Thom Somes Interview

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions about Focusmate and the Prosperous Pet Business Focusmate Group

Getting Started:

Q. What equipment do I need to get started on Focusmate?

A. All you need is a computer with a camera and microphone, and an internet connection. On desktop we strongly recommend using Chrome.

For a mobile phone, Focusmate only supports certain browsers:

Android: Chrome
iOS (iPhone/iPad): Safari

Q. What if I don’t have a working video camera on my phone or computer?

A. You’ll need a working video camera as it is necessary in order to use Focusmate.

How It Works:

Q. What’s it like working with a stranger?

A. I love it! I’ve worked people all over the world from all walks of life including: opera singers who are using Focusmate to practice their arias, elementary teachers who are creating their lesson plans or grading papers during their sessions, SEO experts in Africa who are updating their websites, people in India who are meditating or cooking!

Most users say their partner doesn’t feel like a stranger after the session got started. Also keep in mind, you aren’t “hanging out” or collaborating with your partner, unless you both decide to do that; for most sessions you’ll simply say hello at the beginning, declare your tasks, and at the completion of the session state what you completed and say goodbye at the end. Of course, you can make each session your own and bring your own personality into it! I (Kristin) have gotten in the habit of asking my Focusmate partner after I’ve said hello: “What’s something good that’s happened today?” It’s fun for me to see the look of delight or confusion flash across their face (they often aren’t expecting that question!) and watch as they decide what to say. It’s also fun to answer that question when I’m asked it by my partner.

Q. Do I need to keep the video on the whole time?

A. Yes. Working with video on is mandatory. After awhile you’ll get used to it and likely, even love it!

Q. Do I need to keep the audio on the whole time?

A. It’s up to you. I (Kristin) tend to nearly always mute my mic but some people really like the mic on to hear ambient noises. Check in with your partner at the beginning of the session to state your preference and hear their preference. You’ll work it out! Some say that hearing their partner working boosts their own productivity, and makes them more accountable. However, if you are using your session to watch a video, listen to music while you work, making a phone call, or some other noisy task, you will definitely want to mute yourself.

Q. How long is a coworking session?

A. Each Focusmate coworking session is 50-minutes long. This allows you to take a 10-minute break between each session if you want to do multiple sessions in a row.

Q. What if I sign up for a session and I don’t get a partner?

A. Nearly all sessions get matched at any time during the day or night because there are users from all over the world, but if your session time doesn’t result in a match, try another 15-minute increment.

Q. How can I get matched with another pet business owner?

A. First, you’ll need to sign up to be in the Prosperous Pet Business Focusmate group

If another pet business owner is signed up for the same day and time as you are and you both have signed up to be in the Prosperous Pet Business Focusmate group you’ll likely get matched!

And please know that whoever you get matched with can always be a gift regardless of their occupation – it’s another person who, like you, has agreed to be productive for the next 50 minutes! What a treasure that is!

Q. Kristin, is Focusmate your creation and do you get paid for those who sign up?

A. I did not create Focusmate (though I wish I did!) and I do not receive any money for any sign ups. In fact, I pay a monthly fee for the Prosperous Pet Business Focusmate group to exist.

Q. So, Kristin, why do you want people to sign up if you don’t get paid for people signing up and in fact, you have to pay for Focusmate to have a Prosperous Pet Business Focusmate group?

A. Because I believe 100% in the power of Focusmate and I want as many pet business owners as possible to be able to access the group and connect with other pet business owners in order to create better businesses, be more productive in an easy and relaxed way and even use their time on Focusmate to focus on self-care activities, if that’s how they choose to use their session time. I am crazy (in the best possible way!) about Focusmate and I want as many people as possible to know about it and be able to get matched with other pet business owners from across the world. Because of that, I’m willing to invest money to host a Focusmate group just for pet business owners. I have a number of free items for pet business owners, including the Prosperous Pet Business podcast and the Free Stuff for Pet Business Owners page. This is another one of the free items I want to gift pet business owners in order to help you thrive in your business and your life!

Q. So, since it’s free to join the Prosperous Pet Business Focusmate group, is it free to join Focusmate?

A. Yes, you can sign up for free and your free membership contains the ability to sign up for up to 3 weekly sessions. If you want an unlimited plan (as many sessions per day or week as you like), it’s only $5/month. I recommend that plan as once you try it, you’ll likely be hooked. Focusmate is one of the healthiest addictions I know! I would be willing to pay so much more for this resource. It’s been invaluable for me as I knock off items on my to do list for both business and my personal life. I can’t imagine my life without it now!

Q. How come Focusmate so inexpensive (only $5/per month) to have unlimited sessions per month?!

A. No idea, but I’m grateful as the low unlimited price allows people from all walks of life to be able to connect with each other on this amazing platform.

Q. How is accountability enforced?

A. Accountability is enforced by Focusmate and its community members. If you’re late or don’t show, Focusmate can detect it and your attendance score will be reduced, and your account can also be frozen. If your partner goofs off during the session, you can report it using the reporting button on the appointment card in your dashboard.

Q. Can I chat with my coworking partner off and on during the session?

A. No. Talking with your partner is only allowed at the beginning and end of your session. At the beginning, you’re encouraged to say hello to your partner and share what you plan to work on. At the end, you should check in and ask your partner how the session went. If you’d like to talk to your partner more, you can suggest or offer it at the end of your session. Please bear in mind, no selling or propositions (business, personal or otherwise) are allowed during Focusmate sessions.

Q. What kind of work can I do on Focusmate?

A. As long as you stay on camera, you can use Focusmate for most kinds of work: computer work, cleaning, cooking, art, music, writing, reading, even at-home exercise! The main thing is to set up your camera so that your partner can see you while you work and to turn off your audio if there’s a lot of noise on your end.

Troubleshooting Focusmate Technical Issues:

Q. My audio/video isn’t working. What do I do? Can I contact Kristin about it?

A. Please don’t contact Kristin about any technical issues regarding Focusmate! She doesn’t own or run Focusmate so she won’t be any help. She simply hosts a group on Focusmate.

First, make sure you have a supported browser. On desktop Focusmate strongly recommends using Chrome. For mobile phones, Focumate only supports these browsers:

Android: Chrome
iOS (iPhone/iPad): Safari

You will also need to allow your browser permission to access your camera and microphone. Here are instructions on how to change your Chrome permissions for camera and microphone.

If you are still having trouble, try the following:

Close and re-join the session
Quit and restart your browser

If you are on mobile, please read this article on launching a session.

Q. I found a Focusmate glitch or bug. What do I do?

A. When there’s a glitch, let Focusmate know: You might be the first person to experience it, or one of many. The Focusmate team works tirelessly to keep the system running smoothly, but we can’t fix problems we don’t know about.

Other Focusmate FAQ:

Q. What does Focusmate cost?

A. Focusmate is free for 3 sessions (50-minutes each) every week. For unlimited sessions per week, you can upgrade to Turbo for only $5 per month.

Q. Can I listen to music during my session?

Yes. However, if you plan to listen to music or watch videos, make sure to mute your microphone.

Q. Can Focusmate do [insert feature here]?

A. Focusmate is still in the early stages of development. If there’s a feature you want, there’s a good chance we plan to build it. In the meantime, we appreciate your patience.

Spam Policy for Newsletter Sign Up

Effective date: May 1, 2018
Kristin Morrison, LLC (“Us”, “We”, or “Our”) operates the www.prosperouspetbusiness.com website (the “Service”).

We will never sell, rent or use your personal information in any way other than outlined in this page. We have a No Spam policy, meaning We will not allow third parties to message you, nor will we rent out or sell your information for other companies’ use.

We respect your information and always make our best effort to protect and secure it. This page outlines Our policies regarding the collection, use and disclosure of Personal Data when you use our Service, and the choices you have associated with that data.

We use your data to provide and improve the Service. By using the Service, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. Unless otherwise defined in this Privacy Policy, terms used in this page have the same meanings as in Our Terms and Conditions.

Definitions

Personal Data
Personal Data is any information relating to a natural person who can be identified, either directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier. An identifier may include, but is not limited to, a name, email, address, credit card and/or IP address.

Usage Data
Usage Data is data collected automatically either generated by the use of the Service or from the Service infrastructure itself (for example, the duration of a page visit).

Cookies
Cookies are small pieces of data stored on a User’s device.

Data Controller
Data Controller means a person or entity who (either alone or jointly or in common with other persons) determines the purposes for which and the manner in which any Personal Data are, or are to be, processed.

For the purpose of this Privacy Policy, We are a Data Controller of your data.

Data Processor (or Service Provider)
Data Processor (or Service Provider) means any person or entity (other than an employee of the Data Controller) who processes the data on behalf of the Data Controller.

We may use the services of various Service Providers in order to process your data more effectively.

Data Subject
Data Subject is any living individual who is the subject of Personal Data.

User
The User is the individual using Our Service. The User corresponds to the Data Subject, who is the subject of Personal Data.

Information Collection And Use

We collect several different types of information for various purposes to provide and improve Our Service to you.

Personal Data
While using Our Service, We may ask you to provide Us with certain personally identifiable information that can be used to contact or identify you (“Personal Data”). Personally identifiable information may include, but is not limited to:

→ Email Address and Name – provided by you when registering to receive Our free newsletters or when purchasing Our products
→ Address, City, State/Province, Postal Code, Phone and Credit Card Information – provided by you when purchasing Our products
→ Cookies and Usage Data

We may use your Personal Data to send you newsletters, marketing or promotional materials that may be of interest to you. You may opt out of receiving any, or all, of these communications by following the instructions provided at the bottom of emails we send.

We will never sell your Personal Data to third parties or use it for purposes other than what is described in this page.

Usage Data
We may collect information on how you access and use this Service (“Usage Data”). This Usage Data may include information such as your computer’s Internet Protocol address (e.g. IP address), browser type, browser version, the pages of Our Service that you visit, the time and date of your visit, the time spent on those pages and other diagnostic data.

Tracking & Cookies Data
We may use cookies and similar technologies to track the activity on Our Service and maintain certain information about Our users.

Cookies are files with small amounts of data which may include an anonymous unique identifier. Cookies are sent to your browser from a website and stored on your device. Tracking technologies also used are beacons, tags, and scripts to collect and track information and to improve and analyze Our Service.

You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, if you do not accept cookies, you may not be able to use some portions of Our Service.

Examples of Cookies We may use:

→ Session Cookies. We use Session Cookies to provide Our Service and give you access to paid programs.
→ Preference Cookies. We use Preference Cookies to remember your preferences and various settings.

Use of Data

Kristin Morrison, LLC uses data We collect for various purposes including:

→ To provide and maintain Our Service
→ To allow you to participate in interactive features of Our Service when you choose to do so
→ To provide customer support
→ To gather analysis or valuable information so that We can improve Our Service
→ To monitor the usage of Our Service
→ To detect, prevent and address technical issues
→ To provide you with news, special offers and general information about other goods, services and events which We offer that are similar to those that you have already purchased or enquired about unless you have opted not to receive such information
→ To notify you about changes to Our Service

Retention of Data

Kristin Morrison, LLC will retain your Personal Data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy. We will retain and use your Personal Data to the extent necessary to comply with Our legal obligations (for example, if We are required to retain your data to comply with applicable laws), resolve disputes, and enforce Our legal agreements and policies.

Kristin Morrison, LLC will also retain Usage Data for internal analysis purposes. Usage Data is generally retained for a shorter period of time, except when this data is used to strengthen the security or to improve the functionality of Our Service, or We are legally obligated to retain this data for longer time periods.

Transfer Of Data

Your information, including Personal Data, may be transferred to — and maintained on — computers located outside of your state, province, country or other governmental jurisdiction where the data protection laws may differ than those from your jurisdiction.

If you are located outside United States and choose to provide information to us, please note that we transfer the data, including Personal Data, to United States and process it there.

Your consent to this Privacy Policy followed by your submission of such information represents your agreement to that transfer.

Kristin Morrison, LLC will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy and no transfer of your Personal Data will take place to an organization or a country unless there are adequate controls in place including the security of your data and other personal information.

Disclosure Of Data

Disclosure for Law Enforcement
Under certain circumstances, Kristin Morrison, LLC may be required to disclose your Personal Data if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g. a court or a government agency).

Legal Requirements
Kristin Morrison, LLC may disclose your Personal Data in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to:

→ To comply with a legal obligation
→ To protect and defend the rights or property of Kristin Morrison, LLC
→ To prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with the Service
→ To protect the personal safety of users of the Service or the public
→ To protect against legal liability

Security Of Data

The security of your data is important to us, but remember that no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While We strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your Personal Data, We cannot guarantee its absolute security.

“Do Not Track” Signals

We do not support Do Not Track (“DNT”). Do Not Track is a preference you can set in your web browser to inform websites that you do not want to be tracked.

You can enable or disable Do Not Track by visiting the Preferences or Settings page of your web browser.

Your Rights

Kristin Morrison, LLC aims to take reasonable steps to allow you to correct, amend, delete, or limit the use of your Personal Data.

Please contact Us to make any required changes.

If you wish to be informed what Personal Data We hold about you and if you want it to be removed from Our systems, please contact us.

In certain circumstances, you have the right:

→ To access and receive a copy of the Personal Data We hold about you
→ To rectify any Personal Data held about you that is inaccurate
→ To request the deletion of Personal Data held about you

You have the right to data portability for the information you provide to Kristin Morrison, LLC. You can request to obtain a copy of your Personal Data in a commonly used electronic format so that you can manage and move it.

Please note that We may ask you to verify your identity before responding to such requests.

Service Providers

We may employ third-party companies and individuals to facilitate Our Service (“Service Providers”), to provide the Service on Our behalf, to perform Service-related services or to assist Us in analyzing how Our Service is used.

These third parties may have access to your Personal Data only to perform these tasks on Our behalf and are obligated not to disclose or use it for any other purpose.

Analytics
We may use Google Analytics to monitor and analyze the use of Our Service.

Google Analytics is a web analytics service offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic. Google uses the data collected to track and monitor the use of Our Service. This data is shared with other Google services. Google may use the collected data to contextualize and personalize the ads of its own advertising network.

You can opt-out of having made your activity on the Service available to Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on. The add-on prevents the Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js, analytics.js, and dc.js) from sharing information with Google Analytics about visits activity.

For more information on the privacy practices of Google, please visit Google’s Privacy Policy.

Email
We use the Constant Contact and AWeber email platforms (“Email Provider”) to deliver Our newsletter, purchase receipts and other promotional emails. Constant Contact and AWeber have access to Service data relevant to your activity and purchases within Our Service.

We have a No Spam policy, meaning We will not allow any third parties, other than the Email Providers listed in this page, to message you. We will never sell or rent out your information.

You can learn more about Constant Contact’s privacy practices and policies by visiting Constant Contact’s Privacy Policy.

You can learn more about AWeber’s privacy practices and policies by visiting AWeber’s Privacy Policy.

Payments
We may provide paid products and/or services within the Service. In that case, We use third-party services for payment processing (e.g. payment processors).

When paying for a product We may store or collect your payment card details. That information is also provided directly to Our third-party payment processors whose use of your personal information is governed by their Privacy Policy. We along with Our payment processors adhere to the standards set by PCI-DSS as managed by the PCI Security Standards Council, which is a joint effort of brands like Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover. PCI-DSS requirements help ensure the secure handling of payment information.

The payment processors We work with are:

→ PayPal – Paypal’s Privacy Policy

Profile-Based Advertising
We may use the following third-party vendors to create demographic User profiles using the Personal Data you share with Us when you sign up for an email newsletter or purchase our products. In such circumstances, the information We share will only be used to market our Services to you and other similar users.

→ Facebook – Facebook’s Privacy Policy
→ Google – Google’s Privacy Policy
→ Pinterest – Pinterest’s Privacy Policy
→ Twitter – Twitter’s Privacy Policy

Remarketing
We may use the following behavioral remarketing services to advertise on third-party websites to you after you visited Our Service. We and Our third-party vendors may use cookies to inform, optimize and serve ads based on your past visits to Our Service.

→ Facebook – Facebook’s Data Policy. To opt-out of Facebook’s interest-based ads, visit Facebook’s instructions.
→ Google – Google’s Privacy Policy. To opt-out of Google Display Network ads, visit Google Ads Settings.
→ Pinterest – Pinterest’s Privacy Policy. To opt-out of Pinterest’s interest-based ads, visit Pinterest’s instructions.
→ Twitter – Twitter’s Privacy Policy. To opt-out of Twitter’s interest-based ads, visit Twitter’s instructions.

Website Hosting & Service Data
We use the Bluehost Web Services platform to host Our Service as well as store Service data.

You can learn more about AWS’s privacy practices and policies by visiting Bluehost Privacy Policy.

Links To Other Sites

Our Service may contain links to other sites that are not operated by us. If you click on a third-party link, you will be directed to that third-party’s site. We bly advise you to review the Privacy Policy of every site you visit.

We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies or practices of any third party sites or services.

Children’s Privacy

You must be 18 or older to enter Our website. Our Service does not address anyone under the age of 13 (“Children”)

We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 13. If you are a parent or guardian and you are aware that your Children have provided Us with Personal Data, please contact us. If we become aware that We have collected Personal Data from children without verification of parental consent, we take steps to remove that information from Our servers.

Changes To This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page.

You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact Us by visiting the contact page.

Here is the Table of Contents:

Contents

INTRODUCTION		5
	Welcome to Our Company!	5
	Handbook Purpose	5
EMPLOYMENT		7
	Equal Employment	7
	Background Checks	8
	At-Will Notice	8
	Anniversary Date	8
	Immigration Law Compliance	8
	Introductory Period	9
	Employment Classifications	10
	Personnel Records	10
	Employee References	11
	Job Vacancies	11
	Job Postings	11
	Transfers	12
	Employment of Relatives	12
	Seniority	12
CONDUCT AND BEHAVIOR		13
	General Guidelines	13
	Anti-Harassment	16
	Anti-Bullying	17
	Complaint Procedure	19
	Corrective Action	19
COMPENSATION		21
	Pay Periods	21
	Pay Adjustments	21
	Overtime	22
	Performance Evaluation	22
	Promotions	23
	Demotion	23
	Work Assignments	23
	Advances and Loans	23
BENEFITS		24
	Holidays	24
	Military Leave	24
	<Your State> Paid Leave Law	24
	Jury Service Leave	25
	Witness Leave	26
	Voting Leave	26
HEALTH, SAFETY, AND SECURITY		27
	Non-Smoking	27
	Drug and Alcohol	27
	Safety	28
	Workers’ Compensation	29
	Workplace Violence and Security	29
WORKPLACE GUIDELINES		31
	Hours of Work	31
	Lactation Breaks	31
	Attendance/ Tardiness	31
	Personal Appearance	33
	Confidentiality	33
	Conflict of Interest	34
	Outside Activities	35
	Reporting Irregularities	35
	Inspections/ Searches	36
	Electronic Assets Usage	36
	Social Media	38
	Company Phone Usage	42
	Personal Property	42
	Client Location-Related Procedures	43
	Initial Consultations	43
	Pet Care Visits	43
	Do’s and Don’ts of the Pet Sitting / Dog Walking Visit	47
	Emergency Procedures	50
EMPLOYMENT SEPARATION		51
	Resignation	51
	Termination	51
	Personal Possessions & Return of Company Property	51
MISCELLANEOUS		52
	Inclement Weather	52
	Automobile Accident	53
	Parking	53
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT		54

We’re offering a unique opportunity this year on a first-come, first-served basis for Platinum sponsors to be the only featured business in their category (i.e., pet insurance, pet sitting business software, pet food, etc.). If you’re the first sponsor in your business category to secure Platinum sponsorship, we will lock out competing businesses and feature you as the sole Platinum-level business in that category — a perfect way to make your products or services stand out above the rest!

Your logo and website will appear on the Conference Sponsors page.

We will place your logo at the bottom of the 2018 Prosperous Pet Business Online Conference homepage so all attendees and anyone visiting the site will have face time with your brand!

Your logo and website will appear on the Conference Sponsors page — plus you’ll get to include a paragraph (up to 400 characters) about your business, products, or services!

We will place your medium-sized logo at the bottom of the 2018 Prosperous Pet Business Online Conference homepage so all attendees and anyone visiting the site will have face time with your brand!

Gold sponsors will be featured on the Prosperous Pet Business Facebook page. We’ll share a link to your company website with thousands of engaged and receptive pet business owners!

Your business website, logo, and “FREE GIFT” link will be part of the “thank you” email we send to all attendees after the conference — a powerful opportunity to get in front of pet business owners who need what you are offering!

Your logo and website will be given priority placement on the Conference Sponsors page — plus you’ll get to include a paragraph (up to 500 characters) about your business, products, or services!

We will give your logo a large, premiere placement on the 2018 Prosperous Pet Business Online Conference homepage so all attendees and anyone visiting the site will have face time with your brand!

Your company logo will be included in the welcome email we send to all attendees when they register for the conference — an anticipated 15,000+ for 2018!

Every day that we deliver the new conference videos, we will send an email with your logo included. That’s 14 or more emails featuring your logo!

Platinum sponsors will be featured on the Prosperous Pet Business Facebook page, the Prosperous Pet Business Facebook group (thousands of members), AND event founder Kristin Morrison’s personal page. We’ll share your logo and your company website on all three posts, grabbing the attention of thousands of engaged and receptive pet business owners!

Submit a Q & A style interview about your business (up to 500 words) to be published on the Six Figure Pet Business Academy™ blog during the conference. We’ll post it, along with a link to your website!

As a Platinum sponsor, you’ll have a spot reserved for you on the Conference Sponsors page with a “FREE GIFT” button where attendees can provide you with their email in exchange for a gift (i.e., a Tips and Tools PDF, a discount code to a product or service, etc.). This is a fantastic way to build your list and grow your customer base — and reach pet business owners long after the conference is over!

Your business logo will appear at the end of each speaker’s video at this year’s conference — that’s 25 logo placements for 2018!

How to Recover from (and Move Beyond) Pet Business Burnout

Thom Somes

Don't have time to watch the whole video right now? No problem! Click now to purchase the entire conference speaker video series at a very low price.

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Getting Started:

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