Grow Your Pet Business With Send Out Cards

August 23, 2011 By Vanessa (NPPC Founder) Leave a Comment

If you’re a pet retailer, pet sitter, pet minder, dog trainer, groomer, doggie daycare owner or any other type of pet professional you’re always looking for low-cost, yet effective ways to bring in new customers and show your appreciation to existing customers.

Send Out Cards is an interesting way to simply use the power of “Thank You” cards, hand written notes and other types of greetings to cement your relationships with not only your clients and business associates but family and friends.

You see, you can simply use Send Out Cards to send thoughtful greetings and reminders from the convenience of your computer for way less than regular greeting cards. And no, these are NOT email greetings. These are high-quality, physical cards in envelopes with your hand writing mailed to people from your own desktop contact manager. Or, you can get involved in the business opportunity end of it and make money by turning other people on to Send Out Cards who you think could benefit from using it for their business. Either way, you can’t lose!

The best way to understand how Send Out Cards works is to contact us so as we can be your personal tour guide to explain how to sign-up and use the service! We’ll also gladly give you more information on how to take advantage of the awesome business opportunity that Send Out Cards affords you as a distributor (if you choose).

Send one card, right now, to anyone in AUSTRALIA, absolutely free. Check it out by CLICKING HERE!

Filed Under: For Pet Sitters, News, Uncategorized Tagged With: Business, Business and Economy, Business Opportunity, Cards, Gift, Greeting card, Pet Sitting, Send Out Cards, Shopping, Stationery

Lost / Found Pet Resources and Assistance – Queensland Lost Pet Register ( Gold Coast )

January 1, 2012 By Vanessa (NPPC Founder) Leave a Comment

If you need to make a “LOST” or “FOUND” pet notice yourself please post or search for ”Gold Coast Lost and Found Pets” within Facebook.

There are Lost Pet Co-Ordinators in your area now throughout the whole Queensland state. Find your nearest Co-Ordinator via the Queensland Lost Pet Register (http://www.facebook.com/Queenslandlostpets)

If you have lost your pet or have found one within the Gold Coast area, contact the Gold Coast area co-ordinator via facebook (click here) or 0420 355 887.

READ THIS NOTE BY RSPCA IF YOU HAVE LOST YOUR PET ! How to find your LOST pet! Tips you MUST know for finding your pet in Queensland from RSPCA ( click here )

LOST YOUR PET BIRD ? Please read “What to do if your bird has flown away or has been stolen” ( click here )

FIREWORKS & PETS — IMPORTANT Tips, Advice and Information ( click here to read ) …. This page works well also for tips, advice and information in regards to storms and your pet.

When your Pet first goes missing, please do the following.

Post your LOST pet notice including a good quality photo with detailed information on our wall.

Make sure their Registration and Microchip information is up to date – All cats and dogs on the Gold Coast must be registered and microchipped ! If your pet microchip details are in another person’s name, contact the other person to have them contact you. If your details are out of date, update them now (if you have the papers).

Notify ALL Vets in your surrounding area, call the Gold Coast Pound (Phone: 07 5581 7600), RSPCA (Phone: 1300 363 736), Animal Welfare League of Queensland (Phone: 07 5509 9000)

Call GCCC Waste Management (Phone:07 55816799) in case your pet’s body has been found

Notify the Animal Emergency Service GOLD COAST (104 Eastlake Street, Carrara) Ph: 07 5559 1599 and GCARE (Unit 4, 75 Casua Drive, Varsity Lakes) Ph: 07 5593 4544 … These Vets operate 6:00pm – 8:00am Monday – Thursday; 24 hours Friday, Saturday and Sunday including all Public Holidays

Place large Posters up around the immediate area (and with vets etc), with a photo and description of your pet and contact details. Please ensure any photos you use in your posters are clear/high quality photos so as people can easily identify your lost pet (the same applies for posting photos online). If you want to offer a reward put “REWARD OFFERED” and do not disclose the amount at any time !

Ask neighbours to check in and around their yard (and on their roof as some cats have be known to become ‘stuck’ on a roof or in trees)

Walk around your neighbourhood, looking and asking if anyone has seen your pet (it’s advised that you be holding up your lost pet flyer so people will know you are not a salesperson thus will be more receptive). Check all your local area dog parks especially if your dog likes to socialise with other dogs.

If you have not found your pet within 48 hours: place an adverts in the local and national news papers in your area (if you have the budget),

Place online ads with all the Lost and Found sites in your area

http://www.petsearch.com.au/
http://www.awlqld.com.au/
http://www.rspcaqld.org.au/
http://animalambulance.com.au/online_forms.php
http://www.wherepetsarefound.com.au/
http://www.doglost.com.au/class/index.html
http://lookformycat.com/
http://www.mydogback.com/index-en.html
http://goldcoast.gumtree.com.au/f-Pets-lost-and-found-W0QQCatIdZ18437
http://brisbane.localnote.com.au/

Contact 4CRB 89.3FM (the only local radio station that still does lost/found pet notices) http://www.4crb.com/ | Phone: 07 5520 8888 Email: mail@4crb.com Unfortunately, none of the major radio stations will air your lost/found pet notice as they do not have the capacity to do so.
Pet D Tect is a service provided by RSPCA QLD to help owners find their lost pets. It costs $10.00 for 10 days.. MORE INFO @ http://lostfound.rspcaqld.org.au/animal/petDTectInfo.asp

REMEMBER NEVER give up looking for your pet, they want you to find them !

Contact Snap Southport Ph: 07 5532 0322

If you have found a lost animal – All Domestic Animals should be taken to the nearest Vet or the Gold Coast Pound (which is located in Coombabah next door to the Animal Welfare League). If no local vets or pound open please head to the Animal Emergency Service at 104 Eastlake Street in Carrara.

If you have found an injured animal, PLEASE seek medical help, DO NOT JUST LEAVE IT !!! Call Animal Ambulance 0400 484 484 IMMEDIATELY !!

Please consider making a donation to Red Collar Rescue Inc to help ensure the continued operation of the Queensland Lost Pet Register. Contact http://www.redcollarrescue.org/ for further information on how you can donate. Red Collar Rescue Inc is a registered charity for tax deduction purposes.

Filed Under: For Pet Parents, For Pet Sitters, News, Queensland Lost Pet Register - Gold Coast Notices Tagged With: Carrara, Dog Walk, Facebook, Gold Coast, Lost, Microchip implant (animal), Pet, Queensland

Polaroid Postcards

May 17, 2012 By Vanessa (NPPC Founder) Leave a Comment

With thanks to NEXT Marketing’s blog post I came across this product – Polariod Postcards.

Polaroid Land Camera model 103 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Naturally, I checked them out ( here ) …. however it got me thinking…. this could possibly be a great way to use Polaroids for pet sitting, dog walking or pet minding… instead of mailing the postcard (save yourself the stamps)… use it as a postcard to write a handwritten thank you note, daily diary or what-have-you on the back to leave with the client ?

For pet sitting, you could easily leave this within the home or where-ever safe. For dog walking, depending on whether they’re a regular or not you could use it as a way to say thank you (take a snapshot of the dogs where-ever you take them walking). For pet minding (boarding at the minder’s home), you could easily do as per the pet sitters however give it to the client when they come to pick up their pet (or if you’re doing pet taxi – leave it behind like a pet sitter).

One of the primary reasons I loved the whole idea of Send Out Cards is the below:

Seriously though, in this day and age it’s extra special to get something in the mail. Because you can flickr-tumblr-facebook-whatever a photo all you’d like; but if you really want to wow somebody, give them something they can hold. Like a Polapost frame.

Unfortunately, even with the great conversion rate of the Aussie dollar to the US dollar… it would still cost $25USD including postage (the cheapest postage which means it will take the longest time to reach me here on the Gold Coast) for 7 of these Polaroid Postcards. If you do know of an Australian company (especially QLD based) whom offers a similar product post it in the comments below ….

Regardless, do you think you would use something like this ? Do you have a polaroid camera ?

Filed Under: Business Hints Tips Advice, For Pet Sitters, News Tagged With: California, Flickr, Instagram, Instant camera, IPhone, Polaroid Corporation, Postcard, Recreation

This Week: Facebook Insights | Guest Blog Post by LKR (Laura Roeder)

May 17, 2012 By Vanessa (NPPC Founder) Leave a Comment

Are Facebook pages really useful for a business? Well, I would say yes and in more ways than you might think.

Your assignment this week is to take a peek into Facebook’s Insights, a valuable feature I’m guessing you didn’t even know was there! Insights is a collection of data about the people who “like” your page. This includes demographics like age and location as well as info about how they interact with your page.

Insights only apply to pages, not your personal profile and you must have at least 30 “likes”. When you log in to your Facebook page, you have your Admin Panel right there. Click on “Insights” and you just have to click on “See All”. Spend a little time exploring all the different charts and graphs and see what surprises you can discover about your audience!

The above is with thanks to LKR – Laura Roeder. Find out more information on her Zero to Facebook program…..

The Smartest, Most Effective, Least Time Consuming Way to Promote your Business on Facebook

Filed Under: Business Hints Tips Advice, For Pet Sitters, News

Tips To Get Yourself Out Of A Slump And Back On The Road To Success

April 2, 2012 By Vanessa (NPPC Founder) Leave a Comment

Slump – definition – a sudden decline in business, stock prices, or productivity

We’ve all been there, those times when you find yourself unmotivated, directionless, seemingly incapable of doing the tasks that need to be done. Everything just seems too hard, and distractions are just so seductive.

Well, then, enough of that nonsense, let’s have a look at what we can do to move this giant slug of befuddlement and get on with business.

Firstly, understand how the slump has snuck up on you. What sneaky tactics did it use to work its way into your usually productive life? Recently a member of our team found herself in a slump after a particularly busy period of work came abruptly to an end.

“I had been working my proverbial off trying to get a new website set up and new marketing material created and printed as well as all the procedures to accompany the use of these. I was literally waking up in the middle of the night from work related nightmares, that’s how busy I was. Then, one day, it was over, all the work was done, it took me a couple of days of staring aimlessly at my emails and rewriting my tasks list to realise that in the absence of crazy activity I had entered a slump. I found myself unfocused and vague, with no idea of what I should be doing.”

Here are some tips for getting yourself out of a slump;

Write it all out – what do you want, what changes are you looking to make, what is your big dream, write reams and reams if you want, don’t stop the creative flow once it gets started.
Pick one goal – that’s right, drill it down to just one goal, make it easy to achieve, now is not the time to challenge yourself too much.
Break it down into steps – write out all the little steps it will take to achieve this goal, and then number them in order of what needs to be done first.
Get organised – what do you need to get it done efficiently, de-clutter your space, do both your work and home if possible so that the sense of moving forward carries through all aspects of your life.
Delegate if possible – recruit others to the cause, or outsource to specialists.
Give yourself a time frame in which to get it done, and try to stick to it!
Re-read your goal and tasks several times a day to keep you focussed. If you find yourself slipping off into the land of YouTube or Facebook, then it is time to read your goal and tasks again.
Look at the other areas in your life that have been pushed off to the side and start to integrate them back into your daily routine. This might be as simple as walking the dog, or getting your receipts filed.
Congratulate yourself on a job well-done. Every time you achieve something, even the small stuff, give yourself a pat on the back and tell yourself (and anyone else within ear shot) just how awesome you truly are!

Remember that there’s an ebb and flow. Motivation is not a constant thing that is always there for you. It comes and goes, and comes and goes again, like the tide.

We’d love to hear some of your tips for getting out of a slump, jump onto our Facebook page and let us know what you’ve found that works.

Filed Under: Business Hints Tips Advice, For Pet Sitters Tagged With: Business, Facebook, Goal, Health, Motivation, Self-Help, Time, YouTube

Empathy is Where Great Customer Service Begins | Author – Gold Coast North Chamber of Commerce & Industry Inc

March 30, 2012 By Vanessa (NPPC Founder) Leave a Comment

Customers talking to a Relationship Manager during the Edelmetallmesse (Photo credit: GoldMoneyNews)

If you Google “customer service best practices,” it returns about 13 million results. Tack the word “empathy” onto the same search and the results drop by 95%, to 700,000. By no means a scientific study or conclusion, but I think telling. Customer service empathy can be boiled down to five simple questions:

How does the person I’m trying to help feel?

How would I feel if I were that person?

No matter the request or the “rules,” is there something I can/should do to help?

What would I expect to be done for me if the roles were reversed?

In the end, what would make this customer satisfied or (better yet) happy, and is there any reason I can’t do it or find someone who can?

With these five questions and the right attitude, you need little else to be a customer service superstar. They cannot be replaced with a 700-page handbook or multi-million dollar CRM system. Companies get so caught up in their systems and investments that they lose sight of the fact that genuine empathy can obviate the need for much of it. When it comes to serving humans, empathy is the best place to start.

Originally published within the Gold Coast North Chamber of Commerce & Industry Inc Weekly Update (e-News) 30 March 2012

How do YOU demonstrate customer service empathy ?

Filed Under: Business Hints Tips Advice, For Pet Sitters Tagged With: Best practice, Business, Customer, Customer relationship management, customerservice, Empathy, Google, Tack

This Week: Ask for Testimonials

March 29, 2012 By Vanessa (NPPC Founder) Leave a Comment

This Week: Ask for Testimonials

Adding testimonials or case studies to your website is an amazing way to add what’s called “social proof” – proof to your potential customers that others have already gone before and had a positive experience working with you. No one wants to be the guinea pig!

But in order to get these juicy testimonials, you must ASK for them. I know this can be daunting, but unless you ask, you won’t receive! This week I’m going to “cheat” a little bit by sending you to an article by my friend Chris Haddad. It contains some really juicy questions to ask your previous customers to get the best possible testimonials. I have used these questions myself and they work! The only caveat I would add is your previous customers might feel overwhelmed by such a long list. So try asking just a few of these, or inserting one or two into the conversation when you talk to an old client. People are usually happy to give a testimonial, and you can make their lives much easier by making their words into a cohesive testimonial. Just make sure to get their approval before you post it publicly.

This week your task is to directly ask for three testimonials. Once you get them, make sure to show ‘em off on your site!

Filed Under: Business Hints Tips Advice, For Pet Sitters Tagged With: ask for testimonials, Guinea pig

Grow Your Pet Business With Send Out Cards

Lost / Found Pet Resources and Assistance – Queensland Lost Pet Register ( Gold Coast )

If you need to make a “LOST” or “FOUND” pet notice yourself please post or search for ”Gold Coast Lost and Found Pets” within Facebook.

If you have lost your pet or have found one within the Gold Coast area, contact the Gold Coast area co-ordinator via facebook (click here) or 0420 355 887.

READ THIS NOTE BY RSPCA IF YOU HAVE LOST YOUR PET ! How to find your LOST pet! Tips you MUST know for finding your pet in Queensland from RSPCA ( click here )

LOST YOUR PET BIRD ? Please read “What to do if your bird has flown away or has been stolen” ( click here )

When your Pet first goes missing, please do the following.

REMEMBER NEVER give up looking for your pet, they want you to find them !

If you have found a lost animal – All Domestic Animals should be taken to the nearest Vet or the Gold Coast Pound (which is located in Coombabah next door to the Animal Welfare League). If no local vets or pound open please head to the Animal Emergency Service at 104 Eastlake Street in Carrara.

If you have found an injured animal, PLEASE seek medical help, DO NOT JUST LEAVE IT !!! Call Animal Ambulance 0400 484 484 IMMEDIATELY !!

Polaroid Postcards

Regardless, do you think you would use something like this ? Do you have a polaroid camera ?

This Week: Facebook Insights | Guest Blog Post by LKR (Laura Roeder)

The Smartest, Most Effective, Least Time Consuming Way to Promote your Business on Facebook

Tips To Get Yourself Out Of A Slump And Back On The Road To Success

Empathy is Where Great Customer Service Begins | Author – Gold Coast North Chamber of Commerce & Industry Inc

How do YOU demonstrate customer service empathy ?

This Week: Ask for Testimonials

CONTACT US

* BREAKING NEWS *

If you need to make a “LOST” or “FOUND” pet notice yourself please post or search for ”Gold Coast Lost and Found Pets” within Facebook.

If you have lost your pet or have found one within the Gold Coast area, contact the Gold Coast area co-ordinator via facebook (click here) or 0420 355 887.

READ THIS NOTE BY RSPCA IF YOU HAVE LOST YOUR PET ! How to find your LOST pet! Tips you MUST know for finding your pet in Queensland from RSPCA ( click here )

LOST YOUR PET BIRD ? Please read “What to do if your bird has flown away or has been stolen” ( click here )

When your Pet first goes missing, please do the following.

** REMEMBER ** NEVER give up looking for your pet, they want you to find them !

If you have found a lost animal – All Domestic Animals should be taken to the nearest Vet or the Gold Coast Pound (which is located in Coombabah next door to the Animal Welfare League). If no local vets or pound open please head to the Animal Emergency Service at 104 Eastlake Street in Carrara.

If you have found an injured animal, PLEASE seek medical help, DO NOT JUST LEAVE IT !!! Call Animal Ambulance 0400 484 484 IMMEDIATELY !!

Regardless, do you think you would use something like this ? Do you have a polaroid camera ?

How do YOU demonstrate customer service empathy ?

Connect with us…

CONTACT US

* BREAKING NEWS *

REMEMBER NEVER give up looking for your pet, they want you to find them !