Episode 69: Lessons Learned When Buying 5 Pet Sitting Businesses With Crystal Hammond

Are you thinking about buying a pet sitting business? Then you NEED to hear what Crystal Hammond has to say. She's been through the process a number of times, and is an expert in making deals. Listen as Crystal & Bella to discuss: Crystal Hammond - Sitter For Your Critter WHY people sell their businesses The 3 things you MUST know about a business prior to purchasing HOW to transition the businesses clients to the change in management Crystal Hammond has been in the pet sitting industry for almost 10 years. She started her first pet sitting business, Sitter for your Critter, back in 2008 with a handful of clients and have since grown her operations to service over 4,000 clients. She’s acquired several of  our competitors companies over the years and started new pet sitting businesses to expand our service areas.  Last but not least she’s the proud mama of an 80 pound adorable English Bulldog named Capone. Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 69 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 Crystal Hammond with me. Crystal's been in the pet sitting industry for almost 10 years. She started her pet sitting business, Sitter for Your Critter, back in 2008 with just a handful of clients, and since then, she’s grown it to over 4,000 clients. She’s bought five companies and she just keeps going. Like, there is nothing that can stop this girl. And not only that, but she has become literally like my sister from another mister. Crystal and I have become very close this year, and I am just so excited by her. I’ve been begging her to come on this podcast because you guys, your tails are going to be wagging. You're in for a treat. Crystal says she’s so excited to be here. Bella says she’s excited to have her and explains that buying and selling a pet sitting company is something that’s seldom talked about. While Bella has a class on everything you need to know about buying and selling a pet sitting company, Crystal has actually bought other companies—not once, not twice, but five times. Bella says she’s never heard of anyone else buying that many pet sitting companies, and Crystal laughs. Bella says she’s not some major investor or retired corporate person with all this money. She’s an average person. Crystal says she’s 34. Bella says, “There you go, you’re 34 and you bought five businesses and built your own.” She asks Crystal to take her back to the very first opportunity that came for her to buy a company—what it looked like, what intrigued her, and what scared her about it. Crystal explains she started her business back in 2008. The first time she was approached was about a year and a half in, by someone she’d known for a while. The woman was moving to Florida because her husband had a job opportunity and asked if Crystal wanted to take over her business. Crystal said yes but had no idea what it would look like. The first one she did, she actually didn’t pay for. The woman was just so excited to have someone to refer her clients to because in this business, as pet sitters, it’s so intimate. They become close with the pets and the clients. Bella adds that she wants business owners to understand that every day they work in their business, they’re building an asset—it’s like building a house. If you just walk away, you lose something valuable. Crystal continues that the second business came from a couple she knew in her network who had broken up. They wanted to get rid of the business they started together, so they approached her. She knew a little more by then—it was her second acquisition. She knew she’d need to hire someone, and that went well overall. She learned that clients are not guaranteed to stay. When you buy a pet sitting business, you’re technically buying a book of business, not a brick-and-mortar. You’re basically buying a client list. At first, she took it personally when clients didn’t stay, but realized they were just attached to the previous sitter. Still, she learned that paying for a business doesn’t guarantee retention. By the third business, Crystal changed her approach. Before signing the contract, she and the seller reached out to clients directly to let them know about the change in ownership. That made a huge difference and even affected the price. She paid a little more but gained peace of mind and ended up with higher sales because they offered overnights, which the previous sitter didn’t. Clients were thrilled. The third seller just wanted a life change and had two employees. This was Crystal’s first time acquiring employees, which added complexity but worked out well. Bella takes a commercial break. When they return, Bella recaps that the first reason for selling was a move to Florida, the second was a breakup, and the third was a life change. She asks about the fourth transaction. Crystal says by that time, people were coming to her asking if she’d buy their businesses because she was developing a reputation. The fourth and fifth acquisitions happened back-to-back in the same year. The fourth was from someone who wanted to start a family. Her numbers were fantastic—high prices, consistent clients, and strong mid-day demand. Bella and Crystal discuss the importance of pricing, noting that buying a company with lower prices makes it harder to recoup your investment because your margins shrink when you have to pay staff. All four of those businesses were absorbed into Sitter for Your Critter. The fifth was different—it had a great name, Portsmouth Pet Sitting Company, and ranked first in Google searches. Crystal couldn’t beat her in SEO and realized the name was valuable. Instead of folding it into her brand, she kept it as a sister company. The organic web traffic made it worth double the price of her previous acquisition. That experience taught her the importance of strong, simple business names. Bella adds that names like “Portsmouth Pet Sitters” are memorable and credible, unlike cutesy or misspelled ones. Crystal agrees, saying she couldn’t pay enough to outrank the previous owner in search results, and that now, as she expands into new states, she plans to name future locations after the cities, such as “Newburyport Pet Sitting Company.” Bella asks about the logistics of the transitions—did she have a lawyer, CPA, or anyone helping her? Crystal says yes, she had a business attorney and strongly recommends one. Don’t just use LegalZoom; hire a local attorney who knows your state laws. Since pet sitters are buying books of business, not property, contracts must be airtight. Her CPA helped set up the sister company, and she also recommends having an office assistant for support. Without a team, you’ll lose clients as fast as you gain them. She also stresses the need to have enough staff ready for new clients. After buying two businesses back-to-back, she found herself walking dogs again due to rapid growth but saw it as a learning experience. Bella compares her to a bow and arrow—pulled back now but ready to soar higher. She asks Crystal what makes a business unattractive to buy. Crystal says she does a “health check.” The first thing she looks at is why the person is selling. Then she looks at services and runs the numbers. Many pet sitters, she found, don’t even know their weekly visit totals. She advises knowing your numbers—how many visits, what each sitter brings in daily, and your total revenue. Numbers don’t lie. If you make decisions based on numbers rather than fear, you’ll grow. Bella adds that Crystal’s success comes from pushing through fear and acting on facts. Crystal continues that the next thing she checks is systems. Do they even have any? If they’re still writing on paper instead of using software, that’s a red flag. Scheduling and reporting software makes life easier and gives real data. She also looks at training systems, marketing systems, and whether money is being left on the table. Those quick checks tell her the health of a business. Bella summarizes: number one, know the reason for selling; number two, know the numbers; number three, check the systems. Crystal agrees and adds that poor systems can lower a company’s value, making it a good bargaining point. Bella wraps up by saying Crystal’s story is inspiring. Crystal’s final advice is to enjoy the journey. Whether buying or selling, love the process and remember how great it is to work with pets every day. Know your numbers. Bella thanks her and signs off, reminding listeners to always keep jumping.