התמלול המלא של Moved Sight Unseen, Bought a Franchise, Works 84-hour Weeks | No Strings Attached #47 | Tesa Harris

Yeah, okay. Tesa Harris: But yeah, I loved it. And I transitioned to work into retail. I did that for about five and a half years. I transitioned to work into retail. then I got into hospitality and I was in hospitality for I don't even know how 15, 20 years, and all the way Roger Magalhaes: Okay. Tesa Harris: from being a server to working myself up to assistant manager, doing some HR hats, high-end catering, you know, just really wrapping my arms around hospitality. And then at one point I was like, Well, maybe I'll go into HR for hospitality. And I'll try to work in the hotel sector, right? Roger Magalhaes: Sure. Tesa Harris: And you know, went to college and started to take some HR classes and liked it. But then I Roger Magalhaes: Mm-hmm. Tesa Harris: was like, maybe I'll go medical and go nursing, because that was really popular in the, you know, mid 2000s and seemed like a more stable job. And still in Ohio. So we grew up in Lakewood. Roger Magalhaes: Where were you living that back then? Okay. Uh-huh. Tesa Harris: And then sorry it's right outside of Cleveland, so northeast Ohio. And we loved it. We lived there my whole life, all the way up until we moved to Florida in twenty seventeen. Roger Magalhaes: Uh-huh. Tesa Harris: Yeah. So Roger Magalhaes: And from there, you went to school for what? Business? Tesa Harris: So I had started HR track, then I went into Roger Magalhaes: Uh-huh. Tesa Harris: nursing track, and then I quickly decided all of those science classes were not for me. It's not Roger Magalhaes: Okay. Tesa Harris: my analytical brain and you know, just learning all the technical parts of it just were not the right fit for me. So I transitioned into general business. I ended up graduating with my degree in economic development with a minor in management and labor relations from Cleveland State University. Roger Magalhaes: So how this transition to Florida happened? Tesa Harris: Yeah. So I was in hospitality and Roger Magalhaes: huh. Tesa Harris: one of my former employees who I managed in the restaurant had moved to Florida already. she had a condo here and she worked for a company called Robert Half, which is the world's largest staffing firm. And we were chatting and, you know, my mom had always wanted to move to Florida and she had lived with us at the time after going through a divorce with my father. And my old coworker goes, you know, wouldn't it be crazy if you moved to Florida and you guys rented out my condo? And I was like, that'll never happen. She goes, Well, my company's hiring because I'm getting a promotion over to the other side of the state. She goes, This is a great job. You'd be so good at it. You know, you should think about it. It Roger Magalhaes: huh. Tesa Harris: took a little bit of convincing, but she's like, just interview. I was Roger Magalhaes: Uh-huh. Yeah. Tesa Harris: like, all right, thinking I'm never gonna get this job. They had never hired someone remote, sight unseen, they hadn't interviewed

in person. They're very old school by the book. So, Roger Magalhaes: Okay. Yeah. Right. Okay. Tesa Harris: anyways, I'm going through these video interviews with them over the course of a couple of weeks. And they end up extending me the job, which is crazy. And Roger Magalhaes: Uh-huh. Tesa Harris: my husband at the time was in hospitality as a chef, so he could work anywhere. You know, I had the opportunity to to move and kind of transition because I was a server at the time. And my mom worked in the hospital system and would love to transfer down here. So we took it as a sign. And Roger Magalhaes: Sure. Yeah. Tesa Harris: within two weeks of getting the job offer, we and our lease is coming up, so perfect timing. We Roger Magalhaes: Everything lining up. Tesa Harris: Everything lining up. But here's the crazy thing. We've never been to St. Petersburg before. I never visited here before we moved here. We moved sight unseen. Roger Magalhaes: Alright, so third one is a strike. I moved to Tampa, sight unseen, didn't Tesa Harris: Yeah. Roger Magalhaes: ever been to Tampa in my life, never Tesa Harris: Yeah. Roger Magalhaes: knew one person in the city, and I say, Okay, we're going. Tesa Harris: Nope. Nope. Same. Yep. It's it it was one of those things that I'm a very calculated, methodical, plan things out to do like I'm just and I Roger Magalhaes: Yeah. Tesa Harris: just had this piece about it. I just really did. And I said, What's the worst thing that happens? We move, Roger Magalhaes: Yeah. Tesa Harris: we get my mom settled, she ends up loving it, and we end up moving back, right? we didn't have kids at the time and Roger Magalhaes: Uhhuh. Yeah, yeah. Sure. Tesa Harris: we didn't have a house we had to sell, and we just had a little bit more. less strings attached, right? And so we said, Roger Magalhaes: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Tesa Harris: Hey, let's take a chance and take a shot on it. So Roger Magalhaes: Sure. Tesa Harris: we we moved and I started working in professional staffing, which taught me so much because I ran my own book of business, marketing, Roger Magalhaes: Uh-huh. Tesa Harris: sales, managing teams, labor, learning to read financial statements, growth strategies. I mean, you name it, right? We we basically were handed, hey, go run your own mini business within the business, you know, and Roger Magalhaes: Right, right. Yeah, yeah. Tesa Harris: Yeah, so it's it was definitely not planned. It's we always say everybody falls into staffing, nobody goes, you know, I wanna get into staffing, right? So yeah. Roger Magalhaes: Exactly. So what your husband doing? He found a job right away, he was helping you. Tesa Harris: So he got a job, I would say within four to six weeks of moving. You know, just like most companies in Florida, you call them, you're like, Hey, I'm gonna be moving. They're like, Great, call me when you're here. Cause I Roger Magalhaes: Right. Tesa Harris: you know, we got it all the time when I was in staffing. I'd have random Roger Magalhaes: Yeah. Tesa Harris: people call me and I'd say, You know, you gotta be here because I don't know if your plans fall through, the moving does, your financial Roger Magalhaes: Right, right. Tesa Harris: situation, your roommate situation, whatever. So, anyways, he didn't get a job right away. We thought he would. And so it was a little a little hairy financially for a while. And he went to, you know, strategically certain restaurants that we thought we could get some daytime hours and kind of get a little bit more flexibility in the schedule because restaurants, as most people know, it's nights, weekends, holidays, and we're trying to find something different down here. So, anyways, he ended up getting a job working for a Michael Mina restaurant, which is unfortunately no longer here. It was at the Sundial downtown St. Pete called Locale Market, and he loved it. And my mom got a job working for Baycare Health System as a phlebotomist. and it just everything kind of slowly fell into place. But it definitely was a little hairy the first couple of months where we're like, you know, was this the right fit? You know, and we were struggling to make ends meet. So yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah. Roger Magalhaes: Right. Did we regret we did this or whatever? Uh-huh. Tesa Harris: Yeah. But cost of living was better back then. We had a two-bedroom, two bath for twelve hundred dollars in a prime location with a big pool and a tennis you can't find that nowadays. Everybody knows. It's like you're lucky to find a one bedroom for Roger Magalhaes: That was before COVID, right? Tesa Harris: fifteen hundred. Roger Magalhaes: Before COVID. Tesa Harris: yeah, it was twenty seventeen. It was great. Roger Magalhaes: Yeah, exactly. I guess the whole Florida changed after COVID, right? Because everybody kinda influxed to Florida and everything skyrocketed from there. Yeah. Tesa Harris: yeah. I d the changes post COVID, we saw it in staffing where the housing market just blew up and we had so many new people coming into the area and it got really competitive for salaries. I mean, it was a great market, employee market for a while there where companies were fighting over and you know, jumping salaries, right, to try to get good people in the door, which was great for the employees. Roger Magalhaes: Right, right, right. So you stayed there and then how this padding service started, how this whole thing transitioned into it. Tesa Harris: Yeah. Well, so I worked for Robert Ha from I don't can't remember the exact days, but twenty seventeen to like twenty twenty-two. And it just wasn't the right fit anymore. I hated the sales side, I hated cold calling, was never my favorite thing to do. And I got poached from a small boutique firm that Roger Magalhaes: Mm-hmm. Tesa Harris: kind of promised me bigger, brighter things, more flexibility, all the good stuff. Quickly came to find out that working, you know, for a national firm with no relationships and

starting all over again because I had a non-compete probably wasn't the best move. it Roger Magalhaes: Mm-hmm. Okay. Tesa Harris: did give us a little bit more flexibility that we were looking for, but it was the same job, cold calling and sales and and just really not. I'm a relationship builder and I do that better in person. So I stayed there for a little while and then ended up transitioning thinking, well, maybe if I go into corporate recruiting, it'll be Totally different because I don't have the sales side, right? Well, Roger Magalhaes: Right. Yeah. Yeah. Tesa Harris: that was managing a team working 70 plus hours a week and just constant burnout and lots of other challenges that I I didn't have control over, unfortunately. And so I really came to realize we need to do something different. We have a daughter who has special needs. She's on the spectrum level two autism. And Roger Magalhaes: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Tesa Harris: It's been a lot to navigate with her educationally, her medication, her emotions, and we're getting there. but what our family needed was something different. And so my husband had gone to grooming school, and I started to think about what we could do for a business. And I always wanted something on my own. I just didn't know what that was. And we started to explore different opportunities, and we came across woofies, and they were based out of Ohio. And I started conversations with them. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Roger Magalhaes: Too funny, huh? Go go back to your hometown. Tesa Harris: Well, and it worked in our favor because the owner, Amy, who's just the most lovely person you'll ever meet, she's had Woofies since 2004. So the company's been around for quite some time. And no, because Roger Magalhaes: Did you know that company when you lived in Ohio? huh. Tesa Harris: they they have very there's 80 locations across the US, but they're they're scattered, you know, and they're not in all major metropolitan markets yet. So I don't even think there was a Wolfies when we were in Ohio. because Roger Magalhaes: Uh-huh. Tesa Harris: no, there wasn't, 'cause she I don't think there was, anyways. But yeah. So we didn't know anything about the brand, the company. And we started conversations with them in their franchise. And we really hit it off, like really hit it off. And Roger Magalhaes: Nice. Tesa Harris: we had a couple different franchise opportunities on the table. Some were not pet service related at all. And again, kind of putting it out there to take a leap of faith. We looked at our daughter and we said, Hey, these are all the options. Which one can you see us as a family doing together? Which one are you excited about? Cause there's two we were down to we're totally torn on. And she goes, Whoofies. Like without a doubt, she goes, like a no brainer, right? And that's Roger Magalhaes: Uhhuh, yeah. Tesa Harris: the one we ended up, you know, investing and taking the leap with. So yeah. Roger Magalhaes: Okay. Tesa Harris: And that

was in November of last year and then we opened in May of this year. Yeah. Roger Magalhaes: Cool. So, did you ever thought about doing something on your own without a franchise support? Or you are how did the s the franchise came about? Tesa Harris: So that was the challenge. And I used to tell all of my friends this. I know I'm meant to do something. I don't know what it is. And I kept Roger Magalhaes: Uh-huh. Yeah. Tesa Harris: thinking, this is the part of thing when life where you have to take action, right? You can't hope and dream and somebody's gonna go knock on your door and all the pieces are gonna fall into place. And I knew that. Roger Magalhaes: Right. Yeah. Tesa Harris: And but I was like, man, if somebody would just come to me and say, I want you to run my business, I would give it my all. And I would bust my butt and run it like my own. And I would just love that. I you know, I always am jealous of people who are in the family business where, you know, their father, mother started something or their grandfather did, and then they just kind of got folded into it, right? you know, I didn't have that opportunity. My my dad was an entrepreneur, he was an auto detailer, it was never something that was scalable and he moved to the Philippines before he passed. And you know, we didn't have a family business. So Anyways, I didn't have a dream of one specific industry or a problem to solve. And I've spent literally my entire life thinking, what does that look like? Right? If I could solve a problem, find a niche in the market, be part of something. I don't know what that is, right? Roger Magalhaes: Yeah, yeah. Tesa Harris: And as being in staffing, I worked with companies across the US, big brands like L'Oreal, Ottomers PGA, I've worked with mom and pops, you know, where it's literally a one man, you know, trades business trying to scale and grow. I I've done it all. Roger Magalhaes: Sure. Yeah. Tesa Harris: And I'm looking at all these industries and all these businesses. I'm like, do I fit in there? Do I fit in there? can I see Roger Magalhaes: Yeah. huh. Tesa Harris: us doing that? And it it was just never clear to us. So when we started to explore, hey, maybe franchising, somebody's Roger Magalhaes: Mm-hmm. Tesa Harris: built the roadmap. They have the resources, they built the logo, the brand, the strategy, the playbook candidly. They're looking Roger Magalhaes: Yeah. Thank Tesa Harris: for somebody that can implement the playbook, make it their own, localize it, but Roger Magalhaes: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Tesa Harris: they've built the roadmap and it's clearly been successful, right? But Roger Magalhaes: And they're gonna hold they're gonna hold our hand when we need it, right? Uh-huh. Tesa Harris: Yeah, yeah, well to a point, yeah, they do. They'll give you the resources. They can't Roger Magalhaes: Right. Tesa Harris: really advise you legally, financially. there's a lot of things you really gotta figure out on your own, right? They don't totally sink or swim, but they Roger Magalhaes: is that right? Okay. Tesa Harris: they give you guidelines, Yeah. Roger Magalhaes: Okay. So it it's good to know because sometimes people think it's well, I'm buying a franchise, it's kinda turkey operation, whatever problem Tesa Harris: No. Roger Magalhaes: happened, they handle it. It's not exactly like that. Tesa Harris: No. No. And that's where, if you there are individuals that buy existing franchises that have, you know, been operating for X amount of years, you know, Roger Magalhaes: Right. Tesa Harris: and then you know you know what the books look like, you know the financial situation of the previous owner. Sometimes that owner will stay on and Roger Magalhaes: Mm-hmm. Tesa Harris: you can build that into the contract and say, Hey, can you stay on the first six months or a year? Right. So you can think of like a business broker, you can negotiate all that stuff in. Roger Magalhaes: Sure, sure. huh. Yeah. Tesa Harris: If you're starting from scratch. that's why we we purchased in November. We didn't open till May. It took us that long to get licenses, to get certifications, build everything out. It's it was 40 Roger Magalhaes: Really? Tesa Harris: plus hours a week on top of our regular jobs, getting everything set up to open that business. So my husband had to resign his other position to just work on opening the business. Yeah. Roger Magalhaes: Just to line up. Wow. Okay. Wow. So it i it's a good good lesson right there. It's not just, whoa I have the money. Here's the my mu take my money Tesa Harris: No. Roger Magalhaes: and open the doors so it doesn't work like that. Tesa Harris: Well, and the other thing I think really good to know that many people don't realize, Roger Magalhaes: Uh-huh. Tesa Harris: it isn't like, I have the money, I want to invest, I wanna buy your franchise. The better Roger Magalhaes: Uh-huh. Tesa Harris: franchise organizations like authority brands who we belong to, it's an application process. If they're interviewing you as much as you're interviewing them, it took us several months of conversations, interviews, meet and greets, talking to different individuals in the organization. It wasn't like Hey, yeah, you got 50 grand. Sure. Yeah. Come join us, right? As they should be. We're representing a larger organization. We're representing a brand. It affects all the other owners if we don't do well or we do have a misstep, right? There's that accountability piece, right? We all make each other look good. We can all make each other look bad. So there's four locations in Tampa Bay, and we all take that really seriously for each other. Roger Magalhaes: Okay. Tesa Harris: that we kind of keep our reputations very tight knit because that could have implications, you know. Across your region, potentially nationally. So, just because you have the funds, you really have to make sure that it's the right fit. And they're considering you too. And we did beat out other people

to get our territory. We were actually the only Roger Magalhaes: Right. It is huh. Tesa Harris: location awarded two territories right off the bat. They normally don't do that. Roger Magalhaes: Interesting because it's not just having the money I can buy and do whatever. You need to fit within the company's culture, Tesa Harris: The model. Roger Magalhaes: right? And all the other franchisees, it kind of become an extended family, right? Everybody has to have the same kind of values and same kind of business orientation because Tesa Harris: Yeah. Roger Magalhaes: otherwise I go to store A. Looks so different from store B, it kinda hurts the brand. It hurts everyone Tesa Harris: Well, Roger Magalhaes: as a whole, right? Tesa Harris: yeah, and I've acquired clients that have relocated from Orlando and other parts Tampa and and other spots where they've moved down to St. Pete, or Roger Magalhaes: huh. Yeah. Tesa Harris: even nationally. And so, you know, I want them to have this same amazing experience they had with Roger Magalhaes: Sure. Tesa Harris: the Woofies brand wherever they lived when Roger Magalhaes: Right. Tesa Harris: they came back down here. And so I, you know, I feel a big sense of responsibility, even more so to to perform, you know, at that level. So, but yeah, owning a franchise. Gives you the roadmap, it gives you the playbook, it gives you access to resources. But Roger Magalhaes: Mm-hmm. Tesa Harris: yeah, I mean, I I'm on our own. If I need something, yeah, yeah, Roger Magalhaes: You still need to figure out a lot of things. Tesa Harris: yeah. It's we're st we work seven days a week, 12 hours a day since we opened in May. Roger Magalhaes: Mm-hmm. Tesa Harris: And we we took off Father's Day and we took off 4th of July. And then this past weekend we took three days off that we had to build in to take three days off. But we literally work. twelve hour days, seven days a week. It's nonstop. Roger Magalhaes: Mm-hmm. So as I mentioned at the beginning of the podcast, it's not just the reels that everything's perfect, right? There's a lot behind Tesa Harris: Yeah, yeah. Roger Magalhaes: the scene that people don't realize. it's not because it's a franchise, it's still easy nine to five. There's still extra hours behind the scene to make things to, close the whole loop, right? Tesa Harris: Yeah. I'm doing billing at eleven o'clock at night. I'm responding to messages all hours of the day. Roger Magalhaes: Mm-hmm. Tesa Harris: I'm following up on leads. you know, it's it's nonstop. It never ends. Yeah, you we Roger Magalhaes: Right. Right. Right. Right. Tesa Harris: you wear all the hats, you know, a small business owner, right? It's it's myself and my husband. I don't Roger Magalhaes: Absolutely. Mm-hmm. Tesa Harris: have a marketing team behind me that's doing social media. I don't Roger Magalhaes: Right. Tesa Harris: have a finance team that's doing my billing. we did hire a CPA to do our bookkeeping every month and do our taxes, thankfully, because I don't want to do that. Roger Magalhaes: Yeah. Yeah. Tesa Harris: but yeah, I mean I'm putting in payroll, right? I'm hiring, I'm firing, I'm managing. And clients, Roger Magalhaes: Mm-hmm. Tesa Harris: as they should be, are very demanding when it comes to their pets. They have very high expectations. Roger Magalhaes: Uh-huh. Tesa Harris: And we want to set ourselves apart as that professional service, where part of that is me being accessible, available, and delivering, you know, as fast and as quality as I can. So I I take that really very seriously. But it's Roger Magalhaes: Right. Mm-hmm. Now, Tesa Harris: demanding. Roger Magalhaes: right. Now walk me through the process. So you open the doors, people come, they are not one offs, right? They almost become part of your family because they trust you with their dogs or their cats. And they want to rely on you when they need to go out, they when they need to travel. And so is it more like a recurring business? Tesa Harris: No, so when we open the doors, I was warned, you know, don't think that it's just, hey, the phones are on, click, you're gonna start getting calls and people reaching Roger Magalhaes: Mm-hmm. Tesa Harris: out and all this stuff. So we were warned, you know, for several months before we opened, like, it's gonna be sl if you do five hundred dollars in your first month, we will be thrilled, right? So we're no. Roger Magalhaes: So it doesn't work like I open the door, I'm I'm set Tesa Harris: No, no, no, I wish, I wish. And so, you know, we we grind and I still do, right? Roger Magalhaes: Uh-huh. Tesa Harris: I was at a senior center yesterday, they had a health and wellness fair, and so you know, I got there, I got to the storage unit probably six thirty AM, got tables, got everything packed up, showed up to this the senior center. We had our, you know, our marketing table. Like I'm always looking for events. I cold call, I drop in at veterinary offices, like that's What we had to do since we opened in May. It's a lot of networking, meeting people and connecting. And the phones start to ring a little bit, right? Roger Magalhaes: Mm-hmm. Sure. Tesa Harris: we have an SEO, we have a marketing company we we spend quite a bit of money with every month. Doesn't mean the leads are always good. Roger Magalhaes: Mm-hmm. Tesa Harris: you know, and so no, it it really wasn't. It is a relationship business. And, you know, it's hard because there are a lot of established pet care. service providers in our area already. It is, a competitive market. And Roger Magalhaes: Mm-hmm. Tesa Harris: so you really do have to work hard to build those relationships. Roger Magalhaes: Uh-huh. Tesa Harris: I love the recurring clients that know they can trust us and build a relationship. Our goal is to be that one stop for grooming and dog walking and pet sitting or cat grooming and you know pet sitting. But the reality is in the St. Pete market, Which is a little different than the

other markets because I talked to some of the other owners. We get a lot of transient, right? We have a lot of tourists. And sometimes people will call and say, I gotta get my dog bathed. Only today. If you can't get Roger Magalhaes: Mm-hmm. Tesa Harris: me in today, I'm just gonna call down the list and find somebody who can. And so it's speed to market. And there Roger Magalhaes: Okay. Okay. Tesa Harris: it is a lot of transactional, but our ideal client is building the relationship. And those are the clients that are the most rewarding where you know we're with them through good times, bad times. I've had clients' Roger Magalhaes: Right. Tesa Harris: dogs get injured pretty badly and have to have surgery and and we're there throughout the process. Or Roger Magalhaes: Mm-hmm. Tesa Harris: gosh forbid, you know, their their dog or cat passes and, you know, we're there when that happens. And maybe they they Roger Magalhaes: Mm-hmm. Tesa Harris: decide to get a new pet. And so it's you know, we do try to build the relationships and be that trusted partner, but it takes time to build and earn that trust. Roger Magalhaes: And it's not just a transactional sale. That's a lot of emotions involved, right? Because it's Tesa Harris: Lots of emotions. Roger Magalhaes: the loved ones, they are trusting somebody else to take care of, right? Tesa Harris: We have clients where their pets are actively on chemo or they've Roger Magalhaes: Wow. Tesa Harris: decided to stop chemo and you Roger Magalhaes: huh. Tesa Harris: know they're kind of that hospice groom, maybe we're doing their last grooming appointment. We've had a couple of those. Roger Magalhaes: Wow. Tesa Harris: we've had very, very senior pets where, Roger Magalhaes: Uh-huh. Tesa Harris: you know, they're very medically needy, right? And so we take that responsibility really seriously. And Roger Magalhaes: Right. Tesa Harris: it's really important that, you know, If I was in that owner's shoes, and we soon will be, I have a 14-year-old dog and have a 19-year-old cat, right? Roger Magalhaes: Right, right. Tesa Harris: you're not letting anybody just groom or watch that pet. You want to make sure it's somebody you really trust. And I, I I think this one story, this awesome guy, awesome. His aunt kept calling me because she wanted him to come for a family reunion out of state. And he's Roger Magalhaes: Uh-huh. Yeah. Tesa Harris: like, I can't leave our dog. I can't, I can't leave this dog, right? And Roger Magalhaes: Right. Tesa Harris: You I couldn't get him on the phone. He's busy working. And I think he was honestly hesitant where he didn't want to go to the family reunion because he didn't want to leave his dog. And so I get him on the phone. I'm trying to understand what's going on. And I'm yeah, your aunt keeps trying to book and schedule. I'm I need to speak with you too. I need to, get to know you and obviously, set a time so we can do a meet and greet. And I come to find out that this was his

mother's dog. His mom had passed from cancer, I think less than a year. And His dog was senior and it's the last thing left he has of his mom. It's that's it. That dog is everything to him. And Roger Magalhaes: Wow. Right, right. Tesa Harris: he didn't want to leave because he's like, Well if something happens to it, I'm not there. Also, Roger Magalhaes: Right. Tesa Harris: you know, I think there's a lot of attachment and emotion going back out of state for a family reunion since your your parent had passed. You know, that's that's a lot on you emotionally, right? See those cousins and aunts and uncles you probably haven't seen since the funeral. And there's a lot going on there. Roger Magalhaes: Sure. Yeah. Tesa Harris: you know, and and it took a couple of visits with us and he felt really comfortable. He ended up going having the best time. His dog had a great time. We took care of Roger Magalhaes: That's cool. Tesa Harris: the dog like s like kid gloves, right? I'm Roger Magalhaes: Right, right. Tesa Harris: so responsible for this dog. Nothing can happen to it, of course. Which we do anyways, but Roger Magalhaes: Yeah, yeah. Right. Tesa Harris: but yeah, like we get a lot of big stories like that. I've had people go to rehab and and need to use us. Somebody needs to care for their pet mother gone four to six weeks, you know? And Roger Magalhaes: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Tesa Harris: sometimes people don't have family. They're here in Florida and it's just them. So we we get a lot of big things in people's lives versus just the, hey, I'm at work, I need a drop-in visit, or, Roger Magalhaes: Right, right. Tesa Harris: you know, there's there's some big moments we're a part of. Roger Magalhaes: Right. It it's funny because when I were when I was a kid, we had two little dogs. And as a kid we're super attached to them, right? And we love them and everything. Tesa Harris: Yeah. Roger Magalhaes: But then we moved to a place that didn't take dogs and my mom had to get rid of them. So we were sick for quite a while because Tesa Harris: yeah. Roger Magalhaes: it's a big attachment. You don't know. So I grew up sheltered and I I put a shield over me that I would never want a dog again in my life because I don't want to go through the the pain, whatever. I moved to the US. I live in Boston for 20 some odd years. We never had a dog. And I guess because the weather is not as warm as it is in Florida, you don't see as many dogs on the street. You don't see people walking with the dogs or maybe my mind wasn't set that way back in in in Boston, right? But I moved to Florida. Everybody has a dog. All the bars are dog friendly. Some restaurants are dog friendly. You can even bring your little water bowl that you can Tesa Harris: Yeah. Roger Magalhaes: put next to your table so you can have your dog next to you. This doesn't happen up there. And I understand it's a very different state. And then For some odd e odd reason, we start dog seating for my neighbor. And it truly transformed me. Because now I kinda ask the neighbor's dog every other month, say, hey, can I have Simba over for a week? Because Tesa Harris: Yeah, yeah. Roger Magalhaes: it gives you such a a joy or love, unconditional love. They Tesa Harris: Yeah. Roger Magalhaes: don't need to love you, but they love you. They Tesa Harris: It's it's it's healing. People Roger Magalhaes: It's different. Tesa Harris: people don't realize there are some wounds you may or may not realize you have that animals Roger Magalhaes: Correct. Tesa Harris: heal and you don't get a pet because you want them to, but Roger Magalhaes: Yeah. Tesa Harris: they they just inadvertently heal parts of you didn't know that needed healed, right? And Roger Magalhaes: Correct. Tesa Harris: there's there's one client I have in particular and I joke with them and I'm like, if you ever want to get rid of Willow, I will take her. Like I will Roger Magalhaes: Yeah. Yeah. Tesa Harris: that is my soul dog. Somebody else owns my soul dog right now, right? Roger Magalhaes: Uh-huh. Tesa Harris: but there there's there's animals that will come into your life that you're just gonna have this connection with and it's it's unexplainable, it's indescribable. And it it's such a is a gift. It really is a gift, you know. And so we're really lucky to be part of their lives because that's really what it is, right? They're allowing us to be part of their lives Roger Magalhaes: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Tesa Harris: and it is that unconditional love, right? And they rely on us for everything, you know, Roger Magalhaes: Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Tesa Harris: they they can't go get their food necessarily, you know, and Roger Magalhaes: Yeah. Tesa Harris: They really do need us. Yeah. Roger Magalhaes: Or even, take them to walk. So if I don't have a dog, I get home and I, bury myself in the office and I start working. Tesa Harris: Yeah. Roger Magalhaes: Now when Simba is here, my wife, you need to take Simba to walk, and I say, okay, it kind of forces you to do some exercises, whether you like it or not. So it's a good Tesa Harris: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Roger Magalhaes: excuse, you know. Tesa Harris: It's true. Get you out of the house to get you out of that mindset, I know. Even our Roger Magalhaes: Yeah. huh. Yeah, yeah. Tesa Harris: daughter, if she has a meltdown or tantrum, or she's not, she's a little dysregulated. Our dog, Roger Magalhaes: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Tesa Harris: he's not a service dog. Our dog knows. He comes over and he sits on her. It's hilarious. He literally he finds her feet or wherever she's at and he just sits next to her. So what does she do? She starts petting them, right? And what does she do? Roger Magalhaes: Yeah. Right. Right. Yeah. huh. Right. Right. Right. Tesa Harris: She starts to get more regulated because she calms down. They they Roger Magalhaes: Right. Tesa Harris: just know, you know what I mean? Roger Magalhaes: Yeah. It's a very Tesa Harris: They just they know what you need. Yeah. Roger

Magalhaes: rewarding business that you're in, I I assume. Just having those feelings, the unconditional love from the dogs and that kind of stuff, right? Tesa Harris: It it's very rewarding, but it comes with a lot of challenges, right? And part of this is talking about the messy parts. We've been bit. I got Roger Magalhaes: Uhhuh. A lot of responsibilities. Yeah. Tesa Harris: I got bit by a golden doodle. Roger Magalhaes: Okay. Tesa Harris: I've I've been lunged at an almost bit from some Aussies, which is Roger Magalhaes: Wow. Tesa Harris: aussies have a a more they have a reputation for being very anxious dogs. they're amazing dogs, but they Roger Magalhaes: really? Okay. Tesa Harris: you have to really know what you're getting into with an ownership of certain breeds and That's candidly Roger Magalhaes: Okay. Tesa Harris: what we've discovered since opening. There are a lot of people that don't research the breed, don't get trainers, let unhealthy behavior and anxiety kind of fester with their dogs way too long. Roger Magalhaes: Okay. Tesa Harris: which really is sad, unfortunately. We've seen some challenges with grooming where people probably don't take care of their pet to the level they need to be, and they get very bad matting, which is Very painful, extreme. imagine somebody taking your skin and just tugging Roger Magalhaes: Okay. huh. Tesa Harris: and pulling on it. That's what matting is. it's really that hair's compacted, right? So Roger Magalhaes: Wow. huh. Tesa Harris: it has rewarding parts of it, but there's days Roger Magalhaes: Yeah. Tesa Harris: we come home, we're mentally drained, we're exhausted, we're sad, you know? And and Roger Magalhaes: Uh-huh. Right. Tesa Harris: thankfully we have each other, myself and my husband event and the groomers can come vent to us and the pet sitters Roger Magalhaes: Sure. Sure. Tesa Harris: we right. We try to build that internal chat where, hey, come talk if you're having a day. And there's a lot of Roger Magalhaes: Right, right. Tesa Harris: my former My former, my current staff are a lot of vet techs and vet assistants. So they've worked in Roger Magalhaes: Mm-hmm. Tesa Harris: the industry. A lot of them have quit. And the reason they're doing pet sitting and some alternative jobs right now is because they got Roger Magalhaes: Yeah, yeah. Tesa Harris: burnt out working in some vet practices, which really sucks because Roger Magalhaes: Wow. Mm-hmm. Tesa Harris: sometimes clients aren't the nicest and or respectful and or the vet practice may not be. And this isn't Roger Magalhaes: Uh-huh. Tesa Harris: across the board. I'm just saying individuals I've hired their experience, right? Roger Magalhaes: Right, right. Tesa Harris: But working with animals will burn you out. And it's sometimes hard not to say no because think about the people that work with animals the most, right? We're the people pleasers. We have a hard time saying no. We're the bleeding hearts, right? We'll just take one more pet. You know, we we have a hard time setting boundaries. Roger Magalhaes: Mm-hmm. Right. Yeah. Tesa Harris: those are the challenges that you see because somebody needs us and we have a hard time saying no, right? Or trying to fix it. So yeah. Roger Magalhaes: Right. That the good good point right there. So it's not all roses. That's the bad side as well. Absolutely. So Tesa Harris: No. Yeah. So yeah. Roger Magalhaes: is there any kind of breed that you don't get close to it because whatever? Or it's pretty much any breed is welcomed. Tesa Harris: So I really truly believe that it's how you raise your dog. It's how you continue to train, educate, and what you do as an owner that really Roger Magalhaes: Mm-hmm. Tesa Harris: does set your experience with your dog apart. It's not just specific breeds. And it actually makes me really sad. There's a lot of people that are anxious and nervous around pitties, right? And pit bulls. And when we've done work with the SPCA and we've gone and done like free baths for them and such. And I work with a lot of people that are owned rescues or into rescues. A lot of them end up taking in pit bulls. they get a bad rap. And I have a pity mix myself. We have a Staffy which is American Staffordshire Boxer Piple mix. And you know, we we really try not to judge on the breed. that being said, there are some breeds that you get to know their temperament a little bit more. like an Aussie, for example, an Australian Shepherd, they're working dogs. Roger Magalhaes: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Tesa Harris: They're very they need mentally stimulated, they need physically stimulated. If you don't and you're caging that dog all day, you might run into temperament issues, which I've seen. There's just a lot of things you need to learn about animal behavior to understand how to best approach that dog, but it's gonna be very situational. And so those are things that we're kind of doing ongoing education and training for. I have Total Dog Tampa coming, I think in like two weeks on a Sunday. And they're gonna go through some training with our girls and we're gonna go through animal behavior and best practices. And so we're always trying to continually educate on things like that. But there's no breeds we don't take. Roger Magalhaes: Uh-huh. Tesa Harris: technically for grooming, you know, I'll get a call from somebody who has a, you know, I don't know, 200 pound Saint Bernard or a a Great Dane. I'm limited in the van, right? That's only got so much space. So logistically we won't take those dogs. Roger Magalhaes: Sure. huh. Sure. Tesa Harris: pet sitting, dog walking, you know, as long as it's a good match for the sitter, I'm not putting a little five foot one, ninety pound, girl on, you know, a great dane that's gonna pool down the street or something, right? So, Roger Magalhaes: Right, right. Tesa Harris: but yeah, no, we we really try not to judge the breed, because I really do think a lot of it is just how are they raised? But we do

meet and greets. We have to meet ahead of time. So yeah. Like I said, I've Roger Magalhaes: Mm-hmm. Okay. All right. Nice. Tesa Harris: been bit, you know, we've had some dogs where we've had to say we we we aren't the right fit. I have to refer them out. The dog's pretty reactive. Roger Magalhaes: Mm-hmm. Tesa Harris: It it needs to get trained, right? It wouldn't be safe to put somebody in that environment. So and it's not the breed. Roger Magalhaes: It's funny. It's funny because now that you're saying all of that, and you know, obviously I don't have a dog. I just have Simbo once in a while. But I remember back in Massachusetts when I was living there, one girl from my networking group, she had a a huge, when I mean huge, almost a block wide facility to like a daycare for dogs. Tesa Harris: Yeah, dogboarding. Roger Magalhaes: Yeah. And then I said, you just take any dog. So no, no, no, no, no, no, no, it doesn't work like that. They need to go through an interview process. And I'm Tesa Harris: Yeah. Yep. Roger Magalhaes: kind of interview process for a dog? Tesa Harris: Yeah. Roger Magalhaes: But now I understand because it's not really the dog, it's really the pet owners that don't know how to educate that dog, right? To train that dog. And then they become Tesa Harris: Hundred percent. Yeah. Roger Magalhaes: the bad apple among all the other dogs, right? Tesa Harris: Right. Well, and it could be a safety risk to the staff, it could be a safety risk Roger Magalhaes: Uh-huh. Tesa Harris: to the pack, right? Because those pack dynamics, when you think about a boarding facility, and there's things you put in place with the size, the the size of the dog, the play style of the dog, right? You have some dogs that are high energy, you have older, senior dogs that are low energy. So, you Roger Magalhaes: Bye. Tesa Harris: know, a good facility will kind of mitigate what those playtimes, the size of the groups are, how many people are watching, things like that. But Roger Magalhaes: huh. Tesa Harris: Yeah, it's it's definitely even more important if you have a daycare facility, which we don't. We're we're completely mobile, we're one on one, we come to you kind of thing. But Roger Magalhaes: huh. Right. Tesa Harris: those daycare facilities, that's a lot of work. And we we thought about that at one point too. We're like, wouldn't it be really cool to kind of open our own facility? That's Roger Magalhaes: Uh-huh. Tesa Harris: a whole nother dynamic to kind of layer in. And Roger Magalhaes: Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah. Tesa Harris: that's a lot of work because you know, I'm managing one, two, three dogs at a time, kind of that are in the same pet family. So Roger Magalhaes: Uh-huh. Tesa Harris: They already have the dynamics, right? I've already interviewed the owner and learned what those dynamics are. I can't imagine watching ten, fifteen dogs at a time and managing those Roger Magalhaes: Yeah. Yeah. Tesa Harris: the people, personalities, good days, bad days, right? Little Roger Magalhaes: Yeah. Tesa Harris: triggers that, well, we just found out this is a trigger. We didn't that didn't exist before. Or the owner wasn't upfront about it, that happens. So yeah, that's a lot of work. Roger Magalhaes: I'm kinda imagining I'm imagining a movie and kinda this scene from a prison and they have two different blocks, right? One block you got the good guys, the other block the bad Tesa Harris: Yeah. Yeah. Roger Magalhaes: guys, and then they come to the to the same, you know, area, they start to fight. So probably the dogs can do the same thing, right? Tesa Harris: They can. You you pack dynamic is real, right? It can happen pretty quickly. So Roger Magalhaes: Okay. Tesa Harris: you gotta really understand the animal behavior and have enough people watching the size of the group that you have interacting with each other. And and that's why, daycare facilities, they should properly vet out and do through the interview process and slow integration. And there's a lot of things they put in place there, which is it's great. there's so many good facilities in our area that are doing everything right, you know, and they really are. So yeah. Roger Magalhaes: That's great. Tesa Harris: Yeah. Roger Magalhaes: Tessa, I really appreciate your time here. I learned a lot. Even Tesa Harris: Go ahead. Roger Magalhaes: it's very fascinating. Everything that goes behind your job, what you do, the things that you don't go right from the beginning, the doors that close, they realize I want to go this route. Now, if you wanna leave one moment, one Education, one thought, one something for the people they are listening to. What would you say? Tesa Harris: Don't wait on your dreams. If there is something that you feel like is planted in your heart that you keep coming back to, don't spend your whole life researching it or waiting. Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith, right? moving here opens so many doors and connections for us. I met some of my best friends that I'll have for life. Taking the leap of faith of leaving a stable career in paycheck and insurance to start over, right? so scary. Roger Magalhaes: Yeah. Yeah. Tesa Harris: I think when you really feel that there's something in your heart that you should be doing, take an action. Even if it's a few minutes every day, it's a few hours every week, whatever it is, your life is going to go by so quick. And if you don't take the leap of faith sometimes, you're going to miss out on something that was meant for you that you may never have even known. So that's probably my biggest takeaway. you're meant to be doing something, put the energy, put the time and the resource into yourself to figure out what that is. And Follow through with it. Roger Magalhaes: And the worst can happen is kinda didn't work out, let's go to Plan B, right? Tesa Harris: Well, and it that happens, right? I've done that twice in my career. And guess what? It Roger Magalhaes: Yeah. Tesa Harris: led me to the path I was supposed to be on. Had I not gone from Robert Half to Job Bot, from Job Bot, to Roger Magalhaes: Yeah. Tesa Harris: Charlie Health, I would have never ended up here. And that wasn't the plan at all. you're gonna you're Roger Magalhaes: Correct. Exact right. Yeah. Yeah. Tesa Harris: gonna get where you're meant to be. Even if you take some wrong turns or things don't work out, sometimes it leads you down the right path. Roger Magalhaes: W what I really say is it's not a destination and how you get there and that's really where the fun all happens, you know. Tesa Harris: Yeah. Well, and every single thing that led me where I'm supposed to be taught me something. Even if I didn't enjoy it at the time, I look back on it now and it builds the blocks, right? And just continually builds. You're learning. Roger Magalhaes: Yes. Tesa Harris: If you have the right mindset, you can take away from any situation something Roger Magalhaes: Exactly. Tesa Harris: that is gonna teach you and help you grow. It's the mindset though, right? Yeah. Roger Magalhaes: It's too funny because I just read something on Facebook before a call. It was exactly that. Everybody's gonna get knocked down. It depends on you how long you wanna stay down. You know, perfect. Yeah. Tesa Harris: Yeah. It's true. It's true. Roger Magalhaes: Yeah. Tessa, really appreciate your time here. I'm gonna work on these, make beautiful, and then I'll let you know when it's ready. And for the ones, Tesa Harris: Thank you. Roger Magalhaes: for the ones listening. I listen to every comment, send me your feedback and suggestions. We always here to help each other out with experiences from your own, from other people, so we can move forward with our life. Thanks so much for watching and we'll be in touch. Take care.