525: Pet Sitting From Argentina to the Netherlands with Sophie Canil
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Have you ever wondered what it takes to build a pet sitting business in a foreign country? In this episode, Sophie Canil, owner of Pet Sitting by Sophie, shares her journey from Argentina to the Netherlands and how she turned her love for animals into a successful cat sitting business. She discusses the importance of setting boundaries and self-care, especially in such a solitary profession. Sophie also emphasizes the value of delegating tasks and finding a supportive community of fellow pet sitters. Tune in for practical advice on growing a pet care business abroad!
Main topics:
Moving from Argentina abroad
Starting pet sitting business
Overcoming expat pet sitting challenges
Setting boundaries and self-care
Delegation for business growth
Main takeaway: When you present clear boundaries, it gives clients confidence that you know what you're doing.
About our guest:
Sophie has been passionate about animal care since childhood, beginning with her first pet cat, Pepi. With years of hands-on experience and formal education, including veterinary studies and certifications in animal CPR and behavior, she provides expert pet sitting and dog walking services. Having worked in Argentina and the Netherlands, Sophie also volunteers with animal shelters and as a photographer to help pets find homes. Her commitment to animal welfare extends into her personal life, reflected in her lifestyle choices and volunteer work.
Links
Instagram @petsittingbysophie: https://www.instagram.com/petsittingbysophie/
Facebook: Pet Sitting by Sophie: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61560943149119
Web: www.psbysophie.com
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A VERY ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE EPISODE
Provided by otter.ai
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
cat, people, pet sitter, netherlands, clients, sitters, work, argentina, business, started, year, bit, pet, job, delegating, sophie, connected, mentioned, important, put
SPEAKERS
Sophie C., Collin
Collin 00:00
Well, hello everybody, and welcome back today, we're really excited to have Sophie Canil, owner of pet sitting by Sophie, on the show, to talk about her journey into pet care and doing it across different countries, and her transition into a new life as a pet sitter, and things that she's learned about separating herself and differentiating her services so she stands out and attracts those right clients. Sophie, I can't tell you how excited I am to have you on the show today. For those who aren't familiar with you, could you please tell us a little bit more about who you are and what you do?
Sophie C. 00:29
Of course. Hi Collin, I'm really happy to be with you guys. I'm a proud listener of the show, so it's really nice to be on this side as well. I'm from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and I've been living in the Netherlands since 2018 and I'm here working as a pet sitter here, actually, I'm working more as a cat sitter at the moment. I've shifted a little bit, but I love animals, so I'm really happy to be working with them.
Collin 00:54
That's quite a long way to move. What took you to the Netherlands? Well,
00:58
actually, I wanted to move from Argentina since I was around 16 years old, I could finally do it when I was 26 so it was quite a long road until I finally made my dream come true. And the thing is, unfortunately, in Argentina, the economical situation and the situation in general is quite complicated. So living there was not ideal in terms of Yeah, growing up, developing, having Yeah, going further in life, as having a car, buying your own house, those sort of things that are quite normal now where I'm living were really hard to achieve in Argentina. So I really wanted to search for a better future. For me, it, I really wanted to live more and not be such in survival mode. That's a bit how life unfortunately goes in Argentina.
Collin 01:47
Yeah, that's I mean, but that's still a I can't imagine making that big decision to make that, to make that move. How did you How did you land on the Netherlands?
01:56
Well, actually, I've been coming to Europe. Was a place where I wanted to move. I didn't have a specific country wanted to move to. I just My dream was moving out from Argentina. So I had the opportunity one time when I came to the Netherlands as a tourist, I met a friend of mine, and that already created a connection with me and the Netherlands, having a friend here. And then I did some research, and I found there was a visa for Argentine people to come to the Netherlands, and it was the famous work on holiday visas. So while I had that opportunity, I took it, and then I met my boyfriend here in the Netherlands, and he gave me the partnership visa, and that's how I finally live here for longer time, because my initial visa was only for one year, and now I could apply for a Dutch passport. So I'm actually a European citizen at
Collin 02:46
the moment. That's a whirlwind of stuff. Wow. So you're, you're moving to the Netherlands because you're looking for new opportunities and a new life, right? You meet your boyfriend, you're getting settled in. When, when did the pet sitting start entering into your life? And how did you get started with
03:08
that? Well, back home in Argentina, I used to walk dogs, and I was starting to become a veterinarian, so I already was really into animals since all my life, since I was a child, so I was really oriented on that side. And the thing was, when I moved to the Netherlands, I found it a bit hard to be able to work with animals, because I was aiming for the more common jobs, as in a vet clinic or a vet assistant. And the thing was, with the Dutch language, I had a really big barrier, as well as trying to prove, okay, how do I prove my knowledge when the levels of university and courses are really different between Argentina and the Netherlands, so I had a really big barrier. So at first, when I just arrived here, I had to pay my bills like everyone else. So I fell into retail jobs that were not really my thing. I was really, like unhappy in the sense it was not fulfilling for me, because I my passion are animals, so I really want to work with animals, and I really searched for that. And one day, I was online on social media, and I saw an ad. They're really good at profiling people, so they showed me for the pet sitting platforms. And I was like, Wow, can you work as a pet sitter? So I applied, I made a profile for me, and I started getting gigs as a pet sitter, but I always had my main job for a company. I was not a freelancer. I was not a business owner, let's say and then that started developing. I had more and more clients, and at some point my retail job, the contract there ended. So I said, Okay, let's see if I can work as a full time pet sitter, and it's history. Since then. I'm really lucky that it really worked out. This was in I started sitting as a side job in 2021 and in 2022 was when my contract ended, and as from then until today, I have been working as a full time. It's
Collin 05:00
either, you know, a year of, kind of getting your feet under you. I'm, you know, I'm sure that was a learning praise for you too. Learning, you know, just in addition to having your other job as well, kind of balancing both of those while also going, not just because I'm tracking with everything here, Sophie, I'm going, Oh, it's not just, you're not just learning like the business, but you're also learning, how am I interacting with people in a different culture, in different country with a language barrier, and still presenting yourself in a way that they can know and trust you? I'm sure that was that wasn't an easy thing to overcome.
05:32
No, it was a massive combo. But let me say that the fact of already moving abroad that was like the biggest thing. And then things started working out. And I'm really lucky that most of my clients are expats, so I even get to speak Spanish with a lot of them. So that's really nice, actually.
Collin 05:49
Oh yeah, because I guess that fits, because you mentioned that there was a specific visa for people from from from Argentina. So, so is there a large there's a large expat community there already, yes, and
05:59
in particularly in the city that I live in, that is in Eindhoven. It's for you guys to know, it's an hour and a half from Amsterdam. It's in the South. It's a city that is super technological. So there's a lot of immigrants that companies hire from abroad. So I would say, like, 90% of my client base are expats. And the good thing about that is that it's they are people who travel often, which means I have work all year round. It's not just locals that go on holidays in summer. No, it's expats that really want to go back home when the weather is not great in winter. So they live in winter as well. They want to go back home with their families. So that, I think helps me have I work whole the whole year round. It's not just okay in the busy summer period that, of course, it's really, really busy, but it gives me, like, a really good, yeah, working quantity through the whole year round. Because
Collin 06:53
I know that's something that I we struggle with our businesses. There are definitely travel seasons where people are getting out and moving and it's hard to go well, I that's great that my clients have a travel season, but I have bills to pay 12 months out of the year. Like, I don't get an opportunity to just defer those to my to my busy time. So having getting connected with so it's something I know we're thinking about a lot more of, like, what kind of clients can we get connected with that are going to be more consistent, kind of going to provide a more stable base for our business, so that, because it gives us a lot, I'm sure it gives you a lot of peace of mind, knowing it's a lot of consistency here, I'm not going to be scrambling from month to month. It's going to be just a little bit every month to support me, versus fighting and clawing and knowing I got a big month, one month and the next month is going to go to absolute zero.
07:44
Yeah, absolutely. And that was my main fear initially. When I started doing this as a full time sitter, I was like, how is it going to be all year round? Because I know during summer it's really busy. I have a lot of clients, but what happens in May, April, when it vacation time, let's say, um, unluckily, because of this niche I found with expats, I realized now that I've been doing it for a couple of years, that's, there's work all year round, and it brings a gigantic peace of mind. Because I was really scared at first. I was like, what? How is he gonna be? You know? Well,
Collin 08:18
yeah, I mean, that's, that's, anytime we go out on our own, those questions start coming in, especially if we're coming from a job that paid us, you know, every two weeks or every month, regardless of how busy we were. And I think that's such a mindset that we have to work on of okay, well, I got paid the same amount this week, even though I had no customers in the store. Okay, great. That's wonderful for me. But then when we go out on our own, all of a sudden it's going, Oh, I don't, I don't make the same amount this week because I had no customers to walk and so really finding that niche and and working to overcome that fear, because that is, that's a fear that's universal for everybody, is where does that next income come from? I can't just, you know, just drop it. I can't just leave. I can't just assume something's going to happen. I've got to keep working a
09:04
little bit here. Yeah, and let me tell you that even though I have experience now, because I've been doing this full time since 2022 it did happen this year that I'm connecting with a lot of sitters through Instagram, and then I see that people get fully booked. And I'm like, Wow, I'm not fully booked yet. Is this year going to be as good as Latin last year? And then I started getting a bit anxious. But what I've seen this year, and I write everything down because it's a nice reminder for myself the next year not to panic, that I see a trend in my customers that are people, that most of them, of course, not all. They kind of make bookings really close to the days. So it's not that they book me necessarily five months in advance. I've learned that that's a bit the trend with my clients. Maybe next week, three clients pop up, and I have their week full, you know. So it's really, it's you need to see, I think, as a pet sitter with which sort of clients you're working with, what's the trend? If they do it really, in advance, most of them of. Course, it's people. So you're going to have different sorts of ways of working, but a bit of a trend, okay, this is the sort of people I'm working with. It's going to be like this, yeah,
Collin 10:08
no, I, I'm so happy that you pointed out, because I we do the exact same thing, we'll see people posting fully booked, fully booked, fully booked. And I'm looking going, I'm not, I'm not even 50% what's going on like and, you know, we start kind of calamitizing everything that's going to happen, it's going to be the worst ever. And then, right, I forget that our clients, for whatever reason, we have the kind of the same kind of clientele who they'll book a week out. They're like, Oh, well, that's plenty in advance. And usually it's fine, but it gives me a lot of heartache sometimes. So yeah, trying to just go, no, like, that's, it's, it's just, and I think part of that comes from how are our services designed? What do they latch on to? A lot of times, I know our clients really like the fact that it's convenient and easy to get a hold of us, and when we're easy and convenient to get a hold of, we just fit seamlessly into their life, and whenever they think about us, sometimes the night before. You know that's that's always fun. But some it's just, oh well, that's just they are, they're always going to be there. And I love being that, that they are so secure in that. But as a business owner, sometimes we have to push back just a little bit to go. Need a little bit more lead time. Need a little bit more space here to make sure everything's working. Yeah, and
11:16
most even more in in seasons, where the work is really an intense workload that in Christmas. Because the thing is, one thing is, I can accept the booking, maybe with two days before the booking starts, or something like that, in a period that is not so busy, but when I already have 12 people booked, yeah, then, so for certain periods, I do need more time before. So it's now that I'm saying, Hey guys, Christmas is going to be really busy. I do have already, like five clients that have booked me for Christmas. Please keep in mind to make your bookings with time, because I like being available, and I think that's one of the things that makes you part of being a professional pet sitter, having availability, because it's your main job. So you can give the clients a bit that. And they do like that, of course, but yeah, in certain periods, you need to let them know, Hey, I'm a human being with 24 hours, and I can only, in my case, I do house. This is so I have a certain amount of hours I can put in, and then I cannot feed more cats anymore.
Collin 12:18
There is only so much time. It turns out, in a day that we can do work and importantly, not worry about comparing ourselves to other people. Of that, that gets that, that drags us down so far, where all of a sudden, what we start doing is we start worrying what the other person's doing, what's their business like? How are they doing this? As opposed to serving our clients well and knowing that whoever is on my plate, I can serve them to the best of my ability in a professional way and giving them the most peace of mind. But I can't do that if in the back of my head I'm going, Oh, but what about that other company? They said they were booked today. I'm not booked today. I'm and it completely distracts us from the entire point of what we're actually out there to do.
12:58
Yeah. And I think in the end, the only fair comparison you can do is with yourself, not with other people, because you know your own journey, how you work, what brought you here. You can inspire yourself from other people. Because I need to say, thanks to other cat sitters, I've been super inspired knowing that, okay, this is a real job. I can it's not just a hobby, because this is something really new in the Netherlands, it's still considered, I think, by by society in general, by for by the government, as well, as a side hustle instead of, okay, it's a profession, so it's really nice to be inspired by others. But the comparison only has to be with yourself, because that's the only fair comparison you can
Collin 13:37
do well. And you even said that you have been writing down and kind of tracking these numbers, because I know for what happens to me is I become habituated to the busyness over time, and then the moment it drops, I start to panic. But if I go back and I look, I'm like, oh, what were we doing a year ago? Two years ago? Oh, well, we're busier than then it doesn't feel like it, because I've been bit like, I don't see that difference if I'm just experiencing it in the moment.
14:03
This is absolutely what you're saying and what I did, because to avoid a bit this panic of thinking, Oh, this year I'm doing worse than last year, when it's just in my mind, I went to my calendar and I literally looked at the amount of stats and I'm like, Hey, but I'm actually doing better than last year. Why was I panicking for nothing?
Collin 14:20
It's so true, because all of a sudden that just becomes our normal, right of like, okay, I've got seven visits today. Oh, man, I'm when we first start, it's like, oh, that's a really busy day. And we're like, scrambling and going, but after about a year, all of a sudden we've grown and we're doing 14 visits a day, or 12 visits a day, and then we get a 10 visit a day thing. It's like, oh, it's calamity. But no, no, no, hold on. Just look back, right? You were
14:45
actually doing better than what you think, but it's just our brain streaking us. Of course, yes,
Collin 14:51
which is so often want to do, which is why you know, getting connected to a good community is really important, and surrounding ourselves with people. I know that you've, I've seen you post on social media about doing meetups or get together with with other pet sitters in your area. How did, how did you start doing that? Oh, this
15:09
is marvelous, because pet sitting is such a solitary job that I think it's so needed to be able to connect with other sitters. So basically, when I started taking the when I started taking pet sitting more seriously in the sense of being a full time sitter, I started my Instagram account, and through my Instagram account, I was able to connect with sitters in the Netherlands. And I met this amazing sitter called Luciana from Amsterdam, and she organizes meetups with cat sitters there. And I live in the south, so in my case, I always travel to Amsterdam because of course, there, yeah, you have more people working in that area. It's like a really important city from the Netherlands. So whenever I can, I go to the cat sitters Cafe she organizes, and it's lovely because we get together and we can talk about, yeah, how this job is how we're doing and and we really help each other on something. I realized in this job that it has surprised me in a really positive way, is the lack of competition in the sense everyone wants to help each other, and we don't see each other as threats. We see each other as friends that okay, how did you do? What can I do with this? We really help each other because we see how solitary this job is, and also we see the lack of guidelines we have to work. It's like everyone does their own rules, and everyone is trying to do what they want. And also, what happens is we are really passionate about animal care, so it's really hard to say no sometimes. So we're really telling each other, please say no, rest, take your time, because we really want to help. Because our drive, our main force, is helping animals taking care of animals. So yeah, it's super nice to connect with people. I
Collin 16:46
love how you started. We started that off by saying when I took this seriously, I got connected with other people, right? And I think that really speaks to just how critically important it is to have a community around us, because we we don't know everything. And like you said, I mean, just listed all these things. It's a solitary thing. It's really lonely and confusing. We also often struggle to just take care of ourselves. So having somebody to come along and kind of tap you on the shoulder, and being like, Collin, you're looking a little rough today. How's it going? You know? It's like, it's so needed. We
17:19
even tell each other, please drink water, please lunch. I mean basic needs, but we all are in the same vibes, just working and going and going. And we are telling each other, please stop, hydrate, rest, breathe.
Collin 17:34
And it again just goes, Oh, that sounds so silly. I don't need that. Actually having groups of people around you that are encouraging you, that care for you that much to say, Did you drink some water today? Where? Who else is that going to come from? On our really busy days, on our really stressful times, maybe we're going through something through really personally, where we're sick, or we have a family member that's sick, or we're having, you know, other stresses going on, who else are we supposed to talk to or have come alongside us and encourage us, or take over visits for us if we need that little bit of break, or give us some that space that we need, we can't create. We can't be the be all, end, all of everything, all of the time. So having that group of people that you can get connected with allows you to have more space in your day,
18:17
absolutely, and that space will help you grow your business, even because if you're completely exhausted and burnt out, your mind cannot think of new ideas, new ways of getting better, new ways of making your service even more excellent. So that free time and that peace of mind is needed to even grow your business. And I think with that, a really key thing I've learned is delegating, because we cannot do just everything else of one person. Maybe we can, but it's going to have an end at some point, because we it's just too much.
Collin 18:49
So how are you, how are how are you delegating? Or To whom are you delegating? Stuff in your business? Basically,
18:55
I'm delegating when with my website, because I started pet sitting with pet sitting platforms, and then I wanted to open up from that, because of the commissions they asked. And yeah, I wanted to have every my terms and conditions really clear on my website, my own style, with my pictures and everything. So I said, Okay, I can learn maybe how to create a website, but I do not have the time. I'm gonna delegate it to a web designer, graphic designer, she will do it for me. We will work together, and it's going to be out of my mind. The same with my Instagram esthetic, I'm working together with my sister. She's a graphic designer. She's the best friend of the graphic designer that did my website, so we're working all together. They're both from Argentina, um, and she creates the post. The ideas are mine, the pictures are mine, the text as well, but she creates the layout, the design, the color palette. So that is really important for me, because I want to really come across professional. I know what I'm doing. I also love sharing information about cat care, because I really believe there's so many myths about cats that I really want to share that. And yeah, I cannot do a. Everything. So I delegate my website, my Instagram account, and now I found two wonderful pet sitters I can work with, so that I'm so happy about that.
Collin 20:11
It's, yeah, yeah, no, you when you're, when you're running as fast as you can, you can't be creative. Basically, you know, it's like when you're here's a challenge, everybody, go, go, have a lion chase you and try and come up with a sonnet, right? Or go, go, be chased by a bear and see how you can create the next, you know, marketing campaign. You can't, if we're just running and scared all the time, and we don't have any space in our mental in our brain for that, getting that space back, having the website taken over, doing these things allows us to go, Okay, now that I'm not stressed over about a website layout, what can I do to actually help my business? And that's different for everybody. I think that's really important to note. Of like somebody who goes, Ah, I don't want to dedicate that time for XYZ. It could be the marketing, it could be finances, it could be the website, it could be social media, it could be whatever that is going somebody else needs to do that so I can X, Y, fill in the blank. What would you rather be doing? How could you help your business if you had three more hours back in your day? And that's really what that is,
21:10
yeah, absolutely. And you need that free time to maintain your business going. And then you need that free time also to be able to grow with your business. Free time is really needed, and it's something that what I've been talking with other sitters, it's really hard to make space for as a business owner. Yeah, it's, it's, it's our challenge. I think you
Collin 21:29
mentioned your your Instagram and your social media there. That was one thing that immediately stood out to me was just how every image was, was you, was was on brand, on point, with the little graphics, with the little details. It didn't matter where I was if I saw a photo out of the corner of my eye, I immediately knew, Oh, that's, that's pet sitting by Sophie. It just also came so recognizable. And I love what you're doing there. So you, you said you're working with somebody to help design those things, right?
21:58
Yes, and I'm you've literally mentioned exactly what I want to create, so it means it's working. So I'm super happy about that. Okay, yeah, with my sister that she's my graphic designer, it was to make this sort of unified concept that exactly what she mentioned. When you would see a picture of mine on your feed, you would know who it would belong to. And she also designs my stickers and my business cards, and we're using the same color palette, the same design. So when that scene abroad, like outside, I mean, in the street or something, you kind of say, Oh, it's from this person. So for me, that's really important to unify the concept and make sort of a brand from it. And I really like esthetically pleasing things, because I love photography, so it's also really nice to my own eye, of course, yeah. And
Collin 22:43
I think what's important to note here, and I'm going to again, have the link to your Instagram in the show notes so people can go see this. It's important to note that, I think when a lot of us, including myself, think of branded photography, we think, Oh, I have to find a way to get my colors in there, or I'm going to have my logo on there, or I need to have something that says my name. Most of your photos, actually, I don't think any of them have a logo on them, but it's how the I'm going to say, it's how the photo is treated, with the little with the little drawings around things, with the little highlights, with little motion things, it becomes instantly recognizable for what is being on here and who this is. Then I really think that that's incredibly powerful, because on on a platform like Instagram that is designed for photos, and yes, you know, and video as well, how do we make a photo stand out? I think that's what a lot of us struggle with, of, Oh, I've just got to take a better photo. Well, no, because there's people, honestly, there's people who take way better photos than I do, and that's fine, like, I understand I'm not going to be the be all, end all photography here. But what can I add to a photo that's actually going to catch somebody's attention, that's going to go, here's a little clue to this, who this is, and you said the branding, it's so it's so interesting, how, what, what a simple thing can do on a photo I want? Looking at a photo here of a white cat licking its paw, and it's got these little motion lines on it, of like, like, just that little detail that's all that was added to this photo. And you go, Oh, that's pet saying by Sophie, because I recognize that kind of detail to this. I was really fascinated by this, like, this idea and how it's being used. Thank
24:16
you so much. Well, that's 100% kudos to my graphic designer, because that's been her idea. She wanted to create this, but we both agreed on we didn't want to put too much on it, because when we want to see the feeling once we wanted to be clean, not too much to the eye to with a lot of things going on, something simple. And that's where I see that delegating was 100% successful idea. Because even though I have an artistic eye, let's say, because I love photography and I consider I take nice pictures that specific add on you mentioned of the doodles on the pictures. It was something, it was her idea. So my expertise is taking care of animals. So by hiring someone whose expertise is design, I could have this input of, Oh, okay. Let's make this really small doodle on the pictures, and it will make it to be your brand. So that was a really positive side of delegating the work related to design, because
Collin 25:10
too like, while you're out there killing it with the pet care and taking really good photos, you don't have to lay awake at night going, how am I going to make this photo pop? How am I going to make this photo pop? When we delegate we also delegate the worry, and I think that's another aspect that we don't I'm sure your sister laid awake at night some days, going, how am I going to make this work? And she spent hours of trial and error back and forth with you, working on multiple designs, all this stuff that was all to solve a problem that you didn't have to worry about. You got to see a couple things, make a decision and go, Cool, let's move forward with this, you know, and have discussions and that, that kind of stuff. But you weren't fully consumed by this. We have other things in our business that can fully consume us.
25:51
I have enough. Don't worry, exactly. So it's like, okay, this problem is not mine for a little bit. It can be yours.
Collin 26:00
No, I think when we can reframe it like that, because a lot of times we think with with delegating, it's just get this done for me, or actually saying is, this is your problem, and I'll pay you for it, right? I'll compensate you in some way. Go ahead, this is now your problem. And why is it their problem? Because they said they could solve it, and they're an expert at this fantastic. Everybody wins. They get money. I get a problem solved, and we can both move forward together Absolutely.
26:27
And I get peace of mind and a bit of free time, which is absolutely what I need, and what I learned that I had missing in my previous years as a pet sitter. This job is really a massive learning process when you learn a lot about yourself, your limits, what you need, what works for you, what doesn't, and needing free time and what you mentioned, like some problems, okay, they're not mine anymore. I, of course, I have to do with with the post. I need to come up with a text with the ideas, with the did you know posts? I really am into that, but at least the design and the artistic part is not my problem anymore.
Collin 27:03
Well, you talked about, you know, learning about yourself, and I'm sure you spend a lot of time also just learning about what it meant to run a business in the Netherlands. So I did what would like for you to kind of take us back to when you first started out, what it was like learning about business practices and what kind of like regulate. I know you said it's very new ish industry to the Netherlands. So how are, how is it regulated or not, and kind of, how do you get your business set up?
27:28
Um, the thing is, in the Netherlands, luckily, they really help you out. When you want to start a business, there's a whole office for that, and you have advisors that can help you out. And you can make an appointment for free, and they will give you advice. They will let you know what you have to do. So there's a lot of like people helping you, and that's a lot of support from the government if you want to start a business. So that's 100% a positive sign. But it happened when I went to register my business, pet sitting by Sophie in the list of businesses. It was not pet sitting was not an option. So that that says how new it is in the Netherlands. It's related to animal care, but it was not bed sitting, you know. So that was it was a funny thing. It says a lot. And by regulating your business and inscribing it in the chamber of commerce in the Netherlands, then you put everything in white on paper, and then you go in the tax system that that's really important in the Netherlands, because if you make a mistake, they will let you know, and you will see a blue envelope that everyone in the Netherlands is afraid of. No, and it can be really tough.
Collin 28:32
Oh gosh, that's I'm I feel, I feel triggered just thinking about about that, like, oh man,
28:37
it comes in the mail, and then it's always a blue envelope when it's related to taxes. So you're like, oh, no, not again. What's gonna be inside of it? And let me tell you a story about it. One time, you have to declare your how much you earn in three trimesters. And one trimester, I was in Argentina, a lot, so I had my income was zero. So I put 00, it was zero. But then I said, Okay, I'm not gonna say anything, because if it was zero, what am I gonna declare? And because I didn't declare it was zero, I got the famous blue envelope, and I had to pay 5600 euros. I started crying my eyes out. How is it gonna be? Oh, my God. And then I called them, and they told me, Oh no, because you didn't declare nothing. We send you that that is the maximum amount. But if you just pay now, oh no, it was zero. You just paying a fine of 80 euros, it will carry you out. So I learned with the tax office, and I delegated one more thing. I don't take care of my own taxes, and I pay an accountant. She does my tax work. I don't want to make mistakes. Art of delegating once again, yeah,
Collin 29:45
oh my god, we always forget that we you have to declare and that same things happens over here in the United States of even if it's zero, you have to tell them. The whole point of reporting is to tell them how much. You made if you don't report, they don't know, and they think you're trying to evade taxes. So of course, you're going to be fine. And again, it's, it's so it's this, yeah, there's ongoing obligations in our business. Of okay, we signed up, we told them, you know, we're going to be selling products because we did it to make some extra money. Well, they are. They're going to assume that you are going to continue selling products until you tell them otherwise. So you have to keep up with all those filings. And that becomes another thing where we go, oh, an over 5000 euro fine that I could I can hire somebody a lot cheaper than that to take care of this for me.
30:35
No, and that's a really big problem. I'm delegating. I don't need to make mistakes anymore in my tax area, because a mistake can cost you so much that I just run it's not in my hands anymore. That's it.
Collin 30:50
Well, you mentioned that you you got connected with the expat community there, and I would like for you to kind of set the scene for what that looks like, because many of our listeners might not be familiar with what an expat community looks like. You know, are they all in one geographic area? Are they all on similar posting boards or Facebook groups or things like that? How did you how did you start getting connected with them and offering them your services?
31:12
It was via Facebook. There's Facebook groups that have actually helped me a lot as an expert myself. So we have groups of expats in Eins, expats with those in Eindhoven, really, even Latin people in 9000 so there's a lot of groups where people just ask for pet sitters or people offer their services. So I do often, a lot of posts there, and I got a lot of people that end up following me or reaching out to me via those posts. And it's quite a nice community. I think a group has like 15,000 people, or something like that. So it's really wide, wide range of people in that group. So it's a really nice community. Again,
Collin 31:51
all that, all that, is really a reminder of when we think about who our target client is, who do we want to be serving? We have to figure out where they exist out in the world, right? We have to figure out where are they. And a lot of us will spend time going, oh, what kind of coffee shops do they want to go to, or, or what kind of gyms do they work out on, or where do they work, or what kind of streets would they walk down? But also going, where do they spend time online? Where do they go to ask questions? And then we have to be there in order to talk to them and be found by them, because if we're not, they're going to be totally missed. And and Facebook groups are incredibly powerful to our local area, so it's really interesting to hear how, yeah, here's a group of 15,000 people, and they're all asking questions, they're all being engaged, they're all looking for help. And if we can just, you know, raise our hand every now and then, we're going to be found absolutely
32:41
so I am also looking if people ask in post, I always place a comment, and by just placing a comment, telling the people what do I do for my job, like explaining that I'm a professional pet sitter that is not just a hobby. Just by commenting on that post, I not only get contacted by the person in the post by but by other people that were scrolling by and that they see my comments. So maybe I'm not hired by the one of the posts even, but I made connections with other people that just scroll through the post post, and we're like, oh, wait, I can also need a pet sitter. Who's this?
Collin 33:12
Yeah, I know most Facebook groups will have a search feature, and people will use that to go back and search for other posts that have already talked about cat sitters or dog walkers or pet sitters, and see has this question been asked already. And then they'll scroll those comments to see who's been there before they ask their own. And so knowing, oh, it's really good to go, oh, this comment might not be for the OP. This comment may be for the next person or the next next person who scrolls on this I just need to be visible. It's one other aspect of I need to find my places where people can see me and get connected
33:50
Absolutely. And I do really take that into account, because it happened one time. Everything in this job is a bit of trial and error that I saw that I commented on a post, and then I started getting followers. Then when I looked at their profile, most of them were from Eindhoven or the Netherlands. So I was like, where are they coming from? And then I realized, oh, wait, they're coming from this comment I made, or my website had a lot of new clicks, and they were all from Einstein. So it's like, it you can, you can try and see what starts happening, but yeah, if you use the tools that social media gives us, in that sense, to connect with people, I think it can be really useful. And even though I put my business cards in pet stores or vet clinics, the online presence is really important, and even more, if you're narrowing it down to your local area, so these Facebook groups of your local area, that's even better, because it's really specific for your for your zone.
Collin 34:45
You said that phrase, everything in this business is a little bit of trial and error. And I, I'm laughing a lot, because it really is. I was, I was wondering maybe, what's something that you've tried that didn't work out the way you expected it to, or had hoped it would? Well.
34:59
Something that it didn't work for me was the lack of boundaries. I think that something works really good. I mean, the lack of them was a negative thing, and I see a positive thing while putting them. Because I think in this job as well, there's a really thin line between your personal life and your job, because you are the CEO, the HR, the community manager, you are everything. So it's really important to have a set of boundaries. Okay, what's included? In my case, I do house visits. So what's included, what comes as extra, what things I'm willing to do, what things no. So I think it also gives a sense of security to people, because whenever I meet a new client, I ask them, Hey, how did you find my profile, or why did you choose me? Because, of course, there's a really wide range of pet sitters out there, and a lot of people have told me since my pet sitter platform era, where I had at least so big it was like insane long of terms and conditions and how what I would ask for pet parents, and now I have the same on my website. A lot of people told me that really comes across as that you know what you want, that you know what you're doing, and that you have experience in it. So setting boundaries, setting rules. Okay, I work like this, like that. People really like the structure and the organization that you bring when you show your limits or your boundaries, and it also helps yourself your mental health. Yeah, it's really,
Collin 36:23
we do a lot of experimentation with boundaries to go, Oh, is that too much, right? Did I? Did I offer too much for this? Did I expose myself to too much stress? Did I allow myself to, you know, get too stressed out about this or whatever way? Okay, I need to pull that back a little bit and a reminder like you said that, yeah, your boundaries will be attractive to some people. They're going to go, I like the way that person looks. But also, on the same token, we're going to have people who go, I don't like the way that person you know? We've we've had people who wanted to use our services but didn't like our cancelation policy. So they were like, You know what, you're not the person for me. And we're like, Okay, well, you know what? At least we got that figured out on the front end, and not whenever you went to cancel something. So just just knowing that it's incredibly powerful to go, this is how I run my business, and the more you stick to that, amazingly, you'll find people who will operate the way you operate your business, because that's how they that they like that. And it can be. It's so powerful to know that I can have a business with boundaries that people respect. And in the beginning, many of us don't believe that that's possible, and some of us still struggle to this day. And
37:30
I think we are, we are really scared sometimes to put limits, because we don't want to come across as too strict, or to scare clients away. But I think that I've learned if, if you scare a client away by putting limits, then those clients maybe were benefiting from taking over those limits. And it's also nice that it organically filters which clients are the best match for you. Because if I want, because it happened to me, I know my rates are a bit higher than other pet sitters in my area, but it's because of the studies and the knowledge I have. And if I get someone that's not so happy with that and cannot value how I work, then it's not not a good match for me. And maybe they're happy if they their neighbor can do the job, but if they cannot value the knowledge all the time and hours I put on studying and perfectioning myself, then we're just not a good match. And that's okay, but it's a nice filter for the client and for me? Yeah, well,
Collin 38:22
you mentioned they're kind of the study and the courses and stuff. How are you differentiating yourself from other sitters in your area? Not that it's a competition between one or the other, but at some point we do have to stand out. We do have to stand out in some way. So how are you finding and how are you doing that?
38:40
I think that the success I've had in my area has to do with the studies. I know how to do CPR on cats and dogs. I know how to provide first aid. I've done courses on animal behavior, and I'm I'm studying specifically animal behavior related to cats. That is the area in pet sitting that I'm dedicating myself to. And I think that's that brings peace of mind to people, because when I go to people's houses, it's not that I just pet the cats. I clean the litter box and that's it. For example, when I clean the litter box, I look at the stool, okay, is the cat Okay? From their stomach? Is it a bit like Not, not in the in the best shape possible? Let's put it in a way. I'm really having an extra eye saying, Okay. Is there something out of the ordinary happening on that. I know it because I've studied for it, and I think it's really important with cats, because there are animals that they are really good at hiding when they're they feel sick, so you need to have a really trained eye to know, and maybe your neighbor can do it for less than what I do it. But they just go feed them, cuddle them a bit, and if they don't want to eat or something, or they drink too much water, they think, Oh, they're thirsty. But if I see a cat drinking too much water, I'm like, maybe there's something going on. Or if I put my cat didn't pee in the litter box for 24 hours, I'm gonna be freaking out. And maybe the neighbor is like, oh, no, okay, it doesn't matter. So I think studying and like, yeah, being on top of your game. Mean, what's behavior and stuff can really help put yourself out there and differentiate your business and your service from other services.
Collin 40:07
Clients pick up on that. They pick up on the kind of language that you use, how you kind of get ahead of potential problems beforehand. And the good clients are going to go, oh, this person really knows what they're talking about. I I have to have them. Some clients won't, won't understand it, and they'll completely go over their head. That's okay, right? They might not be the best fit for you, or see why it's important, but you can really that's where a lot of that relationship starts to develop. Of and we've, we've had it before where I'll be saying something during a new client consultation. I'll be, you know, just offhand mention this thing that I'm observing, and they'll look and they go, oh, i Wow, you've done this before, I guess. And I'm like, yeah, have. And it's, I'm like, Yeah, I have. And not in a bragging way, but just like, a this is, this is what we do. This is how we do that. And then those clients really go, oh, man, okay, I found my people here. I've got to, I'm going to stay with them absolutely.
41:03
And if a client likes you, you know it can be a client for life, because to trust someone to look after your animals, it's so hard. For the same reason, it was really hard for me to find a sitter that can work for me. So yeah, I understand the struggle of having to choose someone. I really get it. That's why I really want to let them know as how much I know about cats, as you said, not to brag, but just to bring them peace of mind. For example, something I asked for for for cat parents is that they leave the carrier from the cat and the all the vet information on the passport at hand, because in a case of an emergency, I cannot lose time searching for the cat carrier. And those certain things that might sound Oh, these girls have been going a bit too far, because nothing bad happened yet. And I know nothing but happened, but yet, and in a case of an emergency that I really hope it never happens, but it has happened to me, I really want to be able to have everything. Boom, I run to the vet, and I already know to which vet hospital to go. I have all those things settled. And I think that's what helps bring peace of mind to pet parents in the end, yeah,
Collin 42:04
when we can talk to them about how we would solve problems, right? And that's something that I encourage people. You know, when I talk with potential clients, I know sometimes they'll just be interviewing us as a possibility for that, and I don't take offense to that. I just go, oh, okay, you know, I really appreciate that. Here's some questions that I'd like for you to ask whoever you're interviewing and make to make sure that they have that emergency. Excuse me that I'm gonna let me get some water here, please.
42:33
Mine is so almost I'm gonna get water fast for me. So, okay, cool. You
42:50
Yes, Walters, but
Collin 42:56
just being able to, you know, give them language of going, okay, you know, here's what you need to ask other people, because they're not going to be able to answer this, or they so that they're fully informed about what the kind of care that they're even looking for. I don't, I don't know if you have to do that. Sophie, if somebody asks you a question and you go, Okay, well, what I hear you saying is, is you're looking for, you know, every other day kind of cat visits. And let me tell you about how I operate. It's a lot of education for owners,
43:24
absolutely. And I did have that, and I used to do it before because I didn't see I was like, Okay, maybe it's possible. And I also wanted to help the people. I wanted to help the cats. So I used to, back then, take those sort of jobs, and now I don't do it anymore, and I explained to people why I don't do it anymore, and it's for the safety of their cats. And then when you explain to people, Hey, but when 24 hours, you're sorry, but your cat could be dead if you're not there in time, because they could have a blockage of their urethra that had to be at the vet like as fast as possible. So it's just a matter of safety, and I think that comes from people not understanding fully the importance of hiring a professional pet sitter. That is not just, I go cuddle your cat for 10 minutes and that's it. No, it's a, it's a really, a real job with tons of responsibility and with cats, even by changing their routine, because their owners are not there. So everything has changed that can trigger so many things stress wise, because cats, we all know that they're super prone to stress. So I think in these situations, we really need to think, Okay, who are we hiring someone that can really see really fast, okay, this is not going so well, and that can really pinpoint when that is happening,
Collin 44:36
yeah, and it happens all the time when an owner will say something like, Oh, my cat's the easiest going cat in the world. I've never had a problem with them and going, Okay, well, have you ever left your cat alone, right? Have you ever, oh no, I've never left my cat alone in 10 years like, oh, okay, well, yeah, your cat does fantastic when you're at home, because you're at home, right? I.
45:01
I had it with people that have toxic plants in their house. So I tell them, hey, this plant is highly toxic to cats. And they're like, oh, but they never chew on them. But they're alone. So when they're alone, the whole boredom scenario, can do lots of things on my cats. So please, let's keep it on the safe side. I'm always on that with people. I just want to keep it on the safe side. And when they're under my care, the responsibility is huge, so I really want to be, yeah, on the safe side as much as possible.
Collin 45:29
And that means keeping those visits simple. You know, we get weird requests from client all the time of like, oh, well, just do x, y, z and t and b and c and, you know, oh, and you gotta do this and this and this and this, going, Okay, how do I, how do I simplify this visit so that it A, it's not as complicated, but B, that there's fewer things to go wrong. You know, I want one thing that we do, and we get a lot of cats, is, if they need medication, just going, is there any way we can put the cat in its own room so that I can limit the amount of spaces that the cat can hide from me when I go to give it its pill. Can we do that? And again, that takes some convincing with clients, because they go, Oh, well, the cat doesn't have any problem with me giving it its pill. Yeah. Again, it's you giving the pill and
46:12
yeah, being a new it's a new person, a new smell, a new sound for a cat. All of those things are a lot. And I think this goes again with how important it is to study the matter, because we see things as humans. So maybe it's like, oh, for my cat, it's nothing, but you're seeing it with human eyes. Let's put the glasses on and let's say, How does my cat see everything? How does my cat experiment these things that suddenly you are not there anymore, that they're alone most of the time, that there's this new person coming in and wants to, like, grab me for giving me something for a cat. It can be a lot. It'd
Collin 46:47
be a lot for me having a stranger come in and try and grab me. So I totally understand, but we've talked a lot about cats here. Sophie, I was interested, did you start out with a cat focus, or did you have an early mix kind of, what was that transition like?
47:01
Well, actually, when I was back home in Argentina, I used to walk dogs, so I started with pet care in a way, and when I came to the Netherlands, I came to another really different scenario, where it rains really often, and I'm a person that I've lived 26 years of my life in Argentina when it rains a couple of times a year. And when I was walking dogs there, if it would rain, I would cancel the walk. It's like, no, the dog is gonna get soaked me too. No, okay, no problem. People know that it works like that. But here last year, particularly, it rained, I think I don't know, like, a lot of times a week, for weeks on end, and I was walking dogs, and I was like, oh my god, I'm getting soaked wet. This is really not something I'm enjoying so much. So, yeah, the fact of the weather was a really big thing for me, for those so I'm I'm talking a lot about cats, because this my main focus and but I used to do those before, until I realized what I'm mentioning about the weather. And I also, thanks to this job, I can go home, luckily, a lot, and when I go home, I stay around a month because the plane tickets are quite expensive the road towards Dina. So by staying a month there, I feel I'm I'm bringing issues to clients that need weekly walks. So if I have to come two times a year to a client to tell them, hey, I'm going to leave for a month, I really don't want to bring those issues to dog owners, so I said, okay, and maybe I will just move to cats, because I also have more knowledge on cat behavior. For me, it's really easy to read cats, and with those, I feel like I was lacking a bit of knowledge. So I felt a bit more insecure. And I really want to give a service in where I'm 100% convinced of what I'm doing, what I know I'm knowledgeable about. So it was a bit organically how it moved from dogs to cats. So I'm mostly doing cat sitting, but it's like, Why do you call pet sitting? By Sophie then? Because I did look after some bunnies two weeks ago, and I read, I mean, house visits I can do, but when I do animals that are not cats, I'm really honest. And I tell people, it's not my expertise. I know about animal behavior because I've done courses on it, but my expertise are cats. But if you tell me what I have to do, really detailed explanations with pictures and everything's everything, because I really don't want to mess it up with animals. Um, people do not mind, but I'm really honest about, okay, it's not my specific area, but I do it. But yeah, house visits work mostly with cats, because if people, yeah, need you to look after a dog, they need to bring it to your house, mostly. And people have asked me to pet sit their dogs with house visits, and I say no, that I do not do it, because for a dog, it can have such a big impact on them being alone most of the day. I really don't think it works for those and for me, besides my business, what I have first in line is animal welfare. And if I feel it's not going to be the ideal situation for that animal, then I said, Sorry, but it's not that good match for me.
Collin 49:58
I listening. To kind of your decision tree for how you arrived at the cat sitting, focused. Cat not not cat only, but very cat focused. I saw how you just at each step where it's really self care through how you run your business, right? Going, I can just imagine being out in the rain, day after day after day after day. Going, I hate this, right? I this is i I'm so miserable, I'm soaking wet. There's mud everywhere. This is the worst thing in the whole world. And there's some people who would go, well, that's just what I have to do to run, to run a business. But having that extra thought to go, what if I didn't have to run it this way, right? Going, what if I could actually get a little bit more joy back in my life by doing something different. I can still be in tech care. I just need a different focus, so that I'm not out here doing this and remembering and going, Oh, right. I created the business. I can. I can change it to fit my own needs. As I learn about myself, of okay, we have these notions where we go, oh, I can probably do a dog walk in the rain, doing 10 dog walks in the rain for multiple weeks, didn't sign up for that. So going, I'll just cut that out, and I'll grow a different business, and just thinking of those opportunities and being able to to have that foresight and that being creative in that moment to go, I'll actually do this, and in the end, I can still run a business, but I'm also taking care of me myself through that process
51:19
Absolutely because if you don't take care of yourself in the long run, it's gonna backfire for yourself, because you're the person that's doing everything. So I think your mental health is super important. And I think also the free and freelancing is to give freedom to yourself. You know that you're your own boss for a reason, so that's why it's a bit what I mentioned before, of the trial and error. I like, Okay, I tried this because I was doing it, but back home in Argentina, also, I was like, Okay, if they're offering me a job, I don't want to say no, I had that pressure on me, because I'm a freelancer. I need to make meets end. And then I was like, Wait, yeah, but I don't want to be straining myself and my mental health. I was already biking under the rain kilometers an end in the Netherlands. So it's like, okay, I'd rather be dry inside the house, and that's it. And I really saw that it was working for me, and then I can have a better approach for my business, because I'm happier, I'm more content with what I'm doing, and more more Sure, okay, this is for me. And yeah, you don't get worn out by doing things that are not really for you.
Collin 52:24
I love that so much. Sophie, and I'm so appreciative of you coming on the show today and talking us through your journey and what it's like to make those decisions and to embrace the variance and to embrace those possibilities as they come along. I know that there's a whole lot more that you do and a whole lot more going on. If people want to get connected with you see your really cool Instagram, and people you really need to see her cool Instagram. How best can they do that
52:52
my Instagram, and both my Instagram and my Facebook have the same name to make it easy for everyone. It's Pet Sitting by Sophie. I also have my website. It's Ts by sophie.com
Collin 53:03
Cool. I will have those links in the show notes so people can get clicked and get connected with you right away and see all the cool stuff that you've got going on. Sophie, again, I can't thank you enough for you coming on the show today and sharing. So thank you. Thank you for your time.
53:17
It's been my pleasure. Thank you so much for the space, and I really hope I can help pet sitters out there. As I mentioned, it's such a solitary job that we have each other, and this podcast has helped me so many times listening to other sitters and people in in the pet care business, and I'm like, Wow, I'm not alone in this, so I really hope I can bring a bit of that to someone else.
Collin 53:36
Awesome, perfect. Sophie, that's fantastic.
53:40
I had a lot of fun. Thank you.
Collin 53:43
I did too. I really, really thoroughly enjoyed it and getting to learn more about you and your business here, and that's wild. I I just, I love everything about it and everything that you've got going on that's really, really, really fun and cool. So thank you for for coming on today. So thank you.
53:58
Thank you so much. At first, I was really nervous because, oh, I don't know, you know, but then you made it so easy going, and it really felt like a conversation. So thank you so much for that and for what you guys do with the podcast. I really mean it that, yeah, you feel less alone. It's like, oh, they're saying things that I that went through my mind. It's okay to go this way. You feel reassured that you can go that way with your decision. So thank you so much for the space and what you are creating for all of us.
Collin 54:25
That means an awful lot. Sophie, I'm really happy that it's been been helpful for you and everything. So yeah, I really appreciate it. And I'll, I'll give you a heads up before this comes out. It'll probably be about about a month or so before it gets released. And then I'll reach out also, if I, I'll look for that bio. If I can't find one, I'll just reach out and get a, get another one from you. And, yeah, we'll, we'll go from there. And we'll have to, we'll, we'll need to have you back on the podcast to get caught up with how everything's going on here in a little bit, in a while. So I'd love to do an honor. Thank
54:57
you so so much. Let me take a picture of
54:59
us. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely,
55:02
yeah, absolutely with this one. So looks nicer.
55:10
It goes for my for my little book. I have all the my memories from bed sitting and everything. So I will, I will go into there, put it there. It's really a milestone. So thank you so much. Oh, hey,
Collin 55:19
you're very welcome, Sophie. I'm super excited and glad to get connected with you. Yeah, we'll be in touch. And if you need anything, let me know. Okay, definitely
55:27
you too. And if you need the bio or whatever, please reach out. I have it on the email that you send me. The first one, I have all the text there so I can just
Collin 55:34
copy it. Perfect. Sounds awesome. Yep. Thank you so much, Sophie. Have a good day.
55:39
Bye, bye, bye.
