Beth Cotell & Pam Ahart-Steward

Pamela Ahart-Steward and Beth Greenberg Cotell became best friends at age two, and grew up together in Reston, VA. Lifelong animal lovers, they started All Friends Pet Care (AFPC) as a part-time pet sitting business in April 1998, while continuing to work full-time jobs. On January 1, 1999, they quit their jobs to dive into running AFPC full time. Their business was thriving each year until the Covid pandemic and shutdown hit in March 2020.

The Covid shutdown forced Pam and Beth to regroup in a number of ways, first just to survive, and stay encouraged to bounce back stronger than ever. Their first decision was to reduce their service area, as it was the only way to continue providing the exceptional customer and pet care they had become known for since All Friends Pet Care’s inception. Giving up their office space and moving back into their home offices proved a smart way to save lots of money while remaining just as productive. Their smartest and most successful management strategy was to reduce their office staff to just the two of them, and split up the work week to reduce stress and overwork.

Seeing the need to help other pet related entrepreneurs with their experiences, Pam and Beth decided to launch Monarchs in Motion this year. By getting certified as NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) coaches, they can take a powerful approach to enhancing self-awareness, increase confidence, and build communication skills by coaching, encouraging, and MOTIVATING other pet care business owners.