Bella In Your Business: Pet Sitting and Dog Walking Podcast

Established in 2014 by me, Becky Lea, Paws Around Motown offers mobile services to fit into your busy lifestyle! We come to you and offer dog walking, pet sitting, obedience training, pet taxis, and yard cleanups all around Oakland County.

This company and the customers we serve is everything to me and I am dedicated to offering positive reinforcement pet services by people who love animals as much as I do. What started out with me, with one dog, and a dream has flourished and grown 350 customers strong with 20 pet sitters.

Every Pet is different and we pride ourselves on knowing each pet as an individual and developing a care plan suited for each individual. What makes them tick, what do they like, what do they not like. We love all animals, all breeds, all shapes, and all sizes. Love does not discriminate.

To provide a safe, stress-free, and quality pet care experience for pet and pet parent. We do this through compassion, patience, honesty, open communication, and respect.

Biggest Takeaways You Don’t Want To Miss:

What were some of the ups and downs experienced in 2020?

Becky gets real about the hard decisions of having to let go of good staff and the struggle of losing 70% of her business this past year. She also shares the lessons learned and the amazing positives that never would’ve happened if the world had never shut down.

What was a blessing that came from 2020 that you were grateful for? 

Becky realizes how the entire experience, as hard as it was, was truly a blessing. How she had to step back and rethink her entire business. What came out of it is something she never imagined.

What kept you going throughout it? 

Becky shares her driving motive to keep going. Even with debt stacking up, Becky knew she wasn’t going to go without a fight. She explains the action taken to keep her customers, staff, and community going.

Where do you see your business going in 2021? 

Being awarded Best Dog Sitting and Walking Company in 2021 has been a great start to the year. It has shown Becky that her hard work this past year has paid off but she’s not stopping there. Decisions made in 2020 have caused her to take on new avenues, showing her nothing is impossible.

Did 2020 change anything in your business? 

Becky shows how 2020 not only changed her business but it also changed her. It has helped her to become a better business owner, person, and member of her community. She attributes the ability of these changes to her experience with Bella’s Mastermind and Better Marketing with Bella. Listen in to hear her explain how.

Show Highlights:

What life was like in 2020 [5:39]

Reconsider customer service going forward [14:00]

What kind of decisions did you make on a daily basis? [15:58]

I was not going to go down without a fight [16:40]

How did you decide on what to work on? [19:33]

What would be your best advice for people still in the haze? [22:42]

We were on a stay-at-home getting new clients as a result of that. [26:52]

There’s a lot of things you can do to train yourself that doesn’t cost a thing [27:35]

What have you seen as a benefit throughout 2020 with the Mastermind & Better Marketing with Bella [29:40]

Links:

https://www.pawsaroundmotown.com/

https://petcareteamtraining.com/

/marketing

/mastermind

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:

This is episode 234 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. Today I've got a special treat for you. I've got one of my clients who literally just jumped on a webinar with me last week because that's how badass she is, you guys. Becky Lee is the owner of Paws Around Motown. She started it in 2014, and it offers mobile services to fit into your busy lifestyle. They do dog walking, pet sitting, obedience training, pet taxis, pet yard cleanups, and all around Oakland County.

Becky has been in the Mastermind and in Better Marketing with Bella. Therefore, I've really gotten to know her very, very well—through the ups, through the downs, through the excitements and through the not-so-excitements, especially of last year, 2020. One thing that has always inspired me about her is that she's always upbeat and she's always trying to figure out, “If I can't do it this way, then I’ve got to do it another way.” She's willing to do everything fearlessly, or at least it looks like she does it fearlessly.

Currently, she's even sporting this awesome pink hair that I wish I had the guts to do, which is another thing I admire her for. But without further ado, Becky, thanks so much for agreeing to come on the show.

Well, you should be because you really are an incredible person. And I know that in the next 20 minutes or so, you're really going to inspire people. I really feel like they're going to be like, “Wow, I can do this too.” Guys, I know that we've had a lot of excitement in the past year and there's been a lot of challenges, and you've really had to dig deep and figure out, “Do I actually want my business? And how am I going to get through this?” So Becky, let's turn it to you. Why don't you just give our listeners an overview of what life has been like for you in 2020 with Paws Around Motown.

So 2020—it’s crazy because I started the year out thinking, “This is going to be my year. I'm going to get everything together this year, and this is going to be awesome.” And then like two months into the year, all this madness started happening. I was faced with a lot of down moments like a lot of business owners and just a lot of people in general. We lost like 70% of our business, 70% of our clients, 70% of our revenue. We had just leased a training space, about to open our first brick-and-mortar facility. We leased it in February, and we were supposed to do a grand opening in April. Then we had a stay-at-home order.

So now we had this facility we were paying rent and bills for—a space we couldn’t really use. We had to eliminate management staff. I went from having three managers to just my general manager and myself, which was really difficult because I had to have some tough conversations with some really amazing people that I didn’t want to lose but didn’t have a choice. It was a tough decision I had to make.

I began to fall into a state of depression and an almost shame spiral, getting down on myself, thinking, “What didn’t I do in the past that caused me to be in this position now? I should have had more money saved. I should have scaled my business the right way.” I kept having all these self-defeating thoughts. I kept thinking about what I did wrong. Then, through that, came blessings. We received two grants from the county, got our PPP in line, and our clients were amazing.

We had people paying for services they weren’t even using. We had people buying stuff for the future, offering to do online training instead of in person. My client support was out of this world. I didn’t even know how important we were to a lot of people—and how important they were to us.

We went from that to starting to utilize people in my industry and everything educational I could do. My debt was growing, but I didn’t let it stop me from improving my education and learning ways to do things. Then, I started opening up to people—which is not me. I’m actually, for how cheerful and upbeat I am, very closed off. I don’t ask for help. But I started asking for help. I stopped being depressed and started thinking, “How can I use this downtime to make my business and myself better than ever?”

You said spiral, and what I heard was that you were grieving. You were like, “What did I do wrong? How did I do this?” Every day you thought, “I’m going to lose my business.” When you're an entrepreneur, that business is like your child. It encompasses your whole world, all your emotion. It’s like losing part of yourself, your identity.

I don’t think you’re alone at all. I think a lot of listeners are feeling the same. One of the coolest parts about Becky is that she’s brave and has moved past those “I don’t share” walls. Look at her now—she’s on the podcast sharing. What I also heard you say is that you got your face shoved in a miraculous mirror—your clients shining back at you, showing you how much they valued and loved you. At a time when you were questioning who you were, you were given an opportunity to see all that amazingness reflected back at you.

We had people saying, “We just want to do whatever’s best for Paws. If you need to charge us more, you can.” I’m not someone who would ever start a GoFundMe, but my staff did—and clients donated generously. We did check-in calls with them, asking how they were doing and saying we missed their pets. I realized we were truly part of their family, and they were part of ours.

It made me rethink my entire future and how I do customer service. It made me realize the importance of connecting personally with clients and rolling with change. I started thinking: when we get new clients, we should send thank-you cards. When we train a new dog, we should give them a fun bag. When clients donate, we did free yard cleanups for them because we were so grateful.

You also had a choice—you could’ve just hid under the covers and said, “It’s not happening.” What decisions did you make not to do that?

...

Biggest Takeaways You Don't Want to Miss:

Social media is the storefront of your business and doing it on your own can be tough. Finding the time, knowing the strategies, and planning it all out takes a lot of time. Many pet sitting and dog walking businesses make the mistake of delegating their social media management to someone [usually younger] on their team when they don't know the first thing about managing a social media presence. Others may look to marketing agencies for help, only just to be sold a fantasy and end left empty-handed. When they do promote your business, they may not be in line with your brand (i.e. colors, logo) and your business' beliefs. That's why it's crucial to have someone who knows the ins and outs of the business.

In this episode, we're diving into the importance of social media management & things to consider if you're going to:

Manage your own social media

Hire someone from your team

Hire an outside agency

I also explain the importance of how social media management can help or hurt your business. What most don't realize is that because you don't have a storefront, your social media IS your storefront and the way you show up online will either encourage people to hire you or repel them from doing so.

Show Highlights

Handling your own social media accounts [3:00]

 Start with one social media platform, Instagram [4:10]

 What is the point of your social media? [6:37]

 The mistake of hiring someone on your team to be a social media manager [9:24]

 Create SOP's for your brand guide [10:49]

 Your store front is your social media [14:57]

 3rd Option - Hiring an outside agency & ensuring strategies [15:32]

 What qualifies someone to be social media expert? [24:11]

Special Offers

10 steps to make your social media poppin'

You’ll receive a big workbook, 3-D Presentation with real life examples

The bonuses of how to be engaging with your own stuff and with other people's stuff to get them to talk to you online.

We will also give you a calendar with all of the pet holidays to have at your fingertips

A whole bunch of responses to use to engage with people on your social media

All this for $9.  Free to all Mastermind members

Links

To sign up for the workshop, visit www.jumpconsulting.net/workshop

Better Marketing with Bella waitlist

To sign up for Agorapule and get 2 months free www.jumpconsulting.net/ag

To email Bella if there is anything you’d specifically like to hear about, email her at [email protected]

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:

This is episode 233 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 Bella in Your Business. My name is Bella Vasta, and today we are going to continue on our series about social media and talk about something we’ve never talked about, which is awesome and exciting because, let’s face it, we are on our 232nd episode. Wow. I never dreamed that I would get to 232 episodes when I started recording this in my closet on the floor because it was the only place in my old house that had carpet. I didn’t even have a microphone, you guys—just speaking into my laptop.

If you haven’t heard the first couple of episodes, I really do encourage you to scroll back and listen to them for a couple of reasons. One, you’re going to hear a lot of my backstory and who I am if you’ve ever wondered who this crazy girl is in your ear. The other thing is you’ll see where I started. I think that’s really important because these days we look at things and think, “I could never be like that.” We’re always comparing ourselves, and it’s the worst thing anyone can ever do. If you go back to the beginning, you’ll hear a very different quality, confidence, and outlook on life because you can’t compare my first episode to my 232nd episode. So why would anyone ever compare themselves to someone who’s been doing something a long time?

Today we’re going to talk about a topic that I see happen a lot in the Mastermind, in Better Marketing with Bella, and in my free groups. If you’re not in any of the free groups, there’s one called Jumpstart Your Pet Business—go ahead and find it, or just go to jumpconsulting.net/group and it’ll take you right there.

Hiring someone to do social media in your company is a very big task. It’s not a gig, and it’s not something you just “kind of do” or “just post.” Especially in this day and age when your social media is literally your storefront, it’s something that way too many people take too lightly. We’re going to talk about the different ways you can accomplish getting your social media out there and the things you need to consider—whether it’s you, someone on your team, or you’re hiring it out. I’ll talk about all three because we don’t discuss it enough. Too often we think someone on our team can do it just because they’re under 30 and must be good at social media. Wrong, guys. That’s going to be so bad for your company.

Let’s start with you doing it. Because everything I’m about to tell you that you need to consider are the same things you’ll need to think about when bringing someone else on. If you’re going to do the social media—and I’ll walk you through all the 10 steps you need in my upcoming webinar, just go to jumpconsulting.net/workshop—you can register for it. It’s the 10 steps you need to make your social media pop. Basically, I walk you through my entire Better Marketing with Bella routine—all the steps you need for a solid social media strategy.

If you’re going to do it yourself, you really need to figure out what social platforms you’re going to dominate. I’d love to see you start with one and then move on to others. These days, if you’re just starting out your business, I’d say start on Instagram—it’s easier than Facebook and the second-largest platform out there right now. Leave TikTok, Twitter, Clubhouse, and LinkedIn behind for now. And please, don’t put all those links in your email signature or on Facebook just to look cool. If you’re not keeping up with them every 48 hours, you’re doing it wrong.

You’ll need to time-block. Every month or every quarter, take time to plan. If it’s quarterly, maybe lock yourself in a hotel room for two days to storyboard and plan out everything you’re going to do. If it’s weekly, it’ll be more cumbersome—like running a marathon every week. Try to batch at least one month at a time so you can look ahead and plan around what’s coming up.

Consider what platform you’re on, what topics you’ll talk about, and how you’ll repurpose that content. When you create content, repurpose it into a story, a Facebook Live, a blog, or an email. It’s not about creating more content—it’s about creating smart content that you can build an arsenal with: questions you’re always asked, or common local issues like “I lost my cat” or “someone’s not picking up their dog poop.” Write educational articles about things like that to contribute value to online conversations.

Social media isn’t about immediate sales. It’s about building relationships, awareness, and brand trust. Think about the last time you hired someone—you probably checked their social media. People do that with you too. They’re looking to understand who you are.

If you’re doing your own social media, understand your consumer, your audience, and where they are in the sales process. Stop saying “We do dog walking, hire us!”—that’s sleazy. It’s about connection, meaning, and value.

Now let’s move on to having someone on your team do it. Too often, people assume that just because someone’s on Instagram all the time, they can handle social media for your business. Nope. If they don’t understand your brand voice, tone, or audience, you’re wasting time and money. Without clear SOPs that explain your brand lingo, emoji use, logo placement, and overall tone, you’re setting them up for failure. Social media isn’t just cute dog pictures—it’s about storytelling and consistency.

You can use tools like Agorapulse, which even has a full social media school. You can get two free months at jumpconsulting.net/ag. There’s no excuse for not learning. Understand your goals. Social media works—if you work it.

If you don’t understand the basics, you’ll waste money. For example, Facebook is getting rid of “likes” on business pages. That’s huge. Your social media is your storefront. You wouldn’t let a kid design your physical store signage, right? So why let them run your online one?

Finally, let’s talk about hiring it out. There are different levels—you can hire someone to just create graphics, or you can hire a strategist. A true strategist asks about your audience, goals, and brand story. They understand that your audience isn’t just potential clients—it could also be potential employees or collaborators.

Good social media isn’t random—it’s strategic. They should understand design, platform differences, post sizes, and copywriting. They should know how to write captions that draw people in. They should understand Instagram Stories, hashtags, polls, and engagement strategies.

You also need to make sure they know your brand voice, how to create emotion in posts, and how to represent your company professionally. If your social media looks unpolished, people will assume your business is unprofessional.

...

Doing the same thing over and over again? Put anything in a process and avoid starting from scratch every single time. Keep a file of the templates, fonts, colors, and embellishments that you always use. Making these decisions once can actually help you multiple times in the future whether you're doing graphics, video or even templates for blogs

Show Highlights

Block out time to do all the things. [2:07]

Be creative in different ways, either Lives, or videos, blog post writing, etc.  [3:43]

Create processes for everything.  [5:05]

If outsourcing, hire the right people for the right reasons.  [5:59]

Hire those who are very knowledgeable in all the social media platforms you’re on. [9:27]

Webinar Workshop [12:26]

Special Offers

There’ll be a workshop that Bella is hosting on Thursday, March 18 6pm Eastern.

You’ll receive a big workbook

Topics will include the 5 topics covered in this episode

The bonuses of how to be engaging with your own stuff and with other people's stuff to get them to talk to you online.

We will also give you all the pet holidays to have at your fingertips

Another secret bonus that we’re excitedly working on

All this for $9.  Free to all Mastermind members

Links

To sign up for the workshop, visit www.jumpconsulting.net/workshop

To email Bella if there is anything you’d specifically like to hear about, email her at [email protected]

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:

This is episode 232 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. My name is Bella Vasta, your host and coach in anything that you need in your small business. Today we are going to continue the train talking about social media, and I actually have something really amazing for you that is going to be jam-packed with value and a whole bunch of freebies for like under $10. But you have to stay tuned to the end because I will tell you all that it is there.

Before we even get there, I need to talk to you about why people don't work on social media. Last time we talked about all the different mistakes that people are making. This time we're going to talk about the things that just prevent you from even making those mistakes. Those mistakes would be a pleasure to make if you only had the time, the creativity, the processes, the people, and the knowledge. So we're going to dive into those five things today, and I am excited to take you with me. But first, I want to say thank you so much for listening and encourage you to like and subscribe to the podcast if you're not already subscribed to it. We just keep on growing. We are the longest-standing pet industry podcast that is out there. Isn't that amazing? We've been going strong and giving you a new episode every single Thursday, and I love taking your suggestions. So do not hesitate to email me at [email protected] so that I can know what you want to hear about.

The podcast has also taken a little bit of a turn this year where a lot of them are solos. I used to do a lot of interviews. I just have so much stuff to say to you guys, and quite honestly, I love just talking just you and me. So walk those dogs, do that laundry, go make some food, go drive safe. And here we go.

The first thing I want to talk to you about is time. We are all so busy, and we get interrupted. The time that it takes to do social media is very difficult. Sure, we're going to calendar block, but then we have a creative block. Or we say, you know what, I'm going to get up every morning and post something, but then that never happens. And then we start beating ourselves up. We think, gosh, I can never do this. This isn't what I'm doing. And Instagram connects with Facebook—let me do that. Well, if you listened to the last episode, you know how I feel about that.

One of the biggest problems with social media is that people just don't have the time to do it. Because to do it right, you really do need the time to do it. While I want you to batch stuff—you can batch the majority of it—some of it actually is real time. There is a good percentage where you need to interact and talk back to people. We're all so busy, and we also get interrupted. You think, “My gosh, I'm going to do this on social media,” and then you go down a rabbit hole. Have you ever woken up thinking, “I need to post something on my Facebook page, but I'm not sure what,” and it’s all out of guilt? You end up going to someone else’s Facebook page, finding something they're doing, and sharing it because you think that you should. But what does it really do for your brand? Nothing. Does it help you get clients? No.

The second thing is creativity. Some of us are more creative than others. Creativity could mean creating copy about what to say, how to hook people in that first sentence, or how to jazz up a photo you took in the field walking dogs or petting kitties. It could be creating a video. We did a whole series with InVideo back in November, and a lot of you signed up. But I still hear people say, “Each video takes me two hours.” For some, it's quick; for others, it's not—and that’s okay. But creativity is hard, especially right now as we’re coming out of the pandemic. It’s hard to be creative when we’re full of anxiety and depression, wondering where our money’s coming from, if our business will come back, or if we’ll have enough employees when it does. Creativity has been really dampened lately, which is totally understandable.

The next thing I want to talk about is process. Many of us are banging our heads against the wall, doing the same thing over and over again. We're not putting anything into a process. We're basically starting from scratch every single time. Do you have a brand guide? Templates? Fonts and colors you always use? Embellishments you consistently include? Making these decisions once will help you multiple times in the future, whether for graphics, video, blogs, or lives.

The next one is people. One of the biggest things I see is that people try to hire their own staff purely because they're under 30. They assume that means they're automatically good at social media. I cannot tell you there is nothing worse than that thinking. I literally had a client yesterday say, “I was paying someone to post to social media, and she sucked. I paid her for so much work that I couldn’t even use, and I learned my lesson.” That’s what happens. A lot of times we think, “Oh, we’ll just tell them to post,” but we don’t tell them what to post, how to post, or what our subjects, filters, lingo, or emojis are. There’s no rhyme or reason to any of it, and it makes your social media accounts a mess.

So people are really important. You might want to do it internally, but then you try to hire a company that makes big promises—SEO, blogs, ads—but they don’t understand your business. Pet-sitting and dog-walking companies aren’t about random cat facts. They’re about getting clients and starting conversations. Have these companies ever walked your walk? Have they been in the pet industry? Probably not. They need to understand your pain points and how the economy and buying market have changed.

To recap, the biggest hindrances for people on social media are time, creativity, processes, people, and knowledge. Do you know how fast social media changes? There are posts out there that say, “Like and share,” and that shoots you in the foot in the algorithm. Did you know that Facebook is getting rid of likes? Did you know the 20% text rule on ads is gone? Did you know colors and density in images affect scroll-stopping power? You need someone with knowledge about what’s actually working because otherwise, you’re just throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks—and that’s time and money wasted.

I want to help you solve these problems. I am launching a workshop on Thursday, March 17th at 6 p.m. Eastern. I’ll show you all of this—how to make decisions, create time, sprout energy, and gain knowledge. You’ll get a workbook, engagement prompts, and all the pet holidays from January through December so you never have to look them up. I’ll show you how to template, build your team, and create processes that work.

We’re going to have fun because, in true Bella style, I make learning exciting. It’s not just about telling you stuff—it’s about entertaining you and taking you along for the journey. So to recap, the workshop will be Thursday, March 17th at 6 p.m. Eastern. I’ll walk you through everything step by step. It’s only $9, and if you’re a Mastermind member, it’s free because you guys are the bomb.com.

It’s really time to get your social media popping. Go to jumpconsulting.net/workshop and Jumpy Bot will register you. I can’t wait. Something I really should have said earlier is this: bookings are coming back. People are getting five or eight bookings in a day. The wave is coming—and some of you will get washed out if you’re not ready. Just because business is picking up doesn’t mean you can stop marketing. You’ll need clients later, too.

So, keep both things running: handle current clients and attract new ones. This class will show you how. The wave is coming, you won’t have time to post, and your marketing will fall away if you’re not prepared. There’s no going back to “normal....

I have a very special announcement in this secret episode. A workshop that is an hour long, helping you with social media with many freebies.

Register here:

www.jumpconsulting.net/workshop.

$9 to the public and free for mastermind members.

Transcript:

Hey, here's another secret episode for you guys. I'm gonna increase my voice just a little bit. Last time I did a secret episode, you guys really liked it. This is gonna be really short. I just want you, my loyal podcast listeners, to know something. Guess what? I'm hosting another workshop. But first, I wanna know if you resonate with any three of these: social media is hard, you're not sure what to post on social, or you just don't have the time to create content.

If any of this is you, I want to show you exactly the 10 steps that you need to take in order to make this happen. I'm going to teach you what you need to decide, how to systematize it, and the people you need in your life. I'm going to teach you how much time it's going to take you too and all of the resources and different options that you can go to. This is only a secret, secret episode to tell you—go ahead and sign up right now. Go to jumpconsulting.net/workshop.

And Jumbibot is going to sign you up for only $9. That's right—only $9. And I've got two extra bonuses for you that are pretty amazing. The first one is a “How to Engage with Anyone on Social Media,” how to get those conversations going. The second one is a whole list of all the holidays for an entire year. You're not going to want to miss this workshop. I promise you, in true Bella fashion, I am going to over-deliver the value for you. So go ahead and go to jumpconsulting.net/workshop to register for it today.

It's going to be on Thursday, March 17th, at 6 PM Eastern. Yes, there will be a recording, especially if you sign up for it. Now, if you're a Mastermind member, this is going to be absolutely free, and you can check the Mastermind group for your discount code. You guys, I hope to see you there. I am going to blow the lid off of all the craziness, the confusion, the challenges, the problems that I know each and every one of you experience at some point with your social media. Let's do it together. Join us at jumpconsulting.net/workshop.

Social media is a jungle and it is always very tough to know what works and what doesn't. Just when you get the hang of it and start seeing results, it changes! And it happens frequently. Today, we are going to make sure that you stay away these 13 mistakes I see pet sitters and dog walkers making on their social media. How many are you guilty of?

Show Highlights

List them all

Instagram to Facebook

No open-ended questions

No buckets

Static cover

Bad fonts and colors

Lingo

Personality

Consistency

Planning ahead

Original Content

Professional content

Repurpose

Better Marketing with Bella

That’s where we come in. In Better Marketing With Bella, we take the load off of your plate. We create the content for you, EVERY MONTH, so you don't have to worry.

The waitlist always sells out the program. There is really no other way to get into the program. Sign up for the waitlist today to reserve your option to join when we open the doors in just a few weeks for the first half of 2022.

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:

This is episode 231 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 Bella in Your Business. My name is Bella Vasta and today I am talking to you about the 13 biggest mistakes I see pet sitters and dog walkers make on social media. Now, if this is your first time joining this podcast, welcome. Thank you for listening. A lot of my viewers or listeners tell me that they actually binge on this stuff because it is so good and it does do an array of different topics from video to employees to personal development stuff. But today this one was really inspired by my Better Marketing with Bella group.

We have group coaching calls in that program, and something we were talking about—while it seems so obvious to me—I realized that it's not. So I kind of wanted to go high level and make sure that all of you jumpers, you loyal listeners, are not making these 13 mistakes that I see happen so many times. Now let me just back up for a moment too. If you're just joining us and you really don't know me that well, not only am I a pet sitting business coach, but I also have the honor, when we're not in a pandemic, to fly around the country and the UK teaching loads of people all about social media, including Facebook groups.

We also have an agency side to Jump Consulting, where we have the honor of providing over 35 companies every single month with graphics, videos, Facebook covers, emails, blog outlines, descriptions, and content calendars. It’s a pretty amazing program that has been proven to really get awareness out for brands and attract the right kind of clients. I’ve built all of my companies online. Facebook, Instagram—those are my storefronts. I say this not as a “look at me,” but so you understand that everything I say isn’t regurgitated advice. It’s experience.

So let’s get right into it: the 13 biggest mistakes that pet sitters and dog walkers make on social media. If you hear anything I say and think, “Oh no, Bella, I do that,” don’t beat yourself up. Just do better. That’s it.

The first mistake is listing all your social channels everywhere—email signatures, websites, business cards—even if you don’t actually use them. Don’t do that. I’d rather see one icon that you’re actually active on than six that you’re not.

The second mistake is auto-posting from Instagram to Facebook. Please don’t. It’s like speaking Italian in France—it’s similar, but not the same language. Just because you can do it doesn’t mean you should.

Third, no open-ended replies. You want engagement, but you’re not asking questions or tagging people. If someone comments, reply with a question—keep the conversation going.

Fourth, no content “buckets.” Buckets are your main topics: behind the scenes, client stories, pet tips, community events, or current pet news. Without them, you end up just sharing other people’s stuff—which makes your page look messy and impersonal.

Fifth, static cover photos. When’s the last time you changed your Facebook cover, Instagram bio, or YouTube banner? Keep them fresh and relevant to seasons or promotions.

Sixth, inconsistent fonts and colors. Your branding should match across everything. Use your brand colors and fonts consistently. Everything should tie back to your logo and brand guide.

Seventh, inconsistent lingo. This is your voice. My audience are “Jumpers,” and I always end with “Keep jumping.” You can have your own lingo too. Maybe you call your clients “the pack.” It doesn’t have to be cutesy, but it has to be yours.

Eighth, lack of personality. Your personality is as personal as your underwear—it’s unique to you. Your business will force you to figure out who you are and what you want. Don’t copy others’ styles. Stand strong in your own personality—it’s what makes your business relatable and memorable.

Ninth, inconsistency. I know it’s hard, especially after the year we’ve had. But don’t post daily and burn out. Plan ahead instead—batch your content weekly or monthly. Build your consistency muscle.

Tenth, no original content. If you’re just sharing funny memes or other people’s articles, stop. That doesn’t tell me anything about your business or why I should trust you. Create content that shows you.

Eleventh, unprofessional graphics. DIY designs that look amateur will hurt your brand. If you’re not design-savvy, hire someone or use templates from professionals. People will judge your credibility by your visuals.

Twelfth, not repurposing content. Take one idea and reuse it across formats. Turn videos into blogs, blogs into graphics, and social snippets into stories. Holidays repeat every year—reuse your past content with updates. Repurposing saves time and builds a rich library of content.

And finally, number thirteen—not leveraging help. That’s why I created Better Marketing with Bella. We provide companies with professional, done-for-you content every month—graphics, videos, captions, calendars, and more. Members stay for years because it saves them time, keeps their branding consistent, and gets results.

If you’re interested, join the waitlist at jumpconsulting.net/waitlist. It only takes about 45 seconds to fill out, and we’ll reach out when a spot opens. Our semesters run January–June and July–December. You can also see what’s included at jumpconsulting.net/marketing.

I hope this episode made you think about which of these 13 mistakes you might be making—and how to fix them. I’ll share more success stories soon from pet sitters who overcame these struggles and are now thriving on Instagram.

And remember: if you’re struggling with Facebook reach, you’re not alone. The algorithm limits business posts to about 2–5% of your followers. That’s why you need a well-rounded strategy and consistent content that shows who you are.

I hope this energized you and gave you clarity. And as always, when life gets you down, always keep jumping.

So what did you think? Did you love this episode? I sure hope you did because I put a lot of love into this for you. And the best way you can show me that is by going to iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or wherever you listen to your podcast and leaving a review. I just might read it on the next episode. I also want to remind you that when life gets you down, remember to always keep jumping. Thanks for listening.

This week, Bella talks about some of the amazing tax-saving tips her Mastermind members were privy to when CPA and tax expert, Christian Culpepper joined the Mastermind video session earlier this month. Chris has 30 years of experience in accounting, banking, real estate finance, and tax preparation for a very diverse group of people. From homeowners to business owners, he has been able to save people thousands upon thousands of dollars at tax time each year.

He believes CPAs should be serving the needs of their clients by using creative thinking to lower tax liability.  He offers many services including helping business owners to clarify income, expenses, and cash flow, set budgets, and projections while maximizing their revenues and reducing costs.

Bella treats her podcast audience to an inside peek at the type of high-quality resources her Mastermind members receive every month. She sums up the main points of Christian Culpepper’s pointers on how to save big on your taxes.

Show Highlights

Shout to New Members: Is your name here? [2:03]

Keeping track of your expenses the right (and simplest!) way [2:40]

FUN Business deductions you will LOVE [4:00]

Personal grooming deductions [5:10]

Meals and other expense[6:50]

Importance of testing your CPA and if they will work for YOU, What is “the law?”  [8:10]

Vehicle deductions, pros, and cons of traditional vs electric [9:30]

Sole proprietorship vs LLC vs S-Corp [10:45]

Reviewing your credit, building “business credit” [11:35]

Setting up an offshore account [12:10]

Biggest Takeaways You Don’t Want to Miss

Tracking Your Expenses

FUN Business Deductions

What Do Different Types of Cars Have in Common with Your Taxes?

Legal Stuff like Scorp vs LLC

Other questions Mastermind members got answers to during the actual Mastermind session: 

Do groceries have to be “delivered” to be deductible?

Is Starbucks deductible?

Can I deduct my Metrocard, train fare, bus pass, public transportation?

Suggestions for building business credit

Can I put my kids on the payroll?

How often should you meet with your CPA?

Importance of covering all areas of life, retirement, business

How to Get Access to the Mastermind

(including this awesome tax session!) Click the image below that says “Join the Mastermind.”

Links

Christian Culpepper’s website (Even if you do not live in AZ, he may be able to help or refer you to someone.)

Join the Mastermind group: Get in on this session’s recording, past session recordings, and future valuable business resources and sessions.

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:

This is episode 230 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. My name is Bella Vasta and today I'm going to be talking all about tax breaks and policies that will save your business. I'm basically going to regurgitate a lot of what we learned in the Mastermind with our special guest last week, Chris Culpepper, who is an incredible CPA for a lot of very, very wealthy people, quite honestly. So he definitely knows what he is talking about. He is by far the best CPA I've ever worked with in my entire life. And that actually probably sounded weird because I'm not very, very wealthy. I am just a pauper. But that being said, Chris is the most strategized CPA I've ever worked with or known, and it was a real big treat giving him access to all of my Mastermind members.

He gave us ten different things and I'm going to kind of regurgitate it because honestly, the information is just too good. And I've been squawking to a lot of you and telling you that you need to come in and join us because the information is just amazing. I'm also going to say there is a disclaimer. I'm definitely not a CPA. So some of this stuff might be like, huh, really? And you might want to write it down and you might want to ask your own CPA about it and just see if it actually applies to you or your situation.

Before we do that, I actually have been welcoming eleven new members to the Mastermind this week alone. So I actually am going to give a huge shout out to Kelly, Jane, Joette, Christina, Shannon, Lila, Alexis, Stephanie, Sabrina, Lauren, and Carolyn. Holy moly, you guys. I've been so excited and my entire team has been popping off my notifications where they go, “My gosh, someone else just joined! My gosh, someone else just joined!” We practice what we preach. I have an entire system that the minute that you join, you get added to our system where we just start really supporting you. We have it all kind of like, it’s like a domino effect. Anyway, the whole team is excited. It’s not just me. Welcome to the Mastermind. We’re so excited to have you.

Anyone else, if you guys have not checked out this recording yet, it is in the Mastermind. But because you are a loyal podcast listener, you’re going to get to hear some of the goodness. All right, so the first two, I’m going to warn you, they’re kind of like, “duh, Bella.” So stick around because it gets sexier and sexier as we keep going.

Basically, one of the first things that Chris talked to us about was—duh—track your expenses, save your receipts, and don’t pay cash so that you can always track where it’s spent from. I know this is common knowledge, but I know that it’s also really hard to do. So I'll just kind of share my own thing. I have a business credit card and I have a personal credit card. I love the Spark Card from Capital One because my business and personal can actually transfer the points very easily. So basically, all of my life goes on those two cards, whether it's business or personal. And then you also are able to easily have it all downloaded in whatever software you use, like from QuickBooks.

If you have a bookkeeper or even your CPA, everything's all in one spot. It's not like you're going to a hundred different cards or debit card and another credit card and a bank account and a Venmo and a PayPal. Guys, that costs you money trying to reconcile all of that. So keep track of your expenses by streamlining how you pay for your expenses. The next one, again, this kind of sounds pretty easy, but sometimes we have to state the obvious—use accounting software. And remember, there’s always an app for that. It makes life easier for you and your CPA if all the statements and the receipts are in one place.

So kind of like we just said, you use the same kind of card or whatever to track your expenses, but then it also always funnels right through exactly where you need it to go so that you can add your team members to it, and it works out really well.

The other thing is number three: deduct your business clothing. Y’all, a lot of you that follow me are pet sitters and dog walkers. A lot of other people that follow me are actually live streamers and their social media mavens or Mavericks, right? You guys, we can deduct our clothing—the blouse or the shirt that you just bought for your Zoom calls. The IRS says you can do that. The attire that you wear to business events or to maintain a professional image—and that could be yoga pants, that could be your t-shirts, that could be whatever it is to walk those dogs, even sneakers.

Employee stipends and how to categorize, depending on how healthy your business is. If you're a pet sitter or a dog walker and you want to give your staff a stipend of something—like “go buy shoes” or whatever it might be—you can do that. Talk to your CPA about the advantages of that.

Number four: deduct your personal grooming expenses. I know a lot of you are probably laughing right now like I am because you say grooming and you automatically think of grooming a dog and you're like, wait, what, Bella? Guys, here's the thing. I can totally attest to this with my hair and nails, but it includes your makeup that you wear while having virtual consultations. It includes getting your nails done or other supplies that you purchase that aid you in having a professional, credible image. Maybe you do monthly photo shoots or maybe you do monthly lives or whatever it is that you do. So it's not just your clothing, but also your grooming expenses.

Number five: this is a big one. You guys, this is a very big one and I want you to listen up because this basically does apply to everyone. Things like Instacart, your groceries at home because you’re going to make lunch and come back into your office. Meal prep services, grocery delivery, Postmates, any of the delivery services—having pizza delivered while you're working—it’s a 100% deduction as opposed to meals and entertainment, which is only a 50% deduction. So that means if you take your employee out for lunch, 50% of that's deducted. But if you're actually eating a meal while you're working, that is 100% deducted.

Number six: buying a car. You can depreciate the total value of your car deducted from your income. You also want to understand the advantages and disadvantages to your unique situation about buying versus leasing, and also about the amount of deductions that you can take.

Number seven: buying an electric car. This one’s important for pet sitters and dog walkers because they drive so much. Consider the tax credit plus gas savings. Maybe you're getting ready to get a car or in a year from now,...

Dr. Tanaka founded Coronado Psych with the mission to offer clients evidence-based psychological services. She’s dedicated the majority of the last decade to developing and providing evidence-based, culturally sensitive, and accessible psychological services to patients. Dr. Tanaka specializes in working with young adults, adults, and seniors struggling with anxiety, depression, grief, stress, life transitions, health behavior changes, health-related psychological distress, and her practice offers services to children, adolescents, and adults struggling with a wide range of concerns. In addition to providing in-person psychotherapy, Dr. Tanaka has extensive experience providing remote psychological services through telehealth.

Biggest Takeaways You Don’t Want To Miss:

It’s Okay to Not Be Okay.

Whether it's yourself, a staff member in your business or someone you care about, we have all felt the impacts of a stressful year behind us and the pandemic is still impacting lives everywhere. One of the first things Dr. Rika mentions on the show, is how a key part of identifying a concern or issue is to recognize it is completely acceptable to recognize something is wrong and talk about.

Recognizing the signs or symptoms of depression, anxiety or other cues that you or someone you care about may be struggling with.

Anxiety and depression can present differently from person to person. Kids are especially different. Dr. Rika shares some of the ways these symptoms show up and also gives tips on how to determine whether or not something more serious is going on while being careful to let the professionals do the diagnosing.

How to approach someone you care about or suspect may be struggling.

What to say? How to say it without being offensive or making them feel embarrassed. The importance of creating a safe space to share and not feel judged.

Telehealth and Virtual Therapy.

Is it here to stay? Did you know there are some accepted benefits of utilizing this form of help? In fact, you may be surprised to learn that you have access to more options and greater levels of care. Listen to this section to learn more.

Show Highlights

How do we recognize the signs of anxiety or depression that could also be related to the pandemic?  [4:10]

How should we approach or begin a conversation with someone we care about when we suspect they are struggling with anxiety or depression? [7:55]

The importance of providing a safe space for someone to feel comfortable sharing. The importance of our own “give and take” in helping someone not feel judged. [8:00]

Creating safe spaces while simultaneously maintaining and keeping up healthy relationships. Taking the pressure off and “just checking in.” [10:20}

Virtual Therapy and Telehealth. Why it’s here to stay. The benefits and validity of the virtual experience. It’s just as effective as in person. Learn why. [14:00]

Why talking more about it is best. Helping people help themselves and making mental health an open topic [21:00]

Links

Dr. Rika Tanaka encourages everyone to reach out and talk to a mental health professional if you need to.

She also says if you are in California, please feel free to reach out to her through her website at Coronado Psych or send her an email

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:

This is episode 229 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. My name is Bella Vasta and today I have Dr. Rika with us. I brought her on because you guys, the year 2020 and this pandemic has really taken a toll on a lot of us. And I think the one thing that we really need to address on this podcast is mental health. Everyone deals with this very differently. It has definitely become a buzzword, but I really wanted to get in the nitty-gritty of it and talk about things like how to know what the signs are of depression and stress, and if this pandemic has adversely affected our lives or those around us—like our spouses or children—and what we can do to help ourselves or the ones that we love. I also wanted to talk about how we can get over the stigmatism of therapy or depression, because I know a lot of people are afraid to take that first step.

Without further ado, welcome to the show, Dr. Rika.

Hi, thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to talk to you about all of this, especially given the year that I think we've all had. It's been very stressful, with lots of twists and turns. Certainly, I think we can all agree that this was not expected for us when we were bringing in the new year last year. Hopefully, we have some better news on the horizon, but for now, it’s taken a toll on a lot of us. I appreciate you creating a forum for us to be able to talk about this and spread the word about the fact that it’s okay not to be okay.

Well, thanks so much for being here. For our listeners, I already kind of know you through one of our former Mastermind members, who was actually your pet sitter. Go ahead and tell us where you’re located and what you do.

Yes, so I'm located in San Diego, California. I am a licensed clinical psychologist here and I provide psychotherapy and other psychological services to mainly adults in the community. I founded my practice here at the beginning of COVID. I've always wanted to open up my practice down here—it was actually up in Toronto for a very long time, and that's how we have our mutual friend. She was our dog walker up there and created an amazing dog-walking and cat-sitting business. She’s just been a rock star up there. We like to think we were one of her first clients and we love her dearly. We moved down here a couple of years ago, and I’d always dreamt of opening my practice here. Then COVID hit and there was a moment of “what do we do now?” But it was clear that the mental health needs were going to be significant during and after the pandemic, so I decided this was the time to offer those services to the community. That’s who I am and what I do, and I’m extremely passionate about it.

Fantastic. Okay, so let’s start on a higher level. How do we even know if we or someone we love has been adversely affected? How do we recognize the signs of stress or depression in our lives?

This is an interesting question that a lot of people ask either myself or Dr. Google. There are a few key symptoms we look for when we talk about stress, anxiety, or depression. What’s important to remember is that it can look and feel very different across individuals—it sits on a spectrum. The idea is to recognize a significant change within yourself. Some things to look for include persistent feelings of sadness or losing interest in things you used to enjoy. Maybe you loved playing video games or connecting with friends but now feel indifferent, like there’s no point. If you’re feeling pessimistic, can’t concentrate, your eating or sleeping habits have changed, your body feels heavy, or you can’t sit still—these can all be signs of depression or anxiety.

The key is whether there’s been a significant change in your level of distress or your ability to engage in life—work, relationships, daily tasks. If those things shift dramatically, it may be time to say, “Maybe there’s something more going on here than just my usual stress.”

If we see this in our children, spouses, or friends, how do we approach the conversation? We can’t drag them to help, but how do we open a dialogue that’s safe, supportive, and nonjudgmental?

The first thing to note is that symptoms can look very different in kids. They may show more behavioral changes or physical complaints rather than verbalizing how they feel. Any major shift is worth noticing. When supporting someone you care about, people often worry that talking about it might make things worse—but you can’t give someone depression by asking how they’re doing. It’s about providing a safe space.

You might say, “I just wanted to check in because I know it’s been hard for me.” You’re not diagnosing them—you’re just being there. Relationships are about knowing what’s going on, whether things are good or bad. Creating a safe space to talk can relieve a lot of pressure. Don’t overthink it or feel you have to fix it. Sometimes just listening is what people need most.

Absolutely. Just knowing someone’s there makes all the difference because depression often leads to isolation. Speaking from my own experience, I dealt with depression two years ago, around the time my marriage was falling apart. I was on Zoloft, and not a lot of people knew it. Depression makes you feel like you’re in a hole, and anxiety can make you withdraw even more. That’s why it’s so important to have these conversations—to know you’re not alone and to be equipped to recognize the signs in others.

Dr. Rika, can you talk a bit about all the online or virtual therapy happening now? It seems like there’s been an explosion of offerings to talk or listen or connect with therapists.

Absolutely. My practice started during a time when everything was virtual, and it will likely continue that way. Telehealth has always been part of my vision. Even before COVID, I offered virtual sessions to my clients in Toronto when I traveled to California. The accessibility it offers is incredible. For example, people used to fly into Toronto for appointments because it’s a larg

This week Bella reaches out to fellow parents everywhere. This episode is for all the overwhelmed pet business owners who are also busy moms and dads juggling their busy schedules, parenting, relationships, a household, and…kids who are also learning virtually.

As we start to see a possible light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, it’s also worthwhile to remember that many of us are still working from home and have children who are attending school via the e-learning platforms. But, even before the pandemic, moms and dads have always struggled to balance home and work. That’s why this week’s episode is dedicated to helping you find some peace and balance in a crazy busy world.

Biggest Takeaways You Don’t Want to Miss:

Special Webinar on How to Get More Dog Walking Clients in 2021 

Before we dive into today’s material, Bella gives another opportunity to get in on the powerful webinar she hosted for pet business owners this week. The webinar was all about how to get more dog walking clients in 2021 and offered a TON of bonuses and other materials successful pet business owners are maximizing. (See show links below)

The Importance of Giving Yourself Grace and Not Allowing Guilt

In this section, Bella spent some time emphasizing the normalcy of feeling guilt that so many parents experience. Often, we are so wrapped up in our businesses that we realize a good portion of the day went by and we didn’t take time to focus on our kids. Bella shares what has helped her in her own struggles.

When It’s Hard to Ask for Help and Setting Strict Goals.

Bella gets it. She’s been in the fire managing a very busy company while being a single parent and handling all the challenges that come with it. It’s very easy to blame ourselves or just feel guilty for not being able to do more. Frequently, we find ourselves needing some help and not reaching out to resources that are all around us. We can often find ourselves missing out on opportunities to get ahead or gain ground in certain areas because we aren’t asking for help and because we haven’t been intentional with the time that we have.  Bella offers some ideas to consider.

InstaCart, Meal Prep Services and Grocery Delivery - A New Friend?

Some people balk at using these types of services. Often, they feel that paying a little extra is a waste. Bella gives some very reasonable advice on why these services are actually great ways to save money, create time and help you in your business.

Personal Development and Moving Your Body...Why You Should Be Doing Both

You’ll enjoy this section on the importance of getting outside your own head, improving your mind, and the benefits of just moving your body. You’ll learn that it doesn’t have to be something as intense as doing an entire one-hour strength training routine several times a week but baby steps you can take to add up to big results.

Show Highlights

Bella hits us with value as soon as she introduces the topic when she also invites you to get in the business savvy How to Get More Dog Walking Clients Webinar in 2021. [1:00]

Parenting guilt and how to deal with it [3:00]

When it’s hard to ask for help [4:30]

Setting intentional goals [6:00]

InstaCart, meal prep services, home delivery: how they help business owners [7:30]

Self-growth and personal development tips [9:55]

Easy ways to move your body and feel more alive [11:30]

Tweetables:

[Tweet "Perfection is a fairy tale."]

[Tweet "Done is better than perfect."]

[Tweet "You have to be the best version of yourself in order to be the best parent for your kids."]

Links:

Get access to theHow to Get More Dog Walking Clients in 2021 webinar

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Subscribe:

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:

This is episode 228 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. My name is Bella Vasta, and today this episode is for all you mamas or papas, you single moms or pops, or the ones that have a spouse who might not be in the house a lot and you just kind of find yourself drowning. You find yourself trying to keep a hold of your business, the household, the kids, and not to mention virtual school.

Dear God, this has been a long time coming, and I've kind of wanted to talk about this. I was originally building out this episode thinking of virtual school, and as it is February and we are finally kind of starting to emerge from this pandemic—or at least the vaccines are starting to go out and there’s a light at the end of the tunnel—I do still acknowledge and realize that a lot of you might actually be working from home still, and your kids might be working from home still, or things just might be interesting. Even before the pandemic, it was always interesting to try to juggle kids and work. I get it, and I kind of wanted to address that today and give you some of the things that have worked for me, as well as some of the things that I need to try that I know will work, but for whatever reason, I haven’t done it. So in no particular order, I just kind of wanted to get right into it.

Yesterday, we actually did a really amazing webinar. A lot of you guys showed up for it—it was absolutely awesome. It was all about how to get more dog walking clients in 2021, and I dropped a lot of different examples of things that actually were working. If you missed out on that and you want to grab it, it's only $7 and it came with a ton of bonuses. You can just go straight to JumpyBot and ask, “How do I get it?” Basically, just go to jumpconsulting.net/workshop and JumpyBot will get you all signed up for it. Or you could just DM me and ask me to. But I just want to make sure you don't miss out on that because if you're a podcast listener, that tells me that you are into self-development, you want to be better, and you want to do better for yourself and your community.

All right, so let's talk about how to run your business while your kids are virtually learning—or they're just kind of here in the background and looking at you saying, “Play with me.” Right? I mean, let's talk about all the mom guilt or dad guilt that I'm sure you have by maybe not paying as much attention as you think you probably should. I want to just take a step back and say kudos to you because at the end of the day, they're alive. And some days, you guys, I’m not kidding at all—some days it’s just about keeping them alive and keeping yourself alive.

But I want to talk about a couple of things. The first one is going to be routines. I think that routines could be so incredibly powerful. I encourage you to consider that you already have a routine—it might not be a healthy one, it might not be the routine that you want—but somehow, either you are making the routine or life is creating a routine for you. This also leads to habits and patterns and all of that stuff. It just depends on whether you’re becoming a part of the routine or not.

For kids, it’s especially difficult, right? Because it seems like they’re always hungry or getting into something or they always need something. If we can try to establish structure or certain areas of the house where we do things and where we don’t, that definitely could be a really good start. What kind of routines can you establish? Even if it’s a simple wind-down before bed where you cuddle or read books for 10 minutes before going to bed and turn off screens or the TV. Maybe it’s just spending five minutes a day with each kid and having special time with them. Think about it—are you establishing the routine with intention, or is life creating your routine for you?

Another thing that I think a lot of us might struggle with is asking for help. It’s very difficult, and you may or may not have family around that can help. Some of you are very fortunate to have family members who are very much involved or really good friends. Some of you are isolated and you want a village and just feel so alone. I really want to encourage you—go to care.com, ask your church, ask a local moms group on Facebook. It’s okay to get a babysitter, or just go sit in your garage for five minutes before coming into the house. Don’t feel bad about not spending every waking moment with your kids because you can only be the best for them if you are the best version of yourself.

We have to ask for help, whether that’s a babysitter, a neighbor, a playdate—maybe you just get together with another mom and say, “I’ll drop my daughter off there for two hours, and next week you drop your son off here for two hours.” Get creative. Asking for help is really important.

The next thing I want to encourage you to think about is setting stricter and clearer goals. What’s going to actually move the dial? When you’re a busy mompreneur or dadpreneur, you can’t afford to waste time. You have to strike while the iron’s hot. Use your limited time wisely—do things that move the dial, not just busy work. Be in tune with your goals so that when you get those precious 20 minutes or an hour, you know exactly what you need to do because you’ve already planned it out.

Another thing—Instacart. Especially with kids, it’s hard to go to the grocery store because you can’t have a full sentence in your head without “Mom! Mom! Dad! Dad!” I used to be against things like Instacart or meal prep services,...

I've never done this before... but I had something really special to tell you. My loyal podcast listeners. I am doing a workshop and I am giving it to you for only $7. www.jumpconsulting.net/workshop to sign up!

I just wanted to say that I believe in you.

I believe in your business.

Every week I pump out free content for - YOU, so that you feel supported in your hopes and dreams.

Let's do this together.

This week Bella talks about the importance of onboarding new staff properly along with the consequences of not having a standard onboarding policy in place. Bella’s vast experience in the pet based industry provides her with invaluable insights and the ability to go straight to the heart of why you can’t ignore having your own onboarding procedures.

NOTE: Some listeners may hear themselves in Bella’s examples. The onboarding problems she talks about are so common we think you’ll see some of your own business’ characteristics in this episode.

Biggest Takeaways You Don’t Want To Miss

Real Life Examples of Things Pet Based Business Owners Say and Do When It Comes to Employees

"I can't believe they left the door unlocked!"

"They didn't know they were on the schedule."

"They told the client too much and now the client is upset. I wish they contacted me first about the incident before calling the client."

If any of this sounds familiar you definitely need to listen to this week’s show!

Why Pet Based Businesses are Going to Explode Soon

Are you one of the many businesses that decreased their staff down to 50% during the Covid pandemic? Bella talks about the reasons this is going to change and what you need to do to be prepared.

What NOT to Do In Your Onboarding Process

The sad thing is that so many people are already making one or more of these mistakes in their businesses. Bella covers several critical areas that can make a difference in how long you keep your employees.

Show Highlights

Real Life Examples of Things Pet Based Business Owners Say and Do When It Comes to Employees [4:28]

Why you’ll be needing to onboard employees in record time very soon and how you can be ready [7:10]

Exactly what NOT to do in the onboarding process [7:45]

Defining Onboarding and what it means [8:45]

Studies pertaining to high employee turnover [10:00]

Why employees leave companies [10:30]

Standardization of onboarding process [11:05]

Importance of schedule for onboarding [15:30]

Why pet care team training videos can give you a headstart [18:45]

Types of employee learning and training styles for employees [22:00]

Links:

Pet Care Team Training

Jump Mastermind

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Transcript:

This is episode 227 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. My name is Bella Vasta, and I have a really cool thing for you today. We're going to talk all about problems with onboarding new employees, and you're going to want to stick around for this because there are constant challenges and issues that people completely forget about all the time, and they're causing massive problems in the business down the line with employees. So stay tuned, we've got a show for you today.

Before we get into that, I want to thank you for all of your feedback on the last couple of podcasts. I love it. I don't know if it's the beginning of the year or if our promotions are working better or what, but our podcast is getting really high amounts of downloads, as well as some really cool feedback from you guys. I just wanted to read some of them out loud because I'm so honored that you took the time to do it.

First is W. Fisher, and the title is Industry Leader. “No matter how big my company gets, I'm still picking up very useful advice from Bella. She clearly puts a lot of effort to stay in current events with an ever-changing industry. She gives away mountains of information for free, which I know is greatly appreciated by all who follow her. I think that because she said she had her own pet care business, she understands where we are all the time, pressed and hard. She prioritizes her advice with that fully in mind. Thank you for everything, Bella. We appreciate you.” Well, I appreciate you too, and you're exactly right. I have been in your shoes. So when I say I get it and I understand, I really do.

And another one—Angel Karma says, “Blew me away. I listened to all of Bella's podcasts and they're always motivating, and they really make you think about your business. Bella cares about her community and tries to make the pet care industry better. I've been amazed with her motivation and energy during the pandemic, but today’s episode blew me away. Thank you for sharing and being vulnerable. I know it's hard to put on a happy face every day when you're going through your own personal stuff. Today’s episode probably hit home with many listeners. Keep jumping and loving on that baby girl.” I love that. And she’s referring to two episodes ago when we talked about growing your business through a divorce. I shared what I went through two years ago, and I’ve now come through it. I've consoled so many of you all going through it and scared and trying to figure out how to save your business and not give half of it away to someone who you are now dissolving a marriage with.

Without further ado, we are going to transition. I always love your feedback. I especially love when you tell me exactly what you want to hear about because it helps inspire me to go in the direction that I know you want. This topic was birthed from a lot of your questions about how to properly onboard people. I know that when you finally hire someone, you're totally elated. You're so excited—you've interviewed what you thought was the perfect person. That’s obviously why you hired them, right? And now you basically have to extract everything that's in your brain and somehow get it into their brain. Not only that, but you have to trust that they're actually picking up what you're throwing down. I love that phrase—are you picking up what I'm throwing down? Because it's true.

There’s so much information about our business. And I think a lot of you can relate—people come in and say, “I thought this was just dog walking or just pet sitting,” as if you're just getting licked by puppies all day and there’s no responsibility or professionalism involved. Well, there is, and it’s our job as leaders—yes, knock knock, you are a leader—to rise up and allow people the excitement to come alongside you and help grow your business.

So what inspired this podcast is that in our groups and coaching calls, people say things like, “They shadowed me for days, and I told them everything I know, but they still don’t get it.” Or, “I told them to go around with my best pet sitter—she knows everything—and just shadow her.” Or, “I wrote everything down, I even put it in caps, bold, red, and underlined with five exclamation points, Bella! You don’t get it, I emphasized it!” And yet, they still don’t get it. Does this sound familiar? It sure does to me. I used to think the same way without realizing I was sabotaging myself.

Many of you are ramping up right now. I recently asked in my group Start Your Pet Business where you were with your employees, and many said you were down about 50%. You had to cut back your staff, but guess what? The vaccine is out, the pandemic is nearing its end, and this summer, people are going to go buck wild. Pet sitters—people are going to travel. They’ve got pandemic puppies and COVID kitties, and their travel budgets are saved up. The influx of clients will increase.

And with that comes a huge responsibility, because you’re going to have to onboard staff at record pace. You also need to realize you’re not the only cat in town—they have options. If you don’t make the onboarding process an amazing start to your relationship—if you don’t make them feel excited, empowered, and valued—you’re going to fail.

So today, I’ve got seven different things I don’t want you to do. The first mistake is not having a standard process for onboarding. Standardization means that everything is done the same way for everyone. When you don’t have that, employees won’t know where the instructions end and their judgment begins. They might feel micromanaged or abandoned. It also confuses anyone you delegate training to—like if you have your best walker train someone but no manual, they’re flying blind.

Second, not having clear instructions during training. The worst feeling is when a new hire wants to impress you but the goalpost keeps moving. Without a handbook or an easily searchable online manual, everything feels inconsistent. Don’t assume they’ll remember everything—they need repetition and accessible reference material.

Third, not having a training schedule. Without one, information gets skipped. Each employee learns different things at different paces. For example, one may never learn how to properly clean a pet’s feeding area because it wasn’t scheduled. When training is unstructured, employees lose trust and think things are made up on the spot. A Jobvite study in 2018 found that 30% of new hires leave within the first 90 days due to unclear expectations and culture mismatches.

Fourth, no follow-up or goals. How do you know they understand the job? Are they meeting expectations? Did you ever explain what success looks like? Employees who know what’s expected will feel empowered and confident. They’ll take ownership and perform better. Remember—your employees should be your top priority. Take care of them and they’ll take care of your clients.

Fifth, not offering a variety of learning resources. People learn differently—visually, auditorily,...