1685 – Leadership With Ourselves with Jump Consulting’s Bella Vasta

0:28Hey there, thoughtful listener. million in revenue. Just head to upmyinfluence.com and watch my free class on how to create endless high-ticket sales appointments. You can even chat with me live and I'll see and reply to your messages. Also, don't forget, the thoughtful entrepreneur is always looking for guests. Go to upmyinfluence.com and click on podcast. We'd love to have you.

0:58with us right now it's keynote speaker author and consultant bella vasta bella you're also the uh ceo of jump consulting you're found on the web at jump consulting.net bella it's so great to have you hi thanks for having me josh how are you excellent excellent and also you are the longest standing pet sitting podcast on the planet is also one of your claims to fame. You've done a lot of media around the work that you do, but it's great to have you. You know, tell us more about your impact in the world and what you do, who you work with. Yeah. So I mean, like all of us, it's always been a journey, right?

1:42It started off with this funny little story where I was in college and my parents wanted to put a curfew on me, but I wanted to be out karaokeing. And so when someone offered to pay me to stay at their house, to sleep over with their dogs, I was like, I'll pay you. And so that's how my first company, Bella's house and pet sitting started way back in 2002. And since then it's now 2023 at the recording, um, we have grown leaps and bounds that company was sold. I started coaching. I started speaking. I started finding my real true passion in life. And there was a little couple of hiccups in there too, like having one of the world's smallest micro preemie babies in the world born at 12 ounces while running companies.

2:25So I know a little bit about, you know, life, real life, building businesses, and also inspiring and motivating other people to do the same. Wow. Wow. So do you, so today are you coaching and consulting or are you primarily speaking or tell me about your work? Yeah. So today I'm definitely speaking. I love speaking about leadership and also hiring because I think that's something that every business owner needs to know. I mean, like that's, that's the key to having a life balance, right? You can't do it all on your own as we know. But day to day it is, I have a marketing agency inside the pet industry and I also have a mastermind inside the pet industry.

3:06So I really learned really, I learned early on that that one-to-many model was something that was going to work for me and that I really loved. And I dived into that deeper. Yeah. Tell me about the pet industry. And, you know, obviously this is an area you know quite a bit about, and I would imagine it's evolved quite a bit because I know that there are platforms out there now that have kind of made this a little easier than back before when you started. You probably had to do a lot of things to just be known for what you do. Yeah. Like when I first started, you know, I was one of the first to get on camera and do live like Facebook lives, right?

3:45Like social media was like just emerging. The industry, they like to say started in like the early nineties or so. So when I started in the early two thousands, I was still educating people that there was still this option that you didn't just have to take your dog to a boarding facility. They could stay at home and people could come over and do visits or sleep overnight. So when I was in it, there was a lot of education and that's, I was one of the first bloggers. I started blogging like a, like a banshee, like it just wouldn't stop, but it really helped because it brought us, it brought us clients.

4:16People were Googling for pet sitters, you know, and that was really, really super duper big back then. I mean, it still is, but there's a lot of other ways now too. Um, but the industry itself has been, it's always grown. It's grown through the 2008 crash. It's grown through, it was shut down, but revamped right back up right after COVID with a whole new set of problems, like with jobs that are just really not wanting to be separated from their parents, you know, because they're home all day. So that separation anxiety and such, but also I think what's happened with the industry, there's two major shifts is that a lot of the industry started out independent contractors.

4:55And a lot of people are starting to realize and regulations are making it necessary that they have employees. So there went away like a lot of like overnight services because you have to pay people to sleep in most States. Um, and if not now it's coming down the pipeline. And, um, the other thing is that the, the overall operations and the companies, like I coach people that have 50, 60 employees. I mean, people are making millions of dollars in doing pet sitting and dog walking, you know? So it's, um, it's been a really great industry. It's really fun. It's, it's neat. And all of these people, most of these people start from like absolutely nothing ground up, right?

5:34They're just like, Oh, this is a fun gig. We're going to do it. Oh my gosh. It's grown so big. And I come in a lot of the times where it's kind of like that landscaping you have when you have to cut back a tree and you're like, Ooh, that looks terrible. You're like, no, no, no, no. It's going to grow back beautifully, you know? And it's that whole mindset shift and figuring out what your vision is and where you actually want to go, because that's going to drive all of your daily decisions. Right. And so it's just, it's really fun for me. I could be having the worst day and, or just be down and out or just like not really that motivated and get on a call with someone or do a training.

6:08And it just, it's, it's, it's, it makes me so happy. Yeah. You know? So talk about, cause I know that, you know, one area that, that you focus on today in more kind of business and leadership is attracting a great team. What are some of those kind of 10 polter, you know, 10 polar kind of pillar messages that, that if you were to give the Ted talk, I'm going to break this down into three simple and here. Yeah, we literally have three symbols. Okay, good. That was my guess. When it comes to leadership, I think that we all have to be conscious. You know, we're always looking out like, oh my gosh, why can't people just have common sense?

6:49Why can't people just do X, Y, Z? It's always kind of outward. And I don't think we look enough inwardly. So as CEOs of our own business, we need to really take accountability for that. And I think it starts first with leadership over ourselves. What are we allowing into our eye and our ear gates? What are we surrounding ourselves with? Are we watching the news every day? You know, like the local news, are we, are we, what music are we listening to? What books are we reading? Are you reading books? What kind of, when you're Netflixing and chilling, are you, I mean, yes, there is a time to Netflix and chill and just like completely turn off.

7:22Right. But like, there's so much good stuff on there too. What documentaries are you learning? Where are you learning and growing? So first it's over ourselves. Then the second stage of that, I think is over your interpersonal relationships. how are you showing up for people in your life you can't possibly think that everyone needs to show up and be there for you if you're not also there for it's a two-way street you have to be there for people that means putting down your phone that means that means hey what are you doing josh you know like let's get together let's get something on the calendar this month i haven't seen you for a while and i want to make sure that we stay in close contact you're important to me like what are you doing for that in your life i think it's easy as a business owner is that we kind of get overwhelmed and like we're drowning in all the things that we have to do.

8:07And so it gets to the point that those interpersonal relationships, like it's the summer right now, how many 4th of July invites did you get? Or did you, you know, like a lot of my people, when they come to me, they have no life. They don't have that support because they're always so busy that people just finally stopped asking them to show up for them. Right. And so then you're just like, you're, you're just that that's isolation. That's depression. That's, that's where the devil lives, you know? And it's like, no. And so, so first you've got your, your personal leadership, then you've got your interpersonal, then you've got your community, AKA business and all of that stuff.

8:43And I really feel like you got to start from inside first and get leadership over yourself because you can't have people follow you through the fire. If you're not a strong enough leader, you know, if, if, if they're not like, yes, I want to attach my wagon onto that. Yeah. And do you, for folks that are maybe frustrated that they're just not able to find great folks to join the team, what do you, what's your best advice for that? So what I find is that when people say things like there's no one out there to hire or no one wants to work, which is along the same lines, I believe. I think it's that they're not clear enough with their vision.

9:23And I think that hiring is a lot like dating. If I was, you know, of one faith and I went out on a date or something with someone who was not that faith. And that was really important to me. Then why am I even out on that date? You're setting yourself up for failure. So when I ask business owners, a lot of the time, like, what are the important things about your company culture? What kind of person are you looking for? And it's always like the seven whys or it's like deeper, deeper, deeper. Who is this person? Now let's actually create hiring ad that is like a love note to this person, to the point that when that person reads it, they can't help themselves, but then go like socially stalk you and learn everything about you because they feel that connection.

10:04So I think that when people are having trouble hiring or finding people, they need to get clear on what they're looking for and make sure that their entire process also attracts that. Our job market has done something really interesting after COVID. It's got people out of so many toxic relationships with their work. And the work now has had to be like, oh, your dog died today. Go take time off. Take care of the dog. Instead of you have one hour to put the dog down and get back to work. That's what it was like before COVID. What a concept. You have to show people that you care about them. And it is not their fault if you don't have that backup to replace them so they can go put the dog down.

10:47I mean, I'm using a really like extreme example, but I was actually having a conversation about exactly that with a lady the other day. And, um, it's just, you got to really figure out who you're looking for. You've got to source that. And, and, and you also have to remember that the job market and when people are looking what it's like, I call it the, so what factor, so what you're hiring, Why do I want to be with you? Is it just another boiled down, boring, you must, you must, you must, and you better, you better, you better, and like making them feel terrible about themselves? Or is it actually, it's a piece of marketing.

11:23Your hiring ad is a marketing piece. It is going to attract people and get them excited, just like you're looking for clients. So there's always, I think there's always room for improvement on that. That's so funny. It's almost like thinking about a sales funnel for your employees, but - It's the exact same thing. The way that you attract clients should be the way that you attract employees. And if anyone's watching this right now, what I say, I say this all the time is, so these are like two wheels, right? And so if you're always looking, how do I get employees? How do I get employees? And you take your mindset off of getting clients, what happens is the wheel goes around and you start spinning circles.

12:00Or if you're on the other side and you're looking for clients and you stop looking for employees, you get all these clients, but now you don't have any employees to help them. And so you start spinning in circles again. What you need to do is have that systematically solved so that they both go like this. And then what happens? You, both of the wheels are moving forward. So it probably makes more sense if you guys see what I'm doing with my hands, but, but like, it's, it's true. And those are like really the two major things that, that I think a lot of business or they take their focus away from it.

12:29And then the other thing falls and fails. And that the key is to get up systemized and solve them both at the same time. And the beauty of it is that it is the same exact principle on both sides. It's just for some reason, when we hire or we're doing the staffing or nurturing our employees or building company culture, it's the same thing as we do with our clients to make them happy and make sure they still want to do services with us or book with us. Yeah. Bella, one thing that you've been pretty consistent on is using platforms. Specifically, you've both radio and podcasts, but again, you've done lots of media as well.

13:10How has that level of content creation or engagement, how has that impacted your business? I think it helps give me a platform and establishes credibility. It also, if you're smart about it, allows you a lot of great repurposing and you stand as an authority on it when you're when you're leveraging that on a personal basis. I mean, our Instagram is always popping at Bella Vasta, um, and our Facebook and our Facebook groups. Um, and so I think all of that just helps get the message out more. I always say that the internet is my storefront, right? Like I don't have a physical store where people come in.

13:50This isn't a mall that is it. And if I'm not keeping that up, then I don't exist. Yeah. And so today, who would, who should be engaging with you? And how do you work with people today? And like, I don't know if anyone that's listening should be sending folks to you, or if I can send folks to you, who do you work? You work directly with folks, right? In coaching consulting side as well. I do. I do. So I love doing two things. Um, it, it's like the things that bring me the most joy because not everyone is in the pet industry, right? No, with a pet sitting or dog walking company. So business is business, right?

14:29The principles are the same. The mindset I believe is the same. It's just, you're selling different things. Um, I love, like I said, uh, doing the hiring thing. And I think that's a, that's a system that is very defunct in a lot of companies. And it is the one thing that keeps people from growing because they constantly have like personnel issues. Right. And so I love coming to them. I call them intensives. We do like an eight hour day. I come to them or they come to me. They come to me. I get them an Airbnb for two nights. If I go to them, they come to my Airbnb that I go to. And we just do those, like those big, like post-it notes all over the wall, those big things.

15:03And we just map everything out. We make the decisions. I force them to make the decisions. And we even have like a whole paperwork of these are the decisions we made. So we don't have to worry about it. This is the action plan afterwards, but we kind of go through all of it. And I'll tell you, Josh, I've never had an intensive where someone hasn't cried. And, and, and it's, but it's a good thing because like, they usually get to this breaking point because eight hours is a long time. We order lunch in and of course we have breaks and stuff, but it is like, it's the first time that anyone's actually ever sat and poured into someone's business.

15:36Cause they're usually putting out fires or dealing with tasks or projects. And they actually get to sit and think, what the heck do I want? And how can I, like, how can I, and I am like, how can I help facilitate a reverse engineer plan to get you there? You know? And they're like, well, I'm just doing this. I'm doing that. Yeah. You're doing this because you're on autopilot, but is it really working for you? What do you really want? And how can we manipulate that to, to do that? I want to make your business, um, your employee, you shouldn't be working for your business. Your business should be working for you.

16:08And I also believe that you should have a savings account. and you should have a work-life balance. And I believe that it's all possible. And I can say that as a now single mom of a special needs child who has built multiple businesses. And then, like I said, also, I mean, for quite a few years, we were in NICU for six months. I was running businesses off my systems and processes off of that. So the proof is in the pudding. Like if I can do it, anyone can do it. That's kind of what I think. And then I also, the last kind of little tidbit, I always say that I would love for your listeners to hear is that if something were to happen to you right now and you had to step out, something happened to you or someone you loved, would your business survive?

16:51Because if the answer is no, and I can't step out and you can give an SOP to someone and say, okay, this is what you need to do. Keep it running. Then you got to talk to somebody because the years that you have spent building that up is now gone. And that's, and that's a shame. That's a real shame. So we got to like, we got to protect our investment of time and money and relationships that you've made or lost or all of that blood, sweat and tears along the way. Yeah. All right. So Bella, your website is jumpconsulting.net. When somebody goes there, what would you recommend they do? First off, I got to tell you to our podcast listening friends here, go listen to your podcast.

17:36And the title of that is Bella in your business. So you just do a search there. You've had, oh my goodness, getting on 350 episodes. So a lot to go back and listen to. What's that? Every Thursday. And it's always business stuff. We use a lot of examples from the pet business. But like I said, you know, like business is business. So I actually just recorded a podcast before I met with you today. And it was all about systems and processes, you know, and, and the systems of your business and it could be applied to anybody. Yeah. So Bella, to, to your website, aside from the podcast, you go to jumpconsulting.net.

18:13What would you recommend aside from the podcast? What should people do? I know you've got some freebies here. Yeah. I mean, but the freebies are mostly if you're a pet sitter or a dog walker. So I think what would be best is if people just reached me out on Instagram and that's Bella Vasta, because that way there we can like, you could DM me, tell me that you heard here, ask me whatever you want to ask, or we could just be friends. I'm just, I love meeting people. And that's about it. If you wanted to do a 20 minute call, we could do jumpconsulting.net forward slash 20. And that's like a pick my brain kind of 20 minutes, like pick one thing you want to solve and we can work through it.

18:48But in general, I just, my goal in life is to inspire people to action. And if just by simply following my Instagram and it gives you excitement and pushes you or gives you the motivation that day, like that's, that's awesome too. Yeah. All right. Bella Vasta, again, keynote speaker, author, consultant, podcaster, media, queen of meat, queen of all media. And you, again, your website, jumpconsulting.net. Bella, it's been so great having you. Thanks, Josh.

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