All tagged walking

516: Elevating Your Pet Care Business: From Basics to Differentiators

516: Elevating Your Pet Care Business: From Basics to Differentiators

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What does it mean to elevate your pet care business beyond the basics? In this episode, we explore how to transform essential services into exceptional experiences that set your business apart in a crowded market. We discuss the importance of mastering the fundamentals, like communication and reliability, before layering on unique offerings that truly differentiate your services. Learn how to leverage specialized training, customized care, and cutting-edge technology to create standout moments for your clients and their pets. Join us as we dive into strategies that will help you rise above the competition and take your business to the next level.

515: The Power of Membership Models in Pet Care with Traci Bisson

515: The Power of Membership Models in Pet Care with Traci Bisson

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Traci Bisson, founder of Golden Dog Adventure Company and Start a Dog Walking Club, shares how she transitioned from a corporate marketing job to founding a professional pet sitting company and eventually Golden Dog Adventure Company, which has a very unique model. She delves into the concept of dog walking clubs, fostering a sense of community among pet owners, and the benefits of a membership model. Addressing the needs of reactive dogs and their owners, Traci highlights the importance of creating inclusive and supportive environments for all.

468: The Best Way to Meet Lots of Pet Sitter Friends

468: The Best Way to Meet Lots of Pet Sitter Friends

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Have you been to a conference? In a first for us, we were LIVE all weekend at the 2024 Texas Pet Sitters Association Conference! It was a jammed packed weekend filled with amazing people and great information. Listen in to get a little taste of what it's like to attend a conference, and check out our resource pages to see which one you can attend!

442: The Costs of Being a Business Owner

442: The Costs of Being a Business Owner

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What does it cost to be a business owner? While there are certainty financial obligations involved, there are many more demands on us than if we didn’t run our own company. When we can identify the costs, we can better prepare for them, set boundaries and policies to control them, or remove them from our plates entirely through delegation and hiring. We break down five major costs to understand in being a business owner, and how to overcome them. 

417: Lost Pet Rescue and Prevention with Annalisa Berns

417: Lost Pet Rescue and Prevention with Annalisa Berns

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What will you do if an owner’s pet escapes? When seconds count, planning and preparation are your best friend. Annalisa Berns, The Pet Detective, walks us through common ways dogs and cats go missing and explains the simple steps we can take to prevent that from happening. She points out that the normal behaviors we expect are replaced with more unpredictable ones once the pet goes missing. Annalisa speaks on the methods to recover a missing pet, and reminds us to get helps as soon as possible.

401: How to Retain the Best Clients with Candace D’Agnolo

401: How to Retain the Best Clients with Candace D’Agnolo

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How do you keep clients coming back over and over? Candace D’Agnolo, from Pet Boss Nation, joins the show to discuss how to create raving fans of your business. Candace breaks down strategies for building long-lasting relationships with clients, and how to help them fall in love with your services. She also shows us ways to increase the perceived value of your business, while anticipating your client’s needs. Finally, Candace encourages us to implement follow-up services as a way to keep clients invested and engaged.

400: The Life of a Pet Sitter

400: The Life of a Pet Sitter

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What does the life of a pet sitter mean to you? We’re celebrating 400 episodes by reflecting on 5 major lessons we’ve learned about the life of a pet sitter. Pulling from over 200 interviews, we share what it means to be a pet sitter, and the best advice we’ve learned. We’re so thankful for you listening and are so excited for another 400!

396: Considerations for Starting a Remote Service Area

396: Considerations for Starting a Remote Service Area

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What should you consider before expanding to a remote service area? After a few years of trial and error, we've broken down 10 things you should ask yourself before starting in a remote area. We cover everything from planning your logistics to following local licensing and legal requirements. We also share about the biggest struggles we've faced and where you can expect to grow the most as a business owner.

389: Live Life Full and Happy with Morgan Weber

389: Live Life Full and Happy with Morgan Weber

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How do you delight your clients? To delight your clients, you must first find delight and joy in the services you’re offering. Morgan Weber, owner of Lucky Pups Adventure, joins the show to talk about how living a fulfilling life in the present is crucial rather than waiting for some future event to happen. She explains how taking the time to appreciate the little things in life and finding joy in even the most mundane tasks is essential. She discusses how to ensure customer satisfaction by finding delight in the services you offer. Then stresses the importance of treating every client with the utmost care and attention to detail, which can lead to word-of-mouth referrals and long-term client relationships. She also gives advice on how to grieve the loss of a client’s pet and how to work closely with a significant other in your business.

381: Finding Worth in Your Work with Madeline Best

381: Finding Worth in Your Work with Madeline Best

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What does it mean to serve others well? Pet care is a service industry at its core, meaning we need to be hyper focused on the needs of our clients. Madeline Best, co-owner of Happy Bark and Tails and Royal Dog of Honor, shares how she is balancing serving others, while running a business that meets her lifestyle. By leaning into wedding services, she’s found flexibility while also giving her clients a high-end service. She shares how she’s changed her staffing to hiring full-time only, and how we can continue to refine the services we offer, without losing touch with ourselves.

369: Leading a Quality Life with Taylor Leedahl

369: Leading a Quality Life with Taylor Leedahl

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How do you get better over time? Taylor Leedahl, owner and founder of Tiny Horse, joins the show to describe how to approach process improvement and how we can develop a healthier relationship with our businesses. Taylor shares how she got started in the business and the challenges she has faced along the way. We cover the development of new products, the importance of understanding customer needs, and how to keep mission creep from taking over a business.

366: Best Pet Sitting and Dog Walking Tips from Listeners

366: Best Pet Sitting and Dog Walking Tips from Listeners

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What’s your best pet sitting or dog walking tip? We asked, and you answered! Everything from how to deal with nervous cats, to when should you get a poop bag ready, you sent in your best tips. On today’s episode, we share the results and share some tips of our own. Thank you to all who submitted feedback!

353: Transforming Your Business with Michelle Kline

353: Transforming Your Business with Michelle Kline

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What does it take to completely transform your business? Creating a business that works for us means that sometimes we have to step back and realize we are capable of change. We can still serve clients with excellence, with an entirely new model of business. Michelle Kline, owner of Venture Dog Walking, converted her pet sitting business into a dog walking company. She shares the groundwork she laid to make it successful and outlines her communication strategy to both staff and clients.

349: Pride and Passion with Savanna Westwood

349: Pride and Passion with Savanna Westwood

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Your commitment is a promise to others to render service or provide them something. When the return value on your commitment starts to decrease, it’s time to rethink those decisions. As a business owner, it takes knowing your limits and having strength to say, ‘No’. Savanna Westwood, owner of The Savvy Sitter, shares how she thinks through what to commit to and how to know when you’re overcommitted. She also discusses what it means to have pride in your business and why it’s important to view yourself as a founder.

331: Strengths of Solo Pet Sitting with Alicia Obando

331: Strengths of Solo Pet Sitting with Alicia Obando

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Alicia Obando, owner of Pitter Patter Parenting, joins the show to share why she has stayed unapologetically solo. She walks us through how she markets herself effectively and how she’s set her policies to support being a solo sitter. Living in a society that says we need to always go bigger and “better”, Alicia pushes back by changing her mindset about the kind of services she offers.

301: Wedding Services with Regina Richardson

301: Wedding Services with Regina Richardson

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Have you thought about offering wedding pet attendant services? It's a growing niche in the pat care world as pet owners look for more ways to include their furry family members in the biggest day of their life. Regina Richardson, owner of Furry Ventures Pet Care, joins the show to share how she provides wedding services. Marketing these niche services is quite unique, so Regina gives some great advice on attending wedding shows and building relationships with venues. She also walks us through how to handle special requests and make the day as special as possible for everyone.

287: Continuing to Adapt with Miguel Rodriguez

287: Continuing to Adapt with Miguel Rodriguez

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How do we continue to pivot, adapt, and overcome challenges in business? Miguel Rodriguez, owner of City Dog Pack, joins us to share how he continues to apply lessons from Covid to the way her operate his business. From slimming down the number of staff he oversees, to tackling dog training and coaching via Zoom, Miguel has learned to let things go that don't help him on his mission. He also shares how he uses social media as his only marketing tool, and why we should be reading more!

265: Finding What Motivates You with Jane Torok

265: Finding What Motivates You with Jane Torok

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What motivates you? We don’t operate in a vacuum and there are both intrinsic and extrinsic motivating factors that influence and drive our decisions. Jane Torok, owner of Paw Prints Pet Services, joins the show to explain how her motivating factors drive her to keep working through tough times. As a one woman show, she also shares how to stay content in your business and be thankful for the opportunity and balance in your life. Jane is also extremely passionate about community in pet care and helps operate the largest Facebook group for dog walkers. She talks about why community is so critical and how to avoid fears of rejection and competition.

263: Start the Journey with Claire Aither

263: Start the Journey with Claire Aither

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How do you stay on mission in your business? Claire Aither had to make a choice, go into a career she wasn't comfortable with, or find something else. A cheerleading grandma and passion for pets led her to start Pet Sitting MKE. Claire talks about how her support group helped her deal with insecurities when she first started her business. We also discuss why she decided to stop accepting new clients and no longer take overnight care. Making hard decisions is made easier by knowing what you actually want/need from your business, and whether they are aligned with your purpose.

261: F.I.R.E. with Jen Tserng

261: F.I.R.E. with Jen Tserng

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Jen Tserng joins the show again to discuss how to have an investing mindset and what it means to make saving money fun. From setting budgets to raising prices, taking a wholistic approach to our financial health is really what sets us up for success. Regardless of whether you want to retire in 10 years, or 30, it takes understanding your numbers and financial discipline to execute the plan.

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