My Daughter's Summer Business: Pet Sitting

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By Cheryl Benson

Twitter: http://twitter.com/calcables

Cheryl Benson is a 47-year-old, wife and mother of four children, Alex, Zach, Sara and Elizabeth (ages 18, 16, 12 and 7 respectively). Cheryl currently holds the position of Vice President at Cal Manufacturing, Inc., which is a company that manufactures resistance welding cables. Cheryl is also the sole proprietor of her own business, Medical Transcription Services, which allowed her to work at home and raise her small children during their formative years and which she still maintains. Managing four children, one of whom just graduated high school and will be entering college this fall and the youngest who is just finishing her year of first grade ensures that life is never devoid of drama, that schedules are still full of first grade programs and piano lessons as well as the joys that accompany raising children. As life often does on a dime, it changed due to the fact that the company is family-owned and succession was inevitable, Cheryl is now balancing two businesses and the challenges of being a working mother. While not new to the resistance welding cable industry (the company has been in her family for over a decade and the business itself has been running for over half a century), the challenges that present themselves in running a primarily male-dominated industry are inherent. Her professional, yet fun-loving approach to the business world is key to success in driving sales, attending expos and conventions, managing daily operations and exploring new markets for the resistance welding cable industry as well as being a "CEO Mom".

My Daughter's Summer Business: Pet Sitting

Posted on July 19, 2011

This summer, my 14-year-old daughter, Sara, decided she wanted to earn some money for back to school clothes and a few other things on her wish list. She looked up on the Internet, some tips on how to start a pet sitting business and set out to drum up some business with the neighbors. She just completed her first job, which was a week long adventure caring for two dogs, Sabe and Jake. Their owners left her instructions on care and had her get to know them the week before they left for vacation which was very helpful. The entire experience was shared by myself and my youngest daughter, Elizabeth, who is 8-years-old and found the whole adventure very exciting. I couldn't be more proud of my daughter for being responsible for getting up herself and walking over each day to feed Sabe and Jake breakfast, give them water, a walk and lots of love. She tended them as they were her own.

We laughed because on the weekends I walked over with her and kept her company while she took care of Jake and Sabe. For the first time, our roles were reversed (usually, I bring the girls to work with me instead of the other way around). In fact, I kind of enjoyed watching her take responsibility seriously. I also noticed that she gained self-esteem and took pride in her job which made her feel pretty good about herself.

Word of mouth is a great way to gain business and she is already getting calls for other jobs. She even took care of a dog with diabetes who needed "special care" which she did and with great care and love.

She did miss an opportunity to go to the Big Lake with mom and her younger sister; however, in order to live up to her obligations with "work" and said, for the first time, "Mom, I understand how you feel now, when you go to work and wish you were here with us." Hmmmm...I think her summer job taught her a lot more than just "pet sitting".