Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Joslyn Wood. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Joslyn , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Crazy stuff happening is almost as certain as death and taxes – it’s technically “unexpected” but something unexpected happening is to be expected and so can you share a crazy story with our readers

Last month a new client booked me to care for her cat with daily visits. I arrived for my first visit to an absolute nightmare. As any pet sitter will tell you, walking in the front door and finding no sign of the pet, is chilling. I looked around and figured out that the cat had pushed through a window screen that wasn’t latched, and disappeared into coyote country. In my town this is one of the worst case scenarios for cats because many don’t come back. Making that dreadful phone call to the client, us both knowing the chances didn’t look good, was gut-wrenching. However, I wasn’t about to give up without knowing I’d done everything I could to bring that sneaky devil home. Over the course of the next 24hrs I tried all my tricks. Finally, I saw a pair of bright green eyes starring at me from the darkness of a gutter. This cat didn’t know me (since we’d only met once), and ran deeper into the gutter any time I got close. However, I had one more trick up my sleeve, and it worked well enough to lure him within a foot of me. I knew I had one shot at this. If I didn’t do this right, this cat may never be seen alive again. So the second he looked away from me, I quickly grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and pulled him into my chest before he had time to bolt. I held him close to me for the entire walk back to the house. At first he tried to scratch me to escape, but eventually relaxed into my arms. Once he was inside, I got to make the best call a pet sitter can, a rare call in a case like this. I told the client that her baby was home safe. We both rejoiced in the unlikely happy ending to a very stressful 24 hours.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Pet care is the kind of business that requires all kinds of skill sets. Being good with animals is just the start. You have to be a clear communicator, be able to understand different kinds of people and what matters to them, be excellent with time management and scheduling, have firm boundaries and be able to stick to them, notice when the littlest thing isn’t quite right in someone’s home or with their pet, learn to trust your instincts, and of course be a genuinely kind, patient and compassionate person. I’ve heard A LOT of horror stories from clients and through the grapevine – everything from the pet sitter allowing a dog to get loose from the home and attack another dog, to leaving messes in the house that the client has to clean. I’m very proud of how many times I’ve heard clients tell me that they could finally relax knowing their pets were safe with me, and that they were so grateful for how I respected their home. To me these are essentials, not bonuses. I hold very high standards for myself because I understand that when people give me the keys to their home and the trust that their animal family will be well-cared for, they’re giving me access to some of the most valued and loved parts of their lives. It’s no small thing. I’ve learned that a pet care provider is many things, but most importantly they are protectors of the irreplaceable treasures of a person’s heart.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

I always knew I loved working with animals and children. I had been a kindergarten teacher in China for years, so I thought nannying would be a natural fit. However, I soon found that working in someone else’s home, often on their schedule, and bending to fit their preferences, wasn’t for me! At this time I was also doing pet care part time for a local company. I quickly decided I wanted to shift completely into pet care. However, I was worried that if I gave up my secure nannying job, I wouldn’t be able to pay the bills. Despite that, I wasn’t willing to keep waking up each day miserable and going to a job that wasn’t in alignment with what I was meant to do. So I quit my nannying job and took the leap into full time pet care. I made a website. I put up flyers all around town, and business cards in coffee shops and pet stores. In the first month I made more than I was making as a nanny and part time pet care provider. In the second and third months I focused on manifesting abundance, all while watching the numbers grow. By the fourth month I hit an income goal I didn’t think would ever be possible for me as a small business owner. By the fifth month I was trying to figure out how to slow down the number of new clients I was accepting because I wasn’t willing to hire anyone to work with me (just not worth the liability for me). Even as I write this, it still feels like a dream. I’ve since left the company I was working part time for, and am now fully 100 percent self-employed. It’s an incredible feeling to be your own boss and know that with a little bit of ground work and putting your intentions out into the world with your thoughts, words, and actions, you can do more than you ever thought possible!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I’ll be completely transparent- this is a lesson I’m still unlearning. Ever since I was a kid, I have worked my ass off and felt obligated to do so. I was the kid hustling by selling my Halloween candy to the other kids to turn a profit so I could save for college. When I lived in Shanghai, I worked a regular job, and had my evening side hustle too. It’s great to have a strong worth ethic…until it’s not. When you lose any semblance of work-life balance, when you feel that your worth is tied to proving how much you can achieve through will power and grit, that lesson from childhood that the only way to work is HARD, starts to be to your detriment. As an adult I struggle to turn down work, to turn down clients, even if it means I don’t get a day off for weeks. As of writing this I haven’t had a day off in 5 weeks (though I am taking this weekend off!). So yes, I’m working on this one. How do I say no to someone who values what I offer so much that they chose to call me out of all the other providers they could have called? How do I say no and not let the guilt of that ruin the day off I so badly need? It’s a deep lesson about worth and worthiness. I don’t need to do and accomplish and achieve and please to deserve to put myself first. That’s the lesson I’m learning in place of the one I’m unlearning. Now it’s time to live it!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://OjaiPetCare.com