Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Ballard.
Hi Katie, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always been a pet-lover, but my career path didn’t initially take me down that route. After graduating from Grand Valley State University in Michigan with my BS in Psychology and M.Ed in School Counseling, I moved to Florida to begin my career as a School Counselor. For many years I very active in the triathlon community, competing in several half and full Ironman triathlons. This led to several injuries, including hip surgery. I had to seriously rethink if my body could handle that level of activity anymore.
One day after hip surgery my mom said to me, “You should go on a walk. A short walk. Like what normal people do.” I told her that that was boring and that I only would go for a “walk” if I had a dog to come with me! And that is how it began. I started out very small as I was also working full time as a School Counselor. May of 2019, I had my first client from Rover. By December 2019, I had 65 clients. While pet sitting and dog walking started as more of a hobby for me to stay active, it quickly transformed into my passion and career. The more the business grew, the more I noticed the need for trustworthy pet-sitting, dog-walking and pet-care services in the Lake Nona community. In January 2020, Nona Paw Pet Sitting was officially created and the LLC was finalized. I used all the downtime during the shutdowns for COVID to create my website, create contracts, research pet sitting software, obtain an accountant & attorney, and do lots of research on best business practices. By June 2020, I felt it was time to bring on more help to accommodate all the growth. My biggest day was 17 pet sitting visits on my own. It was crazy- 5 am-10 pm and eating all my meals in my car in-between visits. I knew I couldn’t keep that pace. Fast forward to today (April of 2021). I have a team of 6 amazing pet sitting professionals who assist me with our 200+ clients. It is great because we all come from different backgrounds to provide the best experience for our clients. Among all of us we have 15 years experience as a Veterinarian Technician, 4 years of experience grooming dogs, 7 years experience as an Aquarist, countless years pet sitting and animal fostering, and are Pet CPR and First Aid Certified.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It has not been the easiest road. I have had to learn a lot. I knew nothing about how to run a business when I started out. In college, I had taken one business class. It was very dry and boring and I hated it! So ironic! I had to spend hours and hours researching. So much that I would set my alarm on my phone at night so I would stop working at 9 pm each night and eat dinner and get ready for bed. This was after working a full day as a School Counselor. I remember I would have waves of emotions from feeling super excited and happy to being scared to death and thinking, what have I done?!
During these times, I relied heavily on my business coach, Melinda Walker, who owns Athens Pet Sitter and The Profitable Pet Sitter. Melinda has worked in the pet sitting industry for over 15 years and has made over a million dollars pet sitting. She was amazing and would often talk me off the ledge and give me the best ideas. Were there any other big obstacles? Yes! My family doubted me in the early stages and for a short time told me they didn’t want to hear about the “business” at first. Before my LLC was established, they even felt silly calling it a “business.” Despite that, I had a vision and I have always lived by the sentiment that, “Anything is possible when you believe”. And I believed and I was willing to work hard.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Nona Paws Pet Sitting?
Nona Paws Pet Sitting is a licensed, bonded and insured company that provides dog walking and pet sitting services to the Lake Nona community. We provide drop-in visits and walks by coming to visit the clients in their own home. (We do not board animals at our house.) The standard visit is 30 minutes and includes a walk, feeding, administer medications (oral and injections), playtime, etc. One 30 minute visit starts at $20. We also offer 60-minute visits (starting at $35) and overnight visits (starting at $70), where we come stay in the home from 9 pm-7 am. Pet visits can be scheduled everyday, 365 days a year in one of these four blocks: 7-9 am 11-2 pm 4-6 pm 7-9 pm. What sets us apart from others is our team approach, pet sitting software and family-style service. Our team approach provides reliable service for our clients. If a sitter is sick or injured, you always have a backup sitter available who is familiar with your pet.
Our pet sitting software makes it convenient for our clients to schedule visits, communicate with their sitter, and receive pictures, videos, and detailed visit reports- all from an app on their phone! GPS monitored walks and time-stamped visits provide transparency. Lastly, we love and take care of every human and pet client like they are our own. Once you are part of the Nona Paws family, we live through the highs and lows together. We make it a priority to check in on sick animals after our visits have ended. We bring flowers and hugs to clients who have family members and pets pass away. We bring backup keys to owners when they are locked out of their house. We replace fire alarm batteries so their pets can be happy in their home while their owners are away. We really love what we do and it shows in our service.
Any big plans?
Currently, my team does the majority of the visits and I have shifted to more of a manager role. My goals for the future is to fine-tune processes, continue to grow our client base and keep researching best business practices.
Pricing:
- 30 minute visits- Starting at $20
- 60 minute visits- Starting at $35
- Overnight Visits- Starting at $70
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@nonapawspetsitting.com
- Website: nonapawspetsitting.com
Image Credits
The picture with the four ladies is part of the Nona Paws Pet Sitting Team. From L to R: Elizabeth, Kelsey, Katie, Rachel. Not pictured: Sara, Brenda. The other photo is our logo.
