Episode 257: What You Need To Really Scale Your Pet Sitting Business

Have you made your mindset shift yet to scale your pet business? If you are someone who is looking to switch from solo to scaling your pet business, start hiring employees, and are ready to get uncomfortable to make the decisions needed then this podcast is just for you. Listen in as Bella tells you all about how to change your mindset to the one you have been looking for. Biggest Takeaways You Don’t Want To Miss Do You Work FOR Your business or ON Your Business? If you are doing things on repeat or spending your time doing simple tasks then you should be able to pass them over to someone else and focus your attention on what your business needs to expand. Look at how you spend your days, how much time do you spend on tasks that someone else could have done? Are Your Processes Simple and Accessible? If it is complicated for you then it is complicated for your clients and potential employees. If it is not accessible then how is anyone able to help you? These are so important as thinking this way is taking that shift for your mindset to really scale your pet business. Think Outside the Box, What If You Wanted To Sell? You never know when this is going to happen since life is always changing. Even if you are not ready to sell it is all about setting up your business to be able to. Would you buy a business with no employees? What about one that does not have a PnL? Whether you actually sell or not keeping your business at this standard shows you what you need to continue to scale your business. Show Highlights 3 Major topics to start your mindset shift [7.20] Asking the questions and having the thoughts needed to change your mindset [11:40] Do you know why you are doing this and how to sell it? [16.23] Links: Bella's Website Solve One Problem With Bella Let's Connect: Did you enjoy the show? We would love it if you subscribed today and left us a 5-star review! Click this link – Bella In Your Business Click on the ‘Subscribe’ button below the artwork Go to the ‘Ratings and Reviews’ section Click on ‘Write a Review’' Are You New Here? Welcome, I am so glad you are here. If you are a dog walker, dog sitter, cat sitter, doggy daycare, or kennel owner, then you found the right place. Jump Consulting is the one place on the internet to get all the resources you need for your pet care business. Can I give you some freebies to generate sales and increase revenues for your business? Grab your freebies below. Are you starting out? Been in business for less than two years? Get your startup resources here. Do you own an established pet care business and you want to take it to the next level.? Get Your builder resources here. Transcript: This is episode 257 of Bella in Your Business. Hi there, I'm Bella Vasta from Jump Consulting. You might know me from CBS, NBC, Fox, Huffington Post, Entrepreneur, or maybe you've seen me speak on stage or read my book, The Four Dogs That Every Business Owner Needs. In any case, get ready because you're about to get your hashtag Bella Butt Kickin' in this next episode of Bella in Your Business. So what do you say? Let's get ready and jump. Welcome to another episode of Bella in Your Business. I am here today to talk to you about a mindset shift—one that some of you have not made yet but should have made a while ago. Guys, I’ve been on these awesome complimentary coaching sessions with those of you I haven’t met yet, and we’ve been meeting on Instagram, we’ve been meeting on Facebook. I always like to offer you a complimentary session to solve one problem that you might have. And it comes up a lot where people are trying to solve problems, but they’re trying to solve them as if they were the only pet sitter and not like the boss in charge or someone working with a team. Now, if you are a solo sitter with no desire to ever have anyone working for you and that works out fine for you, this podcast is not for you. If you are someone who does not ever want to hire, doesn’t trust people, or doesn’t want to get out of your comfort zone and get a little uncomfortable, this podcast is not for you. You should skip forward to the next one. But this episode is for those who are looking to figure out why they can’t actually scale. You’ve tried to hire people, it hasn’t worked out, or you’ve hired people but now you’re busier than ever doing stuff and can’t seem to get out of the rat race. This is for you, and I want to talk about that today. Your mindset is huge. One thing I always love to do is blow things up—get them microscopic and then as big as possible. For this one, I want you to think about hotels like Marriott, Hyatt, and Hilton. Do you think Mr. Marriott or Mr. Hilton are at the front desk checking in customers? No. Did they do that when they first started? Sure. But are they doing that now? No, they’re not. And there’s a reason for that, a reason why they’ve been able to grow such a conglomerate. Now, you might say, “Bella, I don’t want to grow my business that big.” That’s fine—totally fine—but stay with me here. You really have to think about a couple of things. The first thing is: is everything you’re doing something anyone else can do? Look at the tasks you’re doing every day and start getting upset when you’re doing something someone else could actually do for you, or if you’re doing something over and over again. There’s no reason to repeat things manually. If it’s a process, then put it into a process and hand it off. You have to constantly be putting yourself out of a job. To do that, you have to get it written down. You’ve heard me talk about handbooks, manuals, standard operating procedures, SOPs, workflows—all those buzzwords. But basically, it means getting it out of your head and onto paper. One of my biggest tips when coaching people is that if you feel like you can’t sit down and write it out, that’s fine—it’s actually difficult. But the next time you’re about to do something online, use Loom. It’s an extension that records your computer and your pretty little face in the corner if you allow it. Just start taking short videos under three minutes of the things you’re doing. Put them in a file and then find someone to watch those videos and write out the steps you took. You have to get things written down because there’s no way you can grow and scale your business if everything’s in your head. Nothing can last that way. Hiring people “on your gut” or training people by saying, “Hey, come shadow me for three days, I’ll tell you everything I know,” doesn’t work. Another thing I want you to think about is whether you have milestones and checkpoints. If you’re going to go from a solo mentality to scaling, you need to give your team checkpoints and wins. These serve two purposes: if they’re not doing something correctly, you can correct and continue; if they’re doing well, you can cheer them on and build confidence. Speaking of assets, remember that your staff is your biggest asset in your pet sitting and dog walking company. This is not a brick-and-mortar business with equipment—your employees are your assets. Think of it as changing the oil or greasing the gears so things run smoothly. Another thing to consider: is it simple? Is the way you run your business easy to understand? I’ll give you an example. So many of you have convoluted cancellation policies you can’t even remember. Here’s what I used to have: if you cancel within two weeks for day visits or four weeks for overnights, you’re responsible for half the invoice. That’s it. For dog walks, cancel by 6 p.m. the night before to get a credit. Simple. If you have to look it up, your clients will too. Same with billing—people make it overly complicated. Stop wasting time making things harder than they need to be. Keep your processes straightforward and simple, and make sure they tie into your overall goals. So far, I’ve talked about: is it written down? Are there milestones? Is it simple? Is it easy to remember? Your mindset must shift from solo sitter to scaling business owner. Otherwise, it’s going to implode. As you shift to this mindset and put yourself out of a job, you’ll be able to work on revenue-generating projects instead of mundane tasks. Ask yourself: what are you doing today? Are you doing something you could easily hire someone to do, or something that helps grow the business? Doing walks and pet sits keeps it alive—it doesn’t grow it. Growth comes from collaborations, partnerships, sponsorships, and visibility. Do you have an organizational chart? You need one so you know who reports to whom. Is it just you to everyone else? That’s overwhelming. You need a hierarchy of responsibilities. That’s the only way to move from solo mentality to a scaling one. Do you have enough money to pay yourself and the business, not just your sitters? When you’re first solo, it’s just you. But when you get employees, you might be so relieved they’re working that you give away the house. Don’t do that. You must ensure your margins support scaling. First, pay yourself. Yes, pay yourself enough to save monthly. Then pay the business. The business needs money to run. Don’t be held hostage by lack of funds. After that, pay your staff. Now, examples of moving from solo to scaling mentality: your billing process, booking process, and communication policy. Do they support a big business or a small one? Does everything have to go through you? If so, that must change. You can’t be everyone’s personal concierge. Communication, too—it’s often a big mess that causes stress and confusion. Streamline it. Clearly define how you communicate with clients and staff: when to use journals, texts, calls, and emails. Finally, ask yourself why you’re doing this. The best reason to scale your business is to sell it. Some of you just had a knee-jerk reaction to that, but hear me out. Life happens. You may want or need to sell one day. Build your business as an asset,