491: Continuously Evolving with Debbie Solis
Time to Pet
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How are you evolving as a business owner? Debbie Solis, owner of Personal Pet and Home Care, shares her 28-year journey in the pet care industry, starting with her deep-rooted caregiving spirit and balancing roles as a mother and entrepreneur. She discusses the challenges she faced, including burnout and the need for personal growth, which led her to seek counseling and start delegating. By adopting new technologies and building a supportive team, Debbie transformed her business practices and achieved a more balanced life. She emphasizes the importance of self-care, adaptability, and continuous learning for long-term success.
Main topics:
Work-life Balance?
Business Evolution
Team Building
Self-Care Strategies
Main takeaway: Taking time off is crucial – it helps clear your mind and makes you a better business owner.
About our guest:
I began pet sitting in 1996, in Allen, Texas. My youngest daughter was starting the first grade, so I was ready to do something out of the home. After caring for children in my home, I knew that I have always enjoyed caring and seeing to the needs of others. What a wonderful career to care for animals and their homes! As all pet owners know, animals express an unconditional love and appreciation that can truly make pet ownership worth every minute spent. This is why I am truly enthusiastic about spending my time caring for the animals that bring so much into our lives. We have since expanded to cover the South McKinney, East Lucas, Parker and Fairview in North Texas.
Links:
https://www.facebook.com/debbie.monroe.507
pets@personalpetandhomecare.com
https://personalpetandhomecare.com
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A VERY ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE EPISODE
Provided by otter.ai
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
business, learn, realize, gift, life, day, pet, Debbie, years, client, work, feel, helped, today, meet, pet sitter, employees, software, person, nervous breakdown
SPEAKERS
Debbie S., Collin
Collin 00:01
Welcome to pet sitter confessional. Today, we're brought to you by time to pet and pet perennials. We're super excited to have Debbie Solis owner of personal pet and home care on the show to talk about investing in our business but recognizing when we put our business above our personal life and how to walk that fine line between being an entrepreneur and business owner, but also taking time for ourselves and not letting the business consume everything we do, Debbie, I've had the immense pleasure of getting to meet you now twice in person at the Texas pet sitters conference. So I'm super excited to have you on the show. For those who aren't familiar with you. Could you please tell a little bit more about who you are and all that you do?
Debbie S. 00:45
Sure. Hi, Colin. And I appreciate you and Meghan and what you do. Yes, I have been in business 28 years, and North Texas, kind of the Allen Fairview McKinney, I do have employees mostly run my business. Now, I don't do as much physical pet sitting as I used to, I jump in and help when someone needs off. But mostly running my businesses is my core of what I do now.
Collin 01:14
And it's one of those things of it's, it keeps us busy enough that
Debbie S. 01:22
you wouldn't you wouldn't think but just keeping up and you know, going to all the conferences and listening and learning from all the Facebook pages, it's just, it can be overwhelming of all the things you can do to help. And then you try to put priorities on okay, what am I going to do, I can't do all this at one time as just one person. So I really think that it's wonderful, all the information out there from doing this business. You know, for many years, it's totally different than it was and there's a whole lot more to it and to keep you busy every day now.
Collin 02:05
So 28 years ago, Debbie, what got you started in pet care?
Debbie S. 02:11
So I'm mostly, I'm a caregiver. That's what I do. Whether it is plants, or children, or my yard, or my family, or? I don't know, it's, I feel that it is me. And as much as I like to try to tell people, well, no, I'm not very good at it. But, um, at the time, I was keeping school teachers kids in my home. And I enjoyed that and did that many years, because I also wanted to be home with my own children at the same time, and it was a good fit to do both. And then my youngest was starting kindergarten and I wanted to I was I wanted to get out of the house and do something different. So I had a friend that owned this business before me, and she was wanting to get out of it. And I actually bought her business from her. At the time, I think 15 clients and yes, some of those clients I have still got I have kept the whole time. And then but it was a you know, financially, there was a little gap there, okay, the business wasn't built up, how was like going to fill in. So I worked in the cafeteria at the school for a little bit and that kind of filled in the gap before I could become a full time pet sitter. The hours were good, it was middle of the day, I would just go you know, help in the cafeteria at lunchtime. And so it was often the morning to do visits and I was off in the evening to do visit. And then of course, when school was out and I was really busy I had you know, the business to keep me going so I I did a probably works. Now I'm gonna say the cafeteria maybe about a couple of years. And then from then my business went full time. I think, you know, I was at the right place at the right time. My neck my city of Balan was a quiet, small town had a Walmart, a couple of restaurants and that was it. But it started to boom. And people were moving in. And then I had the you know, most people didn't know what a pet sitter was. And so I had two things that helped me and, you know, I got business I had working all the time and getting getting customers was not a problem at that point because just getting out there being in the school system, because I had friends no Kids had friends. And then back then I even did the Yellow Pages, remember the yellow pages. So I even did the Yellow Page pages at that point, I remember meeting at a restaurant meeting the representative from Yellow Pages to find out how to put my ad in the Yellow Pages. That's how far back it goes. Those two yellow pages. And for those that remember maps go, because we didn't have GPS, we had this big map scope book we would buy once a year, and it would have updated roads, and now my way to each client's house. Oh, and
Collin 05:42
we and we think route planning today is hard. I'm just gonna camp out there on a moment of I can play when I'm in Google Maps, you know, setting pins and routing things around. And, and to think back of No, there used to be a physical book, and you'd have to trace out.
Debbie S. 06:00
Exactly, exactly. That's the way pencil and paper no software, you know, notes. And, you know, that was that was, it was a whole lot more time consuming, you know, definitely so. But then I didn't, I brought up my first employee and 99. And it was just, no, I take that back. It was an employee, it was an independent contractor. So back then we didn't know. And people weren't educated, you know, things weren't as strong. So we could start with independent contractors. So I hired her in 99. And she, she was she's with me now, at 28 years later, she still works for me, and she is a great, great asset to my company. Wow,
Collin 06:52
that's, you talked about staff retention, that's kind of the dream for everybody is to have somebody that's with you for that long, it's Debbie, when you think about that? Why do you think that person has stayed with you for coming up on three decades?
Debbie S. 07:11
I, I think it has a lot. Most of them, I have five core employees now. And they've been with me for years and years. And I think what it has to do with is working with them in their life. I think this job is usually a part time job for most people. And that they if you work with them, and the sense of when they need off, their child is sick, or they want to go out of town or somebody just came up with, you know, a fun weekend for me, is there any way you know, we can get it covered? And, you know, I always you know very seldomly do I say, No, you know, if there's no other option, then I'll jump in and do the visits, because I feel like that we're all stressed in life. And, and if you're going to have a part time job, when usually that's because you have something that's filling up the rest of your life, and you need you don't need another job that's going to tie you down. And yes, you know, you also have to have somebody that is, you know, you're reliable, so reliable is good, too. But I think if you have a relationship with them, that you understand that you can work with them and if they need off, and you know, I think it helps them stick around longer. Yeah, it's
Collin 08:39
it's a, it's a realization that, that people do have other lives outside of this work. And it can be hard, I just know. But speaking from my personal experience of heart as the business owner, can you have those moments of like, Why Why aren't you more, you know, dedicated to this? Or why can't you you want to sacrifice the way I sacrifice and why can't and, and to step back and realize, well, this person wants a job that's fun and flexible, and meets their needs. Not everybody is going to or want to or should be asked to sacrifice to the level that we as the business owner, feel like we should and we can't put the expectations that we have for ourselves on the employees that we bring into our company.
Debbie S. 09:27
Exactly. I have a one of my employees one reason why she she always says I don't want to deal with customers because she worked in retail she had dealt with customers all her life mostly and she said the last thing I want to do is I just want to go out and do the job and I don't want to deal with the customer in and so you know she does fun reports that kind of thing. But she doesn't want to deal with the backlash or things that happened the customer and that kind of thing and I respect that and and understand that. And
Collin 10:00
again, it's that it's that connecting with those right people. You know, Debbie, when you talked about how, when you got into the business, the first thing you said was, I'm a caregiver, right? I, that's how I live my life, and bringing caregivers into the business as well and finding people who that feeds a part of who they are. And, you know, there will people who come in who just want to work a job and just want to show up and do the work. And yet, we can still still foster that and helping people connect with this, this nurturing side of things and how we get to support people and their pets and, and kind of guiding we almost have to do that and guide people through exactly what we do and how we do it.
Debbie S. 10:46
Exactly, exactly. And I think too, you know, most of my employees too, are very much into, they know, like you said, people are caregivers, and they want to give the good care to the pets, and to the owners, and know what they're looking for. And so they learn, you know, do a nice job, this customer likes this. And this customer likes that. And so they work at that a whole lot. And I think that that gives them satisfaction as well. Yeah,
Collin 11:20
that's that's huge. I mean, we just sat down and did a team meeting, actually earlier this morning with everybody and reminding people about, like, the details that clients have and, and that it's not like the client isn't necessarily nitpicking. This is just how the client really lives, their life of how they want their blinds, what lights they want on where they want things staged how they want things done, like, those are requests, and we can fulfill those. And you're right, finding satisfaction in doing those Well, versus those who view it as, as a burden, right like that. That is definitely a character distinction between people whenever you when you show them, hey, here's all the requests that a client has. Does that person go? Okay, how can I make this person? How can I serve this person? Well, or do they kind of recoil in horror and go? Oh, my gosh, I can't believe they want that. You know, all that stuff.
Debbie S. 12:10
Right. There out there. Yeah. Well,
Collin 12:19
you had mentioned, I think, one change, have you had started with independent contractors, and now you're using employees? How How, how has how have other aspects of your business changed over the last 30 years?
Debbie S. 12:33
I think mostly, like, the software is a big change. COVID was a good time for me, I pressed procrastinated that long in my business, and I spent COVID time getting software, well, I already had one software, but I needed to upgrade to something new. So I did that I spent that time upgrading. And then I also spent that time changing to employees. And I think that going to the conferences and learning from other people about how to do it, I think most of my fear from changing to employees was fear of doing it wrong. And I think learning from other people and all supplied me with confidence into doing it and making that change. I think also, you know, the change from being a physical Pet Sitter to being a running the business has has been a big change in my business. kind of went through hard times that the first because I was fine. I was working more than I should have. I was working seven days a week. And with not having the tools that we had now I was most Some nights I would never go to bed because I'd come home and then I'd have to do invoicing and organize for the next day. And I saw a post on Facebook just yesterday or the day before that I thought was interesting that I had posted years ago and it said well, I must be tired because I'm sitting at a stop sign waiting for it to turn green. So ah, I was so tired that I remember it, you know, this do things to stay away to run the business and so I had to make changes and I think that that was uh, you know, this business has been wonderful because it's supported me through the years. But it's also you know, been hard on me personally. And so I think that mostly what I've learned through the years, and what's changed is that you have to set boundaries. And that also means in the sense of fixing what's wrong personally in your life, whatever that might be. And I think, because what I was doing was covering up what, by working so much of what personally was going on in my life know, it took a good Wake Up Call of me, you know, I'm about to have a nervous breakdown that, okay, I can't do this. And so I had to, I had to do some personal changes in my life, to get to the point that I can get control of the business. So it was more that I was letting the business control me more than running the business. And I think that I got counseling and and, and it helped me realize that I can take this business to a different level, because when it's running me, then there's only so much that you personally, can do. I think you need you need to get everything or other things in order in order to keep the business not controlling you. And where are you now?
Collin 16:40
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Susan 16:44
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Collin 17:01
if you're looking for new petsitting software, give time to pet a try, listeners of our show can save 50% off your first three months by visiting time to vet.com/confessional. Man, you know, we talk a lot about the how the business can impact us and you know, kind of Debbie, what's your kind of weaving through here is also how our personal life impacts our business. And you said, you know, we have to work on what's wrong personally, with with, with what's going on in the rest of our life. And, and sometimes it can be hardly, I'm just thinking of all of the things that quote unquote, just happen and, and how sometimes we can just sit in live in that state of what my personal life is, is a wreck, or I'm not handling things emotionally Well, or I'm not, you know, taking care of this, or these things keep happening. And I'm not in a personally good place. But I gotta keep this business running. Because if I don't keep this business running, I can't pay my bills, I can't meet my obligations, I'm gonna feel guilty, I'm gonna have all this stuff. And we try a lot of times to just like, grit our teeth, and bury or pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, and just keep marching forward, and how at the end of the day, that doesn't lead to anywhere good or healthy for us.
Debbie S. 18:14
No, it doesn't. And I think that if you don't stop and look at where you are, and why you're there, then then you can't move forward and the business really can't grow and your life personally can't find that place. Where the that you're dealing with whatever, you know, I know at times, you know, I've been called a workaholic at that point in my life. And, and I learned I'm not a workaholic. It's not what I wanted. It was just I kept surviving in that world and realizing that, you know, I'm going to work on these things. And so I did and it's made a, you know, just a biggest change in my life. You know, God played into my life at that time as well and and guided me and I think that everyone you know, you need to look and see what is your guide? What is what is your Northstar what what is it for you. And I think that you'll find your business will just become more than you ever thought once you you can get control of the other things in your life.
Collin 19:28
You know that word workaholic? I hear that get thrown around an awful lot and how you even identified of like, well no, I'm not a workaholic. But at the same time I'm working all in my business. That would you Why do you feel like that was as far as why you were throwing yourself at your business so much.
Debbie S. 19:45
I think I was throwing myself at my business because I didn't want to face what what was going on. So you know, a lot of times I remember you know, I'm out now meant, you know, I had a little time to to come home and destress you know, before I went out to the next job, but I wouldn't come home, I would go eat a fast food, what's not healthy for me to hide from what, what my what was going on in my personal life. So I found that just staying on the road, push push push myself was my way of handling it, and dealing which, you know, would be you as a workaholic. But for me, I think it was just surviving.
Collin 20:39
Well, it's, it's a, it's an avoidance thing to write of going, well, I've got all of these things that I could be working on and that I know are important. Or I could go out and focus on my, my business and I can go some and it really is at that moment, using our business as a as a as a crutch in our life and, and pouring more in our business than it really deserves or should get from us.
Debbie S. 21:05
Exactly, exactly. I think that I think it can, you know, you know, just I think we all have crutches, whatever they might be, I mean, we're all Hebrew are all human. And, and, and we need that break. And, and that's okay at times. But I think it's just don't let it monopoly on the core of your life. You know, life, life has its ups and downs and rolls. And, you know, we're gonna tumble and but so we need to remember that, that it's more than the business. Is your business important? Is it important to support your family? Is it satisfaction? And, and, yes, it's all those things that and that's what makes, you know, I see the business, one of the best things of my life. But, you know, there were things that made it the worst part of my life too. So don't
Collin 22:09
make people feel that same way of the business is one of the best things of my life, I say like that, that is, we should be proud of our hard work, we should be proud of the businesses that we've grown and that we are building and working on and how we serve people. I think the danger really comes in is when we start to go, you know, the business is the best part of my life. And it's my whole life. Right? It's all that I am. That is really where we start to tip into that, that really dangerous territory of what actually is driving us. How are we identifying as as a person, and it's so easy as a small business owner, as an entrepreneurial mindset of this, you know, this business defines me this success defines me these clients define me, and instead going, I am, I'm so much more than that. Right? And I deserve so much more than being defined in those terms.
Debbie S. 23:04
Exactly. Exactly. Because you're because everyone is a lot more than what the business is,
Collin 23:10
when did you realize that about yourself, Debbie, as far as recognizing what you were pouring into your business as a as an avoidance or as a crutch for for other things.
Debbie S. 23:21
Um, I, you know, I was pretty much on the end of a nervous breakdown because they just, I think, emotionally, I was just falling apart. And I knew that I was hired, number one, not enough rest, and trying to keep up with too much. And so that was when I decided okay, I need help. And that's when I decided to go to a counselor and the counselor, kind of, you know, the, the kind of brought me around of, okay, made me realize and think about where I am and why I'm there and work on my cell to make changes in my life. And so I think the counseling is what really helped me make that change. I also went to a Christian counselor so he helped me God but I think he helped me understand it better understand God and and where we were and look at it, look at the whole my whole relationship with God differently. So that and there were big signs that God gave me at that time that I I got from him that that reaffirmed that I was on the right track of doing what what I needed to do and so I made some major changes in my life and and And that, that helped me realize that, okay, I can do this. And change is not hard, easy for any of us. And change is scary. And, and there's, there's always goodness coming. Sometimes we have to wait and sometimes we have to get through it. But once we get there it's more than worth it.
Collin 25:27
You said that phrase of the help see helped me see where I am and why I'm there. That Whoo. It's the why part that can be really scary, right of going, Okay, well, I know I don't feel like I'm doing my best. I know I'm tired all the time. I'm I know, I'm at the end of a nervous I know, I'm approaching a nervous breakdown. I know I'm dissatisfied. And put the why. And and those questions are where going to get help in those instances are incredibly important, because they help us face the why because sometimes we put ourselves in that situation who if we're doing the avoidance, sometimes it's it's environmental stuff, it's another person in our life. It's addressing that question of what why am I here? That that really when we drill down going, I need I need to feel in a safe place, I need to feel like I'm being guided through this, because I might not really like the answer whenever I go down that road. Exactly.
Debbie S. 26:27
Exactly, exactly. And I think a lot of people, a lot of us in this industry are caregivers and enablers. We're enabling others, and we don't realize that just because we're caring for them, and, and and, and so that builds upon where we are, it's like, we want to care for everybody. And, and the reality is we can't and simple. It makes it may hurt people to realize that you're not going to do what you were doing for them because you have to take care of your own life. But we all we all need to realize that it will be better for them, and it will be better for us as well.
Collin 27:14
Yet another reason why having that support group is so incredibly important of going to conferences, getting connected on Facebook groups getting connected to your local community of other senators or other friends or other business owners. So so that right and then being open to when somebody comes forward and says, I don't think you know, you're looking really frazzled today. What's right, like, exactly. Trusting of going, Okay, I've, if we intentionally build out this community and intentionally build out this network of people that we, we know, we like we trust, we have to know that at some point, they're going to come to us, hopefully in love, right and saying, right, I don't feel like you're in a good spot right now. Can I help you and receiving that going? Oh, my gosh, like, yeah, like, I need that in my life of people speaking into it going, how can I help you today? Because you're looking like, you know, a bit you know, a bit off kilter.
Debbie S. 28:13
I love now with the with the networking and groups and stuff, I did join the way back many years, probably in 2000, or something like that I did join a networking group of pet sitters at the time. But it was a different feel. I remember feeling it was more of a competitive thing. And I didn't feel the camaraderie and I love now when we all get together that it you know, even though we may have someone that's in our area that had sitting as well, I feel very comfortable with talking to them and getting ideas and seeing what they're doing and, and learning from other pet sitters, what they're doing, you know, to keep their, you know, to, to advertise or things to help their businesses from sports smoothly. So, I think the industry definitely has more of more of the thin friendship the camaraderie of helping each other than it did back in the beginning.
Collin 29:20
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Debbie S. 30:59
I mostly started just reaching out locally for other pet sitters, especially when COVID happened that helped me a whole lot. You know, I was reaching out. Okay, what were other businesses right now, you know, because of I didn't, you know, have that, you know, what kind of, you know, are they having the same trouble that I'm having with a business right now? Or is something going on with just me and so I think reaching out there, and then also, you know, the conferences help me a whole lot. I can be kind of shy and, and I think that pushing myself to go to the conferences and meet others helped me a whole lot, build up confidence with my business, and realize that, well, they're doing this, then I can do this too. And I mean, even after 28 years, there's a lot I have to learn and confidence I need to build, you think, well, she's been a business 28 years, she's probably pretty confident, but I'm not. I still feel like there's more I could learn and grow. And, and, and, you know, and make my customers do things for them to make it even better. So I have have changed in the sense that I have learned that I don't want to reinvent the wheel. So for many years, I tried to do my own bookkeeping, my own bookkeeping. For six months, the papers would be on the counter for taxes. And so I realized, Hey, I'm gonna hire a bookkeeper. And that was the best thing I ever decided, you know. And then with the software, you know, it used to be I did pen and paper and I'm like, Hey, I'm gonna get software. So. So you realize that, you know, there are tools out there now that I didn't have back then that can really, and and people that can do things better than you, you know that they already know how to do it really well. So why should I learn how to do the books and QuickBooks? Because I tried, I took a little course on how to do QuickBooks. And that was a waste of time, because that didn't help me any. I realized. So I think it does help us a whole lot to to realize what your strengths are. I'm also dyslexic, so I tend to switch numbers now try to switch numbers, when you're doing accounting, and it doesn't go. I learned. So I learned it's best to find what, what I'm good at and stay at that. And then what I'm not good at to let somebody that is good at it do that
Collin 33:51
job. Well, and that just that helps so much with the balance that we try and lead in our life and in our business of when we realize and it's I think it's a realization that every business owner has eventually of, oh, I don't have to do all of this by myself, right? I don't have to go in and learn HTML coding, or I don't have to learn about scripting, or I don't have to learn about all of this stuff from my website. I don't have to go in and find an app developer to make an app or I don't have to learn about the finances and take those courses and be certified in whatever like, Oh, I I can go find people who like this is their job. And, and I don't have to, like he's I love how you said like I realized I didn't have to reinvent the wheel each time because that happens. So often. I mean, just with Megan and I to have and it's that it's that question that comes up in your head where you go. Has anybody else come across this? Has anybody else done this before? And going, how do I find out? Where do I go? Who do I talk to? Instead of going well, I must be the only person who has ever dealt with this because we all feel that at certain times. Having that
Debbie S. 35:03
having that community and having those people to talk to, and connect with that, like, oh, have you tried this? And you're like, Oh, well, I'll quit struggling over this anymore. Now I can do it, you know somebody else?
Collin 35:20
Right? Because I'm paying them just struggle over it or they enjoy struggling over it. So, right? How do you find balance? Now, Debbie in your business, because, you know, you kind of walked us through this, this realization of you're trying, you're taking on too much you were you had this toxic relationship with your business. And you're working through all of these things. You know, as it stands today, what is what does balance mean to you?
Debbie S. 35:51
I think first you have to realize what you could do and what you can't do. And then you set limits on what you're going to do. So now, I'm in bed by nine o'clock every single minute. I turn, I turn off the computer, and everything in my home by 738 o'clock on Monday through Thursday. And I take off every Friday and Saturday. I don't do I work in the yard. I do things with my grandchildren. I think having those two days. When I when I first made an adjustment in my life, I just promised myself one day, just one day I was going to take off. And I did stick to that and made sure I was off one day. And now gradually, as I've made other adjustments, and to the point, I have two days off a week, and I don't work at night. Now, of course, if one of my sisters calls in and she's sick, then I'm happy to go help. But I was or you know, doesn't happen with my staff that felt very seldomly ever happens. But I'm more than happy to do it. But I also make sure that it doesn't happen every week that I have those two days a week, needs to go to bed early. Because nothing like, you know, being up till midnight at night. And then you have to be at your first house at 630 The next morning. Sooner or later. It's hard on you. And I think it's a matter of finding of setting limits and deciding what you what feels comfortable to you. And I realized that it's a process, and it's not going to happen overnight. And you need to first find out what's keeping you from doing these things, and then work on those things so that you can get there, it might be hiring staff. And I know that some are afraid to hire staff. But you know, if you just hire one, and then that gives you a little breathing room, even if they work one day a week, that's one day a week that you have for yourself, to take walks to be with family to work in the garden or do what you enjoy. I
Collin 38:27
know a lot of people do stress about that. And I see we get a lot of questions people going, well, I don't have full time work for this person. So how can I hire or I don't feel like I have enough to give this person to make it worth their effort. It's like, well just put it out there, right and ensure you may initially take kind of a pay cut if you hand off existing visits that you're doing. Right. But if the point is, and this is where we've got to find, am I trying to duplicate myself? Or am I trying to replace myself in the field and doing this work, because that really helps us understand exactly what our goal is. If I just like UW going, I don't want to work late nights anymore. So if I hire somebody to do late nights, well, that means that I'm not doing those and sure we're not going to make as much income from that. But I'm not doing late nights, which I don't want to do. So that's a win. Right? And what you find is with that space now peace, you get to relax a little bit, you get some more peace of mind, you get more space in your day. And way more benefits come from that than just the finances and that's that's a hard mindset to break when we've been running the business by ourselves for so long, hard. It's
Debbie S. 39:44
a hard step to take. Yes, yes. And I understand that, you know, you know, I started out that way but um, but definitely, you know, just whatever it takes to have some breathing room once a week, whether it's just a half a day, or just, you know, a day, or something just to give you time to, and you'll find that your business will be better off for it because your mind is clearer. You can think clearer, and, and you can give better care than you, you know than you thought you could, when you were so tired.
Collin 40:26
And you're not so frazzled and strung out from the stress that you're like. You're nice to your family, and you're nice to your friends, and
Debbie S. 40:39
you're at a stop sign waiting for it to turn green.
Collin 40:44
Exactly. And that's that. That's understanding what we when we are able to take that step back and realize like, no, no, holistically, how am I doing? The business may be growing and may be going off the charts with six quote unquote, success. But at what expense to your own personal life to my personal life. You know, I, we were we were hiking or I was at a business meeting a couple months ago. And somebody had asked, well, you know, how big do you want to grow? Like, what's your goal here, and I honestly hadn't thought about that in quite some time. But the first thought that came to my mind was really like, however big or whatever is necessary. So I can go hiking with my kids, like, that's I, at the end of the day, like, that's a goal that I have. And so I want to shape the business so that we can go do those things. And it's not going to happen all the time, it's going to take some while I love how you pointed out like it's a slow process. And, and that unfortunately takes patience, which, which I'm really bad at.
Debbie S. 41:48
And we take one step forward, and two steps back, you know, it's like, you know, Oh, I get up that day. And now that day's gone, okay, but we got next week, next week, we can try it again, and try to get that day off. Next week, you know, something came up, and you couldn't get it this week. And I think, you know, in the end, you will be so much better off and, and you'll find that you're happier person,
Collin 42:16
you know, and it is it is part of that again, and I'm so glad that you've you know what kind of part of your story, Debbie is just this, this, the business can be the best thing. And it can also be the worst thing in your life if you're not intentional about it. And that. So often, we do let the business just consume us, which impacts our personal life, which then comes back around to impact our business. And we feel like we're just trapped in this cycle. And that things are again, quote unquote, just happening to us. But But recognizing No, we have we have agency over a lot of things. And we can make intentional decisions, however scary they may be. But but we do have that control.
Debbie S. 43:03
Yes, we do. Your life. And we were in control of
Collin 43:09
it. Debbie, I really want to thank you for coming on the show today and talking to us about this and encouraging us to to make that step and to take that hard look at where we are and how we got there. And that at the center of that. It means we take ownership, it means we make changes, it means we reach out for help when we need to. So that we can lead that balanced life so that we can lead the life that we want to live and not feel like that we have to or that we are forced to make and that so incredibly freeing at the end of the day. But I know that there's a whole lot more here. And so if people want to reach out to you get in contact, pick your brain about things, or see all the cool stuff that you're doing how best can I do that?
Debbie S. 43:56
The best way probably would be. I am on Facebook under Debbie solways. And then I'm also on Messenger and my phone numbers on there as well. And I'd love to hear from anybody. And you know if anyone wants to stop, I'm happy to guide you and tell you more about my story and get you where you need to be in your business.
Collin 44:19
Well, I will have those links and phone number in the show notes so people can get connected with you, Debbie, absolute absolute pleasure getting to speak with you after getting to meet you in person a few times. So thank you so much for your time today.
Debbie S. 44:33
Thank you, Colin so much.
Collin 44:34
I really had two main takeaways from my conversation with Debbie. The first one was when she said that she learned the hard way that you can't let the business control you that you need to run the business. It was an amazing reminder that we are the ones who start the business and too often we become beholden to its needs. And we put aside our own that if we don't take initiative and if we don't Fight for time, if we don't make those boundaries, if we don't advocate for ourselves, no one else will. Your clients want to use your services as a business that we as business owners should take time and be careful to curate a client list that respects us that wants to see us succeed and understand that we need to take care of ourselves, not just sometimes, but all of the time. However, at the end of the day, this is a business transaction, and your clients have needs that we can't always meet, and we and they need to be okay with that. And that leads me to my second takeaway from my conversation with Debbie, that taking time off is crucial, it helps clear your mind and makes you a better business owner. Too often, we feel as though we are wasting time, whenever we clear off our schedule, when we're not busy when we're not doing something. This is some of the most crucial time that you can spend every single day is by pushing business aside. And being separate from that embracing the other part of who you are other parts of who you are investing in yourself through rest, through meditation, through whatever that is for you. If you don't take time off, it will be forced from you one way or another. And it's never convenient when that happens. So when we look at our businesses and understand we need to be in control, the best way that we can be in control is by having a clear head and a plan forward. And the best way to do that is by taking time off, so that we can be our best selves every single day. It's a holistic approach. It's a process. And it's not easy because it means that we have to say no to other people. And we have to say no to our selves a lot of times and be secure in our decisions. This is why having a network of support is so crucial to encourage you through those times and allow you to flourish in your area of expertise and in the way that you want to flourish. We want to thank today's sponsors, time to pet and pet perennials, 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 week. And we'll be back again soon.
