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Coronavirus Business Tips From PCI Professionals: Part 2

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Welcome to part two of our coronavirus business tips from PCI professionals!

If you missed out on reading part one, check out our blog and read all about it here. Many pet professionals are diversifying, updating their business plans, and improving advertising efforts. The experience from fellow PCI professionals may be able to help you come up with new ideas. We hope this can help you gain more knowledge and help your business move forward.

Dogs on leashes walking in park

Meet Tess

Tess, a pet sitter, has stepped outside of her comfort zone and started pitching to people. A pitch is a very short rundown of your business and how it can bring value to potential clients. Be sure to carry business cards with you and increase your network!

What steps are you taking or plan to take to get your business back to the state it was in prior to the pandemic?

“I am stepping outside of my comfort zone and actually approaching people I meet in various places. For instance when I am in the pet food store. I hand people my business card and explain a little about what we do. I also make sure to bring up that I am a pet sitter in random conversations when the opportunity seems right,”



Is there any additional information or advice you would like to share with others who are in your same situation?

“Hold your head up and remember when you first started, business was slow and it gave you an opportunity to brainstorm about ideas to build your business. Now is the perfect time to brainstorm and try implementing new ideas or add new services to your portfolio. I have added stand alone litter box maintenance service. You remember people joking about a baby boom with stay at home orders? I know 3 people who are now pregnant. Pregnant women should not clean litter boxes but can still enjoy a relationship with their beloved cats. I announced that I will be happy to come as often as needed to scoop litter boxes, clean the area around it and also do a full clean and sanitation twice a month,”

Since business may not be back to normal yet, Tess recommends brainstorming and implementing new ideas. Maybe there’s an extra service you can add! All you need to do is experiment and review the results. If it is successful, then great! If not, you can always pivot and make improvements.

Meet Taryn

Taryn, a dog walker, wants to reopen business for clients if there is a safe and worthwhile way to do so. There’s a lot of information out there about how business owners can operate safely and you could consider implementing those guidelines. For more information on coronavirus and the impact it can have on pets, check out our blog.

What steps are you taking or plan to take to get your business back to the state it was in prior to the pandemic?

“The last few weeks have been very telling as far as what is to come for the future of my small business. All of my employees had to be laid off from the beginning. I assumed we would be out of work for a while, but that there would be a turning point. Given the new re-openings, it has been very difficult making the big decisions that now need to happen. Unfortunately, I think our return is most likely not going to happen. Given the current environment, I might be moving and I will probably end up foregoing the business. With that being said…if there is a safe and worthwhile way of reopening to our clients, we would absolutely love to do so,”



Is there any additional information or advice you would like to share with others who are in the same situation?

“Now is a good time to consider what is important to you and to follow it. We are entering a world where working remote and shifting gears is inevitable. Find a new way to be involved with the animals you love if you are struggling with getting back to where you were. Create something new, we are being given a lot of new opportunities in how and where we work. We can come together and build this industry in a new and exciting way,”

Just like Taryn brought up, take the time to figure out what is important to you and follow it. If you want to still be involved with animals, see what you can do to make it work and implement those ideas.

Meet Marie

Marie, a pet sitter and walker, shared how she is limiting time with her clients, using sanitizer, and wearing masks. These small and simple things can really make a difference. Your clients may appreciate the extra thought of keeping them and their fur babies safe.

What steps are you taking or plan to take to get your business back to the state it was in prior to the pandemic?

“Limiting in home time. Limiting clients in my home time. Wearing face masks. Using sanitizer and cleaner. Cleaning more frequently,”



Is there any additional information or advice you would like to share with others who are in the same situation?

“We have medical professionals with higher risk leave us a harness set at the door. We spray with sanitizer. We’re explaining to onboarding clients that they can come in and see our setup, but we discuss outside now. We also do what we call summer camp pick up and drop off for regulars. They pull up, we grab the dog and their stuff, parents leave. We spray down anything that could be contaminated before going inside,”

You may want to consider an onboarding call to stay in touch with new clients. During this call, you can go over how pick up and drop off works.

Meet Charan

Sometimes the best thing to do is to go back to the drawing board and start from scratch. It could lead to you having a new perspective on your business and help you figure out new ways to move forward. Charan brought up some good ideas, such as advertising in small businesses, using social media, and visiting apartment complexes.

What steps are you taking or plan to take to get your business back to the state it was in prior to the pandemic?

Treat it as if I was starting all over again. Go to “Mom & Pop” places to leave information, use social media, [and] go to apartment complexes,”



Is there any additional information or advice you would like to share with others who are in the same situation?

Keep working on your business! Find different ways you can introduce new services into your business. Educate your clients through newsletters & social media. If you can wear your logo anywhere when you go out…. do it!

By spreading the word, more people know who you are and what you offer. Many people consider using a car decal with their business information. VistaPrint offers affordable car decal options available.

We hope you were able to learn something new and figure out a way to improve your business. To learn more about Pet Care Insurance, please visit our website.

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Terms and Conditons

  • 1) No Purchase Necessary:

    No purchase is necessary to enter or win the contest. Purchasing will not increase your chances of winning the contest.

  • 2) Eligibility:

    The contest is open to legal United States residents who are 18 years of age or older at the time of entry. The contest is only open to those who follow the instructions and enter their name and email address on the website landing page

    https://www.petcareins.com/groomer-to-groomer Employees of Pet Care Insurance, their respective affiliates, contractors, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies and partners, suppliers and their immediate family members and/or those living in the same household of each are not eligible to participate in the contest. The contest is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. Void where prohibited.

  • 3) Agreement To Rules:

    By participating, you agree to be fully unconditionally bound by these rules, and you represent and warrant that you meet the eligibility requirements set forth herein. In addition, you agree to accept the decisions of Pet Care Insurance (PCI), as final and binding as it relates to the content. The contest is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws.

  • 4) Contest Period:

    Entries will be accepted online starting on or about November 23, 2018 and ending 10:30 AM MST on December 3, 2018. All online entries must be received by December 3, 2018 10:30 AM MST. There will be one winner.

  • 5) How To Enter:

    To enter the contest, one must enter their first name, last name, and email address into the contact form located exclusively on https://www.petcareins.com/groomer-to-groomer. You may enter only once. You may not enter more times than indicated by using multiple email addresses, identities, or devices in an attempt to circumvent the rules. If you use fraudulent methods or otherwise attempt to circumvent the rules, your submission may be removed from eligibility at the sole discretion of Pet Care Insurance (PCI). All disputes will be resolved at the sole discretion of Pet Care Insurance (PCI). In the event the entry collection mechanism suffers a technical failure, Sponsor may elect to randomly select another email subscriber to designate the winner of this giveaway. [Note: If you would like to remove yourself from consideration for this giveaway, please email Pet Care Insurance (PCI) at marketing1@petcareins.com with the subject line “Opt-Out – Attn: Ryan Muir”]

  • 6) Prize:

    here will be 1 (one) winner who will receive 1 (one) Amazon Gift Card. The Approximate retail price of the Amazon Gift Card is = $100 USD. At the discretion of PCI, the gift card may be delivered either electronically or by means of free standard shipping to the United States.PCI reserves the right to substitute an item of equal or greater value if any items listed above are out of stock or otherwise unavailable. Actual/appraised value may differ at the time of prize award. The specifics of the prize shall be solely determined by the Sponsor. No cash or other prize substitution permitted except at Sponsor’s discretion. The prize is non-transferable. Any and all prize related expenses, including without limitation any and all federal, state, and/or local taxes shall be the sole responsibility of the winner. No substitution of a prize or transfer/assignment of a prize to others or request for the cash equivalent by winners is permitted. Acceptance of prize constitutes permission for PCI to use winner’s name, likeness, and entry for purposes of advertising and trade without further compensation, unless prohibited by law.

  • 7) Odds:

    The odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received. One entry per person/email address.

  • 8) Winner Selection And Notification:

    Winners of the contest will be selected based on content quality under the supervision of the Sponsor. Winner will be notified via message to the email address that they used or phone number they submitted to enter the contest within five (5) days following the winner selection. PCI shall have no liability for a winner’s failure to receive notices due to winners’ spam, junk e-mail or other security settings or for winners’ provision of incorrect or otherwise non-functioning contact information. If the selected winner cannot be contacted, is ineligible, fails to claim the prize within 15 days of the time award notification was sent, or fails to timely return a completed and executed declaration and releases as required, the prize may be forfeited and an alternate winner selected.

    The receipt by winner of the prize offered in this contest is conditioned upon compliance with any and all federal and state laws and regulations. ANY VIOLATION OF THESE OFFICIAL RULES BY ANY WINNER (AT SPONSOR’S SOLE DISCRETION) WILL RESULT IN SUCH WINNER’S DISQUALIFICATION AS WINNER OF THE CONTEST AND ALL PRIVILEGES AS WINNER WILL BE IMMEDIATELY TERMINATED.

  • 9) Rights Granted By You:

    By entering this contest you understand that Pet Care Insurance, anyone acting on behalf of Pet Care Insurance, or its respective licensees, successors and assigns will have the right, where permitted by law, without any further notice, review, or consent to print, publish, broadcast, distribute, and use, worldwide in any media now known or hereafter in perpetuity and throughout the World, your entry, including, without limitation, the entry and winner’s name, portrait, picture, voice, likeness, image or statements about the contest, and biographical information as news, publicity or information and for trade, advertising, public relations and promotional purposes without any further compensation.

  • 10) Terms:

    Pet Care Insurance reserves the right, in its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the contest should (in its sole discretion) a virus, bugs, non-authorized human intervention, fraud or other causes beyond its control corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness or proper conduct of the contest. In such case, Pet Care Insurance may select the recipients from all eligible entries received prior to and/or after (if appropriate) the action taken by Pet Care Insurance. Pet Care Insurance reserves the right at its sole discretion to disqualify any individual who tampers or attempts to tamper with the entry process or the operation of the contest or website or violates these Terms & Conditions.

    Pet Care Insurance has the right, in its sole discretion, to maintain the integrity of the contest, to void votes for any reason, including, but not limited to; multiple entries from the same user from different IP addresses; multiple entries from the same computer in excess of that allowed by contest rules; or the use of bots, macros or scripts or other technical means for entering. Any attempt by an entrant to deliberately damage any web site or undermine the legitimate operation of the contest may be a violation of criminal and civil laws and should such an attempt be made, Pet Care Insurance reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law.

By entering the contest you agree to receive emails periodically from Pet Care Insurance and to receive a phone call from Pet Care Insurance. You can opt-out of receiving this communication at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in the email.

  • 1) Limitation Of Liability:

    By entering you agree to release and hold harmless Pet Care Insurance and its subsidiaries, affiliates, advertising and promotion agencies, partners, representatives, agents, successors, assigns, employees, officers and directors from any liability, illness, injury, death, loss, litigation, claim or damage that may occur, directly or indirectly, whether caused by negligence or not, from (i) such entrant’s participation in the contest and/or his/her acceptance, possession, use, or misuse of any prize or any portion thereof, (ii) technical failures of any kind, including but not limited to the malfunctioning of any computer, cable, network, hardware or software; (iii) the unavailability or inaccessibility of any transmissions or telephone or Internet service; (iv) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the entry process or the Promotion; (v) electronic or human error which may occur in the administration of the Promotion or the processing of entries.

  • 2) Disputes:

    THIS CONTEST IS GOVERNED BY THE LAWS OF The United States of America AND California, WITHOUT RESPECT TO CONFLICT OF LAW DOCTRINES. As a condition of participating in this contest, participant agrees that any and all disputes which cannot be resolved between the parties, and causes of action arising out of or connected with this contest, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, exclusively before a court located in Utah County, Utah, USA having jurisdiction. Further, in any such dispute, under no circumstances will participant be permitted to obtain awards for, and hereby waives all rights to claim punitive, incidental, or consequential damages, including reasonable attorney’s fees, other than participant’s actual out-of-pocket expenses (i.e. costs associated with entering this contest), and participant further waives all rights to have damages multiplied or increased.

  • 3) Privacy Policy.

    Information submitted with an entry is subject to the privacy policy stated on the Pet Care Insurance website.

  • 4) Winners List:

    To obtain a copy of the winner’s name or a copy of these Official Rules, mail your request along with a stamped, self-addressed envelope to:

    Pet Care Insurance

    c/o: Marketing Department

    260 South 2500 West Suite #303

    Pleasant Grove, UT 84062

    Requests must be received no later than December 3, 2019.

  • 5) Sponsor:

    The Sponsor of the contest is:

    Pet Care Insurance

    260 South 2500 West Suite #303

    Pleasant Grove, UT 84062

  • 6)

    This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or administered by, or associated with, Facebook, Twitter, or any other Social Network. You are providing your information to PCI and not to any other party.

Comparing Employee Dishonesty Coverage & Bonding

PCI’s employee dishonesty coverage is similar to a bond, but there may be some key differences to consider.

Employee dishonesty coverage:

  • Can be purchased in the same transaction
  • Doesn’t run credit checks
  • Provides $10,000 per occurrence and $25,000 aggregate coverage

Bonds may differ from our dishonesty coverage by:

  • Checking your credit during the application process
  • Having a “Conviction Claus;” Often bonds won’t pay on claims unless there is a conviction
  • Many require you to reimbursement the bonding company after a claim is paid