Episode 62: The Do’s & Don’ts Of Hiring Pet Sitting Employees

As a pet sitting business owner, one of the most challenging hurdles you may encounter is hiring the right staff to help you grow your business. Many reach a point where they absolutely cannot take on anymore clients, unless they bring on some extra hands. But hiring is not as easy as it may seem, it requires a lot of consideration and preparation to make sure you're hiring a HERO rather than a ZERO. On this episode, Bella is joined by three successful pet sitting business owners who have been through the process many times before. Listen in as they share their personal stories, tips, and tricks for hiring the perfect pet sitting employees. In three 10-minute segments, you will learn from the best in the business, and gain valuable insights that will help you make the right hiring decisions for your pet sitting business. Don't miss out on this exciting episode! Biggest Take Aways: What is the best way to find pet sitting employees? What's the biggest mistake you've made when hiring pet sitting employees? What's your best secret that you would tell your old self about hiring pet sitting employees Maureen McCarthy Maureen McCarthy has worked with dogs and cats either grooming or pet sitting since 1980.  When she moved to North Carolina in 2006, she started Love and Kisses Pet Sitting  which she continues to successfully operate today. Love and Kisses Pet Sitting is now an award winning company (4 years and counting!), honored as the recipient of the Best Pet Sitting Business In Union County. Additionally, Maureen's business has attained the 2015 and 2016 Angie's List Super Service Award. Maureen now has 21 pet sitting employees working for her, all of which she requires to continually undergo continuing education to ensure they provide the best service possible. David Steinberg David Steinberg founded David's Pet Sitting while studying in graduate school to become a therapist at the UConn School of Social Work. Luckily, the program was located in his hometown (West Hartford). His friends then demanded he watched their pets when they went away. David happily obliged and before he knew it, David’s Pet Services was a thing.  David now has a number of employee's working under him, and is continuing to hire more and more while honing the process. 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. Cara Armour 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. Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 62 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. We're all good to go. I love it. How are you guys? The number one thing that a lot of people are always asking about in the pet industry is employees. Truth be told, there's actually not one way to do it. It's a very gray area. Now, sure, you have labor laws and HR consultants and all that stuff you really have to pay attention to. You also have to develop your own systems and processes. But a lot of us have learned by just falling down, breaking our leg, and getting back up, saying we’re not going to do that again. And that's what today's podcast is about. This podcast is going to feature three very successful pet sitters. The first is Maureen Dunn McCarthy of Loving Kisses Pet Sitting. She’s been on the podcast before and told the story about how she increased her bottom line $5,000 through Facebook and online groups, which I think is incredible. I’m also talking to David Steinberg from David’s Pet Services. David knocks it out of the park with live video and is a fantastic business owner. He’s also written a few blogs for me because he used to be a psychiatrist before becoming a dog walking business owner. We talked about how to establish and enforce rules with employees, so he has a lot to say about the topic. And finally, Kara Armour, who has become one of my really good friends—she’s like my sister from another mister. We’re both from Boston. You should hear us on the phone—we talk fast, loud, and over each other. It’s so exciting. You guys are in for a special treat. The way this is going to go is 10-minute segments where I ask all three of them the same questions. You’ll see the different answers they give. Technology permitting, we’re going to give this our best shot and just have fun with it. At the end, I’ll take your questions personally, but to keep it moving, I’ll bring them in one at a time. Type your questions or comments, and I can answer them live or afterward. Without further ado, I want to bring on my first guest, Maureen Dunn-McCarthy. Maureen: My business is located in the Charlotte area in a town called Indian Trail. I service a 10-mile radius and have 19 employees now. I started out as just myself, and it just got bigger and bigger, and I had to bring on employees. I’m enjoying it. That’s awesome. Maureen, I love watching your journey. You’re fearless, and that’s what I love. Everyone should check out Loving Kisses Pet Sitting—Maureen is a thought leader and someone you want to follow. My three questions for you: first, what’s the best way to find employees? Maureen: What works best for me is going into Facebook, into local town pages. If I need a pet sitter in a town called Matthews, I’ll go to that town’s page and post that I’m looking for pet sitters, have them email me. That’s my number one way to get employees. I’ve also posted on Indeed, but I use the free version and get tons of people, and it gets crazy. Word of mouth works too, and lately, a few employees actually reached out to me. That’s when you know you’ve made it—when people want to work for you. Maureen: I have fantastic employees. There were a few I had to weed out, but for the most part, they’re awesome. You need employees if you want to have a life or a weekend off. My daughter’s going to college, and I had a lot of college stuff to take care of, so the employees kick in. That’s great. What’s the biggest mistake you made? Maureen: Assuming things. You assume someone knows something. You assume they have common sense. Not asking enough questions—not asking “what would you do if…” scenarios. If you don’t tell them, they won’t know. Can you teach common sense or just be a better trainer? Maureen: Be a better trainer. In the beginning, I thought everyone knew certain things, but they didn’t. If you don’t tell them and walk them through it, they won’t know. Not only tell them but also put it in writing. Final question—what’s the best secret you’d tell your old self just starting out? Maureen: Keep hiring. Always be hiring. Train really well. Hire go-getters. Hire people with drive and common sense. Don’t assume. Why do people stop hiring? Maureen: People think it’s all petting dogs and cats. It’s actually a big responsibility, a lot of walking in all weather. Some realize it’s not what they thought and leave, so you always need to be hiring. I love it. Thank you so much for joining, Maureen. Now we’re bringing on Kara Armour. Kara: I’m located just outside Boston. My company covers Waltham, Watertown, and Belmont—close to Boston proper. My company is Active Paws, and I’ve had it for 14 years. I started it with my husband, who I met at the dog park. That’s adorable! Okay, Kara, rapid fire. What’s the best way you’ve discovered to find employees? Kara: I’ve tried everything. Craigslist and Hireology have worked best for me. Hireology connects with Indeed, so you get volume and can filter for quality. They even have a pre-interview survey where I sneak in questions like “Do you have a smartphone?” That’s a great approach. Second question—what’s the biggest mistake you’ve made? Kara: Hiring out of desperation. We all get to that point where we’re trapped by our staff. You fix that by constantly hiring. I’ve hired people even when my gut screamed not to. One woman said, “My mom said we should start a company together,” and I still hired her because I was desperate. Guess what? She did exactly what she said she would. Don’t settle or hire out of desperation. Kara: Exactly. It’ll suck for a while, but you’ll find the right person eventually. Final question—if you could tell your old self one thing, what would it be? Kara: Get over it. People lie and steal. I’ve had people steal clients. It happens. Don’t get emotionally wrapped up. Love and train your employees well, but if they leave, move on. Don’t waste energy trying to fix what’s gone. That’s such good advice. Kara: People are your greatest asset, but also your biggest risk. Stay connected, keep training, and be ready to let go. Perfect. Tell us about Pet Pro Hero. Kara: It’s an online pet first aid and CPR course taught by an ER vet. Bella has a discount code, CPR-PETSITTER, for 10% off. Thank you, Kara! Now we have David Steinberg from David’s Pet Services. David: I was born and raised in West Hartford, Connecticut. I went to the University of Connecticut and became a clinical social worker, but I started pet sitting for people I knew. I got business cards, and suddenly people thought I was a big company. I eventually quit therapy to run my pet service full-time. That’s amazing. What’s the best way to find employees? David: Start with yourself. Know what kind of person you’re looking for. Once you know, you can target better. Facebook is 100% the best place.