[Audio Interview] Pet Sitting Business Owner Reveals Method of Hiring ICs

pampered-pet I recently had the opportunity to chat with Pampered Pet Care of Atlanta company owner Sarah Paulk on the subject of independent contractors.

Sarah’s pet sitting business was voted “Best Pet Sitting Company” in 2009 by Atlanta Magazine and with a roster of 13 independent contractors on board, the company must be doing most things right.

In this open and honest interview, Sarah walks us through the step-by-step process of finding, interviewing and hiring the perfect IC for your team.

Listen in and discover:

The number one reason Sarah decided to hire her first IC
The best (and worst) place to post an ad
How to avoid getting overwhelmed with IC responses
What to include in your ads
What to look for during your first face-to-face interview
Why putting yourself in the clients’ shoes is so crucial
Whether it’s better to pay ICs a flat-rate or a percentage
Sarah’s biggest concern when it comes to hiring ICs

Listen to the interview here:

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Tags: Independent Contractors, Interview
Posted in: Pet Sitting Business Success
Monday, January 11, 2010

About the Author

Joshua Cary is an all around good guy. He is a filmmaker, web designer and business owner. What does he bring to the table? A plethora of creative marketing know-how, savvy web design skills and a good laugh every now and again. Along with his beautiful wife, Alitia (pronounced uh-leash-uh), he is a pet sitting business trainer, coach and instructor at PetSittingOlogy.

Author's web site | Other posts by Joshua

TrimmerCA

Great interview Josh! Thank you! I wonder if you've ever considered interviewing a pet sitting company who does not use IC's but hires employees? IC's may not be right for every company and it would be nice to hear both sides of the story!

petsittingology

Hey Carrie,

Excellent point and suggestion. I will surely make a note of this and see if I can get the ball rolling on this one.

You're right, it would be a wonderful follow-up interview to this one.

vickiholt

Sarah and Josh, that was the best on-line pet sitting interview I've heard anywhere. Josh, the questions were good and kept the interview on track and covering all relevant topics. Sarah, your information was invaluable to sitters wanting to do ICs right.

I've been using ICs for several years successfully, and had learned most of the legalities correctly, but have been stymied over the recruiting and hiring process. Thank you for such concrete process suggestions. This was time very well spent!

petsittingology

Hi Vicki,

Thanks for the kind words, and great to hear you enjoyed the interview! I plan on making the interviews a regular series here, with the focus on different topics. (If you have any suggested topics, just let me know.)

vickiholt

One question for you Sarah: If your clients communicate directly with your ICs, how do you manage the scheduling and payment?

I find that when clients communicate directly with my ICs, they also book jobs directly with them. Does that happen with your clients too? If so, does the IC notify you of a new booking with the client, and then you bill the client and have the client pay you?

petsittingology

Vicki,

I just got word from Sarah that she is tied up tending to some personal matters, which prevents her from responding directly at this moment.

She will try her best to reply when she can... Thanks for your question...