Bella In Your Business: Pet Sitting and Dog Walking Podcast

In this episode of "Bella In Your Business", Bella speaks with Holly Cook, author of My End of the Leash: Compassion Fatigue From a Pet Sitter's Perspective.

She started pet sitting in 1994, and won the Pet Sitters International,  Pet Sitter of the Year award in 2004;  She has been serving the pet sitting industry by becoming a state Ambassador for PSI in 2005. She has also authored several articles presented at many pet sitting conferences. She has developed donation drives for communities devastated by disaster (From Missouri floods in 1993, 9/11, Hurricane Katrina to Hurricane Sandy.).

Holly also became a certified Compassion Fatigue Educator through the University of Tennessee School Of  Veterinary Social Work in 2016. To say she is an advocate for the pets and the people who care for them is an understatement.

Bella and Holly discuss what compassion fatigue is and how it differs from “burn out”  Holly discloses traits common among those susceptible to compassion fatigue including:

Being a highly dedicated professional

Always expecting positive feedback about work

High demand for personal competence

A personal history of exhaustion

A large workload

Lack of trauma training

Identification with those in their care

Those is a non-supportive work environment or unsupportive friends and family

Holly then details some of the symptoms of compassion fatigue:

Bone-tired exhaustion

Insomnia

Persistent physical ailments

Apprehension

Over exaggerated startle reflex

Anxiety

Depression

Abnormal anger

Rumination or excessive thoughts about an incident

Clumsiness

Nightmares and flashbacks

Difficulty concentrating and forgetfulness

Tendency to isolate from other people

Inability to make a decision

Intrusive imagery

Reduced ability to feel sympathy or empathy toward other people or animals

Denial of any of the above symptoms

Grab her book here: My End of the Leash: Compassion Fatigue From a Pet Sitter's Perspective

In this episode of Bella in Your Business, Bella offers up a recording of talk she gave to a faith-based business networking group in her area. In the talk she discusses approaching networking from a faith-based point of view.

She says that successful networking results from:

Listening

Caring

Taking time to build trust

Influence

Finding "family" in networking

She offers some quick, but poignant tips:

Better to get a card then leave a card

Go to a lot of events. Arrive early and leave late

Get around people that you like

Ask someone out for coffee

Don't be a "promoter" of your company

Networking is always about "them" and not you.

Don't be afraid to cast your net or you won't find those relationships

Ask God to be your Holy business partner

Shine your light!

According to Kristy, she is the only properly zoned boarding facility in Philadelphia that is operating out of a private home.

And it didn't come easy.

In this episode of "Bella In Your Business," Bella speaks with Kristie Glazer from Philly Pet Care,a family-owned pet sitting and dog walking company in Philadelphia.

In an unprecedented interview, you learn what it is like when the Zoning Board is knocking on your door telling you to stop your business or they will fine you and board up your home.

You will also learn how you can take the proper steps in being able to operate your dog boarding business legally in your own home.

Kristie talks about the struggles she went through with the boarding aspect of her business and the complicated steps it took to move it from being shut down by the city, to now being the only zoned boarding facility in Philadelphia that is operating out of a private home.

 

 

There is great strength and success in this podcast if you are thinking about doing dog boarding in your home. Through a difficult struggle and long process, Kristie was able to get her city to back her business. Unfortunately, Kristie only represents about 1% of in home dog boarders I know about. Many, do not know their city ordinances or know what permit they need to operate legally. Some, choose to ignore and pretend they don't know they need permits or proper zoning.

It is troublesome because some pet sitters use in home dog boarding as their livelihood. If your business is shut down, because you are operating illegally, your income stops. This could have a grave effect on their life. It is a topic to think seriously about and take into proper consideration.

2:00 - Kristie's story

7:38 - What made Kristie decide to fight to keep her business

9:24 - How Kristie got her neighbors support

14:35 - What to do if you want to board dogs in your home

15:42 - Fines or penalties for illegal boarding?

16:36 - Where do people go to start boarding legally?

20:12 - Importance of having a strong team

21:40 - Final words of advice

According to Kristy, she is the only properly zoned boarding facility in Philadelphia that is operating out of a private home.

And it didn’t come easy.

In this episode of “Bella In Your Business,” Bella speaks with Kristie Glazer from Philly Pet Care,a family-owned pet sitting and dog walking company in Philadelphia. 

In an unprecedented interview, you learn what it is like when the Zoning Board is knocking on your door telling you to stop your business or they will fine you and board up your home.

You will also learn how you can take the proper steps in being able to operate your dog boarding business legally in your own home.

Kristie talks about the struggles she went through with the boarding aspect of her business and the complicated steps it took to move it from being shut down by the city, to now being the only zoned boarding facility in Philadelphia that is operating out of a private home.

 

 

There is great strength and success in this podcast if you are thinking about doing dog boarding in your home. Through a difficult struggle and long process, Kristie was able to get her city to back her business. Unfortunately, Kristie only represents about 1% of in home dog boarders I know about. Many, do not know their city ordinances or know what permit they need to operate legally. Some, choose to ignore and pretend they don’t know they need permits or proper zoning.

It is troublesome because some pet sitters use in home dog boarding as their livelihood. If your business is shut down, because you are operating illegally, your income stops. This could have a grave effect on their life. It is a topic to think seriously about and take into proper consideration.

2:00 – Kristie’s story

7:38 – What made Kristie decide to fight to keep her business

9:24 – How Kristie got her neighbors support

14:35 – What to do if you want to board dogs in your home

15:42 – Fines or penalties for illegal boarding?

16:36 – Where do people go to start boarding legally?

20:12 – Importance of having a strong team

21:40 – Final words of advice

You can find out more about Philly Pet Care and Kristie and her husband Dave athttp://www.MyPhillyPetCare.com.

Subscribe To The Show:

Listen To The Show:

In this episode of "Bella In Your Business", Bella spends time with Susie Timm,  President of Knife & Fork Media Group. Susie specializes in comprehensive public relations and marketing strategy in the gourmet food, restaurant and retail industries.

Gaining PR for your pet business can be wildly useful during the upcoming holidays, but if you get copies, you can also use it on your website and social media for months to come!

Bella and Susie discuss:

The importance of having a marketing and PR plan.

Creating interesting and useful event-based PR that then drive traffic and interest in your business.

How the “soft sell” approach works best when trying to get to exposure in mass media.

Some great ways to get yourself promoted on mass media.

Positioning yourself as an expert.

How great content drives traffic to your website.

You can find more information about Knife & Fork Media Group at KnifeAndForkMedia.com.

In this episode of “Bella In Your Business”, Bella spends time with Susie Timm,  President of Knife & Fork Media Group. Susie specializes in comprehensive public relations and marketing strategy in the gourmet food, restaurant and retail industries.

Gaining PR for your pet business can be wildly useful during the upcoming holidays, but if you get copies, you can also use it on your website and social media for months to come!

Bella and Susie discuss:

The importance of having a marketing and PR plan.

Creating interesting and useful event-based PR that then drive traffic and interest in your business.

How the “soft sell” approach works best when trying to get to exposure in mass media.

Some great ways to get yourself promoted on mass media.

Positioning yourself as an expert.

How great content drives traffic to your website.

You can find more information about Knife & Fork Media Group at KnifeAndForkMedia.com.

Subscribe To The Show:

Listen To The Show:

In this episode of “Bella In Your Business”, Bella talks with Darcy Graham,  creator of WOOFALONG.com. The site, which shows you the dog-friendly restaurants, stores, parks, trails and events in Colorado, was launched earlier this year and is already looking to expand.

Bella and Darcy discuss:

The frustration that was the impetus for the site.

How Darcy compiled the list of locations.

What types of publicity Darcy has managed to get for the site already and how she did it.

The engagements her site has gathered so far and how she has gotten it to grow.

Her extensive use of social media.

What she has planned for the upcoming version 2 of the site.

The plans for expansion to other cities.

The potential opportunities on WOOFALONG.COM for business owners.

You can find more information about WOOFALONG.COM at, where else, http://www.woofalong.com.

Subscribe To The Show:

Listen To The Show:

In this episode of "Bella In Your Business", Bella talks with Darcy Graham,  creator of WOOFALONG.com. The site, which shows you the dog-friendly restaurants, stores, parks, trails and events in Colorado, was launched earlier this year and is already looking to expand.

Bella and Darcy discuss:

The frustration that was the impetus for the site.

How Darcy compiled the list of locations.

What types of publicity Darcy has managed to get for the site already and how she did it.

The engagements her site has gathered so far and how she has gotten it to grow.

Her extensive use of social media.

What she has planned for the upcoming version 2 of the site.

The plans for expansion to other cities.

The potential opportunities on WOOFALONG.COM for business owners.

In this episode of “Bella In Your Business”, Bella talks with Katrina Kadyszewski, a former state auditor with the State of Connecticut.  

Katrina has over 16 years experience working in a variety of financial positions. She started in the brokerage industry with a Series 7, 63 and 65 and life and health license, and then transitioned to audit work for the CT Department of Revenue Services before leaving to support small businesses in their efforts to get organized for expansion.

Katrina spent 3 of her almost 8 years with the CT Dept. of Revenue Services in the Business & Employment Tax Audit Unit, focused primarily on payroll tax issues. The last 5 years she worked as a Corporation Tax auditor, traveling across the US auditing largely Fortune 500 companies.

Bella and Katrina first discuss a big controversy in the pet sitting industry which is misclassification of employees as either independent contractors or employees.  Katrina outlines some key indicators that auditors look for in making that determination:

Is there an actual contract between you and the contractor?

Are your payments to them regular in nature?

How much control do you have over them with regards to work hours, uniform, training, etc.?

Do they offer the same services to other companies through their own business?

Are you providing them all the tools, training and supplies they need?

Basically, consider how loose is the relationship?

They also discuss why they think business owners are so apprehensive about audits, what documents a business owner should have at their disposal if they are being audited, and whether business owners should take their lawyer and accountant to the  audit. Katrina also gives some insight into what triggers an audit.

Some resources they discuss are the IRS’s  20-factor test to help you determine employee or independent contractor, and amnesty programs that exist to help encourage to make the right switch.

Have you ever been audited? Want to hear about pet sitters who have been audited? I have interviewed a handful and reported about it all here.

Subscribe To The Show:

Listen To The Show:

In this episode of "Bella In Your Business", Bella talks with Katrina Kadyszewski.  Katrina has over 16 years experience working in a variety of financial positions. She started in the brokerage industry with a Series 7, 63 and 65 and life and health license, and then transitioned to audit work for the CT Department of Revenue Services before leaving to support small businesses in their efforts to get organized for expansion.

Katrina spent 3 of her almost 8 years with the CT Dept. of Revenue Services in the Business & Employment Tax Audit Unit, focused primarily on payroll tax issues. The last 5 years she worked as a Corporation Tax auditor, traveling across the US auditing largely Fortune 500 companies.

They first discuss a big controversy in the pet sitting industry, which is misclassification of employees as either independent contractors or employees.  Katrina outlines some key indicators that they would look for in making that determination:

Is there an actual contract between you and the contractor?

Are your payments to them regular in nature?

How much control do you have over them with regards to work hours, uniform, training, etc.?

Do they offer the same services to other companies through their own business?

Are you providing them all the tools, training and supplies they need?

Essentially how loose is the relationship.

They also discuss why they think business owners are so apprehensive about audits, what documents a business owner should have at their disposal if they are being audited, and whether business owners should take their lawyer and accountant to the  audit. Katrina alse gives some insight into what triggers an audit.

Some resources they discuss are the IRS’s  20-factor test to help you determine employee or independent contractor, and amnesty programs that exist to help encourage to make the right switch.