In this Q&A episode of the Hustleburg podcast, Brett answers listener questions about Instagram in the second of two parts. This is the fourth episode of a platform-specific series on the Q&A episodes about the varying social media platforms. Episode 12 and Episode 14 made up a two-part series on Facebook, Episode 16 served as the first in this two-part series on Instagram, and in two weeks, Episode 20 will answer your questions about LinkedIn.
How Can I Organically Grow My Instagram Following?
When it comes to growing a community, no matter the platform, organic growth is always best. Instagram is no different. Regardless of the type of follower, or community member, you need to attract them, and to attract them organically, you’ll need to approach them with something of value, because initially, they don’t know that you exist, right? Or else, they’d be a part of what you’re building already. Your base of content centers on the five focus areas we’ve outlined in-depth previously, giving you so much content to create that your first 10 or so posts.
How Do You Reach People Outside Your Network?
Engage with your existing community to form a baseline of recommended content on the “Explore” tab. With your new tool directly serving you content that it calculates you wish to view and interact with on the Explore tab, you can grow by commenting and following those who add value to you. Use hashtags and local popular posts to find more content and follow accounts that add value to yours. Interact with those new accounts, using the $1.80 strategy outlined in this episode.
What Advantage is There to Using Instagram Stories Over Facebook Stories?
They may ignore you in one place, but consume what you create without a second thought in another. It’s all about the user. It’s rarely about you. There are differing demographics and psychographics of each platform. The community you have on Instagram is younger than Facebook’s, so the context and content of what you share on Instagram Stories will HAVE to be different than what you share on Facebook Stories, because the audiences differ. You also don’t have the same linking capability that Facebook offers its Stories on the Instagram platform, until you’re a MUCH larger account or an advertiser. That forces you to think about how to create and present content in your stories, driving you to be more creative with the content and the context, so you have even more to consider when sharing to Instagram Stories.
How Do I Best Link to Multiple Things With the Same Instagram Account?
When Instagram began, they chose to focus on the visual. They created a platform as an app-only option that also allowed you to “filter” what you shared within the app to take ordinary pictures to make them extraordinary. That makes things more difficult for brands to navigate to spam you with links to other content away from Instagram. There is one link per account, and it’s in your bio. They are forcing you to only send people off-platform for only the MOST IMPORTANT PIECE OF CONTENT to you at a time. To offer something beyond that, the market has several options, all operating with a “freemium” model, free with limited features yet paying for a more robust version. There are a variety of options, such as Linktree, lnk.bio, and linkin.bio by Later. For musicians and podcasters, SmartURL might be an option worth looking into.
Start Marketing Your Business Online With These Three Easy Steps
If you’re just getting started marketing your business online, Beyond Your Side Hustle offers a FREE Getting Started Guide.
If you enjoyed what you heard in this episode, please take a moment to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast on your favorite player. Each episode is available on its own post, with the entire catalog here. It’s available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast catcher. We listen to this show and our favorites on Castbox. It’s hosted by Podbean. We appreciate your attention, and we can’t wait to have you back for the next episode.
Be a Guest on Hustleburg
If you have any questions you’d like to have answered on an upcoming Q&A episode, please take a moment to visit beyondyoursidehustle.com/podcastquestion and ask there. If you’re a St. Pete businessperson who’d like to sit down for an interview, please reach out to us here.
In this Q&A episode of the Hustleburg podcast, Brett answers listener questions about Instagram in the first of two parts. This is the third episode of a platform-specific series on the Q&A episodes about the varying social media platforms. Episode 12 and Episode 14 made up a two-part series on Facebook, and in two weeks, Episode 18 will answer more of your questions about Instagram.
What are some tips for showcasing my business right now on Instagram?
The most important thing to remember about Instagram is that it’s an amazing opportunity to share with your audience stories that are interesting about what you do through a visual medium. When it comes to how you should be using Instagram for your brand, sharing photos and videos of how something in your business works, people, and other things that make up your brand should be the focus. While Instagram offers multitudes of filters for your images and videos, you shouldn’t over-process or overuse these filters. I certainly suggest you use the most important hashtags to your content and your brand to help others find your content that they may appreciate, your commentary on posts shouldn’t just be hashtag this, hashtag that. A more important use for hashtags on Instagram is for YOU to find content and accounts relevant to you and your business. Like many posts that show up in your feed.
Is Instagram a lower priority than Facebook? I am a photographer, so should I start with Facebook or Instagram?
As with many of my responses to questions posed here in the Q&A episodes, it depends. In 2020, the most important platform for you to have a presence is Facebook. As a photographer, I think that you should prioritize creating for a platform that best showcases what you do and the stories you tell with your business. Obviously, Instagram is a better place to create and share visual content like your photos. You offer something that is uniquely suited to an almost solely visual medium. Utilize that advantage to tell stories about what you do. Focus on telling the stories of the people you work with, and avoid being one-dimensional with your content.
What sort of content best highlights a business on Instagram?
The same kind of engaging content that adds value to others on all social media platforms. Your Instagram game needs to be a mix of your 5 main topics… The ones we’ve discussed before when developing your content strategy. The content you should share to highlight your brand, regardless of the main feed or Instagram stories, are the visually interesting things about it.
Believe it or not, something that seems so mundane to you that you use every day will be found fascinating by someone else. The people you encounter at work, whether your team or your customers, are pretty fascinating themselves. Share successes. It isn’t about broadcasting what you want out there to your followers. Engage with their posts more than you post yourself.
Start Marketing Your Business Online With These Three Easy Steps
If you’re just getting started marketing your business online, Beyond Your Side Hustle offers a FREE Getting Started Guide.
If you enjoyed what you heard in this episode, please take a moment to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast on your favorite player. Each episode is available on its own post, with the entire catalog here. It’s available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast catcher. We listen to this show and our favorites on Castbox. It’s hosted by Podbean. We appreciate your attention, and we can’t wait to have you back for the next episode.
Be a Guest on Hustleburg
If you have any questions you’d like to have answered on an upcoming Q&A episode, please take a moment to visit beyondyoursidehustle.com/podcastquestion and ask there. If you’re a St. Pete businessperson who’d like to sit down for an interview, please reach out to us here.
“[Dogs] have to learn the motion first. Then, apply the word to it.”
Do you have a new four-legged addition to your family? In this episode of Hustleburg, Brett sits down with Sit Means Sit – Saint Petersburg‘s Elena Elwart and her dog, Junior.
Junior is listening with you!
Brett and Elena discuss different types of dog training, red flags when it comes to picking your trainer, and what to expect when you embark on a training program for your dog.
If you enjoyed what you heard in this episode, please take a moment to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast on your favorite player. Each episode is available on its own post, with the entire catalog here. It’s available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast catcher. We listen to this show and our favorites on Castbox. It’s hosted by Podbean. We appreciate your attention, and we can’t wait to have you back for the next episode.
Hear Your Question, Answered, on Hustleburg
If you have any questions you’d like to have answered on an upcoming Q&A episode, please take a moment to visit beyondyoursidehustle.com/podcastquestion and ask there. If you’re a St. Pete businessperson who’d like to sit down for an interview, please reach out to us here.
The below transcript created automatically by Otter.ai
Brett Bittner In this episode, I have the opportunity to speak with Elena Elwart from Sit Means Sit in St. Petersburg.
Elena Elwart Thank you so much for having me.
Brett Bittner Oh, glad to have you. And we have a special guest Jr. who if you saw some of the stuff that we did, prior to the episode, you’re going to see him featured as well. So Elena, why dog behavior?
Elena Elwart It’s actually a very personal story for me. So I started out owning my first ever dog as a gift to myself coming back from deployments. I’m a veteran, and it was my, hey, you’re doing great, you’re making some good money. Now you’re gonna have to occupy your time with something else. So I got grace and I tried two different training programs that didn’t work. She’s a very Alpha Dog, okay. Which I did not understand at all.
Brett Bittner Some people have no idea what you’re talking about when you say something like alpha.
Elena Elwart Yes. So alpha dogs, just to give you an idea, they want what they want when they want it, and they will find every loophole possible to get their way. And when you have a tiny little dog that’s about six pounds on half an acre of land trying to get them to go inside it gets very frustrating. So I found sit means sit, and they had actually been a successful Business prior to joining second set, which is a franchise, and when I was a client, my trainer was also a veteran. So he was able to kind of see some of the behaviors that grace was doing that is not typical of dogs. And she ended up becoming my service dog. Totally unplanned. But because of that, I kind of dove into the whole realm of how dogs help people how people’s psyche as well as physical body can be benefited from just touching a dog. And then I saw the difference between myself in when I interact with my dog and when I interact with people, and it was totally different. So grace really kind of started the path for me and three months in my trainer said, Hey, why don’t you open a franchise since you’re getting medically chapter out of the army? And I said, Don’t know a thing about training. So I spent eight months internship with him. So while I was still full time I did part time with them. Then I became a trainer with them because I was taking longer to get out of the army than anticipated. And then after working with them, I finally moved to St. Petersburg and got my certificate as a franchise owner in a color trainer and then opened up my business come April of 2012.
Brett Bittner So a lot of the folks that we’ve talked to haven’t been franchise owners. Tell me what that looks like in the sit means sit world when we spoke with Peter Yeager, I believe that was Episode Seven of Tampa tread connection. He was our first franchisee. What does that mean? In the sit means sit world.
Elena Elwart So with that being said, it means that we get a brand. We also have continuing education. So a lot of trainers once they graduate from a class they think they know everything. And that really makes them stagnant in the dog world because dogs evolve, training evolves, everything needs to be continued to keep updated. So with set means set, we have both, like the business owner aspect of it for continuing education as well as the training aspect of it as continuing education. So we both opportunities each year for us to go to and attend. They also have the branding, they help us with non competes and contracts with clients. We’re also able to reach out to other franchise owners and trainers and if we don’t know how to fix something, we can ask for their opinion what worked for them and different strategies that we haven’t tried yet or haven’t thought of trying yet.
Brett Bittner So here in St. Petersburg, who is it that you’re working with the most what kind of dog what kind of people come to Sit Means Sit generally?
Elena Elwart I actually train just about any dog out there. My biggest clients right now is dogs that are struggling with behavioral issues that people call aggression, but it’s really just a reactivity out of fear. And then I also have people that want their dog to become a therapy dog. And I had started the Florida chapter of the Go Team therapy airport and crisis dogs. So I trained a lot of dogs to be able to go through that as well.
Brett Bittner Okay, so who’s your ideal client?
Elena Elwart My ideal client is somebody that wants to take their dog anywhere in everywhere in St. Pete. Okay. St. Pete is trying to become the most dog friendly city in America. That’s great. And we are getting there. We have so many dog friendly restaurants and breweries, and we even have a dog bar and we have a another dog that or another bar that has dog park in it. So there’s all kinds of different places that you can take your dog. So I want to build a relationship between the handler, the owner, the parents of the dog, and get them to a point where they feel like they can literally do anything with their dog.
Brett Bittner Awesome. What should a puppy parents be looking for when they’re actually out there looking to find a trainer for their dog.
Elena Elwart My biggest advice to everybody when I talk to them is asked to view training. If a trainer won’t show you how they train or they won’t invite you to group classes to view or come view a private lesson. That’s usually a red flag. Everything I do is out in public. I do group classes in public. I do a lot of private lessons at public parks or at people’s homes. I like to train as we live, not in a bubble. So I do all the time. Training out in public. So I am visible everybody. I have nothing to hide. And so if a trainer has something that they feel like they have to hide, big, huge red flag. So now what kind what types of training do you do? Obviously, you said you work with every kind of dog. Are we talking obedience for the very beginners all the way through? You mentioned something called e collar training. I know what that is, but I don’t know that everybody else does. But that’s certainly a more advanced off-leash training than what you’re seeing in the group classes, private lessons, obedience stuff.
Brett Bittner So tell us a little bit about each of the types of training that you do.
Elena Elwart So I actually have a unique training system. So for I have a puppy class that uses treats so it helps new puppy owners learn how to be with their puppy and get them on a leash and get them started and proper introductions with other dogs etc. And then once they’re past 16 weeks old, they can go straight into the E collar training. So I use e collar training as a template. So that way they can learn to focus on their handler, no matter where they’re at and what the distractions are. Even though the dogs are young, we still want them to know proper boundaries, what’s expected of them in different situations. So we actually teach the dog how to act in each situation, instead of just teaching them sit, stay, walk in a circle and then become buddies with everybody in class, right? Our group classes actually our maintenance program. So it is not your typical class. We do very advanced things. We do lots of food refusal, advanced distraction work, distance work, off-leash work, hand signals, directionals, whistle commands and fun games as well.
Brett Bittner Wow, that’s a lot. Yes. So when somebody finally has secured training for their dog, what should they expect? What what are they going to encounter when they show up the first day with their dog.
Elena Elwart So the first day, we actually are able to start teaching the dog how to focus, how to sit with attention, do something called a place command, as well as come command, and that is your foundation of training. And if they don’t have that foundation, you’re not going to progress. So we really make sure that our clients understand the importance of those commands. And then we use that as our building blocks. And each client is very individual, I do a free consultation because I don’t train each dog being exactly the same as other dogs, because each dog has their own personality, their own way of communicating their own needs. And so it has to be very individualized especially when different families want different things from their dogs like one family may want to go camping with their dog, whereas another family just wants a great dog to go running with.
Brett Bittner Have you ever encountered an untrainable dog?
Elena Elwart Twice. and they had medical conditions. Usually it’s not a behavioral thing. Yeah, it’s usually medical.
Brett Bittner So, what was it that made them untrainable?
Elena Elwart One had cancer and one had a brain tumor.
Brett Bittner Okay, that would definitely do it. Yes.
Elena Elwart Usually when a dog becomes, quote, unquote untrainable it’s because of some sort of medical issue. Okay. I actually have a friend who was a trainer whose dog she rescue was this great demo dog. She’s cute, spunky, very friendly, and then all of a sudden, she started to become aggressive towards people. She couldn’t understand that she did lots of training. She’s a trainer so she knows what she’s doing. She reached out to everyone took her dog into the vet, the dog had brain cancer. So it’s always a reason why a dog is behaving a certain way. And behaviors are always manageable, but you can’t change a dog’s DNA. So I always tell people like if your dog does not like other dogs, it’s Okay, I don’t like other people all the time, right? And that’s okay.
Brett Bittner What’s something that most families don’t know about their dog?
Elena Elwart Oh, that’s a good one. Usually they don’t know about the proper form of communication. So everybody thinks that dogs just automatically understand when you tell them sit that it means put their butt on the ground, right. And that’s not true. They have to learn the motion first, and then apply the word to it. So I tell clients, you could use Google OSH as their sick command and it would mean the exact same thing. I actually have a client who says that her next dog in a few years, she wants to teach the sit as a down and a down as a sit and come as a stay. Oh, wow. And she has two other dogs. It will be confusing but it just shows that you can use any word for the The motion that the dog does, it’s just being consistent with the exact same word and having it small. Not a huge, long sentence like why are you barking so much? I just don’t understand.
Brett Bittner They don’t understand English. No, they they’re getting maybe 60 words if they’re really, really smart, so I totally get that. So what is it that you’re doing now switching a little more to the business side of things to keep a full calendar?
Elena Elwart Well, I’ve actually for two years, I didn’t do any advertising because I’ve had so many referrals. It’s just me. I’m on the business owner and the trainer. So my calendar has always stayed very busy or solopreneur. I love that. But now I have added in some Google AdWords, right. I used to do a lot of events, but I just don’t have the time for it anymore. It’s very time consuming, but from new business owners best way ever To make networks, get involved in the community, get your name out into the community. I did a lot of rescue events, I did home shows, races, all kinds of festivals, anything and everything that could get my name out there.
Brett Bittner Awesome. What is it right now that you would like to do better or more of in that same realm that you think that could really bring you some business?
Elena Elwart I actually think I found the sweet spot. Okay, I’m almost eight years into my business. Yeah. So I have dabbled in just about everything in terms of advertising. I don’t want to be one of those people that work 60 hours a week, right? Because I love my dogs and I want to do stuff with them. No, of course. So I i limit how many clients I actually take in and right now with the influx from the Google AdWords, I can’t do anything more, or I’m going to be too overwhelmed.
Brett Bittner I understand. What is it that you’re watching or reading or listening to? that’s helping you keep up with the latest in dog behavior and or helping you grow to grow your business so that you’re not necessarily always working in it. But you’re working on it.
Elena Elwart Yeah. Working on it instead of in it is always the hardest. I feel like for business owners Yeah, we’re very particular we want…
Brett Bittner No one does it as well as we do.
Elena Elwart our business. So that’s the biggest struggle for me is I have gone through many employees. And I know I’m difficult to work for because I have a very particular way of treating clients treating clients and dogs. I view that every client’s dog should be treated as my own. And a lot of trainers just want the easy Fast Money and not put the work in. And it is work. You’re not just sitting there petting puppies all day. Yeah, you have to walk them and potty them and feed them if they’re staying with you and make sure they’re groomed properly and on top of that work on the obedience that they came to you for. So there’s a whole nother level to it that a lot of people just don’t understand. They think dog training, get to hang out with dogs all day, right? while you’re on your feet a lot. You’re at parks a lot. So you’re outdoors, a lot, all kinds of weather. And so you have to keep an eye on the weather things that you normally wouldn’t have to worry about worrying about. Is it too hot? Is it now too cold because with our fluctuations and winter, the dogs sometimes they aren’t able to handle it as well as some other dogs. So just being able to find someone that does it the way that I do it, okay is always gonna be a struggle for me.
Brett Bittner All right. So what are you doing to keep up with what’s happening in dog behavior then?
Elena Elwart I actually part of I don’t know how many groups on Facebook I am part of therapy dog group pages, a service dog group pages, because the service dog world is rapidly changing for the better, good. And then I’m also on a whole bunch of different Florida dog trainer groups, Florida dog business groups, Florida marketing groups, dog training marketing groups. So basically I spend at least a half an hour every day going through different posts, seeing what other people are struggling with. Because sometimes you don’t realize you’re struggling with something when you’re in the middle. Right? Yes. So I kind of learned from other people as well as put my own input in there as well. There’s so much information out there on dogs that it can be hard to keep on top of things. So I always try to make sure that what I’m reading is the most up to date and current, okay, because there’s still things out there. floating around from research back in 2001 or 2020.
Brett Bittner So when you’re not training dogs, what is your favorite thing to do in or around St. Pete?
Elena Elwart Go somewhere with my dog. Okay. I love to go to dog beaches. I like to go to the dog bar. I like to go to breweries that are dog friendly. restaurants have patios for dogs. Everywhere I go, pretty much I bring a dog with me.
Brett Bittner So looking forward through the rest of 2020. Are there any big events that you know that you will be going to? I know you’re cutting back on some of those because you got all of the value you needed out of them? Is there anything where we can run where we’re gonna run into you?
Elena Elwart I actually have my group class come to the ASPCA walk the 3k walk that they have. I use that as a really big distraction. There’s hundreds if not thousands of dogs that come to those walks and then There’s also the service dog group in Sarasota. Okay. And yeah, dogs Yes. Then they also put a walk on Okay, that I do as a group class as well. So you could if there’s a dog Walk of some sort, you can most likely find me there with a group of people.
Brett Bittner Alright Elena, we’re at the end. Where can people find out more about sit means sit here in St. Pete. websites, social media, phone number, whatever you want to give where people can connect with you?
Elena Elwart Sure. I have all of it. My website is StPetersburg.sitmeanssit.com. And on Facebook, I’m sit means sit dog training St. Petersburg. You can also call me at 727-537-9721
Brett Bittner Anything beyond Facebook, social media wise?
Elena Elwart I am on a What is it? What’s the new one?
Brett Bittner Which one? TikTok? Are you talking about Instagram? Snapchat?
Elena Elwart Instagram. Yes.
Brett Bittner Awesome.
Elena Elwart I’m not very tech savvy. Okay. I’m on Instagram. Yeah. I don’t know if everything posts the way it’s supposed to. Yeah, but I am on there as well under Sit Means Sit St. Petersburg.
Brett Bittner Awesome. Elena, it was fabulous talking with you. It was great meeting Junior. He did a great job here. We’ve had plenty of distractions as we recorded outside in Abercrombie Park. Thanks so much for coming on.
In this Q&A episode of the Hustleburg podcast, Brett answers listener questions about Facebook in the second of two parts. This is the second episode of a platform-specific series on the Q&A episodes about the varying social media platforms. Episode 12 is the first part of this Facebook-specific Q&A series.
Should I be Using Facebook Stories, Live, or Watch Party? Why?
There is absolutely a benefit to each of these features for the small business owner.
Facebook Stories – Unlike Instagram, Facebook stories allow you to have all the same features, as well as swipe up capability without the need to pay for ad or be a large account. It’s also a great way to connect with younger users on the platform. The addition of stories to Facebook gives you a way of offering your community a glimpse “behind the scenes” of your life, business, or brand. It gives “insider access” to what you do, deepening the connection to your brand.
Facebook Live – If you have a good reason to stream live video content, this is a wonderful tool to do so. I like that you can create an event and hype around your business or brand that gives your community instant connection and interaction with you. It helps to deepen their connection, acting like a souped-up version of Reddit AMAs with real-time interaction.
Facebook Watch Party – I see the same value in offering the instant connection and interaction to your community that Facebook Live offers, in kind of the same way we used to call one another to watch a TV show or movie together, but separately.
What’s the Best Way to Grow My Facebook Likes? Should I Use Ads?
The key is to add value to the ongoing conversation that is social media. Your page should have plenty of content before you publish and even invite your mom or spouse to like it. Create 10 or so posts before you launch, so that visitors will have something to look at when they visit. This gives them an opportunity to decide if they want to give you the “like.” Tactically, invite those on your friends list to like the page slowly, making sure you utilize the tools Facebook has available to you. I’ve found better results when inviting people both through a notification as well as a well-crafted message in messenger from your personal profile. Both of these invitations methods are only possible on the desktop version. I answered a similar question in greater detail on Episode 4 of Hustleburg, where I discussed getting greater reach organically.
When it comes to ads, I’m not a big fan of paying for “likes,” because they are generally superficial, and I’d prefer that they come for something of value that you’ve offered. Using targeted ads based on demographic and psychographic information to drive them to something you offer that will add value to them is a great way to grow your audience. They’re more engaged than someone who just likes your page in a “drive by”
Page Messaging is Mystifying Me. Is This an Important Metric for Customers?
My answer about the importance of this public-facing metric is going to be different for different businesses. If you’re in a fast-paced environment and customers expect that you’ll respond quickly, this is something to make sure you prioritize with your page. For example, if you’re operating an auto repair shop and a potential customer wants to know if they can bring their car in today to have it repaired this afternoon, you’re going to want to make sure you can reply to that person nearly immediately, like fielding incoming phone calls. Facebook calculates this metric by measuring your response rate to private messages… ALL private messages to your page. They measure two things, the percentage of messages you respond to and the speed with which you reply. For the first, you’ll need to reply to 90% or more to have a “Very Responsive” label on your page. For the latter, you’ll need to respond in a very timely manner. An explanation of calculation for both is included in the episode.
Start Marketing Your Business Online With These Three Easy Steps
If you’re just getting started marketing your business online, Beyond Your Side Hustle offers a FREE Getting Started Guide.
If you enjoyed what you heard in this episode, please take a moment to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast on your favorite player. Each episode is available on its own post, with the entire catalog here. It’s available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast catcher. We listen to this show and our favorites on Castbox. It’s hosted by Podbean. We appreciate your attention, and we can’t wait to have you back for the next episode.
Be a Guest on Hustleburg
If you have any questions you’d like to have answered on an upcoming Q&A episode, please take a moment to visit beyondyoursidehustle.com/podcastquestion and ask there. If you’re a St. Pete businessperson who’d like to sit down for an interview, please reach out to us here.
“Get a Home Inspection… It’s Worth the Investment”
To follow up the last interview episode, it seems fitting to hang out in the real estate realm as Brett sits down with SPS Home Inspections‘ Scott Surridge. No matter where you are in Tampa Bay, Scott can offer the peace of mind you need when purchasing your next home.
Brett and Scott discuss what most people don’t know about their own homes, the craziest thing he’s found in an inspection, and what’s so important about inspecting the home you’re about to purchase.
If you enjoyed what you heard in this episode, please take a moment to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast on your favorite player. Each episode is available on its own post, with the entire catalog here. It’s available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast catcher. We listen to this show and our favorites on Castbox. It’s hosted by Podbean. We appreciate your attention, and we can’t wait to have you back for the next episode.
Hear Your Question, Answered, on Hustleburg
If you have any questions you’d like to have answered on an upcoming Q&A episode, please take a moment to visit beyondyoursidehustle.com/podcastquestion and ask there. If you’re a St. Pete businessperson who’d like to sit down for an interview, please reach out to us here.
If you have a question about marketing, building your brand or operating your small business that you’d like to have answered on a q&a episode, please visit beyond your side hustle comm slash podcast question to submit it. In this episode, I have the opportunity to speak with Scott Surridge from SPS home inspections. Enjoy.
Brett Bittner Tell me a little bit about why it is that you are a home inspector what is it that got you into that line of work?
Scott Surridge Well, I first started building houses when I was 17. And I’m 57 now so it was a natural progression from time that I finished building homes to go into some sort of profession where I’m more of a counselor or advisor and Home Inspection seems to be the next step to go.
Brett Bittner So not swinging the hammer anymore. You wanted to be more of somebody who’s guiding someone through that home buying home selling process to make sure that the house was ready for them to either move in or sell to somebody else, right?
Scott Surridge Correct. Yeah, I am the go between for the buyers and sellers and making sure that the buyer is purchasing a product that is that is secure and sound.
Brett Bittner Okay, who is your kind of ideal client? Are you mainly working with buyers? Are you mainly working with sellers? Is it a mix of the two or are you just coming in when a real estate agent that has you listed as the two or three inspectors to check out?
Scott Surridge It’s all three situations… sellers, buyers and realtors. I’ve been in the business for eight years inspecting only and building houses for 40. But for the past eight years, it’s a referral business I’ve never advertised and never had to. And buyers are the mainstay, whether they’re a referral from a friend or whether they’re a referral from a realtor. We do get sellers I will knock on sellers doors for for sale by owners and ask them if they would like a home inspection done to understand what they might expect in the sale of their home. And that is a very good way to help the seller out but I like working with buyers and making sure that they’re understanding what they’re purchasing with a major investment.
Brett Bittner So you talked about having a background in construction previously, you’ve been solely in the home inspection business for the last eight years. What else do you bring to the table? What kind of education In addition to the construction background?
Scott Surridge Well, as I mentioned, I started building houses framing houses when I was 17. I’m from way upstate New York near Rochester area. And when I moved down here 30 years ago, I continued to build build homes and mainly waterfront homes in Mira Bay and mocha Sega Bay, and we also started Chevelle. So I’m used to the larger custom homes. So I was involved in the total process of building those homes starting as a framer and then working up to be a superintendent and project manager. So over 40 years I’ve gained a lot of experience in understanding the home from the ground up. Now is there any kind of education training certification that comes that somebody who is looking for a home inspector should be looking for, there are certifications from the state it is mandatory if you are a home inspector that you’d be licensed by the state There is a state test that needs to be taken for the individuals who don’t qualify for being grandfathered in I, I was grandfathered in because of my experience. However, I’m also a member of the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors, which does require that you do take that state test for where you’re located, and that you pass that test with a 75 or better. I got a 99.
Brett Bittner Oh, there’s that one question, isn’t there? Always one there’s always one, of course. Now, if you’re a homebuyer and you’re entering the home inspection process, what is it that they should expect in that in that whole thing from choosing a home inspector, getting the inspection done, understanding what it is and what it means? Like, walk us through that whole thing, because that’s something that I imagine especially first-time homebuyers, and probably even first-time home sellers have no idea about this.
Scott Surridge Very true, but what you want to do is to be able to check the background of the home inspector that you’re choosing ask them questions. Are they licensed in that state? What is their experience in building homes? Were they a handyman where the electrician were they an actual contractor. I myself do still have my building license for the state of Florida. But I don’t use it. It’s on a voluntary hiatus, I guess you’d say okay, but the buyers should always ask for references and do background checks and make sure that they understand who the person is that’s going to be doing the inspection. They should expect their inspector to go through the entire home be in the attic, lock the roof. Take the air conditioning system apart, look at the coils take the cover off of the electrical panel, make sure the wiring inside his proper check outlets, windows, everything that’s accessible. They should be testing you Looking in cabinets, under under everything, and if you have to move a couple of things in the hall to be able to be complete, move a couple of things. Now, how long should a process like this take when they’re actually doing the inspection? It depends on the square footage of the home. I mean, an average home here in Florida somewhere between 1500 and 2500 square feet. smaller ones are generally an hour and a half, you can go you know, two hours, I myself generally take about two hours for 2500 square foot home. I work alone, so it’s just me. If you have two people, sometimes it takes a little bit less, but there’s no reason to spend four hours and have a 60 page report for a 2500 square foot home.
Brett Bittner You mentioned a number of pages in the report. What’s the average that you would expect to see for a home that’s ready to be to be closed on essentially?
Scott Surridge Well, in general like a 2000 square foot home somewhere between 25 and 35 pages of information. Okay, that includes photos and descriptions of everything that’s going on with it. Written in layman’s terms, mainly, but enough technical term that the licensed individual that has to do repairs understands what’s going on.
Brett Bittner Now following a home inspection, what is that home seller going to have to go through?
Scott Surridge The seller is going to talk to the selling agent and the buyer agent talk back and forth and the buyer will make requests of what might they want fixed, and then seller, depending on the contract that’s written, seller may have to fix certain things, but generally the safety issues are what the seller should have to fix. Now in the state of Florida, you do not have to bring the house up to current code when you’re selling it. However, if there are safety issues, even if you haven’t, as is contract, generally the seller should fix those items.
Brett Bittner So, we’re talking major things like an electrical issue or a wiring thing where it’s obvious that someone safety is going to be in debt in jeopardy. Correct?
Scott Surridge Yeah, there’s certain electrical panels that insurance companies won’t insure. Sylvania established federal Pacific. specific names that insurance companies have deemed unsafe. Different types of electrical wiring are supposed to have gfcis in certain wet areas. Certain years they weren’t required, but I still suggest they put them in. Same thing with smoke detectors and bedrooms. It’s very common that you don’t find smoke detectors in bedrooms. In older homes that are 90s or earlier. I always suggest that you put those in.
Brett Bittner Okay. Now what are you doing currently to ensure that you have a full calendar of inspections?
Scott Surridge Mainly, I have a Facebook page that’s SPS on inspections, LLC. And my business is word of mouth and referrals so I don’t generally advertise because I’m just so busy. I mean I’m doing 10-15 a week on average. In 2017, I did 449 inspections Wow. And in 2019, I did 432.
Brett Bittner Okay, so you’re keeping pretty busy.
Scott Surridge I’m very busy. Yes sir. What it shows is that if you’re good at your profession, the referrals come.
Brett Bittner Yeah. You’re adding value to somebody’s transaction, correct?
Scott Surridge Yeah, I’m when I’m when I’m being referred by a realtor especially. Now I’m an extension of that realtor.
Brett Bittner Right. So, your reputation is not the only one on the line. There’s is as well.
Scott Surridge Correct.
Brett Bittner That’s awesome. I’m glad that you see things that way because a lot of people are in a transactional mindset and not realizing how much relational, even when it’s generally a one-off service because I mean, how often are you going to have a home inspection done maybe two, three times in your lifetime.
Scott Surridge Correct Yeah. I mean, it’s, it’s essential that you have customer service in this business and you make sure you have a conversation with the buyers, and they understand exactly what they’re getting. And when there are items that need to be corrected, they understand why they need to be corrected and how they should be corrected.
Brett Bittner Now, what is something that you’re looking to do to help grow? I mean, you seem pretty busy. Is there anything that you can foresee utilizing to help either maintain or increase how busy you are?
Scott Surridge Yes, I’m always looking for new ventures. But I originally started over in Hillsborough County. Over in the south shore area and moved over here with my wife to St. Pete Beach, last year, April and I’ve been marketing myself In the local areas, there’s a lot of real estate firms over here and I go and talk to realtors and slowly moving you know things in this area and tend to do more work on the Pinellas side of the bay.
Brett Bittner Okay. What, if you had to estimate, is the biggest surprise that you found when performing a home inspection? I mean, we’re talking like an alligator under the house kind of a surprise like suddenly you completely did not expect.
Scott Surridge Nothing like that. Couple of rodents underneath homes here and there snakes but you know, nothing drastic. But the surprise item that I found was a garage slab in a house that had collapsed in one corner and there was no structural damage on the exterior walls. There was no tree roots in the area, no plumbing in the area. It ended up being that the material underneath the house was not compacted properly in the in the garage, floor sink. That was from an engineer.
Brett Bittner Okay, what is something that a homeowner probably doesn’t know about their home when they’re selling it that your average home inspector is going to find?
Scott Surridge Electrical panels and aluminum wiring over here and St. Pete and St. Pete Beach area homes that were built in the 70s. Due to the Vietnam War, they stopped using copper because they needed to copper for bullets. So they started using aluminum wire, and it’s it was very prevalent in the late 60s, early 70s. You do not need to completely rewire the house you need to have corrections made with the aluminum wiring connectors, licensed electricians would complete that service.
Brett Bittner Okay. Now, is there anything that you are reading, watching or listening to to help you in business and to grow your business?
Scott Surridge I get a monthly newsletter from the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors, and that has a lot of good information in it. I’m doing a lot of research online for four codes, like to go to sleep at night. So break out the codebook. And read that a little bit.
Brett Bittner Oh, you mean, that’s not what you’re reading on the beach?
Scott Surridge No. But there’s always information with some of the pages on the on websites for the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors, there’s conversations going on. So you learn a lot by reading different things the inspectors will put in Well, I have this problem and what’s the what’s the remedy? So there’s a lot of learning there. And also we have to have recurring credits for our license. So we always have to take new courses and keep up to date on.
Brett Bittner Okay. When you’re not on a ladder, shining your flashlight, carrying your clipboard around, inspecting a home, What’s your favorite thing to do here in St. Pete?
Scott Surridge Being on the water. My wife and I are very much salt water people and we take the boat out go to the sandbar have a couple of beers and just relax and watch life go by.
Brett Bittner That sounds awesome.
Scott Surridge So that’s a great reason to have left upstate New York to me down here and enjoy the 300 plus days of sunshine that we get and works for me every weekend.
Brett Bittner Awesome. So where can people find out more about you and SPS Home Inspections online? Is there a phone number that they can call? This is your opportunity to plug yourself so people can find you and hire you to inspect their home.
Scott Surridge The best way to reach me is my phone number is 813-245-6088 or you can go to my Facebook page which is SPS home inspections, LLC. There’s different areas there where you can contact me and also make an appointment. You can read the reviews and I look forward to Talking to new people every day.
Brett Bittner Is there anything else you’d like to share with the audience of Hustleburg?
Scott Surridge Not at this time except make sure if you are getting a purchasing a home, get a home inspection. It’s worth the investment.
Brett Bittner Awesome. Scott, thank you so much. I really appreciate you appearing on Hustleburg.
Scott Surridge I appreciate your time, sir. Thank you.
In this Q&A episode of the Hustleburg podcast, Brett answers listener questions about Facebook in the first of two parts. This is the beginning of a platform-specific series on the Q&A episodes about the varying social media platforms. Episode 14 will be the second part of the Facebook Q&A.
How Should I Maximize My Downtime During the COVID-19 Crisis to Brand My Business on Facebook?
During the self-isolation, restricted business operations, and a lack of sporting events, we likely find ourselves with newfound downtime. That downtime can be the catalyst necessary to lay the groundwork for your brand or business online. You can use this opportunity to create your Facebook page, engage with your existing community, and create content for it as well. Don’t let the temptation to just binge Netflix stop your dream and use this time to your advantage.
My Feed Is Filled With Draining News. How Can I Fix It?
First, take a break. Unplug and regroup. Take a walk. Read for fun. When you’re ready to fix things, follow and engage with people, pages, groups, and topics that aren’t bringing you down. The algorithms show you what they think you want to see, so you have to re-engineer what it’s showing you by changing how you use the platform. The good news is that you can change what you see by changing your behavior. The better news is that recent activity and changes have more influence than past activity, so get started now by focusing on what you want to see. You find what you seek, both online and in the world.
What Are the Benefits of Creating a Group in Support of my Facebook Page?
Your page is a communication tool for those outside your community. It’s your virtual storefront. It contains basic information about your business, like your hours, your location, or your special deals. It’s a great tool for people already looking for you. It’s social media’s version of your website with a touch of your personality.
Facebook Groups present you with a unique way to build deeper relationships with your community. It’s where you have in-depth discussions, interactions, and engagement. While your page is your opportunity to build many, shallow connections, your group gives you the chance to build ocean-deep connections with fewer people. Those are the people who are committed to your business. They are or become your raving fans.
How Can I Get More 5-Star Reviews on my Facebook Page?
Giving 5-star service is the best way to receive 5-star reviews. You can also offer on a receipt, signage in store, or a follow-up communication a small token of appreciation for all reviews. With these reviews, you should directly engage with your customers, while you have their attention, asking them for their feedback. Address any issues on the spot, and no matter what they share with you, ask them to share it online, and if your Facebook page is where you want to drive them, send them there. This also applies to Yelp or Google Reviews.
Start Marketing Your Business Online With These Three Easy Steps
If you’re just getting started marketing your business online, Beyond Your Side Hustle offers a FREE Getting Started Guide.
If you enjoyed what you heard in this episode, please take a moment to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast on your favorite player. Each episode is available on its own post, with the entire catalog here. It’s available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast catcher. We listen to this show and our favorites on Castbox. It’s hosted by Podbean. We appreciate your attention, and we can’t wait to have you back for the next episode.
Be a Guest on Hustleburg
If you have any questions you’d like to have answered on an upcoming Q&A episode, please take a moment to visit beyondyoursidehustle.com/podcastquestion and ask there. If you’re a St. Pete businessperson who’d like to sit down for an interview, please reach out to us here.
In this episode, Brett talks with eXp Realty‘s Trent A. Smith, a real estate agent here in St. Pete, helping you make sense of the real estate process.
Brett and Trent discuss his tips for buying a home, selling a home, and even a bit of real estate investing.
If you enjoyed what you heard in this episode, please take a moment to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast on your favorite player. Each episode is available on its own post, with the entire catalog here. It’s available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast catcher. We listen to this show and our favorites on Castbox. It’s hosted by Podbean. We appreciate your attention, and we can’t wait to have you back for the next episode.
Hear Your Question, Answered, on Hustleburg
If you have any questions you’d like to have answered on an upcoming Q&A episode, please take a moment to visit beyondyoursidehustle.com/podcastquestion and ask there. If you’re a St. Pete businessperson who’d like to sit down for an interview, please reach out to us here.
Before we get started on this week’s episode, I’d like to thank the folks over at Radio St. Pete for their addition of Hustleburg to the lineup on Thursdays at 8 AM and noon, as well as the podcast archive.
Thank you for the opportunity to share with your listeners how we do business in the ‘Burg.
In this Q&A episode of the Hustleburg podcast, Brett Bittner answers listener questions about how to market your business beyond social media, favorite marketing methods, and which social media platforms you should use to market your business.
How Do I Get the Word Out About My Business Beyond Social Media?
Social media isn’t for everyone, and some small businesses want to go beyond it to bring their business to the people they wish to serve. Brett responds to the above question with that in mind. The focus for someone not using social media or going beyond their social media networks should be to network. While most people think of networking as happy hours and business card swapping, there’s far more to it than that. Each interaction with someone in your field, you should learn how you can create value for them and act on it within your network. “Connectors” are some of the best businesspeople, because they know who can help whom, how, and they work to connect the helpers.
What Is Your Favorite Marketing Method?
Being a digital marketing firm, Beyond Your Side Hustle uses and recommends using social media and content marketing to share what it is that we do. By being a content producer, whether on social media, podcasts, you get to impact people’s lives that you may never encounter in a positive way. By adding all of that value to your community, value will be added to your life in return.
Which Platforms Should I Be Using for My Business?
This is a topic broached in Episode 4 of Hustleburg, where Brett discussed the single-most-important platform (Facebook), due to its popularity and the expectation that you have a page, even if you don’t have a website and alluded to what you should also consider. Keep in mind that current popularity and forever popularity aren’t the same, and that all social media platforms “age up.” Also, make sure that you use platforms that your likely customers do and that you can tell your story in a compelling way.
Start Marketing Your Business Online With These Three Easy Steps
If you’re just getting started marketing your business online, Beyond Your Side Hustle offers a FREE Getting Started Guide.
If you enjoyed what you heard in this episode, please take a moment to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast on your favorite player. Each episode is available on its own post, with the entire catalog here. It’s available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast catcher. We listen to this show and our favorites on Castbox. It’s hosted by Podbean. We appreciate your attention, and we can’t wait to have you back for the next episode.
Be a Guest on Hustleburg
If you have any questions you’d like to have answered on an upcoming Q&A episode, please take a moment to visit beyondyoursidehustle.com/podcastquestion and ask there. If you’re a St. Pete businessperson who’d like to sit down for an interview, please reach out to us here.
In this episode, Brett talks with FUSE Therapy‘s Amanda Grozdanic, a licensed and registered occupational therapist, working in aquatic and outpatient therapy, primarily for children with disabilities. FUSE Therapy focuses on the direct needs of the child, emphasizing nature and recreational activities to address any and all limitations.
Brett and Amanda discuss who might need occupational therapy, how she can help with sensory processing for autistic children, and what about her approach sets her apart. Her focus on aquatic recreation in the community is also discussed. A hiking day to celebrate the launch of FUSE Therapy is scheduled, weather permitting, for March 14th.
If you enjoyed what you heard in this episode, please take a moment to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast on your favorite player. Each episode is available on its own post, with the entire catalog here. It’s available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast catcher. We listen to this show and our favorites on Castbox. It’s hosted by Podbean. We appreciate your attention, and we can’t wait to have you back for the next episode.
Hear Your Question, Answered, on Hustleburg
If you have any questions you’d like to have answered on an upcoming Q&A episode, please take a moment to visit beyondyoursidehustle.com/podcastquestion and ask there. If you’re a St. Pete businessperson who’d like to sit down for an interview, please reach out to us here.
In this Q&A episode of the Hustleburg podcast, our host Brett Bittner primarily answers questions about the viability of an idea, business and marketing strategy, and how much content is “too much.”
How Do You Know If/When A Business Idea is Viable?
In response to this question, Brett shares his thoughts on how you know when something moves beyond just an idea into a viable business. As with most bootstrappers, going beyond your side hustle means easing yourself and what you create into the market while still having the stability and comfort of your day job. The most important thing to know about viability is the reaction of your community about what you’re creating, and to find that out you must create. Just do it. It’s not just an athletic shoe slogan.
Where Do You Start When Creating a Strategy?
When creating a larger-scale business, a business plan can offer many insights as the entrepreneur critically evaluates the idea, product, or service. For many side hustlers, a strategy map will suffice to get past the idea stage and into the market. From a marketing perspective, strategy is determined through identifying the struggle your ideal client faces and working backward to determine the best way to tell stories to show how you and what you do will help them to tackle that struggle.
How Much Is Too Much Content?
The short answer is that there is no such thing. With a diversity of platforms and channels, you will never overwhelm your community with content, because they don’t (and won’t) see everything that you put online. Not even your mom will get tired of seeing the content you create, because she won’t even follow you everywhere, and even if she did, the algorithms won’t show her absolutely everything. Read more about how there’s no such thing as too much content here. Finally, Brett touches on how it’s possible to create so much using a strategy like this from Gary Vaynerchuk through repurposing and sharing similar content through a variety of channels and using different contexts that are relevant to each platform.
Start Marketing Your Business Online With These Three Easy Steps
If you’re just getting started marketing your business online, Beyond Your Side Hustle offers a FREE Getting Started Guide.
If you enjoyed what you heard in this episode, please take a moment to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast on your favorite player. Each episode is available on its own post, with the entire catalog here. It’s available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast catcher. We listen to this show and our favorites on Castbox. It’s hosted by Podbean. We appreciate your attention, and we can’t wait to have you back for the next episode.
Be a Guest on Hustleburg
If you have any questions you’d like to have answered on an upcoming Q&A episode, please take a moment to visit beyondyoursidehustle.com/podcastquestion and ask there. If you’re a St. Pete businessperson who’d like to sit down for an interview, please reach out to us here.
