We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Angela Ramirez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Angela below.
Hi Angela, thank you for joining us today and sharing your experiences and acquired wisdom with us. Burnout is a huge topic these days and so we’d love to kick things off by discussing your thoughts on overcoming or avoiding burnout
I avoid burnout by scheduling breaks or planning vacations whether it’s a quick weekend getaway or a week long break. It’s very common in my industry to get burnt out. There are a lot of pet sitters in my network who find themselves constantly working all day for several days with little breaks in between and they talk about how little time they have for themselves or for other important people in their lives. I make it a habit to schedule myself where I know I’ll have a break in between jobs or make sure not to take on more than I can in a day. I want to be in the best mood when I show up for a job so that may take saying no to a client if that means the next client and their pet gets the best version of me that day. It can be hard to set these rules for myself because I don’t want to disappoint someone but I know that I am just taking care of myself to continue to do my job for the long run.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
My name is Angela and I have been working as a professional pet sitter for three years now. I first started my business in June 2020, right when covid started. It was definitely a scary feeling of putting myself out there and labeling myself “professional” of something. At the time I didn’t think I was capable of starting my own business and I definitely cared about what people were going to think of me, I am naturally an introverted person. But with each new business milestone and every year I grew older (and wiser!), I was gaining more and more confidence in what I do and who I am.
Whenever I tell someone what I do, they are always so intrigued. Most people always ask the same questions, “So you like stay at other peoples houses and live there?”, “Isn’t it weird?”, “Don’t you get scared?”. Now the last one always makes me laugh because I am so used to doing this that when I take a step back and look at it from an outsiders perspective I’m like hmmm that is kind of weird huh? I should probably be scared, haha. But I started doing this back in college through the website Rover, and back then it was a less formal experience. Since my days on Rover I’ve definitely learned a lot about being a professional sitter.
Most recently I had the opportunity to travel to Florida and pet sit for one of my best friend’s parents. I got to spend a week of doing nothing but hanging out with a cute pup and a cat who I’ve known since he was a kitten, it was pretty awesome. Animal care has always been a passion of mine and I’ve always known that I’ve wanted a job working and caring for them. The most special part of my job is knowing that my clients trust that their pets are always in good hands with me. For me it is a special responsibility to have.
After celebrating three years in business this past June, I plan to go for as many more years that I can do. But I am also interested in dabbling in the e-commerce world, something pet related of course, so be on the lookout! 🙂
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I think consistency, confidence, and knowing your clients are important to have when starting and maintaining a business. When I first started this business three years ago I had to figure out how to implement all of my systems and operations of how I would run my business. The job itself, caring for a pet would be easy for me to do. But learning how I would be onboarding new clients, what to go over in meet and greets, and how to handle payments was something that would be new to me. I think the first meet and greets I had with my first new clients went differently each time. Sometimes it will take just showing up doing the action to learn and it was when I was talking through my procedures did it become natural to me and then each meeting just became easier and easier. I also learned that my clients just needed reassurance that their pets would be loved for while they were away. When I showed up confident in what I was talking about and went through my procedures I could tell that they felt better about leaving their pets in my care.
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
I recently read, “You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life” by Jen Sincero in the book she talks about how to identify and change the self-sabotaging beliefs you have about yourself. It really resonated with me because as entrepreneurs we can get caught up in what other people will think of us or judge what we do. The fear of failure and what other people will say can be what stops us from even trying new things. My main takeaway from this book is to just go for it! If you don’t even start then your dreams or goals will never happen. You can think about wanting something a lot but you actually have to take the steps to bring in what you desire. Here are a couple of quotes that stuck out to me.
“Nobody who ever accomplished anything big or new or worth raising a celebratory fist in the air did it from their comfort zone.”
“It’s about being proactive about creating a life you love instead of meekly living the one you think you’re stuck with. Give yourself the gift of a joyous life while you’re still among the living.”
“Watching someone else totally go for it can be incredibly upsetting to the person who’s spent a lifetime building a case for why they themselves can’t”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.angelaspetsittingkc.com
- Instagram: @APSKansascity
- Facebook: @APSKansascity
