Bella In Your Business: Pet Sitting and Dog Walking Podcast

On this episode  Bella spends time with Jason Waggoner, Vice President of Marketing for ACUTRAQ Background Screening Solutions. They discuss the importance of background checks and how ACUTRAQ can help eliminate some of the liabilities around doing it yourself.

Jason Waggoner

In this episode of "Bella In Your Business", Bella speaks with Cara Armour, Product Manager and Marketing Manager for ProPetHero, a pet CPR and first aid online training program for pet business owners.

In 2003 Cara Armour co-founded Active Paws Inc., in the Boston, MA area. In 2009, Cara won Pet Sitter of the Year. She is decorated in many accolades and even expanded to opening a grooming and holistic pet supply store.

Since 2003, Cara has been trained by the American Red Cross as well as several veterinarians in Pet First Aid and CPR. In 2011 she completed an instructor training course and became a certified Pet First Aid and CPR instructor. In 2015 she co-founded an online Pet First Aid academy and now works as a product and marketing manager for ProPetHero, the Pet First Aid and CPR division of ProTrainings.

She is also a volunteer and foster home for The Boxer Rescue Inc, a health conscious breeder of Boxers.

Bella and Cara talk about Pet First Aid and how to go about training you and your staff.

They discuss the benefits of being trained which are:

Being able to save the lives of your pets or pet clients.

Learning to recognize potential issues with a pet and bring that to the owner’s attention.

Using that trained status to stand out from your competition and create greater security among your clients.

They talk about how an online training course, such as the ones available through ProPetHero are more useful than in-person training because:

You can do them at your own pace and anywhere you want.

The cost is significantly low compared to sending staff to an in-person training course

You can monitor staff's progress and comprehension of the material.

In this episode, Bella speaks with Wendy Van de Poll, the founder of The Center for Pet Loss Grief and an international best selling and award-winning author and speaker. They discuss pet loss grief and what pet professionals can say and do to be supportive to their clients in their loss. They also talk about how pet professionals can deal with their own grief.

Topics covered are:

What is pet loss grief

What you as a pet professional should do when a client gets the news that their pet has a terminal illness

How to help your clients when their pets die

What you shouldn't say or do

How a pet professional can deal with their own grief over losing an animal client

On this episode Bella speaks with Maureen McCarthy, owner of Love and Kisses Pet Sitting. Bella has found Maureen's use of Facebook groups, social media, and video to be an awesome example of how to market.  Bella gets the scoop from Maureen, about how Facebook groups can be a great way to connect and expand your reach as a business. Maureen started a group for her own community called What's Up Indiana Trail and it has grown like wild fire. Through it, she has been able to get more people engaged on her own facebook page and grown her business.

They also discuss Facebook Live videos - which if you've been listening to me for awhile, you know that I consider video as a MUST HAVE in your business. Maureen discusses with Bella how exactly she started doing Facebook Live videos with both her and her staff and the direct effect they've had on her business revenue.

She talks with Maureen about:

Maureen McCarthy

The Facebook group she started.

Why she started the group

How much work is involved

How successful it has been

How she got into doing videos

Her facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/IndianTrailPetSitter/

On this episode Bella speaks with Adam Smith from Precise Petcare. They discuss communication problems pet sitting business owners often have with both the pet sitters who work for them and with customers.  They discuss how the software offered by Precise Petcare addresses many of these challenges.

Adam & Lynn Smith

Precise Petcare is an online management system that could quickly become the center of your business. The online scheduling, billing and client/staff management are all in one place. With their system you'll have fluid communication between you, your staff and your clients. Much loved features include Pet Care Journals, the Live Sitter Map and GPS sitter check-ins. Precise Petcare was co-created by a pet sitting business owner and a web developer to combine a perfect blend of knowledge and talents specifically for this industry. Husband and wife team, Adam and Lynn Smith understand first-hand what your needs are as a pet sitting business owner and have built each aspect of the software and continuously update and improve the system – without having to rely on outside talents to delay the process!

On this episode Bella spends time talking with Tracie Hotchner, author of The Dog Bible: Everything your dog wants you to know and The Cat Bible: Everything your cat expects you to know.

Tracie Hotchner

Tracie is the host of 10 pet talk radio podcast shows on her own Radio Pet Lady network, including her NPR show "Dog Talk (and Kitties, too)". She is also the founder of the NY Dog Film Festival which she travels with around the country after an annual premiere in NYC in November.

Bella and Tracie discuss how Tracie's successes came about and the importance of positive attitude and a willingness to step through open doors.

You can find out more about Tracie and listen to her shows at RadioPetLady.com.

You can find out more at the NY Dog Film Festival, including a list of cities it is coming to, at DogFilmFestival.com.

On this episode, Bella talks with Carey Conley, speaker and Co-Creator of Infinite Nation; a community created for skill building, mentorship, and community for aspiring leaders and business owners.

Carey Conley

Bella and Carey talk about:

Why “Vision is Victory”….especially for entrepreneurs

The biggest stumbling  blocks for people to actually put a vision down on paper and follow through with it

What happens when people try to run a business without a clear, concise vision

Community and accountability

On this episode Bella speaks with George Thomas, Inbound Marketing & Brand Strategist for The Sales Lion.  George also specializes in training people on HubSpot.

George Thomas

George spent  15 years working in a traditional marketing agency to design and build websites and  other types of content. George then joined The Sales Lion where as an inbound designer and brand strategist. There his daily contributions include inbound strategy and design, HubSpot intensive training, speaking at conferences, content marketing, and social media marketing as well as business management and development.

George and Bella discuss branding. In particular, they talk about:

How to get started in video

How long videos should be

How often you should be putting out content

How to push your content in multiple formats

Changing your thinking to being a production company first.

On this episode, Bella discusses leadership with Tarran Deane, author of the new book,  “The Alphabet Principle: Your A – Z Guide to Being a Compelling Leader”.

Tarran Deane

Tarran Deane is Australia's Corporate Cinderella a Leadership Development Company. Tarran works with executives, entrepreneurs, experts and emerging leaders to increase their personal effectiveness, capability, communication and commercial savviness. Bringing a maverick edge, and entrepreneurial trends to established businesses and organizations, Tarran boldly challenges, honors and equips people to shift the performance of their organization's people, practice, and profit.  Tarran intentionally cuts through the whispered frustrations of workplaces today, equipping you to lead strategically and tactically in the fast pace of real life @ work, so you and your team can get the job done and love the company you’re in. A sought-after international keynote speaker, Tarran’s warmth, humor and 43,000 hours in leadership have helped more than 26,000 audience members to hit the shift key and lead like they mean it with boldness and humility.

Bella and Tarran discuss:

How as a woman to be taken seriously in the corporate world

Dealing with problem generators in the workplace

Why vision and strategic planning matter.

Her "Signature 7 Leadership Framework" for planning out your work week. (Infographic can be gotten at https://www.tarrandeane.com/signature7leadershipinfographic/)

On this episode Bella speaks with Marcus Sheridan, a former pool guy turned digital sales and marketing expert.  He is the President of The Sales Lion and a Partner at River Pools and Spas.

Marcus Sheridan, The Sales Lion

Bella and Marcus discuss:

The philosophy of "They ask, you answer"

Why business owners are afraid of just giving honest answers to potential customers

The five subjects that move the economy.

The dangers of "Ostrich marketing"

How important video is becoming to the marketing process

Assignment selling

Face to face sales appointments without you being there.