Happy Halloween - Your Treat Is Free Low Cost Marketing Tips

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Free Marketing Tips

Happy Halloween! I hope you get plenty of treats and there’s not too much trickery tonight.

My treat to you is to tell you about a great free ebook that Sharron Cherry - public relations pro - is giving away this weekend. Her book is “Low Cost, High Input Marketing Efforts that Work” and is aimed at businesses affected by the current economic slump.

In the pet business we are lucky to be pretty isolated from the current economic troubles. This week I have seen numerous new articles discussing the current buying trends of pet owners. Pet owners are still out spending on their furry family members, buying organic pet foods and toys and cutting back on themselves before they cut back on spending on their pets.

Pet Sitters International distributed a press release yesterday that announced that despite the slowdown the pet sitting industry is growing and pet sitters are taking plenty of new bookings for the upcoming holidays.

Even if pet business is not suffering, we can always use the low cost tips in Sharon’s ebook to boost business and get in touch with more customers. Pick up your free ebook with Shannon top 3 publicity tips at:

http://www.beheardsolutions.com/mytreat.htm

She is only offering this through this weekend and by Monday it will be gone. Make sure you pick up your treat today and have a great weekend.

Dogs Best Friend - Libby the Seeing Eye Cat

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A friend sent this to me today and it is just so sweet I had to share with everyone. Cashew sure is lucky to have Libby around.

I wish my cats would associate with my dog let alone them being best friends!

Seeing Eye Cat

Learn How Joseph Grew His Pet Business Urban Outsitters to 6000 Clients!

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Joseph Giannini has a thriving pet business - he is the largest independently owned pet service company in Chicago. His business has grown from a dog walking service, to now offering pet sitting, pet boarding, grooming, and a specialty pet bakery. He plans to add veterinary services to the mix soon as his goal is to own a business that can supply 100% of his customers pet needs.

I interviewed Joseph for my product “Secrets of Pet Business Success” earlier this year. This month I am releasing the audio and transcript of this interview to my Pet Business Success Circle members.

In the interview Joseph shares:

His biggest obstacle to growing his pet business
How he has marketed his business to attract 6000 clients
The most profitable segment of his business
Tips he would give to new pet sitters

The audio recording and transcript are available to you when you join the Pet Business Success Circle this month. When you join you will also get the recordings and transcripts for these other great calls:

How to Market Using Press Releases with Rachel Monroe the Pet Industry Copywriter
How to Find and Hire great Independent Contractors with Peggie Arvidson of Peggie’s Pets
The Most Effective Marketing Tools for Pet Businesses with Leslie May or Pawsible Marketing
How to use systems to create a 24-170 business that allows you to work a maximum of 24 hours per week with Sam Brown from Boarding as a Business

If all those great interviews are still not enough I am also giving a bonus to all members in October.

I am giving all members of the Success Circle a free 20 minute phone business consultation.

In this consultation we will discuss your plans for your business and I will give you suggestions about what you should be doing right now to reach your goals. To get your free consulation just join up now for the $7 trial of the Pet Business Success Circle right here. Hurry I only have 20 slots for new members available!

Danielle

10 Ways Pet Sitters Can Learn About Pet Health and Behavior

Filed Under Pet Business Tips, Pet Health | 2 Comments

As a pet sitter you are the caretaker of your clients pets and are responsible for their wellbeing. Clients expect you to be knowledgable about common pet health problems and behavior issues so that you can spot the early warning signs and take action before a condition becomes serious. The more knowledgable you are - the more you can become a valued resource for your clients.

There are many ways to build your knowledge. Here are my top 10:

1. Read industry publications including blogs, magazines, e-zines and books

2. Volunteer at local humane society or animal rescue organizations. They often need volunteers to help with dog walking, cat care, and administration of vaccinations and medication.

3. Join a pet lovers online forum and read posts that people make about their pets health problems. As you become more aware of problems and solutions you can start to offer suggestions and resources (don’t forget to include your website link in your signature)

4. Participate in a 4-H or a local dog club

5. Find a local trainer and/or veterinarian to be your mentor

6. Take local community education classes or online education

7. Create your own pet blog for your pet sitting clients – it will force you to stay current with pet industry trends and is a great marketing tool for your pet sitting business

8. Attend a Pet First Aid training course. Courses are held by your local Red Cross and by Pet Tech instructors - www.pettech.net

9. Interview pet health and behavior experts – use the information to create a handout for your customers (another great marketing tool)

10. Participate in local animal health awareness initiatives.For example, if there’s a fund raiser or even to raise money for a rescue organization participate. You’ll learn a lot and help the animal community at the same time

Here are some websites where you can do some research:

Pet Health Web Sites:

Information from the US National Library of Medicine - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/pethealth.html

Cat Chat UK registered cat rescue organization - http://www.catchat.org/health_care.html

Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine Library - http://www.lib.utk.edu/agvet/veterinary/pethealth.html

The Internet Animal Hosptial - http://www.thepetcenter.com/

American Animal Hospital Association: http://www.healthypet.com/

Washington State College of Veterinary Medicine - http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/ClientED/

Pet Behavior Web Sites:

SPCA Dog Behavior Library -
www.sfspca.org/behavior/dog_library/index_library.shtml

Humane Society Dog Behavior Tip Sheets -
www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/our_pets_for_life_program/dog_behavior_tip_sheets/

If you have other sites that you regularly visit for pet health and behavior tips please leave a comment and let us know about them

My Experience at the Brand Power 4 Day Intensive in Atlanta

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Yesterday I flew back from an invigorating 5 days in Atlanta where I attended Kim Castle’s and Vito Montone’s Brand Power 4 day Intensive. Wow - what a great seminar and it was fantastically energizing to meet some many entrepreneurs who care about making a difference with their business.

I went on this journey to find a new name (and create a powerful brand experience) for my pet sitting business. Last year, after using my current name “Claws Paws & Jaws” for 4 years I approached a trademark attorney and discovered that it cannot be trademarked as there is another business using the name “Claws and Paws”. This is why I recommend that before choosing a name you should make sure that it is unique and able to be trademarked if you choose to go that route. I have a passion to franchise or license my business in the next few years so that I can enable others to start their own pet sitting business and avoid all the pitfalls! So you can see why I need a trademarked name.

I went to the intensive having read Kim’s great free weekly ezine - Powerplay - but still didn’t really know what to expect. During 4 days Kim and Vito lead me through a process out of which emerged a new clarity and understanding of the heart of my business and an new excitement about creating something bigger.

I have a name chosen and this week I will be having a new logo designed. I have a new understanding about the correct colors and words to use as part of my logo to create a powerful customer first impression. I hope you’ll understand why I can’t tell you yet what it will be yet - but you will be the first to know once a trademark has been secured.

The greatest lesson that I learnt this past week that I want to share with you is :

Take the time this week to dedicate some time thinking about what you want your customers to say to others about your company. What lasting impressions do you want your customers to “walk away” with.

This is something I had not previously taken much time to consider - but how powerful it is to know what you are trying to create and get people to feel when they use your pet business! Once you are clear on what you want them to feel then you can create your business in a concious way to make sure that everything you do in your business conveys this intention.

I’m sure I will be sharing more with you about the seminar in the next few weeks!