Bella In Your Business: Pet Sitting and Dog Walking Podcast

Bella Vasta
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Learn about pet sitting and dog walking business practices

  1. 29 АПР.

    Episode 467: Why Pet Sitting Businesses Are Closing in 2026 (And How AI Decides Who Survives)

    If you've been watching pet business owners post in groups about closing their doors and wondering if you're next... this is for you. Because there is a wave coming. And the line between who survives and who sells out is being drawn right now — and AI is the divider. Timestamps [0:00] — Cold open: $80 billion just bet on the future of AI [2:00] — Why this affects YOUR pet sitting business [3:30] — The Google + Anthropic deal explained simply [6:00] — OpenAI just announced agents are replacing GPTs [7:00] — Magai: how to access every major AI model in one place [8:00] — The listener message I had to read on air [9:30] — Three reasons the selling wave is starting RIGHT NOW [11:00] — A line in the sand: who this episode is NOT for [12:30] — How the AI gap will split this industry in two [14:30] — VC and private equity are circling pet businesses [16:00] — The 3-layer survival system: SOPs ? Brain ? Agents [19:00] — Why you cannot do this alone [20:00] — Mastermind invitation + your one action this week In This Episode You'll Discover Why a wave of pet sitting businesses are quietly closing or selling in 2026 (and the three reasons converging at once) What the $80 billion Google and Amazon investment in Anthropic actually means for small business owners The line in the sand: who is positioned to survive this shift, and who will get left behind The 3-layer AI survival system — SOPs, AI brain, and agents — and why skipping any layer guarantees failure Why first-mover pet business owners will be the BUYERS in the consolidation wave, not the sellers About This Episode Bella Vasta is the CEO and founder of Jump Consulting and the host of Bella in Your Business — the longest-standing pet business podcast in the industry. She has coached pet sitters and small business owners for over 25 years, and is widely recognized as the go-to voice for AI integration in the pet industry. Her Jumpers Mastermind has helped pet business owners scale, hire, and now adopt AI in ways their competitors haven't even considered. Resources Mentioned in This Episode The Jumpers Mastermind — Monday-Friday access to Bella, two live monthly meetings, free monthly coaching call, and 8 years of archives — the room where Bella teaches the SOPs, AI brain, agents' progression in real time. Magai (30% off, all major AI models in one place) — Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Grok in one subscription — so you're not locked into one vendor as the AI landscape changes. How to Set Up Claude in Your Pet Business (Bella's recent blog) — The step-by-step companion to layer 2 of the survival system — building an AI brain that actually knows your business. Free 20-Minute Call With Bella — Bring one problem. Bella helps you think through it. No pitch. Connect with Bella Website Sessions with Bella The Jumpers Mastermind Subscribe to Bella in Your Business Bella's Website Find Bella on Instagram and Facebook — search Bella Vasta Frequently Asked Questions Q: Why are pet sitting businesses closing in 2026? A: Three pressures are converging at the same time. First, many of these businesses launched 15 to 20 years ago and the founders are ready to exit. Second, profit margins are getting squeezed by rising wages, insurance costs, and taxes. Third — and this is the one nobody is talking about yet — AI is creating a competitive gap where businesses that have adopted it can serve more clients with less staff, and the businesses that haven't are watching their bookings drift to competitors who can. Q: Will AI replace pet sitters? A: No. AI cannot walk a dog, give a cat insulin, or sit with a senior pet. What AI replaces is the back-office workload — the inquiries, scheduling, care notes, hiring, marketing, and admin work that eats your evenings. Pet sitters who use AI well will have MORE time for the actual care work. Pet sitters who refuse to use AI will burn out trying to compete. Q: Should I sell my pet sitting business? A: Only if you've decided you're done — not because you're tired of the admin. The pet business owners who sell out of exhaustion in 2026 will likely sell low, because consolidators and venture capital firms know the seller is desperate. If your real problem is overwhelm, the answer might not be to sell — it might be to learn AI, document your business, and let the systems carry the weight. That's what the Jumpers Mastermind exists to teach. Q: What did Google's $40 billion investment in Anthropic actually mean for small businesses? A: It signals that the company building Claude — which most pet business owners haven't even tried yet — is about to get faster, cheaper, and more powerful, with Google's compute and data center infrastructure behind it. Practically, that means Claude will likely show up inside Google Workspace, Gmail, Drive, and Calendar over the next 12 to 18 months. The small business owners who already know how to use Claude will be ahead. The ones still using only ChatGPT may find themselves on the wrong tool when the shift happens. Q: How do pet business owners actually start using AI without getting overwhelmed? A: There is a specific order. Layer one: document your standard operating procedures (SOPs) — every process in your business written down. Layer two: feed those SOPs into an AI like Claude to give it a 'brain' that actually knows your business. Layer three: build agents that can run pieces of your business for you. Most owners try to skip to layer three and fail. Get the SOPs done first. Everything else builds from there. Full Episode Transcript Google just dropped $40 billion to Anthropic. $40 billion! That brings the total that Google has put into the company that builds Claude, Anthropic, to over $55 billion in two years. Billion with a B, okay? And Amazon is in for another $45 billion. So the company that makes Claude and the AI tool I literally use every single day in my business and life. just had $80 billion walk through its front door by the two largest cloud companies on the planet. Okay? The number is bigger than the GDP, gross domestic product, of most countries. And here's why this matters to you. Because while everyone else is still asking if they should bother to use AI or a prompt for chat GPT, the biggest company in the world, they're telling us exactly where this is going. with their checkbooks. And in this episode, I'm going to tell you what I think happens next and why a wave of pet sitting businesses and small businesses across the whole country are about to sell clothes or get swallowed up and what the people listening to this podcast need to do right now so that you don't become one of them. Hi, I'm Bella and this is Bella in Your Business. Let's get into it. Real quick before we dive in, if you haven't subscribed yet or hit like or subscribe or any of that, wherever you're listening, this episode is one that you're wanna come back to. You're gonna wanna save it, you're gonna wanna share it with your friends. And if you know one small business owner who is overwhelmed by all this AI stuff, share the episode with them. Don't let them get left behind and let them understand what's going on on a higher 30,000 foot view, all right? So let's... Let's get into. And if you know one other small business owner who's overwhelmed by all of this AI stuff, share this episode with them. Please don't let them get left behind. It's gonna be a very big overview so that everyone's gonna be able to consume this and then percolate on what they should do in their own business. I cannot wait to get into it. All right, so you've been hearing about all these AI investments and your eyes glaze over because honestly, who can even comprehend billions of dollars, right? and like 40 billion, 65 billion, 80 billion, it sounds like monopoly money. But here's what's actually happening underneath those numbers and why I want you to pay attention. All right, so most business owners scroll past these headlines because what does it have to do with you, right? Like you're trying to fill a schedule, hire a sitter, get out of the weeds. You don't have time to track what a tech company is doing and who bought out who or whatever. Like I get it, I do, and that's why I'm here. I saw a really sharp breakdown from Jonathan Maas this week and I wanted to pull a few pieces out of it because what he laid out is something that every business owner needs to understand. So here's what's going on. Google has been quietly building a stake in Anthropic for a couple of years now. 300 million here, 200 or 2 billion there. They were already around 14 % ownership and now they just took another 40 put another 40 billion on the table. With performance milestones attached, like you get more if you perform X, all right? Google doesn't write a $40 billion check to companies that they plan to sit back and watch. This is what Jonathan says. Performance milestones mean that Google has a seat at the table for what Claude becomes next, how fast it moves, what it builds, which is just mind blowing because Google also has Gemini. Are you staying in here with me? Okay? I mean, And then on the other side, Amazon is also up for 25 billion running Claude through Amazon AWS, through AWS. AWS is like what like holds the cloud compute for so many companies, all right? So putting it inside Amazon Bedrock, so any developer building on Amazon's cloud has Claude right there in the cloud already. So the company that already makes Claude, has the two biggest cloud providers in the world elbowing each other to be their preferred provider. Are you with me? Okay, and this isn't an accident, it's leverage. And here's where it gets really interesting. Right now the most well known tool is ChatGBT by millions on the numbers, okay? And most of you have probably tried it, you probably have a subscription to it, but Claude, the one Google, like,

    24 мин.

  2. 15 АПР.

    Episode 466: Your Summer Hiring Window Is Closing — Here’s What To Do This Week

    Summer is coming — and the small businesses that are scrambling in June are the ones that did nothing in April. If you haven't started hiring yet, this episode is your alarm clock. Bella breaks down exactly why the hiring window closes faster than you think, what to do today, and how to use AI to get ahead of the rush before it's too late. TIMESTAMPS: [0:00] — The summer scramble is real — and it's already starting [2:00] — Why April is your actual hiring deadline (not June) [5:00] — The true cost of being understaffed in peak season [8:30] — Step 1: Know your summer numbers BEFORE you post [12:00] — Step 2: Write a job post that attracts, not repels [16:00] — Step 3: Use AI to screen and save 5+ hours a week [20:00] — Step 4: Build your pipeline NOW, not when you're desperate [23:30] — The Jump Hiring Method in 60 seconds [25:00] — Your this-week action plan In This Episode You'll Discover: Why most small business owners wait too long to hire — and what it actually costs them in revenue, stress, and client trust The math behind your summer headcount: how to calculate exactly how many people you need before you ever post a job What a great job post says versus what a mediocre one says — and the single line that filters out bad applicants before they apply How to use AI (ChatGPT or Claude) to screen applications in minutes instead of hours — without losing the human touch Bella's 'pipeline before desperation' principle and the 3 things you can do THIS WEEK to make sure summer doesn't catch you flat-footed About This Episode: Bella Vasta is the founder of Jump Consulting and has been coaching small business owners since 2007. She created the Jump Hiring Method — a proven 10-step framework that helps service-based businesses hire smarter, reduce turnover, and build teams that actually show up. In this episode, she brings the urgency of a coach who has watched too many small businesses lose their best summer ever because they waited too long to hire. Resources and Links Mentioned: Breezy HR — The ATS Bella recommends for small businesses — post once, track everywhere, screen with AI. Affiliate link with special pricing. The Jumpers Mastermind — Where Bella works with small business owners on hiring, AI, marketing, and systems — month to month. Free 20-Minute Call with Bella — One problem, 20 minutes, totally free. Walk away with a clear next step. The Jump Hiring Method Blog Post — The full 10-step framework in writing — bookmark this. Connect with Bella: Website Sessions with Bella The Jumpers Mastermind Subscribe to Bella in Your Business Bella's Website Find Bella on Instagram and Facebook — search Bella Vasta FAQ: When should a small business start hiring for summer? April is your real deadline — not June, not May. By the time summer demand hits, you need people who are already trained, onboarded, and have handled real work independently. That process takes 4–6 weeks minimum. If you post a job in late May, your new hire won't be ready until July — and you'll have lost clients in the gap. Start now, even if summer feels far away. The businesses that thrive in summer are the ones that hired in spring. How do I figure out how many people I need to hire for summer? Start with your numbers from last summer. How much work were you turning down? How many days were you at or over capacity? Take your peak weekly workload, divide by the realistic output of one part-time employee, and that tells you how many people you need at full coverage. Subtract who you have now. That gap is your hiring goal. Add at least 20% buffer for no-shows, schedule conflicts, and turnover — because summer always has some of each. What should a small business include in a job posting to attract better applicants? The biggest mistake small business owners make is writing a job post that sounds like a generic HR form. Your post needs to do two things: filter out bad-fit applicants before they apply, and make your ideal applicant excited to work for you specifically. Lead with what makes your business worth working for — your values, your culture, what a great day actually looks like. Be honest about the schedule expectations and physical realities. End with a specific, slightly unusual application question — this filters out mass-applicants and immediately shows you who actually read the post. Can I use AI to help screen job applicants for my small business? Yes — and you should. Once applications come in, paste each one into Claude or ChatGPT along with your hiring criteria and ask it to flag green flags, red flags, and questions to ask in the interview. AI won't make the final call for you, and it shouldn't — that's still a human decision. But it can cut your screening time from hours to minutes and catches inconsistencies that tired eyes miss after reviewing the fifth application in a row. Pair this with Breezy HR for full pipeline management. What is the Jump Hiring Method? The Jump Hiring Method is a 10-step hiring framework Bella Vasta developed for small, service-based businesses. It covers everything from calculating your headcount needs and writing a compelling job post, to screening, interviewing, onboarding, and retaining great people. The method is designed for business owners who are not HR professionals — it gives you a repeatable system so hiring doesn't feel like starting from scratch every time. You can read the full framework on Bella's blog at Jump Consulting. Full Episode Transcript Okay, I need you to listen to me right now. Not before you finish your coffee, not save this for later, like right now. And obviously you're tuning in, so you're ready to go. But I've been watching something happen every single year for like the 18 years that I've been doing this, and I don't want it to happen to you. So today we're gonna talk about it. Here's the scene. It's June. Like your phone is blowing up or your email. Clients want more. hours, they want rush jobs, they want the same week bookings, like they want it now. And because some are hit and everyone needs something done at once, it's your best shot at your biggest revenue season. OK, and you don't have enough people. You're texting your one reliable employee asking if she could please, please, please, please take on like six more jobs or clients. And she can't. You're doing them yourself. You're exhausted. You're turning away clients. You haven't had them for years and they're coming back. You have nowhere to put them. And somewhere in the back of your mind, little voice is saying, I should have hired earlier. Yeah, you should have. But here's the thing, you can still fix it today, this week. It is April. And April is actually your hiring deadline. I cannot stress this enough. So many of you guys are going through this right now. Now, April, not May, not June, okay? And if you're listening to this right now, Like you're not too late, but you're not early either. Like this is really important to figure out. I did an episode a couple of episodes ago, all about the 10 step jump hiring method. And that would be a really good one to go back and listen to, to just refresh your memory about a proven method that actually works. But today we're definitely gonna go in and talk about what you need to do now. Hi, I'm Bella from Bella in Your Business. And I've been coaching small businesses since 2007. I've seen a lot of summers. And the ones that went sideways or almost went sideways for the exact same reason. They waited too long to hire. And I don't care if you're in the pet business or you're in the roofing company or you're a house cleaner or whatever it is. Today, we're gonna fix that. Like I am bringing this directly to you to make sure that you understand this is something we need to do now. Bella (02:27.316) And unless you have a button that you know you can push and just make it rain your ideal kind of higher, then you need to listen to this episode today. Okay. We're going to figure out what you need to do to close that window faster, how to calculate what you actually need, what to do with your job post and how AI can save you hours in screening and what to do this week. Like this week, not someday. Not next month, today, okay? Because it's really important. All right, let's get into it. Before we go further, I do want to make a note that our last episode where I talked about the difference between SEO and AIO or AEO and why it's important to have both of them, you guys really, really, really appreciated that one and I love that. I wanna just tie that up really quickly. If you haven't listened, you definitely wanna go back and hear that one. Today I posted something that really went along with that and it's that a cat's life was saved using Grok. Go check out Bella Vasta on Facebook. It's my personal profile, but it's public. And what I talked about there is there was a cat in distress and it was a diabetic cat. and the owner went to Grok and Grok was like, get it to the vet now. It's going into shock and this is what you need to do and ultimately save the cat's life. Now, why is this important to last week's episode? Well, last week's episode, I was literally driving home the point that what we're doing now is not Googling. We are literally asking our AI people, agents, LLMs, hey. this is my problem, what do I do about it? We're starting, our human behavior collectively is starting to trust that. And so if you're not showing, if your business isn't showing up as the suggested resource for multiple questions, then you're missing out on really great opportunities because the people that are asking the LLMs right now are the ones that are like, their intent to buy is really high. So if you're just joining me or you, Bella (04:41.998) missed last week's episode, I really encourage you to go back to episode 465 and listen to it. Okay, so let's talk about why April matters,

    25 мин.

  3. 31 МАР.

    Episode 465: Is Your Business Findable — Or Just Existing? SEO, AIO, and Why the Rules Just Changed

    Your clients are not searching the way they used to. And if your website is still built for the old rules — you are invisible in the new ones. TIMESTAMPS: [0:00] — Someone booked a call with me from ChatGPT. Here is what that means for your business. [1:30] — The Google problem: why clicking and backing out is exhausting your clients [3:00] — What SEO is and why it still matters (but is no longer enough) [6:30] — What AIO is and the one line that explains the difference [8:30] — The 12% stat: why 88% of websites are invisible to AI right now [10:00] — The three things your website needs for AI to recommend you [13:00] — The villain: the business owner who keeps saying 'I'll do it later' [15:00] — What it actually looks like when it's working [16:30] — Your 3-minute self-audit: do this before the episode ends IN THIS EPISODE YOU'LL DISCOVER: What SEO is and why it still matters in 2026 What AIO (AI Optimization) is and how it is completely different from SEO Why 88% of small business websites are invisible to AI search right now — and how to check if yours is one of them The three things your website must have for ChatGPT and Perplexity to recommend you A 3-minute self-audit you can do tonight to see exactly where you stand ABOUT THIS EPISODE: The way your clients find you has changed. They are not Googling and clicking through ten links anymore. They are having conversations with AI — and AI is recommending someone. In this episode, Bella breaks down the difference between SEO and AIO, explains why 88% of small business websites are invisible to AI tools right now, and walks through exactly what you need to fix it. No tech degree required. This is strategy, not software. A NOTE ON THE STATS IN THIS EPISODE: Every statistic Bella cites has a source link in the show notes below, along with who funded the study and what their potential bias is. Bella believes you deserve to fact-check her. Click any link and see for yourself. RESOURCES AND LINKS MENTIONED: Magai — All the major AI models in one place — 30% off for 3 months Website Sessions with Bella — 6 focused sessions to rewrite your website for AI search The Jumpers Mastermind — Where Bella works with business owners on AI, hiring, marketing, and more Eight Oh Two 2026 AI Search Study — The 37% stat — who did it and their bias (self-funded marketing agency) Seer Interactive ChatGPT Conversion Study — The conversion rate data — one B2B client, 6 months Schema.org Structured Data — The 12.4% stat source — neutral standards body, no commercial bias Xponent21 AI Overviews Analysis — The 60% Google AI Overview stat Search Engine Land AI Referral Traffic — The 527% growth stat — owned by Semrush, editorial independent CONNECT WITH BELLA: Website Sessions with Bella The Jumpers Mastermind  Subscribe to Bella in Your Business   Bella's Website   Find Bella on Instagram and Facebook — search Bella Vasta     FAQ SECTION: What is the difference between SEO and AIO? SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the practice of structuring your website so Google ranks it in search results. AIO (AI Optimization) is structuring your website so AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews can read, understand, and recommend you. SEO gets you found. AIO makes you the answer. Both matter in 2026 — but most small business websites have only been built for one of them. What is AIO and why does it matter for small business owners? AIO stands for AI Optimization — also called AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) or GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) depending on who you ask. The industry has not settled on one term yet. What they all mean is the same thing: structuring your website content so AI tools can read it, trust it, and recommend your business when someone asks for help with the problem you solve. As more people use ChatGPT and Perplexity to find services, businesses that are not optimized for AI are losing referrals they never even know about. How do I know if my website is visible to AI? Open ChatGPT or Perplexity. Do not search your business name — search the problem your ideal client has, the way they would actually type it. If your business does not come up, that is your answer. Other signals: your website has not been updated in over a year, you do not have a blog, your homepage is vague about who you serve and how, and your site does not use structured data (schema markup). All of these reduce how findable you are to AI tools. What is schema markup and do I need it? Schema markup is code you add to your website that tells AI systems exactly what your business does, who you serve, what questions you answer, and why you are credible. Without it, AI has to guess — and AI would rather recommend someone it does not have to guess about. As of 2025, only about 12% of websites use any structured data at all. That means the businesses who add it now have a significant early advantage in AI search visibility. Does my website need a blog for AI search? Yes. A blog is one of the highest-value things on your website for AI visibility. AI tools favor content that is specific, answers real questions, and has been published recently. A blank or outdated blog page gives AI very little to work with. You do not need to publish every day — consistent, specific, question-answering content matters more than volume. If you have not posted in over six months, that is your most urgent gap.   Full Episode Transcript Someone booked a call with me recently and I asked what I always ask. How did you hear about me? And she said, chat GPT, not Google, not Instagram, not like I saw you on my feed or I was on your email list or I listened to your podcast, podcast, what you're listening to right now It was chat GPT. She had been mid conversation trying to figure out a problem and was asking what top consultants could help her with the problem. And chat GPT told her me. and proceeded to explain more than just my name, but the reasons why. That conversation stopped me cold because what I realized is what if my website had not been set up the right way? That conversation would have ended with someone else's name. And then I started thinking of you and your website and whether AI even knows you exist. Welcome back to another episode of Bella in Your Business. My name is Bella Vasta. I've been doing this podcast since 2014 for you, my small business, pet sitting business, dog walking business, dog grooming business, dog training business, all of you, since 2014. Your clients are not searching the way that they used to. And if your website is still built the old way, then You are invisible in the new way. And so today we're going to talk about SEO, AIO. There's a couple of different forms of that, AEO. And there's a couple others, but for the sake of the show and today, March 20, 26, I'm going to call it AIO. And what to do in the next 90 days will determine whether your business is findable or just existing. OK, I want you to think about the last time you Googled something for your business. So you typed it in, then 10 blue links came back. You clicked one, it wasn't quite right, so you hit back. Then you clicked another one and shoot, it was an ad. Clicked back, you scrolled, you got distracted, you got overwhelmed, and then you gave up. That's what your clients are doing when they Google you. Or the problem that you solve, or the service that you offer. They're clicking, they're backing out, and they're clicking, and they're backing out, exhausted. Because before they have even found you, they're just overwhelmed. Now think about what it feels like to have a conversation with Chachi BT when you're trying to figure something out. It's different, right? It like listens to your whole situation. You feel heard. It asks follow up questions sometimes and it gives you one clear answer instead of 10 options that you have to sort through yourself. And when it says you should go talk to this person, you go because it felt like advice, not advertising. All right. Before I give you some numbers, I want to be upfront about something. A lot of statistics in marketing worlds are produced by companies that have a financial interest before believing in them. All right. So for every stat in this episode, I have put the source in the show notes. You want to go to JumpConsulting.net, click on podcast and you could find that so you can know who did the study, who paid for it, what their potential bias is. And I want you to go fact check me, like not because I'm hiding anything, but because A business owner who makes decisions based off of bad data is worse off than a business decision being made, like no business decision being made at all. And so here's what the research says with full context. A marketing agency called 802 surveyed 500 people who have already used AI tools. 37 % they say that they now start their searches with AI instead of Google. And here's what I want you to know. 802 sells AI search strategy services. So they do have a financial interest in what you're carrying about with this number. I'm telling you that because you deserve to know, but the finding really does line up with what I'm watching in my own business and what I hear from all the other experts that I follow. Okay. So take it with context and decide for yourself. But here's the question that I want you to sit with while you're reading this right now. Someone's having a conversation with AI. about the exact problem you solve. my gosh, I wanna go to Las Vegas this weekend and shoot, I need a dog walker. Who do you know near me, okay? It doesn't show a list of links unless you pick. It reads the website behind the scenes. It reads it and it crawls it for your structure, your content, your copy, the unique value proposition that you have. And it decides whether you're credible enough to

    20 мин.

  4. 18 МАР.

    Episode 464: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and Grok: Which AI Model Should You Actually Be Using?

    You've heard of ChatGPT. But do you actually know which AI model is right for your business — and why using just one might be slowing you down instead of speeding you up? Timestamps: [0:00] — The steak and spoon analogy: why most business owners are using AI wrong [3:00] — ChatGPT: the Kleenex of AI, what it's good for, and the hallucination problem [9:00] — Claude: why it feels like talking to an emotionally intelligent adult [13:00] — Gemini: the best tool if you live in Google Workspace [16:00] — Perplexity: the AI search engine your competitors don't know about yet [19:00] — Grok: what makes it different and what to watch out for In This Episode You'll Discover Why ChatGPT is the most famous AI tool and not always the best one for your daily business workflow How Claude thinks differently from every other model — and why that changes the way you should talk to it The one place Gemini beats everything else if you run your business inside Google Why Perplexity might be the most important tool for your business visibility that you've never heard of The truth about AI knowledge cutoffs — and which models actually have access to current information About this Episode: Not all AI tools work the same way — and using the wrong one for the wrong job is why so many business owners feel like AI isn't working for them. In this episode, Bella breaks down the major models from her own real-world experience in March 2026: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and Grok. What each one does well. Where each one falls short. And how to stop using one spoon for everything. Resources and Links Mentioned: Magai — All the major AI models in one place, 30% off for 3 months The Jumpers Mastermind — Where Bella works with business owners on AI, hiring, marketing, and more Free 20-Minute Call with Bella — One problem, 20 minutes, totally free How to Switch from ChatGPT to Claude Without Losing Your Brain — Bella's blog post Watch Bella's ChatGPT Agent Mode Reel on Instagram CONNECT WITH BELLA The Jumpers Mastermind Free 20-Minute Call with Bella Subscribe to Bella in Your Business Bella's Website Find Bella on Instagram and Facebook — search Bella Vasta FAQ SECTION: What is the difference between ChatGPT and Claude? ChatGPT is the most widely known AI and excels at a wide range of tasks, agent automation, and image generation. Claude tends to be more precise, asks better clarifying questions, and produces fewer errors — making it better for writing, deep analysis, and coding. Most serious business owners end up using both for different jobs. Which AI model is best for small business owners? There is no single best model — the right answer depends on the task. ChatGPT is the easiest starting point. Claude is best for deep work, writing, and analysis. Gemini is best if your business runs on Google Workspace. Perplexity is best for research and checking how your business appears in AI search. Grok has real-time access to X/Twitter content. Use different tools for different jobs. What is Perplexity AI used for? Perplexity is a search engine powered by AI. Instead of giving you a list of links like Google, it reads the web and gives you a direct answer with cited sources you can verify. It is especially useful for research, fact-checking, understanding what questions your customers are asking, and seeing how your business appears in AI search results. Do I need to pay for AI tools to get good results? Free versions of AI tools are typically six months to over a year behind the paid versions in capability. If you tried AI on a free plan and it felt limited, that's likely why. Paid plans are $20 per month or less for most tools. Magai lets you access most of the major models for the price of one subscription — it's where Bella recommends starting. What does 'AI knowledge cutoff' mean? Every AI model is trained on data up to a certain date. After that date, it doesn't know what happened in the world. As of March 2026, most models are trained through late 2024 or 2025. This is why they can't tell you today's news unless they also have a web search tool connected. Perplexity and Grok are specifically built around real-time web access. FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT   Have you ever tried to eat steak with a spoon? Like... actually tried it. No knife. No fork. Just a spoon. You can't cut it. You can't stab it. You end up having to pick the whole thing up and just... bite into it. And now it's dripping. And your fingers are a mess. And you need a napkin. And now you're annoyed. And the steak was GOOD... but you barely got to enjoy it because the whole experience was just a disaster. Now imagine someone hands you a knife AND a fork. Suddenly the same steak is a completely different experience. Bite-sized. Clean. Enjoyable. You're actually tasting it instead of wrestling with it. That's what AI literacy is. Most business owners right now are sitting at the table with one tool... one spoon... and wondering why AI feels overwhelming and messy and like more work than it's worth. Today we're going to fix that. I'm Bella Vasta, and this is Bella in Your Business. Let's get into it. Before we dive in... if you're finding value here, hit subscribe wherever you're listening. And if there's a topic you want me to dig into, send me a message. I actually read them. So I want to back up for a second and tell you why I'm doing this episode. In my last episode, I touched on the differences between the major AI models... and a LOT of you came back and said you wanted more. You wanted me to go deeper into my own personal experience with each one. So that's what we're doing today. I want to be really clear about a few things before I start though. Number one... this is March 2026. This space is moving FAST. What I'm sharing is accurate right now, in this moment. But six months from now, some of this may look different. That's just the nature of AI. Number two... these are MY personal experiences and opinions. Not sponsored recommendations. Not political statements. I have no axe to grind with any of these companies. And number three... and this is IMPORTANT... If you think you know what AI can do because you've been using the free version... you don't. I'm not saying that to be harsh. I'm saying it because it's true. The free versions of most of these tools are running on older models... anywhere from six months to over a year behind what the paid versions can do. So if you tried AI once, it felt limited, and you moved on? That wasn't AI. That was a demo. Okay. With that said... let's talk about the tools. ChatGPT. Let's start here because... everyone starts here. ChatGPT is the Kleenex of AI. It's the Xerox. It's the name that became the thing. When someone says "I asked AI," they almost always mean they asked ChatGPT. And look... it got us here. It introduced an entire generation of business owners to what AI could do. That matters. But I want you to think about something. Remember Yahoo? Yahoo was THE search engine. Dominant. Everywhere. And then Google came along, and within a few years... Yahoo who? ChatGPT could very well be the Yahoo of this moment. That doesn't mean it's bad. It means you shouldn't assume it's the only option just because it's the most famous one. Here's my honest take on ChatGPT... The best thing about ChatGPT is its ecosystem. It has the GPT store, where you can find and use custom-built AI tools. It has projects. It has agent mode, which I actually love for very specific tasks. Agent mode is where ChatGPT can go take action FOR you. Not just answer a question... actually DO a thing. I've done reels about this. Like asking it to figure out what I need to buy for the week, build a grocery list, and then have the agent actually add everything to Instacart and get it delivered. No rabbit holes. No "ooh, that looks good too." Just... done. That's genuinely useful. But here's where I get a little bit... complicated on ChatGPT. Talking to ChatGPT for me sometimes feels like talking to a very enthusiastic, very distracted five-year-old. You ask it one thing and it gives you that thing PLUS twelve other things you didn't ask for. It assumes. It keeps going. It will never stop and say "wait, what do you actually mean?" And here's the bigger issue. ChatGPT will NEVER tell you it doesn't know something. It will make up an answer. Confidently. Professionally. Completely wrong. That's called hallucinating, and ChatGPT does it more than any other major model I use regularly. Studies have measured hallucination rates across models and found they can range anywhere from a few percent to over 30% depending on the task. And the problem isn't that it's wrong. The problem is that it SOUNDS right. It gives you a polished, confident answer... and now you trust it and share it... and it was made up. Most business owners I know are already overwhelmed. Already going in five directions. The LAST thing you need is a tool that also goes in five directions and occasionally makes stuff up. Great for playing around. Great for agent tasks. Great for the GPT store. Just... go in with your eyes open.   Now let's talk about Claude. And I want to be upfront... Claude is my daily driver. This is the tool I actually live in. The best way I can describe the difference between ChatGPT and Claude is this: ChatGPT is like talking to a smart kid who never stops talking. Claude is like talking to a really emotionally intelligent adult who actually listens before they respond. Claude will stop you. It will ask clarifying questions. It will tell you if it thinks you're heading in the wrong direction. It will tell you when it's not sure about something instead of just making something up. That is RARE in this space.

    21 мин.

  5. 4 МАР.

    Episode 463: The Real Risk of Relying on One AI Platform

    How do you switch Ai platforms? With the recent events of AWS centers being bombed, the Department of War threatening to label Caude as a "supply chain risk" and Open Ai stepping in and "saving the day" there is a lot that you need to consider with your Ai strategy. In this episode, I’m stripping away the politics and the drama to give you the facts you need to protect your workflows. I’ll show you why you are the operating system, and why being "AI literate" is the only way to thrive when the tech landscape starts shifting under your feet. In This Episode You'll Discover Why Anthropic refused military access to Claude and the two specific lines they won't cross. How Sam Altman signed a military deal hours after Anthropic was blacklisted. The first time a U.S. tech data center was knocked offline by military action. A high-level breakdown of ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, and the autonomous agent Manus. My 3-step process to export your custom GPTs and replicate them across any platform in 15 minutes. Takeaways AI is transforming the business landscape and requires attention. Military involvement in AI raises ethical concerns and operational risks. Data center outages can significantly impact business operations. Understanding multiple AI platforms is crucial for business resilience. AI literacy is more important than loyalty to a single platform. Switching AI platforms is easier than perceived; it's about mindset. Your expertise is the core of your operations, not the AI tool. Practical steps can simplify the transition between AI platforms. Staying curious and flexible is key to thriving in uncertainty. The future belongs to those who can think critically with AI. Timestamps 00:00 – Introduction to the Current AI Landscape 06:08 – The Impact of Global Events on AI Infrastructure 14:59 – The Importance of AI Literacy 21:01 – Practical Steps for Transitioning Between AI Platforms Notable Quotes "AI literacy beats AI loyalty every single time." "You are the operating system. The AI is just an app." "The future belongs to the people who learned how to think with AI, no matter which tool they're holding." Resources and Links Blog Post: This post includes the exact prompts, step-by-step screenshots, and markdown instructions mentioned in the episode. Jumpconsulting.net/magai: Use this link for 30% off your first three months. Mastermind Intensives   Transcript Hey, so I need to talk to you this episode and it's gonna be a little bit different from what we normally do. And I want you all to really listen. I understand that a lot of you are probably doing laundry, driving around, walking dogs, like getting the kid from school, but like I want you to listen up because I'm gonna throw a lot at you today. It's gonna feel a little bit doom and gloomy, but it's not intended that way. It's actually intended to be very empowering. So stick with me all through this episode and I promise to give you a direction. The world is shifting right now. And if you're a business owner who uses AI, which if you're listening to this show, you probably are, then what is happening is gonna be directly affecting you. And I'm not gonna be dramatic, okay? I'm gonna literally tell you the facts and then I'm gonna distill it, strain it down to exactly how this is gonna help your business, okay? So let's just... paint the picture right now, the state of the world. So let me like that. We'll set the stage here. Okay. And I'm going to also keep it at high level. I'm not going to get into politics. I'm going to give you the facts that matter for your business. And if you're listening to this in the future, I am recording this in March of 2026. I am so interested in what my future self thinks about this episode and how things are going to develop over time because it is the most exciting and wild time to ever have a business. I've said that before and I keep, I will keep saying that. All right, so let's go. So Anthropic, they're the company who makes Claude, all right? And it's one of the AI tools that I use every single day. If you follow me on my Facebook page, you'll see that I am like, I wanna marry Claude. Not really, but, and I feel like Claude is talking to an intentional adult and I feel like ChatGBT is like an ADHD, five year old, okay? And they're very, very different. That's not to say that they both don't have their strengths and weaknesses. But listen, this week the Department of War, that's what we're calling it now, wanted Anthropic to give military unrestricted access to Claude's AI technology. And the Anthropic CEO said, no, he drew two red lines. He said, one, Claude cannot be used for mass domestic surveillance on American citizens. Bella Vasta (02:23.424) And two, that it cannot be used to fully power autonomous weapons that make targeting and firing decisions without the human in the loop. It was also said that that was actually used in Venezuela back in February when we did that. I think it was February. And that didn't go over well. President Trump ordered all federal agencies to stop using anthropics technology. They have a six month period to phase it out and the... the secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth went even further and he said that he's designating Anthropic as a supply chain risk. That label is normally reserved for foreign adversaries and has never been applied to an American company before. Now hundreds of tech workers from companies like OpenAI, IBM, Salesforce, Slack and Cursor have signed an open letter urging the government to reverse this decision. And so there's a lot of pushback that's happening. And on top of that, Claude went down today. That was this morning when I'm recording this on the second of March in the morning. A major global outage. The company says it's been dealing with unprecedented demand, which makes sense because after all this news broke, Claude actually shot to number one on the Apple App Store. People are rallying behind all of this, all right? Now this is just, this is what's happening right now, okay? Right now, it's really important. to not necessarily react, but I want you guys to understand this information. so, Claude could get harder to access, whether it's because of governmental pressure, demands from outages, or infrastructure issues, which I'll get into a second. It's a real thing, no matter what, it's a real thing and it impacts your business, which is why I'm here today, okay? So now, here's where it gets interesting, and honestly a little messy. Earlier this week, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI actually came out and praised Anthropic for taking a stand. He wrote a company memo that was seen by the BBC and it wasn't just an Anthropic issue. It was an issue for the whole entire industry. And that was important to clarify because it's where everyone stands. And then literally hours after Anthropic got blacklisted on Friday, OpenAI swooped in and signed a deal with the Department of War. Bella Vasta (04:43.64) to deploy its models in a classified military environment. So on one hand, OpenAI is saying we stand with Anthropic, and on the other hand, they're signing a deal that Anthropic just refused to sign. Altman himself said that the deal was quote, definitely rushed, and that he did it because he wanted to deescalate things between the government and the AI industry. Bella Vasta (05:10.914) I used to watch all my children with my mom when I was little. This has got nothing on this. Now in all fairness, OpenAI says that the deal includes the same red lines, no mass surveillance, no autonomous weapons, and they asked the governments to make those same terms available to all AI companies, including Anthropic. So they're framing it as we took one for the team by trying to fix this for everyone. Now, Sam says that the deal includes some same red lines, no mass surveillance, no autonomous weapons. He says that OpenAI's contract is actually more guardrails than the previous agreements, and they'll keep control of their safety systems. And they deploy through the cloud only, and they have cleared up OpenAI personnel in the loop. Yes, I am reading this, you guys, because this is a lot of facts, and I need to make sure that I'm getting them correctly for you. But like, literally, let's be real. A lot of people are not buying into this. There's been significant backlash. Some people have literally started campaigns to boycott Chachi BT and switch to Claude and protest. And critics are pointing out that saying we support you and then making the contract you just refused is a choice. So both of the two biggest AI platforms are now tangled up in military contracts, government drama, and public controversy. That's the landscape that we're living in, in March of 2026. All right, so the war and your data centers. This is something else that gets really real that I want you guys to understand. Now as you probably know, the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran this past weekend. Guys, I have never talked about any of this on the podcast before, okay? But this is all laying the foundation for what I need you to understand as a basis of what I'm about to tell you. Okay, so Iran's supreme leader was killed. Iran retaliated with massive drone and missile strikes across the Middle East, hitting targets in the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and more. And one of the things that got hit, it was an Amazon Web Services data center in the UAE. Objects struck the facility, caused a fire, and knocked it offline. A second data center in the same region went down after that. AWS centers in Bahrain, I hope I'm saying that right. Bella Vasta (07:30.71) are also experiencing connectivity issues. Now think about that for a second, because I know you guys have all lived through when AWS goes down. It affects like a lot of websites that we use, okay?

    27 мин.

  6. 18 ФЕВР.

    Episode 462: 7 Things AI Can Do for Your Small Business This Week (That You Haven’t Thought Of)

    Hard truth: You need to level up your Ai Skills and this weeks epiosde is going to show you 7 ways you can do that. No tech. No crazy 30 steps. Things you can do in your small business today. Most pet business owners are either ignoring AI or just using it for basic tasks, but I’m here to up-level your thinking and show you how to shift your mindset to achieve your goals faster. In this episode, I’m breaking down seven practical, straightforward ways you can use AI right now to save time, increase trust with your clients, and stop the "content slop" madness for good. In This Episode You'll Discover Boost your local ranking by replying with pet names and service-specific keywords. Use AI to find exactly where your site fails to answer client questions. Build instant trust by answering questions before they are ever asked. Stop hiring "warm bodies" with personality-driven ads that attract top talent. Turn one client email or blog into ten high-quality social posts. Use your "Sent" folder to build a document that ends repetitive emotional labor. Let AI analyze your competitors to find their weaknesses and your competitive edge. Timestamps 08:18 – Use AI to find the "missing answers" on your site that are costing you sales. 11:36 – Create a "What to Expect" guide that closes deals before you even speak. 14:45 – Stop running ads; start writing talent magnets that filter out the fluff. 18:13 – How to turn one high-value insight into 10 strategic, high-quality posts. 23:30 – Turn repetitive emails into a permanent FAQ to reclaim your emotional labor. 26:15 – Use AI to spot your competitors' weaknesses and exploit your strengths. Notable Quotes "Every negative review, you're actually not responding to them, you're responding to everyone who's ever gonna see it for years to come." "I can tell you how successful or unsuccessful you're gonna be based off of where you're spending your time." "It's not AI [that will ruin the world], it's the people that understand how to use AI the right way." Resources and Links Get organized and stop the resume chaos. Click here to try my favorite applicant tracking system: Breezy HR (ATS): bellavasta.com/breezy If you want to know what your competitors are really saying, you need my phone sales script exercise Want the exact prompts for every strategy I shared today? Join our community and let’s make your business fly: Jump Consulting Mastermind: (Use code BELLA25 for $25 off!) Have a specific question or need a partner hookup? Shoot me a message directly: bella@bellavasta.com Transcript Welcome back to another episode of Bella in Your Business. Today we're going to talk about seven things that AI can do for your pet business this week that you probably didn't think of. Now guys, I think this is really, really important because I've been seeing people use it, but like use it at a very kindergarten level, not in elementary, middle school, high school, or dare I say collegiate level. Okay. And I'm here to up level your thinking of what is actually possible. And hopefully by the end of this episode, you're going to have a lot of different ideas and I'm going to change your mindset slightly. That's always my goal in everything that I do is to shift your mindset, to think bigger, think more strategic and achieve your goals faster. So most pet businesses are like, they're either ignoring AI, complaining about AI and I'm not even gonna go into that and I give that any life, okay? But I wanna talk to you who you feel like you're using it every day. Maybe you have it on your phone, you have it downloaded, you talk to it all the time, you feel like you're getting a lot from it. Harvard actually just came out with a study that people are actually more busy because of AI, because they're not, especially a chat GPT, which is one of the reasons why I kind of broke up with them. It's always like, well, here you go and I can do these other three things for you, which really doesn't help the ADHD brain. What that does is it helps keep you in the loop of in their ecosystem and feeling like you're doing so much, but you're not actually producing a lot. And there's a difference there. I want you to just be mindful of that. But there are things right now that AI can do that are free that you probably haven't considered. And so I wanna like, you peep those things to you today. They're not fancy, they're really practical, they're very straightforward, anyone can do these things. So before we get started, I really, really, really wanna say to you, please subscribe to the episode, please subscribe to Bella in Your Business, please share it with your friends if you find this is going to be a valuable episode for you. And I'm just sitting here at 7.30 in the morning. My child is getting ready and I am just talking to you guys and my I live for those comments those feedbacks the shares the DMS because that lets me know that what I'm hitting what I'm saying is hitting okay, and so I just if you like the show, please let me know All right, and and I'm also gonna probably save you a little bit of money today, too Which is also really cool. So the very first one and I want you guys to hear me out because you might be like, yeah. Yeah. No I'm going to show you how to uplevel this, okay? So let's talk about those Google reviews responses. I know some of you don't really even pay attention to your Google reviews and others are going for 55 star reviews, 105 star reviews, 505 star reviews. And let me just set the foundation and say, if you're not actively seeking Google reviews from your clients, you're missing out. The Google reviews are something that AI is going to be using as one of their many tickers on who they can trust. Okay. So the more reviews you have, the better it can be for your business . can't hurt you unless they're a bunch of one star reviews, I suppose. But let's just say now we're in the orbit of you got a five star review and most of the time people are like, thanks so much. We love taking care of buddy. You know, like, I know I need to respond. And that's what they do. That response is a potential for another, let's think about this, the Google My Business when you're posting updates, hopefully weekly. Yeah, another thing you gotta do. But something that's gonna really help you, okay? And this is AI could help you with it too. But you wanna make sure that your responses also have your keyboards in them, right? But what happens is we either find out, my gosh, there's some reviews. Bella, you're just reminding me now I gotta go in and see if there's any reviews I need to respond to, everyone always likes to be responded to. Especially the faster you can respond, the better. It just shows that you're an active business owner. Right? Or sometimes even worse, people don't respond at all because they didn't have the time, they didn't know what to say. Right? Or the negative reviews. I mean, that just cuts you to the core. Right? If someone doesn't give you five stars, maybe they give you three or four. You're like, what the what? Right? And it's haunting you and you're kind of scared to say the wrong thing back. So you just kind of let it sit there and be like, don't address it. Nobody knows. You stick your head in the sand like a flamingo, right? Well, what AI does do, it can write a very personalized response to every single review and you can instruct it to have the pet's name, the reference of the service. So even if you might call it like an adventure, you want to call it a pet sit in this comment back or a dog walk because that's what people are gonna be searching for on the internet not your cute name, all right and You want to respond to every single review? We all we all know that by now, right? We can agree on that and then you want to mention the pets name Reference this service and match the energy of the review. So if someone comes in like my god, you're absolute best like my gosh, you're the best too, but if someone is like hey, you did a really great job, thanks so much. You're like, my God, you're the best. We wanna match the response, okay? It's free and it takes about two minutes per review. And now Google rewards businesses that responds to reviews. So every single one of your reviews right now, go check. You need to make sure they're all responded to. It will help with your SEO. You will show up higher in searches and potential clients will read your responses. And even when it's a negative review, it shows how you show up in adverse times. Okay, is this a business that I wanna do business with? Because they handled a icky situation very respectfully and heard the person and just really addressed them, right? They were seen and heard. Or were they a-holes? And were just like, you have to remember that every negative review, you're actually not responding to them, you're responding to everyone who's ever gonna see it for years to come. Okay, just something to think about. And sometimes that does happen because we're not perfect or our team isn't perfect. I have a prompt and I have a prompt for every single one of these and I'm gonna drop them inside the community to reward them because what we do here is we tell you what you should be doing and then we break down the how inside the community. So for this episode specifically because it's gonna be jam packed with tons of detail, I will put it all on a PDF and if you're in the mastermind or you've been thinking about joining the mastermind now is a really great time to do it. All you gotta do is go to jumpconsulting.net forward slash mastermind and it's just month to month. There's no real long commitment. Although we just had a member sign up for an entire year and then she asked me, can I do 20, 27 too?

    31 мин.

  7. 4 ФЕВР.

    Episode 461: 10 Steps To Hiring Great Employees

    Are you still climbing ladders to clean gutters at 6 p.m. because your "reliable" hire ghosted you? Or maybe you’re the dog walker getting called in for a shift because someone bailed an hour before it started. I know you’re exhausted, and I know you feel like you’ve tried everything even praying about it or putting it out into the universe. But the truth is, you’re likely hiring on a hope and a prayer because you’re desperate for help, not work. In this episode, I’m pulling you off the hamster wheel. We’re moving from chaos to a proven system: the 10-Step Jump Hiring Method. I’m breaking down how to stop hiring "anyone with a pulse" and start building a team that actually values the opportunity. We’ll talk about why your gut feeling is lying to you, how to write job ads that read like love letters, and why investing in your people from day one changes everything. Stop guessing. Start building. In This Episode You'll Discover How to stop looking for "hard workers" and start defining your dream team member. Why your boring job ads are attracting people who don't care and how to write ads that hit emotional buttons. Using "anti-questions" to make the wrong people self-select out before they waste your time. Why hiring off a "gut feeling" is like getting married on the first date (and how to fix it). The simple math equation to know exactly when you can afford to hire without the late-night anxiety. A simple trick to ensure you talk only 20% of the time during interviews. How to make a new hire feel like a human, not a cog in a machine, from day one. Timestamps 02:29 – The reality of ghosting and why "hiring on a prayer" fails. 04:54 – Why hiring based on a "gut feeling" is like getting married on the first date. 07:17 – The math of hiring: How to know if you can actually afford to grow. 09:38 – Phase One: Defining your ideal candidate avatar beyond just a "pulse". 12:01 – Using knockout questions to make the wrong people self-select out. 14:24 – Building a phased process and using an Applicant Tracking System (ATS). 18:49 – The "Drink Test": How to master the 80/20 rule in interviews. Notable Quotes: "Your hiring process should make people work for the opportunity to work for you." "When you hire based off of a gut feeling, you're hiring someone you liked, not someone who's competent." "Hiring is not a panic decision. It's a math equation." Resources and Links Get organized and stop the resume chaos. Click here to try my favorite applicant tracking system: Breezy HR (ATS): bellavasta.com/breezy Want to stop losing your best people? Grab the book that changed how I look at retention: Never Lose an Employee by Joey Coleman Take the guesswork out of personality and honesty. Use these assessments to vet your next hire: Assessments: Orion Test or Predictive Index Ready for a personalized audit of your system? Book a session and let’s fix your business together: Strategy Call with Bella: bellavasta.com Have a specific question or need a partner hookup? Shoot me a message directly: bella@bellavasta.com Transcript Welcome everybody to another episode of Bella in Your Business. My name is Bella Vasta. Today, we're going to talk about something that almost every single one of you are affected by. And that's how we feel about our hiring method. Are you the one that's still climbing ladders to clean gutters at 6 p.m. because your reliable employee ghosted you? Are you the one answering emergency HVAC calls at midnight because you can't trust anyone else with your clients? Are you the dog walker that's getting called in because someone decided to call out an hour before their shift? If you're stuck on that hamster wheel, alright, spinning and spinning and spinning, working in your business instead of on your business, we're gonna fix that today. We're gonna talk about it because you're not alone. You're actually very similar to a lot of other people there and I'm gonna help give you all the information you need in this episode to help get you over that hump once and for all. Because here's the thing, like I know that you need help. I know that you can't scale like all by yourself, but like every single time you try to hire and you have, you really have tried to hire properly, okay? It's a disaster. You've given it your all, you've done every single thing you know how to do. Even prayed about it or put it out into the universe, okay? But today we're going to move from chaos and hoping for the best to a proven system, the 10 step jump hiring method. And by the end of this episode, you're going to know exactly how to build a team, all of the steps. And I would even maybe recommend that you record this episode. Here's a quick little AI hack. Record what I'm about to tell you right now, or go grab the transcript from the show notes and then put it into Chat Sheep E.T. to give you all the Cliff Notes. That being said, please stay with me for this whole episode because you're not going to want to miss out on the inspiration that you're going to get from hearing what I have to say. Okay. Can we actually talk about ghosting for a minute though, before we get into all of it? Like you've posted a job on Indeed. You maybe get like three responses. You schedule the interviews, you arrange like your entire day just to be available for this meeting. You are hoping that they show up and it's amazing. but then they don't show up. There's no call, there's no texting, nothing. Or worse, they do show up for the interview, you hire them and then maybe one day they're cleaning houses and poof, they vanish into thin air. You text them, nothing. You call, straight to voicemail. And then like two hours later you get some halfway email saying, sorry, I had something come up. Does that sound familiar? I'm pretty sure that every single business owner has experienced a version of that at some point during their career. But here's what's happening. You're hiring on a hope and a prayer and you're so desperate for help, not work, and those are two different things when someone works for you versus helps you. But you're so desperate that you'll take anyone with a pulse. Your job ad probably says something boring like, pest control technician needed or dog walker with a list of requirements that sounds like a corporate robot wrote it. And you feel great because you're like, hey, AI helped me write this. And then you wonder why you attract people who don't care. Let me bust a myth right now. The problem is not that good employees don't exist. And that's what everyone wants to say because that takes it away from being their problem. or they're them as a part of the solution. I've seen it happen countless times. The problem is that you don't have a system. You don't have hoops. You don't have filters. So when someone could just walk right into your business and get hired after one conversation, they have no skin in the game. They didn't earn it. And they also don't want it. They just kind of need the paycheck right now. So therefore they don't value it. Is this starting to like, it might rub up against some of you a little harshly right now because it's stuff that you kind of know is already true, you just don't want to hear. But don't worry, because I've got solutions for you today. Your hiring process should make people work for the opportunity to work for you. And we're going to talk about exactly how to do all that. What about the gut feeling though? Any of you guys, you know, like hire off of your gut? You interview someone for your service. They seem nice. They smile a lot. They tell you they're really good with details. You like them. So you hire them on the spot. You're like, my gosh, something just, I just feel so connected to you. It's like being on a first date and like getting married. It's not gonna work. Here's the analogy. Like literally like you go and you want a first date with someone and you meet them and you decide to get married that night. That's never gonna happen. But in hiring, one interview, you're basically handing them the keys to your business and your clients homes. But the danger is massive here. When you hire based off of a gut feeling, you're hiring someone you liked, not someone who's competent. Those are two completely different things. Now, you definitely have to like them, but you don't know if they're competent yet. And that friendly person who seemed really great turns out they don't know the difference between a flexy lead and a hornist. But hey, they made you feel good. And the fix? You need a process that forces you to date around. You need to interview multiple people before making a decision and go on multiple dates with that person. You need to test their skills, their reliability, their attention to detail. Your gut is great for some things, but hiring? You need data and you need a system. Here's another big thing that I see happening. And I'm asking you all of these things because I really want you to understand I know exactly where you are, okay? Like the fear of investing in the late night worrying, okay? How many of you lay awake at night, and I'm willing to guess this is everyone listening right now, saying can I even afford to hire someone? Or what if I invest all this time in training and certifications and education and then they quit? What if I buy them uniforms and equipment and they disappear? I get it. Like I've been there. The fear is real. And what happens is this makes people say, well, after you've been with me for 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, then I'll get you the certification or uniform or whatever it might be. And the counterpoint to that, this is gonna change your business forever. You don't invest in them. If, no, sorry, if you don't invest in them. They have no real reason to be loyal to you. Like think about it, you get a new hire, right? And you don't give them a company shirt.

    28 мин.

  8. 21 ЯНВ.

    Episode 460: 6 Levels of Delegation with Humans and AI

    Are you actually running your business, or is it running you? This episode is for the person who feels like they have to be the brain for everyone they hire. If you've ever felt like it’s just easier to do it yourself, or if you’re treating AI like a magic eight ball instead of a teammate, we need to talk. I’m showing you exactly how to climb the ladder from Level 1 to Level 6 so you can finally stop being the bottleneck. In This Episode You'll Discover Why paying $30/hour for a "button pusher" who can't think for themselves is a waste of your money. Why free AI tools keep you stuck in Level 1 while paid versions act as a strategic brain for your business. How to stop letting data kill your creativity by delegating the heavy lifting to Level 3 systems. The secret to cloning your brand voice and SOPs so you aren't the constant bottleneck. How to move toward Level 6 agents that handle client onboarding and dinner orders while you're at swim school. Timestamps 03:45– Why AI is now as mandatory for business as a cell phone. 05:20– Level 1: Stop micromanaging the "follow the recipe" tasks. 09:19– Level 2: Research and report. Let AI build your spreadsheets. 11:40– Level 3: Moving from options to recommendations. 18:45– Level 4: "Decide and inform." Trusting your custom GPTs. 25:35– Level 5: Full agency. Systems that run without your permission. 29:20– Level 6: Owning the outcome. The holy grail of business freedom Notable Quotes: "If they are not using AI as a tool, then you are severely misled." "I don’t want you treating AI like a magic eight ball where you shake it and start over every time." "Analytics is like where you go to die... it kills your creativity and overwhelms you." "You’re no longer in every decision. AI is making choices with your guardrails. This is how you get your real freedom back." Resources and Links: Marketing with Bella The Mastermind: Join us for month-to-month coaching at  Custom GPT Class: Buy the $70 class and learn to build your own assistant. Book a Chat: Let’s talk in real life.  Transcript Welcome everybody to another episode of Bella in your business. My name is Bella Vasta. Today I'm really going to try to keep this shorter episode just because we've been getting to be so long because I've been so excited. But I have to admit this episode is another going to fire episode. I mean they all are right. Last week I want to give a big shout out. I had one of my gals say about episode 459 where I talked about social media and what was working and what you need to stop doing in 2026. She said, I freaking love this. This episode has some serious gold in it. I'll be joining the group chat finally today. I think my favorite thing is I don't have to think about being perfect and you can just be yourself and real in marketing. Another person said, and I'm telling you guys this because if you have not listened to that episode, I'm telling you, it's going to change your 2026. Please do it. Another one she literally started off, said, hashtags are stupid. They're old school and they should have went away when payphones went away. I will agree. Well, I mean, they weren't around when payphones were there, but you get the drift, right? I will agree with you there. Biggest takeaway is that everything is content and that posting to blogs, posting info like blogs is kind of a waste of time because people don't pay attention to it . and also agree that today's vibe is a real and is being real and it speaks to an individual person. says, Nicole left me a longer message. I'm not gonna read the whole entire thing to you, but guys, you have to go check out episode 459 if you haven't already. She says, I definitely am someone who struggles with social media mostly because she works two jobs, right? And she was really inspired to hear that I was talking about. It's that and what she's also noticing is that making a boring carousel that takes her 20 minutes never gets any views. So I'm talking about like one of those points was those carousels that everyone's making and they're trying to do like overly graphics when like really all you need is a picture and something to look like you wrote on top of it. Yeah. you're gonna wanna go check that episode out, because I not only tell you what you shouldn't be doing, but what you need to start thinking about doing to change your strategy. And of course, this is all the stuff that we do with marketing with Bella. We still have one more spot if someone wants to jump in for this semester, just go on over to jumpconsulting.net forward slash marketing, or shoot me a DM at Bella Vasta or Bella at jumpconsulting.net. All right guys, today we're gonna talk about something that is really, really important. And this is gonna be like, this is more strategy. This is what people pay me for. But you know what, my team's gonna kill me, but I'm gonna give you all the golden nuggets today. Again, I actually have a coaching session starting in 29 minutes. So hopefully I'm gonna be pretty concise and fast here with your time today. Because when I do get excited, they do tend to go about a half hour. But today we're gonna talk about delegation. And before you go roll your eyes, let me explain something to you. This is not only gonna be delegation for as you think of it traditionally when it goes to like your office manager or maybe a VA, but also AI. Because what was my promise to you is that everything we do, it's always gonna have AI weaved into it. And let me tell you right now, if you're paying anyone, I don't care if it's internally like in your company, or maybe it's like a coach or a mentor . or a strategist, if they are not using AI as a tool, keyword tool, then you are severely misled. Because AI is a tool that everyone's gonna be using in the future. It is literally the same thing as hiring someone who doesn't believe in using email and a cell phone, okay? Let me be very clear about that. So let's just all start off on that understanding. But I'm gonna talk today about the six levels of delegation and because of AI, I also have this amazing graphic. I think I'm gonna actually, Chris, if you can, he's my podcast producer, pop that up if anyone's watching us on Spotify or YouTube. Go ahead and pop that up for reference so that people can see it maybe for about 60 seconds. And if you're not watching us on YouTube or Spotify and you're listening . then I'm gonna put it in the show notes on my website so you could also see it there. And of course, I'm gonna post it all over social media. But let's get into it because for each level, I'm gonna literally show you what it looks like to delegate to a human, what type of person operates at that level, and where it gets really good is gonna be the AI, okay? So like literally, I'm gonna get right into it, so level one. And this is... This is gonna become so clear and I wanna hear all your comments you guys. Comment wherever you're listening to this podcast right now. I wanna hear like what your biggest takeaway or your aha moment or like my gosh, this is why it's not working for me, okay? So level one, this is like the very basic level, okay? This is the follow the recipe. You hand someone an exact step by step instructions, think SOP, okay? Think like the mom factor and they execute. There's no decision making. There's no creativity. It's perfect for repeat admin work like scheduling posts or data entry. The human delegation, this is your button pusher. That's who they are. So they're your virtual assistant who schedules your social media posts, enters client information into your CRM or like time to pet, precise pet care maybe, or processes invoices. They're not making decisions. They're following your exact process. It's like literally, punch and pull, okay. That you say, this caption on Instagram at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, and they do it. This person might be a part-time VA, an entry-level admin, or even a high school student, and they don't need business experience. They just need to follow directions. Now, here's where it gets wrong, is because sometimes there are people like that, that have this high horse because everyone's a VA now, and they're like, oh, it's gonna be $30 an hour . and I'm just, but you have to tell me how to do everything. And it's like, no, I'm sorry, you're not worth $30 an hour. If you are only doing exactly what I have to say and I have to be your brain, then that's not worth $30 an hour, okay? So these are things that you really have to understand and that I help a lot of my clients with when they're starting to bring on office people or VAs, because every office manager is not equal, okay. When someone says, oh, how much do you charge? How much you pay your office managers? Like, well, what's their scope and what is their responsibility level? Do you get what I'm saying? I know I just exploded your brain right now and you're like, okay, what else you got? So let me translate this to AI, okay? This is where most people are at with AI right now. You're asking it one off questions. Write me a social media caption about dog walking. Give me five subject lines for my newsletter. Summarize this article. Yes, if you're not doing that already, you should. It's great. You get an answer, you copy paste it and that's it. Every single time you need something, you have to start from scratch. There's no memory, there's no context, there's no building on previous work. This might even be for the people who have the free AIs and think, I don't need to buy AI. It's like, I can get it for free. Well, you're missing out on a lot of memory and that memory saves you a lot of time and mistakes, but that's another story. So, like a pet business, like the old way, you sit down every Sunday and manually write out all your social media captions for the week. It takes you two hours, okay, or type out. Level one,

    32 мин.
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  • Автор
    Bella Vasta
  • Годы выхода
    2014 - 2026
  • Выпуски
    400
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    Без ненормативной лексики
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    Copyright © 2024 Pet Sitting Business Coaching
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    Bella In Your Business: Pet Sitting and Dog Walking Podcast

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