Charan Favazza shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Charan, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
When I wake up it’s getting myself ready for the day, get the kids up, feed and out the door in under an hour. Before leaving I’m caring for the dogs who are in my care, then checking emails.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
At Rusty’s Furry Companions, our approach to pet care is rooted in a solid foundation of medical knowledge and advanced certifications, setting us apart from general or hobbyist pet sitters. With years of experience and continuous training, we are equipped not only to care for your pet’s daily needs but also to recognize subtle health changes that could indicate more serious issues. We take time to educate pet owners about their specific breed’s needs, using examples such as the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel—a breed known for its affectionate nature but also predisposed to heart disease and neurological conditions. By sharing our observations with owners and veterinarian, we help initiate timely intervention.
Our mission is to help bridge the gap between pet owners and veterinary teams-not Dr.Google, This ensures communication is proactive and informed, and that your pet receives comprehensive, compassionate care tailored to their needs.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who taught you the most about work?
This one is a little difficult to answer- so many people in my life have helped me through different times in my life to help shape who and what I wanted to become. My grandfather, my mom’s dad, I never knew him, but through the stories told by family he was a military man, who cared deeply for his wife and kids-then he became a single father and did whatever he needed to make sure they had what they needed. My other grandfather, who meant the world to me was such an amazing man. He was also a military man, who later became a pharmacist. He had his own business up in Frenchlick, IN, while my grandmother stayed home and raised my dad-which from my understanding was a blast 😆. The other person, was my mom, my parents divorced and we moved back to FL and she worked SO HARD. My work ethic was also strong even though I didn’t know my grandfather the stories taught me to respect people, do what you need for your family. My other grandfather-having his own business the responsibility you have as a boss is not something you take lightly… and my mom. What else do I need to say she taught me how to be a mom, work hard, be honest and if you want anything- you gotta work to achieve it.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Lord yes!!!
My business is a service business! When COVID shutdown and everyone was at home- I had to make a decision, do I pivot and let something go that I worked SO HARD to accomplish, or cry that my business was gone and sulk about it. Well.. I am sure you can guess, I pivoted my business.
Luckily I was smart enough to have an emergency account for the business, and with the pivote and the funds I was able to climb my way back up to air and my business is doing great!!
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Whose ideas do you rely on most that aren’t your own?
With the type of business I have the support of my husband is a huge strength and his ideas help see from a client point of view. We get so “stuck” in our business we forget sometimes that the POV of the client/customer gets lost in what or why we do things. Now, I’m not saying the situation is always right, we are a business and we have our own bills to pay, especially if you have a team that depends on you to pay them-to pay their bills.
I would also say my Teams ideas are important to me, they see the business in a different way. Now, I’m talking about the Team that wants to help the business succeed, because they see it will also help them.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What will you regret not doing?
The biggest thing I regret- Not able to enjoy my babies when they were born. I didn’t have 6 weeks, 2 months or even 6 months (part-time). For my first born, I had dogs at the house when I went into labor 🤪, and they stayed with me. My husband, friends and family would help with the dogs or the home visits I had scheduled, but I wasn’t able to give her my full attention. I gave myself 2 weeks to “recoup”, which is even funny to say- because I had an emergency c-section.
My second, it was almost the same. I never learned from my first. I didn’t really have the luxury- it was just me for my business, wearing all the hats.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rustysfurrycompanions.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rfc_local_petsitter
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/ charan-favazza
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rfclocalpetsitter
- Other: https://www.alignable.com/lutz-fl/rustys-furry-companions
