We recently connected with Lara Seltzer and have shared our conversation below.

Lara, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

What I do different;y in both my pet sitting business and my tarot reading one, is a unique personal touch. I really care and this comes across with my clients. Take pet sitting. Yes, most people can do it, but I take it to another level with communication, bookings, and care received. I also expect my workers to do the same and only hire people I truly trust. Life has shown me that there’re always problems that come up, but it’s your response to these, that set you apart. I always take immediate action when problems occur, dealing and solving the issue. With pet sitting, it’s always my goal to run a professional, compassionate business, so that my clients can go away with worry free. I’ve been serving the Los Angeles community now for 16 years professionally. I’ve found that after the pandemic, the market for sitters is over-saturated and consumers are desperately trying to save money. While my company may not be the cheapest (I pay for business licensing and pet sitters insurance for both me and all my sitters), we are superior in service. It’s been a wonderful business to grow and I’m proud of the work we do. I love that each day is different!
For tarot, where there are so many fakes, I pride myself in giving frank, personalized, yet uplifting reading to all my clients. I never sugar-coat; you don’t get clients from not telling the truth. I live by this idea, and feel all my clients benefit from their readings. I’ve been lucky to grow my client base both in person and by means of the socials. I go live frequently on Tik Tok and Instagram, and I find this also gains me new clients. It’s important to really be able to adapt and grow with the changing times. I know I’m a good reader and am confident I can help my clients. Some sessions turn into therapy sessions, and that’s ok. I’m always here to listen as well.
Both businesses require a very personal touch that is uniquely “Me”.

Lara, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

For pet sitting, it just came to me. I got into it because i wanted time to write. I write screenplays and series. Pet Sitting allows me the schedule I need to write. I was very lucky that I’ve always been very organized and business savvy. These things are crucial for business owners to stay relevant and be able to target your audience. After a year or so, my business kept growing along with my glowing Yelp reviews. I was now turning down jobs because I didn’t have backups. This is how Lara’s Pet Sitting began. I constructed a real business and was now able to hire independent contractors to do what I couldn’t. I’m a very fair and easy boss, so I quickly had sitters who wanted to join me. I am very picky with hires, so I only use referrals or people I know. This means I can’t grow fast, and we remain a boutique business, but it’s worth it for me to know I’m only using caring dependable people. And there are worse ways to make a living than playing with animals and staying in beautiful houses.
For tarot, I’ve been reading professionally for 12 years now. I was lucky enough to audition for the World Famous Magic Castle, and immediately was hired as their resident reader. I do so many special events for them and other places, it’s really helped me grow my clientele. I also have a nice following on Tik Tok and Instagram, so that also helps generate revenue.
Both companies I’ve grown from the bottom up offer caring compassionate individual services. I genuinely love helping people and it shows. You can’t fake that.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

When the pandemic hit, my pet sitting business crashed. Everyone was suddenly home and couldn’t go anywhere. They also didn’t want anyone coming to their homes. I had to pause that business and really adapt to make money. I did this by virtual tarot reading. I discovered an entire community of readers and pages that focus on the art. I networked, did Tik Tok readings, and other virtual platforms. I also worked outdoor Covid-safe events whenever they were offered. By pivoting that business, I was able to thrive during the pandemic. Now, pet sitting is back, I strive to find that balance between the two businesses. It’s working! If you’re a business owner, it’s very important to be adaptive & resilient! If you have an idea, don’t hold back. Go for it!

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

I think the biggest lesson I had to learn is patience. It’s my natural response to immediately deal with problems and issues. I’ve found that Los Angeles moves at a slower pace, so I’ve had to learn patience with dealing with clients; waiting for results and bookings. It’ takes time and attention to detail to juggle schedules for myself and five other contractors. I’ve learned that things fall into place if you put in the effort. Waiting is sometimes part of the game. I’ve also had to hone my customer service skills. I’ve had to learn not to always be right, but to listen and try and understand the concerns of clients (sometimes with difficult ones). I’ve found that with some patience and understanding, things turn out positively.
For tarot, I’ve met many interesting people. They all want to be happy, in love, grow wealth, have a successful career and stay healthy. My goal is to help them reach their potential. Since I operate two “caring industry” businesses, I’ve found that some of the same skills are useful for both of them. Patience teaches us to do our part and then be able to sit back and have confidence the scales will tip in your favor.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.laraspetsitting.com
• Instagram: delphitarot_by_lara
• Linkedin: other website: www.delphitarot.com
• Yelp: Lara’s Pet Sitting (Los Angeles)
• Other: Tik tok: @delphitarot

  other website: www.delphitarot.com

Image Credits

Tarot photos by Taylor Wong.