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5 Tips To Deal With Grief While Running Your Pet Sitting Business

5 Tips To Deal With Grief While Running Your Pet Sitting Business

Last May, my dad unexpectedly fell ill and ended up passing away in the hospital. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he was in the hospital for 19 days, and I was unable to see him during this process. It was a very tragic experience.

Thus, the reason I haven’t done a video for some time. I’ve taken some time for myself away from my pet sitting business.

But now, I’m back. I still get emotional, and I wanted to do a video for you guys about how to deal with grief while running a business. Regardless of the amount of pain that I was in, a business still had to be taken care of.

I’m sharing with you what I did to help me get through this and still have my business running while I took a little bit of time for myself.

#1 I communicated with my team.

My team knew what was going on. I’ve talked about the importance of having a team to support me in my pet sitting business. From the moment my dad became sick, I kept my team abreast with open communication. You don’t have to burden your team with too many details, but having that line of communication open so they understand what you’re going through and can step up.

#2 I leaned on my support network of family and friends.

I leaned on the people I needed in my life. I probably could have used a little more support if it wasn’t for the COVID. I would have loved some more support in terms of people coming over.

During the funeral, we were only allowed to have ten people. It meant the world to me when I found all my friends standing there when I walked out of the funeral.

#3 I spoke with a counselor regularly via Zoom.

Due to COVID, you can’t see anybody face to face. I was able to speak with her, and she’s helping me through my grief. One of my beloved students gave me a book to read, and my counselor reads it with me. We’re working through it together so she can help me with it.

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#4 I changed my scenery.

This is not possible for everybody and I get it. But in Philadelphia, riots were going on, and it was too much for my brain and heart to handle. So I went to our family beach house to calm and soothe my soul. If possible, I highly suggest this. I think that’s one of the best things that I did to renew my mind and help me through this difficult time.

#5 I delegated as much as I could to my team.

Some people bury themselves in their work to get through their grief. I’m unable to do this. My mind was just not in it, so I gave as much to my team as possible, and they were helpful.

Thus, the importance of building a team and structure around you. You never know when things like this will happen. Having people, you can lean on and delegate to will make a world of difference. I would have never been able to get through this without them.

Lean on the people around you.
Build that support system.
Build that team.

I don’t wish this on anybody. But this is life, and things do happen. Anyone that’s experiencing any grief or tragedy, this is how I got through it.

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Crush Them With Social Proof!

Are you looking to get more pet sitting clients? Of course you are! One best way to bring in new clients is to provide them with social proof. What do I mean by social proof? I’m talking about reviews and testimonials from happy clients that have used your pet sitting service.

Testimonials are a Powerful Client Attraction Tool Click To Tweet

Testimonials from happy clients will put your prospects more at ease about working with you. Let’s face it, hiring a pet sitting service to come into your home while you’re not there to care for your most prized possessions can be a scary thing for people. You will ease their worries by showing them the amazing results that other clients of yours have received. The testimonials will prove that your company is trustworthy.

You should have an entire page on your website solely dedicated to reviews, which should be updated often. The more reviews the better! You can never have too many. Take a look at Pet Nanny’s Reviews’ page.

If you don’t have testimonials yet, go and get them! Remember when I talked about shifting your mindset from… “I don’t have that, so I’m not going to do that.” To… “I don’t have that, I better go and get that!” That is the mindset of a successful entrepreneur. This is your perfect opportunity to put this into practice. Go ask your clients for testimonials!

pet sitting clients

Your Homework Assignment: Create your plan of attack for collecting testimonials to get more pet sitting clients.

  1. Make a list of the clients you love the most and who you know have received fantastic results from working with your pet sitting service.
  2. Type a personal letter to each of them telling them how much you enjoy having them as a client and that you’re looking to fill your client roster with clients just like them. Then ask them if they would be so kind as to share their positive experience with your company in the form of a testimonial?
  3. Request that they include a photo of their pet.
  4. Post it on your website, on your social media channels and anywhere else you can think of.
  5. Thank your clients for writing the testimonial. Send them a greeting card with something like a Starbucks gift card or a free visit. You must never forget to personally thank your awesome pet sitting or dog walking clients! This will breed loyalty.

Howdy, Pet Lover! Are you struggling with attracting new clients to your pet sitting business? Would you like to have a consistent pipeline of new clients coming to your business? Well, wait no longer, my friend. Grab my FREE report, 125 Ways To Get More Pet Sitting Clients. This resource is 100% FREE and is my gift to you. Enjoy!
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Work Smarter Not Harder In Your Pet Sitting Business

Work Smarter Not Harder In Your Pet Sitting Business

Are you still working too many hours in your business?

Every day in my free Facebook group, the Pet Nanny Coach Community, I post a tip of the day to help you grow your pet sitting business.

Last week one of the tips was to get seven to nine hours of sleep at night. It’s not groundbreaking advice, but most of us don’t do it.

However, I was surprised by the responses. Some people said, “Huh, tell the dogs that.” Some people said, “Yeah, right.”

But one specific comment stuck out. A member of our community said that following my advice to hustle and work hard on your business means that she works from 5.00 AM to 11.00 PM every day, leaving absolutely no time to get even seven hours of sleep a night.

I teach working less and making more

And I thought this is not at all what I teach my students.
Yes, I want you to hustle. Yes, I want you to take action. Yes, I want you to implement all these amazing business strategies in your business.
But that does not mean working from 5:00 AM to 11:00 PM!  As a lifestyle that is going to cause burnout and most likely is going to cause you to quit.
It’s not sustainable. And I know because I lived it for five years.
What I teach is working less and making more.
The more you work in your business (rather than on your business) the less money you’re going to make because there’s only so many hours a day that you can trade for dollars which puts a glass ceiling over your head.
Work Smarter Not Harder In Your Pet Sitting Business
But when you leverage yourself through a team of heart-centered pet care professionals that will take exceptional care of your clients’ pets, the sky is truly the limit in how big you can grow your business.
I teach my clients how to get more clients, make more money, and have more freedom.
Freedom is an integral part of what I teach. Your business is supposed to add to your life, to give you a lucrative income stream and provide the time to be able to do the things that you love.

Grow a pet sitting business that serves you

Freedom comes from team building and creating systems and processes in your business, which is what I teach in my Multiply Mastermind program.
My tip today for you, my friends, is to start thinking about how you can work smarter and not harder.
How you can get out of the day-to-day grind, trading hours for dollars, and how you can grow an exceptional, awesome business that serves you, serves your life and gives you the freedom to enjoy your life. Because that is what I want for all of you.

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What I Learned from the Last Decade

What I’ve Learned This Past Decade

I thought it would be fun to look back at some of the big lessons I’ve learned over the past decade in my pet sitting business.

Truthfully, this list could have been much longer, but these were the things that stood out the most to me.

1. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. Know when it’s time to pivot.

2. Get help in your pet sitting business before you think you need it.

3. Build a team ASAP to free up your time for revenue-generating activities. In short, stop working IN your business if you want to multiply.

4. Always listen to your gut. If you have a bad feeling about a PIA client or prospect or a sitter on your staff, listen to what your body is telling you. It’s your intuition trying to speak to you. Every time I have ignored that feeling, I have lived to regret it.

5. Success, at its foundation, is generally a sequence of steps followed in order.

6. You’ll never really ever, “feel ready.” Do it anyway.

7. You’ll sometimes need to go through majorly rocky STUFF to get to your loftiest goal – these things happen FOR you. They are lessons to prepare you for bigger and better things.

8. The energy and mindset work is real and has played a massive role in my success.

9. Beware of the people in your life who are energy sucks. Create clear boundaries to protect your energy and well-being.

10. Money is energy. Respect it. Treat it like you’re in a relationship with it. Don’t ignore it.

11. The world you see around you is a reflection of the thoughts you think every day and the belief systems you carry through life. Change your thoughts, change your life.

pet sitting business

 

This practice is difficult and needs to be consistently practiced.

It’s also totally worth it.

Now, what about YOU?


Howdy, Pet Lover! Are you struggling with attracting new clients to your pet sitting business? Would you like to have a consistent pipeline of new clients coming to your business? Well, wait no longer, my friend. Grab my FREE report, 125 Ways To Get More Pet Sitting Clients. This resource is 100% FREE and is my gift to you. Enjoy!
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YES! Send Me The Complete Checklist of 125 ways to get more PET SITTING CLIENTS!

 

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My #1 Pet Sitting Business Secret

My #1 Pet Sitting Business Success Secret

Are you ready to hear my number one pet sitting business secret?

It’s something available to anyone starting a pet sitting business and was the one thing I did that really boosted my business and got me to where I am today.

So, if you’ve been reading my blog for a while you know that at the beginning of my business journey I was pretty miserable.

Working around the clock for clients that I hated, I almost quit. In fact, I almost went into pharmaceutical sales!

After having many long conversations with my husband and my parents, I decided not to quit but to go all-in.

A business coach is like a roadmap to success

Almost miraculously, just as I’d made that decision this person stepped into my life out of nowhere.

Her name is Fabienne Fredrickson, a business coach who came to speak at a pet sitting conference in Philadelphia.

Immediately I thought. “This is who I want to work with. I want to hire this woman to teach me how to have a successful business.”

I came home and told my husband that this is what I’m going to do. I’m going to hire somebody that has the business results that I want in my life. I need someone to teach me what it was that I didn’t know.

And he said, “All right, well that sounds great. How much is it?”

I think back then the program cost $15,000 and he about had a heart attack.

I don’t blame him, he didn’t know about business coaching or business building and it was a lot of money.

Finally, after discussing it long and hard, he said, “Fine, I believe in you. I trust you. But the deal is whatever she tells you to do, that is what you have to do. Every last thing she tells you to do.”

And I did. I joined the program, I learned, I implemented, and I got results.

Back then there wasn’t a pet sitting business-specific coach so I went with a general business coach. But she taught me all about marketing, all about ideal clients, and attracting your ideal clients.

She taught me all about systems and processes and how to have a website that converts. She taught me all about automation. I listened. I learned.  And then most importantly, I took action, and in one year I increased my business by 100%. It was a big year.

The $15,000 investment was absolutely worth it.

Make an investment in your future

The key was I hired somebody that had the results in their business and in their life that I wanted, and that could show me what to do.

It gave me a shortcut to success.

And that’s my number one pet sitting business secret. Hire yourself a business coach, whether it’s pet sitting specific, pet business specific or somebody else.

So, my advice is to find somebody that you connect with. Find somebody that you trust. Find somebody to show you the way and give you a shortcut.  Without a roadmap you can spend a lot of years spinning your wheels, not making enough money, wasting your time, wasting your freedom when you should be making money, enjoying your life.

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How I Raised My Family While Growing My Pet Sitting Business

How I Raised My Family While Growing My Pet Sitting Business

Growing my pet sitting business while growing a family

As a business owner who is also a Mom, I get asked the question so many times, “Colleen, how did you build the business you did at the same time you were raising the kids?”

So I thought I would share my experience of growing my pet sitting business while raising a family and dealing with all the hundreds of tasks and responsibilities which come with both those jobs.

It almost started by accident when I was pregnant with my first baby, Lucy.

I really wanted to spend the first three months with her completely and not work at all in my business doing any pet sitting or managerial duties.

Working while the baby sleeps

So I hired my first manager with the plan that she was going to leave after three months, but I fell so much in love with my daughter and with mothering that I decided to make the manager permanent.

Having someone to take care of the day-to-day running of the pet sitting business freed me up, during the quiet times when the baby was napping, to work on business growth strategies and marketing the business.

The result: I ended up increasing the revenue by $53,000.

And that was when I realized just what a powerful tool it was hiring someone to manage the pet sitting team.  The more time that you take to work on your business and stop working in your business, the more quickly you’re going to be able to scale your businesses.

How I Raised my Family While Growing My Pet Sitting Business

 

Then, when our family grew to include my two boys, I still made business growth a priority.

The kids would go to a babysitter for a few hours a day so that I could still continue to work on the business. But that also meant that during the second half of the day I could completely focus on them.

And now, everyone’s at school until 4 PM, so unless I’m doing a coaching call at night that’s when I stop work.

I get to work from home, so whenever they’re sick, they get to stay home with me. We never have to worry about that. I’m at every school function, and I get to be with them during school vacations.

Hiring a team let me focus on my priorities

My pet sitting business has given me the freedom and flexibility to enjoy my family.

So that’s how I did it, guys. I had already hired my team of sitters before starting a family, but hiring a manager really made the difference in allowing me to focus my time and energy where the business, and my family, needed it the most.

That’s my advice to you,  you need a team to do the client work and a manager to do the administrative work so that you can have the time to grow and multiply your business.

With that strategy, I raised these three little kids (see video above) all the while growing a company that I love.

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How to Create a Powerhouse Pet Sitting Website

How to Create a Powerhouse Pet Sitting Website

Last week I wrote a post about the 5 elements of on-page search engine optimization. My hope is that you quickly turned around and implemented the strategies I laid out for you, but my guess is that many of you tuned out the moment you read the term “SEO.” If this was you, don’t worry! I get it! I too used to wander off to lala land whenever high-level technology conversation began. It was just so overwhelming to me that I’d rather pretend it wasn’t important.

Well, I have some good news for you. You don’t need to know how to do these types of overwhelming tasks. WOOHOO! Isn’t that a relief? You should delegate them to a team of skilled professionals who know what they’re doing and can complete the tasks in a fraction of the time it would take you to learn and then implement yourself.

Personally, I didn’t even know that these types of services existed until about 5 years ago. I mean, I knew that there were people who would make changes to your website, but I didn’t know that you could hire a team of professionals who were skilled in ALL things technology. Once I made this fascinating discovery and I hired my first web team, I saw my business pick-up a ton of momentum.

Repeat after me… “My pet sitting website is the cornerstone of my business.”

Say it again… “My pet sitting website is the cornerstone of my business.”

If you want to see your pet sitting business reach new heights, you need to have a pet sitting website that is client attractive, meaning it pulls in your ideal prospects and pushes away your non-ideal prospects. You need to design a FREE offer, so you can capture the information of your prospects and follow-up with them to turn them into paying customers. You need to write regular blog posts so that you are adding fresh new content to your website and therefore ranking higher on Google. The list goes on and on.

How to Create a Powerhouse Pet Sitting Website

A team of website professionals has the ability to…

#1. Create a beautiful and functional web site design that is also mobile responsive

#2. Design an opt-in for your free offer

pet sitting business

#3. Design web forms that your clients can submit directly from your pet sitting website

pet sitting website

pet sitting business

#4. Create a blog design that is simple and easy to read and SEO friendly

pet sitting website

#5. Create an E-Commerce Store

pet sitting business

#6. Add video to your pet sitting website

pet sitting business

#7. Create beautiful PDF’s, ECovers and Infographics

pet sitting website
A team of website professionals will also…

Help with SPAM, page loading speed, Google Analytics, search engine optimization, social media optimization, article marketing, video editing, marketing material creation, keyword research and mail merges. You name it, they can do it!

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5 Things I Would Have Done Differently In My Pet Sitting Business

Tips I wish I had known when I started my pet sitting business

It’s hard to believe but it’s been 19 years since I first started my pet sitting business! There have been ups and downs, but I’ve learned a lot along the way and today I want to share with you the five things that I would have done differently (if I knew then what I know now.)

Hopefully, you can learn from these tips and do them differently in your pet sitting business, so that you can get where you want to be much faster.

One: Have a clear vision of the results you want to achieve

The first thing I would have done differently is to have a clear vision of the results I wanted to achieve in my business versus just flying by the seat of my pants, which is pretty much what I did.

I had no plan, I had no vision, I had no idea what I wanted to create, I had no idea what I wanted to make each month.

It took me a long time to get to where I am now because clarity equals power, and I didn’t have any clarity. Be clear on what you want to achieve, and you’re going to get there much faster.

Two: Hire help as soon as possible

If your business depends solely on you, you do not have a business, you actually have a job. I know because I did this.

I had a job for many years. I created a large job for myself. As my business was ramping up and I started getting all these customers, and I was booked out all the time, I worked 12 to 15 hour days, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

I had no idea how I could stop being the sole person that was managing the business and doing all the client work. When I finally learned how to do it, and I built a strong team, things started to happen really quickly. I created a balance in my life and my work, which is just so important.

Your business is supposed to add to your life, not to make you miserable, exhausted, and burned out.

5 Things I Would Have Done Differently In My Pet Sitting Business

 

Three: Use technology to expand your business

The third thing I would have done differently is I would have leveraged technology so much sooner.

If you are still doing everything manually it is going to be hard to grow your business successfully. There are tools out there now which can save you time, energy and in the end help your business to bring in more money.

There are online scheduling systems, automation tools for your emails and social media marketing which will make running your business so much more efficient and profitable.

Creating processes and systems that happen automatically through the use of technology was a game changer for my pet sitting business.

Four: Understand the lifetime value of your customer base

Your lifetime value of a customer is how much a customer is projected to spend with you during their lifetime with your business. It costs way much more money to acquire a new customer than it does to incentivize your current customers to book from you more often, this, my friends, is a game changer.

I should have been nurturing the relationships by staying in touch with these customers instead of just assuming that when they needed pet sitting or dog walking that they would call me. That’s an assumption you don’t want to make.

People forget who they work with. People want to do business with people. They want to know that by you staying in touch with them that you care about them, that you care about their pets, and they’re going to easily remember to book with you each time they need service.

By staying in touch with them you’re also going to create raving fans. It’s not just enough to have customers in this crowded marketplace. You want your customers to be raving fans who use you all the time and are going to spread the word about you and your business.

Five: Hire a business coach 

I waited way too long before I hired my first business coach. Back then, there really weren’t any pet business-related business coaches, so mine was not in the pet field and yours certainly doesn’t have to be either.

If you find someone who runs a business that you admire, that has the results that you would like in your business, that has the business model that you want to follow, go and hire them. Ask them to help you to get you to where you want to go. It’s a shortcut. You don’t have to try to figure all these things out on your own.

So, these are the five main things I wish I had known back when I started my pet sitting business. I hope they help you to design and run the business you are dreaming of.

 

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