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by Valynne | Oct 27, 2011 | Caretaking / House and Pet Sitting, Chickens, Friends of Caretaking Couple |
Breakfast Courtesy of Rosie and Toops
Hi All! Paul is back from his cross country road trip to retrieve what is left of our belongings in the Cape Cod storage unit. Quite the drive, and of course I wanted to go, but the chickens needed me more than I needed to be traipsing across country again.
We are almost moved in to our new digs. I will post pics asap as this is all very exciting (our first real place of our own, even if it is a rental) and I do believe it is looking more and more adorable each day. We still have our CO cell phone numbers, but I am hoping to phase mine out soon. Our new Caretaking Couple phone number is (503) 208-3587.
Gotta go ~ it is Last Thursday here on Alberta Street and Rachel and I are ready to wander!
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by Valynne | Oct 11, 2011 | Caretaking / House and Pet Sitting, CC Contests!, Dog Walking, Heath and Wellness |
I (Valynne) will be handing out these sweet flyers and displaying them at local businesses here in Northeast Portland over the weekend and can’t wait to see what the response is like. BIG THANKS to Maxwell at No Limits PDX for a less than one day turn-around (!) and I really appreciate that this locally owned business charges LESS than the box stores, as well.
Also, I am going to do my best to track the response to this old-school flyer in comparison to the response I am getting via social media. Because we are newcomers to Portland, I think actually getting the word out in the community will be more effective than my various social media campaigns at this point. What do you think? Got tips? If so, we would love to hear them…
PS Time for another prize drawing. Leave a comment on ANY blog post here at Caretaking Couple and automatically enter to win a week’s worth of Shakeology, starting NOW and ending this Friday (10/14/11). I will send the prize out on Saturday.
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by Valynne | Oct 9, 2011 | Caretaking / House and Pet Sitting, Chickens, Simple Living |
Rosie Gives Paul a Tour of the Back Yard
All of our Caretaking Couple facebook friends know that we have added chickens to our sitting repertoire, but I don’t think it has been mentioned here on the blog. Many a Portlander has a chicken coop out back. Not only are chickens entertaining (no, really ~ these chickens crack us up), but they lay eggs. I know! Bonus. And look how pretty the eggs are…
Breakfast, Compliments of Toops and Rosie
We can pick up whatever we need for the chickens at the nearby Urban Farm Store, and the owners have even written a book on chicken keeping. I love visiting the chicks whenever we go to pick up feed, etc. for the girls – they are seriously adorable.
Coop, Sweet Coop for Rosie and Toops
We are going to miss these girls when we move in to our new digs. Luckily, they will only be a few blocks away. Thank you, Toops and Rosie, for months of laughs and yummy breakfasts.
P.S. If you decide you want to raise chickens, be sure to find out what the regulations are in your neighborhood (some hoods don’t allow roosters, some have a limit on how many chickens you can keep, etc. etc.).
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by Valynne | Oct 7, 2011 | Caretaking / House and Pet Sitting, Heath and Wellness, Writers and Readers |
Six-Figure Pet Sitting by Kristin Morrison
I recently purchased a copy of Six-Figure Pet Sitting by Kristin Morrison. It took me a week or two to actually take the time to sit down and read it, but once I picked it up, I could not put it down.
In Chapter 5, Kristin discusses the concept of Inner Value, or the lack thereof. Although this book specifically covers pet sitting, what she has to say about inner value is pretty universal and worth pondering, whatever your occupation.
The following is an except from Six-Figure Pet Sitting:
“Do You Lack Inner Value?
A symptom of the lack of inner value is often under-earning. This lack of inner value can be made to look productive through marketing and activities to increase your business, but often there is little or no follow through to ‘close the deal’. Remember the sabotaging techniques you previously wrote about? A lack of inner value can also sabotage all of your efforts and often will feel as though you, once again, have your foot on the gas and the brake at the same time.
Having a lack of inner value that sabotages your business and financial success is often expressed through:
- Not raising client rates for two or more years.
- Being afraid to say no to a client request.
- Working too hard and not having a lot to show for it.
- Not holding clients to terms outlined in the contract.
- Not having clients sign a contract.
- Giving discounts without clients asking for them.
- Not keeping orderly and accurate business records.
- Being afraid to hire people and/or saying no to new business.
- Returning client calls too late: 24-48 hours later.
- Marketing a lot but feeling too tired to call new clients back.
- Not spending enough time doing revenue-producing activities.
List all the ways you notice that YOU lack inner value and sabotage your business and profit…”
She then goes on to have you list positive actions you can take to stop sabotaging yourself and provides a series of “action steps” that seriously encourages follow-through.
If you are a house and pet sitter, or are considering becoming one, please buy this book. This is just one of the excerpts that resounded with me. Thank you, Kristin ~ I SO needed to read this guide right before launching Phase II of Caretaking Couple! Here’s to Inner Value,
Valynne
PS You can find even more tools and resources (including business coaching, teleclasses, forms and a blog) at Six-Figure Pet Sitting Academy.
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by Valynne | Oct 4, 2011 | Caretaking / House and Pet Sitting, Dog Walking |
Rusty Rests After a Sunday Morning Social at Laurelhurst Park
Paul and I get a lot of questions regarding the future of Caretaking Couple now that we have decided to call Portland, OR home. There is no doubt in my mind we will continue to house and pet sit here in the US and eventually beyond…we will just be doing it with a “home-base” from now on.
This will allow us to only take the sits that we really want to take. It will allow us stay put when we feel like nesting, and to hit the road when the wanderlust returns. AND it will allow me to take on more clients. That is right, I will be dedicating the hours of 11am – 3pm each weekday to walking local dogs. And I can’t wait to get started.
This is our first official announcement…stay tuned for more details on a separate page I am adding to this blog in the next week or so. My goal is to fill these hours walking dogs right here in the Alberta District. I am meeting with other walkers in the area and brainstorming ideas regarding cross-promotion, covering for each other while on vacation, and other important stuff.
Please let me know if you have any comments/questions/suggestions for us while I work on revamping our business model. It doesn’t matter if you are a homeowner, a sitter, an aspiring sitter, or simply a supportive friend ~ we always appreciate hearing from you.
