EP 202 - How to Manage 60,000 Appointments in One Year with Joette White of Park Cities Pet Sitter

Handling Business

Have you ever asked yourself, “What if I could do 60,000 appointments in one year?” This exemplary business woman has accomplished just that. In this episode of Handling Business, we interview Joette White - award-winning business owner, board member, wife, mother, actress and active community member. She has owned Park Cities Pet Sitter since 2002 and has dedicated herself to creating the very best pet care business by investing in her employees happiness and well-being. Because of Joette’s exemplary business practices, her company was awarded NAPPS’ 2017 Business of the Year, a national award given to a pet sitting company that demonstrates outstanding business practices and vision in maintaining and growing their business. Park Cities Pet Sitter has also won many local-based awards, including Angie’s List Super Service Award for the last 5 consecutive years, “Best of Dallas” by D Magazine, and has been featured on WFAA Channel 8, Dallas Voice, and The Dallas Observer. In this episode we discuss how Joette bought her business over a decade ago and took it from a few pet sitters to 47 pet sitters who take care of thousands of clients. Joette shares how she continually adapts and makes changes to her business as it scales. She also talks about how she made the switch from independent contractors to employees and how this big shift might not cost as much as you think. Last year, Joette purchased her second pet sitting business to merge with her Park Cities Pet Sitter and stresses how important it is to do your due diligence when purchasing a business. There’s many factors you must consider such as, does their business model align with your own? Is the current business owner able to step away? How are the clients going to react to this switch and how do you mitigate the risks? The biggest takeaway from this episode is what makes Joette so successful. She believes that you get back what you give and that we are all connected and we are all human. It’s all about relationships with your clients and staff that are based on compassion, healthy boundaries, empathy, loyalty and trust. Many people in the pet industry think that they only need to be good with pets, but they must be equally great with people too or be able to bring on a business partner who is. Joette also insisted that success is not only all about your client’s happiness, it’s actually all about your team’s happiness. Your clients will be happy if your team is. Joette contributes her success to her outstanding team and their dedication to providing her clients with exemplary, high quality service.