Friday, October 10, 2014

I had a sandwich and something to drink at the Atlanta Bread Company Thursday with some new colleages and friends. Two fairly new (about two years) companies in the pet sitting, dog walking and horse care area have been doing business in Pelzer and the southern Greenville area.  We talked for about an hour or so before we all had to leave and do evening pet sits and walks.  It's great to have fellow pet sitters to talk with as this business can be somewhat lonely because of the lack of human contact.  Pets are great to relax you and to lower your blood pressure and have fun with, but it is a good respit to come home to or call another human being and talk for awhile.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Twenty-three Speakers in Videoed Conference/seminar for two weeks Sept/Oct.

I have just finished participating in an online, free, 2 week seminar/conference about the various aspects of pet sitting.  Topics included things like Burnout, Ways to ease the Administrative burden and really "do what you like", having the enjoyment and fun in your work, franchises, make what you are worth and pet first aid.  All of the speakers have very successful businesses and I got some ideas and have gotten motivated through what they had to say.  Mostly, these speakers validated many of the thoughts I have had over my twenty years of pet sitting through trial and error.  This was very satisfying  to me as it confirms I have been on the right track all along.  Also for those who have smaller businesses, there was plenty of information we could use and implement.

The themes that seemed to permeate all the video interviews were 1) take care of yourself first 2) learn to say "no" 3)Keep in contact with your clients  4)Ask for help and hire  5) You are worth more than you think

All in all, this was a great way to continue to learn about the pet sitting business and all the "new" things that have come about since I first started in 1994.  If there is a chance to participate in free seminars that you are interested in, remember, no matter how experienced you are, there is at least one thing, idea or thought you should be able to take away with you.