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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.