In this episode of “Bella In Your Business”, Bella speaks with Britt Alwerud from Handlr. They discuss DogVacay, Rover, Wag, and Zingy versus Professional Small Business Owners.
In this episode they discuss:
- Why do you think so many small business owners are intimidated by the large powerhouses that have entered the market in the last few years?
- How have the changed the industry? Are they really “disrupting” the industry?
- What are the pros and cons of the huge companies versus the more personal professional businesses?
- Are customers flocking to on-demand apps? Are they demanding an on-demand experience?
- Are small business owners going to get screwed or what can they do to protect themselves?
- If someone is a Rover or DogVacay user, but they want to become a legitimate small business with people working for them, could they use Handlr? What are their first steps for becoming a legit business?
Britt Alwerud lives in Los Angeles, CA with her menagerie of furbabies – two Goldens, Daisy and Taj, two cats, Tiger and Monkey, two horses named Gracie and Moo, and a chameleon named Larry. Britt owns DogZenergy in San Diego, CA. Now she’s the full-time Founder and CEO of Handlr. Handlr is the ultimate business app for busy pet sitters who are looking to automate and grow their business.
Learn more about Handlr by clicking here or email her at [email protected]. You can also find Britt on Instagram @doggonetechgirl or follow Handlr on Twitter @myhandlr for weekly business tips.
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Transcript:
This is episode 27 of Bella in Your Business.
Welcome to Bella in Your Business, where Bella will discuss anything and everything about your pet sitting business to help you land on target. So get ready—Bella’s got your chute. Let’s jump.
Welcome to another episode of Bella in Your Business. My name’s Bella Vasta, and I am here with Britt Alvarud.
Britt: I’m good, Bella. Thanks for having me on with you.
Bella: Absolutely. Some of my listeners may remember you back from a couple of episodes ago where we shared nine awesome apps for your pet business. And we had so much fun that I wanted to bring you back on again today. We are going to talk about a hot topic of this industry, and that is the great debate. There’s a lot of friction, yet togetherness. The economy has made this whole area of pet sitters, dog walkers, and boarders evolve through all these different website applications. When I say website apps, I mean DogVacay, Rover, Wag, Zinni—there are so many of them. Basically, I mean those places where you can sign up to be a pet sitter and start taking dogs into your home that night or the next day. You don’t necessarily have to have your own business, website, branding, logo, or marketing. I’m going to call those folks the independent pet sitters. They’ve said that’s what they want to be called. Before, we used to say “professionals” versus “hobby sitters,” and that didn’t go over well. So I’ll call them the website sitters and the independent pet sitters.
So Britt, why do you think so many small business owners are intimidated by the large powerhouses that have entered the market in the last few years?
Britt: I would say that it’s just really kind of shaking up the industry a lot. A lot of these big companies in Silicon Valley or elsewhere raise millions and millions of dollars, and they think they can just create a website or app and suddenly have this huge pet sitting company—which they have done. With those millions of dollars, they’re able to have enormous marketing and advertising budgets, put up billboards, and spend a ton acquiring dog walkers and customers. The thing that rubs small business owners the wrong way is that we simply don’t have millions of dollars to promote our small business. Some of us have worked 10 or 15 years building our businesses and commanding our pricing. So it stings when these big companies come out with millions in backing and can drive prices down, paying people as independent contractors rather than employees.
Bella: It’s a loaded question, isn’t it? On one hand, I feel like there’s no excuse for anyone in this world to ever have to be on government assistance if they’re able-bodied and can work, right? Because right now we could order someone to come clean our home, give us a massage, do our glam, walk our dog—we can order so many things through these online apps. They’re sourcing people out there who want to work, and I think it’s great. These people might not have wanted to start their own independent pet business. So it’s kind of instant—this instant economy that started. For consumers, it could be a great thing, but it also could be a bad thing.
Small business owners—on one hand, you have people upset or rattled by newcomers, and on the other, you have those who see it as two different things. It’s like Bentley and Kia. Two different products doing similar things, but offering different experiences. So Britt, do you think they’re really disrupting the industry, or is it just a matter of perspective?
Britt: It’s a disruption to small business owners in terms of pricing and competition. For instance, with DogVacay, I think it’s only like $40 per night for someone to watch your dog. For my small business, Dogs Energy, we have insurance, workers’ comp, and we pay taxes. We have managers overseeing everything. We’re the Bentley, and we charge $100 per night for pet sitting in San Diego to keep our pet sitters and clients happy. The price difference is huge. There are people who still want to pay for the Bentley experience—professionals who’ve been doing this for 10 years. But it’s not fair because those big companies don’t pay payroll taxes or offer workers’ comp if someone gets hurt. It’s a gray area. I could do the same and hire independent contractors, but I want to protect myself and my team. We’re working with animals, and things happen.
Bella: I agree—it’s a great debate. Personally, I think it’s only disruptive if small business owners allow it to be. Every time someone came close to my brand, I used that energy to make myself stand out even more. I also think there’s a perceived value issue. For example, my husband believes that if we buy a $65 shirt from Guess, it’s better quality than the same shirt at Ross for $12.99. The product is identical, but the perceived value changes because of the price. That’s what happens here too.
There are amazing sitters charging less, but consumers often assume price equals value. So if we know our audience, when others go low, we go high. Let them undercut. We charge higher, which means more profit and a healthier business. Long-term, low prices burn people out. Longevity isn’t sustainable at $24 per night. So it’s about mindset—don’t let it disrupt you.
Britt: That’s exactly why I decided to build Handler for my business. Customers want the on-demand experience. They want to use an app like Uber to schedule and track their dog walker. I wanted to stay competitive, and I actually had the idea for Handler before I even knew about DogVacay or Rover. The big difference is that Handler was created for small business owners. It gives us the same kind of mobile technology the big players have, but without paying millions.
The people on those big platforms get burned out, and when they want to grow their own business, it’s tough because of the contracts—they can’t take clients off the platform. So Handler became a bridge for small business owners to manage clients both on and off apps, without losing control.
Bella: Exactly. There’s a gap growing between on-demand platforms and professional companies. Some people start on these sites, but once they grow, they need to break away. Handler gives them that bridge—they’re still using technology they know but now own it. Or they might prefer to stay independent and build their own system. Either way, the industry is evolving.
When I started, I was posting flyers on mailboxes. If Rover or DogVacay existed back then, I’d have signed up too! Nowadays, we have so many options, and it’s important to understand what they mean for our business.
I love how you saw this paradigm shift and built Handler to fill the gap. After talking with you, I really see how it’s unique—neither just a website app nor a fully independent system.
Britt: And it’s myhandler.com. We believe in small business owners because I am one. With Dogs Energy, I wanted an app for my dog walkers and customers, with a dashboard for my business. But building that from scratch was too expensive. So I thought, what if I built it for other small businesses too? Handler lets small business owners use the same kind of platform as the big players. They can plug in their services, staff, and clients and be up and running in less than an hour.
Bella: I love that. I’m just so grateful we live in a time and place where we can create things like this. You can do anything you want—it all starts and stops with you. I know people making six figures picking up dog poop. There’s enough for everyone, and all customers aren’t the same. We’re not selling widgets—we’re selling guilt-free pet care.
Britt: Absolutely.
Bella: That’s a great way to end this. Britt, is there anything else you want to add?
Britt: Just that if anyone wants to take the first step, believe in yourself and make it happen. If you have questions, email me at [email protected]. And Bella, you’re an amazing resource. People should reach out to you—you help them reach the next level.
Bella: Thanks, Britt. To everyone listening, check us out on Stitcher or iTunes—subscribe, like, and comment. Visit facebook.com/jumpconsulting or jumpconsulting.net. And remember—always keep jumping.