All tagged boarding

505: The Importance of Empathy in Pet Care with Lori Holt

505: The Importance of Empathy in Pet Care with Lori Holt

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How do you transition from a corporate job into full-time pet care? Lori Holt shares her journey from working in customer service to founding Stow Road Pet Sitters. She discusses the challenges of administrative tasks, the importance of empathy and trust in client relationships, and how her family plays a crucial role in her business. Lori also highlights the lessons learned from a dog bite incident that led to stricter client screening processes. Join us as we explore Lori's inspiring story of passion, growth, and dedication to exceptional pet care.

441: Focusing on the Big Picture with Tori Levitt

441: Focusing on the Big Picture with Tori Levitt

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Where is your focus on your business? Tori Levitt, owner of Doolittle's Dog House, discusses the importance of setting and communicating clear policies to clients, and how to balance expanding services while maintaining control of your business. Tori emphasizes the necessity of personal self-care and setting boundaries to prevent burnout in this demanding industry. She also highlights the value of continuous education and building strong referral networks with other professionals like veterinarians and groomers. This episode is a blend of practical business advice and personal growth insights.

429: Being a Problem Solver with Kevin Johnson

429: Being a Problem Solver with Kevin Johnson

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What problems are you solving for your clients? Kevin Johnson, owner of Planet Paws Pet Care, views his entire role as being the problem solver for his clients. Kevin transitioned from being a defense attorney to running a successful pet sitting business. He emphasizes the importance of communication skills in building trust with clients and identifying their pain points. He believes in being a problem solver and guiding clients to the right services, even if it means referring them elsewhere. Kevin also highlights the value of networking, joining the chamber of commerce, and filling gaps in the market. He and his wife work together in the business, with her focusing on marketing and business operations. Kevin participates in events to raise awareness of his business and engage with the community.

412: 4 Lessons From 4 Years of Podcasting

412: 4 Lessons From 4 Years of Podcasting

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We just celebrated four years of podcasting! We can’t believe where the time has gone. What started off as a to share from our experiences quickly turned into a while of showcasing the amazing people working in the pet industry. We’ve been honored to share their stories and learn from the best of the best. We break down four lessons we’ve learned and how they’re impacting our own business, and the importance of tackling big problems.

399: Running a Multi-Dimensional Business with Susan Morin

399: Running a Multi-Dimensional Business with Susan Morin

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What does it mean to run a multi-dimensional business? Not only do you offer a range of services, but you also have a lot going on every day. Susan Morin, owner of Susan’s Pampered Pet Care, shares how she’s piloted a growing business. She discusses how she highlights the strengths of her business to attract her target clients and walks through the balance of running a business to meet her client’s needs, while also enjoying the day to day operations.

362: Marketing a New Service

362: Marketing a New Service

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How do you market a new service? Whether you’ve created a brand new service, or reconfigured an existing one, getting it in front of your clients is the biggest hurdle. Sometimes, the same marketing tactics don’t work for a new service, so as business owners, we have to be aware of what our options are. We walk through why marketing a new service involves a mindset shift and why you should start marketing before you launch your service.

360: When You Want to Remove a Service

360: When You Want to Remove a Service

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How do you know it’s time to remove a service you currently offer? Sometimes you find yourself no longer in love with a particular service. It may be massively popular, or just a massive headache, but it’s time for a change. We walk through how, over the course of a year, we planned and removed a major service from our business. We give some of the lessons we learned and some points to help make it as easy as possible.

343: Learning to Step Back with Justina Allen-Yancey

343: Learning to Step Back with Justina Allen-Yancey

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What’s the hardest part of being a pet sitter? The challenges certainly change as we grow and evolve as a business. Our role as the business owner and entrepreneur is to overcome them. Justina Allen-Yancey, owner of Justina’s Pet Sitting, joins the show to share how she approaches challenges. Justina works on her training and services to market guilt free pet parent lifestyles to her clients and focuses on being reliable. She also talks about the gear she loves for winter and how she specialized in rabbits and guinea pigs.

291: Staying Ambitious with Zach Shearer

291: Staying Ambitious with Zach Shearer

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What does it take to stay ambitious in business? Zach Shearer, owner of Zach's Pet Services, rejoins the show to share how much has changed since we last had him on. Zach talks about tackling large projects in the face of uncertainty and why surrounding yourself with experts is critical to your success. From his expanding kennel services to now grooming, Zach gives us some insight into the challenges they're facing and what he's doing to overcome them.

277: Pet Sitting in South Africa with Alexiane Arcens

277: Pet Sitting in South Africa with Alexiane Arcens

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Pet sitting is a global community, with different flavors and markets across countries. Alexiane Arcens joins us to share what being a pet sitter is like in South Africa. She shares what challenges she and other sitters face in Johannesburg. Alexiane encourages others to price according to their skills and why client education is a big hurdle. She has endeavored to raise the bar in South Africa and has put together the very first pet sitters conference for Johannesburg.

262: You Should Attend a Conference

262: You Should Attend a Conference

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Have you attended a pet sitting conference? We just went to our first in-person conference, the Texas Pet Sitters Conference. Attending, especially in person, brings a ton of benefits, if you’ve prepared and are ready to take advantage of them. We share our experience and why we think you should go to one too! Plus, Natasha answers, “How do I make my life about more than my business?”

219: Sending Great Updates

219: Sending Great Updates

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Clients expect to be updated on the status of their fur-baby, but there isn’t a one size fits all for this in the pet care industry. How should you update your client while they’re away? What are the common types of updates? We discuss the situations which work best for each kind, and what type of client fits them. Updates can eat up a lot of time, so it’s important to use them effectively and appropriately. Then, Natasha O’Banion answers, “How do I foster good relationships with clients?”

162: Client Education

162: Client Education

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Did you know you’re an educator? As a pet care professional, you’re perfectly positioned to educate your community on being awesome pet parents. We’re also able to educate our clients on the range of pet care service options and the problems they solve. We discuss the importance of first educating ourselves and how to be supporting and loving to the clients we may disagree with. Natasha O’Banion answers, “How do I sell myself be

119: Back to Basics- Boarding

119: Back to Basics- Boarding

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On today’s episode we go back to basics and cover boarding! We break down how we operate boarding a small number of dogs in our home, how we approach cleaning and up keep, as well as dealing with the chaos of feeding times and schedules. Natasha answers the question, “How do I take my business to the next level?”

115: Back to Basics- The Meet and Greet

115: Back to Basics- The Meet and Greet

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The Meet and Greet is an essential part of being a pet care provider. It allows you to get to know the pet before you care for them. In the first of our Back to Basics series, we break down the why and how of a Meet and Greet in this world of Covid. Also, Natasha O'Banion answers, "How do I go from good to great?"

064- Common Client Questions

064- Common Client Questions

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After some back-to-back meet and greets left us feeling a bit rusty after being closed down for so long, we breakdown some of the most commonly asked new client questions. Additionally, we're so happy to annouce a new segment with Natasha O'Banion, from Start.Scale.Sail. Each week Natasha will address some frequent pet business questions.

052- Kitchen Confessions

052- Kitchen Confessions

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On today’s Kitchen Confession, we discuss a recent meet and greet with a new client, how recent CDC guidelines are throwing a wrench in reopening plans, and how no matter what you have chosen to do with your time and your business, there is no judgement.

030 - Professional Pet Sitters Week 2020

030 - Professional Pet Sitters Week 2020

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On this weeks episode, we talk through several key aspects about life as a professional pet sitter, and areas we can all strive to work on. We know you’re hard at work, and you know that, so thank you for continuing to be awesome!

023- Q and A Episode

023- Q and A Episode

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On the podcast today we answer some listener questions regarding our favorite gear, how to handle pet aggression, and what our plans are for the future.

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