us as an individual in our business.
Susan M. 50:58
Yes, I agree. It definitely is a struggle, because you want to make the client happy, you want to be there for them, you want them to be so happy with your services, and you just want everything to go smoothly. But sometimes as time goes on, you realize, you know, we started this business, and you're starting to try different things. And you don't know until you get into it. But sometimes the market or whatever is happening, or your schedule, it just doesn't work out anymore. So like I said, I tried the overnights for a very, you know, from 2001 to 2021. Up until September 2022. I did, I did do that offer that a lot. And then I realized, you know what this is not and I completed all the bookings I had with that. But then I realized not this is not going to work out anymore. Especially, you know, Molly has had some health issues through the past year, which thankfully, that's all behind us now. But she has had some things. So also being away from her at night and taking care of her with her needs and medications, I also had to know at the end of the day, I do have to take care of make sure she's well. And she's good. That's utmost importance in my life. So I have to make sure my own animal is good. And I can't always provide that if I'm staying on other clients home. So again, it is a hard thing to come by sometimes when you can't fulfill everything for somebody. So sometimes you end up maybe out the person that maybe somebody else can stay in your home, if that's what you're looking for overnight. And you have to have that. And some clients are not always wanting to book an almost overnight, they actually want a full overnight. So that's okay. But I'm that I'm the business that I have. I try to adapt and be on an emergency basis if somebody is working late, or they have a last minute emergency and they need that they need me to come in to let their dog out or feed them dinner. I tried to be availability and have availability for things like that. So not all sitters can do that some sitters do this part time. So anyway, basically, hopefully I could fill one of those needs for for them. But I had to come to terms with it's not it's going to, at the end of the day, be a hardship for me to do a service. And then that that is not good for the business or myself. So I have to be able to tweak the tweak it and let it go and do what really works for me, basically, and my family
Collin 53:42
having those crystal clear priorities. And I absolutely love that. What am I sacrificing to make this work? It could be you're missing out on family things or friendship things or your own pets are whatever that is, or maybe it's just that you have no passion for what's being asked of you in that moment. And then looking and going, you know, I don't have hardships in my life not not that we don't do hard things. Certainly that is part of running a business that is hard part of of growing and expanding and growing and learning ourselves. But if we have the agency to go, I will willingly or I will not willingly enter into this hardship when I don't want to or I don't really specifically I don't have to. That's where we retain we pull back agency into our lives and go No, that isn't something that is not for me. And I'm okay with that. That's how you start building a business that works for you and your personal life and also meets the needs of the clients. Susan, we started off this conversation where you were talking about how by the time clients filtered down to you they were a good fit. And that comes from the transparency that we've been discussing here that comes from the upfront acknowledgement of who you are and who you are not for so that by the time you're working with them, you have this relationship of Michael Personal life is in good order. My business is in good order. And why is that? It's because I've ordered I've structured my business to meet my personal needs and demands, which means we don't have that tension of our personal and our business life.
Susan M. 55:13
Right? Absolutely, yes, you do go through a process of streamlining everything. And just seeing as you go, what works for you. For instance, I get a lot of people who are looking for doggy daycare, it's a it's I get it all the time. But I don't advertise anywhere that I get doggy daycare, I don't want my business. I don't write it anywhere. I don't put it on social media. I never mentioned doggy daycare. Because as a pet sitter that takes on one dog at a time doggy daycare just doesn't make sense. Because doggy daycare is usually multiple dogs in some, some clients like to drop off at least once, one to five days a week on a regular schedule. And I can't do that when I only take one dog at a time and I might have a dog boarding hair for five days, then it's not going to work out that week. So I I never offer doggy daycare. So when people ask for it, I explained to them. And certain days, I could have your dog stay here with availability, as long as I don't have another dog, but I don't offer that exact service because I can't have it weekly recurring. Because if I have another dog staying there, then then it just won't work out. So I don't, I don't ever advertise that service. But it's interesting that people always reach out to me for that, even though I don't offer it anywhere. So I know a lot of different centers use different names for for words, or clients don't always realize or think about, I don't know, if I did so much either. Boarding is usually in the home and then pet setting is in their home. But really, pet setting could be in your home too. Right. So I mean, it's it's just kind of breaking it down to what it means for you and what you what you offer. But again, I don't like to say I don't like to say strictly I don't offer a service, because I don't advertise it because of what most people think of doggy daycare. But I do have dogs come here just for the day dropped off and picked up or I could actually for an added be dropped them off and pick them up as well. So as long as I have that availability, it's not that I can't offer your dog to stay here for the day. But it's not a typical doggy daycare in the sense where you're playing with multiple dogs because I only do the one on one. So that's it's just explaining to people on how it works. And usually, they're fine with that. And they're actually really happy with with how it works out. So it all works out in the end.
Collin 57:57
Susan, I want to thank you so much for coming on the show today to walk through how you how you find that balance in running your multi dimensional business and how you set boundaries, how you recover, and how do you continue to learn from those steps along the way? How can people get connected with you and see all that you are working on?
Susan M. 58:13
Sure. Thanks, Colin, I appreciate you having me. My Facebook page is Susan's pampered pet care, LLC. So that's on Facebook, then also, you can reach me on my website. There's also a contact form to fill out to, for me to get back, Susan's pampered pet care.com. Then I also have my email is Susan's pampered pet care@gmail.com. And then my Instagram page is Susan's pampered pet care. So pretty. All that all the same. I tried to make it easy.
Collin 58:45
Thank you so much for this conversation today. I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed it and appreciate it. And I have a lot of notes actually written down for things that we can start doing in our business. I really appreciate your time today. Susan, I look forward
Susan M. 58:58
to hearing all future podcasts from you and talking the future. Thanks again, Colin.
Collin 59:05
Running a multi dimensional business means that we, as the business owner, experience, every aspect, every facet of our business we experience now, it may be experienced by passing off to somebody else by understanding that well, we don't want to do that. So we're gonna pass taxes over here. But it is a middle part of running our business. We still have to be accountable at the end of the day for the things that our business does and does not do. It also means that we have the ability the agency to determine what facets we take on what dimensions we allow into our business. And that we have to develop good skills, good relationships, healthy ways of coping and dealing with the stress that comes from running a business comes from dealing with pets comes from dealing with the owners comes from all the legal and licenses and whatever else that is We have to develop both good handling processes and good ways of approaching that in our business. If this is something that we want to pursue for the long term, we'd love to know how you handle that and what your multi dimensional business looks like. You can send that to feedback at petsitter confessional.com. We want to thank today's sponsors, time to pet and pet perennials for making the show possible. And we really want to thank you so, so much for listening. We can't tell you how much we appreciate you and we hope you have a good rest of your week and we'll be back again soon.
