487: Keeping it Simple with Scott Black
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How do you keep things simple in your business? Scott Black, owner of Personal Touch Pet Sitting, discusses the importance of personalized communication, screening clients thoroughly, and managing risks in the industry. He also emphasizes the significance of continuing education and balancing growing a pet sitting business while prioritizing quality and safety. Scott shares his thoughts on liability and risk management, setting boundaries, and managing client relationships.
Main topics:
Networking
Managing your risk
Quality over quantity
Importance of relationships
Main takeaway: Be careful of creating a demand you cannot, or do not want to, supply.
About our guest:
Top dog, jack of all trades and founder/owner of Personal Touch Pet Sitting, Kingwood, TX since 2005. CPPS through PSI. Top 5 finalist for PSI’s Pet Sitter of the year 2097 and 2009. Honored to have been named the 2010 Pet Sitter of the Year.
I am a co-pet parent to 4 dogs and 3 cats, all rescues. I represent the professional pet care industry by taking part in town events, as well as maintains professional relationships with the veterinarians and other pet businesses in my community.
(The picture is the day I met Chato. He is our blind and deaf dog. We fostered him for almost a year before we adopted him.) This is one of my favorite pictures. Some how the two of us bonded that day. He couldn’t see or hear me. It was love at first smell I guess.)
Links:
Previously on Episode 315: https://www.petsitterconfessional.com/episodes/315
https://www.petsit.com/pet-sitter-kingwood-tx-personal-touch-pet-sitting-inc
https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-black-76ab301b/
281-441-PETS
Email: ptps@comcast.net
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A VERY ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE EPISODE
Provided by otter.ai
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
client, pet, dog, business, pet sitters, visit, sitters, call, solo, scott, meet, day, talk, leash, complications, home, collin, greet, kingwood, sitting
SPEAKERS
Collin F., Scott B.
Scott B. 00:02
by adding another layer of something, is it going to make it more complicated for me? Is it going to make it more complicated for existing clients, or potential new client?
Collin F. 00:12
Welcome to pet sitter confessional? Today, we're brought to you by time to pet and the peaceful pet music, calm music for pets YouTube channel. What does it mean to keep things simple in your business? How do you prevent yourself and your business from the overwhelm from the cruft from the things that get added on over time? Today, we're really excited to have Scott black back on the show with us. He was previously on episode 315. Scott talks about how he focuses his business through screening clients thoroughly and managing the risks that our industry brings. When he thinks of keeping things simple. It's all about thinking about liability and risk management and setting appropriate boundaries to keep him from getting in situations he doesn't want to be in. Let's get started.
Scott B. 01:02
Thank you for having me back. I am Scott black, I am the owner founder top dog and fill in the blank with personal touchpad sitting out of Kingwood, Texas, which is a suburb of Houston. I'm also a certified professional pet sitter through psi and a past Pet Sitter of the year 2010. Was my year with pet sitters International,
Collin F. 01:27
you won in 2010, you were still pretty new into your business, because you're coming up on what 19 years in business. Now, Scott,
Scott B. 01:35
yeah, July July 1, how have you managed that you got a month to actually, you know, what I think the easiest way is, like in many things slow and steady wins the race. You know, you just need to figure out what works best for you and your clients. Now, that's an evolving thing, though. You know, it's not something that what worked well for me six years ago, may not be working for me now. So there's always room to tweak things, you know what I mean? It's, I mean, my core thing has always been, and you know, but the S word has got to come up a lot, keeping things simple. But honestly, I just think, you know, you can't walk before you know, you have to crawl before you walk, and you have to walk before you run. And sometimes I feel in our industry. Newer business owners are looking to get into a full, full bore sprint, you know what I mean? And, and you know, they're gonna hit a wall, you know, we all want to grow. But in order to grow at, you need to grow at a speed that's right for you. If that makes sense, especially if you know, I'm going to focus most of this on a solo business model. Because businesses with staff can probably maybe hit some of those goals quicker, because you've got more people doing the work. But when you're a one man band, or let's say a husband and wife team, you know, where one's only helping out when needed, you know, when you're the only one doing the job, there's only so much you can do. And at some point, you know, you need to make a decision are you going to compromise quality over quantity. And, as a pet parent, I know what I would want for my pets, and having a special needs dog. You know, he's going to take some time, I want someone that's going to be able to meet his needs. And not just you know, yes me to death and and, you know, start accepting multiple, multiple jobs where they've got a quantity of jobs because they're looking to make money, but they're not providing quality care. So I always put quality over quantity, quantity.
Collin F. 04:21
And that is a hard mindset to get into. As as you know, when you start first start your business. It's really easy to look at other businesses in your area or on Instagram, or you know, in Facebook groups and start going I want to be where that person is right now. Right and it is this it is this patience thing of it's not a oh, you've got to do your time and you got to put in the effort you know, blah blah but like there are there tends to be a sequence of events like you kind of have to learn how things work and I love how you pointed out Scott also of just learning what you want out of this and what your pace is and more about yourself as well as you learn are in the business to?
Scott B. 05:02
Yeah, I mean, you're, you're the captain of your ship on ship, so to speak, right? You know, you know, me, I love to cruise, but you know, you need to make sure you, you know, you're at the helm, you need to make sure you can keep that, that ship sailing and and whether that's at three knots or, or 20 knots, you know what I mean? It's, it's and no one but yourself is going to know you know and you're, you're if you're going to move too fast, you're going to crash and burn, you're going to burn out and you're going to start resenting your clients, you're going to start resenting the pets, it's gonna it's going to, oh, you know, flow into your personal life. And that is the hard part about what we do. Because it's very hard to have a personal life, when you're working nights, weekends, holidays, you know, it's, I always like to say, doing what I do is more of an advocation than an occupation. And when it stops being fun, it's time to get out. You know, granted, there's lots of things about our industry and owning a business that aren't fun, all the admin work and, you know, that's the behind the scenes stuff, you know, but that's part of it. And you have to embrace that just as much. As you know, being out there in the field, or at an event, you know, meeting the public and marketing your business. And, you know, there's there's fun things, but I hate to say you could go to the office every day. And that eight to five would be to me, that would be like torture, just sitting at a desk all day. You know what I mean? So I try to break up my day, you know, my morning visits, like, now we're talking, I have that window before it might mid days, where we can sit down and talk and I was able to be charged a few emails and get some invoices out. And you know, I'll go do my mid days and come back. And if I've, if I'm up to date on anything that I got some me time, you know, and then before my dinner visits, so, you know, I just kind of break up the day, you know, and make it work for me in that respect. So things don't get overly complicated, you know?
Collin F. 07:37
How did you how did you find that pace of what worked for you? Was that a trial and error thing? Or did you kind of know what felt right as your business changed?
Scott B. 07:46
Yes, yes. Well, you know, I started by myself, and built a business that I had created a demand that I couldn't supply. And I was turning more business away than then I wanted that I started to utilize the services of independent contractors before Texas, told us we can't. So but again, independent contractors are a whole nother topic. And you could probably do 100 podcasts about ICS. And there's still not enough time. But I decided that after you know some time of using them, no matter how I tried to explain the business relationship to clients, I don't think they ever fully understood that this person did not work for me. They were not part of my business, per se. And I just said, You know what? I'm done. And you know, you can't, you know, people don't ICS if they don't want to work, they don't want to work. So I just said, you know, 2016 or 2015. Actually, I decided that effective January 1 2016. I was going back to work. And so, and I haven't looked back, I have learned that you want to continue to grow your bid your business, and I do grow my business one client at a time, like everybody else, as long as I have the availability to provide service when they need it. If not, I'm gonna refer out to another sitter and say, Well, I guess I lost that client. But it is what it is. Because I'm again, I'm going to go back to the quality versus quantity. I'm not going to take on a new client when I'm already booked with multiple homes in a morning where you know, you can only be at one house at a time as a solo. So I'm already compromising something by taking on that client. And I won't do it for at the Texas conference and you know it was Amazing the content about social media and putting yourself out there was amazing. But that's a perfect example of a solo and I'm not being negative, I'm just, you know, I looked at that and said, Wow, if I was bigger, and I be all over that, like, again, I don't want to create a Demand I can't supply. And I think pet sitters need to understand that, that you can grow, but something's something's going to compromise. Somewhere, you know, what I mean, compromises are gonna have to be made. And I think about what I would want. And again, a lot of these questions that, you know, we deal with every day, you know, I'm just not going to compromise quality over quantity, because I know, that's what I would want for my home and my pets, and a lot of the decisions I make, when it comes to pricing and all of that other stuff. Would I be comfortable paying this? As a pet parent, as the consumer? And I know a lot of business owners look at it like, well, you know, we're all about making money. Well, you know, what, yes, we all want to be profitable. But there's got to be some personal aspect of the care we provide. And, and I think there's parts of our industry where that personal touch or whatever you want to call it is lacking sometimes, you know, but I'm very old school, you know, 19 years, and I'm pretty old school. It works for me. You mentioned
Collin F. 11:52
the social media aspect, too. I think that's a really good example, Scott of things that get brought up of things that we are quote, unquote, supposed to do, and, and realistically sitting down and going, okay, that's fine. You tell me I need to do these kinds of reels, these kind of social media posts that I need to do so and so thing on my website need to have this stuff. Okay. What you're really doing here, Scott, is you're going, Okay, where's that time coming from? Right? What What am I sacrificing to do that post to make this happen to do the website to do all this stuff? And going, am I okay? With that trade off, because that's what it is, right? That's you, I only have so much time in my day, I can either do less visit, do less visits to make this happen. I can do more rushed visits, I can lead a more kind of chaotic life, to get all this stuff done. Or I can take a step back and go, What do I actually need to serve my clients? Well,
Scott B. 12:52
exactly. But again, even if I had the time to do all of that, I'm gonna put these spreads so thin out there in the social media world, that people are going to be reaching out to me. And again, it might create a Demand I can't supply. And, you know, I'm pretty grassroots by businesses pretty much strictly word of mouth right now. You know, I'm very fortunate that I have an amazing, longtime client base, that's in the community, so on the only in most of the vets in Kingwood, I'm the only senator that that a lot of them will refer to, just because they know I've dealt with some of their clients. You know, I have a client who I just finished it yesterday, this poor little dog, he had back surgery, and she never really healed well from it, and her bladder needs to be expressed. A lot of pet sitters won't do that. Certain pet sitters won't do insolence, you know? You know, I mean, I don't want to have to stick my hand down a German Shepherds throat to give them a pill. But you know, I am open to the suggestion of, you know, well, how do we kill your dog, you know, or, you know, some pet sitters have, you know, certain things or just deal breakers for them. And, you know, I liked the fact that that the vets in Kingwood feel comfortable giving my name out. But again, that's that I have the conversation with the pet parent. Well, let's talk about this. And, you know, I had a recent phone call with a new client that found me on the app store that has four dogs, and one of them is diabetic. And we you know, we had a pretty in depth conversation about this one dog and you know, does she eat well, you know, what, what, you know, what is the timeframe and you know, I wasn't going to go in there blind and you know, we they have some time before before their, their their trips. And I said, How about, I guess swing by I meet the dogs, and let's see how they do with me first. You know, I believe it's a single woman with her dogs. And, you know, there's not a lot of men in their lives. And I said, you know, before we sit down and do the paperwork and get the key, and let me just come over while I'm out doing middays one day and and, you know, pop in for 510 minutes, you know, 15 minutes and see how they do with me. And, you know, you can be the judge of that, you know, see how they respond. And, you know, if not, I network with some great ladies that, you know, I could I could refer I said, I'm not going to take it personally. But you know, I just want to make sure that, that your dogs are going to be okay, and especially the one that needs her insulin. And she's like, wow, would you really do that? I said, Of course. I mean, again, it's, and who benefits from that? The pets do? And I do when I'm going into a house where there's four little dogs, I'll give it me the whale, I you know, take one step forward, and you're toast. Yeah.
Collin F. 16:01
Well, that's a process of going like, it's kind of preemptively getting ahead of that complication that can come up in that headache today of like,
Scott B. 16:09
yeah. I refuse to let 20% of whatever become 80% of my problem, you know what I mean? Like, I'm way past that, Colin, and, you know, and I think part of that comes from how I screen my clients, or potential clients. You know, again, I'm old school. Again, there's another a different S word that's going to come up other than simple. The software word. You know, I don't use petsitting software. I'm not anti software. I was actually wearing my time to pet t shirt yesterday that I got at the conference. Anyway. Ah, yes, not for me. But in lieu of software, you reach out to me. And it's funny, this lady with the dogs and the insulin, she emailed me initially. And I emailed back and said, Hey, I have quite a few questions for you, regarding the needs of the diabetic dog, as well as the other dogs. Said, I find email to be a little impersonal. At times, I said, I would really love the opportunity to speak with you. Can you provide a phone number and the best time to reach you? And she's like, Oh, that's great. Here's my number, you know, anytime tonight after whatever. And I said, Great, I look forward to speaking with you. And we were on the phone for probably about 20 minutes. And I had all my questions answered. And I think I put her at ease a little bit. And, you know, she didn't have to go to a portal and fill out a client information sheet to get to get my attention, didn't have to go out and fill out a pet information sheet. And you know, a lot of things that that we see on on the Facebook groups, about things kind of blowing up, you know, you'll see these these threads. You know, I want to make sure i's are dotted and T's are crossed before I even go to a meet and greet. Where, you know, I've heard people say that people fill out the form, just to get it submitted, even though it may not be fully, fully complete. And, you know, the pet sitter says, well, I'll just get this information when I meet with them, instead of picking up the phone and saying, Hey, Mrs. Smith, you know, you didn't answer the question about has your dog ever bitten anyone? Or, you know, you know, how does your dog do on a leash, you know, and this is where things blow up at the meet and greet. And then they don't have an exit strategy. And all you need to do I mean, I know a lot of people don't like to talk on the phone. And we've got, again, I'm old school and pet sitters of my age group and that have been in business 1520 years or longer. We're gonna get on the phone and call. Younger people are more tuned into the technology in the software. And I think it's great. I think the idea of having everything in one place is great for larger businesses. You know, I personally don't need it, but I see the benefit of it. And I promote that setting software to anyone. It's just not right for my business model. Because I have a way of invoicing and getting paid. I have a way of maintaining my schedule every day and by getting clients and how they can do that. And that works for me. So, you know, but but I think people are so eager to to get build their business and get clients, that they're, they're willing to take any job that comes along, regardless, regardless of the risks involved. And, you know, I am not going to tell stories, but you know, at the Texas conference, I was able to sit with Laura, from BEC, okay, who I've known for years. And, you know, I, we were just talking about insurance claims. And she said, Scott, she goes that people just ask the right questions. And, you know, it's, it's a shame that pet sitters aren't asking certain questions when it comes to, you know, taking on a new client.
Collin F. 20:59
You mentioned that question of has your dog ever been anybody? My favorite response when we get that on our form, is when they say better explained in person. And I always laugh, and I say, No, I'm not showing up to this situation. Yeah, I am gonna, I am gonna call and we're gonna walk through this. And, you know,
Scott B. 21:18
that should that should be a big red flag. Yeah.
Collin F. 21:22
Wait a minute. No. But it is it is about you know, Scott, when you talk about this, you know, we talked about the knowing yourself in the pace to grow your business and what that looks like for you. It also means knowing yourself to know how you work, right? And I do, I do think many people get into a business and they start running an operating it like somebody else. Yeah, not themselves. And that's, that's where complications really do arise. When we're like, well, I should be doing this. Because so and so said, that was the best thing to do, or, but that's because so and so across the street is doing that, instead of going, what's going to work for me like that's really, really important. If we can't maintain something, keep it up, you know, be excited about it. It's never going to last, regardless of what our clients do or do not like or their perceptions of that. Yeah, it's really about finding that, how do I work and then go from there? Well,
Scott B. 22:18
and that's just it, everybody has to find that that comfort zone of how they want to work in their business, on their business, and grow their business. And, you know, a solo sitter is going to have a different mindset than, you know, you and Megan, you guys have staff. Right? And you still can't be available 100% of the time for 100% of your clients, right? I mean, I mean, it would be great, but I don't think any business can do that. It's like a hotel or a restaurant or, you know, I, I I'm planning a vacation here. Here's a funny story talking about things that that happened. I'm planning another cruise Oh, shock in the fall. And it's going out of Miami. And I always fly in the day before. I had a hard time finding a hotel near Miami, because Taylor Swift is performing in Miami that weekend. And the hotels like you know, not even hotels, motels were like $300 a night, you know, just talk about craziness. Craziness. But you know, you can't always things always don't go the way you know, you want them to go. I mean, we were able to find a room finally. But I'm like, Well, you know what, maybe we should plan another weekend, where you know, but we're we managed to get a hotel, but still, I'm not paying. I was hoping to pay. But you know, it's one of those things that you know, you just don't know what's going to happen. And you know, we just don't know what's gonna happen in our businesses either. You know, going back to your better explained in person, you know that that's a red flag and you know that that should require a phone call, like you said, but unfortunately, I don't think many sitters want to take that time. They don't want to get on the phone. And and I that that bothers me in our industry. Well, I got into this because I like pets. Well, you're a business owner, you have to be able to sell your service. You know, you need to talk to people at some point, you're going to have to talk to the pet parent. And why not start from the beginning? I mean, I hate to tell you even if I had software and got all of that information, I would still make a phone call that would be part of my process. Says that said Hey Colin, I just wanted to let you know I got your stuff, I would still like to take a couple of minutes of your time to talk about taking care of your guys, you know, when is there a good time to reach you or you know, even if it was a voicemail, or I still want to make that contact with you. But again, that's me. Other people would be like, well, I got his things, I'll email back and when can we set up a meet and greet? I want you to know who's going to be knocking at your door, you know, when when it's time for meet and greet? I want you to feel like you know, me already. And and, again, it's just me, this works for me. Not for everybody. But I again, you know, as as a business with staff? Are your employees, the ones that are going out and doing the meet and greets? Or are you going with them?
Collin F. 25:53
We do have some staff who are active, who are very interested in doing meet and greets, and we have them do some of them when I can't be the one to do the meet and greet. So it's a little bit of both, I probably do about 90% of them. And then our staff, again, the ones who have expressed interest, and we've done, we've done training on they will cover those that I mean, have you heard of time to pet Dan from NYC Bucha, as this decide to bet
26:18
has been a total game changer for us. It helped us streamline many aspects of our operation from scheduling and communication to billing and customer management. We actually tested other petsitting software's in the past, but these other solutions were clunky and riddled with problems. Everything in terms of pet has been so well thought out. It's intuitive feature rich, and it's always improving.
Collin F. 26:38
If you're looking for new pet selling software, give time to pet a try listeners of our show can save 50% off your first three months by visiting times pet.com/confessions.
Scott B. 26:48
You know, again, we're not comparing apples to apples, you know, on the only like, you're the meet and greet, and I'm the one that's coming to do every visit. Again, I think clients like the consistency. And I know a business with staff, you just can't do that. But do you do you? This is just a question for you. I'm kind of flipping this on you. But do you get a lot of pushback that the same person is not coming? Or do they fully understand that upfront? That today it might be Colin tomorrow? It might be Megan? And on Wednesday, it might be you know, Judy, you know what I mean? Like? Yeah,
Collin F. 27:26
yeah, we have, we've preemptively we have initially we were kind of unsure of how do we present that to somebody because I think that came from a little bit of self consciousness about that. Because we know that it's a different way of doing things. And so, but now we very much say, hey, you know that someone so is going to be at the meet and greet. They are one of our team members, we use a team approach. And we explain that to them. We do have some clients who would either just prefer the same person each time, or, you know, where they this is our red flag Scott of when they say, oh, once I introduce you to him, he'll be fine. And it's, ah, well, you know, for us, that just doesn't work, the client isn't gonna be able to introduce the dog or cat to all of our staff members just because of how our scheduling works. So we have to say, You know what, tell me more about that what you're expecting. And then if that doesn't work, we go, okay, well, here are three or four other centers in the area, that would probably not probably would be a much better fit for you. So we do have to recognize that there are a lot of limitations to what
Scott B. 28:39
we did. Do you have both met men and women on your team? We
Collin F. 28:42
do. And that is a common thing where people will say, only, you know, only a female can come in and take care of this my dog, or
Scott B. 28:50
that's one of my first questions when I screen aside from Hey, can I ask how you got my name? And then, you know, how do your pets do with men? Yeah. I said, you know, you may have gotten my name from from your vet, or or, or your groomer, or your neighbor, but it's just me, I'm the only one coming. So if they're not good with men, let me refer you, you know, because that that's just asking for trouble. I who wants to stress a dog out for a week. And then you know, we pick, you know, we get stressed out not knowing what's going to be on the other side of the door. And they're certainly going to pick up on that. I mean, so yeah, I mean, I know a lot more men are getting into the industry. But we're still quite the minority. And, you know, I think that's a critical question for a solo sitter to ask absolutely a solo male sitter, but even a business with with a team you know, I mean, some dogs if they're gonna I don't care who they buy, but But you know, sometimes dogs have to have a bad history with men for unfortunately, having had rescues for all my life and fostered some that that were abused. And you know, some for some reason, they saw my house as a safe sell. And they said, Oh, well, let's, let's let the dog this goes. But Scott foster this dog and let them learn that men can be okay. And of course, they come to my house, and then they never left. But it was a win win. It was a win win, believe me. Yeah. I was able to reap the rewards of the time effort put into helping that dog, you know, feel comfortable. And it was meant to be. But you know, what I'm saying is, I just don't understand why people would put themselves in harm's way or the pet in harm's way as well. Well,
Collin F. 31:01
and that's we've talked about a couple different complications here that you're trying to avoid, right? You're looking for these red flags, that are going to be a complicated visit, because of behavior other reasons, you know, its complications from adding software or other layers that you're not wanting to, to put between you and your clients. What? Because I know that again, this temptation to always do more, add things take things on, like it's, is it always there for you? Or are you kind of been able to mellow that out and keep things in better perspective for you?
Scott B. 31:34
Well, you know, it, I just think I probably need a 12 step program for people that hate change. No kidding aside, I just think my longevity in the industry, and in my business. I know what works for me. So by adding another layer of something, is it going to make it more complicated for me is it going to make it more complicated for existing clients, or potential new client, and I hate to say, if it ain't broken, don't fix it, because there's always room to change things and grow. But right now, where I'm at, in my business, I don't see the need for it. So to avoid making, you know, any complications or challenges down the road, you know, I just kind of keep things again, simple. You know, I, you know, again, if my business model was different, and and I had staff, you know, sure, I would be using software, and I would be doing some things differently, probably. But just me, you know, I know it works. And and, you know, I you know, my mission has always been quality care for the pets, and peace of mind for the pet parents. And I think by keeping, onboarding simple, my contract legally is simple. You know what I mean? Like, they're acknowledging things that these, these are the bullet points that are key to me. And I make them initial that at the meet and greet, you understand this policy regarding cancellation, you understand third party liability, you understand this, please initial please read and initial, I do that at the meet and greet. So we know each item has been discussed. Okay, not to say if something happens, they're not going to fight me on it. But I'm going to say, hey, we had this conversation at the meet and greet. And, you know, like by third party liability, I tell people, I said, Look, I can't tell you who you can and cannot have in your home. But you're going to acknowledge the fact that if anyone other than myself or a representative a personal touch, pet sitting has access to your home, whether it's a neighbor, your cleaning lady, your kid decides is going to come home and raid your refrigerator, whatever. I will not assume liability. Early on in my career. I had someone that only wanted me to go twice a day. They had a young chocolate lab who I absolutely adored, but she was an accident waiting to happen. And she needed to be created. They did not want to pay me for a third visit. So they had a neighbor kid come in. Well, I show up for my visit and she's not in her crate. And they had bookcases in their living room and every book on the lower two shelves of that bookcase Were chewed up and like, like just paper everywhere. And I'm like, Okay, this dog was in her left this morning. So I took pictures and said, we have a problem. And I said, who has been in your house? Well, I was so pissed. And I said, Look, I'm going to continue this service. But once you guys get back, I said, I'm not going to be able to provide care anymore. I said, I'm not going to assume liability for anything your dog damaged. You did not disclose that someone else was going to be in your home. I said, and that not only put your dog at risk and put me at risk, because, you know, what, what if what if Cassidy I think that was her name? What if she would have rushed me at the door not knowing it was me. You know, she was not used, you know, I'm I was not used, and she was not used to being free upon me entering the home. And that's when I went and updated my contract about third party liability. I had another search ship cleaning service. And I was there in the morning. And, you know, while the dogs did they, while doors to all bedrooms were closed, and this and that. And I walked in the house, you know, at lunchtime, and like up cleaning lady was here, because everything smelled like Lysol or Fabuloso, or whatever, you know, the cleaning stuff, and I can't find the dog. He's in the master bedroom laying on their, their what was left of their goose down duvet cover. And the ceiling fan was on like a cyclone of goose feathers twirling around, and he's just sitting there like proud of itself. Coming again said to video and I had to tell the client, I said, Look, I will clean this up as best I can and make sure your door is closed. But again, you insisted that your cleaning lady came. So I'm not assuming liability for this and you sign you know, you acknowledged it. And so I try to avoid all of that stuff. You know what I mean? Just initial initial, these are my rates, holiday fees, cancellation fees. Again, very simple in simple language. And, and each one of those items is discussed. And, you know, I've never had to file an insurance claim knock wood. I don't plan on doing it anytime soon. But again, by ruling out potential liabilities, like so tell me about you know, Charlie's routine, while when we get up in the morning, we get a newspaper. So we Charlie helps us we will get the newspaper, we just opened the front door and he goes out in peace. Well said, you know, that's great. And if he wants if he wants to help me get the newspaper, he's going to be on a leash. Because you know, Charlie sees a squirrel or a bunny or another dog. I said, I don't want to take the chance of him running away from me. Oh, well, he won't. He won't go to the bathroom on a leash. I said, Well, we'll figure it out. But I'm not taking him outside in the front yard off leash. You know, and if that's going to be a problem that I'm not the right centerfield. You know, who wants to call a client say, Well, Charlie helped me with the newspaper. But he took it and ran across the street and got hit by a car, right? Like I you know, you want to do that when you're home? Great, but not on my watch. And I think, again, some not all pet sitters are focused on the paycheck. Well, you know, if I don't take this job, I'm not going to make that money in seven days and three visits a day. And you know, that's a nice payout. But what are the risks versus I don't think pet sitters? Look at that the risks involved? We take a risk, the liability level goes up every time we turn the key and walk into a client's home. And I don't think some pet sitters understand that. I mean, I'm not getting on my soapbox, but I I think it's something that that people, you know, sitters need to understand that, yes, we love our jobs. We love the animals. But part of being a business owner is understanding the liability that's involved with each and every pet in that house. Or, God forbid you leave a faucet running or or, you know, you use the facilities while you're there and the toilet keeps running or you know, anything. I mean, just like any of your own home, things can happen at a client's home too. And I think sometimes they're so focused on I gotta get everything done in 30 minutes. That that, you know, or whatever their standard visit is, you know, and that's another thing you should address that at the meet and greet. You know, well, my standard visit is x You have two dogs and a cat. You know, I think I should be able to meet their needs within that 30 minute period. You know, but you know, a dog that requires medication or insulin, how soon after she eats? Do you give her a shot? Well, I need to be there 30 minutes or 45 minutes? You know, are they asking the right questions? Because if you give the shot too soon, or if the pet doesn't eat, what are you going to come back and find the next visit? I know naps has a digital magazine and psi has their their petsitter world. Sadly, the first thing I look at at the psi petsitter World Magazine in every issue are the insurance claims. And I read them and go, this could have been avoided by asking certain questions, or people that again, I for the life of me. And I know people are not gonna like this. I don't understand why pet sitters do off leash walks or hikes, or takes a client's pet to the dog park. But when I read some of that, and I see that a pet got injured, or they injured someone else, I got why this could have been avoided. Again, just me, I see red flags and liability all over those scenarios. But again, it's up to each business owner to do what they want to do. It's not something I would do. I mean, if you've got a 30 minute visit, and you got to pack up a dog and transport the dog to a dog park, how much time you're actually going to have in the dog park. And then what happens God forbid you get in a car wreck. You got it. You got a client stole a new car. What if they get injured again, it's care custody control, I understand that. But you could have just played fetch in the backyard. Or if they have a pool swim them. I mean, in Texas, it gets hot in the summer, a lot of my midday dog dog walks are swimming. Because they're not going to walk on the pavement. They're not going to walk on the pavement. It's too hot. Yeah.
Collin F. 42:03
You mentioned about how it's not that you never stop learning, right? You're always learning you're always taking into information and going. Does that apply to me? Just like you did when you took that that professional petsitting course through psi, like, does this information apply to me? If no, it that's fine. At least I know about it? And now I can see do I do I apply it to my business? What does that mean for how I operate, but if I at the foundations are good, and I'm serving people, well, that's a complication that we don't have to add. And then as you're talking about these visits, Scott, it's it's all about simplicity in care, right is what this is. And that's not to say, I know, you take on some very complicated visits with lots of pets and medications and all this stuff, but it's going in with clarity of mind. So that and with focus and information like that, that's really where you cut out all those complications and especially as as a solicitor like it's, it's, it's a lot, I'm gonna say, you know, it's different to managing those kinds of visits than it is with a team with multiple people coming in or whatever, like it's, it is okay, I can really get my hands around this entire thing. And I can put forward a plan for how I will do this in my way and then take that to the client and have that conversation with what that's gonna look like you know, the the letting the dog out to get the mail in the morning. That's really common. I was just I was laughing as you were saying it because I've done three or four meet and greets where that somebody's routine and having to go okay, yes, surely you'd like you said Scott, I could do that. But I also don't want to have to call you about your dog getting hit or to then do they got the mail and they are also now continuing running into the next county like that's not a conversation. That's, that's a complication I don't want and so we need a pullback here. And the simplicity is also part of that control and focus of the visit to lot of pet owners don't know how to react when their beloved pet is facing a bout of anxiety, noise sensitive deep or depression. However, various studies have shown that animals react very positively when calming music is played for them. As a trusted Pet Sitter have your clients check out the peaceful pet music calm music for pets on YouTube, where they can give their pet the best chance of relaxing while they're away. From peaceful melodies to soothing nature sounds this YouTube channel is the go to spot when your clients pet is anxious and you don't know where to turn. Complete with beautiful and vibrant animations. Their videos will become your home for the tools needed to keep the client's pet in a state of peacefulness. Be sure to subscribe to the peaceful pet music, calm music for pets on YouTube and hit the bell so you never miss a moment of call.
Scott B. 44:59
Knowing that in a controlled environment, for lack of a better choice of words, I could go in and do a quality visit and relaxed visit where the animals, the dogs, the cats, the durables, whatever, are not picking up on my stress. I mean, I did a visit yesterday with this dog that had to have her bladder expressed. And, you know, after she ate, and got her meds and all that stuff, we just sat on the couch. And I didn't have another visit to do after that. She thought that I could very easily fall asleep on the couch, patting her as she was snoring curled up into me. And I'm like, I didn't want to go, I didn't want to move it because I had to pick her up and, and put her back in her bed because she she doesn't have full capacity of buying legs. And I'm like, well, she's gonna fall off the cat, ultraviolet, you know, and, and this little dog has been a client for years. And and you know, her mom and dad are just wonderful people. And actually, when this initially happened after her surgery, there that they were concerned about traveling, and if they were going to need to medically board her because of having her bladder expressed. And you know, they asked the vet and they said, Well, do you have a pet sitter? And they said, Yes. And she goes, Well, I have one I could refer to you. And the vet said, his name is Scott black. And she goes, Well, that's who we used to go to all Scotland know how to do this. So again, you know, it made me feel good when they told me this, because they didn't want to hurt my feelings that if they had to use someone else, you know what I mean? Or border. I mean, that speaks volumes when I apply in, like, doesn't want to turn their back on you. But, you know, I mean, I've also had some clients that are no longer clients, because they were just downright nasty. And you know that the nice thing about being a business owner is, you know, no shirt, no shoes, no service, you know, I don't like to break up with clients, you know, in an ugly way. But but sometimes it can't be avoided. And, you know, I think in my almost 19 years of service, I think I can count on one hand, the number of clients, I've actually fired. And it was all by their doing, not following policies that they acknowledged. And I said, You know what, I just don't think we're going to be able to work together. And good luck, here's your keys. You know, I mean, I didn't make it, about me, I didn't make it about them, but I reminded them of what happened and how things went down. And you know, and a lot of it was the third party liability. And I said, Look, I'm not I'm sorry, your dog chewed through your shed, your plantation shutters, you know, maybe your dog needs to be created. When no one's there. I'm sorry, your cleaning lady didn't close them. You know, when they were open, it gave your dog perfect chomping material because they were open. And you know, you know, I mean, again, not my fault. I can only do so much. I wasn't there when it happened. So you know, that that's something and I also think ciders speaking of firing clients, I think industry wide. People say, Well, if I get rid of this spy, and you know, they're, they're a good client, but then I'm gonna lose all that money. Well, again, are you gonna let 20% of your client base become 80% of your problem, or 10% or 5% become 95% of your problem. Because they're a pita client, they micromanage they, this they that you need to figure out what you're willing to tolerate. And if you're not willing to tolerate it, and you keep doing it just for the money, you're gonna be miserable. You're the person that house aren't going to benefit from it, because you're gonna hate. No one there. And it's not the pets fault. It's the humans fault. I will say the solo sitter who does not have another source of income, either by spouse or significant other or whatever. You know, I know it's hard to be profitable and make ends meet and pay your bill. But at the end of the day, you know, you need to figure out what you're comfortable doing. And you know, you got to go with your gut. And you know, the old saying, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck. And you know it is a red flag there? You know, think long and hard before agreeing to do anything. I mean, I, again, you, you, you read the insurance claims, you go to conferences and you know, and I'm sure on many of your podcasts, you have trainers and behaviorists and this and that and people in all aspects of the pet industry. And I'm sure if a client would have worked on their dog with a behavior issue, the dog wouldn't have been their kid, or wouldn't have been the pet sitter, or the dog walker, or bit themselves or bit the other dog in the house redirected something. I mean, you know, it can happen and, you know, solo sitters that don't have backups, but people say like, here's the Will you walk my dog while we're on vacation? Do you walk your dog when you're home? Well, no, he's reactive. Okay. Well, you know, um, have you worked with a trainer on that? Well, I think while you're gone, we're just going to do some work in the backyard. You know, I'd be more than happy to walk them on a leash in your backyard if you're doing Leash training. But I said, I can't afford to get hurt. Your dog can't afford to get hurt on my watch. I said, and I won't take the risk of him redirecting whatever, to a kid on a bicycle or another person walking the dog and sadly, where I live. We have beautiful Greenbelt trails and walking trails. And there are some people that feel that they're special enough that they don't have to walk their dog on a leash even though there were leash laws. And, you know, they'll come the straw will come rushing Oh, he's he's friendly. Like, well, the dog they have isn't please put your dog on a leash and then it gets into a hole. You know, we're battle you can't believe the things I've been called asking someone to put their dog on a leash. But you know I also don't want people know that the dog I'm walking isn't my dog. i They don't need to know that that dismiss are out of town and I'm walking their dog. You know what I mean? I mean, people in the neighborhood know who you are. They see you come off and they know you're the dog walker, the pet sitter, but a stranger on the Greenbelt. I don't want them to know whose dog it is. They think it's mine. Well, this and that I've heard you know, can you please walk you put your dog on a leash? Well, maybe you shouldn't be walking your dog. If your dog doesn't do well on a leash. This dog is fine. Keep your dog out of his face. I mean, Colin, I'm sure everybody deals with this somewhere. You know, but again, that's why I don't do off leash anything anywhere. You know, dog parks hikes. I mean, we Kingwood Kingwood is known as the Global Forest. We have deer and you name any little wildlife, you know, possums and then the armadillos and we do have some wild boar that show up every now and again how they make their way into our wooded area. I have no idea. But you can't believe the things that we come across. And you know, dogs are like, Oh, what's that? I just want to put myself or the dog in a situation where they can be harmed, or, again, injured, or I can get injured. I mean, if I if I get injured, I'm no good to that client or the rest of the client on my schedule. And I'm very blatantly honest about that. I said, I'm not getting any younger people. You know, I'm going to be 61 in June, okay. I said, I'm not getting any younger. I love what I do when I want to be able to do this for many more years. But I can't afford to get hurt. Because if I get hurt, I can't work. And if I can't work, I'm not going to be happy. You know what I mean? It's I can't afford to break a leg or or, you know, or twist an ankle or I can't afford to be and not in a financial way mentally. I can't. I need to be going and blow and I can't sit still, as you know. But honestly, I mean, I think when you put I tell people that I am Mr. Cellophane and I think I said this in the last time we spoke. I'm very transparent and upfront, because I don't want the blowback. You know, this is what I'm covering. trouble doing this is what I'm not comfortable doing. You know, can we meet halfway, you know, sometimes you can meet halfway, but if not, I'm not the right guy. And and, you know, I know I'm kind of being abandoned all over the place. Again, but you know, I will say to solo sitters. If you have other profession If you're not pet sitters in your area, reach out to them, embrace them create a network. Most single solo sitters are like, Well, I'm not gonna, you know, they're just gonna steal my clients. You know what, you could look at it that way. Or you could look at it from the way I look at it, we I created helped create a psi registered network, there's about six or seven of us that are all solo. Our services area of service area are similar yet different. Some overlap, some are identical, and some are out of our service by service area, which makes it great. Because when someone tells me all the other members are female, I'm the only male. So when Colin calls me and asked my service, and I say, Well, how does your dog do with men? Oh, he doesn't do well. Hey, Colin, let me give you so and so's number. You know, and our client calls me and says, Hey, I'm looking for a better Oh, I'm going to be on vacation uncle Scott's taken some mental health days, you know, but let me refer you to my pet. sitter can't get a better referral than your pet sitters pet sitter. And, and, and the nice thing is, is that again, we don't I see for each other. I refer you okay, you met Bobby. Bobby Ireland, you met Bobby at the conference. She's my pet sitter, I started as her pet sitter, and now she's pet sitting, which is pretty funny. I've mentored her into her business. And so now here's a perfect story. So you use Barbie and Barbie comes in, it's her contract her policies, her rates, you give her her own key, you know, just, I'm out of it. Next time you go away, you you call me and you know, or you don't call me you call Bobby. This is this is the one we all did a little pinky swear. So next time, let's say you came home and maybe your dogs were a little more relaxed with Bobby being there? Well, you call her directly the next time and she's gonna say to you, hey, Colin, is Scott Walker are out of town again. You know, and you're gonna say, Well, no. But you know, we would love to use you again. And you know, again, you as the consumer, you can spend your money wherever you want. But we all kind of did a little pinky swear about not poaching, so to speak, or, or stealing from each other. But we're always going to ask, Hey, is so and so booked, that you're calling me? Or did you call Scott or whoever? You know, which I think is the mature adult thing to do. But the nice thing is, is let's say you call me and I covering and I get sick or injured. I can call Bobby and say, Hey, Bobby, do you still have Collins Key? You know, or, you know, did you return it after your service for? There's no I haven't I said, Hey, I'm going to jam, can you get over there? And then I text you and say, Hey, Colin, here's the deal. I'm in the emergency room visits, whatever. Bobby's on her way to your house, you're gonna be like, damn, she has the key, she knows the dogs. But I all I use that network as a customer service. That's part of my screening and part of my meet and greet, that if you are in a situation where, you know, I said, I would hate to have to call you on your trip and say, Hey, I'm in the hospital. Excuse me, you know, you need to come home, because your Emergency Contacts, also out of town on spring break. You know, I think we know we asked for emergency contacts. And I think sometimes people forget that they're emerging. Emergency Contacts also have kids, and they want to go away over spring break. So you're not always going to have the benefit of it. You know what I mean? Like, I tried to add another layer of protection, so to speak, that if I can't get there, is there someone else I can call? And you know, people just kind of go, Wow, you really thought this through? And I said I have to I said I would hate for you to have to come home, you know, and I think there may be some sitters out there that, again, are not gonna like this. But a lot of people say well, it's not my responsibility to have a backup. If I can't get there. That's why they give me an emergency contact. That emergency contact is not always going to be available. And that's only speaking from 18 almost 19 years of experience. You know, I you need to if you can't get there, someone has to get there. And if it means that at the meet and greet o'clock If he has to give a key to their next door neighbor that they really don't like, well, then so be it. Or, you know, but someone's got to be able to get to those pets. I may have told you this, but years ago, I was not feeling well. And and I made hell take me, my husband take me to do my bedtime visits, I was like gray and green in color and sweat pouring off me and doubled over in pain. And I made him take me to the emergency room. And I had a pretty full blown case of appendicitis. And once they figured out, that's what it was, and the morphine kicked in. I was waiting for a hospital room. This was like, I don't know, midnight or ready. And I'm texting the client saying, Hey, I'm in the ER, I'm having surgery in the morning. But we've got, you know, the visits covered, I was utilizing independent contractors at the time. And Hal was willing to help because it was a weekend. So you know, people like to start, well, we'll just have a neighbor guy. So now we've got a cover. And you know, but again, I wanted to make sure that these paths we're going to be seeing, you know, you do some crazy things. And believe me, I've done some crazy things. But you know, you learn what works and what doesn't work. And I think trying to accommodate clients in any way you can you know, it, I don't know, maybe I'm just of the mindset, it's not always about the paycheck. I am a very, I mean, the name of my business is personal touchpad sitting. So I personalize everything. But I think about what I would want as a consumer, and if someone was willing to go to those extra levels for me, I really appreciate it. And that's what I try to do with my business. You know, but you also need to, like I said, Know, the red flags and know the deal breakers. And you're only going to find that out by communicating and I would highly recommend that pet sitters don't wait until they get to a meet and greet, to find out if there's going to be a deal breaker or not, because then you're wasting your time you're wasting the client's time. And you know, you're almost up obligated, you know, people don't have an exit strategy. And they're like, Well, you know, how do I how do I get out of there. And it's like, well, you know, if you were afraid to say I don't think we're a good fit, or, you know, this, this was it was brought to my attention on your your pet information sheet or, you know, I just don't think I'm comfortable doing that. I don't want to say shame on you. But it may blow up in your face. And and I think we see that more and more. Because there's not a lot of dialogue, prior to any good even if the dialogue is emailing back and forth, or texting back and forth. It doesn't have to be on the phone. But if you've got any reservations about anything, you need to address it before you go to the meet the client or meet the pet. You know, because it may it may not be to your advantage to continue. You know, and that goes for, you know, I know a lot of people depending on where your service area is, you know, if it's not a desirable neighborhood, maybe you don't need to market to that were you know, single women or women going out at night after dark or mean, that's just one little scenario. You know, we talked we hear that more and more that, you know, people don't like going out after a certain time. And well, you know, maybe you need to instead of market that area market. You know, another area the other way, your
Collin F. 1:04:15
entire conversation here. Scott is really about when talking about keeping things simple. A lot of people may think, oh, it's operationally simple. I'm only going to do some kind of visits. Well, no, it's about, see how much of that you can control and knowing your own limits. It's also about knowing what you want to add what needs to be taken away, and you're right of going. You know what a complication is the mental burden of me walking alone and not so nice part of town at nighttime. That's a complication that you don't need to have that you can actually take away because when you do that, you'll be giving better service and you'll be able to be in the business longer because you're going to cut out that burnout, that mental fatigue that drudgery of oh I'm gonna go to that visit that's doing the thing and I don't like it well Those are all complications, it's a mental complication. It is its physical complications and how we run our business and interface with and interact with, as our clients. And that's what I think is so important to keep focused here is that when we do that, especially when, as a solo owner going, I have to manage my day, my time my clients, so that I can show up again tomorrow. And then the day after, and then the day after. And another
Scott B. 1:05:26
example of less than desirable neighborhood. And I know there's probably businesses that have huge profit from apartment complexes. But, you know, we see it all the time that they can't get in through a gate or they need a fob, or they need this or they need that. And, you know, you've got to go to the office to get the fiber. You know if it's going to slow you down. Don't do it. Yeah, no, no, no, just just don't. Hey, I had my car towed from a client's house. Once I don't serve as this this gated community anymore. They had a sign posted that you couldn't park in fact, you know, you I never saw the sign. And I think a neighbor called the cops on me and I went in and did the visit and came out and my car was gone. And I'm like, Okay, did someone steal my car, and it turned out, my car was towed. And I contacted the client, because they had a ring doorbell. And I said, Can you go back in love? They said, Oh, it's not working. And I'm like, okay, great. So I found I thought finally found the sign and called the number. They said, Oh, yeah, and then I found out that the client never told me I couldn't park in front of their house. And these were like townhomes. So there really was no driveway that was just like a lip. Like they they would park in their garage and just roll down a little, tiny little lip of A, whatever. And I'm like, Well, this blows. And, of course, there was no room in their garage for me to park going forward. I mean, they wanted to pay for the toll when I said no, I said, I probably should have been more aware of the signs. And they said, but we never told you that. And you know that there was guest parking? Well, you know, I know that that client has since moved, but I will not take anyone in that neighborhood now. Because I'm not parking on the street and have to go into a gate to get to their home, hot weather, inclement weather, whatever, I'm just not doing it, you know, for for that reason. And that reason alone, I that dad my car getting towed. Thank God, I did not have another visit to do another bedtime visit. But that that would have screwed me up, you know, if it would have happened earlier in the day, it would have screwed up my whole day. Because that I would have had to get someone to take me to go get my car, you know, I mean, just, you know, you never know what's going to happen. But again, you you learn and grow. But, you know, it's just, it's a shame. I mean, I don't get many calls from that that community right now. But it's not going to be one I'm going to service. I'm just going to say, you know, I'm not taking new clients at this time, I'm not going to go into a diet. I'm not taking new clients in that community, unless you're gonna let me park in your garage. I'm not going to allocate 300 bucks to get my car back.
Collin F. 1:08:37
Woof. And that's definitely a lesson right of going, what can I cut out? What is? What am I willing to take on? And what will I do again, and that and standing up for yourself in that way? I mean, that's, that's part of that. And, Scott, I really appreciate you coming on today and helping encouraging us and especially solo sitters have to stand up for themselves to think through how they want to operate and keep their business in scope of what they want to and can manage, and, and thriving in that space. I know that you probably have a whole lot more things that you'd like to say about this topic. So if people want to get in touch with you follow along and pick your brain on how they can look at their business and questions they should ask How best can they do that? Okay,
Scott B. 1:09:20
well for those that are in any of the Facebook groups, I'm part of the psi private Facebook group on your your group, center professionals. I'm also on the Pet Sitter forum and a solo group, but they can email me at ptps@comcast.net or they can call my business line at 281441 Pets P E T s 787. But yeah, I would love to speak to any anyone you know I mean, I know what works for me. And you know, I would love to be able to share that with with other solo sitters. You know, I just think that sitters need to know it's okay to say no, not every client or potential client is going to be your ideal client. year for years and years and years. I was always told, never say no. Well, when you don't say no, that's when you get bitten the butt sometimes, and it's okay to say no, you know, you're you're, you're the captain of your ship. If you think there's got to be some rough seas ahead. You need to redirect. You know what I mean? It's it's okay to say no,
Collin F. 1:10:43
I love that. Scott, thank you so much for coming back on. Oh, Colin, thank you. I really appreciate you and your time now, I
Scott B. 1:10:49
apprec. Appreciate you having me back on. You know, me, I could talk about this forever. And I'm passionate about it. I just don't want to see people. I want to help people not have to go through the trials and tribulations. You know, that some of us old timers had you know, because of all the tools that are available to you now that weren't available. When I was starting out, you know, so people just need to take advantage of the tools out there. And, you know, go go with what you think is going to work best couldn't
Collin F. 1:11:23
agree more. Scott, thank you so much. Again, I appreciate your time and hope to see you in person again really soon.
Scott B. 1:11:28
Yeah, I look forward to it, Colin,
Collin F. 1:11:31
don't make a demand for something that you can't or don't want to supply. I love this mindset, because it's not just talking about the services that you're offering. It's the way you offer him and the kind of clients that you are serving. If you look at who you're serving, and how you're serving them, and you don't like it, you have created a demand that you don't want to supply. If you're doing a lot of marketing, and you're inundated with a lot of requests, and you're going 24/7 a day, 365 days a week and you haven't taken a break for a couple of years. You've created demand that you cannot supply. It's about embracing our limits. It's about embracing when we need to say no, then we can keep it simple. We want to thank today's sponsors, time to pet and the peaceful pet music, calm music for pets on youtube channel for making today's show possible. And we really want to thank you so much for listening. We hope you have a wonderful rest of your weekend. We'll be back again soon.
