Episode 365: What It Takes To Hire 50+ Employees In Your Pet Business with Tiffany Lewis

Hey Jumpers! In the business world, few things are as simultaneously crucial and daunting as hiring new talent. If you've ever been in a position where you had to recruit and onboard new employees, you're likely familiar with the mixed emotions of this responsibility. The mere thought of hiring new talent can send shivers down the spine of even the most experienced business owners. But, here's the twist. What if we told you that hiring might not be the colossal, nerve-wracking endeavor it's often made out to be? In this episode of "Bella in Your Business: Pet Industry Business Podcast," I am thrilled to welcome back  Tiffany Lewis. She is the amazing owner of Pet and Home Care.  Today, we dive into Tiffany’s incredible journey, starting from being a dog walker to running a business with over 50 employees. It's truly inspiring to see her build her empire and find success in hiring new talent. Tiffany opened up about the challenges she faced when transitioning from independent contractors to having a full-fledged team of employees. She also highlights the significance of having a formalized hiring process and how it has made a huge difference in her business. Oh, and let's remember the perks she offers her employees - they're a game-changer. If you're a pet business owner or aspiring entrepreneur, this episode is a goldmine of valuable insights on hiring new talent. Tiffany's journey and her tips on managing a team effectively are definitely worth listening to. Trust me, you don't want to miss out on this one! Topics & Key Points: Challenges faced in hiring and transitioning from independent contractors to employees Importance of having a formalized hiring process and employee benefits Tiffanie's experience of initially hiring friends and the challenges of mixing business and friendship Transitioning from independent contractors to employees and its benefits Tiffany’s  more formalized hiring process Building a strong company culture and its effects on the business Importance of creating a healthy workplace and being a supportive boss Ways Tiffany takes care of her team, such as structured onboarding and providing benefits The belief that it's not just about the money, but also about taking care of employees. Timestamps: [00:09] Tiffany’s  journey from dog walker to building a team [03:05] Transitioning from independent contractors to employees [05:33] Formalizing the hiring process and employee benefits [10:12] Tiffanie's transition from a reactionary approach to hiring to building a conscious culture. [11:10] The importance of treating employees well [13:53] Tips for starting a pet care business Notable Quotes: [05:32] “Switching to employees was a huge benefit because now I have more protection and my employees have more protection, which also makes them more loyal.” [08:54] “In the beginning, I was just kind of hacking it together, finding people that met my requirements, doing some vetting. And then we would, you know, train them. So the big difference between now and then is our training and onboarding process is much longer now, but it's good because we're doing much more vetting.” [13:52] “Don't waste time in the paper world, get digital as quickly as you can. Switch to digital right away. Don't waste your time setting up paper calendars.” [15:48] ”We're trying to create a work environment. It's an independent company type of job. So trying to create a work environment. So we've had a few offices over the years. We've tried, but then for a long time, we went officeless. But then when the pandemic happened, that was a big eye-opener. I need my team to work together. I want them to feel like they're a team” Resources: Podcast: Bella in Your Business: Pet Industry Business Podcast Join Mastermind Email Bella: bella@jumpconsulting.net Sign up for a 20 mins call  Better Marketing with Bella Tiffany's previous appearance  on the show 10KSB Apply Connect with Tiffany LinkedIn Website Connect with Bella Website Facebook YouTube Did you love this episode? If you liked this episode, please head on over to iTunes and leave a five-star rating and review. Every single review helps get this community bigger, stronger, and better. It gets other jumpers just like you into the community. Always remember when life gets down, always keep jumping. Transcript: Welcome to another episode of Bella in Your Business. My name is Bella Vasta. And today we have a special guest for you. I want you to meet Tiffany Lewis. If you do not know her already, she is from pet and home care, and she started walking dogs in the Potomac neighborhood when she was just a junior in high school. With the combination of hustle and word of mouth, her little side gig after school turned into a full-time job. But she doesn't need to her client list had grown to a point that Tiffany had to hire her first team member and today, pet in-home care employs more than 50 pet sitters resort attendants, and office staff spread out all across Maryland's Montgomery County, and Frederick County. She's also joined us here in Arizona for the jump into paradise pre-COVID. And also how to sit in better marketing with Bella. We also love watching her grow, grow, grow, and also be a part of pet care team training. And she was the first person I thought of when I wanted to bring you guys some inspiration about this hiring thing. We all pretty much hate hiring until you figure it out. And then it's not as big of a deal. And so with Tiffany having so many employees and having such a long time in our industry, I knew she'd be the perfect person to talk to us today. So without further ado, Stephanie, welcome to the show. Thank you so much for having me back on. I appreciate it. Absolutely. So why don't you fill in the gaps a little bit for our listeners? I kind of told them how it started. But tell us a little bit more about how it got started and how you realize that you know you couldn't do it on your own, you need to start building a team. Sure. Well, it was the late 90s when professional pet care wasn't a thing yet. And I kind of fell into some a dog walking gig. And that led me to overnight sitting. They didn't want to take overnight sitting on as a service. They thought it was too much liability. And they handled all those plants to me. So here I am 1617 years old, sleeping house to house caring for all these different animals. I loved it, I got to hang out in nice houses and get paid to sleep basically. And that's really what started the business wow, there's a huge demand for not only overnight care but pet sitting and dog walking in my hometown of Potomac, Maryland. So while I was in college, I was you know, hustling on the side doing the pet care. And then it got to the point where I dropped out of college, I did not graduate. I was so busy. And I just came to realize that this is what's important. And I'll go back to school. Well, I never did. I just started hiring. Yeah. When you started hiring, did you immediately go to employees? Was it ICs? How did you know who to hire? Like, were you scared? Like what was? Do you remember what that initial hiring was? Like? Absolutely. So at first, I would not think it took me to forget which year it was you might be right about 2002 when I was working on Easter because, of course, I worked every day. And I had 30 visits that Easter. Oh, my word. This is not possible. I can't see my clients, so I better start getting some help. So quickly, I realized that yes, I need help. And I started with my friends, which you know, is great in a way because I knew I could trust them. But also, as you probably all know, when you mix business and pleasure, it usually does not end up well. So I had some friendship struggles because people don't like being told what to do, especially when they're your friend. So we moved past that I started hiring friends friends and their relatives got some distance. And yeah, we started as independent contractors. My CPA back then was like, yeah, it's a gray area, you know, it's fine. And I believed him. And so 567 years, I only hired independent contractors. And then it all happened one day when the hammer came down, an independent contractor that quit, because her car broke down. She couldn't work and filed for unemployment. Well, the flag was raised. You're not an employee, but we think you should have been an employee. So after a very long, expensive investigation and lots of fines, I switched CPAs and found a guy who knew what he was talking about and then moved everyone to employees. I thought that was the end for me. I'm like, I can't afford this. This is so difficult. People don't want their taxes taken out. No, I was wrong. We did pull it off. We could afford it and people love being employee You don't want to have to worry about their taxes at the end of the year. So it turned out that switching to employees was a huge benefit. Because now, you know, I have more protection, and my employees have more protection, which also makes them more loyal. So, in addition to having employees, we have a whole slew of employee benefits. And so that is helping keep the team and grow the team, we really can retain and recruit top-level talent because of our benefits and you know, employee status. I think that's amazing. I'm, I'm gonna go off script here with you because all of that was just really great. And I know, you know, people are hidden in fear a lot, right? Like either they throw away they throw around the word audit, or people are knowingly operating with ICS not sleeping at night, wondering like, what's going to happen? And here's proof right here. You guys like this isn't a mythical creature. This is an actual person on my podcast right now, who has also been audited and realized that they needed to switch and I think something you said important, Tiffany,