What's a good way to have your dog walkers and pet sitters learn something? Have them teach you...

I've found a simple but powerful way to make what I teach my potential dog walkers and pets sitters more organic to them. I'll teach my potential dog walkers and pet sitters a skill for 2 days and then on the 3rd day I ask them to teach me the skill. And I ask them to teach me the skill as if I was the trainee and I was learning it for the first time. You'd be surprised how hard it is at first for the trainees to do this but you might also be surprised how much more they understand the information after teaching you.

UPDATE TO POST: One of my walkers who helps me train my employees pointed out one of the great benefits of this method. When you have a walker or pet sitter train you they can't yes you. They can't sit there and just say, "right, right, right" meanwhile they have no clue what you're saying and wont stop you to address what they don't know. Having a walker teach you the skills gives them no place to hide but it's also one of the best ways to make the information organic to them, I've found.

How Will Insurance Reform Effect Your Pet Service?

"For small businesses, the effects of the now-passed health reform law include:

* By no later than 2014, states will have to set up Small Business Health Options Programs, or "SHOP Exchanges," where small businesses will be able to pool together to buy insurance. ("Small businesses" are defined as those with no more than 100 employees, though states have the option of limiting pools to companies with 50 or fewer employees through 2016; companies that grow beyond the size limit will also be grandfathered in.)

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the exchanges would ease small business insurance costs, albeit only marginally: premiums in the small-group market are forecast to fall between 1% and 4% under the exchanges, while the amount of coverage would rise by up to 3%.

* For the next four years, until the SHOP Exchanges are set up, businesses with 10 or fewer full-time-equivalent employees earning less than $25,000 a year on average will be eligible for a tax credit of 35% of health insurance costs. (Companies with between 11 and 25 workers and an average wage of up to $50,000 are eligible for partial credits.)

The tax credit will remain in place, increasing to 50% of costs, for the first two years a company buys insurance through its state exchange. The Congressional Budget Office predicts that the tax credit will affect about 12% of individuals covered via the small-group insurance market, lowering their cost of insurance by between 8% and 11%.

* Insurers will no longer be able to set rates or exclude coverage based on pre-existing conditions, and can vary premiums only by geographic location, age, and tobacco use.

These restrictions, however, would not kick in until 2014. Going into effect immediately: a ban on lifetime limits on coverage, and on "rescission" (canceling policies already issued) except in cases of fraud.

* Starting in 2014, businesses with more than 50 employees will be required to either offer healthcare coverage or pay a penalty of $750 a year per full-time worker. The coverage offered will also have to meet minimum benefits -- covering both a specific set of services and 60% of employee health costs overall -- or else employers will face additional penalties.

* So-called "Cadillac" plans costing more than $10,200 a year for individuals or $27,500 for family coverage (not counting dental and vision plans) will be subject to a 40% tax on the portion of the cost that exceeds the limit. Though the tax would actually be paid by insurers, it's expected that it would be passed along to plan holders in the form of higher premiums.

Furthermore, if the House amendments approved Sunday pass the Senate intact under the reconciliation process, some other small business provisions will change:

* Part-time employees would be counted toward the 50-employee minimum on pro-rated basis based on hours worked, bringing more small businesses into the group required to provide coverage.

* The $750-per-employee penalty for not providing insurance would rise to $2,000."

- information from CNN Article

What's more important? The number of visitors to your pet service website? Or the number of clients you get from your website?

I don't feel I've taken full advantage of Google's free Analytics program until just recently and we all should! When you stop to think of it, what's the point in getting hundreds or thousands of people to our websites if they aren't becoming customers? Google Analytics can help you better understand what the visitors to your website are actually doing once they visit you website. It's imperative to understand our visitors behaviors once on our websites to have a better chance of turning them into a client. There might be certain things on your website that your visitors really seem to like. Or on the flip side there might be things that distract your clients and get them to leave your site without becoming a potential client. Start using and studying your Google Analytics information if you don't already. I've found the "site overlay" option to be especially helpful in understanding what links my clients click on each page and how often.

Five misconceptions about working in the pet service industry:

The following is a list of "five misconceptions about working in the pet service industry"
http://ping.fm/phFNb

Pet Industry Continues to Defy the Recession:

The following article details how the pet industry continues to defy the recession: read article

Woking With Dogs on Warm and Cold Days:

An excerpt from "The Dog Walker & Pet Sitter Bible"

The temperature on a given day might cause you to do the following as a dog walker or pet sitter:

o   Cold inside: If it’s too cold inside the apartments you might want to call the owners and ask them if you can turn up the heat. If a dog comes home wet it’s especially important to dry them off on a cold day.

o   Cold outside: When it’s very cold outside, snowing, cold rain, etc. you might want to recommend a jacket for the dog if the owners don’t already own one. In large cities they use a very abrasive salt to melt the snow on sidewalks. Once the snow melts it becomes absolutely brutal on a dogs’ paws. You will routinely find a dog raising its paws on a bad salt day and at a certain point it becomes impossible for them to walk. There is a product called “Mushers’ Wax” that can protect their paws from salt for the better part of the walk. You can also use traditional booties to protect their paws. Make sure to dry them off well with a towel when you get home.

o   Warm inside: When it’s too warm in the homes I’d ask the owners if it’s okay to lower the temperature. You need to be especially careful with dogs like Bull Dogs, Pugs, Boston Terriers, etc. who have breathing problems. It can be a very serious problem if breeds such as this overheat. You also want to make sure dogs don’t overheat.

o   Warm outside: On a brutally warm or humid day you need to be very careful with dogs outside. You need to make sure they are hydrated and are not in direct contact with the sun too much. You also need to be aware of how warm the surface you’re walking is that day. How do you check? Simply put your hand on the ground. If you can’t keep your hand flat on the ground more than a few moments then it will also be hard for your dogs to put their paws on that surface. Again you need to be especially careful with Bull Dogs, Pugs, Boston Terriers, etc. who have breathing problems. You want to make sure your dogs are not overly exerting themselves. If a dog’s tongue ever starts to turn purple you might have a major problem and should seek out medical attention. 


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Creat Google Calendar Events to your Cellphone Straight From Gmail:

Did you know you can create Google Calendar events straight from an email in Gmail? Can be very helpful! The amazing thing is that these events go straight into your cell phone's own calendar when you receive them. Check it out: http://tiny.cc/bplbe

The Traits of a Good Dog Walker:

An excerpt from "The Dog Walker & Pet Sitter Bible"


Engaged with their dogs: A good dog walker makes eye contact with their dogs and speaks to their dogs periodically through the walk. They speak to a dog in a high pitch voice. Dogs find a high-pitched voice to be welcoming.

Avoids danger ahead of time: A good dog walker doesn’t continue to walk into danger areas over and over again without noticing. They direct most of their attention to what is in front of the dogs. A good dog walker sees a problem way ahead of time and avoids it with plenty of space to spare.

Carries backup equipment: You never know if you’ll need a backup leash, collar, etc. and you should carry extra equipment with you at all times.

Walks dogs on the left side of their body: Nothing looks more professional than a dog walking short and on the left side of your body.

Not on their cell phone through the walks: Have you ever seen someone walking a dog while talking on their cell phones? If so they were probably not engaged with the dogs they were walking. A dog walker can not give a dog their full attention while yapping on the phone all day.

Not dragging or yanking dogs: You should never drag a dog down the street. It looks terrible, it’s mean and there are many other solutions to get a dog to walk.

Wears a cell phone earpiece: Of course you’ll need to take some phone calls during your walks but they should be short, you should stop walking the dog while you speak and/or you should use a wired earpiece. Using a wired earpiece allows you to still use both of your hands while you walk the dogs and on a side note I don’t think wireless/Bluetooth earpieces are safe to use (based on the radiation they emit).

Notices the problems their dogs are having: A good dog walker should notice if a dog is limping, has a loose stool, throws up and/or has low energy, among other things.

Carries waste bags: It might sound silly but it looks pretty unprofessional to see someone searching for a way to pickup a dog’s stool. It looks even more unprofessional to see a dog walker not pickup a dog’s stool at all (and in some areas it’s against the law not to pickup after a dog).

Can use and recommend the most proper equipment: A good dog walker should know how to use all the main equipments made for dogs. They should also be able to recommend equipment to a client if they think it will improve the experience of walking the dog.

Educated on the basics of house training, leash training and puppy training: A good dog walker ideally knows more about dog training and psychology than their clients do.

Doesn’t force their views on their clients: Some clients will want you to decide everything for them while others will not want any advice on how to care for their dogs. Make sure that you don’t become too pushy with clients when it comes to advice on their pets.

Leaves polite and upbeat messages for their clients: A good dog walker should be polite and upbeat in their messages even on day they are not in a good mood. Be extra careful not to write your messages in a way that could be misunderstood. What client wants to come home to read a message that sounds passive, aggressive, blunt or bossy? Speak clearly, positively, with optimism and use lots of smiley faces and in your messages!

Doesn’t walk more then 3-4 dogs at a time: Personally I prefer individual dog walks, or 2 dogs walked at a time only but I do feel you can have a positive walk with 3-4 dogs at a time. Walking anything more than 3-4 dogs at a time looks unprofessional and can be chaotic and dangerous.

Sit stays: At certain times you will need to be able to control the dog you are walking. A good dog walker can put a dog in a sit stay at will because they have practiced putting the dogs into a sit stay (explained later).

Give their dogs lots of love: I’m amazed how I see some dog walkers never give love to the dogs they walk. Make a point of rubbing your dog’s chests periodically through your walks.

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You might not think you're ready to start your own pet service but you are...

An excerpt from "The Dog Walker & Pet Sitter Bible"

Experience required:

I don’t know where in life you are as you read this book, but back before I started my pet service I had no clue what job was right for me. When I looked at want ads in newspapers it was like they were written in Chinese. The skills I had learned so far in life didn’t seem to apply to a specific trade and there didn’t seem to be a job for me. How many times have we seen the words “experience required” written in a want ad for a job? And it prompts the age-old question: how do you ever get experience if no one will hire you without experience? Well, if there were a want ad describing the pet service you are about to create, you’d also see “experience needed” written. But you know what? No matter who you are, you have the experience needed to create a pet service. In fact you’re likely much more prepared to create this pet service than you realize.

Maybe you feel the same way in your life right now that I did when I started Downtown Pets? Maybe you’re coming from a job that involved you monotonously doing the same process over and over and over again? Or maybe you’re coming from a job where you were an assistant to someone? Or waited on people? Maybe you’re coming from a job you felt held you back and didn’t allow you to completely realize your true talents? When you work jobs you are not passionate about it can hurt your spirit. But without even realizing it you have been collecting and honing skills from all these jobs, good and bad. For some, like myself, it took creating a business of my own to finally tap into these skills I’d developed.

Past work experiences:

I did something very helpful early on in my business. I sat down and created a list of all my past jobs and my past bosses. I wrote down a list of all the positive and negative things I’d learned from these jobs and it turned out to be very educational for me. I was surprised to discover I’d probably learned more from my bad bosses than my good ones. I’m sure you’ve heard people talk about how valuable failures and mistakes are because they allow you to learn from them, to grow and to improve yourself. It might sound cliché until you start running your own business. The good and bad experiences of your past jobs are so real to you and they can positively be applied to your pet service. No matter your work or life experiences, you already have a rich history of experience to pull from.

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Good vs. Bad Pet Service Clients:

An excerpt from "The Dog Walker & Pet Sitter Bible"


Good Clients vs. Bad Clients:

A good client is one who values the services you offer and cares about their pet. A good client might be difficult but fair and particular but rational. A good client will accept your apology for a mistake, but many will expect it not to happen again.

A bad client is one who does not value your services and tries to push you away from your business plan. A bad client does not show any interest in your policies, even after you politely remind them on a few occasions. A bad client is irrational, doesn’t care about the welfare of his or her pet, consistently does not pay on time and is condescending.

Friends of mine always want to know about the famous clients we’ve had. I tell them my famous clients are the ones whose credit cards go through every week. What this means is that we don’t care about someone’s popularity. The clients we cater to the most are the ones who are diligent and keep up with payments and with their dogs.

Should you work with bad clients who happen to be big money clients? You need to decide what type of pain you can shoulder. We all have our own pet peeves—some can’t stand clients who don’t pay attention to the company’s policies, others can’t stand overly neurotic clients. I personally ended service with a client whose lifestyle completely contradicted my animal welfare beliefs. The point is not to be afraid to rid yourself of problem clients (and walkers) who can warp your perception of all the other great clients you have.

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How to Dog Walking and Pet Sitting Videos:

Check out our "how to videos" - (click here)