Pet Sitter Confessional

Have you ever been asked to care for large animals or a farm? Within the pet care industry, it's a growing niche that relies highly on word of mouth and reputation. Ariah Transmeier has been farm sitting for almost 18 years. As a horse owner and lover, she knows the needs of owners and how to communicate her experience into solving their problems. She describes what it's like preparing and caring...

Summary A stomach bug ran through our house last week. Thankfully we are on the mend now, but it was a reminder that we need to have a plan for our business, ourselves, and our clients! While we never plan to get sick, we can plan what to do when it happens. We outline the four major components of planning for sickness. Whether you're solo or have a team, having a plan helps you to continuing to p...

Reactivity and aggression in dogs can take many forms. From resource guarding to separation anxiety, as pet professionals, we should be mindful of the context and history of the pets we are working with. Rene Smith, owner of Street Dog Rehab, started off with a passion for dogs, but got in over her head. On her own road to recovery, Rene dove into training resources and is now dedicating her life...

What does it mean to run a business with integrity? How do I build and maintain my reputation? Collin details the connections between consistency in service, communications, and valuing your integrity as a business. When it comes to un-marketing, understanding that we have a reputation to build and maintain is key to building relationships. We break down a recent article describing the four major...

Summary: Is your business communicating the right messaging? How does a well branded business benefit you? Design and branding are all about communicating the personality of your business. Kaila Piepkow, owner of Dox Design, gives us a crash course in design and branding. She shares how we need to get out of our own way and connect better with our ideal clients. She shares why, as pet professional...

Summary Where should we invest our time as business owners? Traditional thinking would say to make sure to carve out plenty of time for marketing your services. What if we focused on other things and put relationships first? What would that look like in our business? We break down what the idea of Un-Marketing is and ways to start changing our mindsets towards placing more importance on relationsh...

Summary: Kate Myers has been working with pets for the last 55 years. Over that time she has been deeply involved in animal control and animal shelters. Now she has transitioned into a pet nanny. Kate, owner of Darling Companion, shares the experience of building mental fitness and the unique challenges of effective communication to educate pet parents and elicit big changes. She gives some amazin...

Summary How are you using social media? Meghan breaks down some of the key aspects for making sure your social media is working for you. From having realistic expectations, to setting manageable content strategy, using social media for your business does not have to be overwhelming. As with everything, there is a balance to be had, and understanding why you're using social media is the first step....

How do we help deepen the relationship between the client and their pet? With the pet craze in full swing and many owners struggling to connect with their new family member, pet professionals can help guide their clients into a deeper bond with their pets. Cherie Marquez, The Dog Mystic, is passionate about keeping pets in their forever home through education, training, and building trust. Cherie...

Summary: Stressed? Feeling overwhelmed? We are. The rapid increase in new clients has caught many of us off-guard and scrambling to meet the new demands. We want to give you permission to press pause for a few seconds and just breathe. We know there are so many things on your plate to get done today and this week. Which of them are mission critical to your business? We encourage you to seriously t...

What does the future of pet care look like? 2020 taught us a lot of lessons, changed our behavior, our client's behavior, and opened up many new opportunities. We have a roundtable discussion with Daniel Reitman, owner of Dan's Dog Walking and Pet Sitting, Natasha O'Banion, owner of Start. Scale. Sail. and Renzo and Ruby, and Doug Keeling, owner of Bad to the Bone Pet Care. We cover how the indust...

Is your website working for you? When did you last update it? Erika Godwin, owner of Barketing Solutions, shares what it means to have a modern website and why it's critical to running a business. From mobile friendly, to the latest PHP, Erika breaks down the elements a website needs in order to be optimized for SEO. From building trust, to communicating your culture, there is so much that a websi...

Have you ever felt like you weren't good enough? Do you ever think you don't belong or that you'll be found out as a fake and a fraud? Imposter syndrome in the pet care industry is the result of many factors, both internal and external. We break down what those reasons are and some practical ways to start overcoming imposter syndrome. Natasha O'Banion answers, "How do I combat the fear of losing i...

In 2015, Madeline and her husband, Gabriel, couldn't find a trustworthy dog walker for their beloved dog Lola. Seeing an opening, they ditched their backgrounds in computer science and business management to start Happy Bark and Tails. Passionate about customer service, Madeline shares what it means to be trustworthy and how they have adapted to changing needs in services. She discusses her method...

iOS 14.5 was released and is already having an impact on targeted ad campaigns in places like Facebook and Instagram. As small business owners, many of us have relied on these powerful targeted ads to get in front of potential clients. We share some simple things to do in response to these new changes. We also discuss a new bug in Google My Business listings that impacted our business, and how it...

Summary: Buying a business can be a very daunting task. JP Anunciacion, owner of Dog Days & Cat Naps, bought a pet sitting company after a background in call centers, business process outsourcing, and moving to the U.S. from the Philippines in 2006. After climbing the corporate ladder, he needed a change, and found a love and passion for pet care. JP purchased the company from Becky Eberly (episod...

Being a service based industry, we should provide both excellent pet care and excellent customer service. However, as we strive to meet those demands on us and our business, there may be some pitfalls along the way. We cover the common ones we see in pet care, and those we have fallen into. We share how to avoid them and get out of them, if you find yourself already in one. Natasha O'Banion answer...

As business owners, we have to recognize that not only is our industry in constant flux, but so too are we. Pet Sitter Bible, Dog Walker University, and Sparky Go founder Josh Schermer gives his perspectives on what it means to lead in spite of fear and how to walk the line between being in control and being successful. He shares from his experiences growing his business, changing its structure, a...

Summary How do you know if you're meeting your business goals? What do you do when you're facing a tough decision? A mission statement isn't just something to attract clients, it's mostly used as a guardrail during decision making and for making sure all of your staff are on the same page (if you have them). A mission statement helps give your work purpose and remind us that we are working towards...

When you are ready to hire, you'll have to decide whether to hire an employee or bring on an independent contractor. Kim Ottone-Tank, owner of Apronstrings Pet Sitting, has been following this discussion for many years. Kim shares what the major differences are and why it's important to know what the best fit is for your business. She also helps us understand what some of the pros and cons are for...

Summary Have you had to fire a client? If you're in this business long enough, you will likely have to do it. Whether it's because the pet isn't a good fit or you are tired of dealing with the client. We break down some of the most common reasons it happens, how to navigate the process, and how to deal with the aftermath. Then, Natasha O'Banion answers, "How do I find out the culture of my busines...

Summary:  What do you want? It's a question Bella Vasta, owner of Jump Consulting, asks all the time. It's a simple enough question but it takes a lot of reflection and understanding of our personal values and who we are. When it comes to hiring knowing the "how" is usually a lot easier than the "what", so today Bella Vasta shares why it's so important to understand who you are and how to take on...

Summary Why is it important to invest in the people around us? How does it benefit us? We focus on community not for the benefits that come from it, but from a selfless mindset and motives. We share why investing in your clients helps them connect with, and believe in, your business. We also discuss what it means to grow your community and give them the most value possible in all we do.  Topics on...

Summary: Eden Rudin and her husband, Danny, have been nomadic house sitting across the globe for the last 6 years. Eden shares how to get started in house sitting, setting your expectations, and how the industry has changed. She also discusses how Covid has impacted the availability of sits, and the growing ways people are adapting. Eden also took a leap of faith and launched her own house sitting...

Have you ever just wished you could stop making decisions? Decision fatigue comes from being overwhelmed with options and the never ending day-to-day decisions we have to make. We share our battle with it and how it can impact you and your business. We also share some of the simple things we can do to manage it. Natasha O'Banion answers the question, "How do I know it's time to stop a service?" To...