Episode 95: Coaching Your Pet Sitting Employees To Success With Niki Ramirez

Today, we welcome our friend, Niki Ramirez, a Human Resource specialist at HRAnswers.org. Niki and her team provide full-service HR consultation, compliance support, and employee training for small businesses, their mission is to take care of "HR" so that their clients can focus on their business. On today's episode, Niki will share her expertise on the importance of being a coach to your pet-sitting employees, and how it can help your business thrive. From setting goals and providing feedback to fostering a positive work environment and developing a growth mindset, Niki will share her insights and tips on how to effectively coach your team. Whether you're a new business owner or an experienced manager, this episode will provide valuable takeaways that you can implement in your business right away. Biggest Takeaways: What is coaching and why should we coach? We don’t always feel like natural coaches or understand the mindset of how to become an effective coach. It is a way we can change the outcome of the “game” as it progresses. [5:00] What do great coaches do to unlock the best potential of their employees? They often provide a vision for their employees [9:20] Are there different types of coaching? And when should we implement these techniques and why? [13:20] Is there any easy way to say “I’m going to be coaching you?” [15:00] How can you coach stubborn pet sitting employees? We want to boost performance but think about coach vs. discipline. If you coach first, you will probably not have to discipline. But sometimes you have to put them on notice. [19:00] How can you find Niki and tap into her resources? [24:00] Links: Find and contact Niki for a quick and easy consultation at HRAnswers.org Share The Show: 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’   Transcript: Bella: This is episode 95 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'm your host from Jump Consulting. Today, I have a very special guest with me. I have known Niki Ramirez for probably a year and a half at least, and I need to tell you all that it was not easy to find her. I went through so many people, convinced myself that there is a magical person like Niki out there in the world to help small business owners like you, the listener, and myself. Niki is actually an HR consultant. She offers compliance support and employee training for small businesses. Her mission is to take care of the HR—the human resources—so that her clients can focus on their business. I was instantly drawn to her and have been lovingly using and abusing her in almost everything I have to offer. Niki has actually endorsed the employee manual that Jump Consulting sells to pet sitters. She's also been my guest numerous times in the Employee Quick Start Mastermind groups that I have to help get pet sitting business owners from solo to employees, and she's been a wealth of information. What Niki does is she is literally a contractor that you can bring on your team, project-based or ongoing, and she can help you exactly with what she said—take care of your employee or people problems. So without further ado, Niki, welcome to the show. Niki: Good morning. Nice to be here with you. Bella: Absolutely. Why don't you go ahead and fill in the gaps and give our listeners a little bit of understanding of how you became what you are today and why you do what you do? Niki: I started working in the realm of human resources and employee training probably about 25 years ago, getting like a paycheck for it, right? And I just fell in love with the idea that I could have an impact on, number one, people's success at work, but almost more importantly, their happiness. By creating a great work environment, we can create great communities. And so that's really why I do the work that I do. If we boil it down to what's driving me and sparking that fire inside, I feel like if I can get out and help my clients with their HR programs and their people problems, their businesses will run more smoothly. They'll be more profitable, their employees will be happier, and maybe long term we'll cut down on some road rage or something like that. I have a master's in business, and that helped me through the formal study of business and human resources. I've also been a dual HR-certified professional for about 12 years, and I just added a third HR certification to my alphabet soup following my name last March. I'm really excited about that. It helps me to give really specific service in a particular niche that I love. Bella: I'm so glad you mentioned that because I'm always amazed at the constant ongoing education that you're going through. The workplace environment, laws, and just our world are changing so much. What might have flown five years ago totally couldn't fly now. Until about two years ago, I didn’t even realize that someone like yourself was accessible to small businesses like ours. I thought a person like you was only reserved for a high salary—$80,000, $90,000, $100,000, $150,000—that works for a big corporation. I never thought a small business, a mom and pop, or even a solopreneur could ever have access to someone like yourself. Online, I’m hearing the two biggest frustrations are people getting clients and getting employees. When they're spinning their wheels getting employees or they have a problem with an employee, we’re all pet sitters and dog walkers. We're not well-versed on coaching people. We're not well-versed on, “My gosh, why can’t you just get it? I already told you once!” We don’t understand how to become a coach. As we grow our business, that personal development and team-building as a business owner are so important. Today, Niki, if it's all right with you, I'd like to talk about coaching because if we could all learn to be better coaches in our business, we might be able to save and thrive in the relationships we’ve worked so hard on with the people we’ve hired. Niki: Yeah, that sounds really good. Bella: So let's start off first with what coaching is and why we should adopt that mindset of coaching. Niki: I want to challenge your thinking, though. You said that you feel that we are maybe not natural coaches, and I propose that we are all natural coaches, but human interactions and the way we socialize make it difficult. All we need to do is be mindful, be focused, and do a little bit of learning and practice. These are skills that are already in us. I believe that we all have different levels of success available to us based on the amount of time we're going to commit to it. So I think we can all be great coaches. Bella: I love that idea—that we all have that ability, we just need to tap into it. Niki: Exactly. Human relationships are tough, and anytime that we are in a position to coach, there’s probably a lingering question about whether something’s going well or not. There may be potential conflict, and that’s what we’re avoiding—not coaching, but conflict. Bella: That’s such a great point. In our personal relationships, we kind of do coach, right? Like when we tell our spouse, “Hey, that hurt my feelings,” or “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t do that next time.” Niki: Coaching is a way that small business owners and leaders can change the outcome of the game during the game. It happens real-time—on the job, during training, and during normal interaction. Coaching is active in the moment. It’s not reactive. It’s not like feedback after something happens. Coaching is about pointing out strengths and immediate areas for adjustment. It’s an opportunity to build relationships and rapport. Bella: So it’s about opening up that ongoing communication. That way, it’s not just a one-sided relationship. Niki: Exactly. Coaching helps build trust and transparency. Bella: So what do great coaches do to unlock their employees' potential? Niki: Great coaches provide vision. Think of a coach like a captain of a ship. The coach provides the destination, leads by example, and clears obstacles so the team can focus on success. The coach doesn’t take the employee’s spot—they guide and support them while keeping an eye on the bigger picture. Bella: I love that imagery. So how often should we be coaching? Niki: It depends on where the employee is in their journey. New employees should receive coaching often—daily, even. It sets the tone that this is a coaching-based relationship. As employees grow, it becomes less frequent but still consistent. Coaching can be directive (“Hold the paddle this way”) or non-directive (“Can you think of a better way to hold it?”). A great tool is a 15-minute monthly check-in asking, “What’s going well? What are you struggling with? What can I start, stop, or continue doing to help you succeed?” Bella: That’s so valuable. Just those 15 minutes could change everything for retention. Niki: Exactly. Coaching is free, but it has a high return on investment. It strengthens communication, accountability, and culture. Bella: How do we avoid crossing into personal territory, like counseling? Niki: You set expectations ahead of time by sending an agenda. If personal matters come up, validate their feelings but refocus on the purpose of the call. It’s about valuing their time and staying productive, not being cold or dismissive. Bella: That’s a great boundary. What about stubborn employees—people who just don’t listen? Niki: Coaching is for performance improvement, not for chronic issues. If you’re constantly re-teaching,