pet sitting tips

SOMETHING NEW Coming Next Week For Pet Sitters and Dog Walkers!

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surprised lady

 

Pet sitters and dog walkers:

I’m so excited!

I’ve got SOMETHING BRAND NEW coming for you pet sitting and dog walking business owners!

I’ll be announcing what it is on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook on March 2, 2016.

If you are signed up for my weekly newsletter you’ll find out about it that way also or check back on this page next week and you’ll find out what it is. I think you are going to like it. Stay tuned…you’ll find out what it is next week. 🙂

Doing my happy dance,

Kristin Morrison signature

 

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Pet Sitting Tips

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Do you want to start a pet sitting business this year or create more profit in the one you have?pet sitting tips

Here are some tips to help you get started:

1. Decide on the type of animals you want to care for in order to be crystal-clear when it comes to your defining your niche. This may sound obvious yet many new pet sitting business owners haven’t thought this one through. If you don’t really like cats or are allergic to them then you’ll want to focus primarily on dogs and other animals that you feel comfortable caring for (or hire someone else to care for your cat clients). If you really enjoy -and are experienced with- caring for horses and other farm animals then starting a ranch animal care service might really help word spread about your specialized service. And if you are a big time cat lover: start a cat-only pet sitting service–you’ll be amazing at how many cat-only clients will love that you specialize in felines.

When you focus your business primarily on the animals you enjoy caring for you’ll often be more successful because clients will know they are your Right Clients. Why? Because they have the type of animals you specialize in. Also that joy that you have for those particular animals will come shining through in everything–your meet and greets, your marketing materials and the smile that lights up your face when you are with the animal types you most enjoy. And joy for what we love brings more clients.

2. Decide upon the pet care services you’ll providing. This is as important as deciding upon your niche. One of the first actions I’ll take with new pet business coaching clients is to look at their website and do a quick ‘website audit’. I often see pet sitters listing 10 or more services on their websites and the page just swims with services! It’s too much. It’s overwhelming to clients. We are living in an age where overwhelm happens easily to us humans due to all the information out there. Keep things simple. Don’t list more than 5 services on your services page.

3. Create a marketing plan with daily activities in order to focus on income-producing activities. If you are used to working for someone else then it can be hard to know what to put your attention on when you are a new pet business owner. If you are a new pet sitting business owner or you aren’t seeing your client list (or profit) increase, I recommend putting at least 30 minutes a day into marketing, 5 days a week.

Marketing doesn’t just happen. You actually have to get out there (in the real world and online) in order to promote your services to the public. Create a list of all the marketing activities you can and want to do to promote your business and put those tasks on your weekly and monthly calendar.

Want more? Click for more start up tips for pet sitters.

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Cheap, Fast, Good. Pick two.

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pick twoA few years ago I contacted a web designer and told him I wanted a new website created in a hurry. He said, “I can do it cheap, fast or good. But you can only pick two. Which two do you want?”

Your pet sitting and dog walking clients may want all three too but guess what? It’s impossible to get all three in business…unless you want to go out of business because you aren’t making a profit.

If you are a ‘cheap pet sitter’ you are going to begin to get resentful (always happens when the pet sitter wakes up and realizes his or her price are well below market rate). If you try to raise your price too much, too fast then your clients will get resentful. (You don’t want that.) Raising your rates yearly (even by just $1) will help ease the resentment factor and bring your low prices to market rate sooner than if you wait years before raising them.

If you really need clients and some are cheap clients wanting discounts I recommend lowering the amount of time that you’ll spend with the pet. So if your regular 30-minute visit is $18 a visit, offer to do a 15-minute visit for $16. In this way the client will feel like they are getting something and you will have more time for more full price visits. (Obviously you’ll want to make sure that the pet who is getting less time will be well taken care of in 15-minutes. A 15-minute visit works well for shy cats who hide under the bed.)

If you are a sitter who says yes to last minute pet sits and dog walks you will also get resentful. So charge for those last minute sits. I recommend charging your clients a $20-$30 Last Minute Fee (LMF) for those clients who need to meet you or one of your sitters in less than 3 days. If UPS can charge for last minute delivery so can you!

And good? Well, if you aren’t good you won’t be in business very long. Good should always be a part of your business practice. And even better…strive for great. If you are great at what you do your clients will love you and thank you. (And refer you to their friends and neighbors.)

So the next time a client calls and says, “I need you to pet sit tomorrow. I need a low rate and I need you to do a great job with my dog” simply say, “Sure. You can have any two. Which two do you want? Cheap, fast or good?”

 

 

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When Bad Reviews Happen to Good Pet Sitters

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I don’t know what the heck is going on lately but in the past few weeks I have received a massive amount of calls and emails from frustrated and despondent pet sitters who are ready to throw in the towel after getting a bad review of their business.

I get it.

No, really I do.

I’m not just saying that.

I, too, had the experience a few weeks ago. One of our one-time pet sitting clients wrote a horrible review about my company.

It was a client that had used my pet sitting company 6 months ago.

Here’s an inside peek into my brain after I saw that review:

Six months ago?
And you never called me to tell me you were unhappy?
Instead you write a horrible, scathing online review about us for all the world to see?
Six months later?! What the ???!

(Went the very negative chatter in my head.)

I paced around my office for a few minutes, scowling and muttering under my breath and then yelling AGGGGHHHHHHHHHH a few times. (My poor neighbors.)

What I got in touch with when I stopped pacing and yelling was that this experience was disheartening.

I got in touch with how I try to run the best possible pet sitting business and when I’m not running my business, my dear managers are doing their best to run the best possible pet sitting business.

And in spite of that:

We got a bad review.

It was disheartening.

Still, it was easier to calm down than it might have been say, a few years ago, because guess what?

In my nearly 17 years of owning a pet sitting business, my business has gotten our share (a small share, thankfully) of negative reviews.

It happens.

Sorry guys, you can’t work with the public for years and years and years without getting a negative review.

It’s true.

Here’s the truth: You are going to make someone out there unhappy. You are, at some point, going to have a client who has expectations that aren’t going to be met by you or your company.

It happens.

Here are the actions I took to make peace with myself and the client who wrote the bad review:

1. I allowed myself to fully feel the spectrum of feelings that came up around this review. These included (but were not limited to): anger, sadness and (owie) grief over this review. It hurts. The word ‘grief’ may sound extreme but getting a bad review brings up the perceived loss of reputation which is a type of death for a business owner. Allowing myself to feel the yuck feelings fully then allowed me to move into action with all of my energy present.

2. I called the pet sitter who had taken care of this client and I asked her for her side of the story: What actually had happened with this client? I had the client’s point of view (from the review that was posted for all the world to see, gosh darn it) but what happened from her perspective? When we spoke, I could hear the honesty in her voice and was able to determine that she really hadn’t done anything wrong. The client hadn’t given clear instructions about the pet’s needs.

3. Next I thought carefully about what I wanted to say to the client. I got crystal clear in my head and on paper about what needed to be said so I could refer back to my notes if need be. I waited until I was in a relative place of equanimity (it took a few hours) before contacting the client.

4. Next, I called the client. You read that right. I didn’t email him. I called. On the phone (it’s an old-fashioned tool that some of us still use for communication). And if you are like most people and the thought of actually talking to a client who wrote a negative review about you terrifies you, here’s a word of advice when dealing with a negative review or feedback from a client: never, ever email the client a response.

Is it much harder to call than email? Oh my God yes. It takes a heck of a lot of courage. That’s where you want to put on your big girl panties or big boy briefs and JUST DO IT. You are not going to die or pass out from the anger or fear. You may feel like you are. But trust me, you won’t die. Or pass out.

5. When I got the client’s voicemail I left a calm, loving (yes, loving) message that went something like this:

Hi John. (Deep, relaxed breath) I saw your review and I just wanted to contact you as soon as possible so we could talk about it. I feel awful that you had a bad experience with my company. As the owner, I’m 100% committed to you having a good experience with my company and it was such a shock to see that you weren’t happy with the pet sitting you received from us. I realize that we sat for you about six months ago and perhaps you tried to contact me but somehow I never got the message. (Deep relaxed breath.) I want you to know that I want to do whatever I can to make this right. Can you please tell me what I can do to make things right? Please give me a call at ______. I’m in the office today. Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you.

6. When he didn’t respond by phone that day or the next then I emailed him. Here’s what my email said:

Dear John,

I left you a phone message and I’m just contacting you to see if you got it. Forgive me if I’m bugging you. I want you to know that my intention in contacting you is to make things right. What can I do to make things right? I’m committed to you having a good experience with us and it hurts my heart to know that you weren’t happy with the care we provided. Please give me a call or send me an email so I can take care of this as soon as possible. Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you.

Warmly,
Kristin

7. Keep your email and your phone message authentic and loving. Did I have second thoughts about using the word ‘it hurts my heart’? You betcha. But I did it anyway because it was hurting my heart (owie). And I felt like I had nothing to lose by sharing that and perhaps everything to gain by sharing that.

Here’s how my story ended:

I got an email from John (not a call, an email. I guess he wasn’t wearing his big boy briefs that day).

Here’s what his email response was:

Hi,
I did get your phone and email message. Things have been busy today. I do still think that your pet sitter didn’t do things right but I will take the review off. Please don’t contact me again.
John

So here are the Cliff Notes if you get a bad review:

1. Feel the full spectrum of feelings. Get it it up and out of your body (yelling, talking and/or crying with a friend) so you can then be free to take action.

2. Contact the staff member who provided care to get more information. If you were the person who cared for the client, think clearly back to that day and if what the client said happened, happened.

3. Think carefully about what to say to the client.

4. Call the client. Don’t email. Call. On the old-fashioned instrument called a telephone.

5. Leave a calm and loving message or talk directly to the client in a loving, calm manner. Include the words “How can I make this right?”

6. If the client doesn’t respond in a day or two, email them a loving, calm email. Include the words “How can I make this right?”

7. Breathe. A lot. Know that you are a good person and a good pet sitter and realize that sometimes bad things (and reviews) happen to good pet sitters. Soon this review will be a distant memory. It’s not the end of the world. Your right clients will find you, bad review or not. Trust me!

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Heeding the Call of Pain in Your Pet Sitting and Dog Walking Business

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Ouch!

Experiencing ‘pain points’ in our pet sitting business doesn’t feel good.

And yet…

It is often the only way that we will wake up

and pay attention.

Pain points can look like:

-a staff member who really needed to be let go a long time ago yet you’ve been putting it off

-a client who is a royal pain in the arse and you’ve been putting up with them for far too long

-not making enough money to make ends meet, let alone thrive in your business

etc, etc, etc.

So you can either put up with it (which most humans end up doing)

or be proactive and change things.

(Usually this happens when the pain outweighs the numbness of putting up with the pain point in your business.)

Sometimes this takes a while.

And things break down before you wake up in order to make things better.

I encourage you today to heed the call of pain in your business.

It’s there to teach you what isn’t working in order to create a more smooth-running, profitable business

…and a happier life.

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Self-Authoring Your Pet Sitting Business

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Recently I was in a yoga class and the teacher said to our class: “Even though you might think you can’t do a pose, TRY. Don’t just assume you can’t do it. Attempt it. Find out.”

So many pet sitting business owners run their businesses from the place of NO.

No, I CAN’T DO IT.

No, I’VE NEVER DONE THAT BEFORE.

No, I’M AFRAID.

It takes a lot of courage to feel the NO and turn it into a YES. To run your business from outside-the-box. Which might be very different from how you think you should run your pet sitting business or how your competitors are running their pet sitting businesses.

As I’m traveling I’m even more aware than I was back at home of how we create our own reality.

I’m not getting woo-woo on you here.

What I’m talking about is that most people put limits on what they can and can’t do in their business and their life which ends up becoming their limited reality.

Where are you putting limits on your pet sitting and dog walking business?

Here are some common areas that pet sitters put limits on their businesses:

1) Your Schedule: You don’t like doing early morning or late night visits and yet still you do them.

2) Hiring: You are afraid to hire pet sitting and dog walkers so you don’t. Or you need to hire more staff yet you keep putting it off even though you are getting more and more stressed by having to do the work yourself.

3) Your Income: You have a mental ‘cap’ on what you think you can make in your pet sitting business each month. You say to yourself, “Oh, I can’t make more than $________/month” which becomes a self-imposed glass ceiling. You don’t imagine or believe you can make more than you’ve currently made and thus live out that reality from month-to-month.

4) Your vacation: You haven’t had a vacation in years and you feel burned out. You are afraid of leaving your pet sitting business. You don’t know what to do with your business when you go away and don’t investigate options.

5) Business Duties: You really don’t like (or aren’t good at) a certain aspect of your pet sitting business and yet still you do it because you feel you ‘have’ to. You don’t allow yourself to think creatively or ask for help in thinking creatively for how to delegate specific tasks or jobs that you really don’t enjoy.

Guess what?

YOU are the author of your pet sitting business. You get to make up the rules for how you run your business and what jobs you do or don’t do.

So many pet sitters that I work with forget this. They let themselves be swept away by the whims of clients or their own fear of doing something differently than they (or another pet sitter) has done before.

It’s the halfway point through the year here, folks: June 2011.

A perfect time to honestly access what works and doesn’t work with the way you are currently running your business.

You really are the only one who creates the stoppers in your business and your life. Not your clients. Not your family. Not your staff.

YOU.

And you can also take that pen and start self-authoring your pet sitting business!

Try this bit of self coaching:
Get a piece of paper and a pen. Set a timer for 15 minutes. For one minute focus on an area that is clearly not working in your business or is causing you discomfort or unhappiness.

Then, with the remaining time, write down all the possible solutions that come to your mind.

Don’t censor.

Don’t edit.

Don’t spell check!

Simply write fast, without thinking, for 14 minutes.

You may be amazed at what may emerge.

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Pet Sitting Business Tips for February

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Want to start off on the right foot in your business this month?

Here’s how:

1) Take one marketing action a day to ensure that the calls come rolling in by the end of February. Drop your business cards off at vets, groomers and pet stores. Begin listing your business on as many websites as you can (links on other websites will help you come up higher on the search engines). Join a networking group. Get out there and market. Soon clients will be calling you saying, “I see your business everywhere!” (When that happens you know you are doing the right kind of marketing.)

2) Do you have an accountant ready to help you with your 2010 taxes? If not, February is a great time to find one before they get booked up at tax crunch time. Ask your business-owning friends for a recommendation.

3) Make self-care a priority this month. Put yourself in your appointment scheduler. If not now, then when?

4) Were you short-staffed in 2010? Spend the month February hiring even more people than you think you will need. Having an overflow of staff members will help you say YES to all the clients that contact you this year. Be clear in your communication with new staff members about how much work is/is not available; Let new staff members know that you may not call them for a few weeks but that as business grows their workload will grow.

5) Set a clear financial goal for February. Put your goal on your computer where you will see it daily. Write it on a sticky note in present tense: “I earn $_________/ month easily and effortlessly.”

6) Write your top 10 goals for February 2010 where you can see them. What do you most want to accomplish this month? What did you want to do in January that still needs to be done? You want your Top Ten Goals for February to be where you can see them daily as that will help you stay on track. In goal setting it’s especially important to remember: ‘out of sight, out of mind’. Put those goals in your car, in your office, on your bathroom mirror…wherever you will see them each day.

7) Set aside money for 2011 Q1 Taxes NOW. A lot of pet sitters that I’ve worked with the past few weeks have been surprised at the money they owed for 2010 and/or their 4th quarter tax payment for 2010. To avoid being surprised when taxes come due try this: split each quarterly payment into thirds and pay monthly so you aren’t hit with a large sum of money to come up with for your first quarter payment in 2011 (due April 15).

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