477: Turning Over A New Leaf with Kirsten Kruska
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Pet Perennials
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What does it mean to reinvent yourself? Kirsten Kruska, co-owner of Pet and Plant Pal, explores the journey of career reinvention after a pivotal health challenge forced her out of dog grooming. Kirsten shares how she transformed her expertise in pet care and horticulture into a flourishing business. Emphasizing health & wellness, Kirsten shares how her commitment to physical fitness and overcoming injury shaped her approach to business and life. She also discusses ethical entrepreneurship, highlighting her dedication to ethical practices rooted in Buddhist principles, and how these values distinguish her services. Lastly, Kirsten discusses the importance of knowledge sharing, from grooming advice to plant care tips, illustrating her belief in education as a cornerstone of her business model.
Main topics:
Reinvention
Health & Wellness
Ethical Entrepreneurship
Knowledge Sharing
Main takeaway: What is meant for me, is meant for me.
About our guest:
Meet Pet & Plant Pal's founder - me! With over 25 years of professional experience in plant and animal care, I have always been passionate about nurturing and caring for all living things.
Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to work in various farm care jobs, including teaching students with disabilities how to ride horses and appreciate farm life. I have also spent many years as a professional dog groomer, enjoying agility, conformation, and other dog sports.
My love for animals extends beyond dogs, as I have grown up with every kind of animal imaginable, from parrots to horses, cats, rabbits, and reptiles.
I started Pet & Plant Pal because I wanted to share my knowledge and expertise with people in their own homes. My goal is to provide the best possible care for both plants and animals, bringing my years of experience and love for these living things to every job.
At Pet & Plant Pal, we believe that every living thing deserves to be treated with respect and care, and we strive to provide that care to all of our clients.
Links:
https://www.petandplantpal.net
https://www.petandplantpal.net/what-makes-us-different
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A VERY ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE EPISODE
Provided by otter.ai
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
clients, pet, business, people, grooming, dogs, person, gift, plant, groomer, visits, advice, service, animal, work, life, day, meditation, mental, tire kicker
SPEAKERS
Kirsten K., Collin Funkhouser
Collin Funkhouser 00:01
Welcome to pet sitter confessional. Today, we're brought to you by time to pet and pet perennials. What makes you different in your business and your personal life? Do you understand how that has been shaped and molded over time both intentionally and unintentionally. Today, we are really excited to have Kirsten Kruska co owner of pet and plant pet pall on the show, to talk about what it means to understand yourself, how to set yourself apart and embrace that difference. She shares how she goes with the ebbs and flows of her business and recreates not just herself, but the business practices that are necessary to meet her client's needs. Let's get started. Hi,
Kirsten K. 00:43
I'm Kirsten in plant out in Louisville, Kentucky. i My business is the business itself is fairly new I just established business in the summer of 22 is when I officially launched the business, this version of the business although I have been in the pet industry in this area for well over 25 years as a dog groomer professional equestrian horseback riding instructor. So I have had quite a number of roles in the pet industry before this version of myself. And again, I had been grooming dogs professionally for about 12 years alongside to doing some other ventures. And as many people know, grooming dogs is extremely hard on the buck. Well, I developed of course, a very severe wrist injury. And being a single person having my own house, I wasn't really able to take the time off to recover from that injury. So for about a year, I kept having my wrist injected. And of course that comes along with some extra damage. And so by the spring of 21, I was looking at having surgery on both of my hands. Supposed to be off for about three months, having bilateral hand surgery. And it didn't really kind of was planned three months turned into six months, six months turned into a year. And at that point, we decided the doctors and what have you that I was going to have to medically retire from Doc road. So I am let's see, I well I guess when this happened, I was 47 that Okay, well I'm 47 Now, how do I like what do I what I do with myself? I've been through I went through horseback riding career and the dog grooming career but ended due to injury. So how do I repackage my skills that you know I can make a sustainable living for myself. So I tried to think of my best most marketable qualities and package them up. And that is how I came up with tech. And
Collin Funkhouser 04:06
were you ever worried at all Kiersten about re injuring yourself? Because while you might not be doing the grooming, you know, there are still there's still a physicality to this kind of work.
Kirsten K. 04:17
There is a physicality. I'm so fortunately I am very fit. I am an avid gym goer, I hit the gym five days a week I did my due diligence in physical therapy. And i i for my age I would like to think I'm one of the even better people in the entire gym even you know people half my age so I have a real strong commitment to physical fitness. My problem is they had to cut real At least the nerves in my hand in my hand, so half of my hands are numb. So it's not even so much about the weaknesses that I'm for doing dog grooming, you know, you really have to be able to feel with your hands. And for me that's really compromised. I can't hold the bike, you know, vibrating equipment for extended amounts of time. So, but walking dogs, leading horses, still being cat litter. And then, of course, part of the biggest bit of this business marketing. That's, you know, that's not so. So strenuous on the wrist. Yeah. Yeah. Well, and
Collin Funkhouser 05:48
you mentioned a couple times about repackaging reinventing your version of myself, I think that's a really cool way to put this as you you look at what you have, what skill sets you have, how you envision yourself moving forward, and then kind of going like how, how do I get there? And how do I make this work for me?
Kirsten K. 06:06
Yeah, and, and what what is it that I can offer my community? Um, you know, because it's important to me that I'm, I'm of service to others. And so So what are my strongest point? Like, you know, what do people call me about when they need when they need help? I get phone calls, I get pet questions, and I get Blanche question. So that is how I came up with pet implant pal. Yep. When when people need help with their pets and plants, um, you know, I that's that I'm the person they usually reach out to? Well, I
Collin Funkhouser 06:52
was curious about that, that plant part because, you know, I've heard a lot of sayings of you know, like, you know, pets are the new kids and plants are the new pets. And I don't I don't know about all that. But I do know that people have a lot of extensive plant collections. And they're very passionate about keeping them healthy. And well. So how does how does that service work? Right? Do they have to have a pet in the home? Or will you take care of people's
Kirsten K. 07:17
Hi, so I am also a certified horticulturist, when I was younger. When I was younger, I worked in the horticulture field and I did commercial tropical interior skates. So I would go with service great big huge office building shopping malls, restaurants, and I would design and then also we worked at maintenance for people to come in and meet. So when you go are you see that those airports, fancy hotels. So I used to work in a business that did that at a large commercial level. So I have all these other fantastic certifications. That's so cool.
Collin Funkhouser 08:06
That's really cool.
Kirsten K. 08:08
So um, so no, I do have people that I'm like, this winter, I had a client is a traveling medical professional. And she had some houseplants and was going to be gone for about four months. And so why come in there, I need her them. I water the they're metered water, everything's kind of recorded, they're cleaned. So similar to the way a pet client gets a care journal for their dogs or cats. My plant clients get the same for their.
Collin Funkhouser 08:56
To me, that's a lot of I mean, that's a lot of background that you bring to that. Do I don't I don't imagine there are too many people asking for those specific things, or do you find that they know kind of what exactly they're looking for? Are they pleasantly surprised by what you bring to the table with the
Kirsten K. 09:14
um, well with the plants? I yeah, I have been just sought out specifically for that. And that does actually give me some flexibility with my service area. So I can if it's just the house plant client, I can you know, I have to keep my service area quite so tight as I do with pet. Because it doesn't really matter what time you show up or if you you know, you know it's something good that can be slightly flexible. So and then of course I have the clients that are and a lot you know a lot of people that love pets love plants to win You know, so that's also part of Yeah, what I sell my, my brand is I'm, yeah, I'm your pet and plant path?
Collin Funkhouser 10:11
Well, I know you also focus a lot on on education. That's, that's pretty central to what you do about about plants and pets. Where does where does that desire come from to teach people? Well,
Kirsten K. 10:25
in this in this day and age, you know, it's, we're not we can't just trade our time for money, right? If we're doing straight hourly work, we're really not, it's really hard to build just the business if you're just and part of what these days is really selling. And if I'm looking to actually build a sustainable business, you know, selling selling the education is a really is a really big deal these days, you can't just be, you know, sure my time is worth X amount of money, but then how do I multiply that are a bigger vision? You know, as I look to expand my business, that one of my strong qualities is, I feel like people really enjoy learning.
Collin Funkhouser 11:23
So how does that look in a typical day, with educating? Is that mostly educating existing clients on problems that they have? Or is that in going out to the community and talking to them about how you can help them with those problems?
Kirsten K. 11:38
Um, there, there's, there's a multiple I would say, We're multi prong approach, as opposed to you know, I do offer grooming lessons. Yes. Excuse me. So now, while I can't, you know, put in eight hours on my wrist or whatever, I can go for the person that's really dedicated, that wants to learn to groom their own pet and I've had other pet sitting professionals come to me want to learn about grooming, so that they can add it to their services. So the way my time really is structured it is that of course, vacillated between like in the summertime, I do a lot of outdoor gardening, they will care I take care of this really big, beautiful Buddhist temple we have here and I am lucky enough to have that as one of my Of course I'm a member there and stuff like that, but they are also a client of mine and so I'm super lucky to be to have that project you were able to see it it's quite spectacular. So in the summertime of course a lot of time is dedicated there. Now in the winter time of course I've been focused on of course getting out a lot of content you know, getting out a lot of content doing teaching people how to grow when it was Christmas time running around all over the place doing as many visits as I could fit in so my my time and responsibilities tend to be really flexible now. I do have a vision where I'm going to start to expand with this sell employees so it's not so much about my time as it is this really wonderful program was designed for my clients.
Collin Funkhouser 14:04
Yeah and it's about i love it i talked about how the kind of the the tasks and and the needs change seasonally and that when you have a business of luck, there's a summer business here I've kind of got a fall transition into winter business here and I got a springtime things, it really does help even out a little bit can average out over the year of going okay, well I'm not doing as many outdoor stuff in the winter so I got more time to take on more indoor things right and then it kind of re allow that flow throughout the year and, and a lot of us I think if we looked at what goes on in our business, we do have a seasonality or a pulse. Well, we what we do and figuring out what services could I offer to, to to accentuate that. Or to even that out. What am I current clients need? How Do I approach that and really start to work out this multi seasonality in our business so that we have more consistency in all that we do? Absolutely. Have you heard of time to pet Dan from NYC pooch has this to say I'm
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Collin Funkhouser 15:36
If you're looking for new pet scan 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/confessional. You mentioned the Buddhist temple, Kiersten and I know that is really core to your your business. And you've based a lot of things on that. When I was learning more about you, I found that you have an eightfold path guarantee. And I really wanted you to dive into this because I think it's absolutely fascinating.
Kirsten K. 16:06
All right, so um, as I mentioned, I had that entire year of not really knowing what I was going to what was going to happen with my future was I going to be able to return back to dog grooming was I going to have to find a new career. And in that amount of time, what I had done with that time was I focused specifically on Dharma set. So that meant I went to a couple different temples, studied a lot of Buddhist philosophy studied with the monks hours and hours of meditation. Like, if I couldn't get my outside, right, I was gonna get the inside, right. So, in that journey, we really see how the Buddha has this lovely prescription to end suffering, right, that is the Eightfold Path. You want to know how to end the suffering you experience in your life, the Buddha teaches these eight steps that lead to enlightenment. What this also is, is a moral and an ethical cup. And since the the half of the Buddha is so near and dear to me, and really central to pretty much everything I do in my life. As I like to say Buddhism is time tested and scientifically proven. You know, it's um, yeah. So I really wanted my customers to get this sense of, you know, what, what is it that I am bringing that that's different to your household? I am bringing this, this really deep sense of ethics, that I truly believe in compassion for all living beings, that I'm there mindfully, happily patiently with their pets. So they can look into and read that this Eightfold Path guarantee is, is an honest commitment to like putting some good into this world, putting some good into your house, because my my core values, what I want to share with the world is this feeling supported and cared for, and loved. And like I said, compassion for all living beings. So that eight fold path guarantee just is a way they can. My clients or whoever comes on my website, sees how I mix business and ethical code and spirituality. In the Maya.
Collin Funkhouser 19:34
I think that's really important to have a way to present that to clients. Because it is hard to communicate that in a you know, in a short snippet or something like that, like there's a lot of depth to that. It's an extremely personal thing. And at the end, it results in a very practical application. And I think that's what's really important with that of going. Yeah, I'm there. I love you know, when you said I'm there mindfully, I'm there patiently like these, these are things, these are attributes that we, we all would like our clients to know about. And, and this this kind of this guarantee of going, this isn't just, I'm not just saying this because this is a slogan or a pithy way to market my business, this is a core belief and tenants of who I am as an individual, and I'm living, I'm living that out in my businesses well, and when you get me you get me and who I am, do you find that you have to explain this concept to very many clients? Or do they ask, Do they ask questions now?
Kirsten K. 20:39
You know, I feel like in general, people just kind of feel that from me anyways. And it's, it's hard for me not not to wisdom bomb someone, the first 20 minutes of meeting them. So it depends on their level of engagement or enthusiasm. You know, it's there for those who want it. And but it's certainly not something I'm trying to push on anyone, either. But I'd be like, as, as a general rule, people just feel that kind of stuff about me any. Right?
Collin Funkhouser 21:23
Well, and and it's something that I can you can, you can point back to and I love, you know, just very simply, you have that on your website as, as under the it's under the what makes us different. Tab. And I think that's so wonderful that you present it in that way of your, as we a lot of us try and think of how do I differentiate myself how I set myself apart? And what you did is you focused on core beliefs of yourself as an individual and going this this is, it's me, it's who I am. It's, it's not, you know, you could sit there and labor on about your background and groomer or trainer, or, you know, in the horticulturalist and all this stuff, but you focused on these personal beliefs of yours. And that's, that's a genuine presentation of ourselves. And clients really do pick up on that.
Kirsten K. 22:10
Yeah, they they really do. And, you know, it, I feel like also it helps kind of attract the kind of client I want to work with, as well. As you know, it's it's important to me that I'm working with someone that has is taking great care of their pets, believes in speaking to others kindly. So also, on the other hand, it's also saying, Hey, I, this is kind of what I'm expecting of you to. Um, and, yeah, it, I think the people that are maybe out of the tire kickers are out there looking for the discount, you know, that they're not going to look at that stuff. But the person that really values, those things are going to be like, oh, yeah, me too. And those are the clients, those are the people I want to help,
Collin Funkhouser 23:12
right. Because if you have a tire kicker, or somebody who's just trying to see what's out there, they hit this page, like, it's a lot to absorb, it's a lot to take in. And really, I mean, it sets it sets some high expectations, and it is, it is reminded this is a reciprocal thing of, hey, I as a company, this is how I'm going to treat you and there's a reciprocity expected in this relationship. And that if you don't want to write, you know, to, to, to livelihood, or you know, to write care or to these things are right action, like that's, that's on them to kind of help filter out the kind of clients that are going to be interested in working with you if they are not also personally attracted to these as well. Right. Right. And I was curious, because you do have in there about, you know, in your services, you work to prioritize the physical, emotional and mental well being and I did want to know, Kiersten how you how you work that out in your visits, and when you're when you're working with your clients.
Kirsten K. 24:12
Of course, as a business owner, anytime I go into a place I look in and try to see what okay, what's the most efficient way I can cover all these different needs? What what are the most important things this animal needs? They definitely need water, they definitely need their food. Is the animal happy? Am I going in there? And is that animal super stressed that I'm in there all the time over? Am I going in there with plenty of time where the animal can you know, be chill and happy. So it's important that it's not um, that the client really under stands about taking the correct amount of time with, you know, whatever animal, whatever situation it is. And if it's a situation that you know, where I feel like the animals not being maintained properly gives me an out?
Collin Funkhouser 25:23
Well, you start out by going, I think that there's a, there's that unique way that you can approach visits, there's, there's the most efficient way. And then there's the most effective way or the best way, I'll say that way, there's the most efficient, and then there's the best way. And sometimes they are mutually exclusive. Right? I have definitely been at the visits of going, there's a very efficient way to get this done. But it's going to mean putting the pet in a situation that they don't want to be in, it's going to be damaging some relationships, it's going to be moving really fast and quickly here. So what actually is prioritizing the physical, emotional mental well, being here is extending the visit or requesting more time from the client or working some other method here and always knowing that I have a decision tree as a business owner that I have to work through and going at the end of this when I'm actually doing the work. Are these being prioritized? If not, I need to try another
26:19
tactic. Yeah, that's a beautiful way to articulate that.
Collin Funkhouser 26:25
And sometimes clients appreciate that. And sometimes they just don't understand. And so do you. Have you ever had to try and communicate that to a client of have look, this isn't doing
Kirsten K. 26:35
these things? Oh, yeah. I mean, when you, you know, I have been in the pet and horse industry 30 years now, probably professionally? Um, yeah, there are just some times where, what the client wants particular theme grooming, what the client wants is not in the best interest of that animal. And you you have to decide as a professional is like, am I going to partake in something that I think is inhumane? Because because of a bug? Or am I going to be the advocate for this animal and say, this is this is not going down on my watch. And that's,
Collin Funkhouser 27:21
that's key, and that we have to remind ourselves that when we're there, we're an advocate. And they can't speak for themselves about what their needs are at that moment directly. We, as the professional need to be there to, to tell the client, what needs to take place, and have those morals, have those ethics have those standards that we can point to and go look, what's your asking, Does it meet these? And so either A, I'm not the person for you, or B, I have some advice? And then you can see if you want to listen to me or not.
Kirsten K. 27:59
Exactly. I mean, you can't force anyone to do what you think is right. But you can certainly choose to participate in it or not. Yeah,
Collin Funkhouser 28:11
that's really hard Kiersten as somebody who's like, wait. It's because we, we have to make that decision. Again, like you said, we have to choose whether we're going to participate in that level or not. And then sometimes we've got bills do sometimes where it's really slow, sometimes we're really, you know, we need XYZ, or this may be the worst one that comes up sometimes for us is like, Oh, this is a really good community connection, right? And if they would just share meat, my services to their friends, I'd be in the in crowd and I could do, there's so many little cuts that we can make to our integrity along that way of what we're willing to do to make things happen. That then we stopped being true to who we are. Yeah,
Kirsten K. 28:56
and I'm, and I've been like this way for a very long time. What is meant for me, is meant for me, it is not meant for me. It's not meant for me. So yeah, sometimes it is not meant for you or a situation to work out in a certain way. But it'll work out in a different way. If you're true to yourself and your morals and, and what you think is honestly important. What Kyrsten How
Collin Funkhouser 29:33
do what advice would you give to somebody who's struggling to embrace that? Because I think that's a really healthy mentality of like, if it's going to work out, it's going to work out and I'm just going to know that whatever work I'm doing is the work that I need to be doing. And that's enough versus this. Always more or Oh, I missed that opportunity. Or oh, I was that was stolen from me kind of you know, feeling like this grudge against the universe, I guess.
Kirsten K. 29:58
Well, I guess Buddhists are very well trained, letting go. Letting Go. Oh, illusory anyway. Yes. So I, for me, this is I think why everybody needs to learn to meditate it, it makes it easier to let go of certain mental situations or situations that you're might let go muscle is really really strong. I honestly think it's through meditation I am then you know, having to start your whole life or your whole business over at the age of 47. You want to know what kind of Cliff dive that is. All you can do is let go and trust that the universe has got your back.
Collin Funkhouser 30:59
Well, what I hear from that, too, is that it takes practice, right? It's not something you just wake up one day and do right, you said my letting go muscle is? Well exercise, basically. Yeah, it starts with real little things.
Kirsten K. 31:12
Starts with the way as Buddhist training is, you know, starting in very short meditation, how to let go of how to let go of your thoughts, how to keep your mind concentrated on one object when all these other things keep popping up. How do you and oddly over time, it translate into this metacognition in your life, to where you're able to see certain things a little more clearly, or if you can't see them clearly, you're able to let it go and trust that what needs to work out is going to is going to work out so yeah, it's a muscle you got you got to start small you can't do the gym and lift the heaviest stuff right away. You starting Z, sma that muscle?
Collin Funkhouser 32:12
Yeah, and I'm sure you know, having a support group and fell people to go and speak to is also helpful to keep you accountable and voice some opinions and voice these frustrations. Because I know for me, that's, that's one way that I can help let go of, I need to vocalize some things of of I need to tell somebody else how frustrated I was in that moment. And then once it's out there, I can breathe. And so I can like okay, I can I can move on. I've said my piece to a pillow right or to a wall and now I can I can move somewhere else or have a listening ear that can sympathize with you too. And those
Kirsten K. 32:46
moments Yeah, and honestly, one of the best things I did was um, right off the bat I hired a business coach. So I get some really incredible feedback and guidance and planning as as to how to grow this business and of course like the the amazing emotional support you get when you hire wonderful people shout out to Shelley buyer.
Collin Funkhouser 33:22
Yeah, you know, and that's a that's a step that can be a yet another scary thing because now of you know, going to a business coach and whether that's a pet care industry specific one or a financial coach or just a business coach, you know, more of a general thing or it's, it's, it's scary because now all of a sudden, I'm I'm going and I'm going to somebody else who may tell me things that I'm not ready to hear. How did you was that part of your letting it let you know, the letting go process and you just embraced what they you know, advisor or, you know, kind of what was that process like?
Kirsten K. 34:01
She and I just connect really well. Anyways on on many levels. So I, I just I trust I trust her advice. I feel like she's really helped me establish some really wonderful things in this business, I would have had no idea how to do not to mention all the incredible marketing advice. And look, like I said, as of this time last year, I could barely write an email. If you have looked at my social media is it is ongoing. I've got great graphics, I've gotten great copy. You know, that's a lot to learn at my age in that short amount of time and if it wasn't for her guidance and patient who who knows Who knows.
Collin Funkhouser 35:02
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Kirsten K. 36:35
There's an app to the industry with there's a number of really dynamic coaches that offer some really good advice. So here also got a lot, there's a lot of noise out there to say, like who's going to help me take my vision in the direction that feels right for me? Yeah,
Collin Funkhouser 36:56
it can be a really scary time whenever you are, especially when you whether you are new, or whether you've been in the industry a while when you go to look for help. It's really overwhelming. And it can be maybe helping your business or maybe it's helped with a particular training problem that you're having, or maybe it's helped with taxes. The gosh, don't get me started with that. Anytime we go for help, we're become very vulnerable, in that aren't as as a person of going. I'm admitting I'm at my sometimes my wit's end. And I'm looking for help and, and being trying to be discerning and doing our due diligence in who we let in to help. But sometimes that can turn into nobody's good enough for me. And so I'm just never going to reach out.
Kirsten K. 37:44
Yeah, well, fortunately, I am very flexible. And I have had some really great teachers and professors and role models in my life. as well. As I mentioned, I used to ride horses professionally. So I've written under some Olympic trainers. As we know, that can be some really tough advice to take when you're galloping a 2000 pound horse at a six foot fence. They don't mince their words.
Collin Funkhouser 38:23
Well, and that's the other thing too. Oh Karason of sometimes the advice that we get is harsh. Because if not heated, there's a lot of danger on the other side. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Like how, how you correct? You know, just think about with kids like how you correct a kid who is, you know, who is painting on the walls is very different than how you correct a kid that is running into a six lane highway, right? Because now, in the moment, sometimes the correction when we're the kid, it's like, oh, that was way overkill. I don't understand. But also again, trusting that the person can look ahead a little bit and going you are going to some really bad places here, right?
Kirsten K. 39:05
Way. Right? Well, I'm gonna meet her anytime you can take anybody's advice or nobody sees you for who you are. They see themselves as you, you know, it's like, I don't really see Colin, I see what I think is calling from what little I know about you and the way you appear. So none of it's ever really personal advice because there's no real way to actually get that personal.
Collin Funkhouser 39:49
Oh, that's no, it's so true. And that comes in the form of whether it's a A coach giving us feedback or somebody else in the industry, or even with clients to have Yeah, it's, a lot of times they are reacting to an interpretation of who we are. And so to to understand that everybody's viewing us through a lens, yeah, that I can't get too offended, because they may, they've got classes on their face there,
Kirsten K. 40:25
there is no objective way for me to really know you and, you know, really objective way for. So if you gotta take a step back and say, This isn't necessarily personal, what's the lesson here? And how do I move forward? From that removing whatever, you know, I feel if I didn't like the tone, or the way it made me felt because it was blame rather than praise, or it's all the same energy, you just have to understand how to apply it. Yeah,
Collin Funkhouser 41:04
that's what it is right? Of how to apply it. And now it's you go, it's that moment of decision of going, Okay, now that I know, what this person thinks are now that I know this person seeing what's what's kind of like, what's my responsibility with that, at this point? What am I supposed to do with that, and going? Well, there are a lot of different I can get angry, I can go cry in the corner, which is what I personally, you know, want to do a lot of times, like I just hold on, just give me a minute. Or, or, or, you know, do I breathe and recognize or do I you know, react, because that's that's our responsibility in that moment of look, they have said their speech piece, they have spoken, they have done the thing, I can't control what's coming out of their mouth. And now I have to go, Okay, now it's up, it's up to me, to make a decision with us. Right,
Kirsten K. 41:51
and not to go back to the meditation thing too much. But that is the beauty about just practicing meditation just a little bit in its small in its smallest forms, is that in those moments, when your nervous system is really charged, or you've just heard something you didn't really like, you have that mental space to go. Let me analyze this rather than all of a sudden, like jumping to whatever it is that your nervous system has just reacted?
Collin Funkhouser 42:31
Well, and that that mental space is so hard to do as a business owner, because it's filled with a cacophony of to do lists, noise, tasks, worries, frustrations. And we do get to that mental space where we, you know, I'd say a lot of times, it's like, I don't have the bandwidth to deal with this anymore. There's no more space, there's no more capacity for this. And so periodically doing that, that whatever, you know, that that practice for the for you of going, I've got clutter in my brain, I need to do something with, I've got to take care of that. Because if I can't get be at 100% capacity today, and take on new things or more things tomorrow, that's just doesn't work. Right. So when you look to your ideal clients, I I did notice that you had this, we talked about your grooming earlier. Have you said your ideal clients, sorry, your ideal candidates for personal grooming, are dedicated dog owners committed to routine grooming. And I wasn't. I was curiously How do you screen for this?
Kirsten K. 43:41
It doesn't actually take me very long to figure out who's serious. Because a lot of people will say, Oh, grooming lessons. And of course that's your owners with those doodles. They're spending 200 bucks on their haircuts all the time. And then they're getting mad at their groomers because they're not getting brushed in between and the groomers are shaving. I don't want those customers because they got kicked out of groom shops, like Well, I grew my dog. No, no, no, no. Um, so yeah, so I don't take I don't take clients that have been booted out of groom shops. You know, I just because grooming. Now it's one thing if you want me to to come over there and teach you how to efficiently give your Husky a blowout at the self wash or, you know, what's the most efficient way to keep my little terrier from jumping out of the bathtub and how do I safely do that? Or even to I have had clients with doodles wanting to learn to do the whole haircut but I was like This goes in stages, you, you have to do the work in between this isn't like a different excuse for me to come do grooming This is for you to get better. And then also, grooming equipment is ridiculously expensive. Yeah, now I don't mind if I have someone that's kind of new and they don't have, like, all their stuff in there, they need help ordering or whatever, I don't mind sharing some of like, my not so expensive stuff. So they can be you know, feel what different things are like, but, um, you know, once I start kind of explaining to them the costs of, of scissors and clippers, and if they screen them together other party it was like, Well, how long did How long does that take? I'm like, Well, how quickly do you learn how, you know, we can be talking about six months worth worth of lessons. This isn't like, you're probably not going to learn how to. And I'm talking about the the doodles and stuff like that. Which of course, where I get my biggest interest is, of course, the like biggest like amount that I turn away to, when they start understanding exactly what that entails. Right? Well, it's
Collin Funkhouser 46:31
this it is that commitment, right? And you said, No, you've got to do the work in between. And, and that's it. That is a level of commitment that a lot of people don't understand. I mean, about grooming about life, in general of, we can't just shortcuts to the end. That's not how any of this works. If you want it to shortcut, you need to, you know, go back to the groomer that you're spending a lot of money on, because that's what that that's worth. Yeah. And knowing that, you know, I just love that idea of, well, I wasn't committed enough to keep brushing my dog so that they didn't have to shave them anymore. And I'm committed now to groom and go through this process of like, what are you like, do you understand this? And we, Kiersten we see that all the time with our clients who have dogs with separation anxiety, or who have these other behavioral concerns, and, or even cats, you know, and going, Oh, well, I thought I could contact you. And you would just magically fix this. Yeah,
Kirsten K. 47:30
you're no, I don't have a magic rule. And I can give you professional advice on how to handle it like, like, you would go to a gym trainer, you know, go to the gym trainer, and say, Okay, I want this like 20 year old BOD of a supermodel. But I'm a 50 year old housewife that loves m&ms. Because like you can't. Yeah, you have to do the work. Yeah,
Collin Funkhouser 48:00
and, and helping. I'm trying to get people to understand that. And it can be really frustrating. Because I know we've we've had people contact us who they sounded like they were such a good fit. Have they wanted the service. They were price wasn't the issue. But they were looking for a quick fix. And we can't do that. And I can't imagine how much more so whenever it comes to, to grooming
Kirsten K. 48:25
or to grooming. So yeah, I try to make I tried to make that really pretty clear in any, anytime I publish something about it. And of course, because people see me with the young lady that I did help with her real pretty sheepadoodles in their big fluffy heads. And so they see that and they think oh, and that's know that that woman owns a pet sitting business and this is going to be part of her livelihood. So oh, you know that? So it's not um, sometimes they'll they'll see the picture and and think oh, that could be me with in a short amount of time not really understanding the full picture of what all going into. Yeah, ya photograph. Well,
Collin Funkhouser 49:15
and then that's where that education comes back in of let me tell you why the process is the way it is. Let me talk walk you through the why there can't be shortcuts here. Let me and that that that that onus becomes on us, it's on you, when you're walking through that are going I have to know this really well. I have to be able to assess where this person is. I have to have that conversations to know what their expectations are. So I can walk them through the steps in an appropriate manner. And we can become frustrated when we don't take that upfront time to do that assessment of that person. And we then we are left going well why didn't they choose me? Well, a lot of reasons right. But it could have been Yeah, they weren't willing to they weren't patient enough to go also getting back to your your A fold guarantee of going, Hey, look to patiently is your patience is a big thing for us if you can't be patient, this isn't, you know, this isn't gonna work out.
Kirsten K. 50:08
It is a it is always a two way street. And anytime you deal with well, then when then you add the animals into the mix, even though it's more than a two way
Collin Funkhouser 50:19
street there. Because now we've got to make sure that we are focusing and prioritizing their mental
Kirsten K. 50:24
because there there are plenty of it. You know, I've been in this industry long enough, there are some dogs just don't like me. You, you have that they just need to go to a different person, they might do fine. It wasn't anything I did wrong. Yeah, it wasn't any like history the dog had with neither. Sometimes they're just not energetic matches. And you also have to say, look, this is this, this is not a good mix for either one of us. Here's my recommendation.
Collin Funkhouser 50:59
And always following up with that. I might not be a good fit, for whatever reason that is, but here's who I think maybe, and just being honest with him about that. Yeah.
Kirsten K. 51:10
And that's, I always think that in the long run, it's, you're gonna come out looking professional. Some people don't like that medicine, but you know, you're gonna come come out looking professional in the long run, when you say something is above your capacity, something is outside your scope of ability. You know, it is better to say I am not capable of that here is who I think can handle it. But that is that is outside of the boundaries of what I can do.
Collin Funkhouser 51:43
I really agree that when we're honest with ourselves and our boundaries, clients don't pick up on that, again, this genuine nature that we are we are purveying, we're being straightforward with them. We're being transparent and all that we do. And that that is where that that's where trust can come back. And they may come back to you for other things, because you were honest enough to say when you couldn't help them with that other. Absolutely. I agree. KEARSON, I want to thank you so much for your time and for sharing with us the importance of finding that mental space, letting things go and embracing that not just we will evolve and change but our lives around us do. And that we can either embrace that or fight it. And then that's going to be where you know it and walking that line. There's there's a whole lot here. And I know that you've got a lot to share and educate on. So how can people best get connected with you and follow along with all the cool stuff that you're doing? All right,
Kirsten K. 52:37
well, I would be super pleased to invite everyone over to my Facebook content, I work really hard to write some hopefully, fun and informative stuff. And hopefully some cute reels as well. I am also on Instagram, but pretty much just the same copy of that. So my name is Kiersten Krista, i r s t e n, k r u s k and or you can find me there at Dan, how
Collin Funkhouser 53:15
Churston I really want to thank you for coming on the show and sharing with us and taking time out of your busy day. I genuinely appreciate it. And I'm very, very, very thankful. Absolute
Kirsten K. 53:25
pleasure, Colin, thank you. All right, you have a great week.
Collin Funkhouser 53:30
What version of yourself are you creating for tomorrow? And what version of yourself are you living today? Our experiences, our trials, our struggles, our strengths, all shape, who we are and who we become part of our responsibility is then understanding how that actually impacts us. What can we mold? What do we have control over? And how do we become who we need to be to get the work done that we want to our other responsibility, being part of the process intentionally and going along with the flow when we need to. We'd like to thank today's sponsors, time to pet and pet perennials for making today's show possible. And we really want to thank you for listening. We hope you have a wonderful rest of your week and we'll be back again soon.
