Bella In Your Business: Pet Sitting and Dog Walking Podcast

Leslie Samuel is the creator of the Become A Blogger. He has a passion for education and has taken on the mission of "Changing The World One Blog At A Time".  In his podcast, Blogging With Leslie, he teaches solid lessons about how to build a blog that will have an impact, in addition to interviewing other successful bloggers who have built successful platforms and turned them into thriving online businesses.

 

He founded, and later sold, Interactive Biology, a blog dedicated to making biology fun for students and teachers worldwide. This blog landed him a job as a university professor in a doctoral program. After three years, he left that job to be a full-time blogger. His message is simple - Create Content, Inspire Others and Change The World (while building a solid online business)!

 

Biggest Takeaways You Don’t Want To Miss:

Leslie is an educator and a blogger. He’s constantly feeding his brain. There is so much to gain from being a sponge and soaking up all the knowledge around you. As you take in the information you learn, it is important to share it with others.

Make sure to check out Leslie’s Podcast on Become a Blogger named “Facebook Doesn’t Care About You.” Facebook and social media outlets are a business and they are not truly thinking about your family. You have to take the reins on how and when you interact with Facebook.

What readers are looking for in blogs: VALUE. Answers to questions, solutions to problems and a lot of times business owners don’t see it from the customer’s perspective. Establish trust and nurture your growing relationship.

Create a system that converts a reader from someone gathering information from you to someone who wants to do business with you. Get them on an email list, nurture them with value while introducing your services gradually. You really want them to trust you as a source of information and a reliable service as well.

Google analytics can have a huge impact on your blog. Even if you don’t understand it, you need to have it on your blog from the start. It’s free and gives you all types of data on your blog. This data is key in knowing what is working on your pet sitting blogs and your website.

Show Highlights:

Facebook brought Bella and Leslie together through split screen interview technology [2:30]

What is Leslie currently learning? The concept of social media and what it does to our minds. He loves it, but there is a balance you need to find your business, personal life goals, and social media. [5:00]

What are the mistakes that you should be afraid of in blogging as a business owner? You get into blogging to promote your business, but it doesn’t have to just be there to promote your business. [7:45]

Give your blogs a bigger purpose. Create the right content to help them the best. Use your pet sitting blogs to integrate into your sales process.  [11:00]

The elements and structure of writing great pet sitting blogs. Read it, see it, hear it; use all the senses with pictures, written, video and audio resources. But you don’t have to do it all at once! Choose one and run with it first, then start to incorporate the rest as you can. [14:00]

Downloadable Offer:

Grab this great spreadsheet calendar to make your blogging a breeze at https://www.becomeablogger.com/spreadsheet

Links:

Find all the resources at https://www.becomeablogger.com

Subscribe to Become a Blogger on YouTube

Learning with Leslie Podcast

Join the coaching club at bloggercoaching.com

Learn more about Bella's Mastermind group at  jumpconsulting.net/jump-mastermind

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Click this link –Bella In Your Business

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Transcript:

Bella: This is episode 96 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 with Jump Consulting, and today I have the sincere pleasure of bringing to you someone who I’d like to say has become a bit of a friend to me. His name is Leslie Samuel, and he is from Blogging with Leslie. He’s the creator of Become a Blogger and has a passion and education for taking the mission of changing the world one blog at a time.

His podcast, Blogging with Leslie, teaches solid lessons about how to build a blog that has an impact, in addition to interviewing other successful bloggers who have built thriving businesses online. He founded and later sold an interactive biology blog dedicated to making biology fun for students and teachers worldwide. Did you guys hear that? Biology. Fun. In the same sentence. If this guy can do it, this is going to be a really fun interview for you to learn from. The blog actually landed him a job as a university professor in a doctoral program. After three years, he left that job to become a full-time blogger. His message is simple: create content, inspire others, and change the world while building a solid business online. Leslie, as I’m saying this, I’m hearing the intro to your podcast in my head. Welcome to the show, my friend.

Leslie: Well, thanks for having me. I’m going to take issue with something that you said. I think you said something like, “kind of call me a friend,” or something like that. I need more confidence in our friendship.

Bella: OK, I can call you a friend. Let’s tell the story real quick of how we actually met because I think that’s like a social media anomaly in a way. So, Leslie, somehow Facebook loves you more than the rest of the population because about a year ago, when Facebook came out with the ability to do split-screen on Facebook Live, we were all like, all of us social media geeks were constantly checking, right? And all of a sudden we had it. It was like on a Sunday, because I was in total mom mode—probably food on my shirt, hair a mess—and you had it. I was like, “Oh my God, I need to request to be on it.” You were just bringing people on, and I remember because I was on my phone going live and was like, “What is this invite button I see here?”

Leslie: And I was instantly drawn to your personality. You have personality that has personality, your energy level. You really do hold true to your message of inspiring people because you just exude that.

Bella: When I got to know you even more, I learned that you are basically an expert at blogging. But more than that, you’re an educator and a learner. You’re constantly feeding your brain, and I think that’s a really important lesson for our listeners. We all need to be doing that. It’s tough—we have to be intentional about it. But you also want to be learning from someone who’s constantly learning, and I admire that about you.

Leslie: It’s kind of interesting because as a child, I wasn’t very much into learning. I was all into having fun. Later on, I just realized how much you get from being like a sponge and soaking up knowledge. A lot of people think they’re so smart, they have it all figured out. I know I don’t, so I need to continue learning in order to serve my audience.

Bella: I imagine that’s how you get a lot of inspiration as well because you never run dry.

Leslie: Exactly. A lot of people ask me, “How do you continue coming up with ideas for content?” And I’m like, “How do you not?” If you’re taking in so much information, you’ve got to share it. I’m a teacher, and I want to help others. As I take in, I ask, how can I make this accessible to the people connecting with me online?

Bella: That’s great leadership. Two questions. You can answer them however you want. One, I know our listeners are wondering, where in the heck is your accent from? And second, what are you currently learning or listening to right now?

Leslie: My accent is a mix of being originally from St. Martin in the Caribbean and then living in Michigan for 21 years. Mix the Caribbean and American and you get whatever this is. What I’m learning right now is this concept of social media and what it does to our minds. I love social media, but I’m focusing on how to balance it with my actual business and life goals—what kind of person, father, husband, and leader I want to be. It’s been very insightful and made me way more productive.

Bella: It’s been inspiring to watch you on that journey. There was a podcast you did that everyone should listen to—“Facebook Doesn’t Care About You.” It inspired me because what you’re basically doing is taking control of it rather than letting it control you.

Leslie: Exactly. The goals of these social media platforms are to absorb as much of your time as possible because it makes them more money. I don’t want them determining how I spend my time. They’re not thinking about my family. They care about growing their business. So I need to be intentional about deciding how I’m going to interact with these devices and not just do what they tell me to do.

Bella: Incredible. I love it. OK, so let’s talk about blogging. For those who have a WordPress website but are afraid to start—what mistakes should they be aware of?

Leslie: One of the biggest mistakes business owners make is getting into blogging only to promote their business. They’ll talk about their services and how great they are, but nobody cares. People are looking for value—answers to questions and solutions to problems. The biggest mistake is not thinking from the client’s perspective. You always have to ask, what is my ideal customer looking for, and how can I serve them?

Bella: So what I’m hearing is—don’t make it about yourself. Serve your audience and solve problems, and you’ll build trust.

Leslie: Exactly. If you do that, you’re already ahead of most business owners....

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

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Click this link – Bella In Your Business

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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,...

We are honored to be talking to the multi-award winning entrepreneur, Chris Marr. He believes content marketing is the only way to set business leaders free from the world of mediocre interruption marketing.  Chris is the Founder and driving force behind CMA, the UK’s largest membership organization of its time. He is raising the bar for talent curation, leadership, personal development, and community building. His pioneering work has changed the lives of hundreds of businesses, all through the power of Content Marketing. So, if you're wanting to learn all about content marketing then make sure to tun into to this special episode of Bella in Your Business.

Biggest Takeaways You Don’t Want To Miss:

Always be learning and always be growing.

Life is a journey of growth; figuring out who you are and becoming stronger and better. You can’t stop trying to develop your skills or philosophies and beliefs, you have to evolve.

Basically, it is a deep understanding of your prospective customers and how they find and use the information to make a buying decision.  When you learn about content marketing, you are learning about how you have to market a business today. It is a set of techniques, skills and understanding of how to attract customers to your business in the new age of technology. Using all your resources available to access consumer behavior. You have to help people find you.

Develop your unique voice and challenge your own education about your own business.

Growth is important, you need to learn more and become an expert. And content marketing has a huge impact on your personal growth. It can be philosophical, strategic and also, very commercial. You have to learn how to implement it correctly to impact you and your business in a positive way.

Is content marketing social media?

No, it is not. Social media can come out after you have your website and business model set up. Create content that you own on your website that generates leads and sales first, then worry about social media marketing. They are not one in the same.

How do you integrate content into the sales process?

It’s being proactive and intentional with your content. Always be listening to what your customers are saying or asking you when you talk with them. Then when someone new contacts you, you can predict what they will say and you can have your answers ready. Or you can send them content as they go through their consideration stage to the purchase stage. It helps customers feel that they are doing it on their own time, but you are still helping to direct them through that journey a little faster.

Show Highlights:

Who was Chris before he started CMA? He has always been a very real and down to earth guy. But if you go back 10 years ago, he started as a manager at University of St. Andrews in Scotland as a straight-laced business-type manager for about a decade. Slowly, he branched out as he discovered himself as a square peg in a round hole. [2:00]

In order to figure out what your voice is as a business owner, you have to figure out who you are. What do you and your business stand for? This voice connects with your content marketing. [6:00]

How do different industries use what they have learned about content marketing to find their customer base? It boils down to sales in all industries. And you have to feel confident that it will drive your business forward. [12:00]

Audio, Video, Written are your three major rich sources of content that will help buyers purchase your products faster. [15:15]

What is the buyer's journey? It includes being a stranger contacting, considering and purchasing your product. [18:40]

Examples of content marketing with videos and emails and how they have been working for Chris and Bella. [22:00]

 

Links

Learn all about the CMA Live Conference with tons of amazing speakers that will help you learn more about content marketing at https://cmalive.co.uk/

Find out more about Chris and CMA at http://www.cmauk.co.uk

Looking to contact Chris directly? He’d love to hear from you! Connect with him on Twitter - @ChrisMarr101 or email him at [email protected]

Share The Show:

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Click this link – Bella In Your Business

Click on the ‘Subscribe’ button below the artwork

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Transcript:

Bella: This is episode 94 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 with Jump Consulting, and today I have an award-winning entrepreneur with us.

Chris Marr believes that content marketing is the only way to set business leaders free from the world of mediocre interruption marketing. Chris is the founder and driving force behind CMA, the UK’s largest membership organization of its time. He has raised the bar on talent, curation, leadership, personal development, and community building. His pioneering work has changed the lives of hundreds of businesses, all through the power of content marketing.

Welcome to the show, Chris.

Chris: Thank you very much. That's a really nice intro. It’s always nice to hear it when it comes back to you. You think, “Do I really do all that?” Okay, yeah—it’s good. It’s a good sense check.

Bella: I know, right? One of the coolest things about you, Chris, at least for me, is that you’re just a regular dude. I mean, if you guys are watching the video of this, you’ll see—he’s not stuffy. He’s just a regular dude. And Chris, I’ve actually been secretly following you longer than you probably know. You first came on my radar at your first CMA when my friend Kate McQuillin spoke, as well as Marcus Sheridan. Anyone associated with those two people is automatically cool in my book. I’ve been watching your CMA Lives, which we’ll definitely get to later on, because you’ve also had some other people that I follow speaking there. But before we get ahead of ourselves, I want to dial it back. I want to find out who was Chris Marr before you started CMA and everything you’re doing now.

Chris: That’s an interesting question. You have to imagine it—if you’re watching the video, this will make sense. I’ll try to make it make sense for audio too. Right now, I’m wearing a cap and a Johnny Cupcakes t-shirt. I wear pretty much the same clothes every day, regardless of whether I’m speaking or meeting clients. I’m just me all the time. I’ve got a beard and tattoos—that’s just who I am.

If you wind the clock back ten years or so, I started my first real job as a manager at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. It’s one of the most well-known universities across the world, and a lot of Americans go there. I started that job when I was 19 years old and worked there for ten years. I worked my way up into a leadership position, and I loved that job.

But picture this—fully suited and booted, clean-shaven, short hair, polishing my shoes, business cards in my pocket. I was in business mode every single day for ten years. Now, it’s been over the last six to eight years that there’s been a slow discovery for me—from being a square peg in a round hole to realizing I can do whatever I want. I can run my business my way. I make the rules. It’s been a total shift from one end of the spectrum to the other. You can still be professional, do great work, make money—but you don’t have to wear a suit or work in an office. I never imagined this is where I’d be, but I’ve never felt more comfortable in my life.

Bella: That’s amazing because I think a lot of our listeners can relate. We’re all figuring it out. Even now, you’ve got a grasp on what you’re doing, but you’re always learning and growing. We’re never quite done.

Chris: Exactly. It’s a continual challenge to figure out who you are, to become stronger, to do better work, and to make a bigger impact. I’m continually questioning myself. Even this year, if we’d had this podcast twelve months ago, I would’ve had a massive shift since then. It’s about continually developing your skills, philosophy, and worldview. Especially as a marketer—this is the fastest-changing landscape in business. You can’t stop evolving and growing. It’s not about being different—it’s about being more you and doing your best work every day.

Bella: Look at that, everybody—we’re six minutes in, and you already have a takeaway: always be learning and growing. I love how that parallels our own businesses. We’re going to talk about content marketing today, and in order to figure out your business voice, you have to know who you are and what you stand for. Would you agree with that?

Chris: I agree. Content marketing is a journey. If you’ve never written a blog article, recorded a podcast, or filmed a video, that’s the start of your journey. People often want the silver bullet to grow their business, but they forget that content marketing has other benefits—developing your unique perspective, your voice, and your expertise. You might start writing and realize you don’t know as much as you thought, so you study more and become an expert.

Content marketing brings personal and professional development. It impacts you as much as it impacts your business. Yes, it leads to results—customers, revenue—but it’s more than that. It’s liberating. It brings fun and excitement back into business. It has a philosophical, strategic, and commercial side. Many people misunderstand it, misapply it, and then say, “Content marketing doesn’t work.” But it does—if you understand it properly.

Bella: I love that. Now for those just starting out—what is content marketing, exactly?

Chris: At a high level, content marketing is how you have to market your business today....

Navigating social media can be pretty difficult, especially when it comes to your online business. Often referred to as “the Queen of Facebook,” Mari Smith is hailed as the premier Facebook marketing expert and one of the most influential and knowledgeable new media thought leaders in the world. In fact, Facebook headhunted and hired Mari to go on tour with the company to teach business owners across the United States how to grow their businesses using Facebook!  Forbes recently described Mari as, “… the preeminent Facebook expert. Even Facebook asks for her help.”

Mari is an in-demand speaker and travels the world to keynote and train at major events. She also serves as Brand Ambassador for many leading companies.  She has over 1.7 million followers on her various social channels and is the author of The New Relationship Marketing and coauthor of Facebook Marketing: An Hour A Day.

 

Biggest Takeaways You Don’t Want To Miss:

How did you become such an expert on Facebook? In order to become an expert, you have to put in 10,000 hours into your skill. Be unwavering in your focus. FOCUS= Follow One Course Until Successful. It helps you keep on track.

Overall it is a universal mindset with fear mongering. You can get really upset or you can be a calming voice of how to overcome or make a change regarding a problem you see, like pet food recalls or puppy mills. Mari encourages us to be the calming voice.

You have to be mindful of what you post for relationship marketing. Treat people with respect and use proper social etiquette even online. Ask yourself “would I be comfortable with this...appearing on the front page or on a google search. Even more, would you be okay with your Mom seeing it? Quiet your ego and try to diffuse tangents. Don’t be drawn into petty conversations. There are always screenshots that will be your digital ink.

How can you add value to your business with Facebook? You become a leader in social media by using groups and stories. Have a good strategy for your stories and you easily convert your personal Instagram to a business Instagram and have those post directly to your Facebook, which drives traffic to your website.

 

Show Highlights:

Mari’s expertise in Facebook and how she got started on her path to becoming the “Queen of Facebook.” [2:30]

How to FOCUS for success [6:45]

Creating meaningful relationships on Facebook [9:50]

New business skills that everyone needs [13:10]

Benefits of setting up Facebook Groups [15:30]

Advice on how to build your online community [23:00]

Links:

Find more about Mari Smith and her new book at www.marismith.com

Check out The 12 Biggest Social Media Marketing Mistakes Businesses Make at http://www.marismith.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/12_Social_Media_Mistakes-MariSmith.pdf

Downloadable Offer:

Free PDF download. Mari Smith's recommended Video Gear List for Facebook Live broadcasts: www.marismith.com/fblive

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 93 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 got the queen of Facebook to bring to you. I am so excited. For those of you who do not know Mari Smith, you are going to be a follower of hers just as I am. This woman is absolutely incredible. She is often referred to as the queen of Facebook. She is Facebook’s premier marketing expert and one of the most influential and knowledgeable people in the world on Facebook. Facebook actually headhunted her. I mean, you guys, this is how amazing she is. Mari has gone on tour with the company to teach business owners across the United States how to grow their business using Facebook. Forbes recently described Mari as the premier Facebook expert. Even Facebook asks her for help. Mari is an in-demand speaker, travels the world to keynote at major events, and she also serves as a brand ambassador for many companies. She’s such a wealth of information. Her Facebook Lives are just always so full of value. She has over 1.7 million followers on Facebook, you guys—that’s a lot. She’s the author of The New Relationship Marketing and co-author of Facebook Marketing: An Hour a Day. Wow, Mari, welcome to the show.

Mari: My pleasure, Bella. It’s lovely to be here, and I’m so glad that we had the pleasure of meeting in person recently.

Bella: Yes, it was amazing. Mari, what strikes me about you is that you’re the people’s person. A lot of people who’ve achieved such a high pinnacle in their career are untouchable. But you’re just so accessible, so down to earth and friendly. I really admire that about you. Before we get into Facebook, I want you to dial it back a little bit to when you first heard about Facebook and how you became the queen of Facebook. Because I think our listeners—dog walkers and pet sitters—are all striving to become experts in their own field.

Mari: I emigrated from Scotland to San Diego, California in 1999. I basically came with 50 British pounds in my pocket—about $100—two suitcases, and I knew one person, the person who invited me. I was so determined to find a new life. I knew beyond a shadow of doubt that this was a defining moment. I was born in Canada but spent 20 years in Scotland, where my parents are from. I had not been an entrepreneur up to that point, but I had always wanted to run my own business. For the longest time, I was preparing—getting ready and putting all the foundational pieces in place—and that’s when the invitation came through.

Fast forward from 1999 to 2007, I was doing information marketing, e-commerce consulting, teaching, coaching, webinars—one of the first to do teleseminars and webinars—and I did a lot of public speaking. Then Facebook fell in my lap in 2007. It was Star Wars Day, May the 4th—May the Fourth be with you! It was a magical moment. I’d been invited to be on a beta test team for an app, and I thought, “Well, I better have a Facebook account.” I went to Facebook.com, and up to that point, I had been on LinkedIn, Friendster, Ryze, MySpace—all kinds of predecessors that don’t even exist now. But when I saw Facebook, it was like all the angels were singing. There was something magical about it. It had uniformity—I loved the shade of blue, and I loved that everything was in the same place on every profile.

More importantly, I found that I could be doing interviews, reaching out, and building relationships with people I admired—speakers, authors, people whose newsletters I followed. I thought, “This is magic.” I started telling everyone, “Are you on Facebook? Let me show you how.”

Bella: It offered that 3D dimension—you could see a bit behind the scenes of people’s lives.

Mari: Exactly. To the degree people were comfortable sharing. By 2008 or 2009, people were quite open on Facebook. But I always say, you must have a private life. Don’t put everything online. Facebook keeps files on us, so be comfortable knowing it’s out there.

Bella: So you started with Facebook and were really drawn to it. Take us from then to now. How did you become the queen of Facebook?

Mari: As Malcolm Gladwell says, to become a master or expert, you need 10,000 hours of study, experience, and practice. That’s what I’ve done over the last 11 years. I joke about being an overnight success ten years in the making. Around 2009, my career really took off after being immersed in Facebook for two years. The key takeaways are that I was unwavering in my focus. I use “FOCUS” as an acronym: Follow One Course Until Successful. Every year I pick one word as a theme to guide my personal and professional direction—words like focus, team, commitment, leverage.

I still believe there’s never been anything like Facebook. Sure, they’ve taken flack for privacy and customer service, but as business owners, we need to ask: how can I use this platform to grow my business? My passion for Facebook has never wavered. I also try to be the voice of calm when others panic over algorithm changes or negative press. I tell people, don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater—use the platform to grow your business.

Bella: I love what you said—it’s a mindset. You could pile on negativity, or you could calm people down and find solutions.

Mari: Exactly. I work with small business owners up to Fortune 500 companies, doing training and consulting. The key is to use Facebook for connection, not chaos.

Bella: Speaking of connection, you’ve written about relationship marketing. Tell us how people can create meaningful relationships on Facebook—and what mistakes they make.

Mari: I’ve written a few books on Facebook, but it’s almost impossible to keep them evergreen because the platform changes so much. My book The New Relationship Marketing focuses on how to create “know, like, and trust” digitally—what I call virtual rapport. You do it by being mindful, having proper social etiquette, treating people with respect even when you disagree, and thinking before you post.

Ask yourself three questions:

Would I be comfortable seeing this on the front page of The New York Times?

Would I be okay with this showing up in a Google search years from now?

Would I be proud if my mom saw this?

I call it the “mom test.” You should also ask, “What’s my deepest intent?” Are you trying to be right or to serve? Quiet your ego and focus on lifting others up. You don’t lift yourself up by dragging others down. I see people online criticizing others about being “experts,...

Teresa Murphey is the founder and President of Hire Ventures, Inc. She loves to help simplify all things HR so that business owners can focus on what they do best! As she says, "I started Hire Ventures in 2001 because I saw a need that so many small growing companies had in terms of hiring and managing their people, but these companies didn’t necessarily need a full-time HR person on staff."

Hire Ventures started in the high tech, high growth recruiting consulting space but has evolved over the years to cover all things HR & Recruiting.  They love working with small businesses that are passion and purpose driven in what they do.

Teresa is originally from Montana, but now she lives in Atlanta with her husband and her two daughters (sadly, her 13.5-year-old hound dog passed away in January).

Biggest Takeaways You Don’t Want To Miss:

What makes millennials different? It’s a huge generation and millennials are basically the children of the baby boomers and grew up with technology. They have new traits that revolve around that technology. Often millennials are good at multitasking, but they tend to be a little impatient.

How does the tech make them different? Human nature makes each generation different. However, millennials grew up with technology and that definitely sets them apart. This generation is more connected socially and grew up with more instant gratification.

Why is it crucial to have set steps for hiring process as a small business owner? A bad hire can distract the entire workplace and lower morale. If you have a streamlined recruiting process then you can often evade those issues. You don’t have to have the exact same questions, but a framework for pre-screening is imperative. Then, you can decide to meet with the person to finalize their eligibility.

Should you let them access your social media? Yes! Include them and make them feel like a bigger part of your business. They will engage on a level that connects with them. More that that, it can help you if you’re not as comfortable with Facebook live or social media sharing. When people see employees that are happily engaged with the social media presence, then possible employees and clients will get a better idea of how awesome of a company you have.

Show Highlights:

What is a millennial?[1:50]  Born early 80’s and early 2000’s and they can range in age anywhere from 14-37, quite a big range. For the most part, they grew up with technology that increased every year.

How is it different when you are recruiting a millennial?< [5:30]  If you have a strong recruiting process, then you’ll be effective no matter what you do. However, millennials don’t like to wait and like to know immediately if they have the job and that’s why you see a lot more applicants and faster turnover in letting prospective employees. They want to know right away if they have a chance for this position before moving on to the next.

What can you do to help keep the newer generation happy in the workplace? [10:00] They are much more socially connected and they like to have a purpose and feel important. The need for attention can be seen as a negative, but it isn’t always that way. It can open up ways of communication. Millennials have grown up in a time where they want to be a part of something “bigger than themselves.”

Motivating your staff [13:40] If we relate ourselves to the millennials, needing to be tech savvy and having constant feedback or recognition. It doesn’t have to be money, it can be little things like appreciation activities. It can be as small as a monthly lunch or awards for different things.

Applicant Tracking Program [17:00] This helps you find your employment brand. You can easily implement them to help create a careers page for you and brings tons of benefits.

Some resources that you could use [21:00] We don’t like to sell things on our podcasts, but here are some really great resources that you need to check out.

Tweetables:

[Tweet "“The millennial generation is a huge generation.”"]

[Tweet "“I think the millennials get a bad rep sometimes...because people don’t understand them.”"]

[Tweet "“You either can complain or you can learn and do something about it. Those are your two options.”"]

[Tweet "“If you hire the right person the rest of that employment relationship is smooth sailing.”"]

Links:

Check out the blog at https://hireventures.com/2018/02/07/how-not-to-hire-a-millennial/

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Transcript:

Bella: This is episode 92 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 from Jump Consulting, and today I have an interesting story for you. I was in one of my boss mom Facebook groups, and someone had posted an article that they just wrote about how to not hire a millennial. As you can tell, I was totally excited about it because we're always talking about this in our pet sitting groups. It was such a well-written article that I needed to reach out. So I reached out and found myself talking to this wonderful guest we're going to have today. Her name is Teresa Murphey. She's the founder and president of HireVentures. She loves to simplify things in HR and has been doing it since 2001, so quite a while—she's not new to the game. She’s got a lot of tricks in her hat. We talked on the phone and hit it off like best friends. I said, “You have to come on my podcast.” In fact, you guys, you're going to be hearing a lot more from Teresa because we're going to do an entire series in some manner or form. But HireVentures started in 2001, and she’s been working with business owners ever since.

Bella: So Teresa, without further ado, welcome to the show.

Teresa: Thank you, Bella. I'm so excited to be here.

Bella: Now, did I give your introduction enough of a foundation of who you are, or are there any gaps we need to fill in?

Teresa: No, I think you did great.

Bella: Awesome. So you have this awesome blog post that I'm going to put in the show notes so everyone can read it. It was called How Not to Hire a Millennial, and it was written by a millennial. Before we start, why don’t you break down what a millennial is?

Teresa: Sure. I do think it's important to understand what we're talking about when we say “millennial.” I'm not a millennial myself, but millennials are typically born between the early ’80s and the early 2000s. So in 2018, that would mean they’re anywhere from about 14 to 37 years old.

Bella: So quite a big range. And that’s definitely a lot of the people—pet sitters and dog walkers—one of their avatars that they target are college students. They’re great to do overnights, they have flexible schedules, sometimes online classes. So we do find ourselves hiring in that age range more often than not. But what makes millennials so different compared to baby boomers or Gen Xers?

Teresa: One thing to note is that the millennial generation is huge—they’re basically the children of the baby boomers. They’re entering the workforce and grew up surrounded by technology. They have certain traits that are important to understand, and much of that relates to technology. When I was a child, I had to check out a book or a movie from the store, and it had to be returned. I didn’t have a cell phone until after college. We had to write letters. This generation, on the other hand, is capable of performing a lot of different technological tasks. They’re excellent multitaskers and a little impatient because of it.

Bella: I feel like I’m on the cusp. I’m 36, born in ’82, and during school, it was only in high school when the cool kids started getting cell phones—paid by the minute. When I came home from basketball practice, I still used the payphone and called collect, saying, “Come pick me up.” The thing that kills me—and the reason I wanted to talk about this—is because millennials get a bad rap sometimes, just because people don’t understand them. It’s a detriment to businesses that lump everyone in a 20-year category.

Teresa: You’re absolutely right. Every generation is often looked down upon by the previous one. It’s human nature. I personally feel like, even though I’m Gen X, I relate to the millennial mindset—I love technology. Because of their ability to embrace it, the speed at which we do things—hiring, onboarding, training—has changed. Millennials might get a bad rep for being distracted, but they’re also great multitaskers.

Bella: So when recruiting millennials, what’s very different from hiring other people?

Teresa: That’s a great question. I feel like if you have a solid recruiting process and system, you’ll be effective at recruiting anyone. Millennials have just pushed us to improve. They’ve made hiring managers realize they can’t get away with the old tactics that worked 10 years ago. That’s why we’re seeing more socially enabled recruiting and HR systems. If you have a standardized process that can attract, screen, and onboard consistently, you’ll succeed across any age group.

Bella: That brings me to my next question—how crucial is it for small business owners to have written steps for hiring and onboarding?

Teresa: It’s extremely important. I’ve seen what a bad hire can do—not just morale-wise but in terms of time and distraction. Consistency is key. You can’t properly compare candidates if your process isn’t consistent. It doesn’t mean asking the exact same questions, but the framework should be similar. Pre-screen candidates online, follow up with questions,...

Talking to Mark Schaefer is always an inspiration. Not only does he have advanced degrees in marketing and organization, he is the author of five best-selling books and a professor at Rutgers. You can find his books are even being used as textbooks. And he’s so approachable and humble. Today we are getting to know all about his new book Known and soak up all the knowledge he has to offer.  So, how do you raise awareness in your community about your business? Mark has the answers and we're ready to listen!

Biggest Takeaways You Don’t Want To Miss:

How do you go about building a connection with the community?  You have to have a permanent and sustainable advantage in your community as a company. And it’s not about being a huge influencer, it’s more about having a presence as well as an authority to give your business a real chance. Ultimately you want to show your community why your business matter.

Is there a right way or wrong way to create an online presence? How do you get started becoming known in your community online? If you want to have a business you have to have a plan, you can not just have a passion. There is no set way, podcast or blog that will undoubtedly lead you to success. However, you do have to have some kind of content. If you’re not having fun, your audience will know, so find a way to express your passion. People will gravitate towards you if you show excitement.

What's the best social media to use? It’s great that in our society that we have so many mediums in order to get your business out there. Previously, you had only had print, now there are tons of options. It’s not true that you have to be in all mediums. All you have to do is pick one content source and focus on that. In short, pick the one that you that brings you joy. Have a 30-month mindset before you even think about giving up.

Show Highlights:

What is the difference between being well known and being a celebrity? [2:00]

How to create a plan for getting your business known in your community [5:30]

What is needed to really become known? [10:00]

Mark’s personal branding notebook and how it helps [14:30]

Tweetables:

[Tweet "“Don’t let things happen to you, take control of it.”"]

[Tweet "“Make it happen, don’t let it happen to you.”"]

[Tweet "“Passion without a plan is a hobby.”"]

Links:

Make sure to check out the brand new revised edition of Known on Amazon today!

Find out more about Mark Schaefer at his website BusinessesGrow.com. Here you can tap into his knowledge through his blogs, books, and social media connections!

Share The Show:

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Click this link – Bella In Your Business

Click on the ‘Subscribe’ button below the artwork

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Transcript:

Bella: This is episode 91 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, your host, and today I have a very special guest with you.

Mark Schaefer and I met about a year ago at Social Media Marketing World, and I was just blown away by his presentation that resides with his book called Known. Mark is an incredible person with lots of experiences in the world. He's an author of five bestselling books, has advanced degrees in marketing and organization, is a professor at Rutgers, and his books are even used as textbooks. He has seven patents. The list goes on and on, and he is, above all, one of the nicest human beings—humble and approachable. Regardless of how many hundreds or thousands of comments he gets, he responds to all of them. I really wanted to have him on the show to soak up his amazing knowledge and inspiration. Mark, welcome to the show.

Mark: Thank you for that very nice introduction. I'm blushing here in Tennessee. See how rosy my cheeks are.

Bella: I do. I especially appreciate you making some time to chat with all of us pet sitters, dog walkers, and small business owners. I know your schedule is very packed, and we are very honored to have you here. A lot of us are trying to raise awareness in our local communities about ourselves and our businesses, and I know you’re definitely an expert in this area. I want to start with the fear that people might have—“I don’t want to be known.” They think of the Kardashians. I remember being in your class at Social Media Marketing World when you showed a picture of Kim Kardashian and explained the difference between being known and being a celebrity. Could you enlighten my listeners on that?

Mark: Sure. This is a very important distinction. Let me use an example. About four years ago, I was bidding on the biggest contract of my life with the U.S. Air Force. I’m a marketing consultant, and they interviewed me on Skype. There were three officers across from me—it was like being interviewed by three Clint Eastwoods. It was intimidating. I started to explain why I was qualified, and 90 seconds in, the purchasing director interrupted and said, “Mr. Schaefer, we all know who you are. We all read your blog.” At that point, I knew I had the job because I had built an emotional connection to them through my content. I didn’t know them, but they knew me. They knew what I stood for and believed in me.

If you can build that connection with a community, that’s how you gain a sustainable advantage in business. Just as you’re doing with this podcast, you create content that your audience loves. Even if you’ve never met them, they trust you and feel connected to you. At some point, that results in a business benefit. It’s not about being a YouTube influencer; it’s about having the reputation and authority to give yourself the best chance for your business to be successful. Don’t let things happen to you—take control and be mindful about how you show up on the web.

Bella: I love that. I say that a lot—make it happen, don’t let it happen to you. You have to be intentional about it. Do you think there’s a right or wrong way to do it online? Do people have to blog or do podcasts? How does someone figure out what’s right for them, especially small business owners wearing so many hats?

Mark: That’s really what my book is about. I struggled with this. I was obsessed with learning whether anybody could become known. The research and advice out there were very fluffy—“If you can dream it, you can be it.” That’s not real business advice. Passion without a plan is a hobby, and if you want to have a business, you need more than passion—you need a plan. Before you devote yourself to a dream, go through the exercises in my book to give yourself the best chance to succeed.

Your audience already knows what they want to be known for—they want to be known as having the best dog walking business in their city. Once you know that, think about how you’ll tell your story and where. You don’t have to blog or podcast, but you need some kind of content—written, audio, or video—and you need to do it consistently. It doesn’t have to be Hollywood-quality. My blog is basic, my videos are one-take on a smartphone. Pick the one that brings you joy because if you’re not having fun, your audience will know. You want to convey your love for what you do and bring that story to the world.

I like what you do with your videos because showing your face and voice builds that emotional connection. When I was younger, none of this existed—you needed newspapers or TV, and that required gatekeepers. Today, you can pick yourself. You just have to start and keep at it. That’s how you become known in your community. People respect those who put themselves out there, and there’s perfection in the imperfections. People love authenticity.

Bella: Exactly! You might not have perfect lighting or you might drop your phone because a dog knocked it over, but people love that because it’s real. And there’s no excuse not to do it—if you don’t like video, start a podcast or write. You mentioned consistency and stats. I listened to your book on Audible and loved it—it’s fascinating. Can you touch on some of the research you did?

Mark: Sure. A lot of advice out there is misleading. People say, “You have to be everywhere—Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat.” That’s not true. You’ll just burn out. Pick one platform and do it really well. Master it, create a community, and focus on being helpful and consistent. I interviewed almost a hundred people from around the world for my book, and on average, it took two and a half years for their personal brands to tip. So I tell people to have a 30-month mindset—you can’t give up too soon.

My book came out a year ago, and people started telling me within months that they were already succeeding. I realized the people I interviewed didn’t have my book—they were figuring it out blindly, as I did. Now there’s a roadmap. There are four key things to do, and if you stay consistent, it works. It’s not for everyone because it takes work and sacrifice. I’ve blogged at least twice a week for 10 years without missing once. I just wrote my 2,000th blog post. But now I travel the world—Costa Rica, Denmark, England—because of that consistency. It didn’t happen in year one or two, but it happened because I stayed patient and delivered great quality.

Bella: That’s so motivating—it really puts it into perspective that you have to work hard and be consistent. When we come back, I want to talk more about how your books are being used in schools and about your personal branding workbook.

Mark: I’m a teacher at heart. What motivates me is helping people change their lives or businesses. My book is filled with exercises to help readers figure out where they want to show up in the world. I created a workbook to go with it so people can track their

It’s that time of year again. Something we all have to do, but none of us like it. That's right, it's TAX TIME. And that’s why today we are welcoming Jake Randall, the CEO of Taxbot. Taxbot is a mobile app that focuses on automating your expense and mileage tracking and staying IRS compliant. This is something we all need to know since we all deal with taxes. There is an easier way to keep track of your business and new laws you need to know about. Listen in for all the details!

Biggest Takeaways You Don’t Want To Miss:

How has the structure of the tax system changed for small business and solo-preneurs? A lot of the news on corporate tax doesn’t apply to us, we’re mostly just small businesses. The biggest change for us is a new bonus deduction. You get to take your income and multiply by 20% and you get that back. For example, if you make $50,000 in a year you can multiply that by 20% which gives you $10,000 as a deduction. Plus, all rates have mostly gone down, which is great for all small businesses.

Have there been any changes that aren’t so good for small business owners? Overall the new tax laws are great, but the entertainment deduction isn’t the best for us. You can’t deduct certain entertainment events. You can still deduct meals, but if you’re taking your clients out for just entertainment activities they may not qualify.

What are the chances of being audited? They are actually pretty low in any given year. But what you don’t realize that it can compound. You have a chance every year. Mathematically, if you’re in business for about 20 years then you have a 1 in 3 chance of being audited. This increases as you grow, if you make about mid-six figures then you’re more likely going to be a target for auditing.

How can Taxbot help you with keeping track of mileage and receipts? The app can automatically track your trip. It knows when you start driving and you can then easily track your work miles. Plus, it will match up your bank transactions with business expenses. It will prompt you about certain transactions, ask you details about them (for example, with whom were you meeting and what was the topic?) then you can confirm them in your Taxbot. It makes all the headache of keeping track of these minor details so much easier.

Show Highlights:

Don’t miss out on the new 20% bonus deduction for small businesses [2:30]

The difference between expenses and deductions [8:00]

What you need to know about the possibility of being audited [9:20]

How did Taxbot get started? [14:30]

What you can do to learn more about taxes and how to drive your own tax conversation with knowledge [22:00]

Links:

Learn more about the benefits of Taxbot and connect with Jake Randall at Taxbot.com

Also, don't miss some great educational information and video's on the Taxbot Mileage and Expense Tracker on Facebook!

Downloadable Offer:

Jake is offering a 14 day trial for Taxbot. You can watch the magic happen for yourself and get the most out of your taxes.  Simply go to taxbot.com/bella to get start your trial today. Also, get a risk free 50% off of Taxbot's educational tax course when you sign up. Plus you can bundle them for even more

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Click on the ‘Subscribe’ button below the artwork

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Transcript:

This is episode 90 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, your host, and today, if you’re in my Facebook groups, you might have seen a certain video go around a lot around January. It was about all these tax changes and there was this really high-energy guy with a lot of awesome information. And you know what, guys? I reached out to the company and got them here with us today. I want to blow the lid off of all this tax stuff that we have to keep track of as business owners. I mean, it is the most unsexy, boring, overwhelming, confusing stuff. We’ve never talked about this on the podcast yet, so today I’m excited to bring you a topic. The person I have on with me today is Jake Brandle. He’s actually the CEO of Taxbot, a mobile app that focuses on automating your expenses and mileage tracking and staying IRS compliant.

Jake, welcome to the show.

Hey, thanks for having me. It’s been great to get to know you and I love what you’re doing.

Thank you so much. So I just want to talk everything taxes, and feel free to go off-topic because we often do that on this show. I’m all about the conversations and seeing where they lead us. So let’s start off with all the changes that have happened. How has the structure of this tax system changed for small businesses and solopreneurs?

That’s a great question. So that’s actually the biggest change to the whole system—the way that the system works in general. The news has been talking a lot about corporate tax rates and stuff, but really that doesn’t apply to most of us small business owners. Not many of us are set up as C corporations; that’s really for public companies or companies raising a lot of money or unique situations. Most of us are running it like we’re just out there hustling, trying to make our business work. Some of you may be set up as an LLC or an S corp, but most people are just running it as their business. They file it on their tax return and let their accountant take care of it at the end of the year.

Now, the biggest change for our type of people, unless you’re a corporation, is that they created this new special bonus deduction, which is really kind of cool. You get to take, essentially at the end of the year, when you figure out how much money your business made, that number and multiply it by 20%. You get to take that deduction—an extra bonus deduction that just kind of appeared out of thin air. Let’s say you make $50,000 in your business at the end of the year. That means you can take $50,000 times 20%, which is $10,000, and you get a $10,000 deduction on your personal tax return.

There are some rules if you make a lot of money and are in a specific type of industry, but for most of us, it’s just this magical new 20% deduction.

How did this come about? You said it was out of thin air.

Well, there was a lot of debate back and forth—Donald Trump on tax reform—but really it’s not even Donald Trump’s deal. At the end of the day, the House and the Senate get to kind of do this. Since the Republicans had a majority and a tight window where they could do some stuff, they were able to get something through. There was a lot of debate, and things were changing all the time. I never knew what was going to come out in the end, and frankly, I was kind of worried most of the time. But it ended up being really good for most people. They lowered the corporate tax, and that was their big thing. At the last minute, they said, “What about all these small businesses, the backbone of our country?” Since we don’t have a corporate tax rate, they said, “We’ve got to do something there.”

Almost everybody’s taxes—the rates got lowered, and the brackets got bigger. It’s very unlikely that you’re going to pay more in taxes. You’re almost always going to get a lower tax rate, plus you get to lower your taxable income because of that new deduction if you’re making money.

That deduction’s amazing. Now I feel like I should put a disclaimer in here and say, anyone listening right now, we are not giving tax advice. Go talk to your CPA.

That’s absolutely right. Everybody’s situation is different. Here’s an interesting fact: we did a survey of 3,000 business owners and asked them how they filed their taxes. Forty percent said they filed their own taxes, another 40% said they use a tax preparer but are unhappy with their service, and only 20% said they really like their accountant and feel like they’re getting the best deal.

The important thing here—we recommend that nobody do their own taxes. There are a lot of reasons why: people make more mistakes, which means more chance of an audit.

And those audits are real. I actually did a whole series on pet businesses that were audited by different agencies, even one with an auditor from the state of Connecticut on episode 20. She talked about what it’s like to audit businesses—it was incredibly insightful.

So are there any bad changes to this new law?

Overall, I think the new tax law is great. There’s a couple of surprising changes that happened that I wish didn’t. One of them is the entertainment deduction. Not every business uses entertainment, but I used to always justify it. I’d go play golf and talk business, so I could write it off. Entertainment looks like meals—going to lunch with a client still counts. But the big change is that if you’re taking your clients out to entertainment-type activities, those are gone.

That’s pretty much it. There’s so much stuff that I remember when I first became a small business owner—I used to say, no joke, right at the beginning of January, I printed out all my bank statements, had a bottle of wine (maybe two), and my credit card statements. I’d go through and start highlighting. That’s how I did my expenses at the end of the year. Every year, I said, next year I’ll be better. And I never was.

That’s why I got a bookkeeper. So talking about expenses and deductions—what’s the difference between the two?

Expenses and deductions are a little different. Basically, an expense is whatever you put on your credit card for your business. Anytime you pay for something. Now, in certain cases, like entertainment, under the old tax law, you’d take someone golfing. You paid for golf,...

Want to learn how to do Facebook advertising to it's fullest it potential? Join my guest Robert Vance and I to learn all about it!

Robert is a husband, father, author and business owner. He spent the first part of his life saving lives as a Fireman, Paramedic and a Police officer. Robert now helps businesses succeed using the internet and marketing automation to grow and expand their business giving them more free time to do the things they love and have the resources to do them.

He got involved with the internet in 1997 when he built his first website and has been marketing on the internet in one form or the other since then. Robert has been working with Adwords since 2003 and with Youtube since 2008.

Furthermore, he has created several successful funnels for clients that create exponential ROI. In 2015, he became an Infusionsoft certified consultant to further help his clients. And he has been using Infusionsoft to run his business since 2009. Robert is an expert in setting up sales funnels and making sure you can get those that do not sign up or become customers the first time back to your site so you have a better chance to convert them.

Show Highlights:

What is retargeting and how does it help my business?[1:40]

Are there certain elements needed to retarget to the right customer? [4:30]

The type of information can we learn from our Facebook advertising that can help us learn about our customers? [7:00]

How can a dog walking company attract an audience in their community? [9:50]

The benefits of working with a person like Robert and what you need to know about creating successful ads. [14:15]

What is the bigger funnel? [16:30]

A quick success story from Robert and how you can apply it to your business. [19:30]

Tweetables:

[Tweet "“It’s scary the stuff Facebook knows about us.”"]

[Tweet "“Facebook is the largest database in the entire world and we need to start thinking of it like that.”"]

[Tweet "“Retargeting and Facebook ads are only one piece of a bigger funnel.”"]

[Tweet "“You need to know how much a client is worth to you.”"]

Links:

Connect with Robert Vance online! Visit his website at https://www.nitrogomarketing.com

Downloadable Offer:

Visit the website and request a consultation from the link on the website to find out how Robert can help you.

Go to https://www.nitrogomarketing.com and fill out the form!

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 89 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, your host with Jump Consulting, and I'm here today with Robert Vance. He's a husband, father, author, and a business owner. He actually spent the first part of his life saving lives as a fireman, paramedic, and police officer. Now he helps businesses succeed using the internet and marketing automation to expand their businesses and give them more free time to do what they love. Some might even say he’s still saving lives—business lives, of course.

He got involved with the internet way back in 1997 when he built his first website and has been marketing on the internet ever since. He's been using AdWords since 2003 and YouTube since 2008 and has created several successful ROI marketing funnels for numerous businesses. In 2015 he became an Infusionsoft Certified Consultant and has been using Infusionsoft since 2009. Robert is an expert—and one that I’ve actually hired—in setting up sales funnels and making sure that you're doing things right so that your customers keep coming back.

Bella: Robert, welcome to the show.

Robert: Thanks, Bella.

Bella: Today I want to get our feet wet with retargeting. It's something new out there, and most of us pet sitters and dog walkers are novices at this whole Facebook marketing thing. Typically, you can find us putting up an advertisement saying we're looking for help or new clients and not really understanding what to do after that. So can you explain to us how we can get the best bang for our buck through retargeting and what exactly that is?

Robert: The simplest way to think of retargeting is how you go to Amazon, look at a pair of shoes or a golf club or a dog leash, and then see that same product all over the internet. That’s Amazon using retargeting. Retargeting is a way to get what your customers are interested in back in front of them multiple times so they’re more likely to take action.

Bella: So a small business like ours can do that?

Robert: Yeah, any business that has a Facebook ad account or Google ad account can do it. You can use Facebook to retarget on Facebook and Google to retarget elsewhere. It’s best if you use both so that your brand is out there and recognized. When people are ready to make a decision, they’ll see your name and are more likely to contact you.

Bella: Because we know people need to see our stuff many times before it registers and even more before they take action. So this retargeting really helps. It’s like the digital form of taking out an ad every month in a local publication.

Robert: That’s a good analogy. It used to take five to seven touches before someone would take action, but now it’s seven to fourteen. Our time is so distracted—people see something on their phone, get interested, and forget. Retargeting increases the chance you’ll catch them when they’re ready.

Bella: Let’s break it down conceptually. If I’m a dog walking company trying to get more clients, what are the elements I’d need to understand to make this work?

Robert: You need to know your service area—that determines your targeting size. You need to know who your best and most profitable customers are because it makes targeting easier. For example, if you’re near lots of doctors’ offices, your ideal clients are health professionals who can’t get home at lunch to walk their dogs. Knowing those demographics helps you target them with specific ads and direct them to a focused page on your site—not your homepage. A homepage has too many options. You want one page with one call to action, like “Call us to schedule a consultation” or “Fill out this form for a quote.”

Bella: And that also makes tracking easier.

Robert: Exactly. With the Facebook pixel on your site, you can learn about your visitors—age, gender, location, even income levels or interests—once your audience hits a hundred people.

Bella: So we could target women aged 40–45 in a five-mile radius who have pets and go out of town five times a year?

Robert: Yes. Facebook’s data is huge. They even use data from third-party services about purchasing behavior, online activity, and life events. But the more specific you get, the more expensive it becomes. For local ads, I usually target 30,000 to 50,000 people. If your audience is too small, people see your ad too often and it loses effectiveness.

Bella: That makes sense. So if we created a landing page aimed at, say, doctors who can’t leave work, and someone visits it but doesn’t fill out the contact form, we can still follow up with them?

Robert: Yes, through remarketing. Many people only budget for the initial ads and skip the remarketing, which is a mistake. You’d set up your main ad, then a remarketing ad targeting those who visited your page but didn’t complete the form. You can track that easily if your form redirects to a thank-you page.

Bella: That’s amazing. So someone visits our page but doesn’t convert—we can retarget them with another ad that’s more specific.

Robert: Exactly. Just don’t make it creepy by calling out their exact traits. Keep it general but relatable—like showing a picture of a dog that tore up the living room with the caption, “Is your dog lonely and getting into trouble?”

Bella: I love that! So, moving on—what kind of setup and mindset should business owners have if they want to work with someone like you?

Robert: First, they need a website and a landing page with a clear call to action. They need tracking pixels installed for Facebook and Google, and they should be prepared to spend $5–$10 a day on ads, plus management costs of about $250–$500 a month depending on ad spend and setup. The first month might run around $750–$1,000 including setup.

Bella: And this isn’t just an expense—it’s an investment that pays itself back when done right. This isn’t like a print ad you can’t change; you can tweak and optimize it daily.

Robert: Exactly. You can test and refine ads in real time. And you also need an email follow-up process. If someone fills out your form and doesn’t get an immediate response, you’ll lose them. Even a quick “Thank you, I’ll be calling soon” message can make a big difference.

Bella: Or even automate a response through a chatbot on your site that thanks them and offers a downloadable guide, like “How to Prepare for a Dog Walker.”

Robert: That’s great—as long as you still make it personal later. Automation is helpful, but people crave real connection.

Bella: Absolutely. So can you share a success story?

Robert: Sure. I worked with a local dentist who wanted more clients. We ran Facebook ads and retargeting, and he got three to five new clients a month. The lifetime value of a dental client is around $10,000, so that’s $30,000–$50,000 in long-term revenue per month, not counting referrals.

Bella: Wow. And that ties back to knowing how much a client is worth over their lifetime.

Robert: Exactly. The rule of advertising is: he who can spend the most to acquire a client and still remain profitable wins. If you know a client brings $300 in revenue,...

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We are talking with Mike Allton, the award-winning blogger, speaker and author at The Social Media Hat in St. Louis. Mike works with bloggers and businesses to help them leverage every aspect of content marketing. He has tons of knowledge and a website full of resources that you need. Together we talk about everything you need to know about blogging basics.

Biggest Takeaways You Don’t Want To Miss:

How do you come up with new and relevant topics?

The key is what NOT to write about. You need to write for a business and not from a personal perspective. If you’re doing a personal blog it’s fine to talk about things such as your dog Spot and what you had for dinner. However, when blogging for your business it needs to need to be useful. The content has to answer questions. Whenever you can keep track of your own questions and those will make the best blogs for your business.

Do you need more blogs or better content?

If you have genuinely good and evergreen content, you don’t have to blog 5 times a week. If your posts are great for your audience, for example, a list of all the dog parks in your area, you will get hits on that posts for months. And you also hit a target customer, a dog owner, and they may end up using your pet sitting or dog walking services.

How much should you post?

As a small business owner, you don’t have to have a set schedule. Honestly, most people won’t be sitting waiting for your next post. If you miss a post or only post sporadically it’s okay. Nevertheless, if you post good quality posts often, you will see an increase in business. It won’t go fast, but after several months you will see an impact. Equally important consistent and quality posts do help.

How long should blogs be?

In general, an average post should be between 750-1250 words. It should introduce a topic, discuss it with bullet points and have a closing. In other words, blogging basics are much just like the five-paragraph format that we learned in school. “Cheater posts” are really short and don’t take that long to write, typically about 250-500 words. They are short, sweet and easy to post. However, they can not be considered the optimal quality content that won’t show up that highly in search results. However, it does help to add to the value of your blog. In contrast is what Mike calls, “Pillar Posts” and they are Google search goal. Additionally, these posts are huge magnets for local search traffic and start at about 1250 words. Furthermore, these posts have a huge amount of content and take quite a while to create, but are well worth it.

Show Highlights:

The start of Mike’s blogging adventure, he loved writing and using social media. Yet, he struggled with finding the right content to draw in clients, but he was able to figure out exactly what to do. [1:20]

You can define blogs by “shelf-life.” Some blog topics will only be relevant for a short amount of time, while others are “evergreen,” meaning their content will be relevant for years. [3:40]

Pet sitters and dog walkers have a unique advantage for posts. You can write about “The Best Dog Walking Trails [in your city] and that gives you a huge advantage on your blog content. [8:00]

How creating content helps draw business. Specifically, your business will benefit from creating quality posts consistently. While it will take time, but end up drawing traffic, leads and eventually customers to your business. In the same ways, the more you blog quality posts, the faster you will see results. After approximately 50 pieces of content created, that’s when you can see exponential growth.  [11:50]

Blogging basics and the anatomy of a blog. Plus, how long should a quality post be?  [16:00]

What is a “Pillar Post” and why do you need them on your blog? [20:00]

Overall, suggestions for those of you who don’t like to write. First, try and practice writing. As a matter of fact, you may not like only because you think you’re not good at it. It could be that you just need practice it to get better at it. And if you truly do not like to write you can try video! [22:00]

Tweetables:

[Tweet "“Blogging isn’t something that we can just turn on and start to do...you have to learn, it’s a muscle and you have to exercise it.”"]

[Tweet "“The more you blog, the more readers you will get.”"]

[Tweet "“Evergreen content: the content that will never grow old.”"]

[Tweet "“The content you create, it has to answer questions.”"]

Links:

Find Mike Allton online at https://www.TheSocialMediaHat.com

Downloadable Offer:

Free copy of the book, "How To Start A Blog: The Ultimate Guide" to ensure that all your blogging basics are in place and your blog is headed in the right direction. Mike has been working on this book for a little over a year. He wanted to create an initial book to help us with everything we want to know about starting a blog, domains, Wordpress, hosting and everything in between.

Get your FREE copy at www.TheSocialMediaHat.com/how-to-start-a-blog

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 88 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 from Jump Consulting, and today I have Mike Allton with us.

Mike is an award-winning blogger, speaker, and author of The Social Media Hat in St. Louis. Mike works with bloggers and businesses to help them leverage every aspect of content marketing. Mike, welcome to the show.

Mike: Thanks so much, Bella. It is an absolute pleasure to be here with you.

Bella: I’m so glad to have you here. I got an introduction to you from Marcus Sheridan at last year’s Social Media Marketing World, and anyone that Marcus introduces me to, I’m like, gotta be pretty cool. And you know what, I’ve been following you for the past year and you are pretty cool. So to all of our listeners, I want you guys to really just start soaking up Mike’s knowledge. His website is incredibly useful and tactical and can really help you on just a very layman’s term. Mike, how did you start this whole Social Media Hat?

Mike: It’s funny because I used to have a different business where I was building websites for small businesses and helping them get online. This was many years ago, and even then, there was the idea that you had to create content to help market your own business. So I started to blog for my own business about 11 years ago, and at the time, I found that I really liked to write. I liked to teach people how to use social media, how to blog, and that sort of thing. But it wasn’t helping me get new clients. That content was targeted to people who already had businesses, and I was trying to find people who needed a website—who were starting a business. So I said, okay, this isn’t working, and in 2012 I started The Social Media Hat, mainly as a place where I could write what I wanted and teach what I wanted. I figured I’d just learn how to make money from it later.

Bella: So I transferred a lot of the blogs that I’d already written and started blogging a lot. I was writing six to fourteen posts per week.

Mike: Well, when you don’t have clients, why not, right?

Bella: Wow, I don’t think I ever heard of that—that’s incredible.

Mike: I wrote a lot that first year, and as a result, not only did I get a larger audience, but I learned a lot. Blogging isn’t something that we can just turn on and start doing. You’ve got to learn—it’s like any other muscle, right? You’ve got to exercise it. So that’s how I got started, and it’s just grown and snowballed from there.

Bella: That’s amazing. How many blogs have you written on The Social Media Hat to date?

Mike: That’s a good question. I separate my content in a couple different ways—it’s all just content, right? Blog posts, whatever. A lot of what I used to write was what I call newsjacking, and we can go into that more if you want.

Bella: Oh, we totally should talk about that. It’s something every pet sitter and dog walker can do when there’s a pet food recall or a new ordinance in their city.

Mike: Perfect example. The thing about newsjacking is most of the time that content has a limited shelf life. At some point, it’s no longer relevant or interesting. So I’ve got hundreds of those, hundreds of blog posts, and hundreds of what I call articles—which are really just more tactical, evergreen resources. Like, how to mention somebody on Facebook or how to add a second Twitter account to your phone. Very specific, tactical things. So all told, I probably have 750 to 1,000 pieces of content.

Bella: That’s incredible. You blogged like your life depended on it—because it kind of did, right?

Mike: Pretty much.

Bella: So how would our listeners come up with new blog post ideas? So many people just hear “you should blog,” and they go write random things.

Mike: The first key I tell people is what not to write about. Blogging for a business is different from blogging for yourself. If I’m blogging for fun, I can write about what I had for dinner or the latest trick my dog learned. But as a business, that’s not helpful. The content you create has to answer questions. The deeper down the funnel you can go with those questions, the better. So where do you find them? Two sources—your own questions and your readers’ or clients’ questions. That means you simply have to start paying attention and listening.

When I try to figure out how to do something in marketing, I’m always thinking, this could make for a good blog post. For example, I once figured out how to track pop-up offers and which on

Today we talk to Mark Shaver, the owner of Buckhead Paws outside of Atlanta, GA about the importance of workers' compensation.

Biggest Takeaways You Don’t Want To Miss:

What is Workers' Compensation? Basically, it is a way to help protect yourself and your employees in case of an accident. There is no coverage for independent contractors. However, when you have employees they qualify for WC which will help cover lost wages and help pay for medical bills.

One accident could easily total over $60,000. This can multiply quickly if lawsuits come into play. It’s better to play it safe and have coverage for accidents.

Pet sitters that work with a business that is covered under Workers' Compensation have a special peace of mind. In case of an accident, they can take time to heal without having to worry about missing work and bills piling up. When you are an independent contractor, you may not be covered in ways that you should be in a similar situation.

You have to understand the magnitude of what can happen if you get sued. And there is so much more comfort in knowing that your business and everything that you have worked for will not be taken away by an accident.

Show Highlights:

Why Workers' Compensation is important and how accidents happen [2:00]

The story that made Bella stunned and speechless. Accidents happen and this is why you need coverage for your business. Some accidents are horrifying, like this terrible tale of a sitter impaled on a fence. [5:45]

How close to home it hit for Mark and his staff [14:00]

Why you should take a good risk assessment in your business and the peace you get from being covered. [21:00]

Links:

If you want to learn more about making the big switch from independent contractors to employees, the Employee Quick Start Program, will tell you all that you need.

Or, if you want a free download of the 6 steps you need to take to switch from independent contractors to employees you can download your free infographic here

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

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More About Mark:

Mark is the very proud parent of three adult children. Also, Mark is a member of Pet Sitters, International; the Georgia Network of Professional Pet Sitters; and The Buckhead Business Association. Not to mention, Mark is also certified in Pet First Aid. Pets have been a part of Mark’s life since he was born. Over the years, Mark has shared his life with quite a collection of critters, including dogs, cats, tropical fish, rats (the pet kind!), lizards, and even a couple chinchillas. His business, Buckhead Paws, was started by a young woman who had a small sole proprietor pet sitting business. To begin with, she started sitting for a friend which extended to a small circle of others.  However, soon her life headed in a different direction. Her family was growing and they were moving out of the area. Eventually, friends of friends introduced Mark with this young woman and they struck up a “handshake” agreement for him to take over her small business After some time Mark grew the business and ended up buying it from her and growing it into the Buckhead Paws we know today.

Transcript:

Bella: This is episode 87 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 Vasto with Jump Consulting, and today I have a very interesting story for you. I first heard about this story when I was doing some one-on-one coaching with Mark, who is the owner of Buckhead Paws out in Atlanta, Georgia. Mark and I were working together for weeks trying to get him all set up to make the big switch. If you're a pet sitting and dog walking company, you know exactly what I mean. That big switch is from independent contractors to employees.

You see, Mark realized that he was not going to sit there and have a huge amount of risk and wonder if his whole life savings or retirement was one day going to be under attack because of one simple little incident that might happen in his company where he was sued. When you have independent contractors, there's no coverage for workman's compensation. There's no telling what's going to happen if, God forbid, there's an accident. But with employees, you're protected in so many ways, and one of those ways that we're going to talk about today is called workman's compensation.

Specifically put, if someone were to injure themselves on the job and they're covered by workman's compensation, that coverage, also known as WC, will kick in and take over for lost wages—future and existing. They'll cover all medical expenses incurred because of the injury, assign a caseworker, and follow you along. Now you might say that your business is very safe, with incredible training methods and ongoing education, and that nobody would ever do something they're not supposed to. And I bet you're right. But there's also this little thing called an accident that most of us don't plan for.

For example, an incident that happened to me when I used to have my pet sitting company: a pet sitter was leaving in the morning and simply missed the last step on the stairs, fell, and fractured a foot. That was a workman's compensation claim—didn't even involve the pets. Another time, a dog that we had been visiting for years just turned around and bit my pet sitter’s hand, resulting in weeks off work and a $25,000 claim. You're about to hear a story of a $40,000 claim still being disputed right now, and the horrors that could happen if you don't have employees and workman's compensation.

So without further ado, I’m going to get right to it, and I’ll come back to chat with you afterward.

Mark: Top of the day to you, Bella.

Bella: Top of the day to you, Mark! I’m so excited. This has been amazing. I hope I haven’t stressed you out.

Mark: Thank you. I’m excited to be here. I will tell you, I am duly stressed. I’ll be ready for my scotch at the end of the day.

Bella: You know what though, I—and I’m sure all of you guys—am so impressed that you got on here. So many people would have given up or thrown the phone out the window. You have such a valuable story to share. Why don’t we start with who you are and where you’re from?

Mark: Thanks, Bella. My name is Mark Shaver. I live in the Atlanta suburb of Decatur, and I own a dog walking and pet sitting service called Buckhead Paws.

Bella: Wonderful. And how long have you had it?

Mark: It’s a great story. I didn’t start the business. It was started ten and a half years ago by a young woman, about 25 at the time. She rented an apartment from some guy who discounted her rent in exchange for taking care of his dog. Then his friend needed help with his dog, and another friend did too, and pretty soon she had a small sole proprietor business. That was in 2007. Two years later, in 2009, she was married and pregnant and moving about 30 miles out of the city to be closer to her husband’s job.

Just before they moved, they had dinner with friends. She said she was sad to give up her little business because it was just her. Those friends were also my friends. They told her, “We know this guy—he’s kind of retired, likes kids and critters—maybe he can help.” She and I met for coffee, struck up a handshake agreement. I was an independent contractor, she paid me a percentage, and she only had eight or nine clients. I thought, hey, I’ll make a little money, get some exercise, and have fun.

Six months later, I had enough new clients that I needed help. Six months after that, a second helper. At the end of 2011, she said, “I’m pregnant with number two, I’ve lost the relationship with the clients. Do you want to buy the business?” And I said yes. So I bought it in January of 2012. Six years later, we have 18 employees covering about half the Atlanta metro area.

Bella: That’s an awesome story. So, Mark, we were on a coaching call a few weeks ago and you told me a story that left me stunned. I said you need to tell pet sitters this story. Can you take us back to the beginning?

Mark: Sure. The beginning goes back before the start of the year because, Bella, you and I were working together in a coaching scenario. Based on that coaching, I decided in November to transition all of my independent contractors over to employees. I spent November and December laying the foundation and pushed the button January 1st. I was scared to death, but it worked. Four weeks ago, on January 17th, one of my favorite dog walkers, Melanie, was staying overnight in someone’s home.

That morning, we had two inches of snow, but it had started the night before with a mist that froze as the temperature dropped. Under the snow was bad ice. Around 10 p.m., Melanie decided to get a glass of water and wanted ice in it. She stepped into the garage where the freezer was, filled her glass, turned back, and—classic pet sitter move—the kitchen door locked behind her. She was stuck in the garage with her ice water.

Her phone was inside, but she remembered the house had a doggy door into the backyard and thought she could crawl through. She went out to the backyard and found a wrought iron fence with spikes every six inches and four feet high. It was 10 p.m., dark, 14°F, two inches of snow, and she was wearing pajamas. She tried to climb the fence, slipped, and impaled herself through the buttock.

She was in shock but managed to push herself up off the spike, crawl through the doggy door, and lay on the floor before driving herself to Northside Hospital at 12:30 a.m. The wound was five inches deep and three inches wide. She needed surgery....