Media
Erin's most recent appearances in news and media outlets are shown here.
Pet Industry M&As: What’s Changed in 2023, What Hasn’t
28 Consulting Website Examples
(Design tips and how it's made)
How to Sell a Pet Industry Business
Selling, Buying, and Exiting a Business in Today’s Economy
Wanted: Quality Employees ASAP
September 29, 2023. Erin coauthored this PetAge article with Carol Frank from BirdsEye Advisory Group.
June 21, 2023. This consulting website (erinfenstermaker.com) is highlighted by makingthatwebsite.com as one of the best consulting websites designed using an affordable website builder. Erin designed the website herself using Squarespace.
June 2023. Erin is interviewed by Ed Mysogland for his podcast about “How to Sell a Pet Industry Business.”
June 2022. Erin is interviewed by Mark Imperial from Business Innovators for his nationally syndicated radio show. In the interview, they discuss why it is so important for business owners to perform thoughtful planning around when and how they will exit their business; and how the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the topic of exit planning even more.
Winter 2021. In this article, Erin is interviewed by NAPPS about what businesses can do to make their companies more attractive during the current hiring crisis.
Celebrating National Pet Month with CEPA, Erin Fenstermaker - via the Exit Planning Institute
5/11/21. Pet lover and Exit Planning Institute Marketing Coordinator, Colleen Kowalski, interviews Erin Fenstermaker, a CEPA who specializes in the pet industry and helps entrepreneurs de-risk their businesses.
How Strategic Lending Can Help Take Your Business to the Next Level - via the APPA’s Community Newsletter
4/13/21. Have you been thinking about an acquisition strategy to grow your business? If so, most entrepreneurs believe there are only a few options to pay for such acquisitions:
1. Cash from Your Balance Sheet
2. Traditional Bank Financing
3. Partnering with a private equity firm
While all the above are viable and commonly used, there is actually a fourth option that many entrepreneurs may not be familiar with that can fund an acquisition strategy and other growth activities: a strategic loan.
Marketing Your Services to the Millennial Generation - NAPPS’ Professional Pet Sitter Magazine
Winter 2019, pages 13 and 14. I recently spoke at the NAPPS 2019 Forum Webinar on the topic of how Millennials and technology are rapidly changing the pet industry. Many people listening were unaware that as of 2016, Millennials are now the largest pet owning generation in America, supplanting the Baby Boomer generation from the top spot. Despite this, many local pet sitting businesses today cannot count Millennials as the bulk of their customers, so understanding what to do to attract this generation to your business is important to remaining viable and competitive for years to come.
14 Steps to Improve Your Staff & Increase Client Loyalty - NAPPS’ Professional Pet Sitter Magazine
Fall 2019, pages 11 and 12. It is an unfortunate reality that technology can be a polarizing subject for our industry, particularly when discussions about it often turns to national tech companies, Wag and Rover. While their presence has been disruptive, one thing that tech companies like these will have difficulty duplicating is the people-interfacing aspect of pet sitting that many locally-based companies offer.
Where Are You in Your Exit Planning Process? - NAPPS’ Professional Pet Sitter Magazine
Spring 2019, pages 12 and 13. Do you plan on selling your business one day? If so, what kind of exit planning are you doing now to ensure the best outcome when it is time to sell? If you are like most business owners, the answer is unfortunately, “none.”
Technology & the Millennial Generation Are Changing Our Industry: Pay Attention Or Get Left Behind - NAPPS’ Professional Pet Sitter Magazine
Winter 2018, pages 14 and 15. First quarter of 2018, almost every pet sitting and dog walking company owner I spoke to told me their business was down. And not down just by a little, some owners saw a dip in business of almost one-third compared to the previous year’s same time period. Some of this I attributed to the very harsh much of the country had experienced. But I also attributed it to the large Uber “lookalikes”: Wag! and Rover, that have infiltrated the pet sitting and dog walking industry over the last few years.
Managing Business Risks: Are You One Catastrophic Event Away from Losing It All? - NAPPS’ Professional Pet Sitter Magazine
Should I Buy Another Business? - NAPPS’ Professional Pet Sitter Magazine
Spring 2018, pages 12 and 13. The primary reason most pet sitting businesses don’t sell is because the owner has an unrealistic for what they think their business is worth. Many times, the owner does not use concrete metrics for how they come up with their business valuation. Unfortunately, they often come up with a made-up number they pulled from the sky.
Finding Your Niche in Pet Sitting - NAPPS’ Professional Pet Sitter Magazine
Fall 2017, page 12. Many entrepreneurs who begin pet sitting businesses do so because they love animals, do not want to work in an office, or simply want to control their own destiny. But once you have made that decision, what is going to differentiate you from the competition in your market?
Are We at an Industry Tipping Point? - NAPPS’ Professional Pet Sitter Magazine
Spring 2017, pages 6 and 7. Through my consulting practice, I regularly speak with owners of professional pet sitting businesses around the country. While they obviously share a lot in common by being in the same industry, they also have many things that make them quite different. This is often due the strengths and weaknesses of the business owner, the size of each of their companies, and the unique attributes of the market they work in that creates challenges specific to them.
Pet Sitting Is a People Business - NAPPS’ Professional Pet Sitter Magazine
Winter 2016, pages 15-17. On page 15 of the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters' Winter 2016 magazine, Erin talks about how pet sitting is a more of a "people business" than it is a pet business. Erin is also featured on pages 16 and 17 of the magazine in the article about the NAPPS 2017 Business of the Year, Park Cities Pet Sitter. Park Cities Pet Sitter has been a consulting client of Erin's since 2011.
The Top 9 Pet Product Picks for Holiday 2016 - Arden Moore’s “Oh Behave!” Show on Pet Life Radio
Holiday 2016, Episode 301. For the second consecutive year, Erin serves as co-host on pet expert Arden Moore's "Oh Behave!" radio show on Pet Life Radio. In episode 301 of Arden's show, Erin and Arden discuss the top pet products of 2016. Arden’s “Oh Behave!” show is the longest running pet podcast in America.
Bad Online Reviews: An Opportunity to Shine Amidst Adversity - NAPPS’ Professional Pet Sitter Magazine
Fall 2016, page 6. Earlier this year, a Dallas-based pet sitting company garnered unwanted national attention when a disgruntled customer revealed that they had been sued for $6,766 by the pet sitting company for leaving a negative review about the company on Yelp. Apparently the pet sitting company had a clause in their contract that stated that a client could not disparage the company via an online review.
Pet Sitting Is a People Business - NAPPS’ Professional Pet Sitter Magazine
Spring 2016, pages 12 and 13. On page 15 of the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters' Winter 2016 magazine, Erin talks about how pet sitting is a more of a "people business" than it is a pet business. Erin is also featured on pages 16 and 17 of the magazine in the article about the NAPPS 2017 Business of the Year, Park Cities Pet Sitter. Park Cities Pet Sitter has been a consulting client of Erin's since 2011.
Knowing and Using Your Key Business Metrics: Cost of Goods Sold - NAPPS’ Professional Pet Sitter Magazine
Winter 2015, pages 10 and 11. How much better would you feel about your business if you knew the decisions you were making about client pricing and labor costs were the right ones? Many professional pet sitting business owners begin their businesses with a passion for animals, but little knowledge of how to read and use accounting financials.
Top 10 Pet Gift List for Holiday 2015 - Arden Moore’s “Oh Behave!” Show on Pet Life Radio
December 2015, Episode 278. Erin was a co-host on Pet Life Radio's “Oh Behave!” Show with author and pet behaviorist, Arden Moore. In Show Episode 278, Erin and Arden highlight their picks for the Top 10 Pet Gifts of 2015. The “Oh Behave!” show has half a million listeners monthly.