If you’ve ever found yourself clinging onto tasks long past the point of exhaustion – “because it’s easier if I just do it myself” – this one’s for you.
In this episode of The Pet Business Wellbeing Podcast, I’m joined by Dawn Melbourne of Wild Paw Admin Services, a virtual assistant who specialises in helping pet and animal professionals behind the scenes.
We ended up having a very honest conversation about trust, control, guilt… and why it can feel so unbelievably hard to let go of even the tiniest task in your business.
This blog pulls together some of the key points from that chat – especially if you prefer reading to listening, or want something you can come back to later.
Why Letting Go Feels So Hard (Even When You’re Exhausted)
Most pet pros don’t start their business because they love admin.
You probably became a:
- dog walker because you love being out with dogs
- trainer or behaviourist because you care deeply about learning and welfare
- groomer because you adore making dogs feel comfortable and look gorgeous
- sitter or boarder because providing safe, loving care lights you up
But very quickly your “dream job” turns into:
- inboxes
- enquiries
- diary management
- social media
- website edits
- invoices and bookkeeping
- systems, CRMs and email marketing platforms
Dawn described it perfectly: your business becomes your baby.
Handing it over – even just a tiny piece of it – can feel as vulnerable as trusting someone with your actual dog.
Underneath the practical stuff, there are some big emotions:
- Trust: “What if they mess it up?”
- Control: “No-one will do it the way I do.”
- Perfectionism: “It would be faster if I just did it myself.”
- Fear: “What if this costs money and nothing changes?”
So we keep pushing through. Until something gives.
The £10 Tasks vs £100 Tasks
One of the things Dawn shared was the idea of £10 tasks vs £100 tasks.
- £10 tasks = low-value, repetitive, draining tasks that don’t directly grow your business
(answering routine emails, basic admin, formatting blogs, uploading podcast episodes, chasing forms, manually moving data, etc.) - £100 tasks = higher-value activities that lead to more income, deeper impact or more joy
(creating new services, nurturing your clients, building partnerships, recording podcasts, delivering training, working on your own wellbeing)
Most pet pros are stuck spending huge amounts of time on £10 tasks and then wonder why they never have the bandwidth for the £100 work that really moves the needle.
Outsourcing isn’t about being “too good” for certain jobs. It’s about being honest about where your time and skills are best used.
What a VA Can Actually Help With
Dawn works with a wide range of pet and animal businesses: product brands, dog walkers, groomers, trainers, behaviourists and even a dog wedding chaperone.
Some of the tasks she supports with include:
- Diary management and booking appointments
- Customer service and inbox support
- Podcast editing and uploading
- Email newsletters and basic email marketing
- CRM setup and tidying
- Event and workshop admin
- General behind-the-scenes admin that quietly steals your energy
Not every VA does the same things – some are more techy, some specialise in social media, some (like Dawn) are stronger on admin, customer service and operations.
The important bit is this: you don’t have to carry it all on your own.
My Own “MailerLite Meltdown”
In the episode, I shared the story of trying to build a fairly complex MailerLite automation and funnel for my Pet Business Wellbeing work.
I spent an entire weekend trying to do it myself:
- following tutorials
- asking my business coach
- plugging instructions into ChatGPT
- second-guessing every button in case I broke something
By Sunday night, I was exhausted, frustrated and on the edge of tears.
I still didn’t have a working funnel.
Eventually, I asked for help from someone who knew MailerLite inside out.
She duplicated what I’d started, followed the instructions… and had it up and running in about an hour.
The wild part?
Because the funnel included a paid mini-offer, one of the first people who signed up bought it and the income from that sale covered the cost of hiring her.
I’d spent an entire weekend stuck.
She’d spent an hour solving it.
That, in a nutshell, is the power of outsourcing.
How to Start – Without Overwhelming Yourself
If the idea of handing over your inbox, your social media or your systems feels like too much right now, Dawn suggests starting small.
Here’s a gentle way to begin:
- List your “£10 tasks”
Write down the small, repetitive tasks that drain you, don’t light you up and don’t really require you specifically. - List the tasks only you can do
Things like training sessions, walking groups, behaviour consults, podcast hosting, personal content, or mentoring. These are your £100 tasks. - Choose ONE task to outsource first
Not your whole business. Just one: maybe inbox triage, podcast uploading, basic client follow-up, or formatting your blog posts. - Start with a small test period
Many VAs will happily start with a small project or a few hours a month. It lets you build trust and see what it feels like to have that space back. - Create basic SOPs together
Simple step-by-step guides (or Loom videos) can help you feel safer letting go and mean you’re not reliant on any one person forever. - Notice how you feel
What happens to your mood, your energy, your sense of possibility once that task is no longer on your plate?
Sometimes, it’s not until something is off your mind that you realise how loud it was.
Outsourcing as a Wellbeing Tool
This podcast and this blog, aren’t about pushing anyone into hiring before they’re ready.
It’s about recognising that your nervous system, your health and your long-term sustainability matter just as much as your clients’ dogs.
Outsourcing can:
- give you back evenings or weekends
- free your brain up for creative thinking
- reduce the constant background buzz of “I mustn’t forget to…”
- protect you from tipping into full-blown burnout
- allow you to be more present – with your clients, your family, your dogs and yourself
You’re not “failing” if you get help.
You’re taking your role as a business owner and as a human being – seriously.
Want to Explore This More?
You can listen to the full conversation with Dawn on The Pet Business Wellbeing Podcast (search for the episode “Letting Go Without Guilt: Why Outsourcing Helps Pet Pros Avoid Burnout”).
And if you’re already teetering on the edge of overwhelm: 🆓 Download the Pet Pro Rescue Plan – a gentle, practical resource to help you stabilise things when your business feels too much.
If you’re a dog walker specifically and you’re looking at your systems, pricing and services as part of this, you might also like: 🆓 5 Steps to a Successful Dog Walking Business
And if you’d like to connect with other pet pros who get it, you’re very welcome in my free Facebook community, The Pet Business Wellbeing Circle
You don’t have to do everything alone.
Even starting with one tiny task is a powerful step.
Dawn’s Links:
Wild Paw Admin Services – Facebook Page
Wild Paw Admin Services – Website
