Episode 35: Identifying and Overcoming Challenges As A Small Business Owner

On this episode of "Bella in Your Business" Bella spends time with Heather Dopson, Community Builder at GoDaddy. Heather Dopson, Community Builder at GoDaddy Heather has a passion for digital trends and innovation along with a deep understanding of social networks, consumers and branding. As a Community Builder at GoDaddy, she leverages her skills as a connector and her drive to help small businesses succeed. Her mission in life is to help people lose their J-O-B and find their J-O-Y. They discuss: How Heather got to this position of Community Builder Some challenges she sees happen in small businesses and freelance communities How small business should owners determine what they work on themselves or what they outsource/delegate The biggest opportunities she sees people overlook when it comes to driving awareness and driving revenue "Beyond the Domain" a Facebook live series of videos she is doing for GoDaddy. Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode number 35 of Bella in Your Business. Welcome to Bella in Your Business, where Bella will discuss anything and everything about your pet sitting business to help you land on target. So get ready—Bella’s got your chute. Let’s jump. Welcome to Bella in Your Business. I’m your host, Bella Vasta with Jump Consulting, and today I’m here with Heather Dobson. Heather says that her mission in life is to help people lose their J-O-B and find their J-O-Y. She has a passion for digital trends and innovating, along with a deep understanding of social networks, consumers, and branding. She is also a community builder at GoDaddy, leveraging her skills as a connector and her drive to help small businesses succeed. Bella: I am so excited for you to be here today.Heather: I am so excited too. Thank you so much for having me. You and I have been friends and connected for quite some time, and I’m really honored to be a guest on your show.Bella: It goes back to everyone listening—she has this amazing Malinois named Joker. This dog is so smart, but Heather is one of the best pet owners I know out there because she understands what it takes to have that kind of breed. She also joined me for another interview a while back about Joker, and I couldn’t wait to have her back on the show to talk about business.Heather: Thank you so much. That video we did with Joker as a PSA about owning a Belgian Malinois has been seen so often, and people have reached out to me. I’ve even become friends with other Malinois owners based on that video.Bella: I love it. That’s a good story of what some good SEO and titles can do for you. So today we’re going to talk about identifying and overcoming challenges as a small business owner. I know if I asked any of our listeners right now to think about a challenge they have, they’d probably say, “Which one?” Heather, your role at GoDaddy is a community builder. What exactly does that mean?Heather: It’s a weird title, right? We had to come up with something. I work on the communications team and specifically the social media team, where I focus on evangelism and advocacy. My role is identifying external influencers—people outside of the GoDaddy brand who impact the buying decisions of small business owners, freelancers, and entrepreneurs—and building relationships with them. I identify how we might be able to help their community, not just through products and services, but through what we have in our own ecosystem. I got here because I realized we need to do more than network—we need to build community. Developing meaningful relationships is a key part of that. I was originally considered an influencer by GoDaddy and was part of their influencer ecosystem. Less than a year ago, they approached me about joining full-time, and I’ve been here about seven months now, loving every minute.Bella: So just to clarify, Heather built such great relationships online as her personal brand that a national brand like GoDaddy sought her out, said “Hey girl, we want to hire you just for your influence,” and even let you create your own title.Heather: Exactly. For me, “lose your J-O-B and find your J-O-Y” isn’t just about launching your own business—it’s about finding what fills you with joy. The work I’m doing now as a job is also my joy. I’m in a great spot with an amazing team and a really cool company.Bella: With a really cool boss.Heather: Oh yeah, my boss is amazing.Bella: So as you’re building these relationships, what are some of the challenges you see small businesses and freelancers face?Heather: There are definite common threads. One, there’s never enough time because owners are filling so many roles. Two, they only want to focus on “their thing”—like, “I only want to take care of pets”—and forget the strategic planning, marketing, and other tasks that need to happen. And three, fear. Fear of pushing boundaries, fear of failure, fear of judgment—it holds people back and can be so detrimental to small businesses.Bella: That reminds me of a recent post you did about having a talk with the voice in your head. That voice could also be fear. Can you tell that story?Heather: I live transparently—how I am in person is how I am at work and online. I often share my struggles because social media is full of people only showing the good stuff. For me, it’s been depression, anxiety, and fear. I’ve battled this “monster in my head” for over 20 years. Nothing was working—therapy, medication—so one day I decided maybe what this monster needed was to be acknowledged and loved. So I brewed a cup of tea and had a literal out-loud conversation with it. I acknowledged its presence instead of fighting it. Nobody is fearless—you don’t need to be fearless, you need to be dauntless. That means acting in spite of fear. Acknowledge it, have the conversation, and move past it.Bella: I got chills when you said dauntless. That’s so powerful. So what are some of the biggest opportunities people overlook when it comes to driving awareness and revenue?Heather: First, if you have people in your life who are “dream killers”—parents, partners, friends—say this to them: “I accept your love for me. I reject your fear.” Don’t let their fear become your fear. Then, take a step back and look at your business strategically. Define your own goals. Maybe your goal is to make $250 a month—then work backward to figure out what you need to make or save daily to get there. Without goals and a plan, you won’t know where you’re going or when you’ve arrived. Also, build your personal brand. Whether you’re an employee, entrepreneur, or freelancer—you are your brand. I’m living proof that building a personal brand creates opportunity. People shy away from it, but I want you to be authentic, real, and understand that business and personal life aren’t as separate as they used to be. Then, when it comes to social media, people think they need to be everywhere—Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn—but you can’t. Get really good at one instead of sucking at all of them.Bella: Preach it, girl! When we come back, we’ll talk about how one person can do it all and what to delegate. Commercial break – ProPet Hero CPR ad Bella: And we’re back with Heather Dobson, who helps people lose their J-O-B and find their J-O-Y. Heather, how do we actually execute this stuff? How do we decide what to do and what to outsource?Heather: Most small business owners do everything at first, either because of finances or uncertainty about what help they need. Start by identifying your H.A.B.U.—your Highest and Best Use. That’s where you get the maximum return for your time. At home, my highest and best use is doing things that either generate revenue or bring me joy. Cleaning my house doesn’t do either, so I outsource it if I can. Use the Delete, Delegate, and Do system. Delete what doesn’t matter. Delegate tasks that others can do faster or better. Then do what’s left—the tasks only you can handle.Bella: I love that. And I agree—why waste time on what doesn’t bring you joy? So what would you say to people who still have full-time jobs but are curious about pet sitting or freelancing?Heather: Identify what’s holding you back and call yourself out if it’s just excuses. Sometimes it’s fear, sometimes it’s societal norms—people saying, “You can’t do that.” You have to move past that. There’s a market for your passion. I always think of this person in Phoenix with a mobile bird grooming business. That’s someone living their joy. If you lose or leave a job, it doesn’t make you a failure. Your job isn’t your identity—your life is. Look at your “body of work,” as Pam Slim says. What you do for a paycheck isn’t the whole of who you are. Build something around what you love, and make your own expectations instead of living by others’.Bella: That’s such a good reminder. And it ties perfectly into what you said about personal branding. For business owners listening—it’s not about being the only pet sitter, but building a trustworthy brand that reflects you and your values.Heather: Exactly. Live authentically, and the right people—clients, employees, and partners—will be drawn to you. Like attracts like. Bella: I love that. So, tell us what’s new and exciting for you right now.Heather: I’m hosting a weekly live show at GoDaddy called Beyond the Domain. We go live on Facebook every Thursday at 11 AM Pacific. It’s not about GoDaddy products—it’s about solving small business problems and learning from experts. We’ve had guests like Pam Slim, and even an attorney talking about the legal risks of using unlicensed images. That episode was actually our most viewed so far.Bella: That’s awesome! And I love that connection because that same lawyer was on my show a few episodes back. For anyone listening, check out Sarah’s episode—she’s amazing. Heather, how can people find and connect with you?Heather: I’m easy to find—my name is spelled D-O-B-S-O-N. I’m super active on Twitter, on Facebook at The Heather Dobson,