We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cheryl Dagostaro a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Cheryl, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you as a business owner?

Before becoming self-employed, I had a variety of part/full time jobs. The one I learned the most from was working with an incredible team of Holistic Practitioners that were way ahead of their time-in 1980. I worked with a MD/Acupuncturist who was one of 25 in the World who had his Masters in Acupuncture; the practice offered food and chemical allergy testing, biofeedback, deep tissue massage, dietary changes, psychology, colon therapy, past life work and standard medical practices. Back then, patients came to us as it was their last resort to get well. I watched miracles happen there so often by the Dr. weaning patients off dozens of pills to a life with a great diet & supplements. Since most people are at their worst when they are sick, I had to deal with a lot of their anger/fear as most insurances did not reimburse these type of treatments so it was out of pocket. I learned the best lesson EVER with customer service and that people’s reactions had nothing to do with me. Detachment from other’s reactions is a great way to stay in public service.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Having worked in a variety of different occupations-including being a Special Ed. Reading Teacher, Restaurant work, car sales, the music industry, Management/Office work-I looked at countless occupations to see if I could see myself staying there for years. The answer was always ‘no’. I desperately tried to find something where I was happy going to work daily. For years I considered being an Attorney-advocating for Special Ed or Consumer Rights ( like Ralph Nader) but digging deeper, being an attorney was not for me. There seemed to be too much dishonesty. I decided to open up my Petsitting Service-Pet-tenders in July 1983-current-being one of just a few pet services in the World and in 1989-1998, Pet-tenders was the 3rd Pet Service in the World to Franchise the concept. Working with pets, daily, certainly was joyful as pets teach you a lot about yourself, they are NEVER dishonest and you can also help educate the public about what’s best for them. I always refused to kennel my pets and I knew the public was going through the same thing. When I officially opened in July 1983, there were just a couple of services-but having a teaching/office background I knew I had to make sure my clients and pets were well taken care of. As the years progressed, my petsitting service contract had 95 questions on it, we were always Licensed, Bonded and Insured and were happy to produce proof of that.

But then…I was also overly obsessed with 60/70s Classic Rock music having lived outside Woodstock, after the festival, for 3.5 years…so I decided to open up the CLASSIC ROCK SANDWICH SHOPPE in 2010.Officially opening August 15, 2011-the Day Woodstock started in 1969. I knew I wanted to honor the musicians- but how? I chose the idea of a Sandwich Shoppe which was tough as I wasn’t a big fan of sandwiches but… Why? So I ate in 25 sandwich places in San Diego to figure it out & I found out quickly. Pretty much everywhere I ate- the recipes were the same. Since it was important to me to have all the musicians I loved represented and to have many Sandwiches you could NOT get anywhere else-it took forever to create, taste, design, research wording-etc. I knew I had to have unique sandwiches, something for everyone, and some that were standard. So I designed meat, vegetarian, vegan & 17 salads-named after Important Musical cities during that time frame. I also knew I could not have just mayo/mustard-I needed more. We offered about 15+ different spreads- including my Merlin line of homemade spreads…
After closing my shoppe in May 2021, My phone/email/texts never stopped- with my wonderful customers still requesting my food. I completed my CLASSIC ROCK SANDWICH SHOPPE cookbook in November 2022- 101 Sandwiches, 17 Salads, most of the spreads recipes & where to purchase every product that is mentioned in the Cookbook. We sold 50% of the book inventory in 2 weeks…

Still doing Notary work; starting on my next book this year, working on 1-2 prototypes /Cat Inventions; a Cat ecard Line and more… Entrepreneurs just never stop.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Having a petsitting service, back in 1983, that virtually no one else was offering really helped. Working hard, remaining honest-no matter what. I went to work sick, the day after major surgery, 16 hour work days were often but I was grateful to have them. Hard work, being ethical- old fashioned values just work.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I briefly had a Background Checking business for employers to verify new workers civil/criminal/work history. I later on added on Sweetheart Checks to check on partners that were being unfaithful . What I found with that aspect of the business is I was getting dozens of calls from women who JUST wanted to complain, cry and talk about their problems with their significant other. They really did not want to find out (they already knew)-by hiring someone-they just wanted to complain, cry and talk. I pivoted away from that aspect the first year. I suggested they seek counseling or talk with a few good friends vs. hiring a Private Investagator.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.pet-tenders.com www.classicrocksandwichshoppe.com
• Instagram: pettenders classicrocksandwichshoppe
• Facebook: Pet-tenders A Pet Sitting Service Classic Rock Sandwich Shoppe Cookbooks
• Linkedin: Cheryl Dagostaro
• Other: Contact info: Pet-tenders landlines 619-298-3033 press # key to by pass long message. Notary Public work: 619-299-1969 (Mon-Sat) Classic Rock Sandwich Cookbook orders: [email protected], Pricing:$37.70 inc. sales tax=check/cash/pickup in North Park: credit card purchase: $39.. Shipping (1) anywhere in US- add on $4.15. (cost); Merlin spreads-pickup within 48 hrs-noted in book.

Image Credits
Cheryl Dagostaro