507: Hospitality and Heart with Ken Botts

Pet Sitter Confessional

Does hospitality translate from restaurants to pet care? Ken Botts, owner of Creekside Critters Pet Sitters, shares his journey into the world of pet care. He discusses the importance of community engagement, effective hiring practices, and the parallels between providing excellent service in restaurants and pet sitting. Ken emphasizes the role of heart-driven hospitality in building trust with both human clients and their furry companions.

Main topics:

• Transition from food service
• Importance of hiring practices
• Community engagement strategies
• Marketing and brand presence
• Leadership and team management

Main takeaway: Every interaction counts, from the smallest pet to the largest, it's all about heart-driven service.

About our guest:

My life's mission has always been to help make the world a better place. For the first 35 years of my life, I did that working in the food service industry. Like many in the food service business, I got my start washing dishes - the most important job in the kitchen. Over the years I worked my way up the ranks by managing restaurants, developing training programs, designing concepts, creating process improvement programs, leading marketing and sustainability initiatives, and owning two world famous cafes.

Little did I know, my career in food service would allow me to make an impact on such a large scale. As the Special Projects Manager for Dining Services at The University of North Texas, I helped open the Nation’s first vegan dining hall on a university campus. With national attention on the success of the vegan dining hall, I was recruited by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). There I created an international culinary training program and helped institutional food service operators develop menus, design concepts, and create training programs focused on plant-based menus and taking animals off the plate.

During my time with HSUS, I became very interested in animal welfare issues. I traveled internationally and often spoke at conferences about the connection between our food choices and animal welfare issues. In 2020 I decided to leave the food service and give my full attention to caring for animals and started Creekside Critters Pet Sitters. My business allows me to give pet parents peace-of-mind, and bring happiness to their pets while their parents are away. It also allows me to create fun and meaningful jobs in the communities that we serve.

When I am not taking care of animals or developing an awesome team of pet sitters, I enjoy spending time at home with my beautiful wife, Saundra, being involved with my church, volunteering in the community, and hanging out with my three orange cats. You will often find me on my bike going the distance with hopes of someday riding across America or relaxing on the back porch with a cup of my favorite coffee.

Links:

Website: creeksidecritters.com

One Minute Manager: https://amzn.to/4cHxPiU

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/creekside-critters-pet-sitters/

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Full show notes and transcript

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