Podcasts Archives | Pet Sitting Business Coaching

On this episode, Bella speaks with Gelie Akhenblit, CEO/Founder of NetworkingPhoenix. They discuss the importance of networking, "do"s and "do not"s when going to a marketing event, and best practices for following up. “Networking is finding friends with professional benefits” Gelie Akhenblit (CEO / Founder of NetworkingPhoenix) has revolutionized the way Arizona’s professionals, small business owners, and entrepreneurs network in the Valley. Founded in October 2008, Gelie left her corporate position in order to launch her vision as a tech startup. This startup, NetworkingPhoenix.com, created a democratized platform for local networkers to connect online and in person through mixers, business events,  and local educational partners. Since its inception,NetworkingPhoenix has skyrocketed in popularity and has become one of the most visited websites in Arizona with nearly 40,000 members and growing. Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 58 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. My name is Bella Vasta, your host, and today I have a friend with me. Her name is Gellie Akhenblit, and she is—my gosh, I don't even know how to introduce her. She's amazing. I've known her for almost a decade. Interestingly enough, we met through a boy. He connected us, and Gellie has started an incredible thing that Phoenix is very, very fortunate to have. It's called networkingphoenix.com. She's going to tell you her story today, but we're going to talk all about networking. So I want you to listen up if you are that pet sitter who shies away from those networking meetings or those lunches or those breakfasts or those mixers, because today we're going to give you lots of awesome tips to help you. Without further ado, Gellie, welcome to the show. Thank you so much for having me, and I love that introduction. So I came from the former Soviet Union, but I ended up in Phoenix, Arizona. The majority of my life I’ve spent in Phoenix. After going to college here and doing the traditional thing, I had two jobs out of college, and I was like, you know what? This whole job thing is not for me. I couldn’t handle it. I’d been working since I was fourteen, but what I didn’t realize was that I was a little hustler, a little entrepreneur, and I never knew it. I didn’t have anyone to guide me or explain to me that being an entrepreneur is a personality trait. During my second job out of college, it was absolutely horrific—for my soul, just to clarify. So I started networking to discover other opportunities and not so much other jobs, but just to see what it is that other people do for a living, what my options were. I was in my mid-twenties, so not working wasn’t an option. I started networking and realized that I was in love with it—completely addicted to finding people, hearing their stories, and connecting with them on a human level. It just does something to me. So I thought, how do I turn this into an entrepreneurial venture? How do I make money with this? I’d never taken a business class in my life. My background was marketing and communications, which I still use daily. I found holes in the market for opportunities. There were so many networking events happening every day, but there wasn’t a hub where they were all listed. I created one—a Word document where I copied and pasted events, different fonts, different colors. It was a mess, but people contacted me asking for it. Then it dawned on me in 2007—why not build a website? At the time, I happened to be married to a software engineer. I came home one night and asked if he could build me a calendar to list all the networking events. He took my vision and built an amazing online platform that, to this day, doesn’t exist elsewhere. It’s a hyper-local platform geared toward local professionals, small business owners, entrepreneurs—the hustlers. As of today, we have about 40,000 profiles on Networking Phoenix. The company is nine and a half years old and will be ten in January. We launched January 1, 2008—the same time the economy crashed—so everyone landed on the website. It gave people hope and connection when they needed it most. It was a great connector in the community. You have to build a community first before you start selling or pivoting. I initially wasn’t sure how we’d make money, but seven months in, I hired an assistant because I was overwhelmed. As soon as I hired her, I started making money because I could offload the admin work. We started with sponsorships, promotions, and events, and now the core revenue is recurring memberships. I got that idea from Netflix—people pay monthly. I launched at $10 a month, now it’s $20. The cheaper your product, the more headaches you have. There’s a lesson there for pet sitters and dog walkers. The higher you go, the less you deal with—and the better you work. Gellie also had huge quarterly events with sponsorships that grew from a thousand to thousands of dollars, becoming the place to be. So, what should a pet sitter wear and say at a networking event? Gellie: When I teach networking, I actually use you as an example. You once came to one of my events wearing a name tag that said, “What’s your pet’s name?” instead of your name. People love to talk about their pets, so it disarms them and starts natural conversations. My biggest tip—just have a real conversation. Small talk is okay to start, but aim for authenticity. I like to say, “You’re looking for friends with professional benefits.” Connect with people like you would with friends. You won’t click with everyone, and that’s fine. Trust is everything, especially if you’re entering someone’s home to care for their pet. Be yourself, be real, and share who you are. Bella: Let’s take a quick break and when we come back, we’ll talk about what not to do at networking events. One of my pet peeves is the person running around the room shoving cards into everyone’s hands without even saying hi. Don’t do that. Don’t collect people’s business cards and add them to your newsletter without permission—it’s illegal and spammy. And don’t monopolize people’s time. Ten minutes is good; then move on so everyone can work the room. The point of the event is to make connections—follow up later to build relationships. Selling at networking events? No. You’re not there to sell; you’re there to make friends and connections. Networking builds long-term professional relationships that can outlast your current business. Your network stays with you as you grow. You may need clients now, but focus on doing it right or you’ll get frustrated. The key is mindset. Your goals determine your results. Networking isn’t about instant sales—it’s about trust and connections. Bella: Some of my best friends came from networking. It’s about relationships, not transactions. You don’t get married on the first date—it’s like dating. You have to get to know people first. So, after the event, how do you follow up? Gellie: Follow-up is crucial. If you don’t, nothing happens. Create a system—if you come home with 10 cards, mark them A through D by priority. You have 72 hours (three business days) to follow up before the connection fades. I often email people right at the event, CC myself, and say, “Here’s my contact info—let’s connect.” That way, it’s already in their inbox. Connect on LinkedIn, maybe Facebook if appropriate, but don’t be offended if they don’t accept your request. Remember the rule of seven—it takes about seven interactions before people remember you. Meeting at the event counts as one, your follow-up email is two, a LinkedIn connection is three, a Facebook interaction is four, etc. It’s not difficult to have seven touches and build awareness. Networking is like building relationships—authentic, friendly, and intentional. Use social media for engagement. Like or share something meaningful, comment thoughtfully, and be real. It’s not about a quick sale—it’s about showing genuine interest. If LinkedIn and Meetup.com had a baby, it would be Networking Phoenix. The platform connects people online to meet offline. Gellie is working on expanding it nationally soon. The big takeaway—be normal, be a person first, business second. Use creative tools like the “What’s your pet’s name?” tag. Think of everyone you meet as a connection who might connect you to someone else. You never know where it leads. Especially for pet sitters, people have to like and trust you. You’re taking care of their fur babies. They’ll remember how you made them feel more than what you said. Gellie: People can reach me through gellie.com or on Facebook. I’m the most talkable person on the internet—there are a million ways to reach me. I also help people build networking strategies, whether local or not. We can create a six- to twelve-month plan—a roadmap—to grow your connections intentionally. Bella: Thank you, Gellie, for all your insight. Remember, everyone, be authentic, build relationships, and keep jumping. For more information, free articles, and coaching sessions, go to jumpconsulting.net. And remember—Bella’s got your chute.

On this episode, Bella spends time with Lisa Cummings, Founder of Lead Through Strengths.  Lisa talks about how it is her life's mission to help people get over their obsession of fixing weaknesses instead of focusing on their strengths, the things that make them happy, give them energy and make them successful. Lisa Cummings “Notice what works to get more of what works!” - Lisa Cummings Pay attention to what is working. Make sure in your customer surveys you aren’t just asking what needs improvement. Ask customers what they loved most about the various parts of the service. You may find that some simple little thing you do, like giving out a little “report card” at the end of a stay, may be the thing that keeps them coming back and gets them referring you. After all, it is easier to replicate what is working for you than to try to figure out the 50 or 60 potential solutions to something one client says they don’t like. To zero in on your strengths Lisa recommends the book Strengthsfinder 2.0 which gives you a code to take an online strengths survey. It gets away from skills and knowledge and helps you find your natural talents, the way you think, feel and act that feel good to you. It gives a filter for helping figure out the best way for you to approach issues. The book explains the definition of the 34 potential talent themes revealed by the survey. Another way to zero in on strengths is to look for what brings you ease, energy and enjoyment. If a particular activity causes you to lose track of time, stop and exam just what about it really kept you engaged. On her website, Lisa  has a list of things you may want “more of” in your daily life. It can give you clues as to what activities you are more attracted to. Two books that Lisa recommends are First Break All the Rules by Gallup Press and Now Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham. She says that if you read them from the standpoint of managing people and then combine that with a strengthsfinder of those people you manage it is most helpful in managing people. When you have a business challenge imagine putting it through a funnel.  You drop it in at the top and you filter it through all the top talents and strengths in your business.  Try thinking how to solve it using each of those strengths.  Lisa says is causes your brain to think in ways it normally doesn’t and can lead to some creative solutions. One first step you can take is to decide what you want your company to remembered for and what you want to be remembered for. Come up with a list of words and phrases around that which will serve as an outline of what is most important to you.  Another is to list out the values that are important to you. Lisa has a list of values on her website you can use as a reference. Lisa also recommends finding out similar information from your customers.  Casually ask customers what word or words come to mind when they think of you or your business. Finally, she suggests you make a list of at least 100 responses to "I am good at _________!". It helps you not only affirm how much you are good at but you can group them into trends and see if you are truly applying them in your business. About Lisa Lisa Cummings has delivered training & speaking events to over 9,000 participants in 14 countries. You can see her featured in places like Harvard Business Publishing, Training Magazine, and Forbes. She’s the CEO of a company called Lead Through Strengths. When she’s not out spotting strengths with teams, you’ll find her rescuing stray dogs or playing drums in her band Spiral Mischief. Links mentioned in this episode Lead Through Strengths - http://leadthroughstrengths.com Twitter - @LisaCummings “More Of”  Inventory - http://leadthroughstrengths.com/moreof/ Values Inventory - http://leadthroughstrengths.com/values/ Strengthsfinder 2.0 - http://strengths.gallup.com/110440/About-StrengthsFinder-20.aspx First Break All the Rules - http://www.gallup.com/press/176069/first-break-rules-world-greatest-managers-differently.aspx Now Discover Your Strengths - https://www.amazon.com/Now-Discover-Your-Strengths-2001/dp/B004C79CY2 Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 57 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. My name is Bella Vasta, and today’s guest has been delivering training and speaking events to over 9,000 participants in 14 countries. You can see her featured at places like Harvard Business Publishing, Training Magazine, and Forbes. She’s the CEO of a company called Lead Through Strengths. When she’s not out spotting strengths of teams, you’ll find her rescuing stray dogs, which is why you’re going to be awesome for our audience, or playing drums. Gotta love that. Lisa Cummings, welcome to the show. Thanks, Bella. It’s nice to be here. Totally. Thanks for coming on. Why don’t you fill in the gaps really briefly and just tell us a little bit more about who you are so our listeners know what they’re about to get into. Yeah. So I think as far as their businesses go, the most relevant part is that I help people lead through their strengths so they can enjoy their work life, their family life, their businesses. And really, it’s like my life mission to help people get over this obsession we have with fixing weaknesses. It’s this, you know, this part of me is broken or this part of my business needs to get better. And then we spend this really lopsided focus on that instead of leveraging what brings you energy and ease and enjoyment and actually gives you this huge leap in your business and your life and your relationship. So I’m all about leading through your strengths. So you guys, you understand why she’s on now. This is going to be something that we haven’t talked about yet, and I cannot wait to hear what you have to say. So using your strengths sounds a little risky when we have glaring weaknesses, and those weaknesses actually give us a lot of self-doubt. We’re not good enough, all that stuff, right? So with the limited time we have in our days, why should we focus on strengths in our business? Yeah, and I think it’s important to say I don’t think it’s smart to totally forget your weaknesses and ignore them because if you have something getting in the way of your performance, getting in the way of your business success, definitely address it. But let me give you an example that I think would relate to your audience’s business and how we’re drawn to the weakness side where you could really be benefiting from the strength side. So let’s say you do a customer survey because you want to find out more about what you need to do next in your business. You find out that people are complaining that your parking lot gets a little too busy near the weekends and people are concerned that you’re on a busy road and they’re afraid their fur baby will get hit by a car. So you find trends like that, and then you start obsessing and think, “Gosh, they don’t like my parking lot, they don’t like the busy street, I need to go find a new location.” And that might cost a $200,000 loan. But what I find is people aren’t asking what works. One of the premises I talk about a lot is: notice what works to get more of what works. If you have someone working at your front desk and you love how they answer the phone and make customers feel at ease, but you hate how they do something else, be sure you obsess as much about what you love about them because that’s what you’ll get more of. Same thing goes for this customer survey. Ask them what they love most about coming there. You might find that they love how you do a report card at the end of every visit and look forward to that because it’s cute, they learn who their pet’s friends are, and they share it on social media, bringing you referral business. Or you might find that you’re the only place where their dog doesn’t get “happy tail,” and the blankets you hang around every run prevent injuries. These are the things that keep clients loyal. It’s easy to replicate what’s already worked, but obsessing about complaints can spin you in circles. Lisa, that’s so remarkable. And I think the part that’s most remarkable is that not only are you able to give concrete examples to my listeners, which really helps bring it home, but you make it relatable to business owners. So thank you for that. A lot of us are stretched so thin, Lisa. I mean, I’ve never heard anyone say, “I have so much extra time, I don’t know what to do.” It’s tough to know what our superpowers are. We’re busy trying to be good at a little bit of everything—just the Jill of all trades and the master of none. So how can we zoom in and figure out our small handful of strengths? Is it as simple as something we like to do or is it listening to feedback? Yeah, it certainly can be the two things you mentioned. Many of us are way too caught up in the self-talk of what we’re messed up about, and we’re also just busy. You’re the ultimate small business owners—you’re the bookkeeper one moment, customer service the next, strategist the next. How do you wear all those hats and do them well? So here’s something concrete: if you’ve never bought the book StrengthsFinder 2.0, go to Amazon and get it. It gives you a code for an online assessment tool. It’s great for giving you a lens to look for your strengths because sometimes they’re not obvious. It helps you find your natural talents—the way you naturally think, feel, and act that feels good to you. It takes about five minutes to complete. The book defines 34 potential talent themes and explains why focusing on strengths helps your life and business. Another way is to look for what brings you ease, energy, and enjoyment.

On this episode Bella spends time with Lain Ehmann, Marketing Strategist at #FastLain. Lain Ehmann Listen in as they talk about the mistakes small businesses make on their websites, including telling a story that your audience wants to hear vs. telling the story you want the audience to hear. Be mindful of your audience. You will also learn how to make that message different between the mediums. In particular, be conscious of the frame of mind people are in when they are reaching out to you vs. when you are reaching out to them. Give them something they wouldn't expect. Don't sell them. Messaging, which is "communications branding", is critical to success. It is the message you are going to consistently send out to your audience that also helps you distinguish yourself from others in your niche. As a bonus, doing so may even allow you to charge more. "Messaging is a tool to do that by defining who you are, what the value is that you provide, and the audience you provide that to." - Lain Ehmann The next logical step in the process is helping customers see that you can solve the problems they have.  You can drive customer motivation by tapping into their "pain points". Bella recommends that you include the benefits of your online scheduling as part of your messaging.  Lain says that playing up your "secret sauce", that unique niche that  you have identified, will help you reach those who need that service and even build your standing among those who don't because they see how much you care. They  also recommend doubling up on your marketing. For instance, doing a Facebook live with tips about dog walking and then putting a link to that under your services page. Another common mistake Lain points out is that often business owners speak from their point of view and assume that the audience knows everything that they know. In fact, educating the audience should be an important part of your efforts. Make sure they understand the terminology and services you are offering. Lead them through your site to the call to action. About Lain Lain is a bestselling author and communications strategist, who specializes in helping six- and seven- figure entrepreneurs uncover hidden profits and potential – FAST.  Her superpower is saying what your customers and clients really need to hear, to get the results you want as quickly as possible. Links mentioned in this episode Get in the - #FastLain at http://www.fastlain.com. Free messaging guide: http://lainehmann.com/messagingdl Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 56 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 another episode of Bella in Your Business. My name is Bella Vasta, your host, and today I have Lane with me. Lane and I actually met at a local conference where it just felt like everything there was lit up by the Holy Spirit. It was an electrifying time leading to electrifying relationships. Lane and I have only known each other a few short weeks, but after meeting her once, she was someone I was drawn to, and I just knew I had to have her on the podcast for you all. Lane is a bestselling author and a communication strategist specializing in helping six- and seven-figure entrepreneurs uncover hidden profits and potential fast. Her superpower is saying what your customers and clients really need to hear and getting the results you want as quickly as possible. She calls it getting in the “#FastLane.” Lane is here today to talk to us about the messaging we project to the world about our business and how we can become even more laser-sharp focused when landing the exact kind of people we want. Lane: Thank you so much. When I sent over my bio, I thought I didn’t add in my two dogs, because since this is a pet-friendly show, I figured I should mention them as well. I have a Yorkie Poo named Bogie, and we have a Shih Tzu Pug mix named Zeus. Bella: I love it! You just gave me the most fantastic idea. It took me 50-plus episodes to realize I should ask all my guests what kind of pets they have. Lane: So great idea. Thanks for sharing that. I’m so excited to be here. Bella: For sure. So why don’t you fill in the gaps a little bit and just kind of tell us a little bit about how you became who you are and exactly what it is that you do, and then we can get into the crux of it all. Lane: Sure. So I have been a writer my whole life, and that has taken different formats over time. I was a journalist for many years, I was in marketing communications for a company, and I worked in agency public relations. I had my own online business in the scrapbooking niche where I approached storytelling from a different angle. About two years ago, I wanted to do something completely different. People had always asked me, “Gosh, you do such a good job communicating with your audience.” It was one of those things where people always asked me about it, and I would just do it for friends. Then I thought, “Jeez, I would love to work with businesses in this manner.” So what I really do is help businesses tell their story in a way that their audience is actually going to resonate with. Bella: I love it. And you are fresh off of BlogHer Conference too, being a panelist there. So yeah, you get around, and I just want our listeners to know that you’re not some girl off the street. You know your stuff, and you’re in the fast lane. Lane: Totally. Bella: So tell me, what mistakes do you see small businesses making on their websites? Lane: There are a lot, but what I want to focus on today is really the idea of telling a story that your audience wants to hear versus telling your story that you want everybody to listen to. There’s a difference there. If you think about it in terms of—I’ve got kids, you’ve got little Olivia—and when they say, “Tell me a story,” they don’t want you to sit down and tell them the story of how the West was won unless you can put it in a way that they’ll enjoy it. So you always have to be mindful of your audience. You can’t just create a story in a vacuum and then blast it at people. That’s what I see a lot of people doing—not just on their websites but on social media. They come up with this “The Story” of their business, and it falls flat because they’re not thinking about who’s on the receiving end. Bella: That is impressive. I love that. And what I just heard you also say is that it’s not just a singular thing—it’s something that translates to Facebook, to your website, maybe even to your services page. Lane: Exactly. You can’t just take the same content you post on your blog and expect it to perform the same on Instagram or Facebook. The theme might be the same, but you have to adapt it for the audience and the mindset they’re in when they see it. Bella: Love it. That’s so powerful. Listeners, listen up—hear what Lane’s saying, because this is so true. We try to replicate the same thing on every platform and wonder why people don’t care. So how can we fix that? Lane: One of the big things is thinking about the mindset people are in when you’re reaching out to them versus when they come to you. If I do a Google search on “pet sitter,” I might find a dozen websites. I’m actively seeking that information—I have a problem and I’m looking for a solution. That’s different from someone scrolling through Facebook between memes and baby pictures. You’re interrupting them, so your message has to be more engaging and unexpected. You don’t want them to immediately think, “She’s trying to sell me something.” You want them to be curious and entertained. Bella: That’s so good, Lane. I want all our listeners to rewind the last five minutes and re-listen to that. It’s powerful because it’s simple. It’s a slap-your-forehead “duh” moment. We’re all on Facebook—we know why we’re there: to be entertained, to see friends’ updates. So how can we play into that? Lane: Exactly. Bella: You talked about messaging earlier. What is messaging? Lane: Messaging is like your communications branding. People often think branding is just visuals—colors, logos—but messaging is the consistent communication you send out to your audience. There’s a high-level message that defines who you are, what you do, and what makes you unique, and then there are sub-messages beneath that. Messaging helps distinguish you from everyone else in your niche. You don’t want to be treated as a commodity. Bella: Preach, girlfriend. Lane: Right? I was researching pet-sitting websites earlier, and so many read like, “We’ll walk your dog five times a week.” But what if you specialized in something? Maybe you work with anxious dogs, or senior pets, or multiple-pet households. I want to visit your website and feel like it was written for me. People think appealing to everyone is best, but that makes you a commodity. Messaging helps you carve your niche and even charge higher prices because you’re specialized. Bella: I love that. That was the value you provide, the market you serve, and what makes you unique. Lane: Exactly. I even have a free messaging worksheet people can download to help them identify those things. Bella: I love that. Okay, we’ll take a quick break, and when we come back, we’ll keep going. Commercial break. Bella: I’m here with Lane from the Fast Lane, and we are breaking it down. Lane, we were just talking about messaging and unique services. Could this also be about solving problems? Like, “Do you work long hours and hate leaving your dog at home?” Lane: Yes, that’s really the next step. Once you define who you are and the value you provide, you can think about who that appeals to and what their pain points are. Maybe your service solves loneliness for pets of busy owners. Those emotions—guilt, worry, stress—drive people to hire you.

On this episode of Bella in Your Business, Bella spends time with Paul Adams, President and Founder of Sound Financial Group. Paul Adams, President and Found of Sound Financial Group They discuss:  The roles finances play in our business Why it is so hard for the self-employed to pay themselves What happens when we don't focus on being financially fit Steps you should take to get yourself financially fit  How Luke 16:10 pertains to building business & wealth. Paul Adams is President and founder of Sound Financial Group where he and his team help clients maintain healthy balance sheets, stop forfeiting money unnecessarily to the IRS, and to build and protect their plans for the future. The cornerstone of his advice relies on the belief that people should always make their financial decisions based upon indisputable math and independent scholarship, not based on media hype, hearsay, or trend. Paul is also an accomplished speaker and the of author two essential financial guides – Stop Burning Your Money and Sound Financial Advice - < and in 2016 was interviewed by Forbes, Entrepreneur and Inc. magazines. Links Sound Financial Group - http://www.sfgwa.com Sound Financial Group Blog - http://SoundFinancialBites.com Moments of Wealth Blog (with Paul and Kristen Adams) - http://momentsofwealth.com Episode 44 of Sound Financial Bites podcast "Why a Wealth Coordination Account" - http://www.sfgwa.com/blog/sfb044-why-a-wealth-coordination-account Also, Paul has made available a PDF copy of his book Sound Financial Advice.  E-mail Bella at [email protected] for more information. Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 55 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. My name is Bella Vasta, and today I have Paul Adams with me. Paul and I actually met at Social Media Marketing World in March, and I’m so excited to have him on here because we’ve never really actually talked about finance on the podcast yet, and we’re over 50 episodes now. So it’s about time to sit down, relax, and get your mind blown because we’re going to really get into it. Paul is actually the president and founder of Sound Financial Group, where he and his team help take clients and give them healthy balance sheets, stop forfeiting money unnecessarily to the IRS, and build and protect plans for their future. The cornerstone of his advice relies on the belief that people should always make their financial decisions based on indisputable math and independent scholarship—not based off of media hype, hearsay, trends, or what your friend on Facebook is saying to do. Paul is also an accomplished speaker and the author of two essential financial guides, Stop Burning Your Money and Sound Financial Advice. In 2016, he was interviewed by Forbes, Entrepreneur, and Inc. magazines. Bella: Without further ado, welcome to the show, Paul. How are you?Paul: I’m so good—and so much better. I gotta tell you, I want to just bring you with me everywhere I go. That is the most well-spoken introduction I think I’ve ever had. Thank you so much.Bella: Let’s take our listeners back. Can you tell us who you are and how you’ve built the freedom in your life to travel? Because what people don’t know—and I’m sure you’ll tell us about—is that you live a minimalistic life and get in your RV with your family for weeks around the country.Paul: I’d say the thing that separates us most is we talk a lot about cultivating contentment, not just with our clients but also in our own lives. My wife and I made it a priority because there’s high social pressure in my occupation. High-pressure occupations—like doctors, architects, attorneys, and financial advisors—tend to spend more money because society judges them based on what they drive and how “successful” they look. But that mindset rots the inside of their balance sheet. About five years ago, I read Stop Acting Rich by Dr. Thomas Stanley. Before that, my wife and I had already made some changes. I had a mentor who made seven figures a year, was a great husband and father, but lived in a very normal house—2,400 square feet for a family of four. It was nice but modest. He had a paid-off car and van for his wife. Sure, he had some luxuries, like an old Cessna airplane, but it was all paid for. Seeing that reset me. I realized I didn’t have to live the way everyone else did. But I still felt “less than” when I went from driving a BMW to a Camry. Reading Stop Acting Rich changed that. My wife and I decided to live as an example for others—earning top 1% income but living humbly. Bella: That’s incredible. My podcast listeners are huge fans of just podcasting. Paul, what’s your podcast?Paul: It’s called Sound Financial Bytes. You can find it on iTunes, SoundCloud, and YouTube. We just started adding video versions. The whole goal is to show that to take good care of your future, you can’t act like everyone else—because most people aren’t taking care of theirs.Bella: Amen! Stop keeping up with the Joneses and figure out what you really want out of life. How do the roles of finances play into our business? Paul: I loved your episode 51 with David on selling the business—that was pivotal. What got us picked up by Forbes and Inc. was this idea: as a business owner, you’ll never build financial independence on your business balance sheet. It happens on your personal balance sheet. People think, “I’ll build this business, sell it, and retire.” But that’s not guaranteed. Whether you work for yourself or Amazon, you have to move income to your personal balance sheet and invest it. You can’t retire on your business balance sheet until it’s converted into personal assets. Bella: So, what you’re saying is, it’s not just about how successful your business looks—it’s about how much actually passes through to you personally, right?Paul: Exactly. That’s part one. The second part is setting aside part of that money for investing. A lot of business owners get caught up in ego—“I have 10 employees.” Who cares? Profit matters more than headcount. I know people with 50 employees who are barely scraping by. Your business isn’t worth much if it can’t show profit. So, number one: cash flow. Number two: invest what’s left. Bella: That’s so good. Why is it so hard for self-employed people to pay themselves and invest?Paul: Because as business owners, we’re always the last ones paid. We cover everyone else first. And when we finally make real money, we hit a “set point”—we’ve never made that much before, so we subconsciously find ways to consume it. You’ve got to design your life before you design your business plan. Otherwise, you’ll always chase more. Build the life you want first, then make your business support that. And don’t feel guilty about making more than your employees—you took the risk. Bella: I love this. We’ve never talked about anything like this on the podcast. It’s such a needed message. People need to define their lifestyle. Now, let’s talk about consequences. What happens if a business owner doesn’t make their business financially fit?Paul: Honestly, it looks good for a long time. That’s the trap. The feedback loop is too long. If you treat your spouse badly, you’ll see consequences fast. Same with eating poorly. But with money, it feels great to overspend for decades—until it all crashes. One day you meet your “future self,” and you owe them a fortune. For every $40,000 of income you want to replace in retirement, you need $1 million in assets. So if you make $100,000 now, that’s $2.5 million you’ll need. And you’re not going to sell your business for 25 times earnings. Not planning now means meeting that future self—and realizing you can’t pay them. Bella: That’s a powerful image. But some people are probably overwhelmed right now. How can they make this practical?Paul: Stop “saving” money and start building assets. Saving focuses you on cutting expenses. Instead, open a separate checking account—what we call a “Wealth Coordination Account.” Put money there solely to buy assets. Don’t spend it. Episode 44 of our podcast explains the step-by-step process. Financial institutions want us to keep spending and borrowing. Stop playing their game—build assets instead. Bella: That’s so simple and clear. As we wrap up, I love Luke 16:10—“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much.” How does that apply to business and wealth?Paul: If you can’t manage your personal cash flow now, you won’t handle it well when you earn more. We see people making $800,000 a year who are still broke because their habits haven’t changed. You must be a good steward of what you have—money runs away from people who mistreat it. Bella: Amen. I learned that years ago at church—it’s true. If you can’t manage $10, you can’t manage $1 million. Paul, this has been incredible. I know you have a freebie for our listeners.Paul: Yes! I want to help your listeners take better care of their finances. I’m giving you, Bella, a PDF copy of my book Sound Financial Advice to share. Normally our clients make $300K–$1.5M a year, but this book helps people at any level start building wealth.Bella: That’s awesome. Thank you so much. Tell everyone how they can connect with you.Paul: You can find my wife and me blogging about living radically within our means at momentsofwealth.com. My financial firm’s blog is soundfinancialbytes.com, and our company is Sound Financial Group, based in Seattle but serving clients nationwide via web-based meetings.Bella: Fantastic. It’s been such a blessing having you on. You might even want to go back and re-listen to this episode—I know I will. This has been another episode of Bella in Your Business. Please subscribe on iTunes and Stitcher,

On this episode Bella spends time with Andrew O'Brien, Founder and CEO of The Publicity Guy. Andrew O'Brien They discuss: Andrew's compelling story. How crucial it is for you to tell your story. How to get your story out there. Andrew is the founder and CEO of the Publicity Guy. They are on a mission to change the world of publicity. They don’t just want to get media exposure…they want their clients to be known across continents as authorities in their fields. Leveraging the limelight is the backbone of their strategy. Media exposure can be so much more than “social proof,” and their team can show you how. ThePublicityGuy.com Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 54 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. Hi, everybody. Welcome to Bella in Your Business. My name is Bella Vasta from Jump Consulting, and today I have a really special guest for you. A couple of weeks ago, I found myself at a conference here in Phoenix, and I also found myself taking a class with Andrew, my guest, who I was told I had to go to his class by someone who was there the previous day. So of course, I went. And you all know me—it takes a lot for me to stop dead in my tracks. My jaw dropped to the floor, and I literally had to pick it up. I'm not even gonna try to introduce Andrew to you. I'm gonna let him do it himself because that is what made my jaw drop. So if you're driving around right now, or doing laundry, or something else, I want you to stop what you're doing, pull over for the next 60 seconds, and listen to this. Andrew: Thank you for having me on, Bella. My name is Andrew O'Brien. I'm known as “The Publicity Guy,” and by the time I was 23, I had experienced prostitution, war, suicide, and murder. Prostitution because I was raised by a prostitute mother—I experienced a lot of traumatic sexual events as a child. Then I escaped my mother to join the army, went out to Iraq for a year where I served as a lead gunner. After the army, I attempted to take my own life with 120 pills in less than three minutes, but luckily survived and woke up with a newfound appreciation for life. About a year later, my mother actually murdered her husband and asked me to help frame someone else for the murder. Those were four things I experienced when I was 23, and that all led to me wanting to share my story with the world to give hope and empowerment to people who had experienced similar traumatic events as mine. Bella: Incredible, right? By telling your story, you also wrote a book, right? Andrew: Yeah, my first book was Welcoming Your Soldier Home. I wrote it overnight—it’s about 50 pages long—and it’s about how to cope with post-traumatic stress and help soldiers reintegrate into home life. It got a lot of media exposure and was bulk ordered by military bases around the world. Bella: And you mentioned something in our class that was powerful—you said to date you had 200 people email you saying you helped save their lives. Andrew: Yes, for two and a half years I was speaking, and I could literally count 200 people who told me I’d given them at least one more day to live. I may not know if they’re still around today, but I know that I gave them hope. Bella: That’s incredible. You saved people’s lives through your story. Andrew: I didn’t give them solutions. I was simply a storyteller, and that story saved lives. Bella: A lot of our listeners are dog walkers and pet sitters. They may not be saving lives, but they enrich them. They’re an outsource of love and care. Many people think they’re telling their story, but really, they’re selling—saying, “Buy my services.” What’s the difference? Andrew: The biggest mistake people make is that they talk about how great they are at business. They talk about testimonials and features—but that’s not what humans connect with. Humans don’t connect with their wallets; they connect with their hearts. If you sell to the heart, the wallet will follow. Your story sells your services naturally—you don’t have to push it. Bella: So, is your story about why you became a pet sitter? Andrew: It is. Your story is your “why.” Many people say, “I started my business to pay the bills.” But if you dig deeper, there’s always more—an emotional reason you chose this work. That’s the story people connect to. Bella: I’ve seen that—people share how their love for pets began, and that becomes their heart story. Andrew: Exactly. Bella: How did you make the shift from all those traumatic experiences to what you do now? Andrew: If you’re listening and you haven’t shared your story, you’re being selfish. Your story can heal others. It doesn’t have to be extreme like mine—it just has to be real. There are 7.4 billion people in the world; at least 1% have experienced something similar to you. If that 1% comes to you, you’ll have a very successful business. I had to decide—do I keep my story to myself and pretend life is perfect, or do I share it to help people feel less alone? I knew that by sharing, I could literally change lives. Bella: That’s powerful. How did you turn that into a business? Andrew: I didn’t plan to. I was working a corporate job, miserable, and saw a story about veterans taking their own lives. I felt like that was my calling. I started sharing my story—it went viral, hit front pages, and led to my first speaking engagement in Hawaii at the same place where I’d once tried to end my life. It kept growing until I was invited to speak at the White House, Pentagon, and HHS. It all started from publicity. I later realized entrepreneurs have powerful stories too, and I began helping them share theirs. Bella: That’s amazing. How can pet sitters apply this? Andrew: Pets are more than animals—they’re family. They help children with autism, veterans with PTSD, protect homes and hearts. You’re not just a dog walker—you’re caring for family members. That’s how you frame your story. Bella: I love that. Let’s take a quick break. Commercial break. Bella: So, there are many mediums to tell your story, right? Andrew: Absolutely—national media, online publications like Entrepreneur and Inc., podcasts, local news, blogs. Pet sitters should start with local outlets and bloggers—that’s where your audience is. Bella: Many still use press releases. What’s your take? Andrew: Press releases are a waste of time unless you’re famous. Instead, build direct relationships with local reporters who love animals. Connect with them on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. Build relationships before pitching. Bella: Yes, like offering helpful infographics during weather events—pet safety during storms, for example. That’s how you get noticed. Andrew: Exactly. Provide value first. Bella: What question should I ask you that I haven’t yet? Andrew: How deep do you go with your story? Most people stay surface-level—“I was broke, now I’m successful.” Boring. If it makes you tear up, your stomach turn, your heart race—that’s the story you must share. That’s what creates connection. Bella: I can attest to that—I was shaking when I shared mine on stage. Andrew: That’s the power of authenticity. Bella: This has been such a pleasure, Andrew. Tell people where they can find you. Andrew: Go to thepublicityguy.com. You’ll find everything there. We’re on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. I’ve got a staff of seven—all here to help. We also run interviews with producers, editors, and journalists from major outlets like CNN and Good Morning America. These insiders share insights you can’t find elsewhere. Bella: That’s incredible. I love that they get to tell their own stories, too—it’s unique and refreshing. Thank you so much for joining us. This has been another episode of Bella in Your Business. Remember to always keep jumping and subscribe to us on iTunes or Stitcher. For more information, free articles, and coaching sessions, go to jumpconsulting.net. And remember—Bella’s got your chute.

On this episode Bella speaks with Justin Recla, Operations Officer for The Clear Business Directory Due Diligence and Vetting Solutions. Justin Recla They discuss: The importance of vetting your potential business partners, employees, and service providers How best to go about vetting How Justin and Tonya's background in Counterintelligence translated over to the business world. Does having a due diligence process tells others that you do not trust them? How business owners can use their vetting process when marketing themselves.   Justin and Tonya Dawn Recla are Army veterans and former government agents who bring over 20 years of combined counterintelligence experience to the business world. They established The Clear Business DirectoryTM and have forever changed the way business gets done. For the first time, consumers and business owners alike can make sure potential partners, investors, and service providers are who they say they are and can do what they say they can do. You can find out more at ClearBusinessDirectory.com. Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 53 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 another episode of Bella in Your Business. Today, I am definitely going to bring an incredible topic that is never talked about. I guarantee you, if you go try to find this topic in the industry, you won’t find it. So this is almost an exclusive on the show. Today, I have Justin Recla with me. He’s an Army veteran and former government agent who brought over 20 years of combined counterintelligence experience to the business world. He established the Clear Business Directory and has forever changed the way business gets done. For the first time, consumers and business owners alike can make sure potential partners, investors, and service providers are who they say they are and can do what they say they can do. How often have you hired someone for your business and just gotten burnt? If you’ve had that experience or you fear that experience, this episode’s for you. Justin, welcome to the show. Thanks for having me on, Bella. For sure. So why don’t you fill in the gaps there and break down for me what counterintelligence and a former government agent mean? That sounds so like 007. Super secret and sexy stuff was actually what Tonya did. My wife is also a former counterintelligence agent. Together we have over 20 years of combined experience in the field. Essentially, it is that cloak-and-dagger thing. Tonya was doing investigations, surveillance, and interviews of people who were actually committing espionage against the United States. She traveled all throughout the country following people, surveilling them, and investigating them. A lot of my experience was over in Afghanistan and Iraq, more on the offensive side, gathering intelligence from people. We’ve translated that over into the business arena to help protect business owners from frauds and scams and, more importantly, how to leverage transparency for their own business to establish trust quicker with potential clients. I love that. And before we dive deep, I also want to let our audience know that not only are you two badass business owners, but you also have a daughter who is a bestselling author and all this stuff. Everyone, I met this incredible family at the Fast Inc. networking conference I was at last week, which was just the most anointed place ever. It had the feeling of the Holy Spirit or the universe or whatever you associate with. It was all over that conference. I met this family, was so impressed with them, and instantly drawn to them that I said, you have to be on this podcast. But more so, I want you to tell us about Neva, what she’s doing, and what just happened to her. She’s seven years old, and she went to Fast Inc. because they were having a media pitch since she’s in the process of writing a bestselling book at the age of seven. This is her fifth business venture, and after she did her pitch, one of the media people from Inc. magazine came up and said, hey, I want to write an article about you. The following Monday, she and her mom met with him in person, did the interview, and the article just came out. So at the age of seven, because of her pitch, she landed her own Inc. article all about her. I’m just trying to stay out of her way. She’s grown up at business conferences, and I’ve seen the impact she has on people’s lives. She started off being a philanthropist and giving back to wounded warriors and vets, something she still does to this day. We’re a 24/7 family—we breathe and sleep business, we breathe and sleep each other, and that’s just what we do. That’s so amazing. We’ll definitely put her in our show notes because I want that to be an inspiration to anyone listening who says, I can’t pitch the media, I can’t get on stage, I can’t do a 30-second commercial at a networking meeting. Come on, you guys, take a page from Neva’s story. Getting into this, I know a lot of people are thinking right now, on one side, I’ve been burnt by a website designer or a logo designer or anyone for that matter. A lot of times we get burnt, and that breeds fear, and people stop moving forward in their business. This might even apply to doing our recon on a potential hire for a dog walker or office manager or something. So why don’t you start from the beginning and tell us how business owners can protect themselves from falling victim to fraud or a scam? Awesome. It’s super simple once you break it down. The problem is most business owners are so close to their business that they don’t see the hidden risk. In business, it’s, “I’ve got a need, you say you can meet that need, I like you, we do business together.” And they get excited about it—as they should. A lot of people ask us all the time, how do you trust? You guys don’t trust anybody? No, we do, but we verify. Instead of saying trust but verify, we love people—people are what make business happen. But as business owners, too many people were abdicating their power in decision-making. They’d find someone who was an expert—especially with tech stuff—and since they didn’t know enough about what they needed, they just weren’t asking the simple questions. The three-step process is super simple. First step: critical thinking. What do you know? How do you know it? And what do you need to know about the person before you bring them into your business? That applies across the board, whether it’s an employee, business partner, service provider, or B2B transaction. Apply that first step: critical thinking. Second step: ask the hard questions. This is where most people fail because they don’t know what to ask. They stop at “I need a website designer, I found one, I like the guy, I hire him.” They don’t ask questions like how many websites have you built, what types, have you built ones with shopping carts or affiliate programs? You have to take that pause and do that critical thinking. The third step: verify that information. Just because they give you an answer, don’t take it at face value. A lot of people say they verified it, but when we ask how, they say, “I checked their website—it said the same thing they told me.” That’s not verification—they built their website! An easier way is to check the Clear Business Directory. We’ve vetted a lot of businesses already that operate in transparency. We’ve got service providers, lawyers, and more in the directory. If you’re a business owner, it’s a great way to leverage trust because trust takes two years to establish brand trust with potential clients and five years to hit the revenue tipping point. The quickest way to build that trust faster is to operate in transparency, which is what the Clear Business Directory helps with. It’s not a peer review site or a Better Business Bureau. We don’t give grades—it’s literally, “Here’s who I am, what I do, and how I show up.” If you’re looking for anyone to get involved with, we do free consults all the time. You can call us—we’ll go down the rabbit holes with you and help you figure out what to ask before getting involved. Now you said something interesting—you can even help with employees. How does that work, and how is it different from a standard background check? The industry of employment screening is convoluted, especially for business owners, because laws exist to protect employees, not business owners. The business owner takes all the risk. We didn’t enter that space for a long time because we didn’t find a system that worked, but now we have one. It’s similar to what the government uses for background checks. We used to do background investigations for people getting top security clearances, and our process uses almost the same standard. It’s different from B2B vetting because employment screening requires certified providers, while for businesses there’s no social security number involved. We can do background checks on service providers and business owners without going into the employment screening arena. You definitely have to be doing some social media searching, seeing how they show up, and what their reputation is. A lot of that is what we do on the back end. But when it comes to employment screening, most small businesses fail because they’re just doing Google checks or using $49 online database checks, which aren’t complete. Local agencies don’t have to report up to the national database, so those checks miss things. We have access to systems they don’t. So if you’re actually hiring someone, you have to go through a certified provider. This is so interesting. I love this. When we come back, I want to talk about how to have a due diligence process without looking like you don’t trust anyone. Commercial break.

On this episode, Bella spends time with Charlene ("Char") Fazio, one of her coaches who has inspired and motivated her to make a huge lifestyle change. Living a healthy life and sharing that passion and knowledge with others is exactly what Charlene Fazio believes she was put on this Earth to do. She continues to learn, share, and help as many people as she possibly can. She is no longer the mom sitting on the sidelines of her life - she is out there LIVING and LOVING every moment! Char believes that our time here is short, so you should spend every moment living YOUR BEST LIFE and always being grateful for what you have been given. There are no topics untouched as they speak about: The story of Char getting healthy Pregnancy loss and still birth The benefits of her healthy lifestyle The benefits of bio nutrition. Listen in as they show you how proper nutrition can actually HELP your business and poor nutrition could hinder it. Hear how pet sitting business owners have been able to start achieving their goals because their mind was right after they joined our pet sitting fitness group. If you want to learn more about the (growing) group of pet sitters 25+ who are getting serious about their health and nutrition by working out and meal prepping and planning together, contact Bella: [email protected] to learn how you can join the group too! You can find out more about Char at http://MyBalancedChaos.com Also mentioned is Mel Robbins 5 Second Rule. Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 52 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 another episode of Bella in Your Business. My name is Bella Vasta, your host, and today I have a really special guest for you. I wanted her on the show because she's been someone who's been instrumental in creating a tidal wave of personal change in my life. If you follow me on Facebook, she is the reason why I just recently went crazy over Dan Hardy's book, The Compound Effect, because she literally put it in my hands. She also is instrumental in my effort to help bring nutrition and fitness to pet sitters because she's helped me change my life so much. She lives a healthy life, shares the passion and knowledge with others, and is exactly what my guest Charlene Fazio, Shar for short, believes she was put on earth to do. She continues to learn, share, and help as many people as she can. She's no longer a mom sitting on the sidelines of life, but she's out there loving it and doing it every moment, and she believes that our time here on earth is short, so we should spend every moment living our best life and always be grateful for what we've been given. Shar, welcome to the show. Thank you so much for having me, and thank you for that welcome. For sure. You have been seriously like this lighthouse in my life at a time that I really needed it. We met back in January, and I think your story is pretty amazing. You're a mom, you're a teacher—can you tell us your story of who you are and why you decided to get healthy three years ago? Yes, I am a sixth-grade math teacher. I am a wife to a very busy husband who's a basketball coach, and I am a mom to Isabella. Life up till three years ago had always kind of had its struggles for me, but it really hit after I think Isabella was three. I became pregnant and then I had a miscarriage. I was so focused on fertility that everything else kind of went out, and then I became pregnant again, and we lost our son Samuel when I was 20 weeks pregnant. I thought, you know, that was rock bottom, but I was still so focused on my goal. I really wanted to have another baby. And then a year later, I became pregnant again, and that ended in a miscarriage and a surgery. I had become disconnected from my body. I didn't even like it because it couldn't give me what I wanted. It was this constant battle. I was reading everything and trying to eat everything that would give me what I wanted, and I just wasn't getting it. I was constantly reminded by the universe that I wasn't gonna get it. It was really hard mentally and physically to go from 20 weeks pregnant and then you don't have a baby, but you still look pregnant. I had found myself at this place where I was done with that chapter of my life, but I didn't know how to move on from it. I knew I hadn’t been fit in the past. I had always struggled with it, but I had run marathons, hiked mountains, enjoyed fitness, but I had lost my way with nutrition and needed to find my way back. I was literally the sideline mom. I was the mom who feared a swimsuit. I live in Arizona and I wouldn't wear shorts. I would literally tell people, "I just don't really like them, I'm so acclimated to the 120 degrees, I like to wear jeans." I had told myself these lies. My husband had scheduled a beach trip in July and it was May. I was like, I am not going to that beach and covering myself all up again because Isabella at this point was five or six. I knew I had to dig deep. I believed at that time of my rock bottom that my happiness was on the other side of 10 pounds. That was it. Ten to fifteen pounds would be my happiness. That would be my ticket. It was all about the scale and it was all about weight. So if I could just get myself from here to 10 to 15 pounds, that was happiness. That’s where I was—I was stuck. I was tired and exhausted every day. I wasn’t living my life. That’s incredible. I know a lot of our listeners have the same kind of struggles. A lot of people are struggling with infertility right now, and many don’t talk about it. As women, that’s something really important because we expect our bodies to produce this thing, and when it doesn’t, we feel betrayed. It just adds to us loathing our body for another reason. That’s powerful, Shar. Thank you for sharing that with us. So what was that turning point where you said enough’s enough, and what changed your whole mindset? That’s a great question. I did believe that happiness was on the other side of 10 pounds, and I think when I talk to people about health and fitness, a lot of people believe that. What I’ve learned is it’s not the weight—it’s the journey. It’s the process and it’s changing from the inside. I had lost my way in nutrition. I started eating clean, whole foods every day, and within a week my energy came back. I was no longer wanting to nap. I used to nap all the time. I’d come home, sit on the couch while my daughter played. Then I started to not do that. I realized, "My gosh, I’m not tired." It was strange because I thought that was normal—this is 40, 40 is tired. I had started to accept that, but I didn’t want to. The first thing I noticed was energy. Then I couldn’t wrap my head around a whole lot of fitness, so I chose to do a 25-minute program. I told myself, I’m going to go in for 25 minutes every day. That’s all I could wrap my head around. I modified a ton, but I did it. I did it every day. There’s something in that process that feels like a win. Whether each week I saw a pound, a half-pound, or even a gain but lost inches, I learned to trust the process. Each week I felt better. I had a glimpse of hope. I felt like my life was coming back. The awesome part was I was doing it. I was showing up for me for the first time in such a long time and pouring into me rather than everyone else. It felt so good that I just kept showing up. I lost 17 pounds and felt amazing. But I learned more about myself—about what I could do and what my potential was—than about the weight. You just said something that a lot of pet sitters, dog walkers, business owners, and moms can relate to—you’re doing things for everyone else. Who was that everyone else in your life and what kind of things were your days filled with? Everyone uses the word “busy.” I was working full time, getting Isabelle to school, handling after-school activities, running to my husband’s basketball games. It was a family decision that I was going all in for 10 weeks. I told them I needed everyone around me to support me and to give me this time. You’ve got to ask for it. You have to have your people behind you. I didn’t ask them to eat what I was eating. I didn’t ask them to stop doing what they were doing. I just said, give me the time to work on me. You really do have to develop that habit because it does feel selfish if you’re a busy mom—but it’s not. The flight attendant says, “Put your mask on first.” I used to think that was selfish, but it’s not. Now I can say I’m a better wife, mom, friend, and teacher because I’m passionate and have brought what I love into my classroom. That’s incredible. I love how you got everyone on board and how you said you have to ask for it. I hope listeners realize that you are worth it. You do deserve it. You have authority over yourself and the people around you to ask for it. When we come back, I want to hear about your peaks and valleys, because I know it’s more of a marathon than a sprint. You mentioned community—it’s so important. When I asked my family to support me, that was great, but I was part of a bigger community doing the same thing. Something happens when you start to believe in yourself and people around you believe in you—it empowers you. At first, I wasn’t interested in helping others; it was about me. But once I got my results, people started asking, “What did you do?” I started sharing everything, and people came to me. I wanted to help them and build a community of people who were sick and tired of being sick and tired. Life is peaks and valleys. I’ve learned to accept the journey and know that mountains are put in front of me for me to move. When valleys come, you have to dig deep and have self-belief. There were many times I had to listen to motivational videos to get back up.

On this episode Bella speaks with David Barnett, an Author, Speaker, Educator, Seminar Host, Consultant,  and Business Buy/Sell Process Coach. David Barnett They discuss things you need to keep in mind when considering selling your business.  These include: Biggest mistake pet business owners make when running their business Understanding that there are several reasons people sell businesses. Most of the time it is not for retirement. Learning that keeping your business in the best shape to sell (i.e. have strong processes in place) will actually benefit you even if you aren't yet selling it. When you will and when you won't benefit by using a broker. A high level overview of the selling process. David Barnett has been working to help the owners of Small and Medium Sized businesses for almost 20 years. As a former business broker and financing broker, Barnett has helped people buy, sell, plan, manage and finance businesses. Since 2014, Barnett has authored 6 small business books, 3 of which have become Amazon best-sellers. You can reach David in the following ways: FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/DBarnettMoncton Clarity: https://clarity.fm/davidbarnett Twitter: https://twitter.com/dbarnettmoncton Linkedin:  http://ca.linkedin.com/in/davidbarnettmoncton Blog:  http://www.investlocalbook.com YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/c/DavidBarnettMoncton Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/dbarnettmoncton Websites: www.DavidCBarnett.com BusinessBuyerAdvantage.com HowtoSellMyOwnBusiness.com Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 51 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. My name is Bella Vasta with Jump Consulting, and today I have David Barnett with us. David has worked to help small and medium-sized business owners for almost 20 years. As a former business broker and financing broker—so he’s a double threat—Barnett has helped people buy, sell, plan, manage, and finance businesses. Since 2014, he’s also authored six books, three of which are Amazon bestsellers. Bella: Without further ado, welcome to the show. David: Hey, Bella. Thanks for having me on. Bella: I’m excited to have you because the topic of buying or selling a pet sitting business is hot. The pet industry’s been around since the late eighties, really picking up in the nineties, and by the 2000s people saw it as a true alternative for pet care. Now, there are business owners who’ve been at it 10, 20, 25 years and are ready to get out, while newcomers are asking how to value these businesses. So, starting from the beginning, what’s the biggest mistake pet business owners make that makes their business hard to sell? David: Pet businesses are service businesses, like auto repair shops or salons, and the main mistake owners make is getting caught up working in the business instead of on it. They forget to build systems, policies, and procedures—the backbone that makes a business function without them. When a buyer looks at a business for sale, if they can’t easily see how everything fits together, they’ll feel unsure about managing it. Without clear systems, the only people who’ll buy are those who already know how to run that exact type of business, which limits your buyer pool. Bella: That makes sense. It’s like you have to corporatize your small business a bit so someone else can step in. I see many pet businesses—including my own when I started—where the brand revolves around the owner’s name. That’s hard to sell, right? David: Absolutely. If your business is named after you, it’s difficult for someone else to step in and be “you.” It limits scalability too. Bella can’t be everywhere. Changing that early helps if you ever plan to grow or sell. Bella: Great advice. So what can business owners do now to ensure they’re set up for success if they want to sell later? David: The key is to always keep your business in a “sellable” condition, just like you’d maintain your house. You don’t control when you’ll need to sell—burnout, divorce, relocation, poor health—only one reason out of five is retirement. Keeping your business sellable makes it easier to run and increases its value. For example, in one of my past businesses, I had a simple one-page job sheet to track work with clients. It had checklists, pricing, and customer sign-off. It kept employees accountable and ensured consistency. Without something like that, over time employees change how things are done, and your service quality drops. Systems like that protect your standards and make training easier. Bella: That’s a great example. It reminds me of consultations in pet sitting. Each one’s basically a sales call, and if you don’t have a system, the client experience varies. One of my clients even refused to book unless her favorite sitter was available just because she once brought her cat dollar-store catnip. That emotional connection was sweet but chaos for the business. We need consistency, like McDonald’s—same experience every time. David: Exactly. Buyers aren’t buying your job—they’re buying an investment. There are two kinds of buyers: financial buyers and strategic buyers. Financial buyers want a job that also gives them a return—they’ll work in the business. Strategic buyers are expanding—they buy to grow and may not work there. For example, one pet sitting business might buy another nearby one. Big corporations grow the same way—through acquisitions, not starting from scratch. Bella: I love that. Okay, so what mistakes do business owners make when they’re selling? David: The biggest one is overpricing. Owners think they can ask whatever they want, but business sales don’t work like art or houses. Buyers pay with the cash flow of the business itself. They’ll only pay a price that lets them recoup their investment in two to three years. If you overprice, serious buyers won’t even talk to you—they’ll think you’re unreasonable. Then you waste a year with tire-kickers who can’t close a deal, while real buyers move on. Bella: That’s such a good point. I went through that myself years ago. I learned what systems and processes I needed to make my business worth what I wanted. So for listeners—go meet a broker now, even if you’re not selling yet. Get their valuation and learn what to improve. Keep your business like your home—tidy and sellable. Tell me about the difference between using a broker and selling on your own. David: Funny enough, that’s what my book How to Sell My Own Business is about. The first half explains why you might use a broker and how to choose one. Commissions are high because businesses can take years to sell and brokers work without pay until the deal closes. But that also attracts some unqualified brokers who are just chasing commissions. The second half of the book covers how to sell on your own and where to get help. If you sell on your own, you’ll need help valuing the business, preparing an info package for buyers, advertising confidentially (very important!), and negotiating. Telling people publicly that your business is for sale can destroy it—clients may jump ship. I help sellers prepare, package, and privately market their businesses, like I did for a woman in California who sold her yoga studio. Bella: That’s awesome. So you charge for specific services, not commissions? David: Exactly. I charge per service—valuation, packaging, coaching. It’s like working with an accountant or attorney. It’s more stable for me and cheaper for clients. Brokers only get paid when you buy or sell, so they’re motivated to push deals through. I can tell buyers, “Don’t buy this—it’s a bad deal,” which brokers won’t do. Bella: That independence is huge. And emotionally, sellers sometimes need someone between them and the buyer. When I sold mine, I probably would’ve talked the buyer out of it because I couldn’t stop oversharing. A broker can control that emotional flow. David: Exactly. They keep emotions in check and the process on track. Bella: Before we go, tell us about your other books. David: Sure. All my books are on Amazon. Invest Local is about investing in small businesses. Franchise Warnings explains the risks of franchise models. Credit Card Advantage shows how to use credit cards strategically for cash flow and marketing. 21 Stupid Things People Do When Trying to Buy a Business and 12 Things to Do Before You Consider Selling Your Business are also available online. Bella: Awesome. Thank you so much, David. This was incredibly valuable. Thanks for joining another episode of Bella in Your Business. Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher, and always remember—keep jumping. For more information, free articles, and coaching sessions, go to jumpconsulting.net. And remember, Bella’s got your chute.

Join Bella 1:1 for the 50th episode as she opens up and talks about what it means to be consistent in your life. Hear how you are a product of all your choices in life and how it applies to your business, relationships, and life: When I first started this podcast, I was just trying to do it because I knew I should be doing it. But the problem with doing things because you should be doing it and not because you have intent makes for a sloppy or inconsistent work. As an example, here is the publication date of the first few podcasts: 6/11/2014 7/3/14 9/15/2014 11/7/14 3/28/15 It wasn’t until Oct 2016 when I got consistent with doing episodes with my team….Posting every single Thursday for the past 9 months! Now it has grown to 50 episodes and 600 downloads a week! I was pondering if I should break the routine and just talk to you on this 50th episode? Then I turned on the TV and a local church I love was on TV and guess what he was preaching about? Consistency. I have also started reading this awesome book called The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy and guess what he talks about? Consistency. So I took it as a pretty clear signal that yes - in fact, I should break the routine, and let’s talk consistency. I got to really thinking about small businesses in general. There are so many things that we are all told we HAVE to do. It is so overwhelming, right? You don’t know which to focus on. You feel like a dog chasing it’s tail… you just don’t know which direction to run. Are your communication systems something you should focus on? What about marketing? What about hiring? What about pricing? What about office manager? What about keeping existing clients happy? What about…. what about…. what about…. So what happens is we try to do it all and then end up spread so thin we feel like we are about to crack or you want to speed down the freeway and throw your phone out the window. Am I right? My friends…. we are not a microwave business. Darren Hardy talks about how we live in a microwave society and want everything NOW. We don’t want to wait. We don’t want to put in the long and hard work. It is a tough thing to stay consistent because we don’t see the fruits of our labor for a really long time. It reminds me of relationships and dating days.Think back to your own dating days or maybe you have a child who is dating? Those relationships that are quick to start, often end quick, don’t they? The ones that are slow and steady tend to be much more fruitful. Heck, it is like our marriages. What are we consistently doing in our relationships? Are we avoiding? being negative? are we not spending enough time? Are we always absent physically or emotionally? Or are we pouring into the other? Working on it daily? doing the things we know the other person wants and needs and vice versa? Something that also struck me are YOU make your choices and then your choices make YOU. Isn’t that right? Let’s think about hiring. You make the decision to hire someone, and if you made the wrong choice, then that choice will shape part of your company. So today - if there is one thing that I want to resonate with you is I want you to take an inventory of your day. Then I want you to compare it to your life. You are exactly where your choices led to you be TODAY. It isn’t someone else’s fault that your business is exploding or not growing… it is your own. It isn’t someone else’s fault that you are loosing weight or packing it on. I know you can be consistent because we are all consistent right now… and it is a direct result of where we are today. Thank you so much for being here for my 50th episode. Let me know what you thought of this one as it was from my heart to yours. Did you like it? Or what didn't you like about it? Your feedback is everything to me :) Thanks for allowing me into your airwaves and trusting me with your mind. Always Keep Jumping, Bella Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: 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 episode 50. I can hardly believe that this is episode 50, and because it’s such a big number—a number I never really thought I’d reach—I decided to go solo this time. Thanks for joining me today. I’m about to share some thoughts with you that hopefully will fulfill my life’s purpose of motivating, inspiring, and encouraging you. When I first started this podcast, I was just doing it because I knew I should be doing it. Have you ever had moments like that? Someone told me about two years ago, “Bella, if you really want to make an impact, podcasting is the way to go. It’s a great way to get into people’s ears and get your message out without an algorithm hiding your stuff.” People who listen to podcasts tend to consume a lot of them, and I’ve definitely seen that happen. So many of you have written to me saying how much you love the episodes, and there’s no greater joy for me than that. It was the same way with blogging for me. When I started blogging at my previous pet sitting company, which I had for 14 years, I wrote over 500 blogs. At Jump Consulting, we’re now at 300. Honestly, I had no idea what I was doing when I started blogging or podcasting. But the problem with doing things just because you should, without intent, is that it leads to sloppier, inconsistent work. At the same time, it builds habits. Too many of us get caught up thinking we can’t start something unless it’s perfect—but there’s authenticity in imperfection. When I started this podcast, my very first episode was June 11, 2014. For those who don’t know, I had a baby on July 21, 2014—one of the smallest surviving female babies on the planet. She was born at only 12 ounces, the weight of a soda can. We were in the hospital with her for six months. So, admittedly, the podcast schedule was rough. I never intended on being consistent. In 2014, my episodes came out June 11, July 3, September 15, and November 7, then I took a hiatus until March 2015. It wasn’t until October 2016 that I started releasing them consistently with my team. That brings me to today’s point: consistency. I was pondering whether I should break the routine and just talk to you directly, and the more I thought about it, the clearer it became that this was the message for today. Consistency. It came up everywhere—in my life, in church, in the book The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy, which I highly recommend. I took it as a sign to talk about it. As small business owners, we’re told to do so many things that it’s overwhelming. We don’t know what to focus on, so we end up like a dog chasing its tail—exhausted and dizzy. Should we work on communication systems? Marketing? Blogging? Hiring? Keeping clients happy? There’s always something. We try to do it all, and then we’re spread so thin that we feel like we’re about to crack. The result? Burnout and self-doubt. We live in a microwave society, as Darren Hardy puts it, but our lives aren’t microwaves. Success takes time and consistency. You see the fruits of people’s labor, but not the years of steady effort behind them. For example, in nine months of consistently releasing episodes every Thursday, this podcast grew to 600 downloads per week. It took time, persistence, and faith. The same goes for relationships. Quick, intense starts often fade fast, but slow and steady ones thrive. You make your choices, and then your choices make you. That applies to business, health, and relationships alike. Take inventory of your day and compare it to your life—you are exactly where your choices have brought you. It’s not someone else’s fault that your business is growing or not, that you’re fit or not, that your relationship is thriving or failing. It’s the sum of your choices. For me, that means maintaining my faith, continuing podcasting, hiring even when the team feels full, spending time with my family, being present, and keeping perspective. I see people constantly on their phones, disconnected from one another. Be conscious of that choice. Prioritize presence. As pet sitters and dog walkers, it’s easy to always be gone. Fight for time with your loved ones—date nights, dinners, coffee, whatever keeps you connected. Keep blogging, too. Even if you think you’re doing it wrong, just do it. Every client question is a blog topic waiting to happen. Keep taking care of yourself. In January 2017, I hit a breaking point. I was 125 pounds, tired, anxious, and overwhelmed. My PTSD from my daughter’s hospital days was still with me. I wasn’t sleeping or taking care of myself. I survived on sugar and caffeine. I was in the swamp. Then I decided enough was enough. I started working out, eating better, and being consistent—five small meals a day, Shakeology, and daily exercise. The first two weeks were brutal. But I kept going, and five months later, I was down 26 pounds and 18 inches. I had more energy than ever, and it completely transformed me and my business. Consistency built that transformation. It’s the same for you. You can’t lead a thriving business if you aren’t well—physically, mentally, or spiritually. You don’t need to overhaul your life overnight. Start small: cut 100 calories, make one networking call a month, write one blog, go live on Facebook every Monday for two minutes. Do it consistently for six to twelve months, and the compound effect will show up in your life. I hope this episode inspires, motivates, and challenges you. Let me know what you think—good or bad, I love hearing from you. I’ll keep producing this podcast, bringing incredible guests, and being consistent with my team. Subscribe, share, and always remember: keep jumping. Thanks for jumping with Bella in Your Business. For more information, free articles, and coaching sessions, go to jumpconsulting.net. And remember—Bella’s got your chute.

On this episode Bella speaks with Heather Heuman, CEO/Founder of Sweet Tea Social Marketing, Elizabethtown Family and the Founder of Sweet Tea Social Marketing Academy. Heather Heuman Bella and Heather discuss: What social media can do for your business What steps you should take to make social media work for you What effects bringing her faith into her business had on it. Heather is the CEO/Founder of Sweet Tea Social Marketing, Elizabethtown Family and the founder of Sweet Tea Social Marketing Academy. She is a social media speaker, strategist and trainer that specializes in helping Christian business owners and entrepreneurs, discover how to grow in today’s noisy social marketplace. Heather has corporate and locally-based client experience and enjoyed speaking at Social Media Marketing World earlier this year. She's a proud wife and mother of three kiddos under 12 and is excited about her new podcast Business, Jesus and Sweet Tea is launching June 2017. Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 48 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. My name is Bella Vasta, and today my next guest and I were both at Social Media Marketing World with 2,999 of our closest friends. We actually never met there, but we did meet when a bunch of people from Social Media Marketing World got together on Facebook split screen. I was on screen, Heather was watching, she reached out afterward and said, “Hey, I have some clients in Arizona, and also some in the grooming sector.” So we connected, became Facebook friends, and I saw how wacky and awesome Heather is. She was outside with a towel on her head, wet hair, riding around with her kids. I thought, “This is a woman I can connect with.” Heather is the CEO and founder of Sweet Tea Social Marketing and the Sweet Tea Social Marketing Academy. She’s a social media speaker, strategist, and trainer who specializes in helping Christian business owners and entrepreneurs grow in today’s noisy marketplace. She has corporate and local-based client experience and has spoken at Social Media Marketing World. She’s a proud mother of three kids under 12 and is launching her podcast Business, Jesus, and Sweet Tea. Bella: Welcome to the show. Heather: Thank you so much for having me, Bella. I’m excited to be here. Bella: I didn’t want to butcher your last name—can you pronounce it for us? Heather: Sure—it’s Heather Hyman. Bella: It’s funny because on Facebook, we never have to pronounce things. Heather: I know! When someone says it right on a live video, I know they actually know me. Bella: What I really liked about you, besides the towel moment, is your love for Jesus. I weave that into everything I do, and I loved that you do the same. Tell me how you started your company and decided to incorporate your faith into it. Heather: In 2000, I started in the digital marketing space, working at a digital company focused on graphic and web design. That was my introduction to this world. When I left that job, I was always building communities online—Yahoo groups for moms in Germany, maps for playgrounds, that sort of thing. Fast forward, my undergrad was in special education. In 2010, I got a master’s in management and leadership while raising a six-week-old, a one-year-old, and a five-year-old. I’m kind of a workaholic—I love what I do. But I wanted to be a mom 100%. The 9-to-5 daycare life wasn’t for me. While in grad school, I decided I’d create my own company and be the decision maker. I launched Elizabethtown Family in 2011—an online resource for busy families to find fun things to do. My audience was parents aged 20–50, which made the site attractive to local advertisers. I grew it entirely through social media—no paid ads—and still run it today with over 10,000 followers in a town of 30,000 people. That success led to consulting offers from the Chamber of Commerce and small businesses. In 2014, my husband got transferred to Columbia, South Carolina. I was sad at first—I’d built everything within a 30-mile radius. But I surrendered it to God, saying, “If You want me to have a business, I’ll trust You to make it happen beyond this zip code.” Everything fell into place. Within 30 days, we moved, bought a house, and I launched Sweet Tea Social Marketing. Now I work with clients from Alaska to D.C. to Texas—many I’ve never met in person. I work with Christian business owners and secular ones alike. For me, my faith isn’t something I separate from my business. Life is short, and if anything I do helps someone know Jesus, I want to do that. Whether clients sell Bibles, chicken sandwiches, or do interior design—faith can shine through their work. Bella: That story gave me goosebumps. It’s amazing how God used each season to prepare you for the next. Many of our listeners are in small towns and will relate to your story—how you built opportunity out of something small. So, tell me, why shouldn’t business owners be afraid of social media? Heather: A lot of people think being human online is unprofessional. They hide behind perfection. But the opposite is true—people want to see real humans. Ask yourself: how can I show up as a person? How can I deliver answers my audience needs? That’s the path to success. Bella: I love that—it’s transparency in action. You’re proof that being human works. Heather: Exactly. Whether your town is big or small, your audience is more than just pet owners—they’re locals. Post about community events. Create a quick Canva graphic with your logo, share info about the new restaurant or festival, and people will engage. I once posted about an IHOP opening in Elizabethtown—it got 297 shares in six hours. Be part of the conversation. Bella: Totally agree. When I had my pet sitting business, I’d get creative with community events—like setting up a pet cheering station for a breast cancer walk. People forget that customers have many interests. What other social media tips can you give? Heather: First, post consistently. What’s “consistent” depends on your brand. Some pages thrive on 6–8 posts a day, others do fine with 3 a week. Just keep showing up. Also, balance your personal and business pages. Don’t flood your personal page with business posts—but don’t hide your business either. Sprinkle in behind-the-scenes updates. If you’re excited about a milestone, share it naturally. Bella: There’s so much debate right now about personal versus business pages. Heather: Right. I see more influencers using Facebook Live on their personal pages—not to sell, but to talk about topics like fear or purpose. It’s about connection. There’s a fine line between personal and professional branding, and everyone’s experimenting to find it. Bella: For our listeners, that might mean allowing potential clients to follow your public posts without friending you. It’s all about strategy. Okay, let’s switch gears. How has working with churches helped your business? Heather: When I started publicly identifying as someone who serves Christian business owners and churches, it actually expanded my opportunities. At Social Media Marketing World in 2015, I decided to own that niche. It helped people remember me. Churches began reaching out for help. Many had volunteers handling social but needed strategy, so I’d consult for a couple of hours, give them 15 actionable improvements, and teach their team how to implement them. It wasn’t my biggest income source, but it brought purpose. Bella: I love that you’re doing it from the heart—and that it plants seeds for future growth. Heather: Exactly. One small chamber project led to a major client later because someone remembered me. When you show up and serve with integrity, God blesses that. Bella: That’s powerful. And I love that you’re not hiding behind your computer—you’re out there building relationships. Pet sitters can do the same: talk to vets, pet stores, collaborate on videos. That authenticity builds credibility and connections. Heather: Yes! And for those listening—being authentic doesn’t mean being loud. I’m actually an introvert. My happy place is at home in pajamas, but I still show up. So whether you’re outgoing or quiet, just be yourself. Smile, be genuine, and always improve. If you’re not doing videos, do one in the next 15 days. If you’re doing two a month, try four. If your last post was 11 days ago, you’re not showing up as relevant. There’s no magic pill—just consistent effort. Bella: That’s so good. If my audience fell in love with you like I did, how can they find you? Heather: Go to sweetteasocialmarketing.com. You’ll find all my social links and free resources. Depending on when you’re listening, check out my podcast Business, Jesus, and Sweet Tea. If you want one-on-one strategy help or to join my Sweet Tea Social Marketing Academy, you can find everything there. Bella: Fantastic. Thank you so much, Heather. You’ve inspired our listeners today. Heather: Thank you so much again, Bella. Bella: This has been another episode of Bella in Your Business. Don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher, and check out Heather’s podcast Business, Jesus, and Sweet Tea. And remember—always keep jumping. Thanks for jumping with Bella in Your Business. For more information, free articles, and coaching sessions, go to jumpconsulting.net. And remember, Bella’s got your chute.

On this episode Bella catches up with Joey Coleman, Chief Experience Composer, Design Symphony.  They talk about things you can do as a business owner to create a meaningful customer experience. Ideas include: Sending personalized gifts to your customers seemingly at random Sending handwritten notes thanking them for trusting you with their fur baby Keeping track of simple things like the pet's birthday and sending acknowledgements Doing a monthly quick check of the pet (for any issues) Joey Coleman Giving the pet a bath unexpectedly Sending quick personalized videos of the you and the pet to the client. For over a decade, Joey has helped organizations retain their best customers and turn them into raving fans via his entertaining and actionable keynotes, workshops, and consulting projects. His First 100 Days methodology helps fuel successful customer experience endeavors at companies and organizations around the world. As a recognized expert in customer experience design and an award-winning speaker at national and international conferences, Joey specializes in creating unique, attention- grabbing customer experiences. He works with companies ranging from small VC-funded start-ups, to large Fortune 500s, with hundreds of mid-size businesses in between. Joey developed his narrative skills as a criminal defense trial attorney, advised and counseled Fortune 500 companies as a business consultant, honed his communications and messaging skills at the White House, and did things for the U.S. Secret Service and the CIA that he can't talk about publicly. His design and artwork has been displayed in museums, featured in juried shows, and graced publications in the U.S. and abroad. When not traveling the world (48 countries and counting) for keynote presentations, client workshops, and quality beach time, Joey enjoys watching magnificent sunsets from his mountain-top home in Colorado with his wife and two young sons. Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 47 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 don't even know where to begin. Joey Coleman is my guest, and you guys, listen up to this biography because this is going to explain to you exactly why you need to stop whatever you're doing, put down the laundry, pull over, stop walking—well, don't stop walking the dog—and listen to what we're about to say. When organizations like the Hyatt Hotels, NASA, the World Bank, and Zappos need to build their customer experience, they call this guy you’re about to hear: Joey Coleman. For over a decade, Joey's helped organizations retain their best customers and turn them into raving fans through his entertaining and actionable keynotes, workshops, and consulting projects. His First 100 Days methodology helps fuel successful customer experience endeavors at companies and organizations around the world. As a recognized expert in customer experience design and an award-winning speaker at national and international conferences, Joey specializes in creating unique, attention-grabbing customer experiences. I can definitely vouch for that because he threw it down at Social Media Marketing World—that's where we first met. He works with companies ranging from small VC-funded startups to large Fortune 500s, covering the full spectrum with hundreds of midsize businesses in between. Joey developed his narrative skills as a criminal defense trial attorney—talk about a Renaissance man—and advised and counseled Fortune 500 companies as a business consultant. He honed his communication and messaging skills at the White House and even did things for the Secret Service that he can’t talk about. He's designed artwork and displays at museums, featured in juried shows, and greeted the public in the U.S. and abroad. When not traveling the world—over 48 countries and counting—for keynote presentations, client workshops, and quality beach time, he enjoys watching magnificent sunsets from his mountaintop home in Colorado with his wife and two kids. Bella: Joey, anything you're about to say right now, I'm going to listen to because your world experiences just blow my mind. Joey: Aw, thanks, Bella. I appreciate it. Thank you for having me. It’s my pleasure. As you mentioned, we had the chance to meet at Social Media Marketing World, and as anybody who's a regular listener or watcher of you knows, your spirit is infectious and I love it. When you asked me, I was honored to be on the show, so I’m excited to chat today. Bella: What strikes me about you is how personable you are. I've been around speakers before who are either having people hustle them off to the back room or refusing photos. But you and I sat next to each other in Mark Schaefer's workshop, just chatting like old buddies. I asked you then if you'd be on the podcast, and you immediately said yes. Would you call your life a reinvention, or just living it to the fullest? Because you sound like a Renaissance man. Joey: Well, thank you. I’m flattered. It’s been a goal of mine for a long time. I think we need to make the most of the life we have. I’ve never been fully fulfilled focusing on just one thing. Like most people, I’ve got a lot of different interests, curiosities, and motivations. Throughout my career, if there’s a thread worth pulling, I pull it and see where it goes. Looking back, the common thread across everything I’ve done is a love for understanding why people do what they do—their decisions, their actions—and how studying that helps us influence behavior. That mindset was valuable as a criminal defense lawyer. When most jurors assume “if that person’s here, they must be guilty,” my job was to challenge that. I’d say, “Here are your predisposed beliefs, but here are the facts.” That focus on facts, building a case, and understanding human motivation has carried through every career. Bella: It’s like you’ve become a professional storyteller who can recreate a story no matter where you’re dropped in the world. Joey: That’s the goal. If you think about it, storytelling goes back to the earliest humans sitting around the fire in a cave. That hasn’t changed—whether it’s Snapchat, Instagram, sales meetings, webinars, or hanging with friends. We love people who tell stories. Stories teach us, guide us, and move us emotionally. Bella: I love that. I’m actually working on improving storytelling myself. Every business can apply that—ask yourself, am I telling a story or just talking at people? There’s a big difference. Joey: Exactly. That ties to my First 100 Days philosophy. When someone decides to do business with you, from day one you have 100 days to create a remarkable experience. If you don’t, they’ll leave. If you do, you can have a customer for life. The way you do that is by connecting deeply and meaningfully early on—reinforcing their decision, helping them get the most from your product or service, and letting them know they matter. Most businesses today are so focused on numbers—growth, payroll, metrics—that they forget the emotional side. The best stories hit emotions. For example, if you describe Star Wars as “plans are stolen, the base is destroyed,” it’s boring. But add Darth Vader, Luke, and Leia, their relationships and symbols, and it becomes powerful. It’s the same with your business. You’re not “walking dogs.” You’re giving pet owners peace of mind, solving guilt, and creating emotional relief. Bella: Preach! Joey: Exactly. A robot or teenager could walk a dog—it’s not about the task. It’s about emotion. You’re giving owners permission to feel okay about not doing it themselves. Bella: That’s brilliant. Joey: And there’s a direct link between that emotional storytelling and perceived value. The only reason someone can beat you on price is because you haven’t given your customer anything else to measure you by. Bella: Amen. Joey: If a competitor undercuts you, that’s on you—you didn’t make yourself valuable enough. So how do you compete? You make your service personal. Message owners regularly, send them photos or videos of their pets. Most dog owners see their pets as family. A surprise photo or note brings joy. Make it random but regular. Also, budget for small gifts—a new toy, leash, or photo shoot after one year. Hire a photographer to take pictures of the dogs you walk, then gift framed photos with a handwritten note: “Thanks for trusting me with Sparky.” They’ll never forget it. Bella: That’s fantastic. Joey: And stop giving gifts only at Christmas—it’s expected and gets lost in the noise. Instead, celebrate anniversaries or birthdays. Make pet birthdays part of your intake form. But don’t ask for info you won’t use. And coupons are not gifts. Bella: Yes! So let’s bring this back to the first 100 days. What can we do early on? Joey: First, thank them for the business. A handwritten note goes a long way. Reference the pet’s name and express gratitude. Then, give them reasons to appreciate you—send updates, be observant, notice changes in their pet’s health, and communicate that care. Even a monthly “10-point checkup” message—simple but powerful. Bella: That’s brilliant. And so many sitters already do this but forget to highlight it. It’s about making the invisible visible. Joey: Exactly. Most businesses fail to tell customers how much they actually do. Your touches should feel random to the client but be systematic in your business. Build a plan for day 10, day 25, and so on. If you’re overwhelmed, batch it—video day, thank-you note day, photo day. Bella: I love that. And I can see how this builds emotional connection and loyalty. Joey: Totally.

On this episode of "Bella in your Business" Bella speaks with Jen Phillips April, an SEO copywriter and social media trainer. They discuss different ways of impacting the traffic you get from search engines. Jen Phillips April Specifically they discuss: Website copy (the words on your website) and how you need to rewrite so people can find your page more easily when searching The wide range of searches user are doing these days How consistent blogging can affect your SEO The importance of Facebook Live to attract customers. Jen Phillips April's online marketing journey started way back in 2005 with a dog treat recipe site. Using content and the best practices of SEO, she grew that site to 87, 500 visitors/month. These days, she works with clients like pet sitters and dog trainers. She writes their website copy so it gets found by Google (and their target market) and she also offers training on social media and SEO. When she is not working with her clients, she is usually reading a novel, practicing her Down Dog or cooking up a delicious meal. Check out Jen's free 5 day email course on "How To Gain MASSIVE Visibility with Facebook Live in Only 5 Minutes a Day -- Even if You've Never "Done" Video Before." You can find out more at www.jenphillipsapril.com. Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 46 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. My name is Bella Vasta from Jump Consulting, and today I have a special guest for you. Jen Phillips-April and I met way back, probably in 2012, when she presented at a pet sitting conference. Since then, she’s always been someone I’ve been connected to and admired for what she does. She’s someone I want you all to listen to because she can help every single one of you out there—whether it’s to inspire you during our short time together or even help you work on your website. Jen is an online marketing guru, very involved in the pet industry. Back in 2005, she started a dog treat recipe site and, using content and SEO best practices, grew that site to 87,000 visitors a month. These days, she works with clients like pet sitters and dog trainers, writing their website copy. Copy refers to the words on your website—the text that gets found by Google. She also offers training on social media and SEO and is all-around a business magician. Thank you so much, Bella. That’s a lot of fun. I might have to take that on—business magician. It’s always amazing when you get to be introduced because you hear everything you do and think, “I kind of do all that, huh?” You are very familiar with our industry. This isn’t like, “What does a pet sitter do?” You get us, which is why this is going to be so valuable. Let’s break it down and figure out how and why your website copy can help you get found on Google. Sometimes pet sitters start their businesses and don’t necessarily know the ins and outs of web marketing. Nor is that required—you start a pet business because you love pets, not because you want to become a web expert. But websites are built on code, and how that code is structured helps your site get found by Google and visitors. Part of that is the copy or content you include. For example, if you’re a pet sitter in Seattle, you want to include terms like “pet sitter in Seattle,” “dog walking in Seattle,” or neighborhood and zip code references. But you need to weave these in naturally—it’s not keyword stuffing. It has to sound natural. That’s how your visitors search for you, often by location or questions like “How much does a pet sitter cost in Scottsdale, Arizona?” What’s the most visited page on our websites, and how can we use it to attract clients? The about page. People want to know about you. Unless they’ve been referred directly, they’re comparing multiple sites. They want to see who you are. It makes sense—if you’re handing your house keys to someone, you want to know who they are. I always recommend including pictures of yourself and your team, with short bios. It’s a very intimate business—you’re caring for people’s homes and fur babies. So, what should we include in our bios? People want to know how you can help them and solve their problems. It’s fine to include relevant training or certifications, but focus on how your experience benefits the client. A great way to do that is to create a client avatar—a profile of your ideal client. Who are they? How old are they? What keeps them up at night? What car do they drive? What are their fears and priorities? Understanding this helps you shape your language and tone. Not everyone with a pet is your ideal client—narrowing that down helps your messaging. And the language matters. Some websites say “animal care provider,” which sounds cold. Use terms like “pet parent,” “fur baby,” and “pet sitter.” It’s warmer and more relatable. Now, what is SEO, and why do we need it? SEO stands for search engine optimization—it’s how your site gets found by search engines. It includes how your site is built, how fast it loads, whether it’s mobile-friendly, and what your content says. The copy is key. Use your keywords naturally throughout your site. Many people focus only on optimizing their homepages, but visitors often land on deeper pages like blogs. That’s why blogging is powerful—it opens more doors to your site. Having a website is one thing; bringing people to it is another. SEO helps, but social media also acts as an entry point. Meet people where they are—Facebook, Instagram, blogs. Share content that answers their questions. Google’s Keyword Planner can help you find what people are searching for. You can input phrases like “dog walker,” “pet sitter,” or “pet boarding,” and it shows you related search terms and how often they’re used. When you’re writing, focus on your personality. Don’t sound like everyone else. Too many sites could swap logos and be interchangeable. You want yours to reflect you. The copy can be fun, professional, or casual—whatever suits your brand. Avoid generic industry phrases like “no travel trauma” or “we love them like our own.” Everyone says that. Instead, build a brand identity—something that feels distinct. For example, if your business name is “Loving Kisses Pet Sitting,” incorporate that theme visually and verbally across your site. Fonts play a role too. The right font evokes a feeling—fun, elegant, serious, modern. Keep it legible and consistent with your logo. Consistency builds brand recognition and strengthens your message. Once your website is set up, you don’t have to update it constantly. But you should use it to stay connected with clients and encourage repeat business. One of the best ways to do this is email marketing. It’s overlooked but still one of the most effective tools. Collect client emails, send updates or reminders before busy seasons, and share helpful info. Email marketing is great because it’s yours. If Facebook disappeared tomorrow, you’d still have your list. Schedule newsletters ahead of time—you can plan months in advance and reuse seasonal content year after year. Speaking of seasonal content, your blog and social media posts can also be reused. Holidays, events, and seasonal tips are evergreen. Keep them organized so you can refresh and republish them annually. Now, let’s talk about Facebook Live. Pet sitters who overcome their fear of video see incredible engagement. Jen shared that when she did 30 days of Facebook Lives, she tracked every session—time, length, views—and reached over 2,000 views in one month. Clients even mentioned her videos in person. It wasn’t about perfection—it was about consistency. You don’t need to look perfect or have a script. People connect with authenticity. In a business built on trust and care, video helps potential clients feel they know you. Imperfection makes you relatable and real. Even short, casual videos—dog walks, team intros, or quick tips—build familiarity. You can embed them in blogs too, keeping visitors on your site longer and boosting SEO. You can find Jen at jenphillipsapril.com. She offers a free five-day Facebook Live Visibility Challenge and works with business owners through website audits, social media strategy, and copywriting. This has been another episode of Bella in Your Business. Check us out on iTunes or Stitcher, hit subscribe, and remember—keep jumping. For more information, articles, and coaching sessions, visit jumpconsulting.net. Bella’s got your chute.

On this episode  Bella spends time with Jason Waggoner, Vice President of Marketing for ACUTRAQ Background Screening Solutions. They discuss the importance of background checks and how ACUTRAQ can help eliminate some of the liabilities around doing it yourself. Jason Waggoner They discuss: Some of the drawbacks to using the simple background check services you see online How a service like ACUTRAQ can actually reduce some of the liability around background checks How you should proceed when a potential employee has something flagged in their background check Jason's UMeetU movement and acting/video production activities. You can find out more about ACUTRAQ at https://www.acutraq.com/. To find out more about Jason's UMeetU movement, go to http://www.umeetumovement.com/. To see a cool music video Jason put together for ACUTRAQ check out https://youtu.be/2giXfjnB0p4. Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 45 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. My name is Bella Vasta, and today I'm here with Jason Wagner from AccuCheck. Jason, how are you? Good morning, doing good, glad to be on. Appreciate you giving me the opportunity to come on and chat with you. For sure, I'm so excited to have you here. Jason and I have known each other for years now. He was my go-to guy forever when I had my own pet sitting company. And since then, he's actually been the go-to guy for a lot of other pet sitters. But I thought it was important to bring Jason on today so that all of you who do not understand the importance and the legalities of background checks—or maybe you're just starting off with having some sort of staff—get this awesome information and not only awesome information but also an awesome contact you can count on, rely on, email, and have that personal relationship with. No more doing these random internet background check sites where you don’t even know what’s going on. So Jason, without further ado, why don't you give us a background of who you are and what Accutrack does. You bet. I'm the Vice President of Accutrack. I've been with the company since 2008. It's been really neat to see the company grow. When it started, the owner did everything alone with one office person. Now we've grown to nine people in the office, pretty much in every state—thanks to our pet sitters. It’s been an amazing process. We do background checks for literally every industry—pet sitters, landlords, employers, volunteers, contractors, and so on. We handle drug testing, motor vehicle reports, and all types of criminal reports. Many people think background checks come from one place, but there are actually many sources we check to make sure the data is accurate. In a nutshell, we make sure you’re safe before giving someone keys and codes to your home or business. Let me ask you—since you mentioned pet sitters, how many pet sitters do you think you already help? The last check we ran, it was right at 200, and that’s been a while back. So I’m guessing close to 250 or even 300 now. That’s incredible! It’s been amazing. We never thought we’d be in this industry, but the power of social media and word of mouth has been huge. Almost all of our pet sitter clients came through networking and referrals. For sure. That’s a great testament. We could do a whole podcast on word of mouth and networking. I remember when Sarah Bear first mentioned you, and we started referring you everywhere. And now, Jason, without a doubt, anytime anyone talks about background checks in a Facebook group, your name always comes up—and in a positive way. I appreciate that. That’s really how it started. I met Sarah about six or seven years ago when I first moved to Houston. We became friends, and two years later our service agreements started getting new clients signing up. We were like, “What in the world? Pet sitters?” Sarah called and said she recommended me in a Facebook group. Two days later, my phone was ringing nonstop. It’s just grown from there. We’re really blessed to be part of this profession. That’s so cool. Let’s break it down. When I was first starting my company, I thought a background check was as simple as submitting a name and social security number and waiting for it to come back clean. Explain why it’s not that simple. It goes much deeper. Background checks are only pulled by name and date of birth—most people think they’re tied to a social security number or driver’s license, but that’s not true. That’s why it can be so difficult, especially for people who’ve changed their names due to marriage. For example, if someone was Jane Doe and had a record, then married and became Jane Smith, you’d miss everything if you only ran her new name. We check aliases and nicknames, too. For instance, Cathy might go by Cathy, Catherine, or Katie. If you don’t check them all, you miss information. Plus, there’s no one standing behind the accuracy of most online databases. If you take an inaccurate record and deny employment, you open yourself up to a lawsuit. That’s where having a third-party, unbiased source comes in—you can say, “We didn’t pull this ourselves, contact Accutrack to dispute it.” That takes the liability off you. Exactly. So when I get a background check back, sometimes you’d tell me, “Hey, it looks clean,” or, “You might want to dig deeper.” Can you explain that? Sure. We verify results for accuracy. For example, the national database scrapes county records, but it might not reflect expunged cases. So if something shows up, we verify with the county to confirm the final disposition—was it dismissed, sealed, or convicted? The county records are the most accurate, since that’s where the judge’s final decision is stored. That’s amazing. It almost sounds like you offer a concierge-style service. We try to. That’s what makes us different. We’re not a big company where you’re just a number. Our clients can reach me anytime—our staff will even give you my cell number if you ask. We send actual court runners to pull physical records instead of relying on databases, which can be wrong. That’s why some searches take a few days—it depends on county turnaround times. That’s incredible. I remember a pet sitter posting in our group once—her applicant’s background check came back with a manslaughter conviction. She was shocked and didn’t know what to do. Yeah, that happens. If that person used a random website, they’d have no one to call for help. In this case, she had us, and we verified the information so she could handle it correctly. Let’s talk about job ads. How important is it to include “must have a clean background check”? Very important. You’re liable if something happens. If you hire someone dangerous, people will ask who gave them access. There’s even a case—SueWeaver.org—where a company failed to run a background check on a convicted sex offender who committed a terrible crime on the job. It could’ve been prevented. So yes, always run background checks. Even if someone seems nice, it’s a business practice that protects everyone. We’ve seen everything—kidnapping, drug trafficking, theft. It reminds you that the world isn’t all sunshine. Exactly. When something comes back, we help with the legal steps. You send a pre-adverse action letter informing them of the finding and allowing time to dispute it. If it’s accurate, you send the final adverse action letter denying employment. The report gives our contact info so you’re not bothered with disputes—we handle it. That’s amazing. Honestly, why wouldn’t anyone want to work with you? You save us from so much risk. Jason, would you say it should be mandatory for every hire? Absolutely. Don’t get emotionally involved in someone’s story. Look at facts. Team members are the face of your company. The cost of a background check—about $29.95—is nothing compared to the damage a bad hire could do. Exactly. When we come back from the break, let’s talk about the legalities—what we actually need before we run a background check. Want to get yourself or your staff Pet First Aid CPR certified but don’t know how? Gone are the days of taking a full day off for a classroom. Take it online with Pro Pet Hero—a veterinary-trained program with knowledge checks and certificates you can show clients. Sign up today at jumpconsulting.net/cpr and use code CPR-PETSITTER for 10% off. And we’re back with Jason Wagner from Accutrack. Jason, I learned a long time ago that I couldn’t just have a simple “yes or no” question on my application about background checks. You sent me a three-page disclosure form. Tell us why that’s necessary. Anytime you’re dealing with someone’s background, you need proof that you had the right to run it, that they knew what they were being screened for, and that they had our contact info. Some states, like California and New York, require additional consent boxes or legal text. These disclosures protect you from claims of unauthorized screening. Our process emails applicants the disclosure directly for e-signature. That captures their IP address and signature so if they ever deny it, we can prove it was them. We’ve never had anyone successfully challenge it. Even if you’re not using Accutrack, I’m happy to look at your process and make sure it’s compliant with the FCRA—the Fair Credit Reporting Act. It outlines how employment background checks must be handled legally. That’s so important. Most business owners don’t have time to deal with this, so having you handle it makes life easier. Jason, before we wrap up, tell us what new projects you’re working on. Sure! Besides Accutrack, I launched the You Meet You Movement last year—a free motivational project helping people rediscover their potential and happiness.

In this episode of "Bella In Your Business", Bella speaks with Cara Armour, Product Manager and Marketing Manager for ProPetHero, a pet CPR and first aid online training program for pet business owners. In 2003 Cara Armour co-founded Active Paws Inc., in the Boston, MA area. In 2009, Cara won Pet Sitter of the Year. She is decorated in many accolades and even expanded to opening a grooming and holistic pet supply store. Since 2003, Cara has been trained by the American Red Cross as well as several veterinarians in Pet First Aid and CPR. In 2011 she completed an instructor training course and became a certified Pet First Aid and CPR instructor. In 2015 she co-founded an online Pet First Aid academy and now works as a product and marketing manager for ProPetHero, the Pet First Aid and CPR division of ProTrainings. She is also a volunteer and foster home for The Boxer Rescue Inc, a health conscious breeder of Boxers. Bella and Cara talk about Pet First Aid and how to go about training you and your staff. They discuss the benefits of being trained which are: Being able to save the lives of your pets or pet clients. Learning to recognize potential issues with a pet and bring that to the owner’s attention. Using that trained status to stand out from your competition and create greater security among your clients. They talk about how an online training course, such as the ones available through ProPetHero are more useful than in-person training because: You can do them at your own pace and anywhere you want. The cost is significantly low compared to sending staff to an in-person training course You can monitor staff's progress and comprehension of the material. Topics & Key Points Pet first aid and CPR training with Kara Armor. Evolving from in-person teaching to online courses Pet sitting training and certification Pet sitting industry training and marketing strategies Pet sitting industry competition and marketing advantage Pet first aid training and its importance Importance of CPR/First Aid training for pet sitters Timestamps [2:08] From in-person teaching to online courses [4:37] Training and certification [9:20] Training and marketing strategies [14:06] Marketing Advantage [17:56] Pet first aid training and its importance [22:37] CPR/First Aid training for pet sitters Notable Quotes [1:34] " I knew if I had someone else's animal, my care, I had to know what to do when things go wrong because they do. " [6:26] "Because I have used CPR twice, I had a greyhound that was having a stroke. And I was able to bring him back, get him to the vet. " [18:53] " If you have CPR and first aid certification, you are going to stand above your competition that right there alone. I mean, it's one more accolade. " Resources There is even a special discount for “Bella in your Business” fans. You can get 10% off by going to here. Coupon code: CPR-petsitter Subscribe To The Show: Transcript 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 God your shoot legs John, welcome to another episode of Bella in your business. My name is Bella Vasta from Jump Consulting and today I've got a guest that I've had on my show before but she was so excited and everyone loved having you on that I had to have you on again. Welcome, Kara armor. How are you? I'm doing fabulously although the weather is not it is boring. Well, that's what you get for being in Boston. For those of you who do not know Kara, Kara is the co-founder of Active Paws Inc., in the Boston area. In 2009, Kara won petsitter of the year. She's decorated with many accolades and even expanded to opening a grooming and holistic supply store. Kara is on today, because this month in April, is Pet First Aid Awareness Month. And Kara works with pro pet hero. And that's what we kind of talked a little bit about, but the last time I wanted to have you on again because not only is it just so timely right now, but I just kind of wanted to first take everyone back and explain how did you become a part of pro pet hero because I know your story starts with you starting something like that yourself. Right? Yeah, so I'm a go-getter. And when I started my company, I knew it was important for me to have pet first aid and CPR training. I knew if I had someone else's animal, my care, I had to know what to do when things go wrong because they do. So I kept returning to the Red Cross class, which was hilarious because the instructor finally after three years, told me they don't expire. So in 2009 When I wanted a pet to the year, I became aware of pet tech. And I wanted to be a part of sharing the knowledge I had become more advanced in it and I wanted to be an instructor. So in 2011, I became an instructor. And then I realized that geographical limitations. My classes were selling out I had waiting lists. I wasn't willing to drive more than an hour because it's a lot out of your day, you know, for our class becomes a six-hour endeavor. And probably lugging all those stuffed animals and stuff to I imagine it was the tables. I was very lucky when I would teach in churches, they had tables and chairs. But when I would teach in daycares, they didn't. So I was traveling, I was traveling, traveling roadshow. Yeah. So I had a student in my class. And he said, You know, I was looking for an online class, I said, Oh, you can't teach this online. And he said, why not? So I started doing some research. And you can and there are a lot of studies, which I know we'll talk about a little bit later, that show that this information and lots of information can be portrayed better online. So I built my online course. And that was in 2015. And then in 2016, I found pro pet hero. And it was everything that I knew I didn't have. So they were an actual veterinarian teaching the course. And that's something that I thought was important. I felt confident in my skills and education. But I felt like this information should come from somebody who has saved hundreds of pet lives. And so I called them up and I said, guys, I know I built a course that's I guess your competition. But I want to be a part of your awesome because what they are doing is just awesome. And they have a similar story. Roy Scott and Paul Roy was an EMT, paramedic, he started the business back in 2003. As a paramedic, he was sick and tired of being traveling roadshows, he was tired of the geographical limitations. And so we had two friends who were able to help him get his classes online for humans. And then they opened up into the pet market in 2016. And I bar trading. Here I am, and I can picture that happening for you, Kara. probably love it. I, you know, you made a really good point there, the whole veterinarian-trained part. And I liked that story. And I wanted my listeners to hear that because I wanted to hear how your heart evolved. It wasn't like you all of a sudden just wanted a job and you got hired from this company. And now you're repping for them. It's so much deeper than that and more of an evolution than that. So thank you for sharing that. Yeah, I was able to take my pride and set it aside, I had built something that I wanted to succeed. Yeah. But when you know, there's something better. It's better to join it rather than fight it. And I wanted to join it. I love that. I love that I wish more people had that mentality. And that's why you're one of my favorite people. So let's talk more about this online learning thing. You know, when I was in college, oh my god, like 15 years ago, I felt old whose mind was just starting right. And it was kind of like this taboo weird thing. But as I prepared for this call, I heard that there's an increasing number of students selecting distance learning courses as a part of their regular college curriculum. And there's been a 150% increase between 1998 and 2008. Now one could say well, Kara Bella, we're talking about saving pets' lives. Hey, and Kara, I'm gonna tell you what I think about that. And I want to hear your thoughts because I know you have thoughts. My thought is, we're not veterinarians, we are not vet techs, we are pet sitters and dog walkers. And technically, if a client is out of town, we're only there for an hour and a half to three hours out of a day for doing three times a-day visits. So the possibility of something happening while we're there is pretty slim, for us to triage and start doing compressions and, and help this like, I don't know how many times you've done it in your petsitting career, but I don't know many pet sitters that have had to do compressions on a dog. I do know understand and appreciate the whole first aid element. You know, in Arizona, you get cactus in the paw or you get something up your snout or dehydration or heat exhaustion, you know, that kind of stuff. But when we're talking about the real hard triage and veterinarian kind of stuff, you're going to be getting the dog to the vet, right? So the whole like, you can't teach this online. I don't think applies. I mean, even veterinarians are taking their courses online. So why not pet sitters learn online for a fraction of the cost in the comfort of their own home and then be able to replicate it to their whole staff? Well, I sound like a little bit of a sales right now. And I don't mean that, but this is what's going on, in my mind. What do you think about all that, Kara, I think you bring up some really good points. Because I have used CPR twice, I had a greyhound that was having a stroke. And I was able to bring him back and get him to the vet. And then his parents did choose to say goodbye. And then I had unsuccessful CPR in a car with a cat that was alive and alert, but you know, tacky gums blue gums when I had arrived,

In this episode, Bella speaks with Wendy Van de Poll, the founder of The Center for Pet Loss Grief and an international best selling and award-winning author and speaker. They discuss pet loss grief and what pet professionals can say and do to be supportive to their clients in their loss. They also talk about how pet professionals can deal with their own grief. Topics covered are: What is pet loss grief What you as a pet professional should do when a client gets the news that their pet has a terminal illness How to help your clients when their pets die What you shouldn't say or do How a pet professional can deal with their own grief over losing an animal client Wendy Van de Poll is a pioneering leader in the field of pet loss grief support. She is dedicated to providing a safe place for her clients to express their grief over the loss of their pets. What makes Wendy successful with her clients is that she get’s grief! “Over the years I’ve dealt with my own grief and helping many families communicate and connect with their pets long after their loss. It’s what I’ve done since I was just 5 yrs old!” She is compassionate and supportive to all who know her. Her passion is to help people when they are grieving over the loss of a pet and her larger than life love for animals has led her to devote her life to the mission of increasing the quality of life between animals and people no matter what stage they are in their cycle of life! She has been called the animal whisperer. She is a Certified End of Life and Pet Grief Support Coach, Certified Pet Funeral Celebrant, Animal Medium and Communicator. She is the founder of The Center for Pet Loss Grief and an international best selling and award-winning author and speaker. She holds a Master’s of Science degree in Wolf Ecology and Behavior and has run with wild wolves in Minnesota, coyotes in Massachusetts and foxes in her backyard. She lives in the woods with her husband, two crazy birds, her rescue dog Addie and all kinds of wildlife. You can find out more about Wendy and the Center for Pet Loss Grief at https://centerforpetlossgrief.com. Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 43 of Bella in Your Business. Welcome to Bella in Your Business, where Bella discusses 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. My name’s Bella Vasta with Jump Consulting, and today I've got a really interesting topic for you. I want you to think back to when you had a client who lost a pet or maybe even yourself. Do you remember that feeling of being beside yourself, having no idea what to say, what to do, what kind of sympathy card to give, what kind of flowers to send? It’s just a really helpless feeling, right? Today’s guest is Wendy Van De Pol, a pioneer leader in the field of pet loss grief support. She’s dedicated to providing a safe place for her clients to express their grief over the loss of their pets. Among many other things, Wendy’s also going to explain how we can help support our clients—and how she can help support us. Bella: Wendy, thank you for being on the show today. Wendy: Thank you, Bella. I'm really excited to be here. Bella: Why don’t you start out and give us a background—how did you get started on this, and what exactly is a loss grief coach? Wendy: It’s kind of interesting how I got started. I'm an animal communicator and animal medium as well. I've been talking to animals on the energetic level since I was five years old. I always found myself helping others when they lost a pet. People often ask me how I can do this—it’s so depressing—but I don’t find it depressing. It’s a gift. Animals give us so much, and by helping people get in touch with their grief, they actually build a deeper bond. Bella: That’s beautiful. Wendy: Thank you. How I became a certified end-of-life and pet loss grief coach is a bit unique—there really wasn’t a certification available. I’m also a life coach, and my teacher for continuing education designed a special program for me focused on end of life and loss. So he certified me as his first pet loss grief and end-of-life coach for pets. Now, I work with people all over the world, and I’ve written a number of books on the subject. Bella: That’s incredible. So what exactly is a pet loss grief coach? Wendy: It all depends on who calls me and what stage they’re in—sometimes it’s right after getting the news that their pet is dying, other times it’s years later. For example, I get emails or calls like, “My dog is dying. What do I do?” I’ve also had emergency vets reach out, overwhelmed after euthanizing several animals in one day. No matter what stage someone is in—new or 20 years later—it’s about helping them make their own decisions, become empowered by their journey, and guiding them through it. I’m not a psychologist; I don’t fix things. I help them discover what normal grief is and how to move through it. Bella: It sounds like you’re showing them a roadmap. Wendy: Exactly. It’s a journey. I hold hands with these people and walk the journey with them. Bella: What’s the first thing a pet professional can do when a client gets the news that their pet has a terminal illness? Wendy: As pet professionals, you’re not only developing a relationship with the human client, but also a special bond with the pet. So when that pet gets sick, you’re dealing with your own shock as well. The first thing you can do is not try to fix them. Learn what normal grief looks like and what to say—because even well-meant words can trigger grief. Bella: Right, and the grief can start even before the pet passes. Wendy: Exactly. Bella: When the pet dies, what’s the first thing a pet professional can do to help? Wendy: Sympathy cards, phone calls, or small gifts are all wonderful. The key is acknowledgment—acknowledging the client’s feelings. You can even send a card a year later on the anniversary of the pet’s passing. Bella: Could that backfire, though? Wendy: It shows that you care. It’s a beautiful gesture. But pet sitters should remember that they’re not therapists—speak from your heart and be authentic. Down the road, even if they’re no longer clients, they’ll remember that gesture. It’s also a good business practice—keeping that connection alive. Bella: That’s great advice. Wendy: You can even keep a remembrance calendar next to your pet birthday calendar to track anniversaries. Bella: I love that. That’s a great idea. [Commercial break for ProPet Hero] Bella: We’re back with Wendy, who’s been sharing amazing insight on how to handle grief as pet professionals. Wendy, what are some things we absolutely shouldn’t do? Wendy: Two big ones: don’t give advice and don’t compare stories. Saying, “When my dog died…” or “Here’s what another client did…” may seem helpful, but it can trigger guilt and resentment. Everyone’s grief is unique. Bella: That’s so true. Wendy: Another one is saying, “I’m so sorry to hear that.” It’s common but not always helpful—it implies fault. Instead, validate the loss: “I’m so sad to hear that your dog passed. Would you like me to listen to how you’re feeling?” That creates a safe space. Bella: That’s powerful. And you’re right—online, especially on Facebook, people say “I’m so sorry” all the time. It’s almost lost its meaning. Wendy: Yes. Replace “sorry” with “sad” or “compassion.” Avoid “I understand,” because we can’t truly understand someone else’s experience. These small changes make a big difference. Bella: That’s so helpful. Many pet sitters have templates or manuals—these examples would be perfect to include for guidance. Wendy: Absolutely. Bella: How can a pet sitter or dog walker take care of themselves when they lose a client’s pet? And how can they help staff members who are grieving too? Wendy: Training is key—learning what normal and abnormal grief look like, what to say or avoid, how to care for yourself. It’s a great topic for employee meetings and manuals. It also builds trust—your team feels supported, and clients see your professionalism. Self-care is crucial. Burnout and grief go hand in hand. Create a self-care plan—massage, time offline, setting boundaries. Don’t be available to grieving clients 24/7; that can drain you. Understand your own beliefs about death and grief. Are you afraid of death? What do you believe about the afterlife? Knowing this helps you stay grounded. Bella: That reminds me of my earlier interview with Holly Cook on compassion fatigue. These are connected—grief can trigger long-term emotional strain. Wendy: Exactly. Awareness helps prevent that spiral. Bella: I love that. And you have resources to help pet professionals, right? Wendy: Yes, my upcoming book Pet Loss Grief for the Pet Professional focuses on this topic. I’d love to include case studies from listeners—stories about how they’ve dealt with client pet loss. They can contact me at www.centerforpetlossgrief.com. I also have other books that go deeper into normal versus abnormal grief, myths, what to say, and what not to say. They’ll be available on Kindle for 99 cents on April 20th and 21st. Bella: That’s wonderful, Wendy. Thank you so much for coming on the show and for teaching us something we don’t talk about enough. Wendy: Thank you, Bella. I’ve had a wonderful time. Bella: This has been another episode of Bella in Your Business. Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher, and remember—keep jumping! For more information, free articles, and coaching sessions, visit JumpConsulting.net. Bella’s got your chute.

On this episode Bella speaks with Maureen McCarthy, owner of Love and Kisses Pet Sitting. Bella has found Maureen's use of Facebook groups, social media, and video to be an awesome example of how to market.  Bella gets the scoop from Maureen, about how Facebook groups can be a great way to connect and expand your reach as a business. Maureen started a group for her own community called What's Up Indiana Trail and it has grown like wild fire. Through it, she has been able to get more people engaged on her own facebook page and grown her business. They also discuss Facebook Live videos - which if you've been listening to me for awhile, you know that I consider video as a MUST HAVE in your business. Maureen discusses with Bella how exactly she started doing Facebook Live videos with both her and her staff and the direct effect they've had on her business revenue. She talks with Maureen about: Maureen McCarthy The Facebook group she started. Why she started the group How much work is involved How successful it has been How she got into doing videos Her facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/IndianTrailPetSitter/ Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 42 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. My name is Bella Vasta, and I am the owner of Jump Consulting. Today, I have Maureen McCarthy from Loving Kisses Pet Sitting in Indian Trail, North Carolina. Maureen has been on my radar for a very long time because she has a pet sitting and dog walking company with many staff members that is seriously exploding. She is a doer—she takes ideas and runs with them—and if any of you have listened to my podcast, those are my favorite kind of people. But what really intrigued me to have her on today is that Maureen started a group page for her area called What’s Up Indian Trail. We’re going to ask her all about that today because she’s had wild success. You should see the engagement on this group page. Bella: So without further ado, Maureen, welcome to the show. Maureen: Hey, Bella. Thanks so much for having me today. Bella: For sure. So, Maureen, take us back. I want to first hear—why did you decide to start a private group for your community? Maureen: Well, I noticed that a lot of the towns around me had their own private Facebook group pages, so I thought, well, let me jump on this before somebody else does. I started it, and a lot of the towns were called “What’s Up Waxhaw” or “What’s Up Stallings,” so I thought, let me start a “What’s Up Indian Trail” page. Bella: I love it. And right now, it has almost—actually, I think we’re going to hit almost 7,000 members. Maureen: Damn, girl. Yeah, yeah. So it’s cool. Yeah. Bella: That’s amazing. Maureen: And I let businesses post their businesses once a week, just so that I can post mine too, of course. Bella: How long have you had this for? And how much knowledge did you need? I mean, were you some Facebook guru when you started it? Maureen: No, not at all. If you can use Facebook, you can start a Facebook page. I mean, it’s very simple. Just start a group. Bella: You mean a group, not a page. Pages are public; groups are private. Maureen: Right. Bella: When did you start this group? Maureen: I’d say about a year ago, maybe. Bella: Okay, and how did you build it to 7,000 people? I mean, is this like an active marketing strategy or just happened because— Maureen: I picked such a great name where other people already had “What’s Up” for their towns. A lot of people were searching for our town. They saw “What’s Up Waxhaw,” “What’s Up Stallings,” “What’s Up Monroe,” so I made “What’s Up Indian Trail.” And at the top, I have “Please Share This Page with Your Friends and Neighbors.” Bella: Got it. Got it. So how did it first start out? Were you correlating information from around the area—about different businesses or what was going up in some shopping plaza? Maureen: Anything pertaining to the town. Like if they’d have a farmers market coming up on the weekend, I would share that. Any news or events in the neighborhood, I’d share that to keep interest and get people to join. Bella: And I imagine you had your own sources that you followed who would post this stuff, and then you’d repost it. Maureen: Yes, yes. Bella: Fantastic. How much work do you think it requires? How often are you in there—like a day or a week? Maureen: Well, I’m on Facebook a lot for my business advertising, and I find Facebook is great for my business. I think that’s where I got most of my business. But sometimes you can get lost in it. So an hour, half hour, fifteen minutes—it varies. Whatever you want to put into it. Bella: It’s a really good point because Facebook is so conversational that it’s not like you’re logging in and out. You’re doing so many different things—responding to posts, checking notifications, etc. So it hasn’t been like another burden or a thing to do on your list, right? Maureen: No, not at all. Bella: And especially if you’re getting clients from there. Tell me more about that. How have you been able to get clients? Maureen: People would ask, “Do you know a good vet in the area?” I have a local page of vets and groomers, and I’d share that from my website to the group. So I found myself doing that quite often. People would ask for a groomer, a vet, a mobile vet, or a pet sitter—of course. So I always kept my eye on the page and did a little search to see if anybody was looking for that. Bella: Were you surprised to see how many times people were asking for pet stuff? Maureen: Yes and no, because I find the page very active. People are always asking for recommendations. So I try to be a good resource so they get to know my name, and then when someone needs pet care—boom—I’m there. Bella: You epitomize the concept of providing value first, like Gary Vaynerchuk’s Jab, Jab, Right Hook or Jay Baer’s Utility. You’re being useful to your community, and that’s why it’s working. Maureen: Exactly. Bella: So now, tell me about the donut story. Maureen: Okay, so this was really interesting. A new donut shop opened up in Indian Trail, and everyone was posting pictures of their donuts. It went on for a week—and it’s still going on. So I thought, okay, let’s change it up. I posted, “Let’s all post our cute pet pictures and stop with the donuts for a bit.” All of a sudden, this thread exploded—about 90 people posting pet pictures. So I thought, how can I jump on this? I decided to have a contest. I told them to go over to my Loving Kisses Pet Sitting Facebook page, post their pet picture, like the page, and share it. The winner would get a $15 donut gift card and a free pet sit visit. People started posting and sharing my page. Then I did a live video pulling the winner’s name from a hat. It was so much fun. Bella: That’s awesome! Maureen: The only thing I’d change next time is to make it run longer—maybe a week to get more engagement. Bella: I love that. And you could even collect email addresses next time, so you can follow up with a small offer. Maureen: Great idea. Bella: And you mentioned involving other local businesses—doing live videos at their stores. That’s brilliant. Maureen: Yeah, I want to collaborate more like that. Bella: Speaking of live video, that terrifies a lot of people. How did you overcome it? Maureen: At first, I was nervous, but once you do it, it’s easy. It’s just you being you. Now all my pet sitters do it too. They post videos while walking or playing with dogs. Clients love it. Bella: That’s amazing leadership. You made it fun and encouraged them. Maureen: Exactly. It’s fun. What’s the worst that can happen—you stumble over words? You’re human. Bella: And Facebook rewards video engagement—it’s what the algorithm wants. You’ve been consistent, and your team’s excitement makes your business more transparent and relatable. That authenticity builds trust. Maureen: Thank you! Bella: So let’s talk money. You said you get a lot of clients from Facebook. How are you tracking that? Maureen: At meet-and-greets, I ask how they found me, and most say Facebook. I only spend money on boosting posts. One of my pet sitters did a video with pit bulls and a cat—it went semi-viral, over 5,000 views, from a $10 boost. Bella: That’s incredible! Maureen: Yeah, the more people view it, the more Facebook pushes it. Bella: And you can even target local pet owners with ads like that. Maureen: Totally. It’s fun—it doesn’t feel like work. Bella: Before the videos, you were doing a lot of blogging, which helped too. You already had content and links, like your vet list, that you could share in posts. That’s your arsenal. You’ve built credibility and value over time. Maureen: Absolutely. Bella: So let’s quantify results. You said January’s revenue was $5,000 higher than last year. Maureen: Yes—$5,000 more in January alone. And January is normally slow! I set a goal of increasing by $5,000 every month, and I’m doing it. Bella: That’s amazing. And how many sitters do you have now? Maureen: I just hired three more—so about nineteen total. Bella: Incredible. And that growth is all connected to your consistent effort. Maureen: Thank you! Bella: You’re a great example for others—authentic, consistent, and action-oriented. Maureen: My very first video was on why we need two keys. A client asked me that question, and I made a quick video explaining it. It was like talking to a client. Once I did that, I realized how easy it was. Bella: That’s perfect advice. Every day we get client questions—that’s content for video or blogs. Short, real answers build connection. Maureen: Yes! Bella: And uploading natively to Facebook instead of sharing YouTube links helps with engagement,

On this episode Bella speaks with Adam Smith from Precise Petcare. They discuss communication problems pet sitting business owners often have with both the pet sitters who work for them and with customers.  They discuss how the software offered by Precise Petcare addresses many of these challenges. Adam & Lynn Smith Precise Petcare is an online management system that could quickly become the center of your business. The online scheduling, billing and client/staff management are all in one place. With their system you'll have fluid communication between you, your staff and your clients. Much loved features include Pet Care Journals, the Live Sitter Map and GPS sitter check-ins. Precise Petcare was co-created by a pet sitting business owner and a web developer to combine a perfect blend of knowledge and talents specifically for this industry. Husband and wife team, Adam and Lynn Smith understand first-hand what your needs are as a pet sitting business owner and have built each aspect of the software and continuously update and improve the system – without having to rely on outside talents to delay the process! Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 41 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. My name is Bella Vasta, and I am here today with Adam Smith from Precise Pet Care. You guys, Adam is the web guy. His wife was the former pet sitting gal. And together, not only do they have a great marriage and wonderful kids, but they also produce this amazing software for our industry called Precise Pet Care. How’s that for an intro? Adam: I’m doing great, Bella. Thanks for having me. Bella: For sure. So today, I actually saw something that I thought was quite amazing. I had this person in one of my groups basically tell me that she loves putting together her own software system. She says she pieces together something like FreshBooks, and then she created a Google schedule, and she has these online forms that clients can fill out, and she’s got all this stuff going on. And I said, how many employees do you have? And she said, none right now. I’m working up to it. So I was like, man, girl. And she kind of told me too that she loves finance and that she also loved tech. Love, love, love it. And in my head, Adam, and I’d love to know your thoughts on this, I’m thinking, all right, if you love tech and you love finance, why don’t you start something on your own? I thought you were a pet sitting company and that’s what you’ve got to focus on. For those people who think that it’s just that easy to just get a Google calendar up, get some Google forms up, and then connect it all to QuickBooks or FreshBooks, what do you say to that? Adam: It’s going to work. It’s just not going to scale once you get more customers. Once you start hiring, it’s going to become harder and harder for that to actually grow with you. Bella: Yeah, it totally is. I mean, how much time does it take on your end? Give me an overview of this last year. I know you guys are pumping out updates quicker than any other company I know. I love how you guys listen to what people are needing. We hear about them online, and you say, hey, I would really like to have this feature. When you as a company decide, okay, I can do this feature, I can’t do this feature, what kind of things do you have to do to make that happen? What is that timeline? What is the investment financially that you have to make in developing that? Can you help us understand what that all means? Adam: Yeah, the process of doing new features is a pretty long one. First, we need to kind of get that seed of an idea, and then we need to make sure it’s something that our users are going to actually utilize. And then if we decide that we’re going to do it, we need to decide when we’re going to do it, what’s the priority, and then we need to figure out exactly how it’s going to work. And after that, we’d go with the testing. And then once it’s done testing, then we’d launch it to everyone. So it’s a pretty long process, especially for the more significant features that we may be working on. Bella: Yeah, so it’s not just that easy. If it was that easy, everyone wouldn’t be using online stuff or scheduling. Adam: Yeah, and if it’s just yourself, you know, it’s pretty easy to test something like that. But for us with our large user base, you know, we need to have something that makes sense for everyone. Bella: Correct. It’s not personalized to just one person. And I think that the more clients and the more employees that you have, the more robust your system needs to be. I mean, you can’t just be using a Google calendar and have 20 pet sitters. I mean, you could, but you’ll also become a full-time scheduler. And none of us have extra hours in the day. So let’s talk more in general. What kind of communication problems do pet sitting companies usually encounter, generally speaking? Adam: It’s hard to get everything organized and in one place because there’s always so many different ways that clients and staff are trying to communicate with management that just trying to keep that all in one place and not miss out on something, I think that’s number one. Bella: For sure. And pet sitters out in the field trying to communicate with clients—you don’t always want them to be communicating directly with clients. So there needs to be a way for them to communicate with clients that management is able to see. I have a story for that. Towards the very last month in my business, this was like one of the craziest stories that had ever happened to me in 14 years. I wasn’t using your system. I was using Google Voice because I wanted to know what communication was going on between the sitter and client. And that came to head at about 11:30 on a Monday night. I had a client that was in the woods in a cabin, and she hadn’t gotten her text message update about her cat. And she flipped out on me on voicemail. And I was able to go in and see that my sitter actually sent communication via the text. So I called the client, tried to tell her that, she flipped out at me. But just to illustrate that point for you, knowing what kind of communication is going back and forth between the sitter and the client is so super important. And I love how you guys solve that problem. You guys solve it through a journal, is that it? Can you tell us more about that? Adam: The Pet Care journals are basically just a digital version of the paper notes that you would typically leave at pet sitting assignments. And they include the notes and kind of a checklist of what happened during the visit and photos of the pets. And in addition to that, there’s also a comment section. And if you want to allow the clients to respond, they can kind of talk back and forth with the sitters about that particular assignment. And management is able to see those comments come in and on the journal. So you have that history and also that communication that takes place on the journal. It goes through our system. So clients and sitters never know the contact details of each other. Bella: That’s beautiful. And I know that you guys are really on the cutting edge of that. I just remember having to give people care notes. We used to leave care notes on the counter years ago. And then we started doing the text message thing. But care notes on the counter—the amount of paper that I was running off and then trying to get it to all my staff. Again, it’s just extra time and energy and money that we don’t realize that we’re just like hamsters running in this wheel as business owners. I love how you guys solve that problem. Do you ever find that business owners are racking their brain because the client wants to change Fluffy’s feeding from two cups to one cup and then the business owner trying to get that information to the staff? How does software help streamline that part of things? Adam: Well, something that our system does is whenever a client is updating their profile and updating their pet information, the management is going to receive an email about what changed in their profile. And if you had any sitters that were set as the primary or secondary sitter for that particular client, they would also get that email. Bella: Beautiful. So they not only get the notification, but it’s also obviously in the system. Adam: Yeah, so it’s right there in the system when they go in the profile and look for it. Bella: I really encourage all the pet business owners who do software to always encourage and empower their clients to go in and change. Here’s a little tip for everyone. I always used to tell clients, I’m sorry, I’m not in front of the computer right now, and I don’t want to forget putting this in. Will you please go online and put it in for us? And they say yes, and they end up doing it. So I really always put the burden of responsibility on the client. And not only is that covering your butt a little bit, but it’s also teaching them that instead of calling you the business owner and distracting you from something, they can go in and do it. And it also ensures that if there’s a mistake made, it’s made by the client. It’s not made by you or your staff or something. It’s all about using this technology to the best of its ability. Adam: Yeah, it’s always easy to keep doing what you’re used to doing. And there are so many benefits of using the technology that can save you time. That’s a great example you have of just having the client take their own time instead of taking your time to do something that they can do pretty easily. Bella: Give them that responsibility and let the burden fall on them. And it’s not bad customer service.

On this episode Bella spends time talking with Tracie Hotchner, author of The Dog Bible: Everything your dog wants you to know and The Cat Bible: Everything your cat expects you to know. Tracie Hotchner Tracie is the host of 10 pet talk radio podcast shows on her own Radio Pet Lady network, including her NPR show "Dog Talk (and Kitties, too)". She is also the founder of the NY Dog Film Festival which she travels with around the country after an annual premiere in NYC in November. Bella and Tracie discuss how Tracie's successes came about and the importance of positive attitude and a willingness to step through open doors. You can find out more about Tracie and listen to her shows at RadioPetLady.com. You can find out more at the NY Dog Film Festival, including a list of cities it is coming to, at DogFilmFestival.com. Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 40 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. This is Bella Vasta, and I am here today with Tracy Hotchner. You guys, I don’t even know where to begin with Tracy. She first came into my life at the PSI conference years ago when it was here in Arizona, where we totally bonded. It was around the same time that she was coming out with one of her first books, The Dog Bible. And then she also had Dog Talk Radio going on then. But now, Tracy, you have to fill in these gaps for me because from then till now, you now have this conglomerate of Pet Lady Radio. You’ve got like twelve different shows on there. You’re not only doing that—because I don’t even know where you get this energy—but you’re also the founder and director for the New York Dog Film Festival. There’s just so much. Bella: Tracy, welcome to the show. Tracy: Thank you, Bella. It’s great to be here and so fun to have stayed in touch with you all these years. You’ve done great things as a businesswoman yourself, and I really admire you for that. The Dog Bible morphed into The Cat Bible, which morphed into the NPR show Dog Talk that now many people listen to on podcasts, but it’s still on the air in the Hamptons live on Saturdays—almost ten years. I had Cat Chat on Sirius XM for seven and a half years on the Martha Stewart Channel. And yes, I did add these other pet talk radio shows just because I could. So it is a little bit of a pet empire, because then I started the Dog Film Festival on a whim three years ago in New York. One of my sponsors said, “You’ve got to take this around America.” So I said, “Oh yeah, sure.” And it went from five cities to ten cities in 2016, and it’s already going to be seventeen cities in 2017. Soon, we’re starting to download the Netflix for dog lovers so that people can download specially curated hour-long versions, and a portion of it goes to a national animal welfare organization. That’s going to be launching soon. You’re the first one to hear about it. Bella: Oh my gosh. We got the exclusive! That’s awesome. Tracy, what I love about you is your can-do attitude, and you just blow past everything. You not only have incredible ideas, but what I find in life is that a lot of times people either have really great ideas but don’t do it, you know? And you’re a doer. And I want everyone and all our listeners to understand and hear about all these stories. Now, you guys, usually I do show notes, but for this show, because Tracy is so dynamic and exactly what you just said—building an empire—I knew we wouldn’t run out of topics to talk about. So let’s take it back to when I first met you, Tracy. You were doing Dog Talk on NPR, and then I didn’t even know you were on the Martha Stewart Channel. Tell me the evolution of everything and what drives you to do this. I’m just going to open up the whole microphone and let you go because this is totally your wheelhouse. Tracy: Well, I don’t want to make it just about me, because I have an unusually high threshold for work and very high energy. Often people throughout my life have said, “My God, I don’t do anything compared to you,” or “I wish I had your energy,” or “How do you bottle that?” But I want to inspire the people that follow you and listen to you, just as I did at the PSI conference, where I had the first and probably only standing ovation of my life—and pissed off the people that ran PSI tremendously. Bella: I love it. You’re going to talk about it—do it! Tracy: They were going to drive me out of town. What I loved about the members of PSI—the pet sitters who came—was they were as passionate about learning for themselves and teaching their clients and customers as I was about doing that for them. They weren’t just showing up at someone’s house, cleaning the litter, walking the dog once around the block, bagging a few bucks, and going. They wanted to do more than that. They wanted to use their hearts and minds. And I think part of what has gotten me so far is just that positive energy. Every time one of your listeners meets somebody new, especially in a related business, they should just put out this positive “can-do” energy and say, “What would you want more from me? How can I do more for you?” Bella: Or if they hear of an opportunity locally, like someone singing guitar in the local coffeehouse, there’s nothing wrong with saying, “You know what, I’m going to go to that coffeehouse and bring cards for my show, but I’m also going to ask the owner if I can give a free dog walk if they’ll let me say hi to everyone and hand out a card.” You just look at every potential opportunity that someone else wouldn’t even see as an opportunity. Tracy: Exactly—but you have to add value. Notice where you are when you’re doing it. The gym’s not the place to do it. The gym’s the place to push Arbonne if you want to. You have to be in the dog park or at a local Halloween dress-up for dogs. That’s the place to find the people that might be interested in what you’re doing and want to help you further your business. In my case, things seem to come to me magically—but of course, that’s not exactly how it happens. I think I’ve had a lot of good luck and timing. But you make your own luck, right? I was being interviewed for five minutes—actually three minutes—live in the Hamptons when The Dog Bible first came out. The station manager of the NPR show was there, and I started talking about how I could do a show like Car Talk and call it Dog Talk. And because of my positive energy, he said, “Okay, we can give that a try.” He gave me an engineer, a studio, and a microphone. Before I even got there, I got an email saying, “How would you like to join Martha Stewart’s universe?” I didn’t even know what that meant. I met someone who said her boss had heard me on that NPR station. I said, “Oh, I could do another show called Cat Chat because I have a book coming out called The Cat Bible.” She said, “No, we want you to be our morning anchor on the Martha Stewart Channel of Sirius.” I said, “You mean not pets?” “No, just that.” I said, “7 to 11, live every morning? I’m sorry, but I’m a country mouse. I don’t want to live in the city again.” So instead, I proposed a pet show. And they didn’t have a Wednesday night show, so they gave me a weekly slot, an engineer, and a live open mic. I had never listened to talk radio in my life, so I just made it what I thought it should be—and the phone rang a lot! People wanted answers. Having researched my books, I was able to give real, genuine answers, just like when I gave the talk at PSI. People are so eager for the truth and something genuine. Bella: I remember that conference because we met in the lobby and you were in tears. You were really affected by it. That’s what sparked our relationship. You provided so much value to my own pet company at the time—you gave me topics that helped me blog, talk to clients, and understand pet health better. But going off what you were saying, I think that many doors open in your life and you’ve become a good walk-thru-er. Tracy: I like that phrase. Yes. Bella: You never let fear stop you. You said you never listened to talk radio, you weren’t applying for it, maybe weren’t even ready for it—but you were connected to your “why.” And that’s what guided your decisions. Tracy: It’s good to know what you won’t do. People say “bottom line,” but they don’t really have one. The real “bottom line” is the line in the sand—what you won’t tolerate. If you know what you won’t put up with or don’t want to do, it’s easy to find what makes you feel good, valued, or challenged. If you know one side of it, you’re free to explore the other. For example, a pet sitter might think, “I only want to deal with pets, not people.” But maybe an opportunity arises that involves people, not pets, and that’s the door to something greater. Don’t close yourself off. Let things happen. Stay open to possibility. Bella: I love that, Tracy. We’re going to take a short break here, but when we come back, I want to hear about the door that opened this film festival and what that’s evolved into. Commercial break – ProPet Hero CPR ad Bella: And we’re back! Tell me about the New York Dog Film Festival—how did it start? Tracy: It’s funny, people say I’m magical, and maybe I am a little bit. I had an idea and made it happen against all logic. My late husband was dying of a rare cancer, and it was an awful time. I had my twelve radio shows, sponsors, bills—everything. To cheer myself up, I thought, “What if I had a dog film festival? Not silly videos—short films.” I looked up how to start a film festival, had no experience, no money, no clue. But I didn’t let that stop me. Bella: And that’s why people follow you—you have this contagious energy. Tracy: Thank you. It’s true, people get caught up in it. To cheer myself up,

On this episode, Bella talks with Carey Conley, speaker and Co-Creator of Infinite Nation; a community created for skill building, mentorship, and community for aspiring leaders and business owners. Carey Conley Bella and Carey talk about: Why “Vision is Victory”….especially for entrepreneurs The biggest stumbling  blocks for people to actually put a vision down on paper and follow through with it What happens when people try to run a business without a clear, concise vision Community and accountability You can find out more about Carey Conley and the services she offers on her website at InfiniteNation.com.  You can email her directly at [email protected] Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 39 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 am Bella Vasta, and I’m here today with Kari Conley, a speaker and co-creator of Infinite Nation. She has a community created for skill building, mentorship, and a network for aspiring leaders and business owners. Bella: Carrie, how are you today?Carrie: I am fabulous. How are you?Bella: I am wonderful. I want to tell everyone how we kind of met because it’s such an off-the-wall story. It kind of shows just how you have to be open to things in life. You guys, I don’t even know if you know this, Carrie. I was watching you do this big event here in Phoenix online because one of my friends, Gail Yacoblitt from Networking Phoenix, was there and posting about it. So you were on my radar. Then all of a sudden, I get a Facebook message from you saying, “Hey, your brother was my Lyft driver, and he told me about you. I thought I’d like to connect.” It was the most serendipitous yet bizarre thing that happened. It was so cool. We had such an electric conversation that I said, “Carrie, I need to get you on and have you influence my listeners,” because you are a spitfire with so much energy and a powerful message. So I want to get into this whole thing about vision. You talk a lot about vision—not the fluffy, hokey stuff, but actual, life-changing strategy. Why do you say vision is victory, especially for entrepreneurs? Carrie: Thank you so much for letting me talk about my favorite subject, Bella, because it’s my signature talk. I do it several times throughout the year. The reason I do it is because, like many people coming out of college in the ’80s, we were told to get a good degree, work for a good company, and climb the ladder. My husband did that very well, but I was one of those people who changed jobs every two years because I just couldn’t follow the mold. Long story short, I met a mentor at one of my jobs who was the first person to tell me that I needed to figure out what I wanted to create and then find a career path that fit that. So in 1988, I took a day off from work, sat down with a legal pad, and wrote out everything I wanted my life to look like—in as much detail as possible. Where I lived, what my house looked like, my relationship with my husband, where we traveled, who we were with, and the kind of mom I wanted to be. On another sheet of paper, I started brainstorming ideas about being an entrepreneur—something in health, wellness, or marketing consulting since my background was in marketing and advertising. But at the very bottom of that paper, I wrote that someday I’d like to be a speaker and trainer on vision building and goal setting. Bella: Love it.Carrie: What happened that day is why I’ve staked my career on this. That day, I listened to what I believe my purpose is on this earth. I know it sounds kind of hokey, but I think I dropped into what God really wants me to do for my life, and the ripple effect began. A few years later, I was introduced to my first entrepreneurial route—Arbonne. I wrote my vision statement around what I wanted to do with Arbonne so I could stay home with my kids. I went all the way to the top of the company and taught my team why vision was so important. Four years ago, I started doing workshops on this topic. What I know now is that vision is everything. Most entrepreneurs think they have a vision, but it’s usually vague at best. Without a clear, detailed picture of what you want your life to look like, you can’t make the right choices with your time and money. They’re all over the map. That’s why I say vision is victory—because once people get it crystal clear in writing, the ripple effect begins, and they can finally stay on their path. Bella: I love everything you said—especially how you realized that God had a bigger purpose for you and became that boulder creating a tidal wave. You also said something about how people think they have a vision but don’t realize it’s not clear enough. When people feel overwhelmed and don’t know what to do first, I think if we can get back to that clear vision, it helps us navigate through that. Let’s talk about the stumbling blocks that keep people from putting their vision on paper and following through when things feel like they’re crashing down. Carrie: We have so many distractions right now. Entrepreneurs tell me they feel completely overwhelmed and can’t focus on one thing long enough to move forward. Here’s what that written vision does—it gives you clarity. In my workshops, I help people visualize exactly what they want their life to look like three years from now. I explain why vision is crucial. Most people don’t even know how important it is. Bella: Can I put a vision out there? Like, if you’re in Boston and you want to get to Pier 39 in San Francisco, but you have no map or GPS, you’ll just end up anywhere on the West Coast.Carrie: Exactly. The first stumbling block is not realizing how important it is. The second is that most people don’t do it because no one makes them. That’s why I do my events—I bring people into a room and make them write it down, crystal clear. You can buy my workbook on Amazon (Vision Is Victory), but most people don’t do it unless I make them. The biggest stumbling block of all is not putting a timeframe on things. Like your map example, they say, “If I get there someday, that’s fine.” But that’s the difference between running a really expensive hobby and running a six-figure business. Most entrepreneurs I see are running expensive, frustrating hobbies. They don’t put deadlines on their goals, income targets, or 90-day plans. Without that, they’re stuck in overwhelm. Bella: It’s so important. I know you’re speaking to a lot of people right now. When we come back, we’ll talk about what happens when people run a business without a clear vision. Commercial break – ProPet Hero CPR ad Bella: We’re back with the wonderful Carrie Conley talking about vision. What happens when people run a business without a clear, concise vision first?Carrie: What happens is what you called “squirrel syndrome.” Most entrepreneurs are guessing at what they’re doing. They make decisions based on what they see other people doing on social media—which is the worst thing, because most of what you see isn’t true. Even if you follow successful people, they’re much further along in the journey. Instead of focusing on foundations, they’re just chasing trends. You can do all the social media and blogging you want, but if you’re not converting people into paying clients, don’t do it. You’re spinning your wheels. Bella: I love that point. So what are the victories you see in people who do have a vision and plan for their business?Carrie: So many. First, they understand their “zone of genius” and how to stay in it—spending 90–95% of their time doing the one thing that brings income and clients. That gives them more peace and time with family. Most people become entrepreneurs for freedom and flexibility, but without vision, they end up with a business that runs them into the ground. The biggest result of all is measurable success—metrics and income in the bank. Every time a client brings me an idea, I ask, “How much money will this make in 30–90 days?” Without cash flow, you’re just running a hobby. A clear vision allows people to plan, prioritize, and make money—because cash is king. Bella: I love that. And what about community and accountability? How do they support someone’s vision?Carrie: It’s critical. In Arbonne, I had a built-in community from day one—people cheering me on, guiding me step-by-step. When I started working with other entrepreneurs, I realized most were working alone in isolation. Left to our own thoughts, we stop ourselves. Most entrepreneurs quit between years two and four—not because they don’t work hard, but because they’re not making money and no one around them understands what they’re doing. That’s why I created Infinite Nation—to give people community. When they come together, they realize they’re not alone and can lock arms and keep going. Bella: Isolation is the number one killer of businesses. Even online, we can connect. If there are two things you can take from this talk, they’re: strengthen your vision and fight the epidemic of isolation. Surround yourself with people in the same trenches because your friends and family won’t always get it. The five people closest to you will shape you—so choose wisely. Carrie: Absolutely.Bella: Lastly, what’s the number one thing entrepreneurs need to create the life and business of their dreams?Carrie: They have to ask themselves if they’re okay with running an expensive hobby or ready to invest in themselves and learn how to run a real, money-making business. Some people decide they’re fine with a hobby, and that’s great—as long as they’re honest about it. But if you say you want a business, you have to get real about who you are, where you want to go, and how badly you want it. Bella: I love that. In conclusion,

On this episode Bella speaks with George Thomas, Inbound Marketing & Brand Strategist for The Sales Lion.  George also specializes in training people on HubSpot. George Thomas George spent  15 years working in a traditional marketing agency to design and build websites and  other types of content. George then joined The Sales Lion where as an inbound designer and brand strategist. There his daily contributions include inbound strategy and design, HubSpot intensive training, speaking at conferences, content marketing, and social media marketing as well as business management and development. George and Bella discuss branding. In particular, they talk about: How to get started in video How long videos should be How often you should be putting out content How to push your content in multiple formats Changing your thinking to being a production company first. To learn more about George, visit him at https://www.thesaleslion.com/meet-the-sales-lion/meet-george/ Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 38 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. Bella: Welcome to Bella in Your Business. My name is Bella Vasta and today I’m here with George Thomas. George, I have been following you online and watching you rise up. I first kind of heard about you through Marcus Sheridan, who I actually had on a couple of episodes ago, and I’ve just watched your videos, listened to your podcasts, looked at your websites—and dude, you got it going on. If there’s one thing I can say about you, it’s that you’re entertaining, you’re a real dude, and you embrace your geeking out—but you also understand how to translate that geek talk to layman’s talk so everyone can understand. So welcome. Tell us how you got started. George: Yeah, Bella, first of all, thank you for that intro. I will tell you, it’s funny—if I was to say I have a superpower, it is being able to take what usually is complex and simplify it so people can understand it. And it’s funny that you picked up on and said “a real dude,” because one of the things that really made me want to get into this marketing slash inbound marketing content game was that in 2012 it was about who could be the most human. And I thought, oh, that’s me. Like, I can be human—that’s an easy thing. And so again, thank you for the kind words. Bella: I mean, all of a sudden I’ve seen you just explode, and now you’re becoming this big speaker and you’re everywhere, doing inbound. It’s really cool to watch you, but I’ve never actually gotten to have this kind of interaction with you, so I’m excited you’re here today. Tell us the story of George. George: It’s funny that people are like, “Wow, you just exploded out of nowhere.” The funny thing is, quietly I’ve been hustling in the background. I can’t really say I’ve kept my mouth shut because I’ve always been creating tutorials. For the last two and a half years, I’ve probably created over 375 HubSpot COS and CRM tutorials. I’ve always kind of had something to say—usually it’s positive, rarely negative—but it’s been an interesting journey. It’s kind of at that snowball effect. In 2012, I entered into the space. I won tickets to my first Inbound Conference put on by HubSpot. Bella, I had zero clue about HubSpot, landing pages, conversions—I was just a web design geek at a normal agency. We said, “Hey, let’s learn this thing,” and I launched into HubSpot Academy’s ecosystem of certifications. One certification became three, three became six, six became twelve. Now I have twelve HubSpot certifications and am one of about forty people on the planet who are HubSpot-accredited trainers. Somehow through this journey, I got connected with Marcus Sheridan, AKA he offered me a job and I quickly said yes. And it’s turned into this thing where I go out and do workshops and speak at events. Last year, my big goal was to speak at Inbound, which I did—and that was a four-year goal. For four years, I focused on achieving that. Now in 2017, I’ll be at Social Media Marketing World, Content Marketing World, and over in Scotland at Chris Marr’s Content Marketing Academy. All these things are happening. I love it, it’s fun, but I’m trying to stay humble because everything that happens from here ties back to how well I can still accomplish being human. Bella: Totally, because that’s what draws people to you too. I actually feel like I know your office because you already showed us the whole video tour. But for our listeners—some people may have heard of HubSpot and think of it as that thing that gives great tutorials, but they don’t really know what it is. Can you help our listeners understand what HubSpot actually is? George: Yeah, HubSpot is a pricey marketing automation software. It allows you to do a lot of things you need in digital business—there’s an email tool, landing page tool, keyword research, SEO optimization—you can even host your website on it. It’s nerdy stuff, but it’s what makes the difference between success and failure online. Bella: Cool, thank you for breaking that down. There are so many ways I can go with this, but today I wanted to talk about video and branding because you’ve done such an incredible job at that. You are a true thought leader in it. So, baby steps—what is and isn’t branding? George: In my opinion, your brand isn’t one thing. It’s not a logo, not necessarily the title or copy on a page, not even your website. A brand is the sum of all the parts. It’s the core beliefs that structure how you do business. Look at Apple—it’s not about a computer or an iPod, it’s about doing things differently, designing better. At the Sales Lion, our brand could easily be about a lion or sales, but our brand is about being human, being helpful, being happy. Those are three words Marcus and I live and die by. If nothing else, focus on those three words and move on. So, don’t think about logos or pages—think about the core that drives it all. That’s your brand. Bella: That’s so great. And when we translate this brand onto video, what ways can we shine it through? George: If someone can copy your brand, that means you haven’t differentiated enough. If you’re writing one blog a week and have five pages on your site, you’re easily copied. But if you’re writing three blogs a week, creating infographics, doing videos, building a media library—that’s not easy to copy. Bella: Love that. Now, how can we shine our brand through video? George: I’ll start by saying I wasn’t always a fan of being in front of the camera. I took baby steps—maybe start with short Twitter videos, Instagram stories, or a short Facebook Live. You can delete it later if you don’t like it. Snapchat was great practice. If you really want to stay hidden, do video chats with friends on Messenger. Start small. The biggest thing about being comfortable on camera is knowing what you’re talking about. If you’re a true thought leader, it’s simple. Follow the “yes, and” philosophy—whatever happens was supposed to happen. Never stop and start over. Do the whole take, then a take two if needed. People overthink perfection. The imperfections make you human. Bella: Totally. I love that. When we come back from this short break, I want to find out how long videos should be and how frequent. Commercial break – ProPet Hero CPR ad Bella: We’re back with George talking about videos and branding. George, how long should videos be and how frequent? George: That depends. I have a 20-second video in my email signature, and I also have 30-minute videos for Facebook Live sessions on gear. Some are two minutes for quick tutorials. The rule: your video should be as long as it takes to educate someone—remove fluff. People watch three-hour movies; they’ll watch your video if it’s engaging. As for frequency, ideally daily, because every video gives people the ability to spend time with you, learn from you, and connect. Even if it’s short, even if it’s simple, it builds trust. Bella: I love that. Now let’s talk about embedding videos on websites and repurposing. George: Think of yourself as a media company that happens to do pet sitting or whatever it is you do. Start by adding videos to all your major website pages—service pages, landing pages, thank-you pages—because pages with video convert 22% better. Have a video gallery section, too. One of our best videos was titled “Who We’re Not a Good Fit For.” It was black and white, and each team member explained why someone might not want to work with us. People loved it. Bella: That’s brilliant. The more people know, like, and trust you, the more they buy. Videos build that relationship faster. George: Exactly. Podcasting and video are the quickest ways to build that know-like-trust factor. Bella: Before we wrap up, I want your advice. On my podcast pages, I post the blog and audio but not the video to encourage people to subscribe. Should I change that? George: Ask yourself—do I want to make it completely easy for my audience to learn? If yes, then include it. Even if it’s harder to track metrics, prioritize your audience’s ease over your own convenience. Bella: Wow. That humbled me. You’re right—I was thinking selfishly. Thank you. George: Of course. Bella: How can people follow you? George: Go to thesaleslion.com to find me and my team page. I’m also on Twitter @GeorgeBThomas and on Facebook as Mr. George B Thomas—that’s where I’m most active. Bella: Perfect. George: One last nugget: most of us are hustling for our first name, but we should be hustling for our last name. It’s all about legacy—the impact we leave behind. Bella: I love that. George, this has been such a pleasure. I can’t wait to see you at Social Media Marketing World. To all listeners,

On this episode, Bella discusses leadership with Tarran Deane, author of the new book,  “The Alphabet Principle: Your A – Z Guide to Being a Compelling Leader”. Tarran Deane Tarran Deane is Australia's Corporate Cinderella a Leadership Development Company. Tarran works with executives, entrepreneurs, experts and emerging leaders to increase their personal effectiveness, capability, communication and commercial savviness. Bringing a maverick edge, and entrepreneurial trends to established businesses and organizations, Tarran boldly challenges, honors and equips people to shift the performance of their organization's people, practice, and profit.  Tarran intentionally cuts through the whispered frustrations of workplaces today, equipping you to lead strategically and tactically in the fast pace of real life @ work, so you and your team can get the job done and love the company you’re in. A sought-after international keynote speaker, Tarran’s warmth, humor and 43,000 hours in leadership have helped more than 26,000 audience members to hit the shift key and lead like they mean it with boldness and humility. Bella and Tarran discuss: How as a woman to be taken seriously in the corporate world Dealing with problem generators in the workplace Why vision and strategic planning matter. Her "Signature 7 Leadership Framework" for planning out your work week. (Infographic can be gotten at https://www.tarrandeane.com/signature7leadershipinfographic/)     You can find out more about Tarran on her website at http://tarrandeane.com. Connect with her on facebook Get her book here Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 37 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 Bella Vasta with Jump Consulting, and today I have a treat for you. I can’t even say it—Taryn Dean is with us, and Taryn is the self-proclaimed corporate Cinderella, which I just love that title. She boldly challenges and equips people to shift their performance, organization, practices, and profits. She’s just about to launch her new book, The Alphabet Principle: Your A to Z Guide of Being a Compelling Leader. Taryn’s whole wheelhouse is about leadership, and I had to have her on because my listeners are all pet business owners, and we are all leaders—of our lives, our businesses, and our employees. Bella: Without further ado, welcome to the show.Taryn: Thanks so much for having me, Bella. I’m so excited that we’ve been able to make this happen. I love technology, which we’ll totally talk about a little bit later. To kind of let everyone know how some blonde from Arizona met some blonde from all the way in Australia—it’s currently summer there and winter here. Literally on the opposite sides of the world. You all know I love networking, and when I had an opportunity to get together with some people, I got an invitation like, “Hey, two ladies from Australia are traveling here.” I checked out their website, they looked pretty cool, and I was going to get about twelve people together for happy hour. I said sure, why not? Then I found out that these ladies needed a ride from their hotel, so I volunteered to take them because I thought it would be cool to learn about them one-on-one. Lo and behold, Taryn and I became friends. That’s the short story. I was so enamored with your charisma, brain, and heart for Christ too, which really drew me to you. Bella: I remember when I dropped you off at your hotel that night, we prayed in my car, and that just made me weep because I thought, wow, this woman is the real deal. You made a huge impact on my life in such a short time. So I’m so glad to bring you to my listeners today. Tell us about who you are and how this whole leadership theme came about.Taryn: Firstly, can I also say you made an impression on me too. Your generosity of spirit was amazing. When we seek to serve one another, great things happen. That’s certainly been what I’ve experienced through our friendship. In terms of my work, if we look back across our lives, we see stepping stones leading to the choices we make. I began in retail banking—frontline customer service—then moved into training and education, and later into tourism and hire cars, working in airports. I learned about different industries and customer service, but all of that centered around personal leadership, assessing customer needs, and linking them to strategic direction. I recall an influential managing director of a national bank who visited us often and knew every staff member by name—this was before smartphones or digital systems. He’d ask each of us what our company values were and how we demonstrated them. That stuck with me. Later, as I took on senior leadership roles and moved into the nonprofit sector, I worked for a company transitioning from a volunteer organization supporting people with disabilities into a partially state-funded service. I planned to stay one year but stayed six, with 88% staff retention—people only leaving due to pregnancy, relocation, or retirement. Eventually, I became a senior executive at a national level, but I saw a disconnect between leadership values and rapid organizational change. I wasn’t perfect—I’m still a work in progress—but those experiences shaped me. One rainy Saturday afternoon, I was watching Ever After with Drew Barrymore and having doubts about running my small business. I was six months in, wondering if I should just get a “normal job.” Then I felt God get a little impatient with me—like, “You’re either hot or cold. I’ve given you gifts; what will you do with them?” As I watched Drew Barrymore’s Cinderella, I saw courage, innovation, diligence, negotiation, energy, and relationships—and realized those spelled “Cinderella.” The New Cinderella Laws of Leadership were born, representing strong, feminine leadership. Ten months later, my small business became a company, and I spoke at a 1,600-person lunch on what it takes to be an iron lady in business. Bella: I love that you listened to the Spirit and niched your focus. You’ve redefined what it means to be a strong woman in leadership.Taryn: Exactly. I wanted to shake up the perception of “Cinderella.” I needed people to take me seriously—especially male executives. So, pairing it with “corporate” gave it weight. Later, I discovered the movie Cinderella Man about boxer James Braddock, and I realized it paralleled the idea of transformational leadership—rags to riches, good to great. That’s what I teach: leading people to achieve transformational results. Bella: Tell me about dealing with “problem generators” in the workplace.Taryn: Ah, the “sandpaper ministry,” as I call it. Many organizations have policies and procedures but struggle to manage behaviors. I had a direct report who’d applied for the job I got but wasn’t even interviewed. When I arrived, he was resistant, disengaged, and undermining. It was tough. I learned the importance of clarifying values and expectations. That experience inspired my “Resolve PG-28” program—how to deal with problem generators in 28 days. It’s about addressing issues head-on, offering support, and having honest conversations before things escalate. Bella: That’s so relevant. Especially for small businesses—it’s personal, and conflict is scary.Taryn: Exactly. And it’s about balancing care with boundaries. Commercial break – ProPet Hero CPR ad Bella: We’re back with the wonderful Taryn Dean. Let’s talk about why vision and strategic planning matter, whether you’re corporate or a solopreneur.Taryn: Great question. When we’re young, we dream big. As adults, responsibility creeps in and we lose that vision. We start businesses but often without connecting our vision to our “why.” Without purpose, it’s not sustainable. Vision should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. Write it down—make it plain. Think of it like a tree: the values flow through every branch of your business. I use both structured and flexible planning—a 3–5-year strategic plan, broken into 90-day operating goals. Every 90 days, I set 12 goals to move me closer to my big vision. It keeps me focused, aligned, and accountable, even during tough conversations with partners or team members. Bella: That’s powerful. And I love how it applies to life too—when we feel scattered or lost, having that structure gives direction.Taryn: Exactly. It’s a faith-based principle—“Write the vision, make it plain.” My Signature 7 Leadership system helps with that. Each day has a theme: Sunday: Personal Leadership – reflection, rest, values, and creativity. Monday: Technology & Tools – updating systems and productivity apps. Tuesday: Strategic Leadership – finances, taxes, and back-office planning. Wednesday: Cultural Leadership – attracting and engaging the right people. Thursday: Speaking Leadership – preparing talks, videos, and content. Friday: Online Leadership – managing digital presence and analytics. Saturday: Family Leadership – rest, connection, and recreation. These daily themes create rhythm and balance. They help me stay grounded and purposeful. Bella: I love that so much. It’s clear, practical, and rooted in your faith. You’re living proof that structure brings freedom. Taryn: Exactly. And for anyone listening, you can download the Signature 7 Infographic for free on my website, tarrandean.com. Bella: Perfect. Taryn, thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and heart. You’ve inspired me again. Taryn: Thank you, Bella. It’s been wonderful. Bella: This has been another episode of Bella in Your Business. Please like and subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher, and remember—always keep jumping. For more information, free articles, and coaching sessions,

On this episode Bella speaks with Marcus Sheridan, a former pool guy turned digital sales and marketing expert.  He is the President of The Sales Lion and a Partner at River Pools and Spas. Marcus Sheridan, The Sales Lion Bella and Marcus discuss: The philosophy of "They ask, you answer" Why business owners are afraid of just giving honest answers to potential customers The five subjects that move the economy. The dangers of "Ostrich marketing" How important video is becoming to the marketing process Assignment selling Face to face sales appointments without you being there.       Marcus Sheridan's book: They Ask You Answer: A Revolutionary Approach to Inbound Sales, Content Marketing, and Today's Digital Consumer (available on Amazon) Masable rates it as the #1 Business book and the New York Times calls Marcus You can find out more about Marcus at https://www.thesaleslion.com. Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 36 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 Bella Vasta, and I have such a treat for you guys today. I have the Sales Lion—Marcus Sheridan—with me, who is the self-proclaimed former pool guy turned digital marketer. Marcus: I’m with you, so that means I’m good, I’m going to be energized, and I love your people. It’s great to be here.Bella: It’s not every day I get to talk to someone that The New York Times calls a web marketing guru. But Marcus, I want to pull it back for our listeners to 2012, when I first met you. It was a really tiny conference in Las Vegas—only about twelve of us there—and I just remember being blown away by how captivated you were and how you knew everyone’s name. You changed the face of my company at the time. As luck would have it, I ended up in the airport with you waiting for our flights, and that was a life-changing moment for me because you said, “Bella, you can do anything. You can totally do this coaching thing.” Fast forward—I’ve sold the pet sitting company, and now I am doing the coaching company. You have this great new book, They Ask, You Answer, and there’s a section where you talk about being a media company with your company, which is totally what I’ve turned into. But before we get into that, why don’t you tell everyone who you are and how you got from the pool business to the Sales Lion? Marcus: Here’s the quick 101. I started in 2001, a swimming pool company with two friends. We struggled along until 2008, when the market crashed, and we were in big trouble—on the edge of bankruptcy by January 2009. I remember I had sixteen employees sitting at home, three weeks overdrawn in my business bank account, maxed out on credit cards—it was brutal. That’s when I decided we needed to generate more traffic, leads, and sales than ever before—but we had no money. So, I turned to the internet. I read about inbound marketing, content marketing, and social media. To me, in my simple pool guy mind, it meant: Marcus, if you obsess over the questions people ask every day—their fears, issues, worries, and concerns—and address them on your website through text and video, you just might save the business. That’s when we embraced the philosophy They Ask, You Answer. We became the most trafficked swimming pool website in the world—getting about 600–700k visitors a month during the summer. We even started manufacturing pools because so many people trusted us. Then people started asking me to share our story and teach their companies how we did it. That turned into speaking engagements, consulting, and now I get to travel the world helping businesses big and small. Bella: You’re making a difference—more like creating a tsunami! One of the things I love about you is your focus on balance and family. You’ve taught me so much about that through your show The Balance. Tell us about that.Marcus: So I’ll be really honest—Gary Vaynerchuk is great, but everyone has a different style. Gary says “you be you,” and that’s true. But one time I asked a group if watching DailyVee ever made them feel a little depressed, and people admitted it did—because they couldn’t relate. They wanted to win big at home, too. So, I created The Balance to show how I’m trying to win at work and home. Keyword: trying. We’re all learning. It’s fun, and it’s real. Like you said, when people see inside your home, it creates a different vibe. Bella: I want to know what I need to do to get a tile up in your basement! But really—how did you realize you needed to slow down and start listening more, giving people honest answers?Marcus: Many of us still think like it’s the 1990s—that holding back information gives us an advantage. Back then, a car salesman would say, “Come on in,” instead of giving you a price. That doesn’t work anymore. Buyers today are the most educated in history. They’ll learn everything about your industry—so it might as well come from you. I didn’t overcomplicate it; I wasn’t a business school grad, so I just started answering people’s real questions. Like, “How much does a fiberglass pool cost?” “What are the problems with fiberglass?” “Fiberglass vs. concrete—what’s better?” These were questions no one would answer. Businesses still think ignoring competitors makes them invisible. It’s foolish. People aren’t dumb—they’re informed. So, I created content that answered the questions everyone was already asking. Bella: These are timeless topics. You call them the “Big Five,” right?Marcus: Yes—the five subjects that move the economy. Cost – How much will it be? Problems – What could go wrong? Comparisons – How does this compare to other options? Reviews – What do others say? Best – What’s the best product, company, or service? These five questions drive nearly every purchase decision, no matter the industry. If you create content around these, you’ll dominate. Bella: But so many business owners are afraid—they act like ostriches. Tell everyone about “ostrich marketing.”Marcus: The ostrich buries its head in the sand, thinking the problem will go away—but it doesn’t. That’s what most companies do with their websites. They ignore tough topics like cost, competitors, or problems, thinking customers won’t notice. But the problems don’t disappear. Businesses need to own those topics instead of avoiding them. Commercial break – ProPet Hero CPR ad Bella: Toward the end of your book, you talk about video and how crucial it’s becoming. Let’s dive into that.Marcus: By 2019, 80% of all content consumed online would be video—and that’s proven true now. People prefer to learn visually. You can complain about it, but it won’t change anything. Some say, “I don’t like being on video,” or “I don’t watch videos.” But nobody cares how you feel about video. They care about whether they can learn about you and your service in the way they prefer. People won’t forgive you for being uncomfortable on camera. They want to see, hear, and trust you. When people ask where to start with video, I always say: make your “80% video.” This is the video that answers 80% of the questions you get on your first sales call. That’s your foundation. The goal is that people see your face, hear your voice, and understand your philosophy before you ever meet them. Before video, when I knocked on doors, I’d hear, “Mom, Dad, the pool guy’s here.” Once I started sending videos ahead of meetings, it became, “Mom, Dad, the guy on the video is here.” Then eventually, “Mom, Dad, Marcus is here.” That’s when I knew everything had changed. Bella: That’s brilliant. And you even require clients to watch content before meeting with you, right?Marcus: Yes—it’s called “assignment selling.” It means both parties invest effort before meeting. For years, I’d think clients asked dumb questions—but really, I was the dumb one for allowing them to stay uninformed. Once we made people read or watch specific content before a call, our closing rates skyrocketed. It works across every industry. Most business owners underestimate how much buyers research before purchasing. People think customers read two or three pages before deciding, but that’s ridiculous. If you’re trusting someone with your pet—like a family member—you’ll read and watch a lot. When we tracked our sales data, we found that when a prospect consumed at least twelve pages of our content, the likelihood of closing skyrocketed. Bella: That’s so good—and it’s true. I’ve had people say they feel like they already know me because they’ve seen my videos and listened to my podcasts. They’re sold before we even meet.Marcus: Exactly. You didn’t have a face-to-face with them, but they had one with you. That’s the new sales process. With content, you can “meet” people 24/7—while you’re asleep, at home, or with family. That’s the beauty of it. Bella: That’s powerful. And I love how you remind people not to strive for perfection but for progress.Marcus: Yes! The goal isn’t perfection—it’s progress. Embrace the messy. Everyone starts bad at video or blogging, but you’ll only get better by doing it. Bella: I love that. As we wrap up, I can’t wait to see you at Social Media Marketing World 2017!Marcus: I’m thrilled you’ll be there. The energy is incredible—you’ll love it.Bella: I can’t wait. I’ll even have you sign my book! For everyone listening, the first three people to email me at [email protected] will get a free copy of Marcus’s book because it changed my life. Marcus: You can find They Ask, You Answer on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. And if you’ve read it, please leave a review—it really helps. Bella: Thank you so much, Marcus. This has been another episode of Bella in Your Business. Please like and subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher—and remember, always keep jumping.

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,

On this episode Bella speaks with Sara F. Hawkins, an attorney who specializes in working with startups, entrepreneurs, marketing and advertising agencies, as well as major corporations where she regularly counsels clients on all aspects of federal and state marketing advertising, sweepstakes and contests; international promotions; social media and internet law; copyright, trademark, and digital rights; as well as general business matters. Sara F. Hawkins With a background in consumer product marketing compliance, Sara has worked with clients to create policies and procedures for engagement with agencies, celebrities, and influencers. Sara frequently speaks on legal topics related to influencer marketing; sweepstakes and contest promotions; as well as a host of digital, native, and mobile advertising and marketing topics. Since 1998, Sara has maintained her own firm in Phoenix, Arizona. Bella and Sara discuss: Where business owners can get photos from Photo licenses and what they are Who regulates photos and copyrights How business owners can get clients to agree to share photos Privacy policies "Click to agree" agreements. Here is the resource for my Deposit Photo deal :) Sara can be reached at her website or Facebook Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 34 of Bella in Your Business. Hi, this is Sarah Hawkins. And I just want to remind you that my conversation with Bella today is for information purposes only. Even though I'm a lawyer, this is not legal advice. But I hope you stay tuned and enjoy the show. Thanks. 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. This is Bella Vasta, and I am here today with Sarah Hawkins. She is a private attorney for nearly 20 years, although if you actually saw her picture, you wouldn’t think so. She works with startups, entrepreneurs, marketing and advertising agencies, and she helps counsel clients on federal and state marketing, advertising, sweepstake contests, copyright law, trademark—the list goes on and on. Sarah has even worked with clients to create policies and procedures for engaging with agencies, celebrities, and influencers online. She frequently speaks on legal topics related to influencer marketing, sweepstakes, and contest promotions, and she’s had her own law firm since 1998. Sarah: Thank you for having me, Bella. I’m so happy to be here. Bella: You are definitely qualified to help us out here as pet sitters, dog walkers, and pet business owners. These pets are just so dang cute that we’re either posting pictures of our clients all the time or grabbing pictures online to enhance our content marketing or blogs, videos, and things like that. So today I want to help share with our audience some tips and things to consider when being so forthright on social media, whether it’s through contests, media, or content building. Let’s talk about photos, Sarah. Where should we not get them from? Sarah: From a browser search. Don’t just type in “cute Dalmatian” and take the first one you see. It’s not a problem to use a browser to search for photos—go to Google and click on “photos”—but often Google will tell you what the rights are if you click on the photo and it’ll give you more information. The problem is that it’s not always correct. If somebody posted that photo and didn’t have permission, then how is Google to know that? The checks and balances aren’t there. Bella: God forbid in nine months someone says, “Hey, that’s the picture of my Dalmatian. You don’t have copyright to that.” You’d be like, “Well, Google said,” and then you can’t track it. Sarah: Exactly. People get very upset—it’s their dog, kind of like their child. The bigger downside is with professional photographers because they often register copyrights in their images, and they will not hesitate to ask you for large sums of money. Bella: I have a personal story. I learned that the hard way when I first started. I did just that—I went to Google, searched a picture, put it on my website, and then about a year and a half later I got a letter in the mail from Getty Images asking for $1,300. I thought it was a joke. I learned a very expensive lesson that day. Tell me, are photo licenses the same thing as copyright, or what is a photo license? Sarah: A photo license is not the same as copyright. A copyright is the legal ownership that gives you exclusive rights. A photo license is something a copyright holder grants to someone else to use the photo. It could be as simple as a magazine or shelter asking to use your photo, and you reply, “Sure, just credit me.” Or it could be a legal multi-page agreement with restrictions like digital use only, not print, or time and region limits. It needs to be in writing—even an email is great. Bella: So a copyright holder gives someone the rights or license to use the photo, and those licenses come in different forms. Like a driver’s license—motorcycle, car, learner’s permit—they’re all different types. Sarah: Exactly. For instance, Instagram and Twitter require users to grant them a license to display photos. Bella: So are you saying that just by posting on Facebook or Instagram, we’re giving them the rights to use our photos? Sarah: Yes, we give them rights as outlined in their terms of service, which are often very broad. It’s important to understand how that might allow others to see or use your photos. Bella: What kind of advice would you give a pet sitter who takes pictures of pets in people’s homes and wants to post them on Facebook or video them? Sarah: The first issue is privacy. When you’re in someone’s home, there’s an expectation of privacy. You’re also signaling that the homeowner isn’t there and identifying their pet. Privacy issues are a big concern. And people are protective of their pets—some may feel their pets are like children and don’t want their images used publicly. Bella: So should we have a conversation with our clients or put it in our service agreement? Like a clause stating they agree to allow us to take pictures or videos of their pet for marketing? Sarah: Absolutely. But don’t bury it in your agreement—highlight it and have them initial it to confirm they’ve discussed it. Be specific about what you will and won’t do. Maybe clarify that photos won’t be used for stock resale and will only appear on your website or social media. Some people may have sensitivities, especially with elderly or disabled pets. Spell it out in writing and discuss it. Bella: For companies that use online scheduling, could they just add a checkbox—like, “I authorize pictures of my pets to be taken as long as the pet takes up 75% of the photo”? Sarah: Yes. Many platforms allow you to require initials or display a pop-up that users must scroll through before agreeing. It’s also a great marketing opportunity—let clients know you love sharing photos of their adorable pets. Bella: That’s a great point. We’re going to take a short break and when we come back, we’ll talk about website privacy policies and who actually regulates this stuff. Commercial break – ProPet Hero CPR ad Bella: And we’re back with Sarah Hawkins, who is an attorney of 20 years. Sarah, tell us more about privacy policies and terms of use on websites. Sarah: This is really important. People often copy-paste terms or policies from other websites without understanding them. That can lead to serious issues. If you say you’ll do something—like protect payment data—and don’t, you could face liability. It’s better not to have a policy than to post one you don’t follow. If you take payments, state how they’re handled. If you use a third-party provider like PayPal, mention that and include their privacy and security standards. Your terms of use outline your relationship with visitors—what content can be posted, what can be removed, and so on. Also, if you track website data—cookies, page visits, or demographics—you need to disclose that. It’s not a problem to track; it’s a problem not to disclose that you are. Bella: That’s a good point. Who actually regulates all this? Sarah: There are state and federal agencies, but most oversight comes from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Even small businesses can be liable if there’s a privacy breach—especially if payment data is exposed. Usually, it’s handled through regulatory action, not lawsuits, but it’s still costly. Bella: So the bottom line is get legal counsel, read what you’re agreeing to, and make sure your policies match what you’re doing. Sarah: Exactly. If you’re using a third-party website builder, read their terms, and if you don’t understand them, ask someone to explain. Bella: What about online agreements where clients click “I agree”? Are those valid? Sarah: Yes, they are. There are two types—clickwrap and browsewrap. Clickwrap requires users to actively click “I agree,” while browsewrap assumes consent by simply using the site. Courts prefer clickwrap because it’s clearer. However, if the link to your terms doesn’t work or wasn’t accessible, a court might not enforce it. Bella: In my old pet sitting company, we used a click-to-agree setup but also posted our major policies on our website and attached them to invoices. That gave clients multiple chances to review. Sarah: That’s smart. The more opportunities you provide, the better. Also, date your contracts—for example, “Effective January 1, 2025”—so it’s clear which version applies. Transparency is key. Bella: That makes sense. Before we close, I want to mention depositphotos.com—it’s a stock photo website that stores all your licenses in one place. That way, if someone challenges you, you can easily show proof of purchase. Sarah: That’s a great tool. And remember—always get the commercial license, not personal, if you’re using photos for business.

In this episode Bella speaks with Nicole Moore, a mompreneur who runs a marketing and promotions company for authors. She is also a mother to a micro-premie born at only 9.6 oz. Listen in as Bella and Nicole discuss a variety of topics including how Nicole was able to build her email lists, how working together is better, and her thoughts on tolerance and patience in business and life. Nicole was able to build a massive email list of authors in which they all work together to promote each other's content. She'll discuss valuable tips on how you can build your networking online and maintain strategic business partnerships. She also talks about her strategies and promotions she used to attract her specific clientele base. Nicole has such a unique and inspiring story that will surely motivate you to think about what you can do in your own business and life. Nicole has been an author since 2011, writing as a mom blogger, but it was after the birth of her daughter, Kenna in January of 2012, that she was determined to make it a full-time career. As the fourth smallest preemie in the world, Kenna’s medical needs would prevent her from ever going to day care. Her writing can also be found on Shine, where she is a Shine Parenting Guru and an award winning Yahoo! Contributor on YourWisdom as the relationship and dating expert. In addition, she has been published by McClatchy News in their syndicated papers. She was written a number of books including her "Keeping Up With Kenna" series which documents the story of her daughter as well as a variety of romance novels. Her books can be found on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Apple, and Smashwords in ebook, paperback, and even some audiobooks. Nicole is also the founder of The Dreamers Do Project which is dedicated to helping people create the life of their dreams. They believe if you can dream it, you can do it. She is an example of someone who does it all, and is a true inspiration to pet business owners everywhere. You can find out more about Nicole at: http://thedreamersdoproject.com/ http://lovekissedbookbargains.com Nicole's biography was adapted from her website, thedreamersdoproject.com Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 33 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. My name is Bella Vasta with Jump Consulting, and today I’m here with Nicole Andrews Moore. Nicole, how are you? I’m doing great. Thank you. Thank you so much for coming on. You are one of the most dynamic people that I know, and let me back up for a minute and explain to our audience how I came to know Nicole. You’ve probably already heard my story that about two and a half years ago, I gave birth to a 12-ounce baby. So picture this—like you’re at Outback and you’re ordering a steak. That’s how small she was. And I thought my baby was small, but Nicole actually has Kenna, who was how many ounces? She was 9.6 ounces. She was a 24-weeker—24 weeks and three days. Incredible. Absolutely incredible. And I found Nicole because I was searching the internet, as many of us do when we have problems or questions or are just seeking help. I stumbled upon not only Kenna’s story but her mom, who just happens to be an author. I found comfort in reading her beautifully written story, and I actually listened to it on audio from Amazon. That’s how I reached out to Nicole, and we became friends. Then I realized how dynamic she is and said, “You have to get on my show,” because there are so many mompreneurs out there with so many balls up in the air. Nicole, tell us all about you. Tell us about the journey you’re on with Kenna. Keeping Up with Kenna is the book name, right? Yes, that’s the nonfiction. So basically, I live a few different lives, which keeps it interesting. I had always said that I wanted to be an author, and a big part of that was just writing. I was a mom blogger and doing pretty well with that—working with Yahoo and a couple of other big companies. Then I had Kenna. Being a mom blogger doesn’t pay as well as you might imagine. So part of what I had always done was blogging and journaling—keeping track of our life. Keeping Up with Kenna had started because when you have friends and family all over the US and the world and they want to know what’s going on, I didn’t have the energy to be in touch with everybody daily. So I started the Facebook page and wrote more detailed information and blog posts. Eventually, that all turned into a writing career because one of the special-needs moms I met through blogging reached out and said, “Listen, if you’re serious about doing this writing thing, I have a friend who’s a bestselling author on Amazon, and she’d love to mentor you.” We all kind of stick together. We have a really big why—why we have to make this work. The reality is, who in the world would ever hire me? Kenna came home; nobody told me I could have nursing. I about turned myself inside out trying to take care of this baby. She came home at six pounds, which was fantastic, having grown from 9.6 ounces—she was a pork chop! But she came home on a heart monitor, oxygen, and a feeding tube. This isn’t a child you get a nanny for—this is a child you get a nurse for. So I had to learn how to make money and help supplement the family income because let’s face it, most families need two incomes unless you’re infinitely wealthy. And when you have all the medical things, it’s difficult—you also have to be a nurse. I was so happy to have her home that had they told me I had to stack marbles every day to keep her, I would’ve found a way to make it happen. So I ended up writing the books about Kenna because everybody wanted updates. Then I had also been a romance author—I’d aspired to be one. I separated the nonfiction from the fiction because they just don’t really go together. I wrote romance novels and picked up on how to market them pretty well. Other authors on Amazon started reaching out and saying, “Hey Nicole, I saw what you did with your book release. Any way you could help me?” Next thing you know, I’m helping all these authors. Then people said, “You should really charge for this.” And I thought, “Well, who knew?” Next thing you know, now I’ve written 16 books and four box sets—romances—since 2013. I have a company, Love Kiss Books, which has turned into Love Kiss Book Bargains. My 22-year-old daughter needed a job, so she runs Boxed Romance Bargains. A friend who’s also an author writes paranormal, so she runs a site for us. We grew by four sites in the last few days, and now we’re up to eight websites that are all part of this marketing. I love it. I’m grateful because I can be around for Kenna—I don’t miss a minute. And I’m able to help other authors, many of whom have similar stories—illness, single motherhood. It feels good to help people and help my family by earning money doing it. You said you have a really big why. There’s a difference between an idea and execution. There are people who get stuck in the ideas. Tell us more about your Dreamers Do Project and what you think it takes for someone to go from “I wish I could” to “I’m doing it.” The idea behind Dreamers Do Project was: what others dream, dreamers do. And of course, the whole “a dream without a plan is just a wish.” I had to take the leap because I think success is just a few steps outside your comfort zone. Pushing past the comfort zone, trying new things—honestly, what’s the worst that happens? You fail and try something else. Failure isn’t bad; it’s a stepping stone. Kenna was my motivation to move past fear because I had to find a way to stay home with her. And I think being open to possibility is key. I started Love Kiss Book Bargains on January 1st, 2016. I hoped to grow an email list big enough that other authors would pay me to share their books, while I could share mine. Little did I know it would become what it has. Technology was a challenge. You need a team of people around you—you can’t do it all. What started as my little dream has now turned into a group of 10 women working together. I have two personal assistants, another woman who handles promotions, and six others managing sites. I started a Facebook group for authors to ask questions, and what began as a small group is now just shy of 1,000 authors and over 1,800 on the email list. That’s amazing. Let’s talk about that email list—how did you build and use it? I knew I needed email lists for authors and readers—two totally different strategies. I started offering free promotions. For example, on Amazon, authors can run book giveaways to gain followers. My theory is that it’s better together—everyone collaborating. I’d create group promotions where everyone shares and succeeds. Every time someone signed up for these free promotions, I’d add them to my list. That’s legal if they’re essentially buying your product. I’d also let authors submit their new releases, and I’d promote them for free. Authors love free promotion, and it grew from there. The more active the Facebook group became, the more Facebook promoted it, and happy authors referred friends. For readers, it’s about giveaways—but they must be book-related to attract the right audience. The key is defining your niche and targeting it. That’s why my promotions are successful. You build a quality list by attracting the right people. Want to get yourself or your staff Pet First Aid CPR certified but don’t know how? Gone are the days of taking off work to sit in a classroom. Take it online. ProPet Hero is a veterinary-trained program with modules and certification. Imagine clients being drawn to you because of your knowledge. Sign up today at jumpconsulting.net/cpr and use code CPR-PETSITTER for 10% off.

In this episode of “Bella In Your Business”, Bella speaks with Amy Schmittauer from the popular YouTube series Savvy Sexy Social In this episode they discuss what a Vlog is, and how and why Amy got into it.  They also talk about how pet sitters can use video to enhance their business and marketing and some tips on how to overcome that fear of being on camera. Amy's newly released book Vlog Like a Boss: How to Kill It Online with Video Blogging just launched on Jan 31st and just by listening to this episode, you might win a free copy. Want to join our book club? The Jumpers in my FB group voted for Amy's book as our next book club read. If you would like to join us, we start the middle of February. You can get a copy of her book here and join our FB book club group here Amy Schmittauer Amy Schmittauer  is the Vlog Boss. As a new media triple threat —YouTuber, Keynote Speaker and Author—she coaches people to go after what they want in life and leverage online video to make it happen. Creator of the popular YouTube series Savvy Sexy Social, her channel boasts a global community and millions of views.  And let’s not forget she is Mama to an adorable Beagle named LUCY. In Amy’s first book Vlog Like a Boss: How to Kill It Online with Video Blogging, she shares her collection of strategies and tactics to help you create video that gets the attention you deserve. Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 32 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 Bella Vasta with Jump Consulting, and today I'm here with Amy Schmittauer, the Vlog Boss. She’s a new media triple threat—a YouTuber, keynote speaker, and author—and she coaches people to go after what they want in life and leverage online video to make it happen. She’s the creator of the popular YouTube series Savvy Sexy Social, which I highly recommend you go check out because I’m an avid watcher. And let’s not forget, Amy, you’re also pet mama to the adorable Lucy Beagle. That’s exactly right. That’s the main job description. Right? They totally run our life. And I love how Lucy is in some of your videos as well. Amy also has her first book that just launched, How to Kill It Online with Video Blogging, where she shares her collection of strategies and tactics to help you create video that gets the attention you deserve. Amy, welcome. Hello, Bella. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it. I’m so excited because I got my ticket to Social Media Marketing World and looked at all the speakers. Out of all of them, you were the one I was like, “Ooh!” I went to your YouTube channel, started consuming all your content, got super excited—you actually cost me about a thousand dollars because I invested in all this awesome equipment. I stepped it up a notch and was like, all right, I’m going to do this. I took a 30-day vlog challenge and reached out, and you totally motivated and inspired me. Our audience today is made up of pet sitters, pet business owners, and dog walkers. We have the best thing to put on video—cute, fluffy puppies, dogs, and kitties. I wanted to bring you to my audience to help excite them and explain all this video stuff and how they can incorporate it into their business. So first, if you’re the Vlog Boss, what the heck is a vlog? Absolutely. It probably sounds like a lot of things to people. Sometimes it sounds like “blog,” and sometimes it sounds dirty—what is that? It’s literally just the short way of saying “video blog.” Vlog Like a Boss is what I named my book because I wanted people to go out and do their thing. You don’t have to be like anyone else. You just have to share your message with video. If you use video, then you are vlogging like a boss. Pretty simple and straightforward, right? And the best part—for those who hate writing or worry about grammar—is that video is raw, authentic, and fast. You can film anything from your daily thoughts while walking a dog to saying, “Hey guys, I’m in the office just scheduling for the week and here’s how to give your dog a treat without getting your hand bitten.” Exactly. So, Amy, what’s your why? Why did you start all this? You couldn’t have just been amazing on camera on day one. Absolutely not. The first video I made had nothing to do with me being on camera. I talk about this in the book. It was 2007, and I was a bridesmaid in a wedding. I wanted to make the bride feel even better on her big day, so I made a video—a compilation of short clips from our friends wishing her well—and played it at the rehearsal dinner. It was for one person, but everyone there was emotional and shocked. That’s when things started to click for me. I realized I could use creativity to affect people in a positive way. That’s how I discovered video and later YouTube—not to be famous, but simply because it was an easy platform to upload and share. My why every single day originally came from my dog. I got Lucy when I was 18. She totally shaped me as I grew up, and I hated leaving her every day. She had separation anxiety, and I thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool if I didn’t have to leave the house?” That was my first why—to work for myself and stay home with Lucy. That’s so sweet. So it started off with Lucy, but I’m sure your why has evolved. Definitely. When you find something you love to do and can make money at it, it’s amazing. I started this because I was passionate about the online world. I grew up with computers, so content creation and community building came naturally. That’s how I became a social media consultant—helping businesses figure out how to use Facebook effectively. I just happened to use video to teach that message. Here we are in 2017—it’s still “the year of video.” Every year it becomes more important. The medium has lifted me up because it’s how I deliver my message. I tell people: if you want to rise above your competitors, do something different. Everyone’s hesitant about video, but if you just go after it, you’ll stand out. My why now is about ownership—knowing that anything I want is up to me. I don’t let excuses or circumstances define me. Anything possible for me needs to be decided and done by me. That’s my why: to stay focused on what I love and do it well, on my own terms. I love that. Right? It’s not about “working for the man.” I can’t imagine not being in charge of my life. We’re going to take a quick break, but when we come back, we’ll talk about losing that fear of being in front of the camera. Commercial break – ProPet Hero CPR ad And we’re back. Amy, thank you so much for being here today. How do you get over the fear of being on camera? You have to be real about what your fears actually are. Ask yourself: what’s the worst-case scenario? People often say, “I don’t have the right stuff.” But you don’t need a thousand-dollar camera—you have an incredible device in your pocket. Your smartphone is enough. The bigger fear is usually about ROI—“Is it worth my time?”—and to that I say, don’t be lazy. Figure out your goals and respect the process. It takes time to build relationships with people through video. Most people think you have to be born for this, but that’s not true. You just need practice. No one is a natural. I was never comfortable on camera—I barely have pictures from my childhood because I avoided them! But I practiced. The trick is not to see the camera as a camera. Talking to a device isn’t natural, but neither is imagining you’re talking to a million people. Instead, think of it as one person—your best friend. The original YouTubers did that—they spoke to one person, and then they found many who related. Understand your fears, and then start talking to that one person through the lens. That’s where something special happens. Exactly. It’s about being real and relatable. Right. And being yourself matters. If you’re fake, people will know. If you’re truly yourself, meeting someone in real life will feel natural. I’m the same person online and offline. That authenticity is what builds trust. Absolutely. And for our pet sitters and dog walkers, it’s about being real. Show the fun, messy, human side of your work. Don’t be afraid to be authentic, funny, and imperfect. Exactly. So let’s talk about your 30-day challenge. Sure. It’s called 30 Days to Better Vlogging. It’s $30—just $1 a day. Every day you get a tip on improving your videos—from strategy and editing to lighting and promotion. It’s not just “upload and pray.” It’s about creating and marketing your videos effectively. Love it. And that led to your book, Vlog Like a Boss, right? Yes! It’s essentially the complete guide to video blogging—practical, step-by-step, and full of strategy. It covers how to build your schedule, stay confident on camera, and promote effectively on social media. That’s awesome. How can people get your book? You can get it at vloglikeaboss.com—it redirects to Amazon. And Bella, you’re doing a giveaway, right? Yes! If you want this book and don’t want to pay for it, comment below this video or email me at [email protected]. The first three people will get a free copy. And check out 30 Days to Better Vlogging and Savvy Sexy Social on YouTube. Amy, thank you so much for joining me. Thank you, Bella. It’s been wonderful. This has been another episode of Bella in Your Business. You can catch me on iTunes or Stitcher, or on Facebook at Bella in Your Business or Jump Consulting. Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe—and always keep jumping.

In this episode of “Bella In Your Business”, Bella speaks with Britt Alwerud from Handlr.  They discuss  the top 9 apps they think are great for the Pet Sitting business. The apps they discuss are: Google for Work Handlr Trello NextDoor Podcasts Grasshopper Instagram Waze SoundCloud Britt Alwerud lives in Los Angeles, CA with her menagerie of furbabies - two Goldens, Daisy and Taj, two cats, Tiger and Monkey, two horses named Gracie and Moo, and a chameleon named Larry. Britt owns DogZenergy in San Diego, CA. Now she’s the full-time Founder and CEO of Handlr. Handlr is the ultimate business app for busy pet sitters who are looking to automate and grow their business. Learn more about Handlr by clicking here or email her at [email protected]. You can also find Britt on Instagram @doggonetechgirl or follow Handlr on Twitter @myhandlr for weekly business tips. Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 31 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, everybody. My name is Bella Vasta, and I'm your host of Bella in Your Business. I'm here today with a very extraordinary entrepreneur. Her name is Britt Alvarude, and she is the inventor of Handler as well as Dogs Energy. Britt: Hey, Bella. Thanks for having me on. Bella: For sure. So for everyone listening here, and you know how much I love networking—Britt reached out to me a couple of months ago, and we’ve had a few calls since then that were so exciting and fun that I said, “Hey, Britt, let’s get on a podcast so everyone can hear the fun things we talk about.” You’re going to learn a lot about Britt and what she does, and our topic today is ten apps that can really help your business. Britt: Sure. So I have a dog walking agency called Dogs Energy in San Diego, California. I started that business while I was at UCSD, and what began as me just walking a few dogs quickly snowballed into walking dogs on every street in La Jolla. As I got busier, things got a little out of hand, and I needed a way to manage it all and create more time for myself. You’re taking care of dogs like crazy, barely have time to take care of yourself, walking all day, sitting all day, and then you get home and have to do a million back-office things like scheduling, managing client requests, and invoicing. It got to the point where I was burned out and thought, “How do I keep growing this business if I don’t figure out how to manage it more efficiently and create more time for myself?” So I decided to look into software and apps to manage my business. Bella: So today we’re going to talk about apps that are game-changing for the pet industry. You and I were talking and reflecting on it, and I think for my listeners, it would be really helpful to hear about the tools we use that they might implement in their businesses to make their lives easier, faster, and more streamlined. So, Britt, what’s the first app you’d recommend business owners use? Britt: I’d say if you aren’t using Google for work, that’s the first place to start. When I was first figuring out scheduling and managing appointments, I used Google Calendar. Gmail is great, and Google Drive lets you keep forms, spreadsheets, and documents organized. If you’re working with other people, everyone can see updates in real time. Once you start growing and adding dog walkers—say, more than twenty clients—it gets tough to do everything in Google Calendar. You need to make sure dog walkers have their calendars, show up on time, and complete jobs. I realized I needed software specific to pet sitting and dog walking, so I researched options but couldn’t find anything that did everything I needed: GPS tracking, mobile appointments, check-ins and check-outs, and invoicing. I dreamed about pressing a button on an appointment that would automatically charge the client’s card. And wouldn’t it be even better if dog walkers could check out and charge automatically? When Uber and Lyft came out, I thought, “That’s what I want for my business.” So I built Handler—the software I’d been dreaming of. Bella: Awesome. That Handler app sounds amazing. For everyone listening, you can check it out at myhandler.com/bella. Before we move on, I want to mention another helpful Google feature—canned responses and Boomerang for email follow-ups. Between Google Apps and Handler, they work beautifully together. Another app I love that I know you use too is Trello—T-R-E-L-L-O. What do you use it for? Britt: I use it for everything—from planning my wedding to managing Dogs Energy. You can create lists for projects—like “Growth for 2017,” “Ideas,” “In Progress,” and “Done.” Each card represents a task, and you can move them through stages. It’s basically a glorified checklist, and moving a card to “Done” is so satisfying. Bella: For those of you who love checklists, Trello’s great. I use it with my virtual assistants, podcast producer, and other team members. As pet business owners, we often have online helpers—bookkeepers, designers, etc.—and Trello helps us keep everything organized instead of losing track in emails. Another app I love is Nextdoor.com. I’ve even written blogs about how pet business owners can find clients or workers there. It’s a micro-neighborhood hub for word-of-mouth marketing and community connection. Britt: Yeah, it’s been great. It’s a way to get organic referrals. My business grew through word of mouth, and Nextdoor amplifies that to the community. The only downside is that posts can only be made by people who live in that area. So to grow into Del Mar, we ask our clients there to post on our behalf—and we reward them with a toy or extra walk time. Bella: Great idea! (Commercial break – ProPet Hero CPR ad) Bella: Okay, next up—podcasts! I love them. When you’re tired of regular radio, podcasts are perfect for learning while you walk dogs, drive, or do chores. Feed your brain! Britt, do you listen to podcasts? Britt: Yes! I love The Tim Ferriss Show—he’s fascinating and inspiring. And Entrepreneur on Fire by John Lee Dumas is great too. I was actually a guest on his show once. Bella: I love those. Michael Stelzner from Social Media Examiner said podcasts are one of the last unfiltered mediums—no algorithms deciding what you see. It’s a pure way to reach and learn from people. Now let’s talk about Grasshopper. As businesses grow, sometimes you need more lines for team members or forwarding calls. Google Voice is great, but Grasshopper works well when you need a larger system. Britt: We’ve used Grasshopper for a year now. Since we all work remotely, it helps manage calls and texts between managers and assistants. Grasshopper lets multiple users receive forwarded calls and texts through the app. It’s super helpful. With Handler, I wanted something similar—so clients can message walkers through the app without exchanging personal numbers. That keeps communication organized and secure. Bella: I love that. Now, Instagram—you’re great at it. I was checking your profile earlier, and I feel like I know you through your posts. Tell us how you use Instagram for business. Britt: We started posting all the fun photos our dog walkers take during the day. It helps clients see how happy their dogs are, and hashtags like #SanDiegoDogs bring in new followers. It’s also helped us connect with “celebrity dogs” on Instagram, like Jojo the Super Corgi. We’ve partnered with them for community events like the Surf Dog-A-Thon in Del Mar. We even hosted an Instagram photo contest where clients’ dogs won prizes—it was a blast. Bella: That’s awesome. Next is Waze—W-A-Z-E. It’s a traffic navigation app that’s crowd-sourced, so you get live updates about accidents or slowdowns. I use it constantly. Britt: Me too. It’s super handy. Bella: And finally, SoundCloud—great for streaming music or even listening to podcasts on the go. To recap: we’ve covered Google for Work, Handler, Trello, Nextdoor, Podcasts, Grasshopper, Instagram, Waze, and SoundCloud. Britt, tell everyone how they can find Handler. Britt: You can go to myhandler.com or download it on the App Store or Google Play. If you want to become a Handler Partner, there’s an application online. We’re connecting top-quality pet sitters, walkers, and groomers with clients through the app—so not only do you get tools to manage your business, but you also gain new clients. Bella: Awesome. Thank you so much for joining me, Britt. For everyone listening, don’t forget to like and subscribe to Bella in Your Business. You can also find us on Facebook or visit jumpconsulting.net. This has been another episode of Bella in Your Business. Always keep jumping!

In this episode, Bella talks to Britney Young. Britney is a digital marketing professional and social media enthusiast. Her day-to-day life as a social media marketing manager includes: finding/curating relevant content to post to social channels, analyzing post data and post performance to see key trends or spikes in engagement, looking for relevant industry influencers to connect with, and responding to customer inquires, etc. They discuss: What a social marketing manager does The pros and cons of using automatic republishers like Meet Edgar How often should you post What should you be posting What you should be doing with all of those pet pictures you post Their favorite apps for doctoring up pictures The differences in the social media channels and a good workflow for pushing one post through many of them. Focusing your efforts on a few selected channels. Knowing your audience and finding out what channel works best for them.Apps mentioned: - Canva - Abobe Spark - Pixaby For more information about Britney Young, you can find her on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/britneynyoung/ Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 30 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 Bella Vasto with Jump Consulting, and today I'm here with Brittany Young. She is a digital marketing professional and social media enthusiast. Her day-to-day life as a social media marketing manager includes finding and curating relevant content to post on social channels, analyzing post data and performance to see keyword trends or spikes in engagement, looking for relevant industry influencers to connect with, and responding to customer inquiries. I have her on today because I know that so many pet sitting businesses are struggling through the social media tidal waves, trying to figure out where they need to be and what they should be doing. Brittany is here to help save the day and explain what we should all be doing. Brittany: Thank you. So social, digital, everything has really been my passion pretty much since I graduated from college about ten years ago. I originally started off in a small digital agency where I got a lot of hands-on experience learning what social and digital were and how they worked. I often think of a professor I had in college back when Facebook was just starting up. At the time, I had MySpace, and she encouraged us to sign up for Facebook and Twitter. I thought to myself, “What’s the point?” I didn’t want to be bothered. But I thank her so much because I did it, I learned, and now here I am doing this for a living. I love building community, connecting with people through social, and helping drive business. Bella: I love that story because it sounds like you’ve really accomplished the idea that when you love what you do, you never work a day in your life. Tell us more about what a social media marketing manager does. I think so many small business owners wear so many hats and think, “Yeah, I can post to Facebook, no big deal,” but they don’t understand the true power behind it. Brittany: Besides just posting—which is a big part of it—you really have to listen and understand what your audience wants to hear. Businesses often get on Facebook or Twitter thinking they’ll just blast their latest promotion, but it’s really more of a song and dance. You post, but you also listen and engage. I look for content that my audience will like and share, and I also pay attention to what they’re saying about my business and the industry so I can interact meaningfully. Bella: A lot of business owners struggle with engagement. What if your audience isn’t saying anything? How do you get them to engage? Brittany: That’s a good question and something I’ve experienced in my current position. We deal with urgent care—not the most fun thing to talk about—but there are opportunities to start conversations. One thing I recommend is leveraging “bizarre holidays,” like National Chocolate Lovers Day or Left Handers Day. People love to share and engage with those kinds of posts. They might not always tie directly to your business, but they’re great conversation starters. Bella: Great idea. It’s about breaking up the noise and grabbing attention. So what’s the difference between using automation tools like Meet Edgar or Hootsuite and having a live person like yourself managing social media? Brittany: There are pros and cons to both. For small business owners, you need some automation because you can’t realistically post manually every day. These tools help, but you still need to review, respond to comments, and interact. Automation doesn’t replace genuine engagement. You need both. Bella: Exactly. One of my favorite tricks is that when you get a post with a lot of likes, you can click those likes and invite people who aren’t already following your page. That’s something automation can’t do. So, how often should a page post? Brittany: It depends on the network. For Facebook, if you have fewer than 10,000 followers, don’t post more than once or twice per day. Facebook’s algorithm changes mean that posting too much actually hurts your reach. On Twitter, you have more flexibility since a tweet’s lifespan is only about 18 minutes. As for content, it should be a mix—some user-generated, some curated, and some original. People respond well when they see you sharing their content, but you still need to maintain your own brand identity. Bella: Exactly. Pet sitters often post tons of photos of their clients’ pets, which is great, but after a while, people only care about their own pet. I think those photos should be part of a bigger content strategy—mixing in blog posts, engaging questions, and helpful tips like “When is it too hot to walk your dog?” Brittany: I completely agree. While images get good engagement, it’s important to balance them with valuable information that adds something new. That’s what keeps followers coming back. Bella: Maybe they could use tools like Canva or Pixabee to turn pet photos into quote graphics or engagement posts instead of just “Here’s Fluffy!” What apps do you like for editing photos? Brittany: Canva is my go-to. I also use Flipagram for slideshows and Boomerang for short looping videos—people love movement. Instagram has also improved its editing features. Bella: I remember when Instagram filters were new and I’d edit there just to post on Facebook. I’ll check out Boomerang. I also recently discovered Adobe Spark—it’s great for quick, animated social videos. (Commercial break – ProPet Hero CPR ad) Bella: Welcome back. Brittany, thanks for joining me. Let’s talk about translating one topic across different platforms. For example, if you wrote a blog about keeping pets warm in winter, how would you share it on Facebook versus Twitter or Instagram? Brittany: Each platform has its nuances. Facebook allows longer posts with more context and targeting. Twitter requires brevity, so you might link to the blog with a catchy headline and a few hashtags. Instagram relies on visuals, so you’d focus on an eye-catching image and use relevant hashtags like #dogsofinstagram. It’s worth tailoring each post to its audience rather than auto-sharing across platforms. Bella: Great point. And social media drives website traffic. For example, you can post that “Keep Your Pets Warm” article on Facebook, tag local pet stores, and boost it to your city. On Twitter, you could make it a quick “5 Ways to Keep Your Dog Warm This Winter” with hashtags to reach pet bloggers. On Instagram, use a funny image—like a big dog in a small sweater—and caption it, “Does this make me look fat?” Same message, different delivery. The number one thing I hear from small business owners is, “I don’t have enough time.” My advice? One, get help from someone like Brittany. Two, focus on one platform first and get great at it before expanding. Brittany: Yes, absolutely. When I started at my company, they had five social accounts but barely used them. If you can’t maintain it, don’t have it. Focus on one and do it well. Bella: Exactly. And maybe add a question to your intake form like, “What’s your favorite social media platform?” so you know where to focus your efforts. Brittany: That’s a great idea. Bella: Brittany, thank you so much for being here today. If anyone wants to connect with you, how can they reach you? Brittany: LinkedIn is best—just search Brittany N. Young. Or email me at [email protected]. Bella: Awesome. This has been another episode of Bella in Your Business. Please like and subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher so new episodes automatically update every Thursday. And remember—always keep jumping!

In this Episode Bella talks with Walt Galvin, an independent contractor working for Rover.  They discuss how sites like Rover can be a viable option for some pet sitters and walkers who are just starting out or want to keep it simple. Walt Galvin, independent contractor with Rover. Some of the advantages include: Not having to handle payments from clients Saving  time and money but not having to handle marketing Not having to deal with all kinds of administrative headaches and paperwork. Ability to set your own work schedule     For Walt it has turned into a substantial retirement income and he points out that it is also a good option for those who don't have the desire to hire other sitters and walkers as staff.  Walt also recommends that you pay close attention to the service agreements, particularly in regards to what insurance covers and you may need to purchase additional insurance to cover yourself. Many of these online websites do not provide adequate coverage for the pet sitters. Only the clients. Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 29 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. This is Bella Vasta with Jump Consulting, and today I have a treat for you. My friend and co-admin of the Rover Dog Vacay Care.com group that I host, Walt Galvin, is with me. Walt: Doing real well. How about you, Bella? Bella: I'm wonderful. I'm so glad to have you on today because, as you know, this podcast covers a gauntlet of topics, but you are the first I’ve had about this one. Today we’re going to be talking about what type of person is right for Rover, Dog Vacay, Wag, or Care.com. I’m just going to call them “the website sitters.” I’m still trying to figure out a good name. What do you think about “website sitters”? Walt: I think that works well. It covers the gamut of all of the offerings that are out there. Bella: For sure. Why don’t you give our listeners a little bit about your background—what you did in previous careers, what led you to being listed on Rover, and where you are today? Walt: That’s a long answer, but we’ll give it to you here. I spent most of my professional career in defense electronics and defense ammunition manufacturing. About 17 years ago, I got very involved with an animal rescue group in the Washington, D.C. area called Lab Rescue of the LRCP. I’ve been with them for about 17 years, held some executive positions, and served on the board of directors for many years. I’ve had a passion for dogs my entire life. But in 2015, I retired, downsized a little, and after finishing all the “honey-do” lists around the new house, I found myself with a lot of time on my hands. My wife would come home from work and say, “What did you do today?” After a couple of weeks, she finally said, “You need to get off your butt and do something.” So I looked at my passions—dogs—and started thinking about ideas to help both dogs and people. I happened to be on Facebook one day and saw an ad for Rover. I took a look and thought it sounded interesting. At the time, they were only offering boarding or home-stay services. Later, I saw they added dog walking services and thought, “That’s a great idea for me.” So I signed up, created my profile, got approved, and sat for about three months before I got my first booking. After that, my calendar filled up quickly. Bella: And when your wife came home and asked what you did that day? Walt: I could tell her I’d walked about six miles and picked up a little dog poop along the way. Bella: But you’re still smiling and wagging your tail, right? Walt: Absolutely. I love what I do. This has been such a change for me and my entire lifestyle since I started with the website pet care providers. Bella: You said “lifestyle,” and that’s so true—it really is a lifestyle. You’re getting exercise, being outdoors, and fulfilling your passion. At this stage in life, that’s all that really matters, right? Walt: Absolutely. That’s the most important thing. I love being with my clients, both canine and human. I’ve developed friendships with many of the people I care for and their pets. It’s been a great experience. Plus, I’m making a pretty good income that supplements my retirement. Bella: I can imagine it gives you some extra play money for vacations. Walt: Yes, we’re actually planning a trip to the Mediterranean in Europe this summer. Bella: Beautiful! I love Europe. So as I’m hearing this, it doesn’t just sound like you’re enjoying the work, but also that the administrative side isn’t what excites you. If I told you to market your business every month, track invoices and payments, and handle all the admin work, I bet this lovely job wouldn’t be so lovely anymore, right? Walt: That’s exactly right, and that’s one of the reasons I decided to stay on Rover. They market my services, collect the funds, and I just do a little bit of admin work on the site. I have very little to worry about other than taking care of my clients every day. Bella: That’s perfect. It just suits your life. Not everyone wants to grow a six-figure company with a big team—it comes with more responsibility. You’ve already lived that life. Walt: Exactly. For me, it’s a lifestyle thing. I usually work from about ten to four, Monday through Friday. I don’t work evenings or weekends because most of my business is walking. Occasionally, I’ll board or house sit, but that’s rare. This gives me time to be with my wife and family. The hours are great—it’s really hit the nail on the head for what I need at this point in my life. Bella: Sounds like you’re living the dream! But it’s also important to remember that pet care isn’t all puppy breath and cuddles—it’s physically demanding. Walt: That’s true. People often don’t realize how demanding it is. Sure, you get good exercise and a reasonable income, but it’s still a physical job. Bella: Exactly. And that’s a good reminder that you also have to take care of your own health and well-being. So let’s talk about insurance. These websites offer coverage, but what did you find when you looked at it? Walt: In my professional career, I worked on government contracts and served as VP of Contracts, so I tend to read terms and conditions carefully. When I reviewed what these companies offered, I realized the coverage was limited—it mainly protected the pet owner, not the sitter. The terms clearly state that, but it’s not well-advertised. So after a few months, I decided I needed my own liability insurance. I got insights from some Facebook groups and purchased individual coverage. Bella: That’s smart. Every business owner should ask themselves how much risk they’re willing to take, and the answer determines how they move forward. Pet sitting is serious—you’ve got little lives in your hands. (Commercial break – ProPet Hero CPR ad) Bella: Welcome back. I’m here with Walt, a Rover independent contractor. So, if someone listening thinks this sounds like a good fit, what would you encourage them to consider before getting started? Walt: I’d suggest researching the different websites—Rover, Dog Vacay, Wag, and others. There’s a lot of opportunity to develop a steady income, work the hours you want, and provide the services you’re comfortable with. It’s relatively easy to get started, and for people who love dogs and want more exercise, it’s worth looking into. Bella: Absolutely. And I’ll add that there are also many established local pet sitting companies always looking for helpers. It’s amazing how many options exist now. Fifteen years ago, when I started, we didn’t have these choices. Today, you could work for a local company, list on a platform, or even start your own business. The world is your oyster, and that challenges people to really define who they are and what they want. Walt, I admire what you’re doing and the balance you’ve found. When I’m your age, I hope I’m living a life just like that—doing something fulfilling that enhances my quality of life. For everyone listening, if you want to join our Facebook group, Walt helps me moderate it. It’s called Pet Sitters and Dog Walkers on Dog Vacay, Rover, and Care.com. You can also find me at JumpConsulting.net. Click the “Work With Me” button for a free 20-minute coaching session. And if you like this podcast, subscribe so every Thursday’s new episode comes straight to you. Thank you so much for joining us today, Walt. Walt: It’s been a pleasure. Bella: Remember, everyone—always keep jumping!

In this episode, Bella speaks with Jennifer Taylor, the Founder and owner of JenLovesPets, an award-winning San Diego pet sitting and dog walking company. After sitting down with Jennifer in her home town of San Diego, Bella was so impressed with the vast knowledge and stories that Jen has that she immediately knew she had to be on a podcast with the intent to help elevate the pet industry when it comes to approaching and accepting clients who are aggressive or fearful. In This Episode: Jennifer Taylor, JenLovesPets.com Bella and Jen talk about "aggressive" dogs and how people often lump fearful dogs into the same category. Jennifer discusses some of the causes of aggression and ways to overcome it. Listen in as they discuss: 1. What is the difference between fearful and aggressive dogs? 2. What advice would you have for a sitter who encounters a fearful or aggressive dog during a consultation? What steps should they take to ensure their safety? 3. What if that situation was that pet sitter's staff member? How can one train their staff to acknowledge these types of pets and alert management? 4. Tell me a success story with a two and four legged client and how you were able to create a happy environment for that pet (the one you told me) 5. Where can sitters go to get more education on this topic for themselves and their staff? They also discuss how a pet sitter would go about working with a fearful dog by including dog behavioralists and trainers on the team. Jen also lists some great resources for those who want to work with fearful dogs. Mentioned In The Episode: The Pet Professional Guild - http://www.petprofessionalguild.com/ Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 28 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 Bella Vasta with Jump Consulting, and today I have a very special guest. Jennifer Taylor started Jen Loves Pets back in 2010 in the beautiful city of San Diego, which I adore. Jen has grown to have five employees, but the most interesting thing—and the reason why I have Jen here filling up your airwaves today—is because Jen and I had a discussion when I was recently in San Diego. And it’s a discussion that I really wanted to get on record. Jen has such vast experience in aggressive, shy, and scared dogs. She used to volunteer at the Humane Society and take classes there. She studied diagnostic sources through the professional guild and worked with trainers and dog behaviorists. She has a lot of incredible stories to share with us. Jennifer: Thank you for inviting me. Bella: Absolutely. I know that you’re going to be such a blessing to so many people, whether they’re just starting out their pet sitting company or they’ve been doing it for years and trying to figure out how to transfer their knowledge or way of doing things to their staff. When you and I were talking outside of Starbucks, you started telling me so many interesting stories. Before we get into that, I want you, in your own words, to tell us about your background in behavior. Where did you learn it all from? Jennifer: When you ask that question, I’m like, wait, where did it all come from? I have no idea. But no—it was volunteering at the Humane Society and rescue groups. They work with all types of dogs and take them to classes to help with behavior. You learn from those trainers, you learn from dog behaviorists, just working really close with extremely intelligent dog people. Bella: It’s a lot of the school of hard knocks, as many would say. Getting thrown into it and learning from the gurus and the people that live, sleep, and breathe this stuff. So let’s make a good foundation for this podcast today. Let’s talk about what is the difference, Jennifer, between a fearful dog and an aggressive dog? Jennifer: Aggression is a symptom. Typically, most aggression is fear-based, so it’s kind of tricky. Aggression can come from fear, territorial, predatory, or protective instincts, which are natural. It can come from frustration. But a lot of the time, resource guarding is mistaken for aggression. Aggression is usually a symptom. Bella: As you’re saying that, Jennifer, I’m thinking about that kid that’s acting out, angry and throwing a tantrum, but deep down inside, he’s hurt or feels misunderstood. Jennifer: Definitely. Since you brought that up, health issues can also cause aggression. There are a lot of different health issues that can come about—if a dog’s in pain, he can’t react normally. Bella: I want our listeners to think about that because we go on many different consultations and experience so many different situations—from the really happy, lovable pets to the ones backed away in the corner, teeth showing, hackles up, gums showing, whale eyes, ears down—all those behaviors that show “I’m scared, get away, I’m warning you.” I feel like all too many times in our industry, as pet sitters, because we care so much, we sometimes put ourselves in situations that don’t set us up for success. That really worries me. What would be your advice, Jen, knowing what you know, if a pet sitter posted in a group saying, “Hey, I went to this consultation and the dog was doing all that. Should we take on this client?” Jennifer: That’s very tricky. There’s a certain line where you have to have a trainer involved—working closely with a trainer, with that client, the dog, and yourself. I don’t recommend putting a newbie pet sitter in that. If the owner of the pet sitting company wants to do it and feels comfortable working with a trainer or behaviorist, I’m totally down for her. But if you’re afraid or nervous, you just can’t. The dog will sense it. So if you’re questioning it, absolutely not. That’s why you want relationships with trainers and behaviorists. You can tell the client, “Look, this dog is extremely fearful. I want to work with you.” But it’s the client’s responsibility to call the trainer—give them a list of force-free and positive reinforcement trainers because that helps build trust. Work with a trainer once or twice a week, and as a pet sitter, come once or twice a week to help build confidence and trust. Bella: What I’m hearing you say is that you’re setting healthy boundaries for everyone. The client acknowledges there’s a problem and wants to be part of the solution. I think sometimes clients are in denial—“No, my dog’s not really like that. He’ll warm up to you after he bites you.” We have to be realistic. It’s even harder when we have staff. When it’s just us, the decision is easier. But when we have staff, they may not know how to assess if it’s a problem. We need to educate our staff on what to look for. It also depends heavily on the situation—is the client leaving in two days and just wants someone to deal with it, or do they want to plan ahead with a trainer over months? It’s really a business decision and liability consideration. Bella: When we were talking, you told me about a couple of success stories that you had. Tell us about that dog—it had something to do with a cage, and it took you months. Jennifer: I loved her. She was comfortable with her dad there at the meet and greet, but her body language was nervous. When he went on vacation and it was time for me to walk in, she was scared to death. I literally had to tilt her crate to get her to come out and go outside to pee. I tossed treats clear across the room for her. The fear in her just wasn’t healthy. I wanted to at least make her comfortable in her own home. I would tilt the crate, she’d run outside, then run back in. I wore bandanas back then, and one night while she was outside, I took the bandana off my head and tossed it in her crate. The next day, I opened the door to her crate, and she slowly walked out. We went outside, and she was sniffing bushes and looking at me out of the corner of her eye. So I got on the ground and sniffed the grass. I basically became a dog. She sniffed what I was sniffing, then I moved to another spot. She followed and sniffed again. I saw her body language relax—her back loosened, her eyes softened. I took off running, and she came running right behind me. Her tail was wagging, she was happy. I put on her leash, and we went for a walk—the owners said that would never happen, but it did. After that, she never had an issue with me again. Bella: That’s incredible. I love how you took the time you needed and had clients who supported your method. I think those two things are really important. Jennifer: The Pet Professional Guild is a great resource—they’re force-free and positive reinforcement-based. It’s an association with courses and tons of information. I’m taking their courses right now to become a dog behaviorist. Bella: And that’s different from a trainer, right? Like a psychologist versus a personal trainer. Jennifer: Exactly. Bella: That’s amazing. It can really help pet business owners understand their four-legged clients, not just the two-legged ones. Jennifer: Our number one priority at Jen Loves Pets is understanding the dogs and cats and their needs. Employees come first, then the pets, then the two-legged hairless clients. Bella: I love that! What other resources would you suggest? Jennifer: Facebook groups are great—so much free knowledge. But you need hands-on training, too. Go to rescue groups and Humane Societies—they need volunteers to take dogs to classes. That’s free hands-on training. Work with local dog trainers and behaviorists. The knowledge you gain is unreal. Bella: How do you pass that knowledge to your staff? Jennifer: During meet and greets, I watch their body language and the pet’s. I remind them—don’t lean forward, stay relaxed, let the dog come to you. Don’t pet on the head; pet under the chin.

In this episode of “Bella In Your Business”, Bella speaks with Britt Alwerud from Handlr.  They discuss  DogVacay, Rover, Wag, and Zingy versus Professional Small Business Owners. In this episode they discuss: Why do you think so many small business owners are intimidated by the large powerhouses that have entered the market in the last few years? How have the changed the industry? Are they really “disrupting” the industry? What are the pros and cons of the huge companies versus the more personal professional businesses? Are customers flocking to on-demand apps? Are they demanding an on-demand experience? Are small business owners going to get screwed or what can they do to protect themselves? If someone is a Rover or DogVacay user, but they want to become a legitimate small business with people working for them, could they use Handlr? What are their first steps for becoming a legit business? Britt Alwerud lives in Los Angeles, CA with her menagerie of furbabies - two Goldens, Daisy and Taj, two cats, Tiger and Monkey, two horses named Gracie and Moo, and a chameleon named Larry. Britt owns DogZenergy in San Diego, CA. Now she’s the full-time Founder and CEO of Handlr. Handlr is the ultimate business app for busy pet sitters who are looking to automate and grow their business. Learn more about Handlr by clicking here or email her at [email protected]. You can also find Britt on Instagram @doggonetechgirl or follow Handlr on Twitter @myhandlr for weekly business tips. Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 27 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 another episode of Bella in Your Business. My name’s Bella Vasta, and I am here with Britt Alvarud. Britt: I'm good, Bella. Thanks for having me on with you. Bella: Absolutely. Some of my listeners may remember you back from a couple of episodes ago where we shared nine awesome apps for your pet business. And we had so much fun that I wanted to bring you back on again today. We are going to talk about a hot topic of this industry, and that is the great debate. There’s a lot of friction, yet togetherness. The economy has made this whole area of pet sitters, dog walkers, and boarders evolve through all these different website applications. When I say website apps, I mean DogVacay, Rover, Wag, Zinni—there are so many of them. Basically, I mean those places where you can sign up to be a pet sitter and start taking dogs into your home that night or the next day. You don’t necessarily have to have your own business, website, branding, logo, or marketing. I’m going to call those folks the independent pet sitters. They’ve said that’s what they want to be called. Before, we used to say “professionals” versus “hobby sitters,” and that didn’t go over well. So I’ll call them the website sitters and the independent pet sitters. So Britt, why do you think so many small business owners are intimidated by the large powerhouses that have entered the market in the last few years? Britt: I would say that it’s just really kind of shaking up the industry a lot. A lot of these big companies in Silicon Valley or elsewhere raise millions and millions of dollars, and they think they can just create a website or app and suddenly have this huge pet sitting company—which they have done. With those millions of dollars, they’re able to have enormous marketing and advertising budgets, put up billboards, and spend a ton acquiring dog walkers and customers. The thing that rubs small business owners the wrong way is that we simply don’t have millions of dollars to promote our small business. Some of us have worked 10 or 15 years building our businesses and commanding our pricing. So it stings when these big companies come out with millions in backing and can drive prices down, paying people as independent contractors rather than employees. Bella: It’s a loaded question, isn’t it? On one hand, I feel like there’s no excuse for anyone in this world to ever have to be on government assistance if they’re able-bodied and can work, right? Because right now we could order someone to come clean our home, give us a massage, do our glam, walk our dog—we can order so many things through these online apps. They’re sourcing people out there who want to work, and I think it’s great. These people might not have wanted to start their own independent pet business. So it’s kind of instant—this instant economy that started. For consumers, it could be a great thing, but it also could be a bad thing. Small business owners—on one hand, you have people upset or rattled by newcomers, and on the other, you have those who see it as two different things. It’s like Bentley and Kia. Two different products doing similar things, but offering different experiences. So Britt, do you think they’re really disrupting the industry, or is it just a matter of perspective? Britt: It’s a disruption to small business owners in terms of pricing and competition. For instance, with DogVacay, I think it’s only like $40 per night for someone to watch your dog. For my small business, Dogs Energy, we have insurance, workers’ comp, and we pay taxes. We have managers overseeing everything. We’re the Bentley, and we charge $100 per night for pet sitting in San Diego to keep our pet sitters and clients happy. The price difference is huge. There are people who still want to pay for the Bentley experience—professionals who’ve been doing this for 10 years. But it’s not fair because those big companies don’t pay payroll taxes or offer workers’ comp if someone gets hurt. It’s a gray area. I could do the same and hire independent contractors, but I want to protect myself and my team. We’re working with animals, and things happen. Bella: I agree—it’s a great debate. Personally, I think it’s only disruptive if small business owners allow it to be. Every time someone came close to my brand, I used that energy to make myself stand out even more. I also think there’s a perceived value issue. For example, my husband believes that if we buy a $65 shirt from Guess, it’s better quality than the same shirt at Ross for $12.99. The product is identical, but the perceived value changes because of the price. That’s what happens here too. There are amazing sitters charging less, but consumers often assume price equals value. So if we know our audience, when others go low, we go high. Let them undercut. We charge higher, which means more profit and a healthier business. Long-term, low prices burn people out. Longevity isn’t sustainable at $24 per night. So it’s about mindset—don’t let it disrupt you. Britt: That’s exactly why I decided to build Handler for my business. Customers want the on-demand experience. They want to use an app like Uber to schedule and track their dog walker. I wanted to stay competitive, and I actually had the idea for Handler before I even knew about DogVacay or Rover. The big difference is that Handler was created for small business owners. It gives us the same kind of mobile technology the big players have, but without paying millions. The people on those big platforms get burned out, and when they want to grow their own business, it’s tough because of the contracts—they can’t take clients off the platform. So Handler became a bridge for small business owners to manage clients both on and off apps, without losing control. Bella: Exactly. There’s a gap growing between on-demand platforms and professional companies. Some people start on these sites, but once they grow, they need to break away. Handler gives them that bridge—they’re still using technology they know but now own it. Or they might prefer to stay independent and build their own system. Either way, the industry is evolving. When I started, I was posting flyers on mailboxes. If Rover or DogVacay existed back then, I’d have signed up too! Nowadays, we have so many options, and it’s important to understand what they mean for our business. I love how you saw this paradigm shift and built Handler to fill the gap. After talking with you, I really see how it’s unique—neither just a website app nor a fully independent system. Britt: And it’s myhandler.com. We believe in small business owners because I am one. With Dogs Energy, I wanted an app for my dog walkers and customers, with a dashboard for my business. But building that from scratch was too expensive. So I thought, what if I built it for other small businesses too? Handler lets small business owners use the same kind of platform as the big players. They can plug in their services, staff, and clients and be up and running in less than an hour. Bella: I love that. I’m just so grateful we live in a time and place where we can create things like this. You can do anything you want—it all starts and stops with you. I know people making six figures picking up dog poop. There’s enough for everyone, and all customers aren’t the same. We’re not selling widgets—we’re selling guilt-free pet care. Britt: Absolutely. Bella: That’s a great way to end this. Britt, is there anything else you want to add? Britt: Just that if anyone wants to take the first step, believe in yourself and make it happen. If you have questions, email me at [email protected]. And Bella, you’re an amazing resource. People should reach out to you—you help them reach the next level. Bella: Thanks, Britt. To everyone listening, check us out on Stitcher or iTunes—subscribe, like, and comment. Visit facebook.com/jumpconsulting or jumpconsulting.net. And remember—always keep jumping.

In this episode of "Bella In Your Business", Bella speaks with Cara Armour,Product Manager with ProTrainings a pet cpr and first aid online training program for pet business owners. In 2003 Cara Armour co-founded Active Paws Inc., in the Boston, MA area. In 2009, Cara won Pet Sitter of the Year. She is decorated in many accolades and even expanded to opening a grooming and holistic pet supply store.     Since 2003, Cara has been trained by the American Red Cross as well as several veterinarians in Pet First Aid and CPR. In 2011 she completed an instructor training course and became a certified Pet First Aid and CPR instructor. In 2015 she co-founded an online Pet First Aid academy and now works as a product and marketing manager for ProPetHero, the Pet First Aid and CPR division of ProTrainings. She is also a volunteer and foster home for The Boxer Rescue Inc, a health conscious breeder of Boxers. Bella and Cara talk about Pet First Aid and how to go about training you and your staff. They discuss the benefits of being trained which are: Being able to save the lives of your pets or pet clients. Learning to recognize potential issues with a pet and bring that to the owner’s attention. Being able to use that trained status to attract more clients. They talk about how an online training course, such as the one Bella was even able to secure a special discount for “Bella in your Business” fans. You can get 10% off by going to here. Coupon code: CPR-petsitter Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 26 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. My name is Bella Vasta and I’ve got a treat for you today. I don’t know if any of you pet business owners know, but the Red Cross is doing away with their pet first aid CPR classes. So how do we get ourselves and our staff trained properly for pet first aid? Well, I’ve got a solution for you today, and I’ve got Kara Armert joining me to explain all about it. It’s an awesome solution that can be done online without spending days waiting for a meeting, driving for hours, or sitting in a conference room. Kara is the co-founder of Active Paws in Boston, Massachusetts. In 2009, she won Pet Sitter of the Year and has expanded her business to include a grooming and holistic pet supply store. Since 2003, she has been trained by the American Red Cross and several veterinarians in pet first aid and CPR. In 2011, she completed an instructor training course and became a certified pet first aid CPR instructor. She also co-founded an online pet first aid course and now works as a product manager for ProPet Hero, the pet first aid and CPR division of ProTraining. She even volunteers with the boxer rescue. Kara explains that ProPet Hero is an online pet first aid and CPR certification course produced by ProTraining, the first company to bring human first aid and CPR training to the internet. ProTraining has since developed to include blended learning options, and in 2016, they introduced ProPet Hero. It’s the only course on the market developed, taught, and written by a doctor of veterinary medicine who is also a professor at the University of Florida. The course focuses on the most common emergencies with small and large dogs as well as cats. Bella asks about the benefits of an online course versus in-person training. Kara admits she was skeptical at first but found that online learning is actually a step above. You can learn at your own pace, rewatch lessons, and take it anywhere—even in your pajamas at night. There are no geographic limitations or distractions, and the course uses live animals instead of stuffed ones. It allows learners to see the instructor at their best, thanks to professional editing. Kara explains that businesses can use a company dashboard. Owners can buy courses for their staff, assign them through email, and track their progress. The system tests retention and requires an 80% score to pass. If an employee leaves before finishing, the course can be transferred. The platform even offers group discounts. Bella highlights how this can also be used as a marketing advantage—pet sitting businesses can say their entire team is CPR-certified, setting them apart from competitors. Kara agrees and adds that the online learning model aligns perfectly with how people learn today—through videos and on-demand education. Kara shares success stories: one pet sitter saved a dog choking on a rawhide, earning flowers from grateful clients. Another business used the training to save a dog that nearly drowned during an aquatic therapy session. She also talks about how the training sharpens awareness—helping her notice early signs of illness in client pets, such as mammary cancer or constipation, before owners even realized there was a problem. Kara emphasizes that she’s not a veterinarian, but a pet business owner who educated herself and her team. The training helps build trust and peace of mind with clients. She adds that ProPet Hero plans to expand with instructor certifications, so others can teach locally if they wish. Bella mentions that Kara has provided a coupon for 10% off, which can be accessed at jumpconsulting.net/propethero. Kara notes that the course offers two years of access, downloadable manuals, subtitles, and short, easy-to-digest videos—perfect for pet professionals to revisit anytime they need a refresher. Bella suggests that pet business owners showcase their team’s certificates on their websites and social media as proof of their professionalism. Kara confirms that even independent contractors can take the course through their company’s bulk-purchase discount. Bella thanks Kara for joining and invites her back for another episode. Kara agrees and provides her contact information via email for listeners who want to reach her. Bella closes by reminding everyone to subscribe, join her Facebook communities for pet sitters and pet sitters with staff, and always keep jumping.

In this episode of "Bella In Your Business", Bella speaks with Holly Cook, author of My End of the Leash: Compassion Fatigue From a Pet Sitter's Perspective. She started pet sitting in 1994, and won the Pet Sitters International,  Pet Sitter of the Year award in 2004;  She has been serving the pet sitting industry by becoming a state Ambassador for PSI in 2005. She has also authored several articles presented at many pet sitting conferences. She has developed donation drives for communities devastated by disaster (From Missouri floods in 1993, 9/11, Hurricane Katrina to Hurricane Sandy.). Holly also became a certified Compassion Fatigue Educator through the University of Tennessee School Of  Veterinary Social Work in 2016. To say she is an advocate for the pets and the people who care for them is an understatement. Bella and Holly discuss what compassion fatigue is and how it differs from “burn out”  Holly discloses traits common among those susceptible to compassion fatigue including: Being a highly dedicated professional Always expecting positive feedback about work High demand for personal competence A personal history of exhaustion A large workload Lack of trauma training Identification with those in their care Those is a non-supportive work environment or unsupportive friends and family Holly then details some of the symptoms of compassion fatigue: Bone-tired exhaustion Insomnia Persistent physical ailments Apprehension Over exaggerated startle reflex Anxiety Depression Abnormal anger Rumination or excessive thoughts about an incident Clumsiness Nightmares and flashbacks Difficulty concentrating and forgetfulness Tendency to isolate from other people Inability to make a decision Intrusive imagery Reduced ability to feel sympathy or empathy toward other people or animals Denial of any of the above symptoms Grab her book here: My End of the Leash: Compassion Fatigue From a Pet Sitter's Perspective If you feel like this might be you, Holly encourages you to take the quiz on her website Learn more about Holly and her book in a previous article we wrote back in June when her book originally came out. Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 25 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, where we talk about everything in and around the pet business. I'm your host, Bella Vasta with Jump Consulting. Today, I've got a real treat for you. I've got Holly Cook with me, and she has authored a book that is just going to help so many pet sitters in our industry. To give you a little background, Holly started pet sitting in 1994 and won the Pet Sitters International Pet Sitting Business of the Year Award in 2004. She has also been serving the pet industry by becoming a state ambassador for PSI in 2005 and has authored several articles and presented at several pet sitting conferences. She's developed donation drives for communities devastated by the disaster of Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Sandy, and many others. Most recently, Holly authored the book My End of the Leash: Compassion Fatigue from a Petsitter’s Perspective. I've read this book from cover to cover, and it's just incredible. It’s an easy read that can be done in a couple of hours, but with an impact that will last a lifetime. Holly: Thank you for having me, Bella. I'm fine. Bella: So why don't we start off with most of our talk about burnout, but I want to know—is compassion fatigue? Holly: Compassion fatigue is a natural consequence of the work that we do as professional pet sitters. It stems from the physical and emotional exhaustion that comes from the constant demand of caring and from the interaction with the animals we are caring for as well as the interaction that we have with our clients. Because we care, we are vulnerable to compassion fatigue, and it's inevitable that somewhere along the line, most pet care professionals will suffer from it. It’s a gradual erosion of what makes us compassionate. So the very qualities that make us exceptional at our job are the very things that make us vulnerable. Bella: So would an example of that be something like my client has a pet that's going through a really hard time and I almost take that on emotionally? Holly: Well, yeah, kind of. Compassion fatigue is cumulative, and the effects of it range from an altered worldview and sense of safety to a buildup of negative imagery based on the traumas that you have experienced. There are eight personal traits of people in the pet care world that can suffer from compassion fatigue in a more impactful way. Those traits are: being a highly dedicated professional; always expecting positive feedback about our work; a high demand for personal competence; a personal history of exhaustion and overall lack of self-care; a large workload; lack of trauma training; identification with those in our care; and a non-supportive work environment or unsupportive friends and family. Bella: Wow, you just really articulated that very well. It also sounds very similar to how other pet sitters could figure out if they're suffering from it. Those things that you described—if anyone kind of heard what you were saying and perked an ear—I would welcome them to take a deeper look and maybe even take the quiz that you have on your website. Your website, hollycook.com, is fantastic. You have a quiz right there that anyone can go to right now and take if something that Holly just said perked your ears. So tell us what burnout is because that is definitely the widely used term. I don't think a lot of people know that there’s compassion fatigue and what the differences are. Holly: Burnout is different than compassion fatigue. Burnout stems from the environment in which you work. It derives its depth of frustration from your low job satisfaction. It builds up over time from excessive and prolonged stress at your job. You really no longer have the desire to do the job that you've been called to do. It isn’t related to trauma in any way and can be associated with working with difficult people. Burnout is temporary, and it doesn't really change your worldview. A vacation or change in jobs can alleviate the symptoms. Compassion fatigue, however, compels you to continue to work in your job. A person suffering from it will find themselves working harder and demanding perfection from themselves, but in actuality, they're accomplishing less and falling further and further behind. Compassion fatigue is not a disease, but a state of mental, emotional, and physical distress, and it comes with a set of individualized symptoms. Bella: Yes, and then I would love it if you have it in a doc so I could put it in our show notes for our listeners because this is such great information. Holly: The symptoms can vary, but many are universal. Bone-tired exhaustion; insomnia; persistent physical ailments like stomachaches and headaches; apprehension; anxiety; depression; abnormal anger; ruminations or obsessive thoughts about an incident; clumsiness; nightmares and flashbacks; difficulty concentrating; forgetfulness; isolation; inability to make decisions; intrusive imagery; reduced ability to feel empathy or sympathy; and the biggest red flag—denial of any of these symptoms. Bella: So tell me, do you need everything on that list or just some of them? Holly: The line is when you start to lose your ability to care for the animals in your charge. For me, the line was when I started having nightmares and intrusive imagery during the day. I fought compassion fatigue for four years before I even realized that it had a name. My mission is to educate people and get them to start talking about it because the sooner you catch it, the easier it is to adjust your life in order to live with it. Bella: The book is specifically about pet sitters and pets, but can this be applied in other areas? Holly: Compassion fatigue can happen to anybody in any kind of caring role—from being a mom with a special needs kid, to an adult caring for an aging parent, to a firefighter or police officer. Anybody in a caring role can experience it. I focused on pet sitters because I was one, and there was nothing out there specific to our industry. Pet sitters are more vulnerable because we care for pets and clients—so we’re straddling two worlds and getting a double dose. That’s what compelled me to write the book—it was part of my healing process and also to help educate others. Bella: It’s so great, and I know you’ve already been contacted by people thanking you for writing this because they finally feel validated. On the same hand, I want our listeners to know that it’s not just our industry—so many people experience this. The work you’re doing is incredible. So what other projects are you working on? Holly: I have two conferences coming up—one in Las Vegas and one in San Antonio—where I’m doing a presentation about compassion fatigue. The big news is that I’m writing a workbook specifically for pet sitters called A Pet Sitter’s Guide to Compassion Fatigue. It’s self-paced so pet sitters can work through it as their schedules allow. It will help them figure out if they’re suffering from compassion fatigue and what they can do to help themselves heal. Bella: That’s such a great thing. I’m thinking in my marketing mind that you could start a private Facebook group—a space for people going through it together. That’s so cool, Holly. I want everyone to know that My End of the Leash: Compassion Fatigue from a Petsitter’s Perspective truly is from a pet sitter’s perspective. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it’s relatable. It basically tells your life story—from childhood to present day—with your experiences,

In this episode of Bella in Your Business, Bella offers up a recording of talk she gave to a faith-based business networking group in her area. In the talk she discusses approaching networking from a faith-based point of view. She says that successful networking results from: Listening Caring Taking time to build trust Influence Finding "family" in networking She offers some quick, but poignant tips: Better to get a card then leave a card Go to a lot of events. Arrive early and leave late Get around people that you like Ask someone out for coffee Don't be a "promoter" of your company Networking is always about "them" and not you. Don't be afraid to cast your net or you won't find those relationships Ask God to be your Holy business partner Shine your light! Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 24 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. Hello, and thanks for listening to Bella in Your Business. A little while ago, I did a talk to my local church group. We used to have this really cool business networking group where a bunch of Christians from all around town would get together once a month and just share. We used to bring in guest speakers, have some lunch, have some roundtable discussions, and it was really uplifting. As many of you may know from my journeys, my faith is something that's pivotal in my life. It's something that helps ground me, and it's definitely that faith, which is you walk by faith, not by sight. Oftentimes, things in life are just so confusing. Things don't exactly make sense, or we might not have the exact answers for them. So I really feel like it's a big part of who I am, and I'm very open about it. If you're in my flock of birds, if you fly around with me on Facebook or maybe have some of my products or have done some sessions with me, chances are you probably already know this. But I decided to take this recording that I had and kind of put it out there. So I am putting it out in faith. If it for some reason rubs you the wrong way, or it’s some churchy or Bible verses that somehow offend you, I get it. No judgment here. Go ahead and skip to the next podcast. But if this is something that you find refreshing or even encouraging in your life, I definitely suggest that you take the moments to listen in on it. I'm about to talk about the connection between your business and your faith, and I hope you enjoy it. So here's a little piece of me to you. Networking—that's what we're all here for. How did we all hear about this? It's your first time. I'm just curious. The bulletin? Perfect. Yeah, I'm in the church. Okay, I've been playing the phone for a while. Definitely. Gentleman in the back? Facebook. Love it. Perfect. Well, networking comes in many forms. A lot of people think that it's just doing what we just did—standing up, saying our business name, shaking hands. Throughout this whole thing, I'm going to share a lot of my experiences in hopes that you'll kind of learn a little bit from it. I haven't always been this outgoing. I haven't always wanted to get in front of people. In fact, I'd rather talk to you at Airways Arena right now, where we're in this intimate group. I used to despise networking. I used to go to that many groups and think, oh, well, no one hired my business, so it was useless. I used to get scared. I used to be a wallflower. I didn't know what to say to people. I used to try to give all my business cards to as many people as I could. I thought it was a business card game. But soon I learned that that's not what it's about. A lot of you already know that, but I just kind of wanted to start off with how a lot of people think that's what it is. Raise your hand if you've ever kind of felt like that—scared to get up and say something or walking to a meeting where you don't know anybody. It's very intimidating. That fear right there, 2 Timothy tells us that God didn’t give us the spirit of fear. So right then and there, whenever you feel that, you automatically pass it down to the devil because it’s not from God. It’s the devil trying to get in between you and your company. On the tables, there’s actually an outline—it’s actually more for me to make sure I don’t go off on tangents—but you can follow along as well. So there are four steps that I broke through. I’m going to talk really fast and go through this really fast because we don’t have a ton of time. The first thing that you have to do in order to be a good networker and really connect with people is care. You’ve got to care about them—enough to start the process, enough to get out of bed or off the couch or out of the office to actually come. You’ve got to care about people. You’ve got to care about getting out and facing that fear. You can’t stay home alone or in your office—nothing’s going to happen. So you’ve got to care enough to get up. When I realized that I was going to networking meetings just to meet friends, the whole paradigm shifted for me. I know that one person is coming here today, and that’s my friend. And if that means that I’m sitting up against a wall as a wallflower, the room can work me, because I have no idea who my friend right now is. Just taking that first step to get out and care about it will get you a long way. Philippians 2:4 says, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind, let each of you regard one another as more important than himself. Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” That is like, if you have to sum up networking according to the Bible, in my eyes, it’s right there. Because networking is never about you—it’s always about somebody else. You’ve got to learn to get friends, to engage with other people, and then they’re going to care about you. Show that you care about others, and they’ll gravitate towards you. The second thing is to listen. You’ve got to listen to what someone else says. How are you going to know what needs they have, what they like or dislike, what they find good for their business? You’ve got to listen to people’s hearts. All of this goes in line with evangelism, too. You’ve got to know people. You’ve got to care about them. You’ve got to listen to them. Make people feel important. Simple things you can do in conversations—just use their name. They now know that they exist in your world, that you remembered who they are. Association games are great. I’m terrible with names. Talk about what interests them—it will take you far in building positive relationships. Another thing you can do while you’re listening is not only listen, but stop trying to solve people’s problems all the time. Sometimes people just want to be heard. A simple encouragement of “I understand what you’re saying” goes a long way. Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification…that it may give grace to those who hear.” Encourage them—it goes a long, long way. Trust is earned over time. You all know I have a pet sitting company, so I’m going to give you a quick analogy here. Who has a rescue dog or knows someone who has a rescue dog? When you first got your dog, he didn’t automatically trust you, right? You had to build that up. You don’t just bring a dog home that’s been battered or sitting in a shelter and say, “Sit,” and they sit for you. You’ve got to build that trust. Relationships are just like that too. You’ve got to get people to trust you. It takes time to get that trust. Jeremiah 10:23 says, “I know, Lord, that our lives are not our own. We’re not able to plan our own course.” So what I mean by that is—trust that God’s going to guide you through that too. Not only will you just build trust with people, but trust that God’s going to speak through you, that He’s going to help shine your light. People want to see your light. So after they know you care, after you’re listening, after you’ve spent the time—now you can have influence. Matthew 5:16 says, “In the same way, let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” I have two people in networking that I’ve known for three years. I call them Grandma and Grandpa. They’re not my real grandparents, but I see them all the time in networking events. We hug and we kiss each other on the cheek. They’re also Christian, and we’ve grown so close that that’s what we call each other. At their networking events, they introduce me as their granddaughter. Through networking and building those relationships, it kind of becomes like your shared family. The same thing with my “Uncle Dave” of networking. When I’m feeling down or unsure about growing my business, I call up Uncle Dave and we meet at Paradise Bakery. He gives me motivation. That all happens from building relationships. People come to me for that same thing too. I used to work at Starbucks across the street from Walmart. I worked drive-thru at four o’clock in the morning, and there were these two people I worked with—Candace and Josiah. They were always happy. I’d be mad, tired, and they’d still be happy. It made me mad that they were happy. I finally asked, “What is in you that makes you so happy?” They invited me to church. I came, I got saved. That was the short version—but they shined their light. They influenced me because we had a relationship. Networking is about casting your net and working it. It takes time. It’s not about walking up and giving cards. It’s better to get a card than to give a card. Why? Because if you’re only giving out your card—it’s all about you. When you go home, you can’t follow up. You have no net to work. So I never give out my card unless people ask for it.

According to Kristy, she is the only properly zoned boarding facility in Philadelphia that is operating out of a private home. And it didn't come easy. In this episode of "Bella In Your Business," Bella speaks with Kristie Glazer from Philly Pet Care,a family-owned pet sitting and dog walking company in Philadelphia. In an unprecedented interview, you learn what it is like when the Zoning Board is knocking on your door telling you to stop your business or they will fine you and board up your home. You will also learn how you can take the proper steps in being able to operate your dog boarding business legally in your own home. Kristie talks about the struggles she went through with the boarding aspect of her business and the complicated steps it took to move it from being shut down by the city, to now being the only zoned boarding facility in Philadelphia that is operating out of a private home.     There is great strength and success in this podcast if you are thinking about doing dog boarding in your home. Through a difficult struggle and long process, Kristie was able to get her city to back her business. Unfortunately, Kristie only represents about 1% of in home dog boarders I know about. Many, do not know their city ordinances or know what permit they need to operate legally. Some, choose to ignore and pretend they don't know they need permits or proper zoning. It is troublesome because some pet sitters use in home dog boarding as their livelihood. If your business is shut down, because you are operating illegally, your income stops. This could have a grave effect on their life. It is a topic to think seriously about and take into proper consideration. 2:00 - Kristie's story 7:38 - What made Kristie decide to fight to keep her business 9:24 - How Kristie got her neighbors support 14:35 - What to do if you want to board dogs in your home 15:42 - Fines or penalties for illegal boarding? 16:36 - Where do people go to start boarding legally? 20:12 - Importance of having a strong team 21:40 - Final words of advice Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 23 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. My name is Bella Vasta from Jump Consulting, and today I am joined again by an incredible business owner. Christy with My Philly Pet Care out in Philadelphia is here with me today. Christy, how are you doing? I’m doing great. How are you? I am fantastic. And I am so thankful that you agreed to join me for your second podcast. You’re one of the only pet sitting companies I’ve had on more than once because your story is so compelling. In our last podcast, we talked about your business, how you started, got pulled back like an arrow, and then catapulted forward to create this incredible lifestyle for you, your husband, and your family. Something came up that we really wanted to dive more into, and anyone listening out there who’s considering or already has a boarding aspect to their pet care business—this could be a groomer, a trainer, or a sitter—should really listen. It’s a sticky subject and often misunderstood. People think that because they’re insured, it’s fine. But that’s not always the case. Tell us your story, Christy, and how you literally had to shut down the boarding part of your company for a while, gather a strong team around you, and then reopen. We have a neighbor who lives on the corner on the way to a park. We live in an urban area, so everyone walks past our house to get to the park where we walk our dogs and board dogs. At the time, doggy daycare was a huge part of our business. We would pick up about ten dogs a day and have them romp around our house, some sleeping over, doing this Monday through Friday. But one day we got a knock on the door. It was Licensing and Inspection from our city. They informed us that we were running a business out of our home and weren’t zoned for it. I was wearing my “Personal Pet Care by Christy” shirt, thinking everything was fine. I explained that I was insured, bonded, and had a city license for taxes, but they said we also needed proper zoning. Then we got letters from the city and state threatening to board up our house if we continued to operate. This all started because of one neighbor—someone watching everything we did. When we bought our home, part of our plan was to expand our doggy daycare. We moved in, walked our dogs, and we’re very particular—they don’t bark excessively, don’t relieve themselves on others’ property. About a week after moving in, this neighbor knocked on our door and said, “I know your dogs aren’t the ones peeing on my property, but someone’s are, so I’ve put chicken bones out for dogs to choke on.” That was my introduction. It escalated from there—she screamed at us when we passed, sprayed my husband with a hose, and called the cops on us multiple times. Eventually, she called the city, which led to our shutdown. We had to make a decision: give up or fight. Financially, it was devastating—we lost nearly half our business overnight. But we decided not to let her win. We tightened our budget, canceled cable, stopped eating out, and pushed through. My husband got our councilwoman’s support, and she found us a pro bono attorney. Neighbors came forward to testify that we were good neighbors, that our dogs were quiet and respectful. We needed a 90% neighborhood petition, so we went door to door with help from our block captain. The zoning board initially denied us, but when we appealed to court, the judge ruled in our favor—mostly because our neighbor didn’t show up. It’s been five years since we won, but she still occasionally causes trouble—recently threatening to call Child Protective Services because our son lives in a house with dogs, and even accusing my husband of keying her car. It’s exhausting, but we’ve learned to handle it legally and calmly. Looking back, as stressful as it was, I’m actually grateful for her. Because of that situation, I can now proudly say I’m the only legally zoned in-home boarding facility in the city. The city inspects my property regularly. My business is legitimate, compliant, and approved. That peace of mind is priceless. For anyone considering or currently offering in-home boarding, my advice is to know your local laws and take them seriously. Most cities and states don’t allow boarding in residential homes without proper permits. You need to ask yourself if you’re willing to go through the legal steps or risk being shut down. Start with your local zoning board or licensing department. In our state, you need a “use permit” to operate a business out of your home—something beyond just a tax ID or insurance. It’s an official city document with the state emblem, like what you see displayed in any storefront. Typically, zoning boards are most concerned about traffic—people or pets coming and going. If you’re just doing administrative work from home, that’s different, but once clients or animals are entering your home, you need zoning approval. It’s worth it to do things the right way. If you ever face a situation like mine, having the right team—legal, political, and community support—makes all the difference. Get your team in place before you need them. Don’t wait for an emergency to find out who you can trust. So take Christy’s story as a reminder. Every city is different, but it’s your responsibility to know the rules where you operate. Do your homework, get legit, and protect what you’ve built. Christy, thank you for sharing this powerful story. Your persistence is an inspiration to so many business owners who might face similar challenges. For anyone wanting to connect with Christy, you can find her at myphillypetcare.com. And remember—get your ducks in a row, get your team together, and make sure your business stands on solid legal ground. Thanks for jumping with Bella in Your Business. For more information, articles, and coaching, visit jumpconsulting.net—and remember, Bella’s got your chute.

In this episode of "Bella In Your Business", Bella spends time with Susie Timm,  President of Knife & Fork Media Group. Susie specializes in comprehensive public relations and marketing strategy in the gourmet food, restaurant and retail industries. Gaining PR for your pet business can be wildly useful during the upcoming holidays, but if you get copies, you can also use it on your website and social media for months to come! Bella and Susie discuss: The importance of having a marketing and PR plan. Creating interesting and useful event-based PR that then drive traffic and interest in your business. How the “soft sell” approach works best when trying to get to exposure in mass media. Some great ways to get yourself promoted on mass media. Positioning yourself as an expert. How great content drives traffic to your website. You can find more information about Knife & Fork Media Group at KnifeAndForkMedia.com. Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 22 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, where we talk about everything in and around your pet business. I'm your host, Bella Vasta with Jump Consulting. The holidays are upon us. Soon we'll be collecting holiday bookings, gearing up for winter, and creating all our seasonal banners, graphics, and blogs. As the time comes, there are so many platforms that your business can stand on to merge your expertise on pets with the holidays. Today, I have a guest that's going to be a real treat for all of us. Susie Timm and I personally met in networking when she was the president of a bank that hosted our weekly networking meeting. Her spunky attitude and colorful personality immediately drew me to her, gaining my respect from the start. Susie is now the president of Knife and Fork Media Group. They specialize in comprehensive public relations and marketing strategy in the gourmet food, restaurant, and retail industries. Susie has also been known to represent a pet business or two as well. She’s decorated in numerous awards such as the 40 Under 40, Women Leaders in Business, and Scottsdale’s 24 Powerful Leaders Under 40, to name a few. Her wheelhouse includes creating media marketing kits, blogging, content creation, copywriting, website content creation, advertising, photography, graphic design, and sales training, just to name a few. But today we’re going to talk about the big one—public relations. Susie: Thanks, Danielle. It's really delightful to be with you. Bella: Absolutely. Thanks for joining up with me. So let's start from the beginning. How did you go from bank manager to PR maven? Susie: Well, it's definitely not a straight path, that's for sure. The short version would be that in 2009 when the banking industry started to become really a challenging place to work, the market started to crash, and no more money could be lent. Someone came to me and said, “Hey, maybe we should do something on the side to get to know our fellow foodies in the community and create some sort of food community in Phoenix.” I agreed, and so we started initially a business doing food events. We worked with local chefs and put on cooking classes while the economy was really starting to go down. I initially did it on the side, but eventually after I realized it could be a viable business plan, I left banking to really focus on hosting these food events. In that process, we actually hired a PR firm who represented us to promote our events. I got to know some local TV personalities and editors of papers and created personal relationships with them. One thing led to another. Restaurants started coming to me and saying, “Hey, I know you did an event for your group at our restaurant, but I’d love it if you could give me some marketing advice.” Initially, I had to chuckle because people were coming to me for marketing advice, but they liked what we were doing. We were driving traffic in a down economy by using creative, relatable, and inexpensive events that people could attend to learn more about local restaurants and chefs. After about a year and a half of that, I decided to branch out on my own. I started my own PR firm. Originally, we focused on event marketing and social media, but people kept asking if I could write press releases or get them on TV. So I decided to try my hand at that, and now we have over 45 clients all over the United States. We work mainly in the food segment, but marketing and PR is kind of a formula. Once you know the formula and how to come up with story ideas that media want to hear, that really does translate—it works for pets, nonprofits, health and beauty, and more. Bella: That’s fantastic. I absolutely love it, and I love how organic it was. You reminded me of a Facebook post with a stick figure showing “success” as a straight line and then the real version—squiggly and messy. It’s so true. Those events you did back then were very fun and filled a niche that hadn’t been done before. So tell us—what kind of benefits can local media bring small businesses? Susie: I can’t say enough about having a true marketing and PR plan for any size business. You could be a startup or a multimillion-dollar venture—it doesn’t matter. It’s important to always stay top of mind. Someone told me this once, and it stuck: between the invention of television and the invention of the internet was maybe 40 years. The amount of messaging people were exposed to in that time is a fraction of what we see daily now. We are constantly in competition—not just with other pet businesses or restaurants—but for brain space. Think about scrolling your Facebook feed and all the things competing for your attention. Add in television, the web, and even your drive to work. We have to figure out how to cut through the clutter and stand out. To me, the only way to do that is to proactively use the media to your advantage. I worked with a pet business here in Phoenix, and most of what we did was event-based PR. She’d host events like a Halloween party at a bar with dog costumes and a nonprofit tie-in or yoga classes with pets. We promoted these in the media, and she went on TV as an expert to talk about things like safe treats for dogs and what not to feed them. We positioned her as an expert while also driving traffic to her events and grooming business. It’s a full-scale plan using free exposure through media instead of paid ads. Bella: I love that—and it’s so true. Those unique events stand out. Tell me about some common mistakes business owners make when they’re trying to get their pitches on TV or news. Susie: The number one thing to remember is that when you’re appealing to mass media—like your local paper, radio, or TV—your message must have value for their audience. You’re promoting an event? It has to be interesting, and usually there should be some community outreach or nonprofit angle, like donations for a local shelter. That adds an element of goodwill instead of straight self-promotion. You can also tie in educational tips. For example, one client hosted a pet CPR class. That alone is newsworthy, but we added TV coverage on pool safety for pets. Low-hanging fruit like that gets you coverage easily because you’re providing value. The number one mistake? Being too self-promotional. That’s fine for paid ads, but for free media, you must add value. Bella: Yes! I hope we’re really igniting the people listening right now. So why can’t they just go do it? What’s the benefit of hiring someone like you? Susie: I’m not opposed to people doing it themselves—you just have to decide what you want to master in your business. If you want to spend time pitching media relentlessly, go for it. But is that taking you away from revenue-generating areas? Media pitching takes time and a certain expertise. For example, when I pitch for a client, I don’t send a press release. I send five quick tips on a topic, keeping it under 200 words, often around 100. It’s punchy, easy to skim, and relevant. They don’t care about your awards—they care about stories that engage their audience and keep viewers watching. Bella: Exactly. We often think people care about us and our businesses when they don’t—at least not until they know and like us. Susie: Right. And something that’s newsworthy to us might not be to the general public. An industry award? Great for your trade publication, not for your local paper. Always remember who your audience is. Bella: I love that. So do you have a client success story—someone you took from unknown to spotlight? Susie: One of my favorites is Brownie Brittle, a snack company that started in 2011. I met them around that time and began helping with local promotions in Phoenix grocery stores. Eventually, I got them national publicity—a feature in The Huffington Post. To this day, if you Google Brownie Brittle, that’s still the top result. They went from $250,000 a year to tens of millions. It’s been amazing watching them grow. Bella: That’s incredible. You have such a cool job—helping clients feel confident and getting them seen. Are you even accepting new clients right now? Susie: Always. We work with all industries, both locally and nationally. There’s always room for new clients. Bella: Something I noticed on your website was “website content creation.” People are realizing they can’t just write whatever they want—their website content has to sell and engage. Is that what you do? Susie: Exactly. For example, I have a client who owns several cosmetology schools and does seminars. We’re creating content on his site so when people Google “how to increase business in my salon,” his blog with five tips pops up. It’s about building authority and helping people find you through value-driven content.

In this episode of "Bella In Your Business", Bella talks with Darcy Graham,  creator of WOOFALONG.com. The site, which shows you the dog-friendly restaurants, stores, parks, trails and events in Colorado, was launched earlier this year and is already looking to expand. Bella and Darcy discuss: The frustration that was the impetus for the site. How Darcy compiled the list of locations. What types of publicity Darcy has managed to get for the site already and how she did it. The engagements her site has gathered so far and how she has gotten it to grow. Her extensive use of social media. What she has planned for the upcoming version 2 of the site. The plans for expansion to other cities. The potential opportunities on WOOFALONG.COM for business owners. You can find more information about WOOFALONG.COM at, where else,http://www.woofalong.com Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 21 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 really excited to be joined by Darcy Graham from Woofalong. Darcy, how are you? I'm doing well, thank you. How are you today? I am so good, thank you for joining me today. We met a while ago—you used to actually be a pet sitting client of mine. We found out we also had some mutual friends, and you lived here in Arizona, and since then, you've been on quite the fun journey. You moved up to Colorado, right? With your dogs and built a barn and have horses. Yeah, I was in Arizona for 14 years and made my way back to my home state of Colorado, so it's a lot of fun. Yeah. And so what is your four-legged count right now? Tell me about all the pets that you have. Oh gosh. Let's see. We have four horses, we have two dogs, we have four chickens, two rabbits, and two cats. Oh my goodness, we have a lot of critters. That's incredible. When you moved up there, I was looking for a bookkeeper—and that’s what you do by trade—and so you really helped me and you've helped a lot of other pet sitters, which is really cool. So anyone listening today, if you’re in the market for a bookkeeper, Darcy not only is an amazing bookkeeper but an animal lover too, so you’ve got both of those things going for you. But when you moved up to Colorado, explain to me how your passion kind of took over and how this, what Woofalong is, and how it all started. Give us the background, set the stage for us. My day job really is small business consulting, which includes bookkeeping, so really anything related to small businesses—I help from bookkeeping to marketing and everything in between. My passion is small businesses, and since I now am independent and work for myself, that gave me more time to pursue my own interests. And that’s how Woofalong came about—developing a resource for dog lovers to find dog-friendly businesses and activities. Having a dog that I take everywhere with me, that was kind of a pain point—finding a current resource for places that allowed you to bring your dog. So at the beginning of this year, I really got serious about developing Woofalong. I started building the actual website in March and launched at the end of June. It’s been fun to pursue a project that I’m really passionate about. And you know, I just love following you online because not only do you have amazing pictures and a Bernese Mountain Dog that is so photogenic, but you have very interesting things. Like, I’m not even in Colorado, and I want to know what adventures you’ve been on or what kind of places you have up there. And I’m envious of how pet-friendly it is around there. I hear what you’re saying about Googling and looking for places to take your pet, and so many of them are outdated or maybe the places are closed. So how did you start gathering that list? Has it been you all by yourself, or do you have like an army of informants out there? No, it’s actually just been me. I pretty much sacrificed sleep for a good six months. I’m really fortunate, and part of the timing was coming back to my home state of Colorado because it is such a dog-friendly state. Everyone has pets here and everyone’s really active, so it was a perfect place to launch Woofalong because I have so much material. Like you said, we are on activities at least once or twice a week that I can blog about and talk about on the site. But yeah, it really was just down-and-dirty research as far as finding the first—I think I launched with about a thousand locations—and that was 100% my research. From there, we were fortunate enough to get some great exposure. We ended up being on 9 News here in Denver, and I think at this stage, I’ve been on 10 radio stations doing spots, and it was literally just word of mouth and excitement, which was amazing. I had added a “Submit Content” page to the site where our fans and users could submit their location. Since we launched, I’ve continued to research. Weekly I’m adding new locations that I find, but I also have all these awesome people who are supporting me, who are submitting their favorite locations. I think we’re probably—I have to do a count—12 or 1300 locations now. That gives me chills. It’s incredible. I think it’s a true testament to how things grow organically when you’re providing value to your community. If you go to your website right now, woofalong.com, as a viewer, I could go into restaurants and breweries. If that’s not my fancy—if I don’t like to eat or drink (who doesn’t?)—shops and businesses. There’s a dog sitting in a home people cart, dog parks, hikes and trails, upcoming events, and attractions. That truly covers everything. You describe exactly how you can provide value to people and their pets on this website, and it’s just incredible. How did you get all of that publicity? Did you do that yourself as well? I have some really awesome friends, first of all, that were super passionate about the idea. Part of the other reason I wanted to go ahead and build this was seeing my friends having the same frustrations because they’re also dog lovers. They couldn’t wait for me to get this built because they wanted to use it. So a lot of that was literally just friends saying, “Hey, look at this site,” and the word spreading. I released this at the end of June as a beta site and didn’t expect things to take off the way they did. Obviously, I was absolutely thrilled. I definitely got my proof of concept right away. So we’re working on version two. Version two will be primarily a feature enhancement. Right now, if you go into restaurants and breweries, it’s well organized—you can jump from city to city—but we want to make it even easier for people to find locations. Version two will have filtering and sorting and location, so if you’re out and about and at the dog park one day and decide, “You know what, I’m hungry, let’s find a patio nearby,” you can use Woofalong to find the nearest location. It’ll make it easier for people to be out there with their pets. That’s so cool—it’s like a navigation with its nose to the ground, sniffing out the next treat in the neighborhood. Exactly. Sniffing out the next treat. I love it. I know you’re really big on Instagram and Facebook. Tell me about how that started, how it grew, and if you have it, can you share with us some of your numbers and insights—your reach and engagement and how you’ve gotten that to grow. What strategies have you used? As we all know, in this day and age, social media is everything. And I was actually just telling another entrepreneur friend that I can see when I’ve neglected my social media because my analytics reflect that. It really is all about putting out the content. With any marketing and promoting, it’s trial and error. I’ve learned what people like to see and what gets the traffic. Right now we just reached 721 likes on Facebook and about 300 followers on Instagram. It’s growing daily. In the beginning, a lot of my awesome friends and family were sharing, but there’s a really incredible feeling when you stop recognizing names. That’s when you see, “Okay, this is working organically.” I do a lot of boosting on Facebook. The nice thing is it doesn’t have to be a ton of money. I’m completely self-funded, so I obviously don’t have the budget to put thousands of dollars into social media marketing. But when I post a new blog post or when I’m putting out something that I think is really valuable for the audience, I’ll do a $5 or $10 boost here and there, and that’s really helped grow my social media even on a small budget. Anybody starting out should give that a try and test different campaigns to see what works. The boosting of your posts is something that a lot of small business owners can employ on a small budget. You post new content, it might not hit everyone, but if you spend $5 or $10 for a day or two, you drive more people back to your website. People assume everyone wants to know what they post, but in reality, nobody cares—you have to make them care. You’re very timely. For example, you talk about local dog events, Colorado hikes, and seasonal posts like “Colorado Dog-Friendly Fall Foliage Hikes.” You take subcategories and make it valuable and timely, which really stands out. Are you going to be expanding into other cities? And are you writing all of it, or do you have a writer? I do everything. Now, I’m fortunate to have a mother who’s a published author, so I can go to her. I often write blog posts at three in the morning, so the next day I’ll have her edit it because I’m so busy. But I do this 100% myself. It can be done. People that have a business idea—jump in and do it, especially if it’s something you’re passionate about.

In this episode of "Bella In Your Business", Bella talks with Katrina Kadyszewski.  Katrina has over 16 years experience working in a variety of financial positions. She started in the brokerage industry with a Series 7, 63 and 65 and life and health license, and then transitioned to audit work for the CT Department of Revenue Services before leaving to support small businesses in their efforts to get organized for expansion. Katrina spent 3 of her almost 8 years with the CT Dept. of Revenue Services in the Business & Employment Tax Audit Unit, focused primarily on payroll tax issues. The last 5 years she worked as a Corporation Tax auditor, traveling across the US auditing largely Fortune 500 companies. They first discuss a big controversy in the pet sitting industry, which is misclassification of employees as either independent contractors or employees.  Katrina outlines some key indicators that they would look for in making that determination: Is there an actual contract between you and the contractor? Are your payments to them regular in nature? How much control do you have over them with regards to work hours, uniform, training, etc.? Do they offer the same services to other companies through their own business? Are you providing them all the tools, training and supplies they need? Essentially how loose is the relationship. They also discuss why they think business owners are so apprehensive about audits, what documents a business owner should have at their disposal if they are being audited, and whether business owners should take their lawyer and accountant to the  audit. Katrina alse gives some insight into what triggers an audit. Some resources they discuss are the IRS’s  20-factor test to help you determine employee or independent contractor, and amnesty programs that exist to help encourage to make the right switch. In this episode of "Bella In Your Business", Bella talks with Katrina Kadyszewski, a former state auditor with the State of Connecticut. Katrina has over 16 years experience working in a variety of financial positions. She started in the brokerage industry with a Series 7, 63 and 65 and life and health license, and then transitioned to audit work for the CT Department of Revenue Services before leaving to support small businesses in their efforts to get organized for expansion. Katrina spent 3 of her almost 8 years with the CT Dept. of Revenue Services in the Business & Employment Tax Audit Unit, focused primarily on payroll tax issues. The last 5 years she worked as a Corporation Tax auditor, traveling across the US auditing largely Fortune 500 companies. Bella and Katrina first discuss a big controversy in the pet sitting industry which is misclassification of employees as either independent contractors or employees.  Katrina outlines some key indicators that auditors look for in making that determination: Is there an actual contract between you and the contractor? Are your payments to them regular in nature? How much control do you have over them with regards to work hours, uniform, training, etc.? Do they offer the same services to other companies through their own business? Are you providing them all the tools, training and supplies they need? Basically, consider how loose is the relationship? They also discuss why they think business owners are so apprehensive about audits, what documents a business owner should have at their disposal if they are being audited, and whether business owners should take their lawyer and accountant to the  audit. Katrina also gives some insight into what triggers an audit. Some resources they discuss are the IRS’s  20-factor test to help you determine employee or independent contractor, and amnesty programs that exist to help encourage to make the right switch. Have you ever been audited? Want to hear about pet sitters who have been audited? I have interviewed a handful and reported about it all here. Transcript: This is episode 20 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. My name is Bella Vasta from Jump Consulting, and today I have a real special treat for all you listeners. Today I have Katrina Kotechewski, who has over 16 years of experience working in a variety of financial positions. She started in the brokerage industry with a series seven, 63, and 65 health license and then transitioned to audit work for the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services before leaving to support small businesses in their efforts to get organized for expansion. Katrina spent three of her almost eight years with the Connecticut Department of Revenue in the Business and Employment Tax Audit Unit, which is why she's here today. She focused primarily on payroll tax issues. The last five years, she worked as a corporation tax auditor, traveling across the U.S., auditing largely Fortune 500 companies. Katrina: I’m excited to be here. Bella: I think I mentioned to you—no one ever wants to talk to an auditor or a government worker at that, right? They're probably too shy or too afraid they're going to say the wrong thing. But today we're going to blow the lid off of it. As you know, I gave you a little background. In the pet industry, there's a big controversy going on—it’s been many years in the making—about misclassification of workers as independent contractors or employees. I’ve been very vocal and take the stance of employees. I’ve even interviewed other pet sitters who have been audited. In fact, if you look back at episode seven of Bella in Your Business, you’ll hear about one Texas worker who was audited and switched to employees because the Texas labor force told her that since her workers didn’t provide dog bowls, she was supplying materials and therefore had employees. It was just crazy. I know you listened to that one as well to prepare for this, but I’m excited to get your take. I want everyone to know too that we met through good old-fashioned networking, which I always encourage people to do—talk to people, figure out their story, and you never know what you can learn. So, welcome again. Tell me more about yourself. Tell me the down-low of who Katrina really is, because I told the whole accolades—now give us insight into who you are and about your auditing years. Katrina: Like you mentioned, I initially started out in brokerage. It was just something that I fell into following an internship that I had in college, but it really wasn’t a great fit, in my opinion, to have a 21-year-old step into the workforce and start telling 65-year-olds where to put their nest eggs. I just felt like they should have a lot more market experience than I did. So I stuck it out and gave it a shot, but ultimately it wasn’t a great fit for me. Then I switched from one of the fastest-paced industries to one of the slowest—government work. Everyone has their preconceived notions about people who work for the government, and I don’t want to say that they're all untrue, but there are some of us who work very hard to do the right thing as public servants. I joined the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services. They had received funding to initiate this Business and Employment Tax Audit Group, which previously hadn’t existed. About ten of us were hired on at the same time to address payroll tax and other employment tax issues. It was exciting to be part of something new. That was one thing that struck me most when I listened to the podcast about the woman in Texas and her experience—it sounded like an unfortunate situation with people who maybe took advantage or felt a sense of power. It definitely wasn’t one that I had. We were focused on educating taxpayers and working with them to get up to speed. Bella: You had said “unreasonable person,” and I think that’s where small business owners’ fears come from. We’ve heard so many stories of being subject to one auditor’s interpretation. Some have even said they were told to do things one way, then later got penalized for following those instructions. Katrina: That’s true. At the end of the day, it’s management style. We were out there to educate taxpayers and help them report correctly, not to threaten or make them fearful. My experience was in Connecticut—I can’t speak for all states—but in general, most auditors want to teach proper methods. Governments don’t have a lot of resources. Training can lag behind. Regulations change. And none of us were lawyers; we had to interpret complex statutes ourselves, sometimes skewed toward revenue collection. There’s definitely gray area, and it depends on each situation. Bella: It’s uncanny how auditors don’t understand the pet sitting industry. Using that example of the dog bowl—it’s absurd to think a sitter should carry their own bowl to every house. Katrina: Exactly. Misclassification comes down to how much control the business has over the worker. The dog bowl doesn’t matter. The auditor’s responsibility is to understand the industry—talk to the owner, research, review legal cases. Bella: Okay, say I’m a small business being audited. What documents should I have ready? Katrina: We’d send a letter listing what we’d need. If you’re a sole proprietor, your personal tax return. If not, your corporate or partnership return. Payroll reports, W-4s, bank statements, and any contracts. We looked for underreported wages—like when business owners pay personal expenses through the company. And we’d look at misclassification—who you’re paying and for what. Bella: You mentioned contracts—what do you look for there? Katrina: Whether they actually exist and state the terms. Are you providing training, uniforms, tools? Are you setting hours or doing reviews?

In this episode of "Bella In Your Business", Bella talks with Kristie Glazer from Philly Pet Care, a family-owned pet-sitting and dog-walking company in Philadelphia. Kristie talks about how she got started and what changes she made that really helped her business grow. After graduating college, Kristie and her husband moved to Philadelphia which is near where she grew up in South Jersey.  She was a teacher for a little while and then a sales rep for a shipping company. But she wasn’t happy.  She sat down and thought about what would make her happy….the answer….dogs!  She figured she lived in a city now and people probably needed dog walkers. Before her husband got home that day from his job as a chef, she had a full business plan worked out.  She told him she planned to quit her job and start this business. He told her to go ahead and do it! {Don't you just love that?} So Kristie did it. She started a website. She started cold calling and giving people her card.  She would take any job that came along (which she says in retrospect is a mistake many new business owners make). She did start  to grow the business though, which at the time was called “Personal Pet Care by Kristie”, and continued on for four years adding clients as she went.   Bella notes that having that moral support from our loved ones really can help catapult our businesses from the start. Maybe not necessarily our business numbers, but it certainly helps us with our tenacity. Kristie continued by saying that when she first started the business, the ironic thing was that they lived in an apartment where they could not even have pets. So they naturally had to refuse requests for overnights or doggie daycare.  But they eventually moved to a place where they could have pets and started offering both of those services.The business got so busy that they moved to their own home and Dave quit his job as a chef and joined the business! Kristie said they had some major bumps in the road along the way. In fact, she wishes in retrospect that they had had a “team” (lawyers and accountants) early on as it may have helped them avoid some of the roughest bumps. One bump, she points out, was a failure to secure all the licenses needed to board dogs in their home. It led to a neighbor calling Licensing and Inspections on them resulting in them having to cease doing the boarding for two years while they worked out all the necessary issues (including getting their home zoned to be a kennel). Kristie talked about a point in time when they were working constantly in the business. It was just her and Dave and trying to juggle the business and their three year old son got to be too much.  She came across Bella and Jump Consulting and as a result made some changes.  They rebranded to “Philly Pet Care”.  They revamped  their website and added professional photos and higher quality business cards. They raised their rates, which caused many customers to go away, but with the higher rates they still made that money back. They cut out the doggie daycare which Kristie said drove her nuts anyway. They made those changes four years ago and Kristie said doing all that gave them back their sanity and the business has been humming along smoothly every since. Bella says what she is hearing is that they now have a clean system and process and that their business works for them and not them working for the business. Bella paints the analogy of the bow and arrow.  She said that, at that time, Kristie and Dave were like a bow that needs to get pulled back a little bit so that it can get released and send that arrow soaring forward. But notes that it really stinks when you are going through it. Kristie agreed. She says it is difficult and a lot of work but it is so worth it in the end. She notes that you have to grow though, because if you don’t grow your business will fail. Bella then asks Kristie about the future of Philly Pet Care. Kristie says they are still doing the dog walking services in Center City (Philadelphia). They do still do overnights, but only for dogs they have a walking relationship with.  Dave and she hope to remove themselves more and more from the business. Not remove themselves completely because she and Dave like to make sure they personally know each and every client. In fact, she believes that is what really helps set them apart. They have two employees now but hope to have more in the future so they can have more time off. Kristie also said they are starting to plan for retirement. They are at a point with their business where they are making enough money to really start saving for the future. So that, maybe in 10 years or so, they could be in some form of retirement. But she notes that she doesn’t really see herself ever completely letting go or selling the business.  She has even pictured their son ultimately being the owner of Philly Pet Care. Bella compares a successful small business to having built your own beautiful home.  You can live in it until the day you die. You build yourself a quality life with the luxury of having options. Bella wraps the episode by telling  Kristie how proud she is of everything Kristie and Dave have accomplished. You can find out more about Philly Pet Care and Kristie and Dave at http://www.MyPhillyPetCare.com or to hear about the rebranding experience Kristie had with Bella a few years ago, you can watch the video here. Transcript: This is episode 19 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 am Bella Vasta with Jump Consulting, and today I am joined by Christy with Philly Pet Care. Christy, how are you today? Doing great, happy to be here, thanks for having me. Absolutely, Christy, I am so excited to hear you. We were just talking and it got so exciting that I said, wait, wait, let’s record this. So, for those who maybe aren’t familiar with Christy, she runs Philly Pet Care, a family-owned pet sitting and dog walking company located in Philadelphia. It’s run by her and her husband, so they’re a husband-and-wife team. In 2006, they started based off their passion for pets to turn it into a whole business. They started right in the heart of the city. They do a lot of dog walking and they’ve got one dog-loving little one who just started kindergarten. He was just a baby when Christy and I first started talking and working together. But you have been through so much, and I say that in a really great way, in an exciting way. I really wanted to showcase your story to help inspire, motivate, and challenge our listeners. But it hasn’t always been ducky and roses. In 2006, I graduated college in Atlanta, Georgia, but I’m from South Jersey. My husband and I were living down in Atlanta together and decided to move back home closer to family. When we got home, I was teaching at the time and couldn’t really find a job that I was in love with. Substituting wasn’t providing enough funds, so I took a step back. I did a little bit of sales, worked for DHL for a little bit, and learned how to sell. But I was so unhappy and not making any money. I call it an Oprah “aha” moment—I really sat down and thought, what could I do that would make me happy every day? What would make me want to get up? And I just thought, dogs. It just came to me—dogs. I’m living in the city now and I’m sure people need a dog walker, right? I thought, I can do that. My husband came home from work that night—he was a chef at the time—and I said, I’m going to quit my job and start this dog walking business. I had laid out a business plan for him before he got home about how I was going to build a website and make it happen. He said, okay, if you want to do it, we don’t have kids and we’re free, so go ahead. And I did. I started a website from GoDaddy.com, bought a domain with ads on it, and hit the streets. I would cold call and give people my cards that I made off VistaPrint, telling people I was a dog walker and to call me if they needed one. In the beginning, I would take any job. That’s really how I got my start. Back then, it was called Personal Pet Care by Christy, which was a mouthful and hard to remember. My website wasn’t great, my cards weren’t professional, but it got me those first few clients. I always joked that I should write a book because I would take on anything. That was probably one of the biggest mistakes pet sitters make—taking on anybody just to get business. That’s how the company started, and I went on like that for probably four years, building and getting clients. Okay, first of all, I know our listeners are getting excited because I’m getting excited just listening to you. You’re so enthusiastic—it’s so impressive. I love that you created a business plan for your husband and that he was so supportive and believed in you. Having loved ones behind us can really help catapult the beginning of our business or not. Not even necessarily the business numbers, but our tenacity, which is what I hear in your voice, helps us stay excited because they want to see us fulfill our passion. So kudos and high fives to Dave for being such an awesome, supportive partner. He became a partner in the business eventually. When I first started, we lived in a tiny apartment and couldn’t even have pets. People would ask if I could take their dog overnight, and I couldn’t. As the business grew, we decided to move to a bigger apartment where we could have pets. The landlords knew what we did and welcomed us to have a few dogs at a time. Dave was still a chef at the time, but the business grew so fast with overnight and doggy daycare requests that we saw an opportunity. We sat down, crunched some numbers, and thought, what if you quit your job and did this with me full-time?

In order to get more pet sitting and dog walking clients, Bella notes that people search for many different terms. For instance, she says that  if you are dog groomer and you want to groom small dogs or even cats, make sure you list that. Someone looking to get a cat groomed likely won’t search for a dog groomer first. Make sure you are putting all the services you offer, along with descriptions, on your website. Kate notes you should really review your website periodically and make sure what you want out there is very clear. Promote Yourself On Facebook: Kate mentions that people often get caught up sharing pet pics, memes and news, but should not forget to put out something everyday about what you do. Images, articles you have written and tips are all good ways to do that. Also, make sure you have filled out all the about sections in Facebook, especially the contact information. Also make  sure your banner clearly says what you do. Facebook pages get Googled and so having all of that information in there may actually help you show up more often in Google searches. For those who feel such promotion is too “salesy” Bella recommends you check out “Gary V” (Gary Vaynerchuk ) who has a book called Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to tell your story in a noisy social world. He writes that it is about giving value, value, value, and then a sale. Bella says it's ok to keep sharing valuable items, but don’t forget the “right hook”! Blog About What You Do: Bella says to blog and talk about what you do. Discuss things like “How much does dog grooming cost?”, “Should I get my cat groomed?”, “How do I train my dog?”.  She says to take every question people ask you, use the exact question as the title of your blog post, and then answer it. She says it’s not only good for SEO (getting higher placement  in Google results), but also gives you an “arsenal” to use when people call with questions. Ask them for their email address and send them the blog post that answers that question. Kate points out that you also need to SHARE your blog post (see tip #2)! And don’t forget to reshare things you wrote months and years ago.  Keep sharing it for those who may not have seen it the first time. And revisit them periodically to “tidy” them up and make them more current. Make Free Downloads For Your Site: Kate suggests that you offer things on your site like free EBooks you create or checklists (like one on things to do before your next vacation), cleaning tips, etc. It doesn’t always have to be about the services you offer, just things that are useful to your customers. Create and use "Bark Cards" When you are out performing mobile services (grooming, pet sitting, dog walking) and you (dog) hear barking at a neighbor's house, your worker can leave one of these bark cards. Bark cards are small postcards with a picture of a barking dog you get made up that say “BARK, BARK, BARK, BARK, BARK”. On the back leave the top half blank and on the bottom put your branding, list of services, and contact info. In the blank area, take a pen and write something like. “I think I heard a small dog and they were saying ‘Come groom me! Come groom me!’.  I was in the neighborhood and if you call me for more information I would like to offer you….” Bella says these cards are shocking and attention grabbing. They also target your demographic. Personalization in key with these cards.   Email Marketing: Kate said to make better use of the email addresses you have collected through newsletter sign ups, or people opting in to your free downloads. Send information periodically to ensure people remember who you are and what you offer.  Bella suggests it could be a “drip campaign” where you have a series of say 5 emails go out over a period of time or it could be a short periodic newsletter.  Kate notes that email is important because not everybody is on Facebook or checking out your website, but they may likely be checking email. Talk To Vets Bella says a lot of pet business owners just walk into a vet’s office, drop their cards and leave.  More than likely the cards get dropped in the trash. So Bella recommends that you build a relationship with the vet’s office manager. People rarely ask the vet about pet sitting or grooming services, but they do ask the front office staff or call in with that kind of question. Start A Facebook Group: Kate says that you start a private Facebook group not to sell services but to allow customers and members of the group to get to know you personally.  Members get to know each other, build relationships, talk about pets, etc., and build a good community.   Start A Dog Walking Club! Bella says that by starting these clubs you will have a micro area of people all interested in the same thing. Do it with your existing customers to build up brand loyalty or expose them to other services you offer. You can encourage them to bring a friend. You could start one at an apartment complex and have the complex promote the club as an activity. Kate suggests you could combine that with the private Facebook group as well. Transcript: This is episode 18 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. Oftentimes, pet business owners have one of two problems. One, they don’t have enough clients, or two, they have too many clients. Today, Kate McQuillen of Pawsome Media and Petsitters Ireland joins me again to discuss all sorts of ideas to get more clients in your pet business. We dive into the first problem of not having enough clients or customers. And let’s face it, not having enough clients can stall your business. Kate and I have endless ideas on how to attract more clients to your pet company. In the many years we have both had our businesses, we’ve been able to attract many more customers than we can handle. But we also continue to attract the right types of customers for our business. So listen in as we give you endless amounts of ideas on how you can get more customers to your pet business. Kate, I’m so excited for this topic—how to get more customers in your pet business. Are you ready for this? This is like a timeless question that we constantly get, wouldn’t you agree? I mean, that’s the fundamentals of your business. If you don’t have customers, you don’t have a business. So it’s kind of important. For sure. And Kate, would you believe that number one is actually something that I see some people don’t even list on their website? So if you’re a dog groomer and you’re looking to, you know, groom small dogs or do cat grooming, let’s put this on our website so that when someone is going to Google and they’re finding out who is a cat groomer in my area, your website comes up. People might not just Google “groomer.” Maybe you’re a dog walker—they might not type in “pet sitting.” They might type in “dog walker.” So I want everyone to be very keen on what they’re putting on their website and make sure that you’re putting the proper words that you want to attract. And by that I mean descriptions—not just something in a meta tag, but really talking about it. Wouldn’t you agree? A clear website is key. It really is, because if a customer comes onto your website and they have to go searching for something, they’re just not going to bother. They’re going to click onto the next website that has it right there on the homepage. People sometimes think just having a website is enough, that people will know what you do. We can all be guilty of not reviewing what’s on our website and making sure we’re really clear. So yeah, totally agree—get that out there on your website. And if you want to get more of a certain type of client, then promote it. Promote it on your homepage. I hear people say, “I’d like to get more daily dog walking clients,” and like you said, they don’t even have that listed. Have a look at your website from a customer point of view. Are you actually telling people what you do? Are you making it really clear? Correct, absolutely. Kate, what would be our second tip on how to get more customers in your pet business? Well, you know I love Facebook. Tell us more. I think sometimes people forget to shout about their services on Facebook. They get caught up sharing pictures of pets, rescue stories, or funny memes and videos. But are you actually putting out something that says what you do? Whether it’s an image, an article, or something you’ve written about your service, are you getting your message out there? Is your Facebook banner saying, “I’m a [service]—this is what I do”? Have you filled in your about section, linked your website, added your phone number? That’s huge real estate. You can actually get your Facebook page indexed on Google. If you type “petsitter anywhere in Ireland,” our Facebook page comes up second under our website. It’s huge—make sure you use it. It’s free. Share all the fun things, but remember to tell people what you do so they can buy from you. It’s crazy. I love it. And you mentioned something—you have to tell people what you do. I think a lot of people might be scared to say that because they feel like they’re being too salesy. But if you kind of feel like that, I want you to Google Gary V. Someone that Kate and I really love is Gary Vaynerchuk. He’s got this great book called Jab, Jab, Right Hook. It’s about giving value, value, value, then a sale—value, value, value, then a sale. That’s what Kate’s talking about. A lot of people forget about that “right hook” because they just keep sharing other people’s content. But Kate also mentioned sharing articles—that’s a big thing too. Number three is blog about it. Talk about what you do. How much does dog grooming cost? Should I get my cat groomed? How do I train my dog? Start answering every question people ask you—exactly how they ask it.

In this episode of "Bella In Your Business", Bella discusses whether you should still offer overnights if you have to pay per hour? This is a hot topic because during this election year many are talking about raising the minimum wage, in some places as high as $15/hour.  In California, not only is the minimum wage being raised but they are mandating sick days and other things which are really going to cost businesses more and more money. Education is Key to This Decision! Bella emphasizes that you really need to educate yourself on the legislation in your particular state, what risk that implies for your  business, and what it will cost your business to comply. She says she really wants you to focus on the right team members (bookkeeper, CPA, lawyer) and to reach out to your state’s Department of Labor. Learn as much as you can and then make your own educated decision. Don’t listen to everyone on Facebook or your competitors!  Just because someone else elects to take one action doesn’t mean it’s the right one. So, should you still offer overnights?  The easy answer for some will be no because they figure if they have to pay someone $15/hour for 8-10 hours, they would have to charge at least $200 for an overnight and they believe their clients would never pay that.  Bella points out, that could mean you are automatically giving up (what is on average) 20% of your revenue. In short, she recommends that you still offer overnights even if you have to pay per hour. Put it on your website (with or without the price) and make sure you price it according to the 30/30/40 rule (30% for the business, 30% for you, and 40% for wages). Just be aware of what happens when you get to 40 hours (another great question to ask your state’s Department of Labor). Remember, you don’t get to decide what is too expensive. Your clients do.  If a client does tell you it is too much, simply explain why it is that high.  Then offer them a less expensive alternative like 3 visits a day.  Let them know that it will probably be alright but if they feel that still isn’t enough then they could try the overnight option. How To Sell Overnights: Bella points out that if you don’t at least offer the option then visitors coming to your site looking for that option will “bounce” over to another service’s site.  Leave it on there. Keep them on your site. Engage them in a conversation giving them the reasoning and statistics and let them make the decision. Another question to ask your state’s Department of Labor is whether or not you are exempt from the minimum wage due to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) which states that people who make less than $500,000 don’t have to adhere to it. You could also consider additional value for these overnights like perhaps sending video and photos. You might include things like taking out the trash and/or sorting the mail. Add value to the overnights and make them exclusive benefits. Any of these additional values can help make a client feel better about spending the money. Bella points out that in reality most pets are perfectly fine sleeping by themselves and that the real benefit offered in overnights is making the client feel less guilty about leaving their precious pet.  So let’s appeal to them and keep offering this service. Because if you don’t you have no idea just how much money you might be leaving on the table and walking away. Transcript: This is episode 17 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. This is a podcast for all pet business professionals, highlighting your questions and giving you resources to make the most of your business. I invite you to leave me some feedback on iTunes or Stitcher, and if you’re listening on one of those platforms, I encourage you to subscribe so you can always know when there’s a new episode. The show’s format is simple: one topic, about 20 minutes, chock full of ideas and motivation for you to use and think about in your business. I’m Bella Vasta, the founder of Jump Consulting. Why Jump? Well, starting or expanding a business is much like jumping out of an airplane, and I have your chute. So let’s get into the topic. Today’s topic is a hot one. It’s something that is going to vary across the different states in the country, and it’s something that I really want you to call your state Department of Labor and talk to them about. And then when you hang up, I want you to call them again and again, and I want you to see all the different interpretations that you get. And then I want you to think about it or pray about it and figure out how much risk you’re willing to take. The topic for today is: Should I still offer overnights if I have to pay minimum wage? And the reason why this is such a hot topic is because during this election year, everyone’s talking about raising the minimum wage. In Seattle, they already have plans flirting with $15 an hour. And when you look at our pet businesses, that’s going to have a major effect. In California, their minimum wage is also being raised and they’re also mandating pay for sick days and a whole bunch of other things. It’s really going to start costing businesses more and more money. So it’s really important for you to understand the legislation in your own state because it’s state-mandated. And you also need to understand what that risk implies for your business and what cost it means for your business. So I really want you guys to focus hard on attracting the right team members—meaning bookkeepers, CPAs, lawyers, calling the state DOL, Department of Labor. And I don’t want you to be fearful. I want you to be a sponge. I want you to absorb everything you can, and then I want you to make your best own educated decision. What I don’t want you to do is listen to everybody on Facebook. I don’t want you to listen to your competitors or people around in your city because just because someone’s doing something a certain way, it does not mean it’s the right way. And I would hate to see you make an uneducated decision and then have to pay for it down the road because you thought that’s what the Joneses were doing. So today I want to encourage you to seek out the information you need, figure out if it’s something that will work in your business. And for today, we’re going to talk about the abstract: should I still offer overnights if I have to pay minimum wage? Here we go. So the very first thing is “no.” That’s the most popular one—absolutely not. I can’t pay someone $15 an hour for eight to ten hours a night for an overnight—hell no, in fact, right? People say it’s too much, I’d have to charge my clients way too much, they wouldn’t pay for it. Just let go of roughly 20% of revenue you create by simply offering it. Basically, I see overnights being roughly 20% of most pet sitting—not dog walking but pet sitting—businesses’ annual revenue. And so if you were to say no, all of a sudden you would be down 20% in revenue. That’s what I see. Maybe it’s different for your business. So my first question I would ask you is: how much revenue is your overnights worth in your company? I would also encourage you if you say, “No, we cannot offer overnights because we’d have to charge people too much,” I would ask you, what about the clients that are spending $500 a night on their hotel room? Do you go to the Four Seasons right now? It’s going to be pretty close to that. So what’s $200 a night for their precious baby to be at home? And what about all these people that—they’re not even making a conscious decision. It’s not about money for them. It’s about their own conscience. It’s about their guilt trip. They are paying not to feel guilty on their trip that their dog is all alone in their big house at night. So if you’re one of those people that say, “If I have to pay $15 minimum wage, there goes my overnights,” I would still offer it. You can still put it on your website. You don’t necessarily have to put the price. You can wait for people to call you, but I don’t think that you should not offer it. The people that might say yes, or the reason why I say yes, you should still offer it, is because the ones that say you wouldn’t make any money off of it—that’s because they don’t have the right pricing structure. If they are charging $100 a night but they have to pay $90 a night for minimum wage or something, that would be a six-hour overnight, right? Then yeah, you’re not making any money. I get it. But if you use the 30-30-40 rule, which is 30% for the business, 30% for you, 40% for wages, and you adjust the price that you’re charging and you examine the amount of hours you’re offering in overnight, you definitely could still charge the right amount, pay what you need to pay. And the only little hiccup that comes in there is what happens when you get to 40 hours. And that’s again a DOL, Department of Labor, question. But I want to encourage you guys who are listening—don’t just automatically think that you can’t offer overnights. You absolutely could. And it is not your responsibility to say, “Oh, that’s way too expensive.” Let’s examine this a little bit further. If minimum wage is, say, $10, an eight-hour overnight would be $80. So in order to keep true with that 30-30-40 rule, you would have to charge $200 a night. That would be $60 for you, $60 for the business, and $80 for the sitter. Who are you to say that $200 a night for eight hours is too expensive? I would encourage you to still offer it. If someone says that it’s way too much, you could do a bait and switch. “Oh my gosh, I totally understand $200 a night is very expensive. Let me explain why.” Well, and then you explain, and you say, “But I really want to make this work for you. So how would you feel about three visits a day?

In this episode of "Bella In Your Business", Bella discusses getting rid of “bad apples” otherwise known as bad relationships.  At some point in your personal or professional life you have had that person who is a vampire of your time or energy.  And they can be very influential in your life. You need to constantly take inventory because it is said you are the sum of the 5 closest people in your life. Bella says she sees a lot of pet business owners not “trimming the fat”  of these toxic relationships when it is really necessary and they end up with “tummy aches”. Bella Has Dealt With Bad Apples... Bella confesses that she has had to deal with "bad apples" over the years.  She reminds us that some "bad apples" may not have started that way.  Life can change people.  And sometimes it is even harder to get rid of someone if your relationship with them started out great. Consequences To Keeping Neg There are many negative things that can result from keeping "bad apples" in your company.  For one, it could put you in a bad mood and that might spill out in the next conversation you have with a client or another employee.  You may be disappointed in yourself because you know that you are being walked all over.  Or you might feel stressed or scared over what retaliation might happen if you do dissolve or walk away from that relationship. These types of toxic relationships are like a disease.  They can continue to grow and take over more and more of your life and spoil a lot of things.  We need to protect ourselves, our business, and our employees. Are YOU The Bad Apple? Of course, it doesn’t always have to be a bad worker.  Sometimes YOU can be the “bad apple” as sometimes it is a bad boss.  Are you the one creating bad relationships? For instance, if  instead of helping and building up employees who seem to ask the same questions all the time, you lose your patience and yell at them.  Bella references a recent article that points to bad bosses as being among the chief reason people leave their jobs. But whether you or one of your employees is the bad apple, not addressing it can have consequences on your business.  It can affect morale if employees see you treating another employee badly or if you accept bad behavior from another.  If you allow a “bad apple” to stick around it takes the power away from you for running your business.  For instance,  if someone has a lot of job responsibilities and they develop a chip on their shoulder it could bring about a negative attitude that will multiply when you bring in others to start taking on some of that person’s responsibilities. So when people have a “bad apple”, why don’t they take care of it right away? Fear.  They might be afraid that by getting rid of that person there is some service or benefit that person still supplies that they will lose. Don't Fear The Break Up Of The Bad Relationships: It could be fear of retaliation or of getting sued.  For that fear Bella suggests that you have a good team of legal and HR professionals you use who can help guide you through the correct process.  She points out that fear is just not understanding information.  Bella says that if you have more information and knowledge you are more able to make better decisions in life.  Do not let fear hold you back! There is also a fear of who you will get to replace the “bad apple”.  To that, Bella says always be hiring.  Even when you think you don’t really have the business to support a new hire, still consider it.  Because, if you find the right candidate and you have the right pricing structure and strategies in place, you can be instantly boosting business and getting the new person some work. Another fear is that  of the unemployment rate going up.  Many business owners are afraid that the terminated employee will file for unemployment potentially causing their unemployment rate to go up.  Bella says, once again,  the best way to overcome that fear is to educate yourself.  Call up your state’s Department of Labor and find out what it would mean if the terminated employee filed. But, don’t be afraid to fire them even if your unemployment is going up.  Just compare that increase to what it may cost you by  maybe ticking off some of your best clients or missing out on opportunities or not having your sanity day to day. Is It Really Them, Or You? One final important point that Bella stresses is that once you realize that an employee is a “Bad Apple”, and you choose to keep them on staff, they are no longer the problem. You are!  You are the problem.  Holding on to "bad apples", in addition to giving you headaches, will hold your business back from becoming everything you dreamed it would be.  You have every right to build the team you want, with great relationships, and people that work well with you! Just remember, you are going to get back what you give.  If you show people that you appreciate them and that you care, they will give that back to you tenfold.   But if you are constantly struggling with hiring and finding the right people for you business, or you are having trouble with people respecting your business, or there is a constant struggle with your team, you might just want to take a deep look inside yourself.  It’s just possible that you might just be the “bad apple”! Transcript: This is episode 16 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. This is a podcast for all pet business professionals, highlighting your questions and giving you resources to make the most of your business. I invite you to leave me some feedback on iTunes or Stitcher, and if you're listening on one of those platforms, I encourage you to subscribe so that you can always know when there's a new episode. The show format is simple: one topic, about 20 minutes, chock full of ideas and motivation for you to use and think about in your business. I am Bella Vasta, the founder of Jump Consulting. Why Jump? Well, starting or expanding a business is much like jumping out of an airplane, and I have your chute. So let's get into today's topic—the bad apple. I know that in your personal or professional life, at some point you have had that person that is just a vampire of your time and energy. Those kinds of people can be very influential in our lives. I want you to constantly be taking inventory of the people that are closest to you. As many people say, you are the sum of the closest five people in your life. This is so true for business as well. We have staff, most of us, and those staff members can either be great for us as the business owners or a big amount of our time. Twenty percent of the staff could take up eighty percent of our time, right? I see a lot of pet sitters or pet business owners, myself included, not trimming the fat, so to speak, when it's really necessary. And if they don't do that, they end up with tummy aches. Today I want to talk about that tummy ache and I want to help avoid that for you. I myself have gone through this in the many years that I've had a company. Recently, I sold my pet sitting company, but before I actually sold it, I did have a couple of bad apples. The toughest part about everything is that they're not always bad apples. They actually could be, or start off, pretty darn amazing—amazing workers, amazing attitudes, coming from a place of yes. But the thing that happens is life, and sometimes life changes us. Because our relationship may have started off so well with an individual, it's very hard for us to pull the trigger to actually leave this individual. This is very similar to life as well. I'm sure many of us could even think back to a romantic relationship that we stayed in when we probably shouldn't have or stayed in longer than what we really needed to. But oftentimes we do need to bang our head against the wall more than once to make sure that it still bleeds. Keeping people like this around in your life or your business might put you in a bad mood, and that might spill out to the next conversation with a client or another pet sitter of yours. You might feel very disappointed in yourself because you know that you're being walked all over. You might feel very stressed and scared. You're not sure what kind of retaliation might happen if you dissolve that relationship or walk away from it. There's a lot of fear-based reasons that keep us in bad relationships for a long time. From personal experience, it's kind of like a disease or a bacteria. It grows and takes over more and more of your life—to the point that it could honestly spoil a lot. So we want to protect ourselves, our business, the ones that we love, and the ones that we've hired to work for us. While I'm saying this, it isn't always just a bad worker. It could also be you at the top of the pyramid, right? It could be a bad boss. I recently posted an article from Entrepreneur Magazine on my Jump Consulting Facebook page, and it talked about how workers don't necessarily leave because of the job; they leave because of their boss. So what kind of boss are you? Do you build people up—even if they're asking you the same question for the tenth time? Do you know that it's worth the investment and the deep breath to answer it again? Or are you just yelling at them and saying, "I already told you this! Why aren't you listening to me?" I also experienced another thing where someone else took over a company, and the people underneath them were once happy with the former leader, but the new leader just didn't do it right. Slowly but surely, everyone kind of left. So as we talk about that bad egg, I want you all to think about: is it me? Because sometimes it could be you—either long-term or temporary. It's really important to be aware of these kinds of things.

In this episode of "Bella In Your Business", Bella is joined by Kate McQuillan from Pawsome Media. They dismantle the myths surrounding the fear of delegation in pet sitting businesses and discuss the profitable advantages of it. Topics Discussed and Key Points Bella leads off by talking about her first delegation experience with the website Fancy Hands a website that for a small fee will perform a few simple tasks for you. But she warns that your instructions need to be clear to ensure the task is done as you expect.  She says it's like “the bootcamp for learning how to delegate.” Doing this, will decrease your fear of delegation. Bella then talks about how she moved up to getting a virtual assistant (VA) and how with that she learned that prioritizing tasks for the VA  is key. She realized that she also needed to communicate how many hours she expected to be spent on the task as it better clarified the expectations and led to both her and the VA  feeling a sense of control over the task.  Kate pointed out that setting expectations on both sides is a very important step. Kate then says that she feels that if you are going to delegate a task, make it one that needs to be repeated periodically. Doing so means that the time you spend setting up the expectations for the task the first time, will in essence, be training the assistant to do it in the future. As you set up expectations and outline the process for each task, you are essentially at the same time building an employee handbook. It becomes time well spent! Kate also points out that you need to make sure you are putting a task in the hands of the right person. For instance, more complicated repetitive tasks are best done by someone like a VA who is consistently the same person, rather than using FancyHands or Fiverr ) where you may not be getting the same person each time.  Bella points out that mindless one-off tasks are better suited for those sites. At this point Kate manages to blow Bella’s mind by suggesting that you have your VA document the process while they are doing the task. As Bella puts it, “Delegating the Delegation!” Bella then tells the listeners not to get discouraged when finding the right VA. She points out that just like hiring, sometimes a person does not work out.  Or, even when you find the right VA, they may have to leave for personal or family reasons.  She reinforces this by relating an experience she had. Kate adds that sometimes you or your needs change and that you should not be afraid to change your VA if things stop working out. Bella mentions that some VAs can be more expensive than others but may bring a bigger skill set that can ultimately make you more productive.  She points out how critical a VA was in helping her organize and publish the first ever comprehensive chart of all the software companies in the pet sitting field. Kate says to think of it as an investment rather than a cost as it may help you and your business make more money. Kate then discusses how one of the biggest hurdles people have in moving to delegating is the fear of letting go. They are afraid that someone else can’t do it as well as they can do it. She says rather than fear it, use it as an opportunity to examine and streamline the process.  You just may make it more efficient! Kate mentions that one online tool she has found very helpful for delegation is Trello. It’s a free tool for putting up lists of tasks (which can be shared with others like your VA) and setting up a project timeline. Bella notes that visually it reminds her of Pinterest. Since they have gotten on the topic of technology tools, Bella points out that most of us probably only use about 20% of the functionality of the tools we use. So she encourages the listeners to take the time to look at the tools website or seek out tutorials in order to really learn how to the get the most out of each tool!  Kate adds that she has tried to take the time this year to do just that. Bella says that business owners should always make sure that their business is healthy and you always have enough money set aside to pour back into the business.  You can then use the “business” money to invest in these tools and processes that will ultimately help you grow your business. Notable Quotes They wrap up by stressing the importance of streamlining the processes and delegating the tasks. Kate also points out that there are some tasks, like contracts, that ABSOLUTELY should be delegated to the appropriate professionals, like lawyers. Bella agrees as she has had other business owners come and ask her for her service contract or her employee manual to use in their businesses, prompting her to ask “Do you want my underwear too?”  A perfect way to end an episode. Transcript: This is episode 15 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, jumpers! In this podcast, I had a rap session with the wonderful Kate McQuillen of Pawsomedia. As Kate and I have grown to do more and more in the pet industry and with our businesses, it’s become imperative that we gather a team around us to help us accomplish the goals that we’re looking to achieve. As we gathered a team together, both Kate and I learned some interesting points, such as the proper way to explain what we needed, when and how to produce the content. On this podcast, you’ll get to hear a great conversation for about twenty minutes between the both of us on the topic. Listen in. Bella: Kate, we’ve heard so many times—delegate, delegate, delegate, delegate, delegate—and so many people have delegated, “Okay, fine, do this for me.” They do something, they get it back, and it is a disaster. Have you ever heard of that, Kate, or ever experienced that? Kate: I have experienced that too. I think there’s a lot of things we’re going to talk about today that are going to really help people nail that delegation process, because it’s not hard, but there is a little bit of an art to it, I think. Bella: There totally is, and I think it’s not really talked about that much. In fact, this podcast, I think, is the first time I’ve ever heard anyone really talk about how to delegate. Everyone says how important it is to do it. And you know, I am definitely responsible for being on that negative edge too sometimes. My delegation story started off with Fancy Hands. It’s a website online—it’s called fancyhands.com. You can go there, and for like fifteen bucks a month, they give you five or seven tasks, and you would give them a task, and you literally get back whatever it is that you asked them for. So if your instructions aren’t clear, precise, with an exact goal and how long you want them to spend on it, then you’re going to get however they interpret it. So I actually kind of consider Fancy Hands as like the boot camp for learning how to delegate. Kate: It’s clear you took responsibility for not getting what you want back sometimes then. Bella: Yeah, for sure, you know, because after the fifth time of it not working out, you’re going to start realizing like, it’s not them, maybe it’s me. I remember I had asked them, “Can you give me the top blogs in my area?” Kate, I was looking to maybe guest blog for them or try to attach my page under their page—just kind of a virtual network, right? So I get back blogs that are everywhere in the Southwest, because technically that’s my area, right? The whole Southwest part of the country—that includes New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada. Kate: Well, you could say just America. Bella: Right, right. It was pretty large. So my next go-around, I said, “Okay, find me the blogs that are located in this zip code.” And just that example, I think, is very indicative of how I kind of started learning. I actually got a virtual assistant, and she was starting to help me, and I started learning that every task I gave her, I also needed to tell her what priority it was. So like, is it high priority—she needs to do it immediately—or I could wait a week? And it also did need to give her how many hours or how many minutes I wanted her to spend on the task so that I felt a little bit in control, and she felt like she knew, okay, this isn’t like a five-hour task—she wants it done in a half hour. And then she could tell me if it wasn’t realistic. Kate: Yeah, setting expectations on both sides, I think, is really important. Because if somebody knows it’s only a three-minute job, they know, okay, well she’s not looking for me to explain all these websites—she’s just looking obviously for the list of five URLs. Bella: Exactly. And the method too—you know, I didn’t want it necessarily in an email. I wanted it in a Google spreadsheet so I could have it live online and I could access it from wherever I was. So really knowing what you want is going to either help or hurt your delegation. Kate: Yeah, I’m all in favor of, if you’re going to delegate a task, delegate a task that needs to be repeated every day, week, or month, because that initial time you put in to setting up a process for that piece of work—that’s time well spent because you’re training that person to do it exactly the way you want, deliver it exactly how you want, carry it out to your specification. But it’s something that you’re not doing every time you want something done, and you’re actually creating a handbook of tasks that need to get done and here’s my process on how it should be done. Bella: Right. A good example to kind of show our listeners what you mean by that is email marketing. I have one person that helps write my emails—she’s amazing. Beth Green from Paws Pet Care writes these cheeky emails that are very fun to read and open, and they’re also kind of short. And I give them to my VA and say, “Put them in MailChimp and schedule it to come out.” Well,

In this episode of "Bella In Your Business", Bella discusses whether or not you should offer a discount daily dog walks. She covers points on both sides of the issue.   Bella starts by stressing that before even considering a discount for daily dog walks, you really should know just how much profit you make off of a dog walk or pet visit. She points out that many company owners aren’t fully cognizant of that number or even understand how the costs and profits are divided. Bella points out that some of the money goes to the employee who walked the dog (usually a fixed amount) and some of that money should go to your business to cover expenses and business profit.  Finally, some money needs to go directly to you the owner, so that you are paying your salary. Can You Even Afford it? When offering a discount on a daily dog walk you have to decide out of which of these pots that discount will be taken.  You can’t really pay your employee less, so it will need to come out of either your pot or the business'.  If your business has stabilized costs, you may be able to find some money in the business pot to support the discount.  But if you are in a period of steadily increasing expenses, then you may not have it there.  Bella advises you to be careful about taking discounts out of your own pot as many business owners hurt themselves by not paying themselves enough to sustain themselves, and the business. Discounting Can Be Good! On the pro-discount side, Bella talks about how even "rich people" like discounts and you should not be offended if someone asks you to discount daily dog walks.   She even suggests that you set a higher “standard” rate and that the “discount” you offer be actually in the range of what you need to keep the business growing.  This could also be couched as a “Friends and Family” discount, or be given through package plans that encourage clients to use your services more often. When You Should Never Discount On the anti-discount side, Bella suggests that discounts on daily dog walks are not likely appropriate if your rates are currently low, especially if they barely cover costs.  In those cases, it is best to gradually increase your rates to a level where you can offer discounts. Transcript: Episode 14, 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 shoot. Let's jump! Hello and thanks for listening to Bella in Your Business, where each episode we pick a topic and discuss how it affects your pet business. To keep up to date on all our current and past episodes, please be sure to click the subscribe button. Pressing this button will bring you the latest episodes straight to your device as they're published. I also want to invite you to join my personal Facebook group. Here you'll find tips, tricks, and free advice for your pet business. Just search “Jumper’s Network” in the Facebook search box. Today our topic is, “Should I offer daily dog walking packages?” I love this question, and today we're actually going to look on both sides—the yes side and the no side. But before we do that, I want to ask you, do you know how much profit you make off of every single dog walk? I bet you can tell me exactly how much you pay someone, but how much do you pay the business? How much do you pay yourself? How much money do you actually have to discount? And when you do discount, does it come out of the business or does it come out of your pocket? These are very important calculations to know because this will help you make educated decisions. I do not believe in just saying no to discounting. The only way I ever believe in saying no to discounting is if your prices are already rock bottom and you have no idea what your profit margin is. And I hate to say it, but a lot of pet sitters who start off their first couple years don’t know. Heck, I was even one of them. I know many of you listening who know me and have heard many of my stories probably can’t believe that I first started off charging only $15 a pet visit. Sure, that was back in 2002, 2003, or 2004, but still, $15 per pet visit was pretty cheap. My mentor at the time challenged me to start offering $20, and I did. People said yes. You could only imagine my shock and awe and amazement when people were saying yes just as easily as they said when it was $15. This is not a podcast to tell you to raise your rates. It's simply to know your numbers. Let’s look on the “no” side—the reasons why you would not discount in your business. We’ve heard them all everywhere. Some business owners get on this high horse and say, “My business is worth the money. I can’t believe you asked for a discount. How dare you? That’s insulting.” They take it personally. I want to remind anyone listening today that this is business—it’s not personal. You can’t take it as a personal threat when someone asks you for a discount. Even the richest people stay rich by being frugal, by asking for discounts. You might be like me, one of those people who, every time you go to Kohl’s or Ulta, asks the cashier, “Hey, do you have any coupons behind the counter?” You never know until you try. Some people, no matter what, will always ask. So I encourage you—don’t take it personally. Another reason you could say no to discounts is because your expenses don’t change. If your expenses don’t change, then where is that discount going to come from? If, say, the pet sitter gets $4, the business gets $3, and you get $3, but you discount 50 cents off the dog walk—where is that 50 cents coming from? You’re not going to pay your person less, and you still need money for the business. Your business expenses don’t change while you’re growing; they grow and grow and eventually level off, but they remain fairly predictable. We’re lucky we don’t have shipping, inventory, or retail costs. After some time, your expenses get to be regular. So I’d say no to discounting if you can’t change how much you pay your sitters, your expenses are fixed, or your prices are already tight. Some sitters even cut into their own pay, but I don’t recommend that—you won’t get ahead that way. You could also say no because discounting isn’t part of your marketing strategy. You could say, “I don’t discount for anyone. The price is the price.” You can frame that positively: “One price, full service—everyone gets the same rate.” It’s fair, simple, and confident. Maybe you don’t discount, but you offer a “friends and family” rate. Words are powerful. “Discount” sounds cheap, like coupons, but “friends and family rate—just don’t tell anyone” feels special. That makes the client feel like an insider. Same result, different tone. You could also give a gift certificate—it’s essentially the same thing. So, reasons for no discounting: you don’t discount, your expenses don’t change, or you’re not targeting daily dog-walking clients because you want to focus on pet sitting instead. Now let’s flip the coin and talk about why you should discount. I like to be different, and I’d encourage you to do the same. Standing out can work to your advantage. Sometimes it’s just putting a new name to an old trick. So let’s talk about the “yes” side—when you might discount. You could say, “Clients who book two, three, or more walks a week get a preferred rate.” But your starting rate should be high. For example, if someone calls and says they work a lot and feel bad that their dog’s home alone, I’d say, “If you were calling me for vacation care, that would be $35. But because you want weekly visits, I like to reward clients like you—it’s only $25 a walk for the life of your account.” It looks like a $10 discount, but in reality $25 is the lowest I’ll go while keeping the business healthy. That’s pricing strategy. You start high so you can reward commitment while staying profitable. This is called pricing structure and strategy. Too often, even though we’re business owners and the sky’s the limit, we look at competitors and put a ceiling over our own head. We think we have to stay competitive by matching or undercutting others. I want to encourage you to figure out what works for you—what kind of brand you want. Will you be high-volume or low-volume, high-priced or budget-friendly? Discounting isn’t evil—it’s a tool if used intentionally. If your pricing structure is healthy, you can absolutely discount. If your rates are $18 a walk, then no, don’t discount—raise your rates first. Once you’re healthy, you can lower slightly and still profit. Too many businesses look successful on the outside but aren’t healthy inside. They might boast about team size or six-figure revenue but not know their margins. Don’t be that business. Know your numbers. If you need help, join my Facebook group or book a strategy session. I love doing business health checks and helping owners turn things around. Another way to say yes is through packages. Maybe you don’t discount individual walks, but you offer packages—like 10 walks at a set price. People love packages because they simplify decisions. Think about combo meals at drive-thrus; people like easy choices. Bundling can feel like added value without hurting your margins. There are many ways to approach this. I encourage you to find what fits your business best. I’d love to have a strategy talk with you about it. This has been another episode of Bella in Your Business. This is a free podcast—subscribe so you’ll be notified when new episodes are released. Share it on Facebook or Twitter and tell your friends. Join the private Facebook group “Jumper’s Network” for daily tips, tricks, and advice for pet business owners. This is Bella Vasta, and thanks for jumping with Bella in Your Business. For more information, free articles, and coaching sessions, go to JumpConsulting.net. And remember, Bella’s got your shoot.

In this episode of "Bella In Your Business", Bella discusses whether you should agree to pet sit for an out of control dog.  The discussion is based on a post from the discussion pages of her private Facebook group found at https://www.facebook.com/groups/jumpersnetwork/. The writer of the post said that she had a “Meet and Greet” the previous night with an “out of control dog." She said the dog was jumping on her and very unruly. It was putting its paws on her shoulders and its parents just seemed to dismiss the behavior. Bella says that you as a pet sitter need to recognize that this situation could be a potential liability. First, for you individually, because this dog could cause you to injure yourself (like twisting your ankle) and that could result in your inability to serve your other clients. Doing so could even cost you your business. This situation could also be a danger to your employees. If one of them gets injured not only is it a loss of a dependable member of your team, but it could open you up to liability. Bella reminds you that as a pet sitter, it is not your job to train the dog and break bad habits.  In that type of situation, it may often be best to politely decline working with that dog. If you have a trainer you have a relationship with, use the opportunity to give a referral. Bella also suggests that you ideally decline the job via email. This gives the parents a chance to absorb and digest your reasonings.  Those reasonings should include honesty about your concerns and how you feel you are not the best fit to serve that dog’s particular needs. You can find more great information from Bella, additional podcast episodes, and  Bella’s blog at https://jumpconsulting.net/. Transcript: Episode 13 of Bella in Your Business. Hello and thanks for listening to Bella in Your Business where each episode we pick a topic and discuss how it affects your pet business. To keep up to date on all our current and past episodes, please be sure to click the subscribe button. Pressing this button will bring you the latest episodes straight to your device as they're published. I also want to invite you to join my private Facebook group. Here you'll find tips, tricks, and free great advice for your pet business. Just search Jumper's Network on the Facebook search box. Today our topic is something that I've seen more than once in our Facebook groups and it's should I pet sit for an out of control dog? The writer says she had a meet and greet last night with the first out of control dog. All the other clients they have are very well behaved, but this one kind of caught her off guard and she's wondering how to handle situations like this. She mentioned that the dog was jumping on her and that it was very out of control and very unruly. It was putting its paws up on her shoulders and the parents just kind of seemed to like laugh it off like, dogs will be dogs. Here's my advice. Honesty is always the best policy. I think one of the biggest mistakes we can make as pet sitters is thinking that we can be a solution for everyone. And in this situation, whether it's just you solo or maybe you have staff, this is a potential liability. I want you to imagine if this dog actually really does succeed in hurting you or just simply knocks you off your balance and you twist your ankle. How much of a resource are you going to be able to be for all of your other well-behaving four-legged clients? I would actually talk to the client face to face or if you're kind of apprehensive about doing it face to face, call them up after the consultation and explain to them the consultation is a chance for you to actually get to know them and their dog to find out if it is actually a good fit for both parties and that you have some concerns. Maybe this person actually wants you to walk their dog, in which case that could be a total terror. The only way to really know about this is if you go for a walk, and I would suggest doing it with the parent first. If you don't need to necessarily walk the dog, but you come in and the dog is just ripping things to shreds and jumping all over you, and you just do not have the skill set to really train and tame that dog, then I highly suggest you think about passing. There's just too many things that can happen to you or to the dog. There's too many accidents. There's too many unknowns. And the very worst thing that could happen is you getting injured or one of your staff. Of course the pet too, and the pet really needs someone that can kind of take charge and take control. I always say to my pet sitters, we're not dog trainers. So with all due respect, go get a dog trainer and then talk to us. But of course we say those in nicer words. I would also kind of suggest maybe on the initial phone call before you even go to that meet and greet, consider having a better intake program to ask better questions. Something like, how many people does your dog trust? What is the leash like when you walk your dog? Is it loose or is it tight? Don't offer recommendations. Don't do that because it's not your responsibility to help solve the problem. If you have a good relationship with a dog trainer, that might be a good idea at that point to connect the new client that you have with that dog trainer. And if you really want the dog walking client, perhaps you could even go on a couple of the training sessions. But until that dog can prove his non liability, if you will, I highly suggest that you just politely decline. The way I'd recommend that you do it is in email. The reason is, is because they'd have time to digest this. And this method also works out very well for those of us who might not like direct conflict. And by conflict, I don't mean negative or whatnot, but sometimes people don't really feel comfortable telling pet parents that, you know, your dog's out of control, it's a problem child, and I can't take it. They don't know what to say. And if that client were to get emotional about it, which oftentimes they do, because as you know, that their pets are just like their kids, they're going to kind of say things or ask you questions that you may not be prepared to answer or have a comeback for. So it's kind of nice to do these kinds of things in email. You can think about your words and the reader, the pet parent, has time to actually digest what you're saying and respond rather than react. You can say things like, I don't think we're the right fit or I want to do right by you and your pet, but I'm not sure I can handle this energy. He might be better served with someone else. Reasons that you definitely can't accept, obviously if you're a solo person, I really want you to think about the risk that you're putting yourself into. I see and hear so many pet sitters these days that want to be the end-all be-all for everyone. And all it takes is that one twist of the ankle to let you be home and not able to walk dogs. If you're a solo sitter, that could cost you your business or your livelihood. If you are telling your clients that you injured yourself and you can't get out of bed or you can't drive a car or you can't walk a dog, then that is going to have a detrimental impact on your livelihood. And I really want you to consider that as a very real cost that could happen when accepting or declining potential liability situations. The other thing is clearly you don't want your staff getting injured. They're very valuable to you. Depending on how you run your company, staff could represent $10,000 to $60,000 in revenue a year. So if you really kind of think of it that way, pull yourself out of the exact situation where you just really want to help these people and really think of the cost and benefits and rewards. I think you'll have a little bit more confidence to make an educated and responsible decision while being sensitive to the pet owner. I hope this has helped you again. Please find me on Facebook. You can go to my page, Jump Consulting, or you can search the search terms for Jumper's Network. I would love to have you in there. I'm in there every single day giving tips, free advice, awesome free downloads, and everything. So if you have a question, you could submit it there and maybe you will be the subject of our next podcast. I want to thank you for listening and invite you to listen to the next episode of Bella in Your Business. Thanks for jumping with Bella in Your Business. For more information, free articles, free coaching sessions, and more, go to jumpconsulting.net. And remember, Bella's got your chute.

Picture this: you're cruising down the road, your pet by your side when suddenly, disaster strikes. A careless driver swerves into your path putting your client's pet in harm's way. Are you prepared for the unexpected? Are you equipped with the ultimate shield to protect yourself and your clients? Have you considered Insurance liability? As a pet business owner you know the business requires a high level of responsibility and trust. Have you considered the importance of having the right insurance coverage? Or considered Insurance liability? In this episode of "Bella in Your Business: Pet Industry Business Podcast," we are thrilled to welcome back  David Pearsall, Vice President at Business Insurers of the Carolinas. In this episode, he is talking about liability insurance options for pet-sitting businesses.  We dive into some important topics like non-owned auto insurance, umbrella policies, and business owner policies. It's crucial to understand the coverage provided by each policy and determine if additional coverage is needed based on your specific business circumstances. Topics Discussed The basics of non-owned auto insurance The importance of non-owned insurance The misunderstood umbrella policies The different insurance options for pet sitters The importance of understanding different liability Insurance policies Advice on handling insurance claims and available discounts. The importance of communicating with an insurance agent to determine the best coverage options for individual businesses. Timestamps [01:13] The basics of non-owned auto insurance [04:02] Liability for accidents involving pet sitters [07:33] Options for purchasing non-owned auto coverage [08:44] The umbrella policy [09:07] Differentiating umbrella and underlying policies [11:34] Special event policies [17:54] The importance of pet taxi [18:30] Different insurance coverage options [20:14] Comparison of insurance products [25:53] Business owners' policies and liability insurance [26:48] Calling your insurance agent [28:48] Need for non-owned auto liability coverage [34:03] Why it's important not to admit liability at the time of a claim [34:49] Discounts on additional policies [35:43] Broadest liability form for pet services professionals Notable Quotes [00:01:09] “Usually  non-owned car insurance coverage is a specialty endorsement, either to a business owner policy or a commercial auto policy.” [00:01:21] “Non-own auto insurance covers basically any vehicle that's owned by your employees or by other people that it's not owned by you, but they're using it in the course of your business.” [00:05:48] “You really should have a commercial auto policy as opposed to a personal auto policy, because a personal auto policy's designed for you. Personal is not really designed to pick up.” [00:07:03] “Even if they don't have the sticker on their car If they're using it in their business, it's not going to get covered into the personal auto policy. “ [00:07:57] “Umbrella policy is the policy that goes over your commercial auto policy, your general liability, and your worker's comp.”  [00:09:08] “I do believe that there is some misinformation going on with the umbrellas. And the umbrellas are broader than the underlying policies. “ [00:20:20] “You can buy different policies that will cover a pet sitter for liability. But the primary differences are the kind of claims you want to be paid.”  [00:25:57] “If you have employees, you know, you may want to consider employment practices, liability insurance. If you have a computer and you're accepting money online or you're keeping a database with your clients’ information, you may need cyber liability.”  [00:29:24] “If you've got ten or 15 employees working for you and they're on the street all the time, then you certainly have a much larger exposure.”  [00:32:03] “If someone hits you back to your car, their liability will be responsible If they don't have coverage. There's another auto coverage called uninsured motorist or underinsured motorist.” Resources Podcast: Bella in Your Business: Pet Industry Business Podcast Join Mastermind Email Bella: [email protected] Sign up for a 20 mins call  Better Marketing with Bella Connect with David  LinkedIn Connect with Bella Website Facebook YouTube Did you love this episode? If you liked this episode, please head on over to iTunes and leave a five-star rating and review. Every single review helps get this community bigger, stronger, and better. It gets other jumpers just like you into the community. Always remember when life gets down, always keep jumping. Transcript: 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 shoot. Let's jump. Good morning, everybody. This is Bella Vasta with Jump Consulting, and I am joined here live today with the wonderful, the honorable, the knowledgeable David Purcell from Business Insurance of the Carolinas. David, thanks for being here with us today. David: Thanks for having me, Bella. Appreciate that. Bella: For sure. You're definitely the go-to expert when it comes to everything insurance and online. We're always abuzz about many different insurance topics. The hot topic, as you know, this week is all about car insurance and this thing called non-owned. So basically, David, we've got a couple of questions for you today, but I just kind of wanted to crank out this whole subject area because it's kind of confusing. Let's start off with just a typical example. So I'm a pet sitting business owner and I have employees driving around doing pet sits. They get in an accident. What happens? Take it away. David: Great question. Usually, non-owned auto insurance is a specialty endorsement either to a business owner's policy or commercial auto policy. It’s important to define exactly what it covers and what it is. Non-owned auto insurance covers any vehicle that's owned by your employees or by other people that's not owned by you, but they're using it in the course of your business. So what that means—if I were to send the receptionist to go pick up the mail at my office and she drives her own personal vehicle and she were to get in an accident, and during the course of that accident they learned that she was on business use—then if I was sued, the business was sued, my insurance would be excess over her personal auto policy. It's an excess coverage. Insurance typically follows the vehicle in most states. So if you're driving your car and you hit somebody, your liability insurance is going to be primary. Typically, what happens if a pet sitter were driving in the course of business, performing their duties from one pet sitting job to the next, or transporting pets in their car for pet taxi purposes, and they were in an auto accident and hurt somebody or caused property damage, the person could be sued and their personal auto insurance would apply. However, if they find out that the business was involved and the person was working for you at the time, they could also sue your business. What's hard for this coverage is that a lot of pet sitters use independent contractors, and when you read the forms, just like the liability insurance, they don't define independent contractors under the commercial general liability policy or a hired or non-owned policy. So they're really talking about employees and not independent contractors. There would be some situations where independent contractors may have some coverage, but it’s all going to be defined by an attorney at the time of the claim. If they're true independent contractors, they really need their own insurance. Bella: I am very heavy on employees. Let’s have this conversation function around employees, and I appreciate you making that differentiation because it is very important for people to understand these two very separate conversations. So for the sake of this discussion, we’ll talk employees. So pet sitters going to a pet sit, doing pet taxis for the pets, get in an accident—and it was their fault—the sitter would be the one sued, or their insurance would be the first to cover it. Then if they had maybe really low limits, the business’s non-owned insurance would kick in if you had it. If you didn’t have it, what could happen? David: What could happen is you could be forced to defend yourself in the claim. If that person could prove that the pet sitter was working on behalf of your business when the accident happened, then you would have to defend yourself and pay for an attorney. If they deem that you were responsible for that pet sitter being on the road, you could be held liable for those injuries. Bella: Now how much does that non-owned go up to? I’m sure there’s a cap, right? David: Yes, typically about a million dollars. There are two ways to purchase non-owned auto coverage: one, through a commercial auto policy, which is recommended if you have decals or your car branded for business; and two, through a business owner’s policy. Commercial auto policies are for vehicles used primarily for business. If you’re using your car routinely for pet sitting, you should have a commercial auto policy because personal auto insurance isn’t designed for business use. Bella: So if a pet sitter has a decal or magnet, they’ve automatically made their car a commercial auto, right? David: Even if they don’t have the sticker, if they’re using it for business, they should still have a commercial auto policy. Bella: So it’s best for pet sitters to have non-owned car insurance coverage, especially if they have employees. David: Exactly. And you can get that either through a commercial auto policy or a business owner’s policy.

In this episode of "Bella In Your Business", we are joined by David Pearsall, Vice President at Business Insurers of the Carolinas, which specializes in commercial insurance, including businesses providing pet services.  David joins Bella for the first of what will be many episodes dealing with insurance for those in the pet sitting industry. This episode focuses on the the 15 most common pet sitting insurance claims. Bella asks the age old question of how to know when you should or should not put in a pet sitting insurance claim? David discusses the factors insurance companies look at when deciding on writing or renewing your policy and how you can use those factors to make that call.  Though, he emphasizes that you should also keep in mind that what may appear to be a small claim may eventually turn out to be a big one. Yikes! David kicks off the Top 15 by discussing the Top 5 most frequent pet sitting insurance claims (see below).  As part of it, he discusses the differences between Animal Care, Custody, and Control policies. David also mentions that the contents of the client’s home are usually excluded from most general liability policies, but some policies, like the one offered by the association, may have endorsements covering that. If you, your employee, or one of the animals in your care is attacked by a third-party animal, try to get the information about that animal’s owner.  More than likely, they will be liable for the incident. There sure are a lot of pet sitting insurance claims! Then, David covers the Top 5 most frequent third-party claims (also below). He mentions how often people are injured when two dogs are fighting.  He stresses that you should NEVER try to get between two fighting dogs. It will more than likely end badly. He suggests using methods such as loud noises or water hoses to break it up. Bites to children is big on the list as well. David recommends that you emphasize to your employees or independent contractors that it is their responsibility to keep other people, especially children, away from the dogs in their care as even the most well-tempered dog may bite if it is spooked or the child provokes it. Another big claim on the list is property damage to clients' homes.  David recommends sitters be cognizant of things like water faucets and running toilets.  He also suggests that sitters really know their cleaning supplies as there have been many claims related to sitters using a cleaner on a floor that ultimately ruins the finish. David then talks about the Top 5 Workman’s Comp pet sitting insurance claims (also below). He says the key thing is to get your employee taken care of and back to work as quickly as possible.   David says that if you or your employee has an accident or is injured, call the workman’s comp insurer as soon as possible!  The sooner they are involved the better your overall outcome is likely to be. He also suggests that you should have a relationship with a clinic where you send employees with non-life threatening emergencies as they are much less expensive and patients are often seen much more quickly there than in a hospital  emergency room. Here the Top 5 lists: Top 5 Pet Related Claims Ingesting  something foreign. (Example: medicine, toys) Dog bitten by another dog owned by third party Dog bitten by another dog in the sitter’s care Scratches and injuries (to animal) due to running into or stepping on things. Pet damages to the contents of homes. Top 5 Third-Party Claims Dog in a sitter’s care attacks or bites another dog Dog bites a person (other than you or your employee) Water damage. (Example: Sitter leaving the water on in a client’s home) Dog runs into or undercuts a person (other than you or your employee) Damages to the client’s home. (Example: Sitter causes a fire in a client’s home) Top 5 Workman’s Comp Claims Dog or cat bite to hands or arms Slips, trips, and falls Slips and falls on stairs Dog bites to other body parts Dogs at play..odd injuries. (Example:  Dog jumps up and knocks out a sitter’s tooth) Here is David's contact information: David Pearsall, CIC, CWCA Business Insurers of the Carolinas PO Box 2536, Chapel Hill, NC 27515 1-800-962-4611 x214 [email protected] Transcript: Bella: This episode is brought to you by my free webinar, Jump and Scale Your Business. It's my three-part training series all dedicated to finding and attracting the right kind of people that will scale your business. Did I mention it's free? Listen, you have to attend this if you want to grow your staff, you feel like you're being held hostage, you have high turnover, you feel burnt out, or you're just not seeing the results you want. Join me for this three-part free webinar series. Register now at jumpconsulting.net/scale. That's jumpconsulting.net/scale. I'll see you there. 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. Hello, this is Bella from Jump Consulting, and I welcome everyone who's listening or watching. I have the honor and pleasure of doing the first of many series to come with the one and only David Pearsall from Business Insurers of the Carolinas. If you're a pet sitter in the industry, I am sure you've heard of Business Insurers of the Carolinas. And we have David here today to talk about the 15 most common pet sitting claims. This is something that he deals with day in and day out. I've had personal dealings with him, and I'm so pleased and excited, David, to see you face to face and actually be talking to you today. So welcome and thank you. David: Thanks, Bella. I appreciate you having me on today. I'm excited. It's the first time I've ever done a blab and I'm looking forward to doing many more and hopefully this one will be successful. People will learn something and get something out of it. As you mentioned, the top 15 claims, when I look at the claims, we have so many and so many to choose from. So I opted to break it out into different categories. So hopefully everyone in the pet sitting industry, I'm certain, will understand when I start going into them. Bella: I love the three topics that we have. It's liability, pet claims, and workman's compensation. I think before we jump into them, I would speculate, because I've had the same kind of questions before, David. And your illustrations will probably give the answer, but, you know, something happens in business and we say, will insurance cover it? Should I put in a claim? Should I pay it out of pocket? What do I do? Am I going to get penalized for putting in a claim? Is it worth it? Or am I going to get in trouble? There are so many things. So like we have this insurance, but we're not quite sure what or when or how to use it. So I think these illustrations you're about to give are really going to help jog people's memories. David: Ideally, that's what insurance is for. You have an accident. You need to look and certainly you want to check with your insurer and see if it's covered. One thing I'll let you know, because we work with many, many different insurance companies in our office and have throughout my career. Certainly everybody knows we work with the associations, so we have the association liability policies, but we also work with all the national carriers from Travelers to CNA to Hartford and so forth and so on. What most insurance companies will look at is two things. They'll look at your frequency, meaning how many claims you have, and they'll also look at your loss ratio. Usually it's not premium; you pay in each year. If you take that and you take the claims that you have paid out on your behalf, most insurance companies want to run a profitable business, just like most pet sitters want to run a profitable business. So that's what they look at. Bella: I know that makes sense. That’s something people can relate to because every pet sitter understands running profitably. David: Exactly. The first category is liability claims. Those are the ones that are most frequent. Those can include a lot of things: dog bites, property damage, or anything that involves a third party. Bella: Right, so that could be like if a pet sitter is walking a client’s dog and that dog gets loose and bites another dog or person? David: Correct. We’ve seen so many variations of that. Let’s start there. A pet sitter could be walking a dog, and maybe the leash breaks or the dog pulls and knocks someone down. That’s a liability claim. Another one could be when a sitter accidentally leaves a door open and a client’s cat gets out. Even if the cat is later found, the client may file a claim for emotional distress or vet bills. Bella: Wow. I can imagine that happens more often than people realize. David: Absolutely. The most common one that stands out, though, is dog bites. We’ve had cases where the pet sitter was walking a dog, and another dog approached and attacked. Sometimes the sitter gets bitten trying to break it up. Other times, the dog they’re walking bites someone else. Either way, there’s liability. Bella: So what happens then? If my sitter is walking a client’s dog and that dog bites another person, who’s responsible—the sitter, the company, or the client? David: The short answer is: potentially all of them. That’s why liability coverage exists—to defend you and pay claims if you’re legally liable. Typically, we’d see the client’s homeowner’s insurance step in for the dog owner, but as the business, you could still be named in the suit. Bella: So it’s like the legal version of “better safe than sorry.” David: Exactly. It’s always better to report it and let the carrier investigate. Even if it turns out to be minor, they can advise you on next steps.

Beth Green from Paws Pet Care in Louisville KY shares with us her lawyers interpretation of her pet sitting business with Independent Contractors. Listen in as she shares with Bella about the flow of the money, the suggested guidelines, the question about which is the right way to go. This episode is great for those pet sitters who have Independent Contractors. Beth is an incredible role model who demonstrates all the proper care and thought that it takes to run the business the correct way. I applaud her self reflection to constantly be checking if her business lines up to her personal needs and desires. I admire the way Beth doesn't just follow the masses and really investigates the law, the risk, and the control in which she desires in her business. In June, the Feds came out that they are putting more money in the budget to audits. Beth wanted to get confirmation from her lawyer that she was still doing everything right. What I loved about what she did was that she sent her lawyer EVERYTHING she had. She paid a retainer. Beth's lawyer took 4 weeks to review Beth’s info and research the industry! This is such a huge point because she didn't run in for a "free consultation" and tried to jam everything into 30 or 60 minutes. Link to the audits. https://jumpconsulting.net/2014/05/12/recap-learned-pet-sitting-audit-case-studies/ Your decision to have IC’s will depend on your comfort level of risk. How much risk do you want to take? Beth's lawyer wrote this in her three page recap she got in return of her research. We talk about operations. How the assignments are accepted flows. Contractors decide when they work. A very good point here is showing that those who like to TELL people when to work, shouldn’t have ICs. Beth talks about the GPS feature and if she uses it or not. We discussed what supplies supplies she could supply. We talked about how she uses her CMS, Leashtime, to assists in ICs "Do not buy your contracts online” -Beth We talk about one thing that businesses shouldn't have on their ICs contracts There is just so much great information in this podcast and well worth your listen. If you listen to this and decide that it is time to switch from ICs to Employees, check out the industries largest resource on employees. Learn about the pricing structure, employee manuals, interviewing, hiring, and becoming a manger. Employee's are the easier way to go. -Beth The very last major point that we talked about was workmans compensation. Her lawyer says workmans compensation would be great to have for her ICs. It was because of our industry and bites happen. So then she went to her insurance broker and he told her NO. He suggested she goes to the State and check with the NCCI to get the document for them to exempt themselves. It can't be copied, etc. It was a really important point. Here is the answer that I mentioned that my insurance broker wrote about businesses having workmans compensation on independent contractors. All in all, I think they biggest take away from this interview is that a business owner MUST do their homework. They MUST have a team of professionals around them that they can have open and honest discussions. I would like to thank Beth for being so open and honest with us as she didn't have to. I just respect her so much. Also, I think it is worthy to mention that Beth's heart and care for her community is so big that she has created My Dog Eats First. I HIGHLY suggest taking a look into this organization. Transcript: Bella: Do you feel like your business is going around on a merry-go-round? Well, I've got news for you. This episode is sponsored by my incredible webinar series called Jump in Scale. It gets you off that merry-go-round and up to the next level in your business. It's called Jump in Scale and it's free for you right now. Just go ahead and sign up at jumpconsulting.net forward slash scale. You will learn how to grow your business, increase your staff, and not be held hostage to business. So go ahead, sign up for free. That's jumpconsulting.net forward slash scale. I'll see you inside. 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 everybody, this is Bella Vasta from Jump Consulting, and I'm here with a great friend and someone I really admire, Beth Green. I'm sorry, Bethany Buster Green. Beth Green, what do you want to be called? Because you have an identity crisis like I do. Beth: I know right. Beth is completely fine. My mom calls me Bethany when she's mad, so still at 40. So Beth is fine. Bella: Beth is an awesome pet sitter in Kentucky. She owns Paws Pet Care. And I want you all to know that this podcast kind of started because we were on the phone chatting away about Bethany's business, and Bethany's been following closely the whole IC employee debate, and she is one of the most informed pet sitters I've ever met. She's constantly questioning, constantly scrutinizing, constantly making sure that the decisions she's making are still the ones that match up with her needs and wants and risk evaluation when it comes down to it. So without further ado, Bethany had gotten a meeting with her attorney. And Beth, what I love about what you did here is you didn't just go and sit and talk for an hour and that was it. I mean, I saw the three-page rebuttal that you kind of got from her in writing re-explaining what her conclusions were in her professional opinion. Of course, not ever taking away from my litigation. It's just clearly her opinion, which that's what it all sounds in the end. But I love how in-depth it went. And today I want to talk with you about operations supply, how the sitters are assigned work, the control over sitters, the skill set they have, the length of employment, methods of payment, and relationship of you and your staff member, your IC. So for all those who are listening, that's kind of where we're gonna go. We definitely could talk for hours and hours and hours, but we're gonna actually try to keep this kind of short and sweet. We want you all to know that first of all, I'm not against independent contractors. I just don't think that it's a risk that many people are willing to take. Therefore, I feel that employees are really the safest way to go. A lot of people I see using independent contractors are using them as employees and calling them independent contractors. Beth is not one of those people, which is why I think her and I have been able to have this awesome mutual respect for one another. I mean, we're at polar opposite ends, but we can have an honest discussion about it because we're both coming from a factual basis. I love that we're doing this today because there's so many people out there that are helping pet sitters and saying that they can have independent contractors and here's how you do it. But they themselves are breaking the rules blatantly on their website. And I've tried to ask them to go toe to toe with me with a mutually respectful discussion like we are. And for the love of God, you're the only one that'll talk to me. Beth: Well, it's been a journey to the truth, and it's a never-ending journey because things are constantly changing. To be a responsible business owner, you've got to keep investigating and researching and making sure that you're always doing what you're supposed to be doing. Bella: Exactly. So why don't you tell us how this journey began? What happened when you first started? What prompted you to actually call a lawyer and then how'd that meeting go? Beth: As you know, Bella, because I'm in your networking group and in your coaching group, there's a lot going on in small businesses right now across the United States with contractors versus employees and not just small businesses, large businesses too. I believe for several reasons, and I'm not a politician by any stretch of the imagination, but I believe for several reasons that the IRS is really cracking down on making sure that people have their employees or contractors categorized right. Bella: Compliance, right? Beth: Yes, that they're compliant. We could kind of guess as to why, but one thing that my lawyer did say is that maybe because of the free healthcare thing, I mean, the country needs more tax money and they need more income coming in. So what better way to go after that than to start dinging people for taxes and penalties and stuff if they're not classifying their workers properly. Bella: I think what it was is that in June they came out and said that they're putting more money towards small business audits than ever before to make sure specifically that workers are being classified the right thing. And to go off of your point, you said healthcare. The reason why that's important is because their argument, in my understanding, is that if you have a worker that gets hurt on the job and they're an independent contractor, then they're going to end up on the government system and the government's going to be helping them pay for those or they could be helping pay for those injuries and things. So if they're properly classified and they're properly taken care of, it decreases the liability for the government. Beth: That's one of the many, many arguments. So we can see where this is happening with corporations like Uber. They recently have been investigated and they have to make some changes. And this is a worldwide business that just took off and grew very quickly. So with our conversations with these things that I'm seeing in the news and the things that I'm reading and studying online and best business practices, I want to make sure that my business is running the way that it's supposed to be and that my people are classified properly. Bella: And you know, I needed to know 100% for sure if they were, if they weren't,

Matt asks the question: Hi Bella, I guess [my question]  would be some actionable best practices for breaking thru that wall in business. IE. Going from a 40,000 pet sitting business to a 100,000 + business. Without further ado, here is your answer all laid out: You have to think of a car with an engine. In order to get up to those higher speeds the engine needs to be efficient. The way a business works when making 40K typically isn’t going to be the same way when it is making 100K In Order To Have a Breakthrough, You Must Control Areas Of Your Business So It Doesn't Control You. Control is a big part of it. It rarely every happens just because. You have to be intentional about it. You have to control every aspect of your business and make decisions that line up with your 100K goal. Each decision that comes into your business you have to ask yourself, “Will this help me get closer or further away from it?”Here are some areas where you can control the outcome and put in place systems that will help you achieve the system that it takes to take it to a six figure business. As a warning, I want to say that the biggest difference between a 40K business and 100K business is that the more volume that comes in, the less of EVERYTHING a business owner can do. They can’t possibly do it all anymore because there is too much to do. Those that attempt end up being burnt out of not good at a lot because they are stretched too thin. This, is where creating systems comes into play and learning how to control them. Here are areas that you can control and create systems for: Control the marketing. Control the leads and sales process Control the follow up. Control the sitters schedules Control the quality Learn to delegate more. small and big tasks. website, graphics, social media, It is like that car that is coasting along the freeway. You can let your foot off the gas. Someone else can take the steering wheel. Transcript: Before we get started with today's episode, I want to know, are you burnt out trying to hire employees? Or maybe you want to hire employees, but you're just terrified of that boogeyman that does not exist in the closet. Well, this episode is sponsored by my free three-part webinar series, Jump and Scale Your Business, and I would love to see you there. It's a must-have attend if you want staff, you want to grow, you feel like you're held hostage, or you have to high turnover. Signing up is as easy as going to jumpconsulting.net forward slash scale. That's jumpconsulting.net forward slash scale. 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. Hello, this is Bella Vasta and you are listening to Bella in Your Business. It is a podcast for business owners in the pet industry where I hope to inspire, motivate and challenge you with each episode. Before we get started, I would be honored if you would subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher or SoundCloud and leave a comment, like or heart on either of them. Today, we're going to talk about how to break through from a $40,000 a year business to a $100,000 a year business in your pet sitting business. That's a lot of businesses. This question comes from Matt Frazier and he submitted it on my Jump Consulting Facebook page. You too could find that just simply by going to facebook.com backslash jump consulting. He says, hi Bella. I guess it would be some actionable best practices for breaking through the wall in business, i.e. going from a $40,000 business to a hundred thousand plus business. Well, I think this is a really super great question and I see a lot of people on that cusp. I kind of think back to myself when I was there. And you know, you're just really trying to get over that hump and push forward. You're at a breaking point and depending on your pricing structure and strategy, sometimes you're actually looking to hire people between 40,000 to a hundred thousand dollars. And this we're talking about what your business makes, of course. It's really exciting. It's a very exciting thing. It's kind of starting to take it to the next level. You've decided that you are able to have a business going. It's going really well. You're making money. Maybe you can't even believe that you're making money doing something that you love, but inevitably you're going to become burnt out because at the end of the day, it's just you. So in order to reach that hundred thousand dollar, I'm not going to say anything's impossible, but I think it's safe to assume that the majority of people in order to be bringing in a hundred thousand dollars on your business, will most likely have to have one to two people helping them out. So in order to make that jump from 40 to 100,000, there's gonna be some things that we're gonna have to talk about here. If you've listened to anything that I've ever coached or taught, you know that I love to talk in analogies. So I want you to think about a car with an engine. In order for it to get up to a higher speed, the engine needs to be efficient. The way a business works when making $40,000 a year typically isn't going to be the same way when it's making $100,000 a year. For any of you who understand how stick shift works or a manual car, you cannot be going 100 miles on the freeway. Well, I guess you can't do that to begin with, but for argumentative sake, you can't be going 100 miles an hour on the freeway in second gear because you'll burn out your engine. For those of you who don't know stick shift, and I didn't until I had my Mini Cooper Convertible a couple years back, with each gear that you bring it up from 1 to 5, your speed goes higher and higher. You can do a really high speed in second gear, but what happens is your RPMs end up in the red, so your engine's going to burn out. In order to take some pressure off your engine and ultimately a car you're gonna want to kick it up a gear kick it up a notch and that's kind of where that saying comes from so you really if you're gonna be going you know a hundred miles an hour you need to be in fifth gear and we've got to work our way up there from second gear, third gear, fourth gear, fifth gear. So basically what I'm trying to get across is that we've got to control this. This isn't just like I wanted you a hundred miles an hour in second gear because unless you make the proper changes, your engine is going to burn out and guess who's the engine? You. So control is a big part of it. Your business growing really rarely ever happens and is sustainable for just because you have to be intentional about it. You have to control every aspect of your business and make decisions that line up with your $100,000 a year goals. Each decision that comes into your business, you'll have to ask yourself, will this help me get closer or further away from my goal? You guys, this is life changing. And I remember the first time someone told me this. And I always use the Yellow Pages example. At the time, people were calling up asking if you wanted to advertise in the Yellow Pages. It sounds so obsolete now, doesn't it? But, you know, it was like $500 a year and they said, oh my gosh, we're going to get you out to 100,000 people and all of this stuff, you know. And I used to say to people, well, number one, is that part of your marketing plan? Number two, those 100,000 people, do you service them all or is it really only like 5,000 of those people? And number three, where do your people find you? Are they actually looking through the phone book? Do they even have a phone book or is it in the trash? Or do they look online? So that's a really great illustration for when you're looking to get up to $100,000, you're going to have all of these decisions to make along the way. And unless you have like a litmus test to like put it up against, you're going to be very confused on which way to go. And you might make a lot of bad decisions. And you know what? It's inevitable. We're not perfect. We have all made and will make lots of bad decisions. But it really matters how we turn those bad decisions into lessons and how we choose to take it on with us. Are we carrying it around like baggage like, ho, hum me, I made a mistake and I can't do that again and I just don't know how. Or are we more like, yeah, I made that mistake, never making that again. I'm gonna learn from it and I'm gonna do it better and different the next time. That mindset is so crucial in getting from this 40,000 to this 100,000. So I want to talk more about areas where you can control the outcome and put in place systems that will help you achieve that system and take it to a six figure business. As a warning, I want to say that the biggest difference between a 40K and a 100K business is the more volume that comes in, the less of everything a business owner can do. They can't possibly do it all anymore because there's just too much to do. Those that attempt to do all of it and be everything to everyone end up being burnt out. They end up regretting their business, regretting their life, and just not really being happy. I know because I see them all the time online. It's basically they've stretched themselves too thin. Oftentimes you can really picture these people because they're saying things like, my husband doesn't get to see me and he doesn't like my business because he says I work all the time. Or I really am resentful of this pet sit because I want to make it to my kids baseball game and they just can't. So this is where systems come into play and learning how to control your business. Here are the areas you can control and I'm going to touch upon some systems for the sake of time. I can't really go through all the how-to's, but I'm going to give you a lot of good food for thought. So if you're walking a dog right now or doing laundry or driving,