The Pet Business Coach: Recent Episodes
Eliza, Your Pet Business Coach
Business advice for entrepreneurs who love animals and want to start and run their own successful Pet Related Business.
The summer pet care season is winding down and there’s a blissful lull as we await the winter holiday craziness. A lot of pet businesses take advantage of this lull to think about changes and improvements they’d like to make in their business. One of these changes is pricing. It’s an inevitability, prices are increasing all over the place and pet businesses shouldn’t ignore this but there is a right and wrong way to raise your prices. Don't make that price increase announcement to your clients before you listen to this!
Click Here for the Show Notes
Today on ‘Off The Leash’ we’re talking to Cathleen Delaney (Cathe). Cathe is the Administrative Director for NAPPS: The ONLY national non-profit organization for professional pet sitters. Cathe’s been with NAPPS for over 20 years! Cathe will be telling us about all the amazing things NAPPS has to offer. I can’t wait to hear more so let’s get going and let’s get off the leash.
Click Here for Show Notes
Today on ‘Off The Leash’ we’re talking to NAPPS President Amy Sparrow of Furkid Sitting and Services based in Baton Rouge Louisiana! Amy will be chatting with us on How to be Rescue Ready: Why Every Pet Sitting Business Needs a Disaster Plan. In 2016 The Thousand Year Flood decimated Baton Rouge leaving Amy’s business vulnerable and then in 2018 a personal health crisis again left her business on shaky ground. She rallied for both and is today stronger and wiser for it. I can’t wait to hear more about Amy’s incredible journey so let’s get going and let’s get off the leash.
Click Here for the Show Notes
Today on ‘Off The Leash’ I have a special show for you. I was recently fortunate to be a guest on Starlight Pet Talk, an amazing podcast hosted by Amy Castro, president of Starlight Outreach and Rescue! Amy has spent more than 25 years helping organizations develop leaders through her customized training, speaking, and consulting programs. She's the lead management columnist for Pet Age Magazine and is also president of Starlight Outreach and Rescue, a nonprofit animal rescue in Houston, Texas. We talked about how to start a profitable pet business and it is an amazing conversation!
Click HERE for the Show Notes
Today on ‘Off The Leash’ we’re talking to Therese Kopiwoda, owner of Social Media Hound! Therese will be talking to us about SEO tips for your websites home page. Most of us have websites but are they really working as well as they should be? I know a lot of us shudder when we hear the words search engine optimization (I know I do) so I’m really looking forward to talking with Therese. So let’s get going and let’s get off the leash.
Click Here for Show Notes
Today on ‘Off The Leash’ we’re talking to Megan Herrera of MRH Ledgers. Megan will be telling us how to Sniff Out Financial Mistakes: Bookkeeping Tips for Pet Entrepreneurs. I remember early on doing my own books and I made a ton of mistakes. I probably spent as much time fixing things as doing them the first time so I’m excited to speak to Megan. So let’s get going and let’s get off the leash.
Click Here for Show Notes
Today on ‘Off The Leash’ we’re talking to pet copy writer Lori Marsh! Lori will be telling us about 3 easy steps to better search engine results with blogs. Everyone talks about blogging for SEO or search engine optimization but so few people actually understand how to do this effectively. I’m so excited to learn from Lori today! So let’s get going and let’s get off the leash.
Click Here for Show Notes
Click Here for a Free Marketing Checklist from Lori!
Today on ‘Off The Leash’ we’re talking to Amy Castro, president of Starlight Outreach and Rescue! Amy will be sharing with us how pet businesses can partner effectively with rescues in your area to benefit you, your business, your clients and the rescue.
Click Here for the Show Notes
The summer pet care season is in full swing and I’m willing to bet there’s a lot of new or nearly new pet care employees out there. You as a business owner are responsible for getting them quickly and effectively up to speed in time to meet the summer rush. It’s a tall order and if done right can have your employees singing your businesses praises but if done wrong can lead to turnover and churn.
That’s our topic for today. How do you take your New Employees from Novice to Pro quickly and effectively.
Click HERE for Show Notes
Today on ‘Off The Leash’ we’re talking to Skarlet Rockwood of Fur Social! Skarlet will be revealing her secrets on transforming a single piece of long-form content into a treasure trove of over 30 engaging social media posts, helping you maximize your content’s reach and impact without the extra workload.
Click Here for Show Notes
This show is for all those pet sitting and dog walking business owners who feel like they never have time off. Those that are afraid to step away from their business for any amount of time, even a day or a few days because the business will crash and burn without them. You know who you are and I know how you feel, because I was there. I got to the point where I was ready to throw in the towel and quit my business but I didn’t and today I’m going to walk you through 6 steps to step out of the field and back into your business and your life!
Click here for show notes.
Spring is a time when a lot of pet businesses think about expanding their territory. The holiday craziness and the stress has faded from your memory and the summer holiday season isn’t quite yet in full swing. This is the time of year when pet sitting and dog walking businesses in particular start thinking that they would like to grow their client base and what better way to do that than to increase the territory that they currently service. But is that the best idea?
That’s our topic for today. I’m going to talk about why you might not want to jump into a bigger service area just yet.
Click Here for the Show Notes
Today on ‘Off The Leash’ we’re talking to Jessica Fisher of The Pet Parenting Reset! We’ll get to know Jessica and her incredible entrepreneurial journey!
As a CPCN, CHPHC, R+ Trainer and Podcast Host she works with the whole dog, addressing nutrition, enrichment, and environment, as well as behavior to help pets and their parents thrive.
Click here for the Show Notes!
Today on ‘Off The Leash’ we’re talking to Tori Levitt of Doolittle’s Doghouse! We’ll get to know Tori and her incredible entrepreneurial journey!
Tori Levitt is the owner of Doolittle’s Doghouse, a pampered pet care company in the greater Phoenix area. Since 2008, Doolittle’s Doghouse continues to serve thousands of pet owners with a rock-star team of 40+ pet sitters.
View the Show Notes
Today on ‘Off The Leash’ we’re talking to Mary Oberdier of Chase’n Tails Pet Care, LLC. Hear how Mary started he pet sitting and dog walking business after she lost her beloved dog Chase and is now living her life Off The Leash!
See the Show Notes
Today on ‘Off The Leash’ we’re talking to Heather DeJesus of Burton’s Bookkeeping. Are you on top of the numbers in your pet business? Not sure where to look for help? Tune in now and get to know Heather and how she can make your life easier!
View the Show Notes
With 2023 behind us we’re turning our attention to the shiny new year ahead of us and I don’t know about you but I am excited! I’m excited but I’m also exhausted! It’s important that you start the new year right and being so depleted mentally and physically that you can’t think straight isn’t the way to kick it off. That’s our topic for today. I’m going to talk about how to refill and recharge your tanks so you can be truly excited about 2024.
Click here for the Show Notes
Today on ‘Off The Leash’ we’re talking to Lori Davidson of Pet Perennials. Have you ever wondered how to offer support to your clients when a beloved pet passes? We’ll get to know Lori and her incredible entrepreneurial journey!
Click here for the Show Notes.
This time of year is all about family traditions. Putting up the tree, baking the holiday ham, and reconnecting with friends you haven’t seen in a while to raise a glass. It’s these traditions that make family family. Your business is not different. It’s a family as well and your business traditions play a huge part in this.
That’s our topic for today. I’m going to talk about business traditions, what they are, why you should have them and why they are so important.
Click here for the Show Notes
Life is what happens while we are busy making other plans. What happens to your business when life unexpectedly happens. I’m going to guide you through how to set your business up for these unexpected bumps (or giant gaping craters) in the road so that you can bounce back easily and quickly.
Click Here for the Show Notes.
Every entrepreneur has a business birth story but that’s not all of who they are. We are a culmination of a whole life lived. We tend to hide much of the richness that is us. In a society where women work endlessly to prove our worth, we sometimes forget that showing our true self is more important and living off the leash is absolutely possible.
Click HERE for the Show Notes.
My GPS likes to mess with me. Most of the time it’s great, and I use it a lot but sometimes it takes me in circles for no apparent reason other then it’s bored. This happened to me recently and it got me thinking about our business GPS. This is the internal or external voice telling us when and where to turn and how long we have until we get to our destination. On today’s episode I’m going to talk about your business’s GPS and why you should always listen to it.
Click Here for the Show Notes
On todays show I’m going to get personal. I’m going to tell you about a challenge I’ve had in my life. I'm a recovering corporate junkie. This topic is a bit personal but it is important and I think there’s a lot of you out there who will relate to what I’m saying. There is another option and I'm going to talk about that on this episode!
One of the things that literally kept me up at night thinking about my pet business was how well I was managing my employees. I wondered if I was too hard on them, to easy on them, too hands on, too hands off. One question that was always on my mind, especially when there was an employee performance issue involved, was "Am I right to expect the employee to do xyz?".
That’s our topic for today! What is a reasonable and unreasonable expectation for a part time pet sitting employee. If you have employees or are thinking about hiring you won’t want to miss this episode!
Do you have a side hustle? I know a lot of you out there got started in pet sitting or dog walking by signing up with Rover or Wag. It’s a great way to get started toward opening up your own pet sitting business or if you don’t want to open up your own business it’s a great side hustle to earn extra income while still doing your full time day job.
Today we’re going to talk about how to juggle your side hustle and your full time day job.
I’m excited about this topic for two reasons.
1 - I started my own pet sitting business as a side hustle while I was still working a full time corporate job and I know many of you are doing the same. I did both for a year before I went full time into the pet business.
2 - I’m thrilled to announce that I’ll be launching my first on-line course on July 6. It’s called How to make more money on Rover. You can find out more in this episode or at this link
https://tpbc.dog/how-to-make-more-money-on-rover/
Everyone has an opinion on the merits or evils of artificial intelligence lately. I’m definitely on the merits side of the controversy. AI can be an amazing tool for small business owners and let’s face it, we need all the help we can get. It’s a great tool, but like all tools, it’s most effective when used correctly. That’s our topic for today. If you’re using AI in your pet business or thinking about using it, you won’t want to miss this episode!
How many of you hate advertising? You fast forward through the television commercials, turn past the ads in your magazine and avoid salespeople like the plague. You don’t like seeing it and you don’t like doing it, even for your own business. But you have to, it’s the way of business. People need to know what you offer. But how much advertising is too much? How do you find the balance that informs but doesn’t drive away? Tune in now to find out!
In this episode we're going to talk about watching. I’m a watcher, I always have been. I watch other people and other businesses, specifically pet businesses. Today’s show is going to be about how we can use our interactions with other businesses to improve our own.
In this episode I'm going to talk about a sensitive subject. Trust. Specifically how we develop trust in others. As entrepreneurs we tend to believe that no one can run our business as well as we can and this is true… to an extent. Sooner or later though we’re going to have to put our faith in someone else and that can be hard! Today I’m going to talk about my own journey down the trust highway and how you can learn to trust as well.
We’ve been talking about hiring the right types of people for the last couple of episodes and today I want to continue on that topic. Last time we talked about how to attract part time pet sitters. Today we’re going to approach how to attract the other two types of sitters, hobby and career sitters. Don't miss this very important episode to attract the right people to your team.
Are you stressing out about hiring? It feels like that’s the story of my life lately. It’s a hugely busy time for pet sitting businesses with lots and lots of visits but finding, hiring and keeping great peoples can make a stressful time even more so. Today I want to follow up on my last episode about the different types of pet sitters by talking about how to attract the largest group of these sitters, the part time pet sitting employee!
Are you hiring, I am! It feels like I’m always hiring lately, or at least always sourcing lately. It’s been a tough time for small business and we’re seeing many of them closing or curtailing their hours due to simply not having enough people to work. Finding, hiring and keeping great peoples can make a stressful time even more so. Today I want to talk about the different types of pet sitters. You don’t just need to hire pet sitters you need to hire the right kind of pet sitters! We're going to talk about what that means today.
Are you stressing out about the holidays. It’s a hugely busy time for pet sitting businesses with lots and lots of visits but it can also drive a pet sitting business owner a little bit crazy. I want to talk today about what you can do to eliminate your stress this holiday season or at least reduce it to manageable levels.
Have you got gas? No, not that kind of gas. I’m talking about gasoline. With the current gas crisis, the price per gallon has reached ridiculous levels. This is having a negative impact on folks like you and me who run businesses that involve a lot of driving. I want to talk today about what you can do to mitigate the crisis and protect your business and do the right thing for your employees.
What are you doing to protect your business? I’m not talking about liability insurance or bonding, that’s not what I want to focus on today. I want to talk today about what you can do to protect yourself from your employees. It’s a tough topic and one that we don’t like to think about but it’s important to protect yourself and today I’m going to walk you through how to do just that.
Have you ever had a toxic employee? I’m not talking about the employee who blatantly steals, lies or cheats. What I’m talking about is more subtle. This is someone who is hurting you and your business in ways that might not be obvious. I’m going to talk today about my experience with a toxic employee. We’re also going to talk about how you can spot people like this before they get into your organization and what you can do about it if you already have a toxic employee.
What are you doing differently post-pandemic to find great people? You’ve tried all your old tricks and nothing seems to be working as well as it did before the pandemic. Tune in today to talk today about some things that I’ve been doing in my own pet business to address this hiring challenge and find great people. I’m also going to be coming at you with a dose of reality and talking about some of the trends I’m seeing in job candidates. I’ll be keeping it real as always and providing you with a deep view into what a pet business deals with on a regular basis.
Have you ever had to fire a client? Chances are, if you’ve been in business for any amount of time, you have. How did you go about it. Was it short and sweet, long and drawn out. Did you do it in person, by phone, by text. Did you anguish over it for days or weeks before you did it? We’re going to talk today about the best way to approach this unpleasant task to make it a little less unpleasant and a lot smoother.
How did you find your pet sitter? I’m not talking about the pet sitters you’ve hired for your business. I’m talking about the sitter for your own furry family members. I was recently in the position of trying to find a new pet sitter for my babies and let me tell you it was an interesting experience! We’re going to talk today about my adventure on the client-side of the pet sitting business and what we can learn from it.
How does a pet sitter earn a client’s trust? Especially a new client. Perhaps they’ve scheduled the initial meet and greet, maybe they’ve read your online reviews. Many will take the recommendation of someone they trust or that has used you in past to care for their own animals. We’re going to talk today about how to build an amazing client referral program that will drive your business to the next level.
This is part 2 of my 2 part series in building referral programs that can drive your business to the next level so be sure to check out the last episode if you missed it on how to build an amazing employee referral program!
It seems like you can’t look anywhere these days without seeing a help wanted ad. Everyone is hiring and pet care businesses are no exception. I’m going to explore an area today that most business owners don’t take advantage and may not even have considered in their hiring programs. This will be an eye opener to many of you and may change the way you find and hire great people. This will also be part 1 of my 2 part series in building a referral program that can drive your business to the next level so be sure to tune in next time as well!
The truth is that owning your own pet business sometimes stinks! February and March are a tough time of year for pet sitting businesses. For those of you who know me I don’t beat around the bush. I give it to you straight, the good, the bad and the ugly and today is a good bit of ugly followed by an important message. I hope you’ll hang with me today to talk through some of the touchy feely stuff that affects all of us, including me. And my hope is that, in exploring this together and getting it out there in the open, your heart will be a little lighter because of it.
I love talking about your pet businesses. I also love talking about my own pet business and what’s worked for me. In this episode I’m going to give you a rare behind the scenes look at my own business, Preferred Pet Partners. I’ll give you practical advice on how to make your business run like a well oiled machine.
The holidays are in full swing and your business is bursting at the seams with activity. The period between mid November and mid January are among the busiest times of year for pet related businesses. This is can be the best time of year for your business and the most stressful! Today I’m going to talk about how not to lose your mind during this time. You and your business can come out of the craziness stronger, wiser and calmer and I’m going to tell you how.
You’ve decided to become a pet care business owner. That’s great news! That’s one decision down and about a 1000 more to go. Two of the most difficult decisions you’ll make as you start your business is how much are you going to charge people for your services and what are you going to pay your employees to deliver those services. While there’s no wrong answer to these question, they are factors that will have a huge impact on your bottom line and it’s worth taking some time to fully think them through. Today I’m going to walk through some things to keep in mind and options for both of these important questions.
It’s been a roller coaster ride in the pet care industry over the past 18 months. Many of us saw a radical decrease in clients at the beginning of the pandemic followed by record levels of business in the last 4-6 months. We reacted as quick and as best we could to handle the surge and that generally involved hiring more people. You’ve worked hard in the past few months to find and hire great people, now what? How do you maximize the chances that they’ll stay with you?
The pet care industry is booming right now and I’m guessing that you are hiring! That is great news but how’s it going, really? Are you optimizing where you’re looking for great candidates? Are the great people you find joining your team or are they flaking out on you?
Are you really doing all you can to find the best people? We’re going to talk about that today!
I recently read a book called the 4 hour workweek by Timothy Ferris that got me to thinking. Am I really doing all I can to optimize how I spend my time in my business? Are there things I’m not doing that I should be and just as or even more importantly, are there things I’m doing that I shouldn’t be. We’re going to talk about that and more today!
We’re mid way through the year and the goals you set way back in January are humming along or maybe they’re not. Maybe you’ve gone off in a totally different direction or maybe you’ve blown those original goals away already just halfway through the year.
Today we’re going to talk about taking a look at your goals and doing some midyear course correction to allow you to continue making progress in your business.
As a pet care professional we can be a one man or woman show or we can make the jump to bringing on help. When we make that jump there are a ton of things to consider, not the least of which is do you hire independent contractors or employees.
Today we’re going to talk about some pros and cons for each of these options that will help you make the best decision for your business.
As a pet care professional we tend to encounter unconditional love, wet sloppy kisses and tail wags which is awesome but we also tend to encounter stressed out animals.
Today we’re going to talk about some ways you can make your pet and your clients more at ease during your interactions with them. You’ll learn to develop lifelong loyalty in your clients, both furry and human.
Spring is in the air and our thoughts turn to…. Cleaning! In our last episode we talked about spring cleaning for your business. Today we’re going to talk about dusting off and updating those SOPs! In this episode you’ll learn how to write procedures for your business that actually get read! And even better then that, get understood and implemented!
Do you love to do Spring Cleaning? I do! Dusting out the cobwebs in my house after a long winter is extremely satisfying. The same is true for your small business. Business systems tend toward chaos but with a little Spring cleaning they can be brought back on track. In this episode we’re going to get out the broom and dustpan and show you how to get your business spic and span!
Do you have a goal in 2021 to finally start that pet business you’ve been thinking about for what seems like years? You are ready to kick things off but what exactly does that mean? What’s your first step, second step and so on to actually launch a pet care business? Tune in to the latest episode to find out how to get going!!
We’re now fully into 2021. The pandemic isn’t over but it does feel different. It’s hard to know exactly what’s in store for us in 2021. I know this is daunting to pet business owners but take heart, there are some very real and very certain trends in the pet care industry. We’re going to talk about these trends as well as learn how you, as a pet business owner, can capitalize on them to drive your business forward for your best year yet.
It’s finally here, 2021! The world is still in a difficult spot but it still feels like a new beginning and with new beginnings, come life changing decisions. Our topic this month is all about figuring out if you are ready for a career change and if you are, how do you best go about preparing for it. You’ll learn 5 things to look for in your current career that may be indicators of needing a big change and some things to carefully consider before you jump off that proverbial career cliff.
Maybe you’re just now thinking about starting a pet related business. Maybe you’ve been thinking about it for a while and just can’t quite decide if it’s the right move for you. It’s great you’ve been thinking about it! Maybe you even feel like you’re ready to take the leap. Whether you’re ready to take action or nearly ready, take a moment to answer these three questions to learn what to consider carefully before you make the leap to start your business that will help you decide whether to start a business at all and if you do decide to move forward, what kind of structure you will need for your business.
In this episode we’re going to talk about planning for the holidays for your business. By planning, I mean everyone’s favorite topic, marketing! You’ll learn some great ideas on how to best market your business during the holiday season to your clients AND to your employees. Yes, you heard me right, marketing your business to your employees.
Are you ready to get back to work? This episode is the second in a two part series covering several aspects of re-opening or re-starting your business including marketing post pandemic, employee management, client management and personal management. In this episode, you’ll learn how to best tailor your post pandemic approach to interacting and communicating with your clients, both old and new. We’ll also talk about a somewhat underpromoted topic and that is the topic of you! How to take care of yourself during this business recovery period so that you can be present each day for your business and your clients with your best self.
Are you ready to get back to work? This episode is the first in a two part series covering several aspects of re-opening or re-starting your business including marketing post pandemic, employee management, client management and personal management. In this episode, you’ll learn how to best tailor your post pandemic marketing messages and how to insure a smooth transition for your employees back into the daily routine.
If you’re like many people these days, you’re working from home. The pandemic has turned our lives upside down and it seems like it will never be over but take heart, this too shall pass and for some of us, the return to the workplace or office is already looming. In this episode we'll talk about some things you can do before you ever step foot in the office and some things you can do after your return to the office to help make the transition as smooth as possible.
In this episode of The Pet Business Coach we're going to be talking about a topic that’s been an interest and a passion of mine for as long as I’ve been a consumer and customer. We’re going to talk about sincerity in advertising. The importance of it, the lack of it and the reasons it should matter to you both as a business owner and a consumer. You’ll learn how to best use sincerity in your own marketing to connect with your customers in a meaningful way that builds relationships over time, and not just transactions.
Do you know where you are in your entrepreneurial journey? More importantly, do you know what you should be asking yourself? In my last Podcast I talked about the 5 Stages of Entrepreneurship which were discontentment, realization, hope, grind and balance.
Being aware of the stages and specifically what questions to ask during each stage allows you to navigate within them with a little more confidence and clarity.
No matter what stage you’re in it’s helpful to know what’s coming and what you can do to proactively prepare for it. In this podcast I'll talk through what some key questions you should be answering are based on which stage you’re in to allow you to hit your challenges confidently!
We all hear about these amazing entrepreneurs. You know what I mean, they’re the overnight nothing to everything stories that make the journey sound easy. But was it really? We listen intently because we want to know their secret, the special sauce. Well here’s the truth on how they got from where they were to where they are.
If you’re a small business owner you’ve spent the last few weeks as I have, figuring out what to do and how to react. You’re somewhere along the continuum of finding ways to keep your business limping along with at least some income coming in, to completely shutting down. Here’s what I know.
How getting fired moved me from despair to destiny. The convoluted journey that led to the birth of Preferred Pet Partners.