Pet Sitting Business Coach

Seeing Your Pet Business As a Spiritual Teacher

Owning a business (especially a pet business) can be one of the most rewarding experiences in life and can also be among the most challenging experiences.

I often tell my new pet sitting coaching clients who are experiencing growth spurts or dry income times that owning a pet business has the power to bring us to to our knees in pain and to create some of the greatest joy depending upon the day (and sometimes the hour!)

A business is like a living, breathing entity in the way that it shifts and changes and rarely stays the same. There are often challenges to deal with (even after 18 years of owning my pet business I was still surprised by some of the odd things that would happen in regards to a pet, home, client or staff member). If you’ve owned your pet business for many years you know exactly what I mean.

 

Because it can be challenging it can be helpful to see your business as a spiritual teacher. I’ll be the first to admit it: besides my close relationships, owning a business has been my greatest teacher.
And I don’t mean great as in, “You are a great teacher. You deserve an apple, teach!” Nope. I mean great as in, “Whoa, you are a tough teacher! I’m really learning here. I’m even learning what I’m resistant to learning. Oy!” 

 

Here’s why owning a pet business can be your most powerful spiritual teacher:

 

You never know what is going to happen in your pet business. Right?! 
Not knowing what’s going to happen can help you cultivate acceptance. But only if you relax and surrender to not knowing what’s going to be coming your way. If you are internally or externally fighting against not knowing that will make you bat sh*t crazy. And miserable. So you might as well groove into acceptance. And your pet business will give you lots of opportunity to practice acceptance because you. literally. never. know. what’s. going. to. happen. (It’s enough to make you crazy but remember: pet business is one of the greatest spiritual teachers and many would even consider it to be their greatest teacher. And spiritual teachers -the good ones anyway- kick your butt into shape in order to make you into a better human being. And we can use some better human beings on the planet right now. So thank you.

 

You have to learn to trust. Oy!
Yes, trust. But here’s the bizarre paradox: trust is super hard for the control freaks that are often the very ones most drawn to self employment. (You know who you are.) I’m one too and I write this from experience. Ahem. So… it’s a set up for disaster because here’s the deal: the control freak starts a pet business thinking they get to control their domain (and they do–to a point) but once they get clients, pets and staff members then that control often goes out the window (much to the pet business owner’s dismay). That lack of control sucks, yes. But it’s a great opportunity to practice trust.

 

Self employed people have to trust that the calls and emails from new clients will come in to keep the business going going (of course, the marketing has to be done to get them but once that’s done, it’s about trust, baby.) If hiring has happened, trust needs to be given to that staff member (after you’ve done a good job vetting them of course).

 

Then there’s the trust that’s needed in yourself that you’ll be able to handle the endless odd situations and circumstances that come with you caring for hundreds (if not thousands) of pets and homes. It’s a numbers game, folks. When you are dealing with that many pets, humans and (if you are a pet sitter) homes, then strange things are bound to happen. Trust that you can deal with whatever arises. Because you can and you will.

 

Patience is a virtue (and most pet business owners need to cultivate it).
It’s not just self employed people but so many people want things to happen right here, right now. We’ve lost the art of patience and our pet businesses can help us gain it back. Aren’t we lucky?

 

There are countless ways to cultivate patience in a pet business so don’t worry, you’ll have lots of opportunity to work on this one.

 

Here are just a few ways: dealing with a neurotic client who goes on and on about her Fido, trying to pill the kitty Fluffy who is hissing at you from the top of the fridge, hearing a client’s dog piercing bark (and bark and bark) on the way to the dog park, when said barking dog eats your seat belt or poops in your car, when you’ve forgotten your poop bags. Oy, oy, oy. The list goes on. Patience is one of the highest spiritual qualities and lucky you, you’ve got a wealth of opportunity to practice it in your pet business (and if you resist patience, that resistance will make you bat sh*t crazy. Patience is a bit like acceptance in that way).

 

Lovingkindness (it’s not for sissies).
This can only be learned through the daily practice of lovingkindness for self and for clients (pets and human). However, the only way some can begin to even practice lovingkindness is through noticing when its opposite pops up: hatefulmeanness. Some of us are pretty skillful at hatefulmeanness (to ourselves if not others) and if so, it’s often a big stretch to go immediately to practicing lovingkindness. Some of you who are super adept at hatefulmeanness might need to step toward cranky or bitchy and then go to neutral before you can make the big leap to lovingkindness. The public can be challenging to deal with, cranky staff can be tough to deal with, house alarms going off at 2am can be tough to deal with – it’s all an opportunity to go toward love rather than anger or fear (fear is what’s often under anger).

 

Meditation can set you free. (In your pet business and in other areas.)
Regardless of what you call it: prayer, meditation, mindfulness – it’s all good. And practicing it (whatever the “it” is for you) will help you deal with your greatest spiritual teacher.

 

Try this: practice five minutes of meditation every morning. That’s it. Just five little minutes. Don’t go all guru on me but simply set the timer and breathe in and out and watch your thoughts as they arise. Really that’s you need to do to begin to untangle the resistance that will inevitably arise when you own a pet business. Soon you will be beaming like a light bulb and will feel ommmm-tastic while you run your pet business like the Buddha that you are.

 

 

About the author:

Kristin Morrison started her pet care company in 1995 and it grew to be one of the largest pet care companies in the United States before she sold it in 2013. Kristin assists thousands of pet business owners from across the United States, Canada, UK and Australia to create profitable businesses and empowered lives. Kristin is a nationally recognized speaker and has taught workshops at pet business conferences around the country.

 

Kristin is the founder of Six-Figure Pet Business Academy and Six-Figure Pet Sitting Academy and the author of three books: Prosperous Pet Business: Interviews With The Experts – Volume One, Six-Figure Pet Sitting and Six-Figure Pet Business. Her podcast “Prosperous Pet Business” can be heard on iTunes or on the Prosperous Pet Business website.  Kristin enjoys making business easy, fun and (very!) lucrative for pet business owners. You can find her at: www.SixFigurePetSittingAcademy.com

Seeing Your Pet Business As a Spiritual Teacher Read More »

Pet Sitting Success Story

TTPS New LogoWhee!

I love getting updates from pet sitters that I’ve coached throughout the years. I got this follow up email yesterday from Tanya Grant, a pet sitter in Pennsylvania who first contacted me to work with her around her business expansion about four years ago.

Since our initial coaching session four years ago, I’ve coached Tanya in her pet sitting business at various times when she was ready to make the next leap forward.  Tanya has been incredibly great at promoting herself and her business–she periodically sends me TV clips where she has been interviewed by various news channels!

It’s so soul-satisfying to receive reports from the pet sitters that I’ve worked with throughout the years. Thanks to all of you who check in to let me know how you and your businesses are doing.

I feel like a proud momma hen!

“Kristin, I always like to update you on my progress.  You deserve to know your efforts have made an impact in my business (aka my life). 🙂 Speaking of that…Top Tails Pet Sitting did well over six-figures in revenue in 2011.   I have told you already but will say it again – without a smart and informative entrance and introduction into the professional pet sitting industry plus a proper foundation my business would not be as successful as it is.  Of course, all of your additional support along the way has helped me stay on this path of wonderful achievement!  I will for sure see you in San Antonio next year <at the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters conference> and promise to do a video testimonial.  “See” you on your conference call on Tuesday night.  Even at my level, listening to your conference calls keep me motivated and striving to always be better in so many ways.”

Tanya Grant
Owner, Top Tails Pet Sitting
Pennsylvania 

Pet Sitting Success Story Read More »

The Magic of Commitment in Business

2371505523_73dd46a939

This morning I’m reflecting on the power of commitment as it relates to business. And the ‘magic’ that gets created as a result of my coaching clients’ setting crystal clear intentions for what they want to create in their business and their life.

I often have the pleasure of witnessing ‘manifesting magic’ happen easily and effortlessly in my coaching clients’ lives and I know that it has everything to do with their commitment level. Commitment combined with their heartfelt desire to create the most fulfilling, enjoyable, and profitable business and life.

Here are just a few of the ‘manifesting magic’ moments I’ve witnessed lately in my coaching sessions with pet sitters:

-I gave an action step to the coaching client who wanted to start a doggie day care. The action step was to look for a possible location for the doggie day care. She hadn’t yet looked at locations but was having lunch with a friend two days after our session and mentioned her desire to start a doggie day care when that friend said, “I know just the place! It’s not on the market yet but the man who is selling it said -out of the blue- that it would be perfect for a doggie day care.” They looked at the property after lunch and my coaching client is now exploring the possibility of buying that property.

-A pet sitter I was working with stated to me, clearly and with much heartfelt emotion, her desire to work part-time while growing her new pet sitting business. She had a full-time job that she greatly disliked and was beginning (literally and figuratively) to feel her soul being sucked out her by this job that she’d been in for years. She was afraid to let go of her full-time job due to the income and benefits (I’ve worked with this a lot: pet sitters that are straddling corporate America and pet sitting and who are wanting to make the leap to full time pet sitting yet are terrified to let go of the job security for full-time self employment). Out of the blue (though I like to think of it more like ‘out of the commitment’) she was chatting with a woman who mentioned that there was a job opening in her company. Within a little over a week, my coaching client had a job offer from this company! She’s still working out the details but thinks it will be a much better fit (less soul-sucking for sure) as she makes the transition to eventual full-time pet sitting).

-A pet sitter I’ve worked with on and off through the years contacted me to help her get clarity about how best to create an orderly and accurate financial system for her income and expenses. We discussed different financial accounting systems and one in particular that I thought she’d find easy to use in her business. Still, she expressed fear around not knowing how to work with this particular system and we both felt she needed hands-on help. She placed an ad on Craigslist (commitment in action) and though that didn’t result in the right person, within a couple of days after our session, she, (out of the blue!) was talking to a pet sitting client who mentioned that she worked with the same financial software system that we’d discussed in our coaching session. This woman said she could teach my client how to use this system in order to get her ready for tax time. My pet sitting coaching client feels extremely comfortable with this person and it feels like the perfect fit for her!

Commitment creates success on purpose. It creates ‘out of the blue’ events and experiences. It creates magic.

And that magic starts with the simple words, “I want…”

“I want” is the rudder that faces your boat in the right direction to achieve what it is that you want.

And then intention, commitment, and action lead to the results you most want in your business and your life.

Allow yourself to dream this week of what you want to create in your life and in your work. And if you are crystal clear about what that is, notice your commitment level and take actions that support being fully committed to what it is you most want to create in your life and your pet sitting and dog walking business.

The Magic of Commitment in Business Read More »

How to Set (and Achieve!) Pet Sitting Business Goals for 2010

Businessman drawing Goal word isolated on white background

As I’m sitting here writing this blog post I’m reflecting on just how powerful setting goals has been in my business and personal life.

Writing goals each year has helped me:

~achieve (and often surpass!) the level of income I want to create
~work the kind of schedule I want to work (3-4 days a week)
~hire the right kind of people and the right number of people for my business
~run my business in a outside-the-box way that adds to my happiness, prosperity and well-being

Did you know?
In 1953, researchers surveyed Yale’s graduating seniors to determine how many of them had specific, written goals for their future. The answer: 3%.

Twenty years later, researchers polled the surviving members of the Class of 1953 — and found that the 3% with specific, written goals had accumulated more personal financial wealth than the other 97% of the class combined.

Do you have specific, written goals for your business?

If not, it is time to start:

Here’s how:

1) State your goals in the present tense.
An example of a goal for hiring would be: “I hire 3 pet sitters” instead of “I will hire 3 pet sitters”. Writing your goals in the present tense, as if those goals are already happening affects our subconscious mind in a positive and powerful way. The subconscious mind only operates in the now. If you create goals in the future tense, your subconscious will never support you in achieving your goals.

The subconscious mind is a powerful force and if it is not supporting us it can sometimes sabotage our success (and lack of success) in life. Get your subconscious in alignment with what you want to create in your business and your life this year–by writing your goals in the present tense so your subconscious can assist you in achieving what you want to achieve this year.

2) Set clear, specific and measurable goals for the year. When setting an income goal you want to be very specific about what that amount will be. If you want to make over six-figures in your pet sitting business this year, write the specific amount you want to make: “I gross $110,000 and I net $60,000” instead of writing “I make six-figures this year” .

Important: many business owners often don’t think about their net income when setting goals. Don’t forget about net! A reminder: your gross is the total amount your business generates and the net amount is the amount your business actually makes after all expenses are tallied. Therefore, your net is the real amount your business makes and it is the one to focus on as your net income is the barometer that enables you to know whether or not your pet sitting business is financially supporting you.

3) Set a date by which you will achieve your specific goal. Let’s go back the hiring goal so I can demonstrate what that will look like when you write your goals. Remember: you want to keep that hiring goal in the present and yet have the date by which it is due be in the future.

Here’s what the hiring goal will look like as a written goal: I hire 3 pet sitters by March 1, 2010. See that? Your goal is still stated in the present (not ‘I will hire’, but simply: ‘I hire’) and it has a specific date by which you are going to achieve that: March 1, 2010.

4) Break your goals into small steps and put those small steps in your calendar now. If you have the goal of hiring 3 pet sitters by March 15, 2010 your simple steps might be:

~my hiring paperwork is organized by February 10, 2010
~I put an ad on Craigslist by February 15, 2010
~I conduct face-to-face interviews between February 21-February 28
~I complete the hiring process by March 5, 2010

Putting small steps in your calendar now is a simple way to break down a daunting or big goal into bite-sized chunks.

5) Keep your goals where you can see them on a daily basis. This step is crucial. I’ve found that when I have my goals in clear view I’m much more apt to do the actions it takes to achieve them.

I’ve worked with hundreds of pet sitting coaching clients from around the country who are amazed at the simple act of power that setting goals in their pet sitting businesses can be. Will you be one of those amazed pet sitters next year?

Write out your business goals this year and let me know at the end of 2010 what you created in your business and your life as a result. I’d love to hear from you!

How to Set (and Achieve!) Pet Sitting Business Goals for 2010 Read More »

5 Business Tips for Successful Holiday Pet Sitting and Dog Walking

4065380186_5475889415_m

Below are 5 of the most important tips for holiday pet sitting and dog walking business success:

1) Charge and enforce a holiday fee. Many pet sitters are resistant to charging a holiday fee because they are afraid or embarrassed to ask for more money over the holidays. Get over your fear and DO IT. You (and your staff) are giving of your time to work during this special time of year and deserve to be compensated for it.

2) Have your holiday fee be over the holiday period, not just on the actual holiday days. My holiday period this year is Dec. 20-January 3. Clients are charged an additional $5 for visits and $10 per night during this entire period.

Charging a holiday fee for the entire holiday period can help your profit increase by $500-$1,500+ during the holiday season!

I recommend that half of that holiday fee goes to the sitter working that particular holiday job. The other half goes to the company. Obviously if you are the one doing the job(s) you would receive all of it.

Why should your company get a portion of that holiday fee if your staff are doing the holiday jobs? The bulk of December reservations are often (obviously) only around the holidays so often times pet sitting business owners will find they are super stressed this time of year but are not making any more money than they might make in say, April. Having you, the business owner, receive a portion of that holiday fee will help your business thrive financially during the holiday season.

3) Figure out exactly how many visits you want to take NOW so you can have a sane holiday. Holidays only come once a year, folks. It’s up to you to decide now how you want to spend the days that are special to you.

If you want to spend Christmas day pet sitting from morning till evening with a brief holiday dinner in between jobs that is no problem. If that is what you want.

But if you don’t want that, decide now and limit the number of visits that you are willing to take. Make a time plan of the special holiday days that matter to you (Christmas Eve/Christmas/New Years) and block off the time for you that is sacred. Be clear and firm that nothing can touch that time you have blocked off for yourself and your family, no matter how insistent a client might be that YOU are the only one who can care for her pets.

Sound easy? It’s not. That’s why deciding now and sticking to a holiday time plan will help you stand behind your no (or help you get a staff member to take an insistent client).

4) Have all of your holiday cards and gifts purchased and sent off by December 18. If you get all of the holiday preparation done by December 18 you will be able to focus on the business of pet sitting and be able to enjoy your own holiday period. Start today by outlining all that you need to do to be fully prepared for the holiday for both your business and personal life. Next write down the action steps that you need to do between now and December 18. Put the action steps in your calendar on the specific days that you intend to accomplish them.

Example:
December 7: Purchase holiday cards, purchase staff gift cards
December 8: Write holiday cards
December 10: Mail holiday cards

5) Buy yourself a holiday gift to honor all the hard work you’ve done in your business this year. Why is this a success tip? Because it is a way of honoring all the hard work you’ve done this year. When we honor ourselves, more money flows to us. Always.

This is an action step I give to my coaching clients this time of year and sometimes it is the hardest action step they can take! Allow yourself to give something to you. Pet sitting is a business of serving and taking care of others; explore a way to bring that focus to yourself in the form of a gift for you.

Here are some gifts that pet sitters have bought for themselves to honor the work they’ve done in their businesses: a six-pack of massage certificates to use at various times in 2010, a novel that a pet sitter has been wanting to read all year but hasn’t made the time to read (part of her gift to herself was putting time in her time plan to read the book too!), a 2-day spa retreat with a girlfriend in January, a new car (!), a dinner out at a favorite restaurant.

Happy Holidays everyone!

For many more holiday success tips you can purchase the Riches and Relaxation for Holiday Pet Sitting Recording.

5 Business Tips for Successful Holiday Pet Sitting and Dog Walking Read More »

Scroll to Top