Episode 394: Setting Boundaries in Pet Sitting Businesses

  Feeling overwhelmed by clients who disregard your pet care policies? Struggling to assert boundaries in you pet sitting business without risking client relationships? Tune in for a crucial episode tackling boundaries in pet sitting businesses. In this episode of Bella In Your Business, Bella unveils powerful strategies to regain control and respect in your business interactions. Learn how to confidently enforce policies on cancellations and last-minute changes, ensuring your time is valued and your business thrives. Discover practical tips to prevent burnout and maintain a healthy work-life balance. Whether you're a pet care veteran or just starting, this episode equips you with the tools to establish boundaries that command respect and elevate client satisfaction. Don't let issues with boundaries undermine your success—tune in now and transform the way you manage client expectations! Timestamps: [0:00] Introduction about boundaries and the context of a pet sitting business [5:40] Signs that boundaries are being blurred and the impact on business/personal life [7:37] Reframing mindset to see boundary issues as business matters, not personal [11:24] Sample response scripts for clients pushing boundaries [13:19] Tips for maintaining boundaries like training clients and consistency [19:09] Advice to a client who posted about schedule changes Notable Quotes: "Boundaries are like the framework of a house, they hold everything together and they keep it standing." "These small boundary breaches can add up leading to burnout and resentment, which ultimately affects the quality of the service you provide." "Boundary issues often are not personal attacks. They usually stem from unclear communication." "We teach people how to treat us. If you're answering the phone late at night or sending emails outside of office hours or bending the rules frequently, you're setting a precedent with clients." "Being motivated does nothing. It's like toilet paper that you throw down the toilet." Resources: Mastermind 20-minute consult Did you love this episode? Make sure you never miss an episode! Head over to Apple Podcasts or Spotify to subscribe to Bella In Your Business. Transcript: Welcome back to another episode of Bella in your business. Oh my gosh, you guys, we are so close to 400 episodes. Oh my goodness, more to come on that in a little bit. But I hope you guys are having a fabulous summer. Olivia and I just got back from Disneyland, we went out there for a couple days had so much fun. I'm sure you have seen my Instagram stories. I hope you guys are taking some time, or at least planning a little bit of time out during the vacation or during summer break, or just, you know, time to recharge, whether you have kids or whether you're single, or whatever it is that you're doing. I just hope that you're taking some time for yourself and scheduling, because I want to remind you that the majority of us have started our own company because we wanted time and financial freedom, and so in honor of that, I just wanted to remind you to take a little time for yourself. Okay, so along with that, in a very good segue is today I wanted to talk about boundaries. Oh yes, boundaries. And it was actually sprouted from a question that I saw happen online, and I was just really intrigued by it, because I read a lot of the stuff that you guys post, and then I think to myself, like, Well, why is that a problem? What is what is that? And so I'm just going to kind of read this to you. I'm going to keep it anonymous here, but this person says that she's been having several issues, some issues with several, several clients not respecting her policy. So the first thing that it tells me as if it's happening several times with different people, then the common denominator is you and I say that respectfully, okay, but I'm using this as an example, because I know that so many can relate to it. She says I need to take control of my business, and I want to do it without losing clientele, and because she can't afford to do it right. So she's a little bit fearful to assert her boundaries, because she doesn't want that risk of potentially losing people. So she asks everybody, can you share a link to your policies for your business, which, you know, it's a little like tricky, because most people copy from someone else, or they put in their own stuff. They don't have a lawyer look through it someone. If policies are done correctly, then they should be done according to you, right? And here's an example. When I was a solo sitter, my cancelation policy was two weeks for day visits, four weeks for overnights. If you cancel within that time frame, you are responsible for half the invoice. It was that simple. I was able to say it that succinctly, that like 15 years later, 20 years later, I'm able to still remember that I made it so specific and so clear. But then, when I got employees, I considered changing it, and I never did, because I said that my time is worth the same thing as their time. And so I basically, I was a lot of pet sitting like vacation clients, and I didn't want, I wanted our schedule to be set. I didn't want to deal with all that. And so if someone had a cancelation, we'll talk about this a little bit later. I had a script that I would say to them all right, back to the situation. So she says, you know, she wants everyone to share. What would happen if this was them? And then she goes on to an example about a steady client who usually schedules Tuesday and Thursdays twice a day, but they often cancel because their week schedule changes. And so her boundary is she requests a 24 hour notice at least to make the schedule changes. And then this week, they asked for the schedule changes of only one visit, and she said that she has a two hour arrival window. But then they started freaking out because they wanted to change her two hour window. And so it sounds like there's, like, a lot of different things going on there, and she's just really perplexed as to how could she keep the client happy, but also not feel my words taken advantage of, because I feel like she feels taken advantage of, and just kind of on call for these people. And so we're going to talk a lot about this today. I'm going to kind of go back to this example, but I just thought it was it really sparked my interest to talk to you guys about this today. And like I said, I feel like a lot of us struggle with boundaries. And so what are boundaries? Let's just start there. So the context of a pet sitting business, boundaries are the clear lines that you draw concerning your working hours, your policies on cancelations, how you expect to be treated by your clients, and these limits ensure that you're not overextending yourself and maintaining a professional relationship with your clients. For instance, you might set a boundary that you're only available for communication during certain hours, or you have a policy for last minute cancelations to ensure that your time is respected. Boundaries are like. The framework of a house, they hold everything together and they keep it standing. If you don't have that framework, then the house is going to crumble, and you might have felt that way before. But these boundaries are not just about setting limits for others. They're also about protecting our own well being and ensuring the sustainability of our business. Imagine you receive a late night text from a client expecting an immediate response left unchecked, these small boundary breaches can add up leading to burnout and resentment, which ultimately affects the quality of the service you provide. For example, if you were to actually respond to that client late night, then they're going to start realizing and feeling that they can now get you, reach you in the middle of the night, right? So boundaries provide a reliable structure for your business operations. They help establish clear expectations and prevent misunderstandings between you and your clients. You'll find that most clients will appreciate knowing your boundaries up front as it sets the stage for a respectful and professional relationship. So it's crucial to recognize when the boundaries are being blurred. And like, here's some signs that you can look for. Are you ready? So one clients are frequently contacting you outside of your stated office hours. And again, this is, like, it's really interesting, because if it's happening with a lot of people, you know, it's you. If it's happening with just like one or two people, you know it's them, and then number two clients are expecting immediate response, or three clients are making last minute schedule changes without considering your availability. So let's break them down further. If a client's texting you at 10pm there's a breakdown in your communication about acceptable hours of contact, and I would say, like texting, because texting is like, you kind of expect immediate response. If you were to email at 10 o'clock at night, then emails like, you know, aren't checked all the time. I think emails are more like, okay, get back to me when you can right. So similarly, if clients expect immediate response, it might indicate that you haven't clearly communicated your turnaround time, and if clients are repeatedly changing their schedules on short notice, it suggests they don't understand or respect the impact of your planning. And so these actions can lead to increased stress or burnout, lowering professional respect, disrupting your personal time. It's not just about inconvenience, it's about the larger impact of your overall quality of life and the sustainability of your business. Because again, getting back to what I said at the beginning, I know that many of you got into this business for more time and financial freedom. These actions can lead to increased burnout and stress,