Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mj Guest. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi MJ, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.
In today’s age having a pet is like having a child. It takes a lot of trust to release their care to a stranger for days on end. But what is it about someone that makes you want to trust someone? My approach differs from the industry standard because of its transparency and the unwavering drive. We become a part of the family with the connections we make during the time we spend with our clients pets. It’s personal.
Starting this business from the ground up taught me that trusting in others is the only way we can make real change. Someone’s character and their actions give us a reason to trust them. I spent a year full time on the road living in my car after 3 years building my clientele to establish a long term foundation in the pet transport industry. I wasn’t stopping there. I took a risk this past December to add professional training into the business at a private training facility in Los Angeles. I have sense developed a training curriculum that can help any families in need. The ground work put into establishing a logistics company that can also provide training was not easy to set, but I didn’t come here for the easy route.
MJ, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’m MJ! Just your friendly neighborhood siren, fire dancer, dog whisperer?!
By day, I am the Owner and Chief Executive Officer of a unique company that supplies a very niche, overlooked pet demand. Running four years strong, we coordinate international and American ground and flight transportation for domestic and small exotic animals. I started in partnership March 2020 after covid hit. I was a functioning alcoholic working two jobs bar managing, while struggling through my masters program. My Boyfriend at the time worked valet and was rehabilitating a parkour injury. When everything shut down we lost our income. We signed up on a third party platform in a leap of faith to become transporters and got our first client the next week. We finished the route and realized this was something that could turn into more. We hit the ground running and for the next three years mastered the operations of the business. I took on sole proprietorship at the beginning of 2023. A tragic tale, as old as time, but a lesson learned with beautiful silver linings, never mix business with boyfriends.
With just me, my Van, and my plummeting business, I looked in the rear view mirror and said goodbye to my cheating partner, my beach condo, and 90% of my personal belongings to live nomadically. I worked the business around the clock. I had made a commitment to myself earlier that year to make self love the priority. I learned that when you put your mask on like that for yourself so to speak, you become a force. When you are emotionally evolving, people and things that do not serve you will not go with you. Life doesn’t get easier as you get older. The relationship you build with yourself is what makes the difference. Believe in what you can do. Believe in it so much it’s non negotiable.Light your world on fire with your ambition and watch how the universe responds.
I transformed my entire business model while transforming my lifestyle. I stopped drinking, I started making better eating habits, and I made working out essential to my daily routine. I re-engineered the market strategies of the business and lived on the road coordinating pick up and drop offs all over this country. I got myself onto routes working directly with kangaroos to relocate joeys, helped rehome hundreds of fosters, delivered new members of the family to adoptions and even cared for the soon to be new furr mamas on route heading to whelping homes. I drove TWO transports to Alaska in the same year, hitting my bucket list seeing the Northern Lights. Alas, I still have one last state to visit before I have transported to all 50. I’ll let you try to guess first which state I’m missing.
That year on the road saved my life. I believed in myself so deeply for the first time. My accountability gave me a sense of self trust and I worked through my trauma with a kind, forgiving, wide open lens. I became unrecognizable, literally. I lost 70 lbs by the end of the year. I was still missing important life pieces. I missed the concept of home, and I wanted to bring something bigger to my business that would set it apart from any other type of handlers. I needed to be able to incorporate dog training. I looked for the most controversial facility I could find on the west coast and applied for their apprenticeship. I was willing to take the next 6 months and dedicate all of my time and energy into learning this discipline. While the teaching may be controversial, the results were real. I watched dozens of dogs come in and out of the facility and without ITP programming, they would have killed someone by now. Coming off of the road full time and going under an apprenticeship for a third of the pay was a heavy gamble. The higher the risk the higher the reward, right?
I found a granny plot in the valley for under $1300 a month, sold my car, bought a bus pass, set a budget and made it work. I’d eat peanut butter and jelly dinners for a week when I needed to. I stripped my expense report of any excess spending outside of what I needed to survive this apprenticeship and I made it work. From the moment I woke up, to the moment I finally fell asleep I was studying. I now have developed the skills in obedience training, kennel management, mentorship, handler development courses, all the way to client in-home assessments. In less than a year, I put in over 2500 hours to have what it takes to provide this skill successfully. After I was finished with my apprenticeship I needed a mental break from training full time. I was ready to build a team.
I started taking on my own private clients here in the city and have opened up my own mentorship.I added to the team a CTO to redesign our entire technological approach to our accessibility. With this new angle, we will be able to not only provide faster transport responses all over the world, we will also be able to hire on and train new apprentices. You won’t want to miss out on the changes that we are making for the upcoming 2025 year. Needless to say, the day job has been keeping me busy. It’s my night job you’re going to want to buckle up for. This is a whole different ride.
By night, I am an independent singer/songwriter. I have been working with Perch Studios since January 2023 creating original alternative ethereal r&b music. I reached out to my music producer about getting back into the studio once I settled into La, and in a matter of days, the whole team carved out time to collaborate. Eight sessions later we have eight new singles bounced and ready to release. I dusted off the old fire flow combat staff to choreograph a fire performance showcasing my latest single release “Something 2C”. Ah yes, with live performances I have fire and led props worked into the choreography. The feedback we have been getting back from listeners and viewers has been mind blowing. We hit over 4 million plays organically as an independent artist group and the numbers keep counting.
So much has changed and yet it flores me that almost a year has passed. I took back my singing career after almost a DECADE stepping away from writing,singing, performing live or in studio recording sessions. In hindsight, I see the steps I took in my life that have led me to where I am and I understand exactly who I am. It has brought me to a state of mind where I have gratitude and excitement in my accomplishments, I find patience and understanding in my failures, I have leveled up on all of my calculated crafts, and I am here to stay in LA.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
Stay frequent with your team building exercises. When you get to know your team outside of a work environment you’re able to connect on different levels. Recognize that each position in a business has a unique lense that help shed light to other departments. Show your employees that you value them through your actions and your words.
Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?
I stay present with them. After the transport is finished, the classes are complete, even when furr friends are no longer with the families, I check in. When you work this intimately with families you become a part of them. I send holiday cards, newsletters, and check in on socials regularly. I make sure that getting directly in touch with me is easy, and whenever I work with a client, I show up absolutely prepared. Consistency is key.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @MJ_GUEST
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCu278SmYWerK-64_YIa5AVQ?si=2P5IsuSHEz8Hvrbm
- Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/T6TcJU5ZQC1kecXr9
- Other: https://shoutoutla.com/meet-mj-guest-singer-song-writer-fire-dancer-and-dog-trainer/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAabl4IVQ-aRR-AGi2jMhBMjSu71P6RyycNU0e7tCLy3GvPcovwGrGan3AuQ_aem_v5SK5OA08q71blezwvGu_Q
